Two-Lane Blacktop – You Can Never Go Fast Enough

Some said it was an answer to the commercial success of Easy Rider. Released exactly two years after the “first ever” road-movie directed by Dennis Hopper (read here), Universal Pictures asked Rudolph Wurlitzer and Monte Hellman to build a story around a journey of two friends from West to East USA, the name: Two-Lane Blacktop.
In both movies you’ll find a lot of similarities: bikes/cars, two bikers/two drag racers, two main protagonists (Dennis Hopper + Peter Fonda / James Taylor + Dennis Wilson), who picked up a hitch-hiker during the trip (Luke Askew / Laurie Bird) and are joined by a third character (Jack Nicholson / Warren Oates), etc, etc…
The only difference is the soundtrack, unlike Easy Rider Two-Lane Blacktop music is not a major actor of the movie (except the original version of Me and Bobby McGee performed by the song's author Kris Kristofferson), and no soundtrack had ever been released which is a surprise when you know that, the two stars of the film, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson, could contribute with some very good music.
So, we had to wait April 2003 to find a Tribute album to Two-Lane Blacktop this definitive road movie that I saw again on public television one night two weeks ago. It is call You Can Never Go Fast Enough; you’ll find the Tracklisting here. I was happy to purchase one copy, Yeap! A special mention to Roy Montgomery for his contribution.

More: Wikipedia and All Music or Two-Lane Blacktop Tribute Website

James Taylor - Fire And Rain .mp3
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James .mp3
James Taylor - You've Got A Friend .mp3
Roy Montgomery - Sterling Morrison Corner 10th And First 1966.mp3
Roy Montgomery - Zabriske Point (Part 1).mp3

Dennis Hopper & The New Hollywood

I remember… Billy going to the Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans… Easy Rider…
I remember… Thomas Ripley playing pool humming Dylan's I Pity The Poor Immigrant and the Beatles' Drive My Car… Der Amerikanische Freund…
I remember… a pretty stoned photojournalist… Apocalypse Now…
I remember… a father working amongst the rubbish… Out Of The Blue…
I remember… someone called Cracker in Human Highway, a fantasy directed by someone called Neil Young…
I remember… sweating while I watched The Hot Spot…
I remember… a bomber terrorist who has nothing in common with “the” Billy from Easy Rider: Speed…
I remember… the Dennis Hopper exhibition that I saw last Saturday.

The Cinématheque Française in Paris – who hosts the largest archive of films, movie documents, and film-related objects in the world – offers until mid-January a wonderful retrospective of all the works and fantasies that Dennis Hopper produced since 40 years or more: movies, drawings, photos, sculpture, and so on. Be careful, it’s a unique exhibition only made for Paris with the “invaluable collaboration” of Dennis Hopper. You won’t see it elsewhere. So, take a plane, a train, a bike and then a Vélib’ and make an exciting journey through the past of Hollywood after Easy Rider.

Did I tell you that Easy Rider changed my life many years ago? And that I gave my old LP to some lucky fellow long time ago?… stupid me!

Web: cinematheque.fr Dennis Hopper & Le Nouvel Hollywood – October 15, 2008 to January 19, 2009

The Band - The Weight .mp3
Jimi Hendrix - If 6 Was 9 .mp3
Ice-T - Personal .mp3
Devo and Neil Young - My My Hey Hey .mp3