Rare TV work from Georges Delerue – represented here in two different soundtracks! Les Visiteurs has a cool sci fi theme, but is carried out by Georges with his usual depth of sentiment – orchestrations that are often warmer than usual for such work, but with these cool moody touches that have some of the acoustic instruments echoing electric modes – in a very nice way! Tracks are short, but quite interesting – and include "Arkim Et Tolrach", "Antonia", "Zarko Chevalier De L'Espace", "Les Visiteurs", and "La Prison De San Diego". L'Homme Qui Revient De Loin is more TV work from Georges Delerue – done with those great flourishes we love so much in his work – a sense of space that never overdoes the drama, but which creates a wonderful sense of tension as you're waiting for the next notes to come! Instrumentation is relatively familiar, but used in a really great way – and titles include "Au Bord De L'Etang", "Le Fantome", "Denouement", "Generique Fin", and "Marthe Et Andre". CD

Melina Mercouri and director Jules Dassin team up once again for this early 70s dramatic film. Music is by Georges Delerue, handled in the typical style of his more serious work at the time – with plenty of dreamy touches and more dramatic moments. The soundtrack also sports a strange vocal number called "I'm Greek", with arrangements by Alan Gourager and vocals by Melina. Instrumental numbers include "Romain's First Love", "The Friend's Farewell", "Various Professions", "Promise At Dawn", and "The Arrival In France". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty sweet mid 60s disaster movie – filmed in Cinerama, and featuring an all-star cast that includes a great later Sal Mineo role! The music is lush and slightly sentimental – almost in a Rogers & Hammerstein mode, with South Pacific-y touches on the album's few vocal numbers. Barbara Werle sings the tunes "A Nice Old Fashioned Girl" and "Just Before Sunrise" – but the best number is the wonderful "East Of Java" title theme, sung by a male harmony group who's unfortunately unnamed on the cover! Other instrumental tunes are lush and mainstream soundtrack-ish – and titles are mostly variations on the 3 above-named songs. LP, Vinyl record album

2 George Duning soundtracks – back to back on one CD! Bell Book & Candle is a wonderful jazzy soundtrack from the end of the 50s – written for an ultra-cool film that starred Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart in a comedy about beatnik witches in New York! Much of the soundtrack has a cool beat jazz sort of feel to it – and many tracks feature strong solo work by Pete and Conte Candoli, who also perform a bit in nightclub scenes in the film. Other tracks have a slightly more orchestral feel, but one that's still quite light, given the nice themes in the movie – and which also features some playful bits that still keep things jazzy. Titles include "Way Out Calypso", "Send Me Nicky", "Pyewacket Returns", "Zodiac Blues", "L'Assassin Ennuye", and "Shep Shook". 1001 Arabian Nights is pretty darn groovy too – not your usual version of the tales, as the film was an animated effort starring Jim Backus' Mr Magoo character! Duning's music has some of the dramatic and exotic touches you'd expect for an Arabian Nights film – but it's also got a lot more playful ones too, in keeping with the cartoony presentation. Backus sings "Magoo's Blues", The Clark Sisters sing "Three Little Maids From Damascus", and other titles include "Unhappy Magoo", "Bar Fly Magoo", "Dream Ballet", "Crazy Carpet", and "Wedding Celebration". CD

Two different Jimmy Stewart comedy soundtracks from the 60s – both of them nice! First up is Dear Brigitte – an overlooked 1965 score by George Duning – done with a mix of the playful modes you'd expect from the story, and some of those great deeper dramatic touches that Duning used in more serious soundtracks – a really rich mixing of modes with a sound that's much stronger than we expected! Titles include "On To BBs", "The Captain", "Magical Moment", "Puzzled Cap'n", "Hey Dad", "Is It A Trick", and "She Sank". Next is an even groovier record – a rare non RCA Henry Mancini soundtrack from the early 60s – the score to Mr Hobbs Takes A Vacation, done with all the best mix of jazz and groovy elements we love in classic Mancini! Instrumentation mixes a key electric guitar melody with some lighter touches on woodwinds – really getting the most out of the melody with some shifts in timing and tone, juxtaposed with a few numbers that are even more playful! Titles include "Barn Swallow", "Something For Lauri", "Cream Puff", "Up His Nose", "A Month Off", and "Rudders & Sails". CD features 39 tracks in all – including 7 bonus tracks from the Mancini score! CD

