"So Far, So Good" by Sheena Easton

Song#:  2813
Date:  08/02/1986
Debut:  84
Peak:  43
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Dance-Pop, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Easton's 1985 album Do You would be a gold seller despite the lack of a major hit. It's first single, the #29 "Do It for Love," was the LP's only Top 40 entry, so the gold-level sales certainly reflected Easton's popularity at the time. As she was prepping her next album, Easton was called upon to contribute a song to the soundtrack of the Rob Lowe/Demi Moore rom-com About Last Night... She recorded this tune, written by Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow, with producer Narada Michael Walden. It would then be issued out as the second single from the soundtrack following John Waite's "If Anybody Had a Heart" (#76). While it would perform better that Waite's effort, it was still shut out of the Top 40. It would do slightly better at Dance (#32) and AC (#35).

ReduxReview:  This catchy, dance-pop tune was a little different from the more urban-flavored hits Easton had been pushing out. It sounded like it could have been a track written for Whitney Houston. It had that "How Will I Know"/"I Wanna Dance with Somebody" feel (both of those written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam). Yet this song was not quite as good as those hits and Easton, while wonderful, was not Houston. Therefore, it couldn't cut a path of its own and stalled early.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Along with this one, Easton contributed one other song to the film soundtrack. It was another Weil/Snow composition titled "Natural Love." The album also featured tracks by Bob Seger, Jermaine Jackson, Paul Davis, and J.D. Souther. Also included was a track by the New York City rock 'n' roll band The Del-Lords. Led by Scott Kempner, the band became known for their raucous combination of garage rock, country, blues, and folk; a style that would later be described as roots rock. They were signed to EMI America and issued out a 1984 debut album title Frontier Days. Their second LP, Johnny Comes Marching Home, was produced by Pat Benatar's husband/co-writer/producer Neil Geraldo. It featured the track "True Love," which was picked up for use on the About Last Night... soundtrack. Their third album, Based on a True Story, would their most critically successful LP, but it didn't result in any significant sales and after one more LP, the band would split. The band got their name from film director Del Lord. Lord was best known for directing short films featuring the Three Stooges. From 1935 to 1948, Lord worked with the Stooges on over 30 short films.

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