John Carpenter mix-tape (2013)

Another mix I have been working on. A little tribute to the musical works of the great John Carpenter. I have been a fan of his since I first saw Escape From New York at the age of 11 and its iconic opening theme that stuck in head. Below is a mix I put together featuring my personal favourite moments from a variety of the masters best films. Feel free to download and share.



On another note, Mediashite has deleted my account thus deleting the entire content of this blog and the past 5 years of posts. At the moment I'm not really sure what will happen to the blog but while I look at new hosting sites, if there is anything you want re-upping then drop me a line.

Roy Budd - Get Carter OST (1971)

In 1971, Mike Hodges released the seminal, British crime flick, Get Carter. It divided opinion and suffered somewhat due to the declining interest in the British film industry as well as the amoral approach and attitude of Michael Caine's Jack Carter.

Its a great film. Its nasty and gritty, plenty of violence and just the right amount of nudity needed in any revenge film. Allegedly Mike Hodges only had £450 to spend on a score. In steps British jazz musician Roy Budd. Working with only three other musicians, Budd created the perfect jazzy accompaniment to Carter's violent investigation around the Newcastle underworld. Often imitated never bettered. here you go.

Roy Budd - Get Carter

Herbie Hancock - Death Wish (1974)

RIP Micheal Winner. A big man that said what he thought oblivious to how it would be construed. He made quite a few stinkers when it came to movies but also some pretty solid fare as well. The Mechanic, The Sentinel and the urban revenge classic Death Wish. Below is the score by Herbie Hancock. A fine example of Hancock's electric style showing restraint and being applied to tense, dramatic scoring.

Herbie Hancock - Death Wish OST

Goblin - Tenebre OST (1982)

Though often credited as a Goblin record, Tenebre is really a soundtrack composed by three former members of the Italian, prog-synth, rock freak out act. Once again working with Italian master Dario Argento, Simonetti, Pignatelli and Morante crafted a sturdy mix between the well known Goblin keyboard heavy sound and something approaching the more standard guitar based work that was popular at the time ( in all honesty the track "Lesbo" could have been omitted, it sounds like the theme tune to a dreadful beach set surf cop film/TV series). The film itself is one of Argento's most under rated efforts. As much as Suspiria and Profondo Rosso are well crafted classics, Tenebre holds a certain charm and nastiness about it. Goblin's iconic title track has one of the catchiest refrains going, I dare you not to be humming it after only a few listens. French dance gang Justice covered/sampled/homaged it on the track Phantom, off the "cross" album.

Goblin - Tenebre OST

Jerrold Immel - Megaforce OST (1982)

A fixture of my youth. Megaforce is probably one of the tackiest and mindlessly stupid movies you will ever see, but as a child, it was also the most awesome movie. A secret military force who use flying motorcycles, laser tanks, colour changing camouflage and the sort of wisecracks that even GIJoe avoided. What wasn't awesome about all this. 

The film was directed by ex-stuntman Hal Needham. The man responsible for Smokey & The Bandit, Cannonball Run, Hooper and 80's BMX classic Rad. It starred his stuntman buddy Barry Bostwick (pictured left), Coney Island Warrior Micheal Beck and the unstoppable Henry Silva. The soundtrack was handled by Jerrold Immel, a regular in TV soundtracks, having been responsible for the TV version of Logan's Run and most famously, Dallas.

Immel pulls a pretty sweet score out of the bag for this one. Based on the simple premise of uplifting motifs to represent the good guys and sinister orchestration to represent the bad guys, Immel utilised a heap of electronic organ and synthesiser equipment to replace the usual brass and string accompaniment.

All that aside its a solid piece of electronic drama. Get it downloaded.....

Jerrold Immel - Megaforce OST

Blazing Magnums - Eurocrime Mixtape

Here is something I put together for a friend's birthday recently. Fans of Eurocrime, Italian cinema and 1970's amoral Police procedure movie's should hopefully enjoy it. Evoking the spirit of Henry Silva and Franco Nero and creating the perfect soundtrack to your next rooftop chase.



Lalo Schifrin - Harry's Creed 
John Saunders - Gunman 
Franco Micalizzi - Folk & Violence 
Brian Bennet - Drama Montage 
Ennio Morricone - Un Amico 
Franco Micalizzi - Affano 
Goblin - La Via Della Droga 
Keith Mansfield - Jagged 
Dave Gold - City Police 
Franco Micalizzi - Criminal Gang 
Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - New Special Squad 
Franco Micalizzi - Dark Suspense 
Lalo Schifrin - Scorpio's Theme 
Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Life Of A Policeman 
Franco Micalizzi - Running To The Airport 
Guido De Angelis - Goodbye My Friend

John Farnham - Savage Streets OST (1984)

Linda Blair never really had the career she deserved. I mean, having your first major role as a possessed child who shrieks about sucking cocks in hell and crawls across ceilings may not have really paved the way towards a glittering ascension to Hollywood A-list status but it certainly gave her enough cred to make a string of low budget and mostly sleazy films throughout the 80's. Lots of female prison movies.
Savage Streets was another in the long line of "urban revenge" films that followed in the wake of Death Wish and Taxi Driver. Of course it doesn't possess any of the class or social commentary of these two giants of vigilantism but it does possess enough sleaze to qualify as a worthy watch.
Alongside many shower scenes and some pretty sweet harpoon-in-gang-member action the film features an early soundtrack outing for portly, Aussie sleaze muffin John Farnham. The master behind 80's jams for both Rad, Transformers and the single "You're The Voice". Farnham's contributions take up the majority of this album and are as solid as we have come to expect from the man. In fact its pretty much a John Farnham album. Of interest, an early version of the track "Nothings Gonna Stand In Our Way" is featured on here before being used years later for Transformers The Movie.
Here you go. The album was never actually released to the public other than a vinyl only promo sent out to radio stations and DJ's around the films release.

