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REVIEW ARCHIVES: 
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Daisies / Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
Various Artists / Lubos Fiser
Finders Keepers Records

Czech New Wave cinema is a relatively fresh sub-genre for cult soundtrack collectors. To the best of my knowledge Finders Keepers is the first label to explore it, with well-documented world premiere soundtrack releases for Daisies ('66) and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders ('70).

Both films are remarkably beautiful and well worth viewing, especially as it helps to appreciate the diverse musical sounds that accompany them.

Calling the Daisies soundtrack diverse is definitely an understatement. Like the movie, the soundtrack by Jirí Sust and Jirí Slitr is a "cut-and-paste" job, jumping from classical to musique concrete to umpah to military to modern jazz to cartoon exotica to charleston to surf beat and beyond. While it's certainly entertaining in a mind-boggling way, the lack of thematic development can be maddening. However, the enlightening liner notes by Andy Votel and Peter Hames put the film and soundtrack into cultural context, which should help listeners appreciate the project's independent spirit.

Lubos Fiser's score for Valerie is comparatively straight forward, though the film certainly is not. It is comprised of pastoral orchestral and choral folk songs, passages of creepy atonal dissonance, baroque cheer, tribal drums, gothic church chants and tolling bells. More importantly, there is a genuine sense of mysticism and magic about the whole thing, which is especially apparent when hearing the music in the context of this hallucinatory film. Perhaps that's the best way to experience it, but once you have you'll want to possess the Finders Keepers CD as well.

Previously unreleased, the Daisies and Valerie soundtracks are finally seeing the light of day thanks to the eclectic crate digger Andy Votel who was behind several other releases for the label including Stanley Myers' excellent Sitting Target Jean Claude Vannier's trippy album L'enfant Assassin Des Mouches.

Notably, Valerie inspired a group of Philadelphia-based musicians to start The Valerie Project.

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Valley of the Dolls
Johnny Williams - conductor
Dory and Andre Previn - composers
20th Century Fox

Rosemary's Baby / Vampire Killers
Krzysztof Komeda
Polonia

I Vampiri / Caltiki
Roman Vlad / Roberto Nicolosi
DigitMovies

Before Mario Bava created his classic gothic horror film La Maschera del Demonio (aka Black Sunday, '60), he worked as cinematographer (and arguably as co-director) on I Vampiri (aka The Devil's Commandment, '56) and Caltiki Il Mostro Immortale (aka Caltiki the Immortal Monster, '59). The former is a macabre yarn about a mad scientist and his blood-hungry duchess and the latter a supernatural tale of ancient horror on the loose in the modern world.

These films represented the baby steps of the Italian horror moviemaking. Just as their plots were derivative of classic Hollywood horror films, so too were the scores by Roman Vlad and Roberto Nicolosi. Taking stylistic cues from the work of Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Hans Salter and Frank Skinner, Vlad and Nicolosi wrote scores informed by classical music. Strings shudder, horns groan and woodwinds shiver through dark passages and sinister moods. Palpable evil seems to be edging nearer with each tense measure, each pregnant pause.

No one will claim I Vampiri and Caltiki to be lost masterpieces of horror scoring. But there's no denying the composers' mastery of the form. Vlad finds dark magic in his monothematic symphonic score by employing eerie instrumentation — harp, celeste and organ bewitch the atmosphere around swirling strings of imminent terror.

Nicolosi's score is even eerier and uses exotic instrumentation to evoke the ancient Mayan evil wreaking havoc on archeologists. Harp, celeste and strings capture the unspeakable Lovecraftian horror, while brass evoke the resiliance of the men who must do battle with it. Percussion and "tribal" chants work hard to cast a voodoo spell, but the best tracks are more reminiscent of Akira Ifukube's music for the early Godzilla films.

Inserted between these two scores on this two-disc set is "To Mirna" by Carlo Savina from Bava's later film Lisa and the Devil ('73), featuring the incomparable voice of Edda Dell'Orso. All told, it's an intriguing set that will appeal especially to fans of golden age horror.

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Vampyros Lesbos — Sexadelic Dance Party
Manfred Hubler & Siegfried Schwab
Crippled Dick Hot Wax

Full circle. That's what it feels like to be reviewing the remastered and expanded 2006 edition of Vampyros Lesbos — Sexadelic Dance Party. Ladies and gents, this was one of the first cult soundtracks that I ever heard or reviewed. Sure, I'd already started collecting soundtracks — mostly '60s spy stuff — but this was the tipping point when my casual interest became an obsession. This platter, along with Gert Wilden's Schoolgirl Report (another Crippled Dick release), galvanized my interest in cult soundtracks.

