Speed (Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 1994 action film Speed directed by Jan de Bont, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox Records on June 28, 1994, featuring selections of songs from and inspired by the film.[1] It was commercially successful in Japan, selling 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[2]

Speed (Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture)
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedJune 28, 1994
Length50:04
Label20th Century Fox
ProducerRalph Sall
various artists chronology
Speed (Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture)
(1994)
Speed (Original Motion Picture Score)
(1994)

Background

edit

In early 1994, producer Mark Gordon chose record producer Ralph Sall as the music supervisor for the film and its soundtrack. He was tasked to curate a concept album with a compilation of various songs from different eras and genres and featured a diverse range of artists, that would be similar to the film's genre. Thus, the resulting soundtrack consisted of songs mostly about speed, cars and travelling.[1]

"Speed" is the main title song composed and recorded specifically for the film by singer-songwriter Billy Idol, which was a chart-topping success upon release.[3]

Reception

edit

Leslie Mathew of AllMusic summarized that: "Speed was one of most entertaining movies of the '90s, and the soundtrack is a very worthy companion piece."[4] Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly criticized it as "a cynical album that feels like it was packaged by out-of-touch Hollywood ponytails" and assigned a D+ rating.[5]

Track listing

edit
Speed (Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) track listing
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Speed"Billy Idol, Steve Stevens4:22
2."A Million Miles Away"The Plimsouls3:41
3."Soul Deep"Gin Blossoms3:06
4."Let's Go for a Ride"Cracker3:07
5."Go Outside and Drive"Blues Traveler4:51
6."Crash"Ric Ocasek5:05
7."Rescue Me"Pat Benatar3:01
8."Hard Road"Rod Stewart4:28
9."Cot"Carnival Strippers5:23
10."Cars ('93 Sprint Remix)"Gary Numan4:02
11."Like a Motorway"Saint Etienne5:43
12."Mr. Speed"Kiss3:17
Total length:50:04

Chart performance

edit
Chart performance for Speed (Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture)
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 41
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 65
UK Compilation Albums (OCC)[9] 45
US Billboard 200[10] 32

Certifications

edit
Certifications for Speed (Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture)
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[11] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Speed: Songs From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (Soundtrack)". Amazon. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  2. ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2002年2月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. February 2002 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 509: 13. April 10, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  3. ^ Quantick, David (September 10, 1994). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 42.
  4. ^ Mathew, Leslie. "Review: Speed [Original Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Burr, Ty (August 5, 1994). "Speed". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Speed". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 1994-07-05" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  9. ^ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "Japanese album certifications – VARIOUS – ソングス・フロム・アンド・インスパイアード・バイ・ザ・モーション・ピクチャー「スピード」" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved August 6, 2024. Select 2002年2月 on the drop-down menu