Classic Compilation – Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album (1998)

You never know what you’ll find in a bin of $2 CDs. That’s what was going through my mind when I picked up Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album at a local library sale.

“They made a soundtrack for Sabrina the Teenage Witch?” I wondered to myself.

After looking at the track listing, which is packed with a litany of big name pop, and pop adjacent, artists, that question quickly changed to, “Why haven’t I heard some of these songs?”

Quite a few of the 16 selections on the Sabrina soundtrack were album cuts from other projects that hadn’t been released as singles, but a few, I discovered, were legitimately hard to find b-sides, and there were a couple songs exclusive to the soundtrack, as well.

Here are seven of the highlights from Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album, and lemme tell ya, they include some legendary names that may surprise you.

Spice Girls – Walk of Life

When I saw the Spice Girls leading off this album with a song titled “Walk of Life” my first thought was – I like the Spice Girls, I like Dire Straits, but please don’t let this be a Spice Girls cover of Dire Straits.

Thankfully, it is not. That said, it still turned out to be quite the musical surprise, as it’s the Spice Girls making a foray into reggae. Yes, you read that correctly, and you know what … it sounds good!

Originally only available in Europe as the b-side to the 1997 single “Too Much,” the Sabrina the Teenage Witch soundtrack was the first time “Walk of Life” was available in the U.S., which was quite the score for the folks putting together this album.

Matthew Sweet – Magnet and Steel

There are four cover songs on the Sabrina soundtrack, but this one’s the most interesting.

“Magnet and Steel” was a 1978 hit for Walter Egan, that was co-written by Egan, Lindsey Buckingham, who also played guitar on it, and Richard Dashut. With the latter two involved, and Buckingham and Stevie Nicks providing backing vocals, the original “Magnet and Steel” had some serious Fleetwood Mac cred.

Matthew Sweet’s version of the song, which was exclusive to the Sabrina soundtrack, also featured Buckingham on guitar and backing vocals.

While Sweet kept things as close as possible to the original, Buckingham added a kick ass guitar solo around the 3:15 mark that wasn’t there in 1978, and reminds everyone he’s Lindsey f*cking Buckingham.

How random is that for the soundtrack of a T.G.I.F. television show?

Phantom Planet – So I Fall Again

The only song released as a single from the Sabrina soundtrack, “So I Fall Again,” was also on Phantom Planet’s 1998 debut album, Phantom Planet Is Missing.

There are two fun trivia notes about Phantom Planet – They provided the theme song to The O.C. (that “California” song you can never get out of your head), and actor Jason Schwartzman was one of the band’s founding members, manning the drums until 2003.

This means “So I Fall Again” isn’t just a great tune, it’s also a great starting point for any game of Six Degrees of Separation involving Melissa Joan Hart.

The Murmurs – Smash

Most known from their cheeky 1994 song “You Suck,” The Murmurs were one of the names that piqued my interest when I saw the track listing for this album.

The song they have on here is titled “Smash,” and much like Matthew Sweet’s cover of “Magnet and Steel,” it involves some serious music royalty.

Co-written by Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go’s – it doesn’t get much more legendary than that – “Smash” was from The Murmurs’ 1998 LP Bender, which was a reissue of their 1997 album, Pristine Smut, with three additional songs, “Smash” being one of the new ones.

Bender, as a whole, was produced by Larry Klein (another Lindsey Buckingham connection!), k.d. lang (who was romantically involved with one of the members of The Murmurs at the time), and Matthew Wilder (of “Break My Stride” fame).

With all those big names working with The Murmurs, you know there had to be something special there.

Aqua – Doctor Jones (Metro’s 7-inch edit)

I’m sure that as soon as you saw the name Aqua, “Barbie Girl” immediately became stuck in your head, but the group didn’t just write about an iconic doll, they also wrote about an iconic movie character!

“Doctor Jones” is about Indiana Jones … sort of … and Aqua didn’t stray very far from the “Barbie Girl” musical formula when they made it. Why would they? The formula was working, and while the song didn’t make an impact in America, “Doctor Jones” was a Top 10 hit worldwide, and even reached #1 in a number of countries.

The version of “Doctor Jones” on this compilation had previously only been available in Europe, so much like with the Spice Girls’ “Walk of Life,” it was a very cool inclusion on the album.

Britney Spears – Soda Pop

There were five singles released from Britney Spears’ debut LP, …Baby One More Time, and “Soda Pop” wasn’t one of them. Perhaps this was because it doesn’t sound like anything else on the album, or anything she’s done since!

“Soda Pop” is a reggae pop song – yes, really – and it’s actually a fun, and if you’ll pardon the pun, bubbly tune.

I have no qualms with the vibe.

That said, between Britney’s “Soda Pop,” and the Spice Girls’ “Walk of Life,” I’m starting to wonder if I accidentally mind-wiped a time when pop artists were attempting to do reggae.

Where else was this happening? I thought it was just Ace of Base in ’93 with their cover of “Don’t Turn Around” (which, of course, I loved).

The Cardigans – Blah Blah Blah

I am always interested in anything by The Cardigans, so seeing them on this soundtrack immediately drew my attention. The fact that I hadn’t heard “Blah Blah Blah” made me even more intrigued.

It turns out “Blah Blah Blah” was the b-side to “Been It,” a single off of First Band on the Moon, and the only way to have heard “Blah Blah Blah” in the U.S. before the Sabrina soundtrack would’ve been via the 12-inch of “Been It.”

Internationally, there were CD single releases of “Been It” that included “Blah Blah Blah,” which would eventually find its way onto The Cardigans’ Best Of double-LP, released in 2008. It’s a great song, and I honestly can’t believe I hadn’t heard it until now.

So Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album gave me a Cardigans song I hadn’t heard, and a Spice Girls song I hadn’t heard, with some Lindsey Buckingham thrown in for good measure. That’s pretty fantastic if you ask me!

Once again, you never know what you’ll find in a bin of $2 CDs! 

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