As previously reported, La-La Land Records' newest release is the premiere of Elmer Bernstein's score to the classic comedy Trading Places, available as of yesterday.
One of the most fondly remembered films of the 1980s, Trading Places is the story of a rich banker (Dan Aykroyd) conned by his bosses to lose everything as part of a "social experiment" to switch a rich man with a poor man and observe the results. The poor man who assumes Aykroyd's life is a street hustler played by Eddie Murphy - but once he wises up to the scheme, the pair team up to get back at their bosses with hilarious results.
Bernstein, who'd score some great comedies in the '80s (Airplane!, Stripes, ¡Three Amigos! and Ghostbusters, to name a few), was in top form on this one, classing up the soundtrack with elegant cues, a handful of which are based on Mozart's classic Le nozze di Figaro. Every note is contained on this CD, including regular score cues, source material and alternates, 27 tracks in all.
This set, limited to 2,000 copies, is yours to order today, at far less than the cost of frozen concentrated orange juice shares. Full details are after the jump.
Elmer Bernstein, Trading Places: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (La-La Land Records LLLCD 1194, 2011 - original film released 1983)
- Main Title *
- Your Breakfast Sir/Good Morning!/Dukes
- The Club/Bump *
- Wager
- Moving Out/Plots *
- Philly **/Ploy
- Discovery/Bed
- Revelation */The Goods/Train
- Heroes *
- Kicking Ass/Cards
- Dessert (Source)
- Louis Winthorpe III Blues (Source)
- Jamaican Bye-Bye (Source)
- Andante Cantabile from String Quartet, K. 165 (Source - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arr. Elmer Bernstein)
- Jingle Bells (Source - James Pierpont arr. Elmer Bernstein)
- Joy to the World (Source George Frideric Handel and Isaac Watts arr. Elmer Bernstein)
- Silent Night (Source - Franz Gruber arr. Elmer Bernstein)
- God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Source - Traditional arr. Elmer Bernstein)
- O Little Town of Bethlehem (Source - Philip Brooks and Lewis H. Redner arr. Elmer Bernstein)
- God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Slower version) (Source - Traditional arr. Elmer Bernstein)
- Good Morning! (Alternate)
- Bump * (Alternate)
- Ploy * (Alternate)
- Ploy * (Alternate #2)
- Train (Promotional LP Version)
- Kicking Ass/Cards (Alternate)
* denotes use of "Le nozze di Figaro" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arr. Elmer Bernstein)
** denotes use of "Yankee Doodle" (Traditional arr. Elmer Bernstein)
wardo says
I have no interest in buying the CD, but this was a hilarious write-up, from the title to the tag. Thanks for the smile.