Soundtracks Anybody?

The name reminded me of this gem:

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Love that compilation - it’s got some of my fav Italian composers on there. And that label I’m a fan of also. It’s got some very interesting albums, b-grade movie soundtracks & some different ‘easy-listening’ albums, amongst some funky compilations & more!

:sunglasses:

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Ennio Morricone
The Thing (1982)

Nope this isn’t John Carpenter…

Thing

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Burt Bacharach
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

I do like Burt - but I’m not a great fan of this short release, even though it seems to have gotten positive reviews over the years.

Burt

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The 1960’s original ‘Marlboro theme’ in a wonderful sounding recording by Phoenix Symphony Orchestra… a classic.

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Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips


Mistress America (2015)

Dean & Britta

A gleaming electropop score by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips gives you a sense of teetering on a merry-go-round (New York Times)

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Like most Telarc discs this sounds really good. Sort of a greatest hits for movie soundtracks.

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Kamasi Washington
Becoming (2020)

I like his work as a jazz saxophonist (mostly tenor) & composer. HIs 2018 release Heaven & Earth was one of the better releases of any genre that year. A few years earlier The Epic was indeed aptly titled. This however certainly misses the mark as mere ‘soft’ jazz.

Kamasi Washington

Curtis Mayfield
Short Eyes (1977)

If you like Curtis’ work - you will like this!

His vocals as sweet as ever, with some excellent lead guitar, fine percussive work & top-notch funky moments as one would expect. I suspect this suffered as likely any soundtrack wouldn’t be reviewed favourably if one always looked to Superfly as the benchmark, rather than review the album on its merits.

Curtis the cameo actor:

Curtis

This is the 2011 soundtrack album to the documentary film about the activity of ECM records’ famous producer Manfred Eicher. As such, it is sorts of a sampler of the ECM catalogue, and maybe a nice way to discover new music for those who are new to ECM’s progressive Jazz, world music and advocacy of new ‘classical’ chamber music. It is a worthwhile and beautiful listen in its own right.

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I don’t think I’ve seen this doco & would love to catch up with this. When one thinks how Manfred has produced every single release on the now vast high-quality catalog; it really is some achievement.

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I haven’t seen this film, either. Would be nice if it were available online… The DVD is on Amazon for $14.50.

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Various Artists
Notably:
Jack Nitzsche Krzysztof Penderecki (Track 1)
Krzysztof Penderecki (3,4,6)
Lalo Schifrin (8-10)

Exorcist (1974)

Unfortunately, I don’t think this release can genuinely stand on its own. It is a soundtrack where the images are crucial and the music is there to add tension.
Exorcist

Ennio Morricone
Exorcist II (1978)

I quite like this release mostly due to it being rather interesting.

Exorcist II

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Ennio Morricone (Composer)
Bruno Nicolai (Conductor)
Il Clan Dei Siciliani (1969)

This album is rather deceptive & through changes to a continuing theme such as by tempo, instrumentation, etc is a subtle & pleasing listen, for what otherwise may too quickly be dismissed.

I have seen this album sold as a double disc with Citta Violenta. For any remaining cd buyers - that would be a nice find & solid addition to a Morricone collection.

EM

As for the film - well it’s Alain Delon; iconic French sex symbol (including affairs with Romy Schneider, Nico et.al.) & actor, in a pretty average film. He was in a few French hits, made numerous attempts at Hollywood which mostly fizzled & essentially was a tireless actor that lived off his infamy (including death scandals). His career began in the late 50’s with his final film to date in 2012, acting in over 80 films!

Note:
For anybody interested…he is now 84, living in Switzerland (he’s lived there since the late 90’s), but most importantly is currently single. :star_struck:

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Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Wind River (2017)

I really like this soundtrack - essentially I’d say file under neo-classical, yet with occasional vocal snippets & more, it’s not that straightforward. The themes, tone, and movements mirror the isolation in this quality film very well. The stringed instruments haunt and almost torture the listeners at time…

In simple terms, there’s not a great deal to discuss here, for much of this soundtrack is built upon a handful of repeated motifs, structured within vignette-like passages which ebb and flow in melancholy fashion. Yet, just like on Skeleton Tree , this melancholia is not used gratuitously, bathed in for its own sake; Cave and Ellis’ arrangements, sparse and spacious, move between moods with impressive tonal agility. Every stroke is expertly measured, every mantra passionately intoned (Luke Cartledge)

Nick and Warren

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Howard Shore & Metric
Cosmopolis (2012)

Metric have collaborated with award-winning Hollywood composer Howard Shore on the score for the David Cronenberg film. Shore has scored virtually all of Cronenberg’s films to date, and though his bread and butter is conventional orchestral themes (he won an Oscar for his work on Lord of The Rings), he’s not afraid of experimentation…The soundtrack also features a track called ‘Mecca’, performed by Somali singer/rapper K’naan.

Howard

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So much great stuff in this thread plus many for me to check out! It’s unlikely to ever make the pantheon of greatest ever soundtracks/ scores but over the years I’ve listened to this a good number of times:

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Glad someone got Halloween III in here. It gets way less attention than it deserves because the film itself was never that successful but it’s the best score Mr Carpenter ever worked on IMHO.

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Lalo Schifrin
Brubaker (1980)

Whilst I’m a big fan of Lalo’s work this is unfortunately not his best as a standalone piece of music. This sums things up rather well:

Though the soundtrack succeeds in evoking the setting very well as well as convey the suspense and tension of the scenes, the music itself lacks thematic cohesiveness. While the individual pieces work well for the moments within the film, they do little to unify the overall work. Much of this comes from the fact that the pieces, though solid and competent, are simply not that memorable - one would be hard pressed to recall the Brubaker theme months after seeing the movie. (Glenn Mclalan)

Brubaker