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Quite an unusual soundtrack from Les Baxter – not just because it's a rare one done for an early 60s horror film, but also because this presentation of the music features a handful of very long songs – rather than the usual shorter film score numbers! In a way, the music works like one long suite, divided up into a few passages – heavy on the kind of exotic scoring that Baxter was using in his key Capitol Records sides a few years before – but also turned towards darkness a bit more, as you'd guess from the setting! Instrumentation isn't far off from Baxter's exotic records – light strings, percussion, vibes, offbeat woodwinds, and more – but the phrasing is a lot more eerie – and at points, a lot more dramatic too. Titles include the short "Main Title" – plus the longer "Drop Of Water", "The Telephone", and "The Wurdalak".

A beautiful little soundtrack for this late John Wayne western – scored by Elmer Bernstein in a wonderfully expressive way – with a quality that goes way past the usual entries in the genre! There's almost a slight undercurrent of sentimentality to the music – not in a cloying way, but with a quality that seems to reference the entire history of the western with sensitive ears – in a way that the film almost seems to do with its story, as well – carrying things forward without too much drama, but this subtle depth that really makes the music special! The recording quality is excellent, and Bernstein's scoring shows some instrumental modernity he wouldn't have had a few years before – complex use of subtle elements that really comes through in the production. Titles include "Born To Hang", "Necktie Party", "Smoke", "New Money", "Surrounded", "Thickening Plot", "Billy Joe", "Train", and "Venture".

Elmer Bernstein at his greatest – working here with the best mix of drama and energy he could bring to a film score during this golden age – a perfect blend of older orchestrations and a new sort of emotion that was perfect for the 60s! The score follows strongly off some of Bernstein's best from the late 50s – and has that amazingly evocative way of setting a new scene with each new tune – an almost-visual way of putting things forward that works quite strongly, even away from the film! This great CD edition features a whopping 31 tracks in all – 21 numbers from the film, plus 10 more from the 1964 album, which offers a re-recording of the score. Titles include "Speak Of The Devil", "Forbidden Room", "New Star", "The Producer Asks For A Divorce", and "The Carpetbagger Blues".

A surprisingly great score – quite different than what you might expect for a JD film set on the mean streets of Chicago! Bill Conti's score has some very vibrant moments at times – not just those larger charts which reflect the surprising depth of this film, but also some breakout passages that showcase some of his jazzier talents – and which remind us that at the end of the 70s, Conti was one of the coolest cats to score a story in an urban setting! This reissue brings together a huge number of tracks from the film, plus some unused tracks as well – over an hour's worth of music, with titles that include "Chicago Night", "Meet Paco", "Welcome To Rainford", "Food Fight", "The Rape", "Reunion", "Calm Before The Storm", and "They Got Me".

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".

Great 70s work from Henry Mancini – a wonderfully rich score composed for The Moneychangers – an early mini-series for TV, and one that required a lot more music than the usual film project! This double-length set is filled with great Mancini moments from the 70s – some very groovy tracks that carry on his best 60s modes, some more serious passages that mark a great maturation in his approach, and a few standout 70s styles that really help add a lot to the mix! The package is a great look at this under-documented side of Mancini's career – and is put together with excellent sound, and a full set of notes that details not just the program, but the instrumental progression of the soundtrack as well. Over 2 hours of music – with tracks that include "Stay Out Of It", "Something For Miles", "Taco & Salsa", "The Snitch", "The Big Q", "An Idea/Buzz Saw", "Miles Returns", "Fade In", "White Girl Boogie/Black Girl Boogie", "The End", "The Shootout", "Alex & The Hoods", "Missing Money", and lots lots more!

An amazing score to an overlooked Mr Tibbs film – Gil Melle's mighty music for The Organization, a soundtrack that we might like even better than some of Quincy Jones' funk for Sidney Poitier! Melle got his start in modern jazz during the 50s, but by the time of this 1971 movie, he was a hell of a talent for scoring a crime/cop narrative – often willing to take a lot of weird chances with sounds and styles that nobody else might use – eerie elements that are still mixed in with just the right touches of funk and jazz to keep a mainstream ear on the course – a beautiful balance that takes this soundtrack way past any easy cliches of the time! Reedwork is especially wonderful, but there's a great way of recording the keyboards that's totally sweet too – almost a Schifrin-like quality, but a bit more complex. Titles include "Mr Tibbs", "Night Danger", "Annie Lost", "The Whole World", "Virgil's Theme", "Subway Chase", and "The Organization".

One of the more evocative Lalo Schifrin soundtracks of the 60s – music scored for a Clint Eastwood western, but handled in a mix of modes that goes way beyond the usual! About half the tracks are more familiar western fare – with the kinds of bold themes and action-filled elements that you'd hear from other composers – but others bring in some warmer, lyrical elements – and a few others turn the guitar from country twang to jazzified riffing – in ways that hit the kind of Schifrin groove we really love! This deluxe CD edition features a whopping 24 tracks from the film – plus 8 more bonus tracks, including some unusued numbers and radio spots too! Titles include "Green Worms", "Get Out", "Arizona Desert", "Coogan's Wild Ride", "Song To Julie", "Five Minutes", "Where's Ringerman", "Looking For Jimbo", and "Capture The Chief".

