Soundtracks — CDs  

A really wonderful later score from John Barry – and key proof of the maturity he really hit in his music during the 80s! There's a style here that goes way beyond most of his soundtracks of the 60s – and even of the 70s – a depth of feeling and jazzy approach that's almost like some of the best vintage work by Johnny Mandel! The orchestrations are sublime – handled by Al Woodbury with a really careful balance of strings and solo instrumentation – the greatest of which is the alto sax of Ronny Lang, which blows out wonderfully on most of the score's best numbers. Titles include "Main Title", "I'm Weak", "Chapeau Grits", "Busted", "Surprise", and "Oscar". This beautiful 2CD package is filled with a huge amount of tracks – not just the 13 numbers of the original album, but an additional 47 numbers – including tracks from the film, demos, and other great bits!

Italy from the sky, served up in a wonderful 60s soundtrack from Francesco DeMasi – a really unique record that moves past most of the familiar genres of the period! The cover looks a bit cartoony, but the music is much more serious overall – yet never try or boring, as you might expect from a travelogue film – and instead touches with these beautiful scene-setting elements that also have occasional moments of whimsy – and groovy enough sounds that there's no attempt at realism or localization in the music either. A really great discovery, and a real standout in the long career of DeMasi – with cuts that include "Nebbie Sulla Palude", "Altalena Party", "Nuvole Nel Cielo", "Filessi Nella Laguna", and "Little Bar". CD has 4 bonus tracks too!

A pair of dramatic action soundtracks, both for Don Siegel films – each with a slightly different feel! The CD begins with ten tracks from the 1962 military thriller Hell Is For Heroes – scored by Leonard Rosenman with a subtle sense of drama at points – the kind of different gentle instrumental passages needed to support the diverse personality in the cast – which includes Bobby Darin, Bob Newhart, Fess Parker, and Steve McQueen! Things are pretty restrained, but in a good way – mostly that sort of tense holding back you'd get in a 60s thriller, than any over the top military moments. Titles include "The Mine Field", "Back To The Line", "Off Limits Bar", "Reese", and "Homers Disappointment". Escape From Alcatraz is a great Jerry Fielding score for a late 70s Clint Eastwood film – almost a reverse heist, given the subject matter – with the sort of brooding, tense moments, followed by bursts of action – as you'd get in a heist score. Fielding's music has a great way of conveying the literal darkness and shadows in many of the scenes on the screen – and there's a few moments that have a weird crackle, almost an instrumental sound effect of sorts. Titles include "To The Finish Line", "Trial Run", "Nosey Cop", "The Pipe", "Carpenter Shop", "Cockroach", and "Welcome To Alcatraz".

There's some great spooky touches here from Romolo Grano – including wordless vocals from Edda Dell'Orso, and moog from Grano himself – used beautifully to score this unusual soundtrack from the 70s! The main theme is an older-style Italian number, sung by Luigi Proietti – but the instrumental music really creates a different mood – and has this mix of Morricone-like horror and some French-style warmth – wrapped together nicely! Some tunes are heavy on moog, others feature piano, or solo voice – and the CD features 17 tracks in all, all with great remastering.

An amazing double-header – and a set that really adds a lot more music than we might have expected! First up is a richly expanded version of Cleopatra Jones – one of the best of the blacksploitation scores of the early 70s – a masterpiece of music that we rate every bit as high as Shaft or Superfly – maybe even higher! The music here is incredible – a surprising funky turn for JJ Johnson, who most folks know for his straighter jazz work – and like Marvin Gaye, Barry White, and others who were surprising the world with their ability to score music for a full film during the early 70s, JJ really knocks it out of the park with this one – coming up with a batch of tunes that are a wonderful mix of sophisticated scoring, creative instrumentation, and some damn funky grooves! The title cut features Joe Simon on vocals, and Millie Jackson sings on the cuts "Love Doctor" and "It Hurts So Good". The rest of the set is instrumental, and other cuts include an instrumental take on "Cleopatra Jones", plus "Go Chase Cleo", "Goin To The Chase", "Wrap Up", and "Airport Fight". This new version features 17 bonus tracks from the original film score, not the record – amazing extra music by Carl Brandt, with titles that include "Emdee", "Elevator/Cleo & Captain", "Pot Burn/Mommy/Police Raid", "Ambush", "Doodle Apartment", "Before Crash", and "Snake Crib". CD 2 features some long-lost music from the film Cleopatra Jones & The Casino Of Gold – a well-known follow-up to the original movie, but one that was never properly represented on record – making this CD set a long-awaited premiere of the original music for the film! The set features music by Dominic Frontiere – penned in a mix of funky action modes, with some slight exotic touches too, due to the location of the story. Frontiere's in his best soul/funk mode – a side that few folks realize he can do this well – and the music has a slightly different feel than JJ Johnson's Cleo Jones work, but is equally nice. Titles include "Casino Source", "Chopped Meat", "Oymia", "Les Orgie", "Fatman Stomp", "Dead Dragon Lady", and "Pool Hall Rock" – plus the vocal number "Playing With Fire". CD also features 4 more bonus tracks from Cleopatra Jones – including extended versions of the theme, and Pattie Brooks singing "Swing Down Chariot" and "Am I Blue". Great notes too – very full, with lots of photos, in the best Film Score tradition!

Some of the most whimsical music ever penned by Michel Legrand – music for two animated films from the late 70s! First up is Legrand's excellent score for a Baron Munchausen film – handled with these surprisingly deep tones at times, yet still mixed with a sense of fable-like wonder, too – a bit like his landmark score for Peau D'Ane from a decade before. Like that one, there's some nice sing-song moments here, and some more serious elements that balance things out beautifully – and trust us, the whole thing is way better than any US animated scores that were coming out at the time! Titles include "Sur La Route De Trukesban", "Recit Du Baron", "Theme De L'Aventure", "Chanson De La Sirene", and the playful vocal tune "Chanson Du Baron". Next up is music scored for an early Smurfs film – a very odd setting for Legrand, but one that he still handles beautifully! There's a handful of serious tunes, mixed in with music that's a lot more playful and cartoony – including a number of strange vocal songs, sung in goofy voices. Titles include "Hyme Au Travail", "La Flute A Six Schtroumphs", "Le Ballet De Torchesac", "Le Roi E La Flute", and "La Fete". CD also features one cool bonus track – "Building A Bird House" – from a TV special called Michel's Mixed-Up Musical Bird!