Tina Turner - "One of the Living"

(Debuted October 5, 1985, Peaked #15, 17 Weeks on the Chart)

It's interesting how the passage of time has changed the way I look at certain songs. In some cases, life experience has a hand in that, while others are merely a reflection of the fact that I just listen differently than when I was younger. I hear things now that just wouldn't have registered with me before.

In 1985, Tina Turner co-starred in the third Mad Max film, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, which continued the saga of "Mad Max" Rockatansky, a survivalist figure from the future. Having Turner in the project allowed her to record a pair of songs for the soundtrack, the #2 smash "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "One of the Living," which played over the opening credits of the film. Both songs were written by teams that helped contribute material to Turner's breakthrough 1984 LP Private Dancer, and Holly Knight -- who composed "Better Be Good to Me" -- was the writer of "One of the Living."

As a kid, I really didn't care for either song. I found "We Don't Need Another Hero" to be overplayed and boring, and probably just transferred that to the followup, because I don't really remember giving it a lot of thought during its chart run. I was aware of the song, but really didn't pay a lot of attention to it. So, imagine my surprise several years later, when I hear both tunes in a new context: removed from the overkill of constant radio exposure and a renewed opinion of Tina Turner. Yes, both tunes are big productions (they're from a movie score, so that's to be expected), but the changed perspective on my part has allowed me to actually enjoy them now.