Vampyros Lesbos — in case you just arrived at this sexadelic dance party — is a compilation of psychedelic rock soundtracks from three sexploitation films made by Eurotrash auteur Jess Franco in 1970, namely Vampyros Lesbos, Sie totete in Ekstase (aka She Kills in Ecstasy) and Der Teufel dam aus Akasava (aka The Devil Came from Akasava). Each film stars the femme fatale Soledad Miranda, who died in a car crash in '71. Because of the success of this compilation (originally released in '95 at the beginning of the lounge revival) each of those films has been released on DVD for your dubious viewing pleasure (dubious because Franco's films are notoriously shoddy in execution).

The best part about these movies is the music by Manfred Hubler & Siegfried Schwab (performed by The Vampires' Sound Incorporated). Recorded in '69, the music heard here was originally released on two rare LPs, Psychedelic Dance Party and Sexadelic. It's atmospheric acid jazz pop played with funky beats, rumbling bass lines, sitars, guitars, brass, keyboards and a collecion of rare, exotic instruments. Although it's a compilation and not an one-off original soundtrack in the strict sense, Vampyros Lesbos is the ultimate psychedelic soundtrack experience and as its groovy subtitle suggests it's also a massive party platter.

So why get another copy of Vampyros Lesbos if you already have one, you're probably thinking. Well, for one thing, it sounds better than ever. The stereo separation is sharper, the instruments better defined, the levels tweaked for maximum sonic ecstasy. Plus, there are three killer bonus tracks on the CD and five on the LP (both of the additional LP tracks appeared on the 1995 CD released by Motel Records/Crippled Dick Hot Wax, so CD owners aren't missing a thing.) The new CD tracks include the raucus "Konkubination," the acid abstraction turned psychedelic groover "Ghost or Good and Bad Onions" and the creepy sitar interlude "Psycho Contact, Part One."

Bottom line is if you loved Vampyros Lesbos the first time around you'll love it even more with the extra tracks and improved sound.

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Van de Velde: Die Vollkommene Ehe / Das Leben zu Zweit
Peter Thomas Sound Orchester
All Score Media and Chris' Soundtrack Corner

During the late '60s Peter Thomas (and his "Sound Orchester") were closely associated with Rialto Film productions, primarily for the Edgar Wallace pulp crime thrillers, but also for the docu-dramedy sex education films that were the rage during those heady days.

Sexy German film scores have resurfaced on several occasions during the past 15 years, including Diggler Records' multi-composer collection Birds Do It, Diggler's Peter Thomas sexploitation compilation Peter Scores and most famously Crippled Dick Hot Wax's Schoolgirl Report by Gert Wilden.

Now, All Score Media and Chris' Soundtrack Corner have seen fit to pair Thomas' seminal sex-ed scores for Die Vollkommene Ehe (aka The Perfect Marriage, '68) and Das Leben Zu Zweit (aka Every Night of the Week, '69) on one groovy CD. Collectors will be happy to know that, of the 24 tracks, only one appeared on Birds Do It and none appeared on Peter Scores.

Instead of presenting the two scores as separate and distinct, they've been split up and blended throughout the CD.

Thomas shows his stylistic range, from jaunty brassy pop (such as "Natascha (End Title)", "Love Maker" and "Love Sequence") and sexy lowdown groovers ("Gisele's Seduction") to languid floaters with wordless female vocals ("Teach Me, Teacher") and exotic moodsetters ("Big Love" and "Girl and Teacher"). Some rock ("Peter's Beat") and others roll ("Lord Esquire's Party Tune") and others are a bit too silly and quaint to remind anyone of sex or seduction ("The Grand Day" "Hurdy-Gurdy").

Overall, the musical arrangements have a great deal of '60s easy listening charm, favoring Tijuana-type brass, frolicking flutes, jangling guitars and crisp jaunty rhythms.

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Vanishing Point
Various Artists
Harkit

Vanishing Point is a road movie about the driver for a car delivery service who takes a bet that he can get from Colorado to California in 15 hours. Being an ex-racecar driver he exhibits a penchant for speeding and cavorting with roadside characters (hippies, hitchhikers, etc.) All this translates to colorful interludes, car chases and crashes.

So what kind of music best accompanies a road movie? Jazz? Probably not. Traditional orchestral? Nah. Bluesy rock'n'soul? You betcha. And maybe a little good time country western for the hell of it. Since the movie's music is heard primarily on a car radio, the score ends up being a collection of songs by earthy no-frills folks like J.B. Pickers, Jerry Reed, Segarini & Bishop, Kim & Dave, Doug Dillard Expedition and the Jimmy Bowen Orchestra. Not the most stellar lineup, so they throw in Mountain's crowd-pleasing "Mississippi Queen" for good measure.

