Mondo Records brings one of the most beloved soundtracks of the late 20th century to vinyl for the first time today, with a brand-new pressing of the soundtrack to the pop classic That Thing You Do! The original album will be available on 140-gram black or splatter vinyl in a newly-designed jacket that'll also include a 12-page booklet of rare and unseen photos and a replica of the original Playtone single release of the immortal title track, with a label and track order just like in the film. (Other color variants will also be available: opaque red at general retail and 500 copies of a limited "gold nugget" pressing from Enjoy The Ride Records.)

The film was the brainchild of one of America's most beloved actors: Tom Hanks, fresh from the back-to-back Best Actor Academy Award-winning performances in Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). Working as co-star - and for the first time, co-writer and director - Hanks tells the story of The Wonders, a group of rock-loving friends from Erie, Pennsylvania who get the chance of a lifetime in 1964 when their irresistible single garners them a record deal and a Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100. But is the music business everything drummer Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott), singer Jimmy Mattingly (Jonathan Schaech), guitarist Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn) and bassist T.B. Player (Ethan Embry) want it to be? Who gets the girl, their friend-turned-wardrobe manager Faye (Liv Tyler)? And has their manager, Play-Tone Records' Mr. White (Hanks) ever told them they look good in black?

Hanks was no stranger to warm Americana onscreen or off, but his film struck a magical tone that catches the thrill of loving pop/rock music more than most films can. Part of that secret, of course, is "That Thing You Do!" - the film's sugar-sweet centerpiece, heard nearly a dozen times in the film and never wearing out its welcome. That's due in large part to the brilliance of its co-writer, the late Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger, who crafted a power-pop song worthy of the decade from which it was supposed to emerge. (In real life, the song just missed the Top 40 of the Hot 100 and only garnered an Oscar nomination, not a win. Not everyone gets it right!)

Other lovable songs on the soundtrack come from songwriters Scott Rogness and Rick Elias ("All My Only Dreams," the ballad B-side to "That Thing"; the upbeat "Dance with Me Tonight"), and tunes from a variety of styles, from soul (Freddy Fredrickson's "Mr. Downtown," The Chantrellines' "Hold My Hand, Hold My Heart") and goofy teen-movie rock (Cap'n Geech and The Shrimp Shack Shooters' "Shrimp Shack") to jazz ("Time to Blow," by Patterson's onscreen hero Del Paxton) and even Mitch Miller-esque vocal pop (The Norm Wooster Singers' "Lovin' You Lots and Lots," one of several songs written or co-written by Hanks himself.)

Fans of the movie - and great throwback pop pastiche - will want to check this one out. It's on sale at Mondo's store today, September 6 at 12:00 p.m. CST. The full track list is below!

That Thing You Do! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (originally released as Play-Tone/Epic Soundtrax EK 67828, 1996 - reissued Play-Tone/Mondo MOND-135, 2023)

Side 1

1. Lovin' You Lots and Lots - The Norm Wooster Singers 
2. That Thing You Do! - The Wonders 
3. Little Wild One - The Wonders 
4. Dance with Me Tonight - The Wonders 
5. All My Only Dreams - The Wonders 
6. I Need You (That Thing You Do) - The Heardsmen
7. She Knows It - The Heardsman 
8. Mr. Downtown - Freddy Fredrickson

Side 2

1. Hold My Hand, Hold My Heart - The Chantrellines 
2. Voyage Around The Moon - The Saturn 5 
3. My World is Over - Diane Dane 
4. Drive Faster - The Vicksburgs 
5. Shrimp Shack - Cap'n Geech & The Shrimp Shack Shooters 
6. Time to Blow - Del Paxton 
7. That Thing You Do! (Live At The Hollywood Television Showcase) - The Wonders

7": That Thing You Do! b/w All My Only Dreams - The Wonders