John Farnham - Savage Streets OST

John Carpenter - Escape From New York Original Soundtrack (1981)

As far as directors go, John Carpenter is surely one of my favourites. The guy was responsible for Halloween, The Thing, Assault On Precinct 13, In The Mouth of Madness, Prince Of Darkness and the awesome Escape From New York. Not only is he unbelievably cool for creating such fine, cinematic masterpieces but he is also unbelievably cool for soundtracking ( with a few exceptions) nearly all of his films himself.
The musical influence of JC can't be denied these days. How many synth based, electro, 80's referencing bands have a little JC groove in them?
Escape From New York is known for the iconic main theme. The melodic pulsing synths and heart beat like groove stuck in my head from the first time I heard it. I am not even going to explain the film as you should be aware of it already.
You need the music and films of John Carpenter in your life.

John Carpenter - Escape From New York

Alejandro Jodorowsky - El Topo OST (1970)

Writing about the work of Jodorowsky is a task in itself. Everyone has varying opinions on his work. So instead of getting hung up on what its all about lets just enjoy the jazzy, funk, acid trip score to his Surrealist, spaghetti western classic, El Topo.

Alejandro Jodorowsky - El Topo

Fabio Frizzi - City Of The Living Dead/The Beyond Soundtrack mixtape (1980/81)

Everyone knows Goblin. Of course you do. Goblin are awesome. They are generally the first name when you think of 70's/80's Italian cinema's defining composers. Just behind Goblin ( and in no way inferior) though was the one man genius of Fabio Frizzi.

As a frequent collaborator of Lucio Fulci he is responsible, in my opinion, for a lot of the atmosphere Fulci had in his films. The theme from Zombie Flesh Eaters set to the shot of the undead shambling across the bridge into Manhattan was a pretty important image from my youth. From there, I began investigating the world of Italian cinema and horror. The first call, via the patronage of Necrophagia, was The Beyond. Closely followed by The City Of The Dead. I can safely say I have never looked back since. So to celebrate the awesomeness of Frizzi's work here are both these soundtracks zipped up. I would highly recommend the films themselves. Alongside other Fulci gems like Manhattan Baby and the afar mentioned Zombie Flesh Eaters.

Fabio Frizzi - The Beyond/City Of The Living Dead OST Mix

Queen - Flash OST (1980)

I had a nice long post written about how awesome Queen are and how this movie was one of those that I always ended up watching when I was kid after taping it off TV. But I decided against all that because its obvious Queen are awesome isn't it? Its obvious Flash Gordon is a sweet movie? So those two elements combined would be awesome? Case in point below.....

Queen - Flash OST

Ron Grainer - The Omega Man OST (1971)

A fine piece of original scoring for you today. The full soundtrack to the second ( and my personal favourite) film version of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, the Charlton Heston starring The Omega Man.
Grainer worked on a lot of TV and film music, even helping compose the famous theme to Doctor Who, and was very progressive in the use of strange sounds and electronic musical instruments. The Omega Man uses these odd effects but also balances them with uptempo, almost psychedelic rock, glimmers of folk and some very stirring orchestration to soundtrack Chuck Heston's running fight with "The Family". I won't recap the film as its been adapted four times for the big screen, my favourite posted here, the 1964 The Last Man On Earth, 2007's I Am Legend and those cheeky devils at Asylum Films knocked out their own adaptation in the same year, I Am Omega. So here you have it, one of my favourite 70's scores, a very hard to find one at that. It never got a proper release until a 3000 copy pressing in 2002 and then a general release in 2008.

Ron Grainer - The Omega Man OST

David Hess - The Last House On The Left (1972)

RIP David Alexander Hess 1942 - 2011, a very dark and intense actor responsible for many villanous roles, his most important and commonly recognised one was for the 1972, Wes Craven classic, The Last House On The Left. Not only did he turn in a suitably nasty turn as the psychopathic Krug Stillo but he also composed and recorded the psychedelic, folk inspired soundtrack. Which is here......

David Hess - The Last House On The Left OST

For further David Hess viewings I would highly recommend Hitch Hike (1977), House on The Edge of The Park (1980) and despite its patchwork editing and plot, Swamp Thing (1982) for Hess pulling, a pretty much spot on comic book villain, out the bag.

RIP Krug

Basil Poledouris - Conan The Barbarian (1982)

A true classic of cinema scoring. In fact, in my opinion, the best orchestral score to any film ever. Mr Poledouris is responsible for quite a few great film scores but I always come back to his awe inspiring composition for Conan The Barbarian. Utilizing a 90 piece orchestra and 24 member choir alongside the unheard of the, then new, Musync editing software. A truly majestic and triumphant body of music and the last ever film score to be recorded in mono for a major motion picture. Its a manly listen for sure.

 

Basil Poledouris - Conan The Barbarian

Harold Faltermeyer - Fletch OST (1985)

Faltermeyer nails it again despite only being responsible for about half of the tracks on here. But come on! Its Chase at his best. You can't argue with that. Bit by bit.

 

Harold Faltermeyer - OST