Anchorman Legend Of Ron Burgundy

Even if you haven't seen the movie, as long as you're a fan of Will Ferrell's comedy, you'll get more than a chuckle out of this soundtrack to his set-in-the-'70s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Specifically, what you also get is a great collection of hits from the early '70s. Regardless of what you like more -- the comedy or the music -- this soundtrack is a two-for-one deal.

In the film, Will Ferrell plays a San Diego TV news anchor at the top of his game. The character is bombastic, pseudo-intellectual and, true to the times: a guilt-free pleasure seeker. On this soundtrack Ferrell, as the mustachioed Ron Burgundy, introduces all the songs as a radio DJ would, only from his bathtub where he's enjoying a hot bubble bath, a large ribeye steak, a plate of "waffle" and a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream.

The music he talks about is a selection of hum-able, era-specific pop, rock and roll, soul, R&B and folk that shows all the sides of Burgundy's character ... from the raunchy to the intellectual to the sensitive ... and many of the tracks not only help to put the movie in historical context, but echo the decadence of the legendary "me" decade that "Ron Burgundy" so hilariously embodies.

The other great thing about the songs is that -- besides Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son" and Hall & Oates' "She's Gone" -- the songs are mostly hard-to-find smashes from one-hit wonders and lesser hits from big names like Neil Diamond, Tom Jones and Bill Withers. The funniest "moment" on the disc actually lasts over four minutes -- the length of the pathetically sad ballad by Henry Gross called "Shannon," where an emotionally overwhelmed Ron Burgundy can't resist sobbing and rambling through the whole song.

Another great moment is the self-indulgent (hey, why not?) version of the '70s anthem "Afternoon Delight" as performed by Burgundy and the rest of the cast from the Channel 4 News Team. These moments, along with his brilliant sign-off, are reason alone to pick up this disc. And the tunes themselves make a perfectly groovy time capsule.

By Todd Spencer