Primary Colors

Primary Colors (1998 Film)
$17.98
This soundtrack does not deserve the two stars it currently holds as I write this. Please, people - Olivia Newton John's "Please Mr. Please" can be found on other albums. Check the track listing before you buy if you're buying for a specific song.

In this soundtrack, Ry Cooder does a fabulous job of portraying the highs and lows of a presidential campaign and the roller coaster of President Clinton's first successful run at the nation's most prestigious office. At times optimistic, and at times despairing, Cooder's themes in this album are profound - yet are memorable mostly because of their simplicity. The "Don't Break Our Hearts" theme is astounding, - it somehow manages to be naive and hopeful, while at the same time quite melancholy. Throw in some fun waltzes, a little bit of funk, and Camptown Races, and it's a great and varied score.

That being said, it feels rather short and somewhat repetitive. But I regularly find myself whistling these tunes. This album is at *least* worth buying it used for the $0.73 it's currently running for. Check it out!

Primary Colors (Penguin Readers: Level 4 Series)
$6.26
I found it boring and depressing. Politics as usual. This is nothing new ya know.

The people who have governed this country (heck!, the world) from the getgo have all been like this. It was just kept under wraps better. Too many leakers, climbers and journalists these days.

Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics
$13.95
Although this is hardly a brilliant novel, it makes a fine reading for us fans of politics; it was a nice light Holidays reading for me.
I liked it more than the film although it shares one good feature with the film: together with the hero/young black aid, the reader/viewer is sucked into the magnetic power of politics, ideology and personal charms...

This book is not an attack on the Clintons (although the characters are obviously based on them and their circle) because the very same political rules obviously apply in the era when educated "half-black" hero Henry Burton became president and the Clintons are forced into supporting roles.

One of the fun trivia bits - Joe Klein (a.k.a. anonymous) wrote one of the characters for Kathy Bates to portray it in the eventual film version (which she did).

Primary Colors
$21.49
Wow! Amazing talent, brilliant arrangements, great style. Selections vary from peaceful and beautiful to outright rockin' fun. The variations on "Once There Was a Snowman" are pure genius and an absolute delight. LOVE IT!