C30, C60, C90, GO! - American Gladiators

I'm proud to introduce C30, C60, C90, Go!, a new feature here on the blog where I, your friendly neighborhood thrift store vulture, pledge to bring you only the finest in bargain-bin cassette finds, along with a few explanatory notes, some commentary, maybe even an addendum or two. We'll just have to see. In the meantime, here's my first offering, American Gladiators: The Music!

I found this gem still in the shrinkwrap and didn't open it for almost a year, choosing instead to display it alongside other curiosities on the mantle in my living room. However, something in me this morning just had to hear it, and, as I peeled off the now-brittle plastic film off of the tape's pristine packaging, I thought, "Someone else might want to hear this...", and I knew what I had to do. So, Mr. Whoever-You-Are, you wanted it, here it is:

American Gladiators: The Music (1993)
Side A

American Gladiators Introduction (featuring Mike Adamle)
American Gladiators Opening
Queen - "We Will Rock You"
Joust
Gary Glitter - "Rock and Roll (Part II)"
Gauntlet
The Movement - "Jump"
Eliminator
The Fabulous Thunderbirds - "Tuff Enuff"
Tug-O-War

Side B
Pat Benatar - "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"
Whiplash
Breakthrough and Conquer
Yello - "Oh Yeah"
Assault
Scandal - "The Warrior"
Hang Tough
Atlasphere
Swing Shot
Powerball (with Mike Adamle)
American Gladiators Theme

In a lot of ways, this is pretty predictable stuff: a handful of jock rock standards that probably were never even played on the show, padded out by some intrumental pieces that no one watching the show would ever notice because they're too busy watching Gemini shoot tennis balls at a personal trainer from Boca Raton.

Ah, but things get interesting once you take a closer look! Each side is a continuous mix, which is kinda cool, and the name of the band performing the originals (Dan Milner and the Steele Penny Band) is worth a chuckle, but my favorite thing about this tape is that most tracks feature the Gladiators themselves taunting the listener over the top of the music! Sadly, only Laser, Tower and Turbo are featured here, but so is Yello's classic "Oh Yeah", which I guess is supposed to represent how sexy the female Gladiators are supposed to be? Whatever, hearing that song in its entirety is a rare treat these days, anyhow. All in all, this tape was entertaining enough to hold my attention for the entire length of time it took to make this post, but I'll probably be putting it back on the mantle before too long.

Well, that does for this first installment of C30, C60, C90, Go! The next one will actually have good music on it, I promise!