A straight dramatic score for this 60s western that starred Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot. The style is dramatic and sweeping, and the only slightly groovy number is the vocal theme "Shalako". Other titles include "Irena", "Apache's Pursuit Of Shalako", "Lady Dagget's Desertion", "Apache's Dawn Attack", and "Pete Wells Death". LP, Vinyl record album

Part western, part Latin American – yet also filled with lots of weird and groovy touches – a compelling set from 60s Italy that goes way way way past the obvious! The set begins with an acoustic guitar over dramatic scoring, but then moves into modes that include mod rhythms, pan flute, spacey organ, and more – all spun out with a very different flavor on every different track – so much so, you might actually think the whole album's a collection of tunes from different movies, rather than a soundtrack in itself! Gianni Ferrio really knocked it out of the park with this one – and the reissue features 15 tracks in all, remastered with great sound! CD

Kind of a strange mix – half dramatic tracks with a very spare, and almost avant garde approach, by Benjamin Frankel; and half Mexican trio tracks, recorded by Los Tres Guaramex in earlier years, included here on the soundtrack. The result is a bizarre shifting between moody quiet tracks, and others with a more lively Latin-themed feel. Titles include "Maxine & Shannon Theme", "Hannah & Shannon Theme", "The Night Of The Iguana Theme", "Shannon's Long Swim", "La Llegada", "Mexicanerias", and "The Washer Women Of Mexico". LP, Vinyl record album

A drama that features John Wayne in Japan – and Friedhofer's soundtrack has that "epic" feel that he did so well at the time – serious orchestral sounds with a great depth of feeling – often through compressed horn passages over strings, with occasional touches of the exotic to signify the locale of the story! Titles include "The Palace", "The Road To Edo", "Awareness", "The Strange House", "Flag Raising", "Orders From Edo", and "Declaration". CD

An expanded version of Hugo Friedhofer's score for One Eyed Jacks – a compelling soundtrack for one of the more ill-fated westerns of the 50s! Friedhofer really moves beyond familiar stereotypes here – using offbeat orchestrations, often heavy on woodwinds and solo instrumentation, to create a nice sense of place and space – almost exotic at points, then underscored by bolder dramatic themes that build as the soundtrack unfolds. There's almost as much drama in the music as you'll find on the screen – and titles include "Seduction", "Contrition", "Toast To Friendship", "Kiss Of A Scoundrel/Pursued By Rurales", and "Finale". CD features a full bonus disc – a second CD with 27 more tracks from the original score, as well as alternates of the main themes on the first disc! CD

A mostly dramatic score to this mid 50s film that starred Alan Ladd & Sophia Loren – written by Friedhofer, and peformed here by Lionel Newman and the 20th Century Fox Orchestra. There's some nice exotic themes running through the mix – but most of the material is handled in the orchestral style of Newman's regular work. Mary Kaye sings lead vocals on the title track "Boy On A Dolphin" – and other tunes include "The Cafe", "The Dive", "Mondraki Bay", "Love Scene", "The Captive", and "The Acropolis". LP, Vinyl record album

A mid 80s film that's scored by Dominic Frontiere in a mix of modes – some lofty orchestral pieces that are positively airborne in their sound and structure, with a great sense of American pride and drama – and a few more period pieces to set the scene for the 1920s narrative. Titles include "Rabbit Hunt", "The Wolf Pack", "Saw The Fire", "Real Prize", "The Crash", and "The Forest". CD

Ron Geesin's a British arranger with a host of amazing talents – from early work in the exotica field, to a famous collaboration with Roger Waters – always handled with a mindblowing sense of sound and scope! Here, he delivers a superb score for the film Sunday Bloody Sunday – a dark-themed drama that's given backing by Geesin that's maybe even more illuminating than the images on the screen at times – as Ron captures a moody vibe in perfect ways, but also changes things up a fair bit instrumentally – which makes each new selection feel very different, even though they are unified in mood. Bridget St John sings on the track "Chemical Dreams", and plays guitar on "Motoring Sparkle" – and other titles include "Intriguing Cables", "Sky High Balloons", "Piccadilly Bustle", "Blitzful Memories", and "Affections For String Quartet". Plus, the LP also features great bonus tracks from other Geesin projects – four more tracks from a 1985 documentary on Viv Richards, and six more from a 1970 documentary on mental health, titled "Shapes In A Wilderness" – both a great match for the main score. LP, Vinyl record album

Dramatic music from the Sirk film Written On The Wind – with even cooler music on the flipside – the "Rhapsody For Four Girls In Town", with piano from Andre Previn, trumpet from Ray Linn, and orchestrations by Henry Mancini! LP, Vinyl record album

