Now that I’ve got my very own futuristic MP3 device, I’ve been listening to some music that I haven’t heard in a long, long time. I’m not much of a music person, so when I actually buy a CD, you know that it’s something that I cherish. Last night, I found some ripped tracks from the soundtrack to 1980′s ‘Flash Gordon.’ I actually bought the ‘Flash Gordon’ soundtrack, which cost me $4.99 at a small CD store in college about six years ago, back before the store moved to the worst possible location and went out of business. That’s because I really enjoyed the movie, and part of it is the really bizarre soundtrack by Queen.
If you know me well, you know that I love me some ’80s synth movie scores, and anything by Tangerine Dream sends me into a tizzy. That’s part of the reason why I love this soundtrack; it’s great synth-rock. Queen took the bizarre cheesiness of the movie and launched it into a brand-new plane of tackiness that was truly awe-inspiring, which is not an easy thing to do when it’s 1980 and you’re Queen. The movie will not work on any legitimate sci-fi level, and the filmmakers were right to make it pure pulp, and dammit, they were right to get Queen!
There are only a few tracks on the album with actual Queen vocals, and the best-known one (that actually made it onto charts as a single) is ‘Flash’s Theme.’ That’s the one that most people are at least vaguely familiar with, if they’re even aware of the movie. That’s because it’s incredibly catchy, and the lyrics are…well, I don’t even know how to describe them. Let’s just take a look:
(dialogue clips removed)
Flash – Ah – Saviour of the universe
Flash – Ah – He’ll save every one of us
Flash – Ah – He’s a miracle
Flash – Ah – King of the impossible
He’s for every one of us
Stand for every one of us
He’ll save with a mighty hand
Every man, every woman, every child
With a mighty Flash
Flash – Ah
Flash – Ah – He’ll save every one of us
Just a man with a man’s courage
He knows nothing but a man
But he can never fail
No-one but the pure in heart
May find the golden grail oh oh oh oh
Flash!
You know it rules when part of the lyrics are “Ah!” You also know it rules when Tenacious D does a cover of the song, and they supplement many of the original lines with the word “fucking.”
If you ever stumble across it, give it a chance.
