We say: Without a paddle
The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick and Heart are the familiar names on this hard-rock soundtrack. They operate below standard expectations, though, and the lesser lights - Shooting Star, Danny Spanos, Randy Bishop, Ian Hunter and newcomer Kick Axe offer very little to elevate themselves from relative anonimity.
Bishop is the common thread in Up the Creek. In addition to performing one original song ("Two Hearts on the Loose"), Bishop wrote or co-wrote four of the other eight songs on the disc. Unfortunatelly all that adds up to is a whole album of uninspired, quickly forgettable tunes.
"Chasin' the Sky" by the Beach Boys, Heart's "The Heat" and the title song by Cheap Trick all have appealing hooks but are surrounded by prattle. Up the Creek received a lukewarm response at the box office and the soundtrack gets the same here.