A dramatic score by Jerry Goldsmith – written for the film Papillon, a dark prison film that starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffmann. The manner of the work is similar to other Goldsmith scores of this nature – with many tense horn and string passages that underlie the mood of the film. Titles include "Gift From The Sea", "Cruel Sea", "Survival", "Hospital", "Reunion", and "The Camp". CD

Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful music for the second Poltergeist film – as equally great as the first film's score, but with some nice differences too! There's a great balance between moody electric moments and some starker, more dramatic ones – the kind of elements that Goldsmith could already craft so well in the 60s and 70s – served up here in one of his best overall soundtracks from the 80s. Slight moments of warmth keep things from ever being too unsettling – yet in the film, that's also one of the more unsettling qualities, too – and Jerry's not above some slight sentimental moments, just when the time is right. Tracks include "The Power", "The Mall", "The Dream", "Late Call", "Wild Braces", and "Leave Us Alone". 2CD version features 8 more bonus tracks – making this the biggest version of the score ever! CD

A great Jerry Goldsmith score from the mid 60s – penned for a western, but with a sensitivity that's much more like some of his best dramatic work of the time! There's some wonderful use of woodwinds and strings in the lineup – often with the sense of mature color and tone that Jerry brought to thoughtful crime scores, or some of his more adult soundtracks – including those for well-penned TV dramas. There's some acoustic guitar to provide the right western flair at times – but overall, the style is a nice change from the usual – although with Goldsmith, things are always a cut above the usual too! Titles include "The Fuse", "The Prisoner", "Smoke Signals", "Cantina 1 & 2", "A Change Of Luck", "Unlucky Lover", "River Crossing", and "Special Delivery" – plus 5 bonus tracks. CD

Jerry Goldsmith really shines on his score for this WWII action film from the early 70s – a soundtrack that draws on his best dramatic abilities, but also brings in his flair for quick changes in tone and timing as well! There's some occasional "Eastern" elements – usually a bit of koto, used to signify a Japanese scene – and other instrumentation shifts between bold orchestral passages, and these very nice low-toned ones that kind of rumble everything together towards the bottom end of the sound spectrum! Titles include "Little Hope", "The Chancellery", "The 14th Part", "Sunday Morning", "The Waiting Game", "The Final Message", and "Pre-Flight Countdown". CD also features 7 bonus tracks too! CD

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! CD

Two very playful soundtracks – both composed by Lallo Gori, who we mostly know for more serious action work! Scusi Ma Le Paga Le Tasse is from the start of the 70s, and begins with a vocal number from Franco Fanchi, but soon moves into much groovier territory with a blend of funky jazz and dreamier moments of the sort that you might be likely to hear from some of the bigger Italian composers of the period. There's occasional light piano, ala Stelvio Cipriani – and even an appearance from the Nora Orlandi singers over the course of the 17 tracks from the film. Come Rubammo La Bomba Atomica is from 1967, and the music has some slight currents of spy spoof scores of the period – that nice comedic/dramatic mix of jazz and dynamic pacing, blended with a few exotic elements too. The set features two vocal numbers sung by Elsa, and the rest of the 12 tracks from the film are instrumental. CD

We can't get enough of this stuff! Another fab collection of groovy soundtrack bits, and oblique dialogue from just about our favorite TV series of all time. This batch has more of the dramatic moments, chase scene buildups, sonic scene setting and electronic tones tied together in one long collage of mod sounds. 32 tracks in all, including "janet's Party", "European Drive", "Exploding Ball", "Poisoned Beer", "Turkish Bath", "Boxing Booth", "Attack On The Bulldozer" and "Regression". CD

Although Manos Hadjidakis' soundtrack work of the 60s is mostly in the Greek-sounding mode, this one features him hitting a bit of a western soundtrack feel – to back a drama starring Terence Stamp, Ricardo Montalban, and Karl Malden. About half the tracks are instrumentals with an orchestral feel, and the others are similar, but have slight "westerny" touches – although not as much so as work for Italian films of the same time. Laurindo Almeida plays a bit of acoustic guitar on the album – and titles include "Blue's Solitude", "The Mexicans Are Coming", "Death Of Blue", "Nocturne", "Scherzo", and "Morning After Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Earl Hagen – one of TV's better composers, as you'll hear from this tight set of tracks! The CD features a set of tracks that's greatly expanded from the original soundtrack LP – adding in lots of bonus material that has never been issued to the public, for a full package of 25 tracks that really gets at the heart of Hagen's genius! The core mode of the music is crime jazz, but Hagen also adds in a lot of dramatic flourishes and contemplative passages – and the show's exotic locales (Mexico, Japan, Burma, Hong Kong) makes for some added musical touches that bring a groovy global aspect to the work. Packaged with great notes on Hagen, the music, and the show – and with 25 titles that include "Babe With Rocks", "Stop That Plane", "The Whistle Blows", "Tokyo", "Don Silvando", and "Taxi Tour". CD

