In what seemed like an attempt by Geffen to make a "big" pop record and endear
Keene to an audience wider than critics and a small cult of discerning record buyers, renowned producer
Geoff Emerick (
Elvis Costello,
Beatles) only succeeded at rounding the edges, thus stealing the spark from
Keene's performance. The drums are buried in the mix and
Keene's distinctive vocals obscured behind a wash of studio processing, but fortunately,
Keene's talent shines through in memorable songwriting and biting guitar solos. "In Our Lives" and "Goldtown" are classic
Tommy Keene melodic power rockers, while "The Story Ends" stands among his best
Beatlesque ballads. But the infectious "Places That Are Gone," which opens side one, sounds awkwardly sped up and doesn't come close to matching the quiet intensity of the version that appeared as the title track of the 1984 Dolphin EP. The story has it that Geffen rejected the original
Songs From the Film sessions, produced by
T-Bone Burnett and
Don Dixon, to make this record, although the label at least momentarily came to their senses and released tracks from those sessions later that year on the excellent Run Now EP. [Geffen's 1998 CD reissue of Songs from the Film includes the Run Now EP, plus four previously unreleased songs: "Take Back Your Letters," "We're Two," an alternate full-band take of "Faith in Love" and a live cover of the Flamin' Groovies' "Teenage Head."] ~ Jack Leaver