To Live and Die in L.A. is a soundtrack album by Wang Chung, recorded for the 1985 film of the same name. It is the band's third album and second on Geffen Records. Instead of following up the success that Points on the Curve landed them, the band switched gears to produce an original motion picture soundtrack. The switch allowed for them to experiment with different styles of music from the conventional pop music on their previous album. The album's title song, peaked at #41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the second single "Wake Up, Stop Dreaming" failed to chart.
According to William Friedkin, director of the film To Live and Die in L.A., the main reason he chose Wang Chung to compose the soundtrack was because the band "stands out from the rest of contemporary music... What they finally recorded has not only enhanced the film, it has given it a deeper, more powerful dimension." [1] This, of course, was his response after listening to the band’s previous album, Points on the Curve. In fact, he loved the album so much, that he took two of the songs straight off of the album, "Wait", and "Dance Hall Days" and used them as part of the soundtrack. "Wait" plays at the end credits of the movie, and is the only song to appear on two different non-compilation albums.
Every song on the soundtrack, excluding the title song, "Dance Hall Days" and "Wait", was written and recorded within a two-week period. Only after Wang Chung saw a rough draft of the film did they produce the title song. [2]
On the original vinyl release, side one was all vocal tracks, side two all instrumental.
Credits
All songs published by Chong Music Ltd., adm. by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. BMI.