A really wonderful soundtrack, for a very gripping film! Synanon, for those not in the know, was a famous west coast drug treatment center in the 60s – well known for its work with musicians like Joe Pass, Art Pepper, and others. The hospital is the setting for this dramatic film that starred Chuck Connors, Edmund O'Brien, and Stella Stevens – and it features a very hip soundtrack by Neal Hefti, on a par with his best jazzy work of the 60s! The tunes have a swinging approach – with some nice use of organ, drawn out in a spare thin tone that snakes through the best numbers with a sexy ease. The mood changes nicely from track to track – but keeps a groovy pace that makes the soundtrack a lot fresher than you might think, given the topic of the film. Titles include "Zankie", "Main Street", "Blues For Hopper", "Hope", "Tonight's The Night", and "Open House". LP, Vinyl record album

A Sinbad movie, but one that's put together with a really rich soundtrack – possibly done with more care than the images on the screen for the film! The setting and story are a bit schlocky, but the music is actually classic Herrmann – a very powerful score with loads of dramatic finishes, countless mood shifts, and impeccable orchestrations – that masterful mode that's graced his better-known film scores for directors like Hitchcock or Scorcese, sounding equally great here. Titles include "The Flight", "Battle With The Cyclops", "The Death Of The Dragon", "The Vase", "Sultan's Feast", "Bagdad", "Cobra Dance", and "Transformation". LP, Vinyl record album

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An album with a very striking cover, but which features music done for the more warm-tinged program Mu – a 70s drama represented here by a really great range of different themes! The mix of modes is great – one tune might have a playful Fender Rhodes solo, another a more serious koto line, and another might have groovy use of sitar, or slide guitar, or other inventive instrumentation – all to illustrate the different scenes and characters in the show! There are slight moments of sentiment, but the music is never sappy at all – and in a way, the whole thing really reflects the way that the Japanese listening scene was so strongly influenced by Euro soundtrack styles of the late 60s and very start of the 70s. All titles are in Japanese, and the set is instrumental throughout! LP, Vinyl record album

There's some pretty great moments in Quincy Jones' original score to the film version of Truman Capote's chilling book – most of them in a darkly tinged crime jazz mode, with flowing, complicated orchestrations that are mixed with breakout solos, and some very strangely arranged instrumental elements – almost more in some of the territory of Kenyon Hopkins, and some of his more dramatic jazz scores of the 60s! Titles include "In Cold Blood", "Seduction", "Down Clutter's Lane", "Murder Scene", "The Corner", "Lonely Bottles", and "No Witnesses". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked, but very groovy soundtrack by Quincy Jones! The record has a mix of easy jazz and a few harder-edged themes – dramatic throughout, but with washes of crime jazz, bossa, and some floating easy scoring. Players aren't listed, but you can bet they're the usual high-level crop of jazzmen that Quincy would get for his mid 60s Mercury sides. Titles include "Dead Duck", "Purple Prose", "Boobie Baby", "Shoot To Kill", "A Shot In The Park", and "Turtles Last Lap". LP, Vinyl record album

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A pretty nice little soundtrack from a period when Columbia was sneaking out some great material in the genre! The album features tracks by Kaplan that run through a variety of moods – some are orchestral and dramatic, but there's also some good groovy numbers too – a few nice, almost bossa-inflected tunes of the type that we love to dig through 60s soundtracks for. Titles include "Cold Love", "The Beatch", "The Amphitheater", "Young Lovers", and "Bull Fight". LP, Vinyl record album

