Wendy Carlos was known best for her important early experiments in electronic music – most recorded as Walter Carlos – but she had a great early 80s moment with this well-crafted soundtrack to the film Tron – a mix of her own electronics and some surprisingly strong orchestrations – recorded in a way that really shows the evolution of the Carlos' style since the early days! In fact, there's a richness to the music that may well surpass the quality of the images on the screen – which has made the whole thing a surprisingly durable sci fi soundtrack over the years. Journey performs the tracks "Only Solutions" and "1990s Theme" – but the rest is Carlos and the London Philharmonic! LP, Vinyl record album

A huge collection of later work from these two Italian maestros – material done long after their fame in film during the 60s and 70s, but with a richness that really matches those classic recordings! The work here is much more obscure than some of their famous film scores, and served up in a massive 7CD box that really fills in the gaps during these later years – bringing together work that we never would have heard otherwise, and in modes that update some of the instrumentation of previous decades, but which also reflects some greater care with orchestrations over leaner modes. The set features many tracks from each show – programs that include Tomorrow, Nel Gorgo Del Peccato, A Big Man, Passi D'Amore, Il Cielo Non Cade Mai, Quando Ancora Non C'Erano I Beatles, La Storia Spezzata, Il Ragazzo Dal Kimono D'Oro, Uomo Contro Uomo, Cinque Ragazze A Parigi, Ti Ho Adottato Per Simpatia, La Moglie Nella Cornice, Un Amore Rubato, Il Prezzo Della Vita, Vite A Termine, La Storia Di Chara, Mia Per Sempre, Addio E Ritorno, Dove Comincia Il Sole, and Sotto Il Cielo Dell'Africa. CD

A really beautiful soundtrack from the great Georges Delerue – one that maybe has a bit more staying power than the unusual film for which it was scored! Delerue brings a richness to the music that's wonderful right from the start – sliding sentimental strings at some point, right as if they're lifted from one of his French cinematic classics – blended with more dramatic action points, both stark and more driving – mixed with occasional watery moments that are maybe the best on the soundtrack. Titles include the great main theme – plus "Whirlpool", "Dolphin Hunt", "Nocturne", "The Chase", "Dummy Mine", and "Finding The Flag". LP, Vinyl record album

Not the Prince music from the first Batman film – but all those other sounds that were used in the movie, penned and produced at a surprisingly strong level by Danny Elfman – who shows the world that he's got a lot more to offer than just his previous work in the group Oingo Boingo! This isn't a rock soundtrack by a fading talent from the mainstream – and instead, it's one of Elfman's first full forays into scoring – performed by the Sinfonia of London with a richness that's given the music maybe a more enduring quality than the film! Titles include "Waltz To The Death", "Roof Fight", "Batman Theme", "Clown Attack", "Flowers", "Roasted Dude", "The Joker's Poem", and "The Bat Cave". CD

Not the Prince music from the first Batman film – but all those other sounds that were used in the movie, penned and produced at a surprisingly strong level by Danny Elfman – who shows the world that he's got a lot more to offer than just his previous work in the group Oingo Boingo! This isn't a rock soundtrack by a fading talent from the mainstream – and instead, it's one of Elfman's first full forays into scoring – performed by the Sinfonia of London with a richness that's given the music maybe a more enduring quality than the film! Titles include "Birth Of A Penguin", "The Lair", "Selena Transforms", "Cat Suite", "Rise And Fall From Grace", "The Children's Hour", and "Final Confrontation". CD

