Columbia
40655
1987
This Stallone soundtrack naturally oozes testosterone, and used to be the only place to get Sammy Hagar yelping over Eddie Van Halen runs (on bass no-less) in the adrenalized "Winner Takes It All (Remember Hagar arm-wrestling Sly in the video?)." "Winner" is actually one of the best cuts from the limp Van Hagar years. Of course, tender moments can be found as well: Kenny Loggins yearns to "Meet Me Half Way." Yes, this bombastic piece of fluff belongs on Top Gun, but it gets ya right here, blast it! Halfway between the power and the pansy stands Robin Zander (Who had already ventured outside the Trick camp for the Rebbie Jackson duet "You Send the Rain Away") relaying the solemn national anthem "In This Country." Over the Top is held together and composed (except for Sly's bro Frank's "Bad Nite [sic]") by disco-brain Giorgio Moroder who shows off in the instrumental "The Fight." Sometimes a Moroder-merge yields a great song ("Call Me,") and his Midnight Express score qualifies as the best soundtrack in history. Of course that is not the case here, and despite some formidable talent (Asia, Eddie Money), only the four tracks listed above make this record matter.
-STONE, Cheap Trash NYC
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