(New Age, Soundtracks) CD

Some of the coolest work we've ever heard from Polish film composer Andrezj Korzynski – material from an important movie from the early 70s, presented here in two different sections of the soundtrack, which were each made for different chapters of the film! The style is wonderfully hard to peg – a mix of orchestrations, Fender Rhodes, stepping basslines, and these light lyrical passages – often wrapped together, but in ways that are quite unconventional – as exotic currents mix with dramatic ones, but often with a slightly offbeat vibe, as you'd find in the music of Francois De Roubaix! And while not entirely like De Roubaix's material of the time, the approach here is similarly unique – very aware of funky elements, yet not overly dressed in them – and instead just used lightly to augment larger musical passages in this really cool way. Book features notes in English and Polish – and titles include "Oaza/Hamis", "Porwanie", "Chora Nel", "Nowa Oboz", "Stasiu Slon", "Pozar", "Smain", "Fatima", "Skorpion", and "Bitwa". CD

A western soundtrack, but one that's a bit different than usual – thanks to lots of groovy touches from Angelo Lavagnino! Right from the start, the music steps out with a fresh flavor – a cool instrumental theme that has a nicely heavy bottom that grooves things along – followed by a blend of tunes that range from dramatic to playful, often using some standout instrumentation that changes the flavors up nicely – a bit of ragtime piano here, some malleted percussion there, and even some echoey, abstracted sounds that are especially nice! There's way more to offer here than just the usual spaghetti sounds from the time – and the reissue package has great sound, and a total of 21 tracks that include "Allegro Saloon", "Oggi A Me Domani A Te", "Inseguimento A Cavallo", "Valzer Saloon", "La Furia Di Elfego", "Caccia Spietata", "Scoperta", and "Tensione Mortale". CD

Geoff Love galore – two instrumental albums from the 70s – back to back on a single CD! War Movie Themes features Love's recasting of famous themes from military films – including some classics from the 50s and 60s, given a slightly lighter reading here as a great device that still lets you enjoy the famous themes – yet without all the heavy drama of the original soundtrack! Titles include "Is Paris Burning", "Colonel Bogey", "Lawrence Of Arabia", "The Guns Of Navarone", "The Longest Day", and "Where Eagles Dare". Concerto Movie Themes features famous concerto moments from older soundtracks – brought back to life in stunning sound by Geoff Love, whose recordings here really make the best of 70s studio technology! Most numbers are from classical sources, but re-arranged for a famous film appearance – then recast here by Love – usually with a piano in the lead. Titles include "Warsaw Concerto", "The Way To The Stars", "Theme From Grieg's Piano Concerto", "Cornish Rhapsody", "Theme From Concerto In B Flat Minor", and "Spellbound Concerto". (Now Sound, Soundtracks) CD

One of the grooviest Henry Mancini soundtracks of the 60s – a wonderful blend of jazzy themes and action moments, and a record that's possibly better-remembered than the film for which it was recorded! The main "Charade" theme is a total gem – performed here in both a guitar-heavy instrumental version and a cool vocal version with a Mancini chorus – but the other tunes are arguably even better, and range from Euro-styled numbers to Latin groovers, to some tenser dramatic moments. The recording quality is wonderful – filled with echo and space – and titles include "Orange Tamoure", "Punch & Judy", "Latin Snowfall", "Bateau Mouche", "Bistro", and "Mambo Parisienne". LP, Vinyl record album

Kind of a 3-in-1 package – as the album features tunes written for the first 3 of the Friday the 13th films – all of them either electro-slasher type numbers, or dark and moody passages of strings – with an atonal haunting quality that stretches back to Morricone. Included is the famous "da-da-da-da-shreeet" sound of the strings in the theme – and each set of tracks kind of works as its own mini "suite". LP, Vinyl record album

Very gripping music for this early 70s Italian TV thriller – scored with a wonderfully offbeat style by Mario Migliardi! Some tracks are sweet and breezy, while others are extremely dark – some of the darkest we've heard in Italian film score work of the time! These cuts have some very unique orchestrations – and often echo a 20th century classical mode at points, sometimes with a bit of electronics – but in ways that are quite different from the atonal 70s sounds of Morricone – much more dramatic, and filled with sharp notes and fast changes – instrumentation that bursts out with an almost improvisational quality at points. The mellower tracks stand out even more strongly than usual amidst this avant instrumentation – but they only underscore the overall darkness of the soundtrack by their presence. Edda Dell'Orso and I Cantori Moderni do a bit of singing on the record – but most cuts are instrumental, and the reissue features a total of 24 tracks in all. CD

A madly grooving late 60s French soundtrack by Jean-Pierre Mirouze – and a masterful one at that – with sounds that range from a moody, dramatic vocal tune to some killer instrumental funk! The haunting "Together" opens the record in a great way – with a mystical mellow vibe and English language vocals by Barry Green. Subsequent instrumental tunes have a similarly evocative or sultrier vibe – while others such as "Sexopolis" have heavy Hammond, massive rhythms, and a totally freaked-out groove! Includes "Tivoli Garden", "Ulla Et Georgie", "Karin On The Ryke", "Lovers Party", "Tivoly By Night", "Scene Du Port" and "Tandoori Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just another anime soundtrack – as this set features dialog from the film too! (Japanese, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to believe that anyone ever took the electronics of Giorgio Moroder seriously enough to think they'd be the right setting for an intensely dramatic thriller like this – but in the decade when Italian thrillers were doing the same thing, it's kind of easy to see. And if you think of this one as a dated American soundtrack, you'll be lost – but if you see it as some groovy bit of Italian sexy electronics from the 70s, you'll find that it's got some pretty nice moments, and would fit perfectly with some of the Cinevox material from the end of the 70s. Titles include "The Chase", "The Wheel", "Cacophony", and "Midnight Express". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost 70s score from Ennio Morricone – penned for a period piece set in 19th Century Italy, and done with a driving, dramatic sort of feel! Some of the numbers here have that subdued orchestral mode that Morricone used at his most subtle moments – a style that's not as crazy as some of his other work from earlier years, but which still comes across with some nice dark edges – especially in the mellower moments. Other numbers feature violin solo work, or chorus vocals from I Cantori Moderni – not used that often, but enough to provide some nice variety in the album. LP, Vinyl record album

A cool album – featuring one side of the score to A Fistful Of Dollars and one side of the soundtrack of For A Few Dollars More! The songs are short, but tense – and mix plodding solo instrumentation with some sparer dramatic moments, creating a sublime tension that's unsurpassed in the realm of western scoring! Titles include "A Fistful Of Dollars", "Almost Dead", "The Chase", "The Result", "Without Pity", "Sixty Seconds To What?", "The Watcher Watched", "Vice Of Killing", "The Showdown", "Goodbye Colonel" and "For A Few Dollars More". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic 60s soundtrack from maestro Ennio Morricone – and a set of music that's lasted a lot longer than the film – which starred John Cassavettes in the role of Machine Gun McCain! Morricone's really coming into his own here – and uses some of the drama of his western work, blended with his growing ability to craft a simple, haunting melody – often the kind of dreamy tune you'd hardly expect to find in a movie like this! A few tense moments move into a slight atonal range – but most numbers have that cool, compressed style that made Morricone so great in the late 60s – with bits of Hammond, guitar, strings, and even some slight horns. The set's got two vocal numbers sung by Jackie Lynton – titles include "La Ballata Di Hank McCain", "Come Quando Fuori Piove", "Irene", "Defilee", "Gli Intoccabili", "Rosemary", "Come Lei", and "Sogno Dopo Sogno". Also includes a number of bonus tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

A lesser-known Morricone soundtrack – written for an obscure western, but right up there with some of the maestro's best for much bigger movies! A number of tunes have that spooky "whistler" style of writing that we love from Morricone – spare whistling over darker orchestrations – in ways that create some spare and wonderful passages that are especially great! Other tracks are a bit fuller, and more dramatic – the bolder western modes of the 60s – and the set also features two vocal numbers, sung by I Cantori Moderni – that wonderful vocal group that shows up on some of our favorites from the time. Titles include "Paco", "Ricciolo", "Liberta", "Estasi", "Bamba Vivace", "Fiesta", and "Il Mercenario" – and the CD's got 16 tracks in all. CD

One of the best later moments from soundtrack giant Alfred Newman – a stunning score for a star-studded disaster film at the start of the 70s! Newman's still got some of his older sense of orchestration here, but also gets a bit leaner for the modern age too – bringing in some groovier elements to fit different characters and themes in the film – and nicely balancing out the dramatic elements with some lighter touches too. Tracks include the famous "Airport Love Theme", plus "Inez Theme", "Ada Quonsett Stowaway", "Mel & Tanya", "Triangle", "Inez Lost Forever", and "Emergency Landing". LP, Vinyl record album

Love Is A Many Splendored Thing is filled with the sort of lush strings and rich emotion that Newman could do so well – heard to great effect on the album's famous main theme, but then changed up nicely with some surprising exotic touches that echo the Hong Kong setting of the film – little bits of percussion and woodwinds that trade back and forth nicely between some of the more anglo-oriented dramatic moments. The set's a great example of Hollywood scoring at its best during the 50s – and titles include "Third Uncle", "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing", "The Moon Festival", "Destiny", "Viendras Tu Ce Soir", and "Mark's Letter". CD