A really standout horror soundtrack from the 80s – one that's maybe got a bit more richness than some of its contemporaries, and a sonic depth that really adds a lot to the action onscreen! The main theme is wonderfully brooding – a mix of light keyboards and darker, murkier orchestral sounds, with occasional Wicker Man-like vocal moments – continued throughout in variations of a similar mode that shifts nicely as the record moves on, and the action creeps forward with a hell of a lot of tension! Jonathan Elias wasn't one of the biggest names in scoring at the time, but this work is certainly some of the best – and titles include "The Cornfield", "Dream Music", "Barn Run", "Vicky's Dream", "Attack Of The Children", "Fighting Back", "Burning The Cornfield", and "The Invasion". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty great record issued in conjunction with the cartoon version of the Harlem Globetrotters – an Archies-like Don Kirshner's co-production in which a studio band is used to provide a groove to the cartoon. A number of cuts on here are in Kirshner's straight late 60s pop mode, but there's also some other ones that get a bit funky – in kind of a Fat Albert kind of way, one that's dated nicely, with some really cool touches! Titles include "House Party", "Gravy", "Cheer Me Up", "Sneaky Pete", "Meadowlark", "Put A Little Meat On Your Bones Lucinda", and "The Globetrotters Theme". (Soul, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

Two very different films, both of which receive some mighty nice scoring from the lesser-known Italian maestro Franco Piersanti! First up is Il Nudo Del Ragno – a creepy film, as you might guess from the cover – but one that's scored by Piersanti with a surprising degree of sensitivity, and some very rich orchestrations that are very different than the stark, more electric modes being used in so much of 80s horror! There's some really beautiful woodwinds in the music, and some darker strings that echo 70s atonality from Morricone – on titles that include "Labirinto", "Omicidio", "Radio Jazz", "Budapest", and "Illusioni Ottiche". Next is Una Prova D'Innocenza, a film of a more serious nature, and which gets equally beautiful handling – with a blend of strings that can get very dark at times, almost with the richness of some of Morricone's global scores of the period – inflected with just the right dose of woodwinds too, matched by the occasional echoey piano line. CD features 15 tracks from the score – a real under-discovered beauty! CD

A rare bit of soundtrack funk from mid 70s Venezuela – a set that's strongly influenced by Italian cop/crime modes of the time, but sometimes served up with a nicely leaner vibe as well! In addition to the funky guitar, tight basslines, and jazzy horns you might expect – there's also some interesting moments that include odd keyboards, acoustic guitar, and even a violin and piano duet – used in ways to offset more familiar funky styles to really keep things interesting! The music was scored for a sexploitation film of the time, and certainly echoes the way those films were scored around the globe – but as with so much Venezuelan work of the period, there's a very special, very unique approach as well. Titles include "Malandro", "El Secuestro", "Jenny", "la Venganza", "Bajando El Cerro", "Tacarigua", and "Tema De Amor". LP, Vinyl record album

The lost early work of composer David Shire – a talent maybe best known for some of his bigger 70s soundtracks, but one who's equally great here in the 60s – but in a very different way! Much of the music here has kind of a jazz plus sort of approach – larger orchestrations, but with some key jazz elements – including some funky electric moments that preface Shire's famous work to come! There's some echoes of the styles Kenyon Hopkins was using at the time, mixed with some more conventional scoring too – but all handled with that freshness that always sets David Shire apart from the rest. There's some really great tracks from the soulful Sadbird score, including two sung by a young Melba Moore – and the jazzier elements of Secrets and Runaway are both great, next to tracks from other scores that include The Final War Of Olly Winter, Appalachian Autumn, and The Experiment. 29 tracks in all – most appearing here for the first time! CD

Way more than just a live album – as the record features material from the film of the same name – a tremendous stage performance that begins with solo David Byrne, then has the group building up as the set moves on – adding in more musicians and instruments with each new step, at a level that traces the richness of the group's sound as it emerged on the Speaking In Tongues album that was the tour that spawned the concert and the film! Because of that shift throughout, the record's way more than just a live concert – and very different than the group's previous live album too – as the performances here are markedly different, and distinct from their studio renditions – with very unusual takes on titles that include "Psycho Killer", "Swamp", "Slippery People", "Burning Down The House", "Girlfriend Is Better", "Once In A Lifetime", "What A Day That Was", "Life During Wartime", and "Take Me To The River". (Rock, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album