The Transformers Movie came out in 1986 and pushed the storyline of the television show to the far flung future of 2005.
It also led to the most perfect running tape in the history of time, combing both Mighty and Catchy into an inspirational exercise fest. In order for it to work, though, side two needs to be played first.
Aside- for the rotten young whippersnappers. Record albums and cassettes could hold a limited amount of information and required flipping them over mid play to continue. CDs were a huge improvement in that all the information was on one side. Now everything is digital, so the whole concept of a cohesive album is sadly becoming fleeting.
And get the hell off my lawn!
There are only two possible challengers to this album in this regard.
One is the 1999 Rocky Story soundtrack collection. It was similar in that side two was a better starting point. It leaned more on the Mighty side, and the song order wasn't quite as good. Also, when the tape broke I replaced it with the Rocky Balboa: Best of Rocky CD. That has more tracks, but the order is worse. Also it has more slow numbers mixed in. In fact, some of the same musicians who were involved in The Transformers did the soundtracks for the third and fourth Rocky films. Those, unsurprisingly being largely comprised of only fights and training sections, produced the best running tracks.
The second is the Young Einstein soundtrack. This one is far more Catchy than Mighty. I think it would be a good running tape, but I only had a recorded copy of my sister's album, which I lost before it could become a running staple. By the time I replaced it on CD, my knees and calf called a meeting to inform me we will never run again.
Aside 2- Yes I have an insane number of soundtracks. They account for over half of my non-comedy collection.
I guess I'm very visual when it comes to music...
or maybe auditory when it comes to movies.
The combination of guitar filled Eighties hair metal and hard edged synthesized pop in the songs from this animated classic adds power and pace to every single track. It was never in the TDK pack in the car for years, because it lived in my walkman. The tape wore out completely, and I recently updated to a digital version. The update included not only the album I had, but also the full score. However, it is the original tracks that live on the Essential Mighty Catchy list.
For anyone who still cares, here is how the tracks worked when I had much younger and springier knees.
Side 2
"The Transformers (Theme)" (Performed by Lion)
A hair metal reimagining of the cartoon theme, provided inspiration and a solid warm up rate.
"Escape" (Performed by Vince DiCola)
Synthesized rock that accompanied the Autobots exiting Unicron was a stong, solid, early in the exercise instrumental for pacing.
"Hunger" (Performed by Spectre
General)
More metal for the battle against the Sharkticons. It included some growls, which of course I would do along with the tape while stomping along to the driving baseline.
"Autobot/Decepticon Battle" (Score Performed by Vince DiCola)
Another instrumental track, this one a little faster, with bits of the "Dare" theme mixed in to add drive with hints of what was to come.
"Dare to Be Stupid" (Performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic)
A jaunty way to mark the half way point. The Devo inspired style parody was light, fun and moved at a good clip.
"The Touch" (Performed by Stan Bush)
The Optimus Prime theme! Half way through the training, and it was all about inspiration, inner strength and a solid beat.
"Instruments of Destruction" (Performed by NRG)
The hardest track on the album. Music to kill Autobots by! It was loud, powerful and bass heavy.
I think this is the track that was on when my friend Phil said I should wear a cape when I run.
"Death of Optimus Prime" (Score Performed by Vince DiCola)
The one soft selection on the album. If you listen closely, you can hear theaters full of Eighties children weeping in the background. An instrumental moment of rest, but still fast enough, with a glowing moment of hope, to keep a steady jog in order to warm up for...
"Dare" (Performed by Stan Bush)
THE RUNNING TRACK.
Rodimus Prime's theme. High speed, full out, weight on the balls of my feet, maximum sprint the whole way running. Even with the rest of the album being a perfect warm up, this is the second most common calf blow out song I ran to. The first was the Wonder Woman theme, because the other TV Tunes, like "American Bandstand" while Catchy, were in no way acceptable preparation.
"Nothin’s Gonna Stand in Our Way" (Performed by Spectre General)
After "Dare" I'd normally be close to immobile. The title of this one says it all. With that notion, and a a lighter driving hair metal guitar and bass, it would get me through the end of the workout.
And those are my "Impact Albums." I probably could list a hundred more, but these are the ones that have lived with me the longest in the environments I most commonly listen to music.
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