Soundtrack Iron Eagle

Some incredible songs are on the Iron Eagle soundtrack, and even more so, NOT on the Iron Eagle soundtrack. For some reason, Eric Martin's Eyes of the World and Rainey Haynes Old Enough to Rock and Roll are NOT on the album. Not really sure why. But overall, Iron Eagle is an intense soundtrack.

Updated Oct 28 2022

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Iron Eagle Soundtrack album cover — Iron Eagle Soundtrack

Iron Eagle Track Listing

One Vision - Queen
Iron Eagle (Never Say Die) - King Kobra
These Are the Good Times - Eric Martin
Maniac House - Katrina and the Waves
Intense - George Clinton
Hide in the Rainbow - Dio
It's Too Late - Helix
Road of the Gypsy - Adrenalin
Love Can Make You Cry - Urgent
This Raging Fire - Jon Butcher Axis
Old Enough to Rock and Roll - Rainey Haynes
Gimme Some Lovin' - Spencer Davis Group
Eyes of the World - Eric Martin
We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner
There Was a Time - James Brown

The Iron Eagle Soundtrack (1986) features Eric Martin, Adrenalin, King Kobra, Queen, Spencer Davis Group, and Rainey Haynes. NEVER SAY DIE, IRON EAGLE!

Doug takes many roads in Iron Eagle, and almost all of them are aeronautical. Thus, hence, concordantly, taking the Road of the Gypsy is to take to the air. I presume.

Note - we need to see if Mike Hsu will play more Iron Eagle songs on 100.1 The Pike.

Is King Kobra's Iron Eagle (Never Say Die) THE theme song to the movie?

Yes and no. By all rights, it should be, and purists (Pants?!) would be probably argue as much. But if you were to catch me on the street and ask me to name songs off the Iron Eagle soundtrack, I am immediately going to Eric Martin's Eyes of the World.

Why? Because it's in the scene that is every 80s child dreams about. It's quite evocative, let me paint it.

Here I am, jr. Fizz, paperboy extraordinaire, riding around on my black Haro bmx. I'm simultaneously channeling the spirits of 80s movie gods, Cru Jones (Rad) and Doug Masters, because I'm doing 27mph downhill, whipping Boston Globe's at front doors, garages, and potted plants like the arcade version of Paperboy itself, with my trusty walkman taped to my leg, blasting Eric Martin's Eyes of the World and thinking that my papers are like the hades bomb and maverick^* missiles and that customer's pets are my desert targets. Only I had no Chappy ...

* to note, that isn't a Maverick/Top Gun reference, no, Top Gun came out after Iron Eagle in 1986.

Anyway, where were we ...

Ahh, yes, you may know Rainey Haynes "Old Enough to Rock and Roll" from the scene where Doug flies The Snake against Knotcher.

In honor of Johnny Lawrence watching Iron Eagle on Cobra Kai, we drop this Hades Bomb of Iron Eagle soundtrack knowledge on you.

Interesting fact, Basil Poledouris's score for the 1986 film, Iron Eagle: Original Motion Picture Score, didn't come out until 2008. You may know his name from his other fantastic works - Conan the Barbarian (1982), Red Dawn (1984), RoboCop (1987), and The Hunt for Red October (1990).

But, Iron Eagle being an 80s action flick places the score behind the rock tunes, which makes remembering Basil's score a bit tough.

Iron Eagle Original Motion Picture Score album cover — Chappy and Doug *still* looking tough!

Tracks 11-16 not on the actual Iron Eagle soundtrack album, but they were in the movie. Lame. Just put them on there.

Iron Eagle soundtrack notes

One Vision - Queen

Whoa, Queen! Didn't expect Queen to be on an 80s soundtrack, especially something like Iron Eagle.

Brian May just doing his thing with huge riffs. Can't go wrong with the vocals either. Love the vocal harmonies. Gosh, they are so talented. Why can't rock be like this today? Man, rock sucks today.

PS - The extended version gets real percussive. Why? Cause they could. They are Queen!

PPS - Other than Freddie Mercury and Brian May, does anyone actually know the names of the other guys in the band?

Iron Eagle (Never Say Die) - King Kobra

The titular track of this album, Iron Eagle by King Kobra is still a good song. Bitchin' keys intro. This song could have been on the Rocky IV soundtrack.

NEVER SAY DIEEEEEEEE!

Chappy doesn't like weak links, btw. Basic 80s solo ... slow, then random fast tapping, just cause. HUGE breakdown dive bomb with wailing harmonic ... just tickles me.

Gotta love Louis Gossett Jr. showing up in the music video (above).

These Are the Good Times - Eric Martin

Eric Martin (Mr. Big) is an incredible vocalist. This song exudes 80s fun. Not too hard, not too soft, not quite a power ballad, it's got a Feelgood Fiasco vibe. If I close my eyes, I can see the best moments of my life pass by listening to this song.

The solo isn't Paul Gilbert (also Mr. Big) worthy, but, it's serviceable none-the-less.

"She tells me we can still dance in the rain" slays me. Not sure why.

Same with "She makes everything riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight"

... dude can hold a note.

Maniac House - Katrina and the Waves

Not exactly Walking on Sunshine. Yet still, Katrina and the Waves come in hot with a blues bar grinder. They totally Slave to the Grind this song compared to Walking on Sunshine. To "Slave to the Grind" something is to follow it up MUCH harder the second time.

