VA - Anchorman - Music From The Motion Picture (2004)

More than just a collection of song that appear in the movie, the soundtrack to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy plays more like a block of radio programming with Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy persona playing DJ, introducing the album itself with "A Life, a Song" and introducing each song with fond memories or twisted homilies. On the album, Burgundy comes across like a mix of Robert Evans and Ferrell's Alex Trebek impression -- goofily pompous, self-obsessed, and obviously in love with the sound of his own voice. To his credit, Ferrell's mini-monologues remain engaging throughout the soundtrack, although it would have been nice if they had been indexed separately from the musical tracks in case the listener wanted to skip to the music (or listen to all of Ron Burgundy's musings at once). Musically, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is more than solid, capturing the '70 kitsch of the movie with Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son," Tom Jones' "Help Yourself," and Blues Image's "Ride Captain Ride," and transcending it on Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose's "Treat Her Like a Lady," the Isley Brothers' "That Lady," and Bill Withers' "Use Me." Ferrell favorite Neil Diamond is represented by "Cherry Cherry"; Hall & Oates' "She's Gone" and "Afternoon Delight," a soft rock sendup by Will Ferrell & the Channel 4 News Team, are two more standout songs. But Ferrell is the real star of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and he shines on this soundtrack.~ Review by Heather Phares