line up 1 (1980) 

- Daniel Barbe -- synthesizers

- Jay Boivin -- vocals

- Germain Gauthier -- vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards

- Jena Lebrune -- sax

- Yannick Lequinneau -- drums, percussion 

- Red Mitchell -- guitar, bass

- Germain Gauthier (solo efforts)

- Les Sinners (Jay Boivin)

- Roger Rodier and Germain Gauthier)

- Sea Cruise (Jay Boivin and Germain Gauthier)

Genre: pop

Rating: 4 stars ****

Title:  Music form the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Pinball Summer

Company: Mighty Mouth

Catalog:  MMM 19
Year: 2016

Country/State: Quebec

Grade (cover/record): NM/NM

Comments: sealed copy; reissue

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 2809

Price: $40.00

So I have to admit I've never see the cult favorite "Pinball Summer".  YouTube has the original promotional clip which makes it look like standard "Porky's" styled teens-ploitation material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2_aqkEDroc  

The movie was originally released in 1980 under the title "Pinball Summer".  Three years later an American company acquired rights to the film.  with the pinball renaissance over, the company elected to reissue the film under the title "Pick Up Summer".

Interestingly over the years  the accompanying soundtrack has attracted nearly as much attention as the film. Written and performed by Jay Boivin (formerly of Les Sinners) and Germain Gauthier, the soundtrack offered up a mash-up of '70s soft rock influences (think along the lines of Christopher Cross, Paul Davis, and Rupert Hines), with a touch of Jeff Lynne and ELO, and a healthy dose of Beach Boys influences thrown in.  The Beach Boys influences were actually funny considering the movie had been filmed in Quebec. The fact Boivin and Gauthier had previously recorded a Beach Boys cover album (1978's "Sea Cruise") probably explained much of the inspiration ...  Anyhow, this wasn't meant to be music as an artistic statement, rather music as a marketing device.   The thing is, exemplified by tracks like 'Summer Girls', 'Summer Magic', and 'Wheel of Fortune', the results were surprisingly enjoyable.  Throughout the brief set (clocking in at just over thirty minutes), Boivin and Gauthier showed a knack for crafting frothy, radio-ready pop tunes with the kinds of melodies and hooks that simply wouldn't leave you alone.  Virtually every one of these eight tracks had '80s top-40 potential. 

"Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Pinball Summer" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Summer Girls   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 4:05    rating: **** stars

if you're of a certain age (say in your 50s), then a track like 'Summer Girls' was going to strike a chord with you as a near perfect summer song.  Yeah, it was mindless, harmony-rich, top-40 fluff, but like a good Christopher Cross song, it had the kind of melody and refrain that crept into your head and reappeared at totally unexpected times.  I've actually found myself humming this one at work.

2.) Summer Magic   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 3:35    rating: **** stars

Upping the tempo and with the addition of some cheesy, ELO-styled synthesizers, 'Summer Magic' shared the same commercial sheen as 'Summer Girls'.  Yeah, the vocals were a bit unsteady - attribute it to the fact Boivin and Gauthier were singing in English rather than their native French, but there was no denying the song's catchiness.  Credited to Boivin and Gautheir, the song was tapped as a Canadian single:

- 1980's 'Summer Magic' b/w 'Summer Girls' (Celsius catalog number CLS 710)

3.) Pinball Summer   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 4:43    rating: **** stars

Hum, is it just me or is there something major funny about a pair of Quebec guys turning in their best Beach Boys impressions ?  The fact it was almost five minutes of the same phrase could be overlooked by how stinkin' catchy it was.

4.) Wheel of Fortune   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 3:44   rating: **** stars

Highlighted by Jena Lebrune's sax, the chiming guitars, and the Beach Boys-styled backing falsettos, 'Wheel of Fortune' was a sweet, mid-tempo ballad with considerable top-40 potential.  Another album highlight.

(side 2)

1.) Sally Joy   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 4:48   rating: ** stars

Written specifically to fit in the movie (it referred to one of the female characters), 'Sally Joy' was also the first modest disappointment.  Kind of a pedestrian rocker that sounded like it had been pasted together from left over parts and pieces.

2.) Voyeurs Motel   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 3:30   rating: *** stars

'Voyeurs Motel' surrounded a bouncy, mid-tempo numer with the album's darkest and most disturbing lyrics.

3.) Can You Catch Me   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 3:12   rating: ** stars

Not that it wasn't catchy, but I have a deep dislike of faux-'50s styled tunes and since 'Can You Catch Me' was one of those tunes ...  Yech.

4.) Sweet Madness   (Jay Boivin - Germain Gauthier) - 4:33   rating: **** stars

Lebrun's extended sax introduction went on a bit too long, but when the main melody kicked in things returned to prime top-40 form.   

Apparently aware that original copies of the soundtrack had become highly collectable, in 2016 Boivin and Gauthier reissued a re-mastered version of the LP (Mighty Mouth catalog number MMM-19).

Normally I wouldn't lift something like this, but on the fascinating Canuxploitation web blog  I stumbled across a December 2011 interview with Boivin.  Who would have ever thought there would be a website dedicated to Canadian "B" movies ?

Did you and Germain release music together before the PINBALL SUMMER soundtrack?

Yes, we had released an album called “Sea Cruise,” which featured a 12-minute Beach Boys medley. It was distributed in 27 countries and was very successful. This sort of set up the deal to do the PINBALL SUMMER score the following year.

How did you get involved in "Pinball Summer"?

Bob Presner, the line producer on PINBALL SUMMER, approached us about doing the music because he had heard our album. We decided to do it.  I saw it as a great opportunity to do a film score.

Did you see the film before composing your songs?

Yes, they sent me a copy of the rough cut of the film. We watched it over and over again until I knew exactly where songs should go. Of course, the director, George Mihalka, had given us specific instructions as well.

How did doing a film score differ from doing straight ahead pop music?

Germain and I are both singer-songwriters and have written for many artists. Doing the PINBALL SUMMER soundtrack was more like straight-ahead rock. We wrote and recorded everything in 10 days and it worked that way, it had that edge. On the other hand, the music we did as Jay & Germain was a much more intricate, fragile and finessed style of music.  Usually when we sit down to write a song we come up with a very rich, tempered sound

Do you have a particular favorite track on the album?

“Summer Magic” is my favourit. I think it’s just a great pop single. The way it’s been remastered now, the song just sounds so fresh.   hear every part in great detail. It just rocks!

What is your fondest memory of writing or recording the PINBALL SUMMER soundtrack?

The big buzz for me was the film’s premiere. Seeing the finished movie on the big screen made our soundtrack come alive.

Why did you decide to remaster and re-release the soundtrack?

Kier-La Janisse sent me a wonderful review she had written of the soundtrack and I thought maybe we should shake the dust of the tracks to see if they would still fly. We discovered that the album had become a collector’s item all over the world and we wanted people to hear the album at its best.

It took some research to find a copy but pretty soon we had the all the ingredients to run with it – the software, engineer, studio and a pristine copy of the original vinyl to work with. We wanted listeners to play their CDs in their cars or at home and feel as if it had been recorded yesterday. It just sounds great, even for us after all this time–we are very pleased with the final results

You can find the entire interview at: http://blog.canuxploitation.com/2011/12/summer-magic-pinball-summer-co-composer-jay-boivin/

Postscript - 

Though I've never found the 90 minutes required to sit through it, someone's actually put the entire film on YouTube.  Not sure how long it will be there, so be quick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUvwXnSqiU8