Two of STEPPENWOLF's best songs are included here, "The Pusher" and "Born To Be Wild". An interesting side note is that Hoyt Axton is the writer of "The Pusher". The Band's song "The Weight", from their 1968 album "Music From Big Pink" was performed in the motion picture but was not available for the soundtrack. Smith's recording of "The Weight" is included on the soundtrack, and they do an excellant job worthy of Robbie Robertson's respect. "Wasn't Born To Follow" by The Byrds is here. One of Jimi Hendrix's masterpiece's, "If Six Was Nine", is included. Roger McGuinn, from The Byrds, covers Bob Dylan's'"It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)." Roger McGuinn is also given credit for "The Ballad Of Easy Rider", although Bob Dylan wrote the words while Roger McGuinn put the music to it. "If You Want To Be A Bird" by The Holy Modal Rounders is pretty weird and a country music song about bogarting a joint, "Don't Bogart Me" by Fraternity Of Man, is just strange. But all in all, the music holds up quite well.

If you like THE BYRDS, BOB DYLAN & THE BAND, THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE, and STEPPENWOLF, then you will love this collection of songs.

As a teen I remember searching far and wide, in countless used record emporiums, for this album. I snatched up every copy I could get hold of. Now, at age 38, I still have one remaining LP in a protective plastic sleeve and the newly released CD version. I'm so happy, I could just $#!+.


Great music, bad sound, get the other one instead   December 3, 2000
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This CD is chock full of the great music from the film Easy Rider. I have this import CD from a few years ago, but the sound quality is very bad. The CD was reissued in the US in 2000, with the original cover. I don't have that CD yet, but I strongly suggest getting it instead of this one in hopes that the sound will be better.


Electric Prunes, anyone?   August 2, 1999
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Ahhhh, memories. Who can ever forget the countless times we all sang along with the Fraternity on "Don't Bogart Me", or cranking up the volume to hear the Panheads roar through three gears right before Steppenwolf crashes into "Born To Be Wild"? Smith's rendition of "The Weight" on the soundtrack is still easy to listen to, and Robbie and the boys should feel complemented. When Jimi rapped his way through "If Six Were Nine", we related to the hatred we inspired in all the " white collar conservatives flashing down the street.." My favorite is still the " Kyrie" from the latin mass by the Prunes. Wah-Wah pedals still rule in my rock book. Old vinyl gone, lost, stolen? Go for it again. You'll be glad you did.


Memories of my youthful rebellious stage.   August 18, 1999
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

The movie was one of the defining motion pictures of my teen age years. The music augmented perfectly the movie. The soundtrack was a bit less than satisfactory with the omission of "The Weight" by the Band and the substitution of the song by Smith, but it was only a minor flaw. I had played the vinyl album a multitude of times so that it was pretty much unplayable and it was with some satisfaction that I was able to find it on CD. I would recommend the movie and the sound track to anyone who wants a taste of the '60s.


Could be better   March 12, 2001
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

All the songs in this album are classics. Each is great in its own right. But what makes this album great is the compilation; it tells a story. People who have seen the movie, would probably enjoy the album to a greater extent than those who haven't. If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it. The context of the movie is a time capsule of the spirit of the culture of that time. But the underlying theme of the movie is as relevant today as it was in the '60s.

What's disappointing to me though about the album is that there were omissions and substitutes to the complete and original movie soundtrack. The Band's performance of "The Weight" was substituted by a copy done by The Byrds (all because Capitol refused to license The Band's performance) and "Let's Turkey Trot" by Little Eva and "Flash, Bam, Pow" by The Electric Flag were left out. The original LP that went out of print in the US also didn't feature these tracks, but in this very recently re-released US version of the CD, they could have made them the "bonus" tracks. This Y2K US re-release does have a more attractive cover than the European version that was released in 1993, otherwise nothing else has changed.