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As a story, “The History Boys” makes for a pretty good play, and an artistically successful movie. Unfortunately, I’m reviewing the soundtrack, and that’s another story entirely.
The movie/play storyline takes place in the early ‘80s, so naturally, the lion’s share of the soundtrack is extracted from that era. The band representations are good and at times, even surprising; you’d expect to see New Order, the Pretenders, Echo & the Bunnymen and the Clash in a mid-eighties period piece, but adding Aztec Camera (“Walk Out to Winter”) and Pigbag (“Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag”) are an inspired touch.
While the band selections are spot-on, the tracks leave a bit to be desired; the Clash are represented here by the lame ‘dub’ version of “Rock the Casbah”, entitled “Mustapha Dance,” and the Pretenders track is their Christmas tune, “2000 Miles.” Worse, these recordings are interspersed with tired reproductions of Tin Pan Alley tunes, such as “Bewitched” (which appears twice) and “Bye Bye Blackbird.” The result is, at best, uneven and inconsistent. If you love the movie, you’ll enjoy the soundtrack. Otherwise, simply rent the DVD.
Grade: 
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