That Thing You Do!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

I recently saw "That Thing You Do" again on DVD, the fictional story of the Oneders, later renamed the Wonders. It prompted me to buy the soundtrack, and what a delight it is.

"The Thing You Do" (15 tracks, 42 min.) brings us the 2 Wonders songs from the movie (title track, "Dance With Me Tonight") but also 3 other songs, giving us (according to the fictional liner notes) pretty much an idea what a Wonders' concert was like. The soundtrack gives us plenty of other fictional 1964-soundalike songs that simly work great ("She Knows It", "Voyage Around the Moon", and "Drive Faster" are among the highlights).

While it's true that Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger wrote the title track, even more noteworthy it that none other than Tom Hanks wrote or co-wrote 4 of the tracks on here, so the man obviously knew what he was doing when taking on this project (writing and directing the movie as well). Thanks for a great movie and...Read more

If the fictional Wonders' hit single "That Thing You Do," was the only cut on this soundtrack worthy of praise, it would be worth the disc's price. The title track is a brilliant invocation of mid-60s British-influenced American pop, worthy of having been a monster hit at the time of its fictional setting.

But the soundtrack is so much more than a one-hit wonder. Tom Hanks, together with co-writers, singers and producers, has created a bevy of tracks that recreate the brilliance of that era's music even more keenly than the film recreates the look and feel. Few such fictional music projects have ever been this complete.

From the opening track, the Mitch Miller like "Lovin You Lots and Lots" by the Norm Wooster Singers, Hanks gives notice that he and his co-workers have internalized the era's vast array of musical styles. It's as if their heads are so full of this music that they can't help but sing it out loud.

It's one huge loving nod to the music...Read more

That is what the drummer, "Shades" of the mythical rock band "The Wonders" says to the lead guitarist, when the guitarist asks"How did we get here?,"before the Wonders make their national television debut on a Sullivan-esque variety show. What happens next, is one of the happiest three minutes on film, as the Wonders perform their hit single, "That Thing You Do!" The movie captured the 60's so well, and the soundtrack is a terrific bonus! I put on this album, and get lost in the 60's. A smile instantly comes to my face as I remember the story of that pop band from Erie, Pennsylvania whose fate was changed by a replacement drummer . I love these guys, and they seem so real. I just wish they were. Go out and buy this CD...listen to it, and re-live Beatlemania!