Intense - George Clinton

Like Queen, didn't see the King of Interplanetary Funk descending on (Hartford?) the Iron Eagle soundtrack. Typical Clinton with drawn out "Ohhhs" and a rippin' bass line. Super rippin' actually. I honestly forget where this comes in in the movie.

Hide in the Rainbow - Dio

THERE HE IS! It's RONNIE JAMES DIO!!!!! Holy smokes.

He's got some Gary Wright "Dreamweaver" opening organ playing. Then METAL. ALLLL METAL. MOLTEN LAVA METAL.

OOOOOH OH HIDE IN THE RAINBOWWWWWW!

The producer of the Iron Eagle soundtrack took WAY more chances than the Rocky IV producer. Dio to Katrina and the Waves is a MUCH larger genre gap to cover than Survivor to ... Survivor.

It's Too Late - Helix

Who are these guys?! Typical 80s riff. Typical 80s vocals. Typical 80s lyrics. Waiting for the value prop. Eh, decent filler tune. How's the solo?

An ok buildup. Relies on some basic tricks. Eh, nothing to write home about. Helix is probably the producer's brother or something.

Road of the Gypsy - Adrenalin

Plays a pivotal role in the movie. Dig the double intro to the song, first on guitar, then synth with tempo'd bass. The vox have got a harder, Mike & The Mechanics/John Parr thing going. You can always tell how the band is positioned by the instruments ... cause there is the sax solo.

Adrenalin doin' their best to give young Doug Masters confidence!

Love Can Make You Cry - Urgent

Another who are these guys?!

Oh snap, here is the random emotion wailing guitar to start this REO Speedwagon ripoff of a song. Gosh, this is cheese. If you want to point to one reason why the Iron Eagle soundtrack isn't a 10/10 ... it's this. I have nothing left to say on this matter.

This Raging Fire - Jon Butcher Axis

Solid tune. The intro has me ready for ass-kickery. No way Doug Masters fails, just based on the intro to This Raging Fire. The music is clearly better than the lyrics.

Fires, motifs of loneliness, burning for you, all the cheese of the 80s. Shades of St. Elmo's Fire ... perhaps some creative lifting?

Tasty guitar licks though. NICE sax work ... there is a caress to the sax.

Pants, don't be mad that I just used caress and sax together.

OH wow, back to SICK tone from the lead guitar. Well done Jon Butcher Axis.

Ok, it's a good enough to conclude a really good soundtrack.

Songs in the movie, but not on the Iron Eagle soundtrack

Old Enough to Rock and Roll - Rainey Haynes

Oh man, I loved this tune as a kid. Still do. It's just such a happy, outrageously fun song.

If this were the 80s, I'd say something like this broad has pipes! But that's disrespectful to Ms. Haynes. Yet still, what a talent!

As Chris from Bulletproof Action posits, your life will be forever changed after watching Iron Eagle. Ours certainly was.

His review of Doug flying The Snake against Knotcher is most triumphant. And, just dynamite analysis of Knotcher and his crew's attempted murder of young Doug Masters. A Charlie and Emilio golf clap to you, good sir!

Packer even thinks it's funny, "I wonder what a Cessna looks like splattered all over those rocks."

Keep jammin' to the tunes cause she's zoomin'!!!

Gimme Some Lovin - Spencer Davis Group

A rock song amongst rock songs. Covered a thousand times by a thousand bands. In a million movies. The riff is spectacular. Bassist Muff Winwood (really) boasts that the song took a half hour, start to finish.

Sure.

As an aside, it really is an awesome tune. I rank it up there with Shotgun by Junior Walker and the All Stars.

Eyes of the World - Eric Martin

Love Eric Martin and his insane pipes, he makes it sound so easy.

How does this fit into Iron Eagle? Chappy forces Doug to shut off Eyes of the World and everything goes to hell. Dude can't bomb* his targets. So what does Doug do? Throttles up, does it his way, turns the song back on, and smokes target after target.

Much like Chris (Bulletproof Action) examining The Snake and Knotcher's motivations, The Deja Reviewer highlights how the climax of Iron Eagle is about two jets taking on a whole country. Wild, considering one of the pilots gets rewarded for breaking every military code/law in the book, and the other isn't even a member of the air force.

Anyway, this solo is also a bit lacking without Mr. Gilbert. But it doesn't need to be first class for this song cause Martin's vocals carry the song completely. I'd murder a baby chinchilla for his golden pipes.

Amazing fact: Really, someone mapped out Doug's ammo usage in Iron Eagle. Tyler Rogoway (The Drive) wrote the article, "A Definitive Audit Of How Many Weapons Doug Masters Launched From His F-16 In Iron Eagle."

I ... I don't know where to start. This is incredible. I loved every second of this and recommend you read it.

Tyler, thank you. Thank you so very much.

We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister

Not sure there is anything to say. Twisted Sister belts out their 80s hair metal staple. Moving along. Everyone knows the words, everyone can sing the breakdown, everyone can hum the solo.

Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner

Big wheel keep on turnin' ... on to the next song.

Not before we address the duality of Proud Mary. The fast part is just so much better. The backup singers, the brass, the thrumming bass make it fantastic. Oh yeah, and the screechy vocals.

Tina Turner was all over the 80s.

There Was a Time - James Brown

The hardest working man in show biz shows up again on the Iron Eagle soundtrack. After ruling Living In America on the Rocky IV soundtrack, Sir James goes back at it with There Was a Time.

Great strumming pattern on guitar. You could get lost in it.