WaterTower Music has announced the release of the soundtrack album for the upcoming movie musical “Rock of Ages” on June 5.
The “Rock of Ages: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” boasts 20 rousing anthems that defined a generation — reinvigorated for the film by a stellar cast including Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise.
Directed by Adam Shankman (“Hairspray”), New Line Cinema’s “Rock of Ages” is the film adaptation of the smash hit, five-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical which tells the story of small-town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.
Executive music producer Adam Anders (“Glee”) helps tell the rock ‘n’ roll romance through cast versions of heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Poison, Journey, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett, Foreigner, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake and more.
“Taking classic, beloved rock anthems and seeing them through the unique perspective of the characters in the film was such an exciting prospect for me in directing ‘Rock of Ages,'” said Shankman. “We had a phenomenal cast who performed these songs in such a powerful way — adding depth and meaningful imagery to the film. I was lucky to have a partner in Adam Anders who, better than anyone working today, understands how to take popular songs and seamlessly repurpose them to tell a story with unparalleled originality and success.”
“It’s an enormous thrill to introduce the soundtrack of ‘Rock of Ages’ to the world,” said Executive Music Producer Adam Anders. “While re-imagining these songs for the film, it was important for me to present them in a way that would not only tell the story, but transcend generations by making these songs relevant for today’s audience. This soundtrack truly captures the incredible performances of a very talented cast who brilliantly reinterpreted these songs with us in the spirit of the film. I am really proud of this soundtrack as it is definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
As the larger-than-life, arena-rocking champ “Stacee Jaxx,” the “Rock of Ages” soundtrack features Tom Cruise belting out Bon Jovi’s classic “Wanted Dead or Alive,” Def Leppard’s hit “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” and Guns ‘N Roses anthem “Paradise City.” Cruise also duets with Malin Akerman on Foreigner’s power ballad “I Want To Know What Love Is” and shares the mic with Julianne Hough on The Scorpions’ “Rock You Like A Hurricane.”
The album also features a medley of Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian,” David Lee Roth’s “Just Like Paradise,” and Poison’s “Nothin’ But A Good Time,” which features Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin.
Also echoing through the soundtrack are mash-ups of songs that ruled the airwaves in the ’80s, including Foreigner’s “Juke Box Hero” / Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N Roll”; Extreme’s “More Than Words” / Warrant’s “Heaven”; Pat Benatar’s “Shadows Of The Night” / Quarterflash’s “Harden My Heart”; and Starship’s “We Built This City” woven into Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” all performed by the film’s cast.
The full track list for the album is as follows:
“Paradise City” — Tom Cruise
“Sister Christian” / “Just Like Paradise” / “Nothin’ But A Good Time” — Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin
“Juke Box Hero” / “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” — Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Julianne Hough
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” — Catherine Zeta-Jones
“Waiting For A Girl Like You” — Diego Boneta, Julianne Hough
“More Than Words” / “Heaven” — Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta
“Wanted Dead Or Alive” — Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough
“I Want To Know What Love Is” — Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman
“I Wanna Rock” — Diego Boneta
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” — Tom Cruise
“Harden My Heart” — Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige
“Shadows of the Night” / “Harden My Heart” — Mary J. Blige, Julianne Hough
“Here I Go Again” — Diego Boneta, Paul Giamatti, Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige, Tom Cruise
“Can’t Fight This Feeling” — Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin
“Any Way You Want It” — Mary J. Blige, Constantine Maroulis, Julianne Hough
“Undercover Love” — Diego Boneta
“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” — Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige
“Rock You Like A Hurricane” — Julianne Hough, Tom Cruise
“We Built This City” / “We’re Not Gonna Take It” — Russell Brand / Catherine Zeta-Jones
“Don’t Stop Believin'” — Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige
New Line Cinema’s “Rock of Ages” comes to the big screen on June 15, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie musical stars Julianne Hough (“Burlesque”), with actor/singer Diego Boneta in his feature film debut, Russell Brand, Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti, Academy Award-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman and R&B queen Mary J. Blige, with Oscar-nominees Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise.
Shankman directed “Rock of Ages” from a screenplay by Justin Theroux and Chris D’Arienzo and Allan Loeb, based on D’Arienzo’s musical of the same name. Adam Anders and Peer Astrom composed the original score and produced the songs featured in the film. “Rock of Ages” is produced by Matthew Weaver, Scott Prisand, Carl Levin, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Grant and Jennifer Gibgot, with Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Michael Disco, Samuel J. Brown, Hillary Butorac Weaver, Janet Billig Rich, Shankman and D’Arienzo serving as executive producers.
To learn more about the film and soundtrack, visit www.rockofagesmovie.com. To see the trailer, click HERE.
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Joan Jett’s “I love rock n roll” is a cover. She didn’t write it. She didn’t record the original version. The song was originally by an English band called the Arrows in 1975 and their version was never released in the USA. Jett did have a huge hit with the Arrows song, but she didn’t write it nor did she record the original version.
Joan Jett’s I LOVE ROCK N ROLL? Words and music by Arrows band members Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker. RAK Music Publishing Ltd, 1975. The original version of the classic song by the Arrows was released in 1975, produced by Mickie Most. Joan Jett covered an Arrows song.