A western soundtrack from Lalo Schifrin – but one that features a fair bit of the electric piano lines you'd hear in some of Schifrin's best cop and crime work of the 70s! The music's not entirely funky, but the presence of the keyboards definitely makes it different than the usual western score of the time – more modern and moody! As the soundtrack moves on, it features a few more dramatic orchestral numbers – balancing out the vibe with some more traditional elements – yet even some of these still have more of a cop show sense of drama, and really showcase that Schifrin charm we love so much. Titles include "Joe Kidd", "Mitchell", "There Was A Fire", "Chama", "Arrival", "Manolo", "Vita", "Out Of Range", "Mingo", and "Point Blank".

David Shire's wonderful score to The Conversation – a subtle mix of jazz and darker sounds that's one of the best things about this incredible film! Shire's definitely one of the cooler cats of American film scoring of the 70s – and with a groundbreaking project like this, he really shows his stuff – especially given that he plays these haunting piano solos himself throughout most of the score – really beautiful elliptical lines that are a great revelation, and make us like Shire even more! There's also a jazz combo in the film – a group that includes Pete Jolly on piano, Don Menza on tenor, and Conte Candoli on trumpet – and titles include "Theme From The Conversation", "Dream Sequence", "Plumbing Problem", "Finale & End Credits", "The End Of The Day", and "Harry Carried".

Soundtracks for two great 60s Frank Sinatra films – both back to back on a single CD, both scored by maestro Jerry Goldsmith! First up is The Detective – a soundtrack we've been trying to find for years – given the way the music works perfectly in the surprisingly dark film! Goldsmith uses lots of jazzy tones in his scoring – especially trumpet lines – which works wonderfully not just for the urban location of the narrative, but to underscore the really melancholy mood of the whole movie – one of those Bullit-era cop stories that shows the overwhelming effect of crime upon the outlook of a detective. There's a few weird touches in the mix – some swirling, almost watery moments – and titles include "A New Love", "A Family Affair", "Beach Scene", "Joe", "Night Talk", "The Safe Cracker", and "The Ball Game". Von Ryan's Express is a lot more driving and dramatic – Goldsmith serving up a rich score to a wartime action thriller with Sinatra in the lead – but also bringing in some moodier elements of the type he used in some of his more cerebral scores of the 60s. Titles include "Fire Sale", "Meet Von Ryan", "The Love Birds", "A New Crew", "Dead End", "German Control Center", and "Mission Accomplished" – plus a few rare bonus tracks too!

A pair of scores recorded a decade apart – both working pretty well together on a single CD! Seven Days In May is a mid 60s military thriller – scored by Jerry Goldsmith with a fair bit of snapping snare – but used in a way that kind of bridges suspenseful moments and more war-like themes – pretty darn taught throughout the entire soundtrack! The numbers have a nice sort of resonance with each other, and really keep up the energy – and tracks include "Main Title", "Pickets", "First Sign Of Trouble", "Midnight Rendezvous", "Casey Is Caught", and "Scott Defeated". The Mackintosh Man sounds quite different, and provides a great change of pace after the tenseness of Seven Days In May – a slightly whimsical score penned by Maurice Jarre for an overlooked early 70s spy thriller with Paul Newman – handled with this great main theme that's provided in a number of different variations – almost a jaunty number, with echoes of Italian modes of the time, but almost more comedy than spy! The pace and instrumentation changes a bit from track to track, but this great theme repeats often – and titles include "Postal Thief", "Meeting In Prison", "Escape Route", "Drugs For Rearden", "Party 2", "Loose Talk", and "Rendezvous With Wheeler". Features some bonus tracks too!

A terrifying comedy score from Les Baxter – one penned for a mid 60s film that starred Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff! Baxter's music has just the right twist to fit the title – and really matches the tongue-in-cheek images on the screen – the right sort of drama for a spooky film, but often given these sprightly little touches that shade the scene with a nice degree of humor too! Instrumentation has all the key hallmarks of Baxter's exotic orchestrations from the Capitol Records years – and titles include "He Is Not Dead", "Play It Straight", "The Axe", "Hearse Of A Different Color", "A Tisket A Casket", and "Two Birds".

A pair of great Jerry Goldsmith soundtracks – back to back on a single CD! Shock Treatment is a soundtrack that's as great as you might guess from the title – penned for a psycho-thriller, and done with a slight bit of "shock" in the music – not really electricity, but these odd tones that have a cool spacey feel at the best moments – similar to some of the ways that Goldsmith could work real magic with acoustic instrumentation on some of his sci fi scores. Even the more standard passages are pretty great – tense, and a real cut above the usual of the time. CD features bonus tracks added to the soundtrack – with titles that include "Broken Glass", "Home Work", "Night Scene", "Nelson's Seduction", "Another Treatment", "Hot Money", and "Nelson's Escape". Fate Is The Hunter has a decidedly different feel – kind of cool and gentle, almost watery at times – with an undercurrent of jazz that almost reminds us of some of Johnny Mandel's best soundtracks of the time! Titles include "Forest Scene", "Night Scene", "Moon Fish", "The Room", and "Fate Is The Hunter".