3 out of 5

Performed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram

Label: MCA Records

Producer: Peter Asher

That’s right.  I own it, so I’m reviewing it.

But what can you say?  Listening to this as an adult, it’s fascinating to realize that we were doing the whole pop-hit thing in an animated movie way before I assumed that was the rage, with Pixar and Disney flicks grabbing some big name adult contemporary so and so to get the parents chatting for awards time in the early 2000s.  ‘Cause this was a big hit, so Wikipedia tells me.  Of course, as a kid, it was a big hit because I loved the movie (An American Tail, for those born post-whenever).  But interestingly, I realized that what we were hearing on the radio was not the same as the song in-film (which was song by our character voice actors), so I’m wondering if I actually liked it.  Did I prefer the animated version?  Does this factor into the review?  WHO ARE YOU TO QUESTION ME

The production is pretty standard, but with my old and maturing ears filled with gray hair and grossness, I start to get why people can get into vocalists, because the Linda Ronstadt vocals just soar over this, and the Horner composition (also written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, apparently) is just a smart piece of pop, finding a tune (inspired by a Beethoven sonata, for fuck’s sake, again according to Wiki) that instantly evokes the starry sky into which our characters our looking when singing the song in-movie.  James Ingram’s vocals are a little too husky for me, but it’s a good friendly balance for how strong Ronstadt’s side of the vocal portion is.

Anyhow, whatever.  I’m in part rating the 7″ itself because it’s sorta’ balls – same track on both sides.  Maybe it was promotional for radio play (there’s no barcode), but they could’ve put the character-sung version on a B-side, just to make me happy like 30 years in future, those pieces of shit.