Plenty of exotic themes in this lesser-known Italian western score from the 60s – bits of flute, bits of whistling, and even some vocals from I Cantori Moderni! Mellower moments are nicely juxtaposed with more dramatic ones – underscoring the mix of romance and drama that follows the story of the film. I Cantori appear on more of the former – singing somewhat quietly and sweetly, with a very warm finish – in ways that are a bit different than their other work of the time, and almost sentimental at points. Alessandro Alessandroni handles the whistles and guitar in the work – and Bruno Nicolai handles the larger orchestrations. Titles include "Tema Dolores", "Mulini A Vento", "Viaggio", "Espanto En El Corazon", "Duello", and "Fuga Dall'Ovest". LP, Vinyl record album

An early western soundtrack from Italian maestro Bruno Nicolai – presented here for the first time ever, complete with a huge number of tracks from this obscure film! Much of the work is in a tense orchestra mode – peppered with western themes, but more conventionally dramatic overall – and filled with the dark touches that Nicolai usually brought to more of his non-western work. Franco De Gemini plays stark harmonica lines on a few of the most noteworthy tracks on the album, and a few other cuts use a weirdly-tuned Jews harp to create some Morricone-like notes. CD features 28 titles in all – all lovingly remastered from the original master tapes! CD

A pretty straight score from Jack Nitzsche – despite his groovier tendencies on earlier work – but also not a bad one, and a lot more striking than we remember the music being when we saw the film! A few tracks are kind of groovy and soft instrumentals, others are more dramatic, and occasionally there will be some odd instrumental touches that show that Nitzsche's still up to his old tricks. Titles include "Trolling", "Cruising", "One Few Over The Cuckoo's Nest", "Medication Valse", and "Aloha Los Pescadores". LP, Vinyl record album

A compelling little soundtrack to a compelling little film – and a record that's almost as much an audio document of the movie as it is a presentation of the music! The dramatic score by Alex North, conducted by Jerry Goldsmith and performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Titles include "Bergin", "Virginia Woolf Rock", "Snap", "Martha", "Fleece", and "Sad Sad Sad". CD

A trio of western soundtracks from the great Riz Ortolani – music that's not in the usual spirit of his bigger film scores of the 60s! I Tre Spietati begins with the sort of theme that should have been huge – a driving, powerful melody that has the best anthemic modes of the generation, and which appears in instrumental variations through the dozen tracks within – mixed with some more dramatic moments as well – but all with a vibe that's very different than more standard spaghetti western styles. Next up is Requiescant – a beautiful western score with a big, brooding use of guitar – and a sound that's even more robust than usual! About half the tracks feature the guitar strongly – used in a twangy way, unfolding slowly, with lots of echo – very cool, very striking, and almost more powerful than use of the instrument on most other spaghetti western scores of the time! Other numbers are more scene-setting – some brassy trumpet flairs, barroom piano, or harmonica lines on the trail – and overall, the soundtrack features 21 short numbers from the film, with guitar tracks nicely juxtaposed against the others! CD also features two tracks from the film O'Cangaceiro – the excellent percussive "Mulhe Rendra", and the mellower vocal track "Vou Caminhando". CD

Stu really surprised us all with this one – working in full orchestral mode on a great set of dramatic themes that almost beats John Williams at his game! The work was scored for the great 70s TV sci fi flick Battlestar Galactica – and overall, most of the tunes are orchestral ones, done in the highly dramatic and action-charged style of work that was revived strongly on the Star Wars score. But the album also features a nice disco tune – "It's Love Love Love", sung by the Space Angels! Other titles include "Cassiopia & Starbuck", "Destruction Of Peace", "Fighter Launch", "Escape From The Ovion Mines", "Let's Go Home", and "Dash To The Elevator". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record, and one that presents maestro Piero Picconi in all his glory – a set that's got some of the spare groovy themes he did so well in the 60s, mixed with funkier moments that are at the level of the best of the crime/cop generation, plus a few dramatic moments thrown into the mix too! There's some really wonderful keyboards on the record – produced with cool effects, and used in that specifically Italian style that's got all these strange sounds that you'd never hear on an American record from the period. The whole thing's great – and titles include "The Persuaders", "Ambushers", "Lovely Mood", "Action", "Persuaders Strike Back", "Pursuit", and "Love Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

