B-Sides: Who Knows What Original Sin Lurks in the Hearts of Men?
Steve Barton
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The Shadow knows! Taylor Dane sings! A movie theme song that didn’t even get a Best Song nomination despite sounding so much like an Oscar-baiting Best Song wannabe the only way it could have been any more so would be if it were performed by Randy Newman.
Russell Mulcahey’s 1994 big screen adaptation of the classic pulp radio hero The Shadow, starring Alec Baldwin as the 1930s supernatural crime fighter, wasn’t exactly the franchise-launching hit Universal was hoping for. It pretty much fizzled right out of the gate when it opened July 4th weekend that year.
While opinions on the movie remain mixed, one thing remains unquestionable: The Shadow boasted what may very well have been the single most bombastic theme song to a film since Queen stopped doing movie soundtracks. “Original Sin” made good use of Taylor Dane’s impressive pipes, resulting in a song that sounds more appropriate to a Broadway production than a motion picture. Even the music video is loaded with Broadway style choreography, what with the half-naked back-up dancers whirling about a rooftop stage with the wind machine set to “Hurricane Katrina” levels.
Now seemed as good a time as any to showcase “Original Sin” in B-Sides given Universal just released The Shadow on Blu-ray for the first time and you won’t find this music video or any other extras on the disc. Perhaps that future Shout Factory special edition Blu-ray in the works will give Taylor Dane her due.
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Categorized:B-Sides
