Retro Spins: The Karate Kid

Much like pretty much every child of the 80's, The Karate Kid made me want to take karate so badly. I never did though. Still, that didn't stop me from mimicking everything I saw from the film. Daniel was my idol. So much so that I was the only kid I knew who actually had the toys from Remco.

Then I grew up. Watching the film from a mature perspective, I saw it for what it was. A film about a bully named Daniel, who moves to a new state, a new home, and starts a new life. There, young Daniel immediately starts harassing a local boy, terrorizing him as he stalks a young girl, who also happens to be said boy's ex-girlfriend. He consistently picks fights, which he loses, and then goes for the ultimate humiliation, challenging the boy to a fight in front of the entire town at the All Valley Tournament. Here, he goes for the ultimate dishonorable victory, as he wins the tournament with an illegal kick to his opponent's face.

Perspective is everything.

A fatherless teenager faces his moment of truth in "The Karate Kid." Daniel (Ralph Macchio) arrives in Los Angeles from the East coast and faces the difficult task of making new friends. However, he becomes the object of bullying by the Cobras, a menacing gang of karate students, when he strikes up a relationship with Ali (Elizabeth Shue), the Cobra leader's ex-girlfriend. Eager to fight back and impress his new girlfriend, but afraid to confront the dangerous gang, Daniel asks his handyman Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), whom he learns is a master of the martial arts, to teach him karate. Miyagi teaches Daniel that karate is a mastery over the self - mind and body - and that fighting is always the last answer to a problem. Under Miyagi's guidance, Daniel develops not only physical skills but also the faith and self-confidence to compete despite tremendous odds as he encounters the fight of his life in the exciting finale to this entertaining film. - The back cover of the original VHS

You're not going to find to forty hits on this soundtrack, but if you're a fan of the film, you're going to hear some tunes which will place you in the exact moment and time of the film's two hour seven minute running time. It also gives you the opportunity to hear these tracks in their entirety, without shifting them off to background noise. In doing so, you can actually find some which are pretty good.

Survivor doesn't bring their "A" game, but they deliver a decent track in the album opener, The Moment of Truth. (Bop Bop) At The Beach may be a little silly, but it's also decent enough to tap your foot to. No Shelter from Broken Edge drops you right into the scene where Daniel is running from the Cobra Kai's after humiliating Johnny at the school Halloween dance.

There are three tracks glaringly omitted from the soundtrack these are; The Ride, from Matches, which is the song played as Johnny and the gang arrive on the scene at the beach. Bananarama's Cruel Summer, as heard in the film when Daniel is on the soccer field at school. The last, Please Answer Me by Broken Edge, which is heard during the Halloween dance.

On the bright side, tracking down The Ride and Please Answer Me on Youtube to at least hear them didn't yield very good songs. Bananarama's Cruel Summer can easily be found on the trio's second and self titled album, as well as numerous greatest hits and 80's compilations. So, it's no real big loss in the long run.

Overall, The Karate Kid album serves a purpose of putting you in the place and time of the movie, but doesn't necessarily yield very memorable tracks beyond that. It's good, but it's not the best (around). Ha!

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