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Teorema / La Stagione Dei Sensi / Vergogna Schifosi
Ennio Morricone
Fin De Siecle Media

This trio of Ennio Morricone scores from 1968 and '69 is at first sight a random selection, seeing that the films have no directors or stars in common. However, the triple feature provides a compelling snapshot of a master film composer at the height of his powers, which is reason enough for the disc's release and its inclusion in any worthwhile soundtrack collection.

The compilation starts with five, stylistically diverse tracks from the most famous of the three features, Teorema (aka Theorem, '68) by the ever transgressive director Pier Paolo Pasolini. The theme is atonal, fragmentary and disturbing. Morricone is a master of such abstract moods, because he brilliantly juxtaposes elements including strings, woodwinds, voice and percussion in a balance that brings order to the seemingly disorderly sounds.

Teorema also features infectious baroque pop that blends musique concrete elements such as wind noise with 6- and 12-string guitars, trumpets and tuneful vocals. These tracks remind one of Morricone's stupendous gifts for melody and his expert exploration and fusion of classical and contemporary music styles.

For Massimo Francoise's equally transgressive La Stagione Dei Sensi (aka The Season of the Senses, '69), Morricone busts out the fuzz-tone electric lead guitar, rock drumming and aggressive male vocals (Patrick Samson) as well as a harmonically complex brass attack for the memorable "Gloria." It's a killer cut.

The mood shifts to light and breezy on "Una Voce Allo Specchio," which features a gorgeous vocal by Edda Dell'Orso against a bossa nova rhythm, gently strummed acoustic guitars and shimmering string section. So beautiful.

Just when one thinks it can't get any better for The Season of the Senses, il Maestro breaks out a sitar backed by abstract orchestral patterns and quietly rumbling percussion. It's seems so simple — like something Morricone writes in his sleep — but the overall effect feels as mysterious and beautiful as a starry sky reflected on still water.

More rock, bossa nova and ethereal Dell'Orso vocals follow as well as creepy discordant meanderings for organ, trumpet and bass, and then — most unexpectedly — a stately waltz.

For Mauro Severino's Vergogna Schifosi (aka Dirty Angels or Shame and Disgrace, '68), Morricone unleashes more magic. The opening track for orchestra, Alessandroni's chorus and soloists Gianna Spagnulo and Dell'Orso is playfully intricate, joyous and melodically haunting. You'll want to hear it repeatedly.

It's followed by serviceable pop rock for guitar and organ as well as several tracks of wonderfully atmospheric pop vocalisms that perfectly capture Morricone's brilliant understanding of the human voice.

You'd be a fool to pass this one up. It's Fin De Siecle's best release to date.

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La Vie Della Droga
Goblin
Cinevox

Vigilante
Roy Budd
Sanctuary

Vigilante is the Roy Budd compilation for people who spend as much time on the dancefloor as they spend in an arm chair. That's not to say this is a remix project, but there are a handful of remixes here (by the "Experiences" Karminsky and Bobby Hughes, as well as Mitchell & Dewbury).

Most of the tracks are originals, coming from several scores including Get Carter, The Black Windmill, Fear is the Key, The Marseille Contract and Diamonds. Snippets of dialogue pepper the mix. The moods range from exotic to funky to intriguing to soulful to loungy.

While there are other Roy Budd comps (Buddism and Rebirth of the Budd for starters) this one differentiates itself with an emphasis on funky beats and action-oriented cues. The remixes are subtle and mix in well with the originals. All in all, it's a satisfying introduction to one of England's best soundtrack composers.

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The Virgin Suicides
Air
Astralwerks

Vivo Per La Tua Morte
Carlo Savina
Digitmovies

Steve Reeves, star of so many sword-and-sandal epics of the '50s and '60s, made his final movie in '68, a spaghetti western by Alex Burks (Camillo Buzzoni) known as Vivo Per La Tua Morte (aka A Long Ride from Hell).

Carlo Savina's fine score begins in earnest with the galloping "Go West Young Man," featuring the robust voice of Don Powell and the whistling and backup vocals of genre regulars Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni.

From there, Savina kicks up dramatic tension with surging brass, pounding piano, snapping snare rolls, throbbing bass and organ stabs. There are requisite appearances by harmonica and Spanish guitar as well.

Although it isn't likely to find its way into the top 10 spaghetti western scores of all time, it certainly gets the tone right.

In addition, the CD also presents Savina's score for Il Misterioso Signor Van Eyck, an unrelated deep sea adventure film from '65 about treasure hunters. Here, Savina delves into aquatic moods using watery organ tones, swelling strings, harp, vibe and celesta, as well as some sensuous brass.

It's an unusual double bill, but deftly demonstrates Savina's skill as a composer and orchestrator.

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter
FSM Silver Age Classics