Yeehaw, I’m an American!

The new movie Sahara is making all kinds of fans happy; the movie for those who love action flicks, and the soundtrack for classic rock music nerds. With the upbeat opening song “Stay with Me” by Faces (Rod Stewart) followed neatly by “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk, it’s easy to picture a tan and dirty Matthew McConaughey sweating his balls off behind the wheel of a rough and rugged Jeep and blowing shit up, just like any red-blooded American man would if stuck in the middle of the desert.The rest of this classic rock collection of songs is jam-packed with familiar names such as The Kinks and Canned Heat. As complete as this compilation is, songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and “Magic Carpet Ride” by Steppenwolf make it a touch too cliché. The tracks should be prefaced by Casey Casem’s famous voice cheerily announcing that “This album is made of some of the greatest songs of the 70’s!” The Sahara, soundtrack is a wholly American mix, with old school influences ranging from hard rock to classic rock, and country. Some of the songs are the more country versions, as in “Fire on the Mountain” by The Marshall Tucker Band, which uses a slide guitar just a little too much.

The yeehaw-country-boy tone of this album seems to be an important factor of the soundtrack as the character is placed in an extraordinary situation where his cowboy qualities shine through. Though this album is quite enjoyable for those already established fans of 70’s rock, the repertoire may be a bit redundant and inaccessible to those who aren’t already interested.