In 2000, writer/director Cameron Crowe dug into his personal memories as a writer for Rolling Stone for Almost Famous, the story of a reporter on tour with the fictional band Stillwater.  The film would garner great critical acclaim, winning a Golden Globe for Best Film – Musical or Comedy and winning the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.  The soundtrack album would win a Grammy.  But this was certainly not Crowe’s first film to include the music industry nor his first to have a prominent soundtrack album.  Released in 1992, Singles took place in Seattle and part of the plot revolved around grunge music scene.  The film and soundtrack album featured several bands (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, among others) from the area and helped launch grunge into the national consciousness.  In honor of its 25th anniversary, Legacy Recordings and Epic Soundtrax are reissuing the 2-disc Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Deluxe Edition on May 19.

The film is told in four chapters and focuses on the romantic lives of two twenty-something couples, played by Bridget Fonda and Matt Dillon and Kyra Sedgwick and Campbell Scott.  Dillon’s character is a member of the fictional band Citizen Dick, whose membership is filled out in the film by members of Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament).

The score and soundtrack to the film was truly collaborative among many of the artists included.  Paul Westerberg, in his first solo recordings outside of The Replacements, and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden each contributed songs and score pieces to the movie.  Citizen Dick’s main song, “Touch Me I’m Dick,” is a riff on Mudhoney’s “Touch Me I’m Sick.”  Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready of Pearl Jam also wrote some score cues, which were unfortunately used in scenes cut from the film.  This did, however, point towards his later film composing endeavors.  Alice In Chains and Soundgarden also appeared in the movie, performing live versions of songs which would appear on the soundtrack.

The Singles soundtrack album was released three months before the film in June, 1992.  Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had become a hit in late 1991 and their Nevermind album was climbing the charts in 1992.  The grunge movement had begun but the Singles soundtrack helped crystallize the style of music as a genre with its mix-tape style presentation of some of the best current bands in Seattle (along with some classic acts like Jimi Hendrix and The Lovemongers – a side project of Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson).  The album would eventually go double platinum and help kick off huge success for many of the artists featured.

This new deluxe edition presents the original album on the first disc and all of the bonus tracks on the second.  Among these are songs and score heard in the film but never released on CD such as Citizen Dick’s “Touch Me I’m Dick,” “Heart and Lungs” from Truly, and several pieces by Westerberg and Cornell.  Also included are live performances from the film by Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.  In addition, the remaining tracks from Chris Cornell’s solo EP Poncier are included (“Seasons” is featured on the regular album).  One of the tracks, “Spoon Man” was inspired by one of the early names for the fictional band in the film.  It would later be re-recorded for Soundgarden’s 1994 album Superunknown and become one of their biggest hits, going to No. 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Cameron Crowe has produced this new deluxe edition and has provided new liner notes including track-by-track annotation.  It has been remastered by Mike Piacentini at Battery Studios.  The 2-LP edition has the original album across the two LPs and then includes the bonus disc as a CD insert.  Look for it on May 19 at the links below!

Various Artists, Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Deluxe Edition (Legacy Recordings/Epic Soundtrax, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1 – Original Album (originally released on Epic Soundtrax CD EK 52476, 1992)

1. Would? – Alice In Chains
2. Breath – Pearl Jam
3. Seasons – Chris Cornell
4. Dyslexic Heart – Paul Westerberg
5. Battle of Evermore – The Lovemongers
6. Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns – Mother Love Bone
7. Birth Ritual – Soundgarden
8. State of Love and Trust – Pearl Jam
9. Overblown – Mudhoney
10. Waiting for Somebody – Paul Westerberg
11. May This Be Love – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
12. Nearly Lost You – Screaming Trees
13. Drown – Smashing Pumpkins

Disc 2 – Bonus Material

1. Touch Me I’m Dick – Citizen Dick
2. Nowhere But You – Chris Cornell (from Poncier EP)
3. Spoon Man – Chris Cornell (from Poncier EP)
4. Flutter Girl – Chris Cornell (from Poncier EP)
5. Missing – Chris Cornell (from Poncier EP)
6. Would? (Live) – Alice In Chains
7. It Ain’t Like That (Live) – Alice In Chains
8. Birth Ritual (Live) – Soundgarden
9. Dyslexic Heart (Acoustic) – Paul Westerberg
10. Waiting For Somebody (Score Acoustic) – Paul Westerberg
11. Overblown (Demo) – Mudhoney
12. Heart and Lungs – Truly
13. Six Foot Under – Blood Circus
14. Single Blues 1 – Mike McCready
15. Blue Heart – Paul Westerberg
16. Lost In Emily’s Words – Paul Westerberg
17. Ferry Boat #3 – Chris Cornell
18. Score Piece #4 – Chris Cornell

Disc 2, Tracks 10, 11, 14-18 are previously unreleased.