A greatly expanded version of this Italian horror soundtrack – with way more music than we've ever seen on any previous edition! Piero Piccioni did the soundtrack for Seven Murders For Scotland Yard – in a style that mixes more dramatic orchestrations with a few great mod touches on organ, flute, and percussion – which step out nicely on the groovier tracks, and bring in a nice note of action and surprise to a score that's mostly tense and poised for danger! These few light bits really offset things nicely – and create an unsettling feel in a work that's pretty darn dark overall, and which shows some of the most somber qualities we've ever heard in Piccioni's music. Titles include "Seven Murders", "Unknown Maniac", "Reminding The Ripper", "Suspecting", "Inspector Campbell", and "Professor Christie" – and the CD features a total of 22 tracks in all! CD

A rare vinyl version of this classic Italian horror soundtrack! Piero Piccioni did the soundtrack for Seven Murders For Scotland Yard – in a style that mixes more dramatic orchestrations with a few great mod touches on organ, flute, and percussion – which step out nicely on the groovier tracks, and bring in a nice note of action and surprise to a score that's mostly tense and poised for danger! These few light bits really offset things nicely – and create an unsettling feel in a work that's pretty darn dark overall, and which shows some of the most somber qualities we've ever heard in Piccioni's music. Titles include "Seven Murders", "Unknown Maniac", "Reminding The Ripper", "Suspecting", "Inspector Campbell", and "Professor Christie" LP, Vinyl record album

Two Italian horror scores on one CD! Piero Piccioni did the soundtrack for Seven Murders For Scotland Yard – in a style that mixes more dramatic orchestrations with a few great mod touches on organ, flute, and percussion – which step out nicely on the groovier tracks, and bring in a nice note of action and surprise to a score that's mostly tense and poised for danger! Titles include "Seven Murders", "Unknown Maniac", "Reminding The Ripper", "Suspecting", "Inspector Campbell", and "Professor Christie". Francesco De Masi follows with the score for 7 Hyden Park La Casa Maledetta – done in a cool 70s electronic mode, one that often features the keyboards playing simple, but eerie melodies that set a great tone for the film's creepy plot! Titles include "Handicapped Girl", "Falling", "In The Past", "Cursed House", "House In The Park", "Fear & Blood", "So Many Corpses", and "Dreadful Cellar". CD

An amazing little soundtrack that's every bit as groovy as its cover – a great blend of 60s mod and Italian jazz, all in support of the skeleton-costumed master thief Kriminal! This CD represents the first full length presentation of the film's soundtrack – a long-overdue masterpiece that steps off the jazzier modes used in Italian films of the early 60s, touched by some of the more dynamic production and arrangement styles that were creeping in later in the decade – all served up over short, sweet tracks that dance with delight and drama throughout! There's even a bit of the British and American spy modes of the time creeping into the mix – no doubt a way of highlighting the "international crime" reputation of lead character Kriminal. CD features a total of 29 tracks in all, with notes in both English and Italian! CD

One of the boldest scores we've ever heard from Andre Previn – presented here with both the film music, and the original LP version – plus bonus tracks as well! Previn's usually known for lusher, warmer sounds – and some more playful soundtrack moments, too – but this score is very serious, dramatic, and deep – a full orchestral mode on most numbers, without any traces of Previn's jazzier roots. The music makes for a great accompaniment to Burt Lancaster's role as the title character – and this CD features 12 tracks from the original album, plus 5 bonus tracks. CD

A great package of work that features material from some of the famous 40s films directed by Otto Preminger for 20th Century Fox – served up on two CDs' worth of hard-to-find soundtrack recordings! Fallen Angel is from 1945, and features a lovely main theme by David Raksin with a few jazzier and mellower variations – plus the vocal number "Slowly", sung in two versions – one by Alice Faye and one by Dick Haymes! Where The Sidewalk Ends is a gem from 1950 – and has a city-styled score by Cyril Mockridge that's mighty nice – complete with Alfred Newman's theme "Street Scene", and mixed with dramatic numbers that paint a nicely gritty urban scene! Laura is represented by the longer "Laura Suite" by David Raksin – featuring the main theme with some great orchestra variations. Daisy Kenyon is from 1947, and is represented by two longer Raksin numbers – "Daisy Kenyon" and "Love On The Cape". Last is the thrilling Whirlpool from 1949 – done with a heady Raksin score that has lots of differing mood and instrumental changes – a total of 17 tracks that almost work like a sonic movie themselves! CD

Without a