The shape of things to come

After hearing the Target commercial last night ( and hearing from my friend in Cali who thought we were the only people in the world to see the movie and know the music) I had to dig out the soundtrack LP. Shape of Things to Come was performed by The 13th Power written by Mann-Weil Screen Gems - Columbia Music, Inc.

After catching the Target ad, I dug out my Max Frost and the Troopers 7" single and listened to both sides (the other side is Free Lovin). Max Frost and the Troopers was a studio group with Paul Wybier as the lead singer best known for the 1968 protest song, "Shape Of Things To Come." Don't know if this helps, but the writing credit for Shape of Things to Come is Barry Mann - Cynthia Wail. Free Lovin' is credited to P. Wibier - G. Hemric. Both sides produced by Mike Curb for Sidewalk Productions. The song is actually on the Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 cd set available here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/samples/B00000AFWZ/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/102-4240849-8720911?%5Fencoding=UTF8#disc_1

I too was surprised to hear that song after so many years. I saw the movie, Wild in the Streets, in the theatre and loved it and it really made an impression on me. It is neat that the old songs (even those not so familiar) are coming back around.

This film came out the same summer I graduated from high school. I had a friend that saw the movie, and he explained that the song came from this movie. He raved about the movie, but I did not get a chance to see it, and this was decades prior the development of video rentals. I really liked the song before that, which was at least moderately popular and got a fair amount of air play on the lame Top-40 typical AM stations of the day. It probably got an additional boost from its themes of rebellion and mistrust of anyone over 30, which certainly fit the times (protests against the vietnam war were really gaining momentum by then, for those who are too young to remember).

I ran across a reference to the movie a few years ago and was able to track down a VHS rental copy and finally watched it, mainly to hear the song again but also to satisfy my curiousity about the film itself. While interesting, I can't understand why my friend thought it was so good at the time. I chalk it up to the adolescent instinct to break free of parental restraints and acheive indepence.

From the comments on this board, there must be a lot of us out there that loved the song when it originally came out but figured it quickly faded into oblivion. I don't remember hearing anything about the group that recorded it, and am sure they didn't produce anything that even approached this song's modest commercial success. Glad to see it is being resurrected, even if for a Target commercial!

The first time I heard the Target commercial I yelled "TROOOOOOOPS!!!" lol My husband thought I had lost my mind.

The Ramones also covered this song, and before that another band that I can't recall. I remember being surprised and delighted to find it buried as an album cut when I was browsing a friend's record collection in the late 70's. Unfortunately I don't remember the band, the name of the album, or what year it actually came out (it was an old record when I spotted it). But to me the version in the film will always be the best.

This movie was a very memorable experience for me. I was about 10 or 11 and I had been allowed to go to the movies alone to see a King Kong flick, and this was the second feature. I was so blown away by it that I sat through Kong again so that I could watch Wild in the Streets a second time. I had never seen or even thought of a movie like this one, it was my introduction to the "psychedelic scene". Drugs, rock and roll, questioning authority, defying parents, and young people running the world. And they showed people HAVING SEX, right there in front of me on the movie screen! I felt like I grew up that night, from a little kid who only wanted to see the giant ape movie, to a young adult who was hip and aware and concerned about the world. hahahahaha Yes, I was soooo mature! I immediately started trying to dress and act like a hippie, or at least a child's concept of what I thought that would be like. Whether or not the film had any real cultural value, it actually changed my life.

Yeah, I think it's high time this came out on DVD! I have seen the VHS available on eBay frequently either as a used rental or a bootleg, but a DVD would be great. Too bad we've lost Pryor and Winters as their commentary would have been worth hearing.

Thank you guys for the usefull information, I think the Rammons and other garage punk bands covered this song

IT WAS MAX FROST AND THE TROOPERS

Max Frost and the Troopers did the original. The Ramones did a kick-ass cover.



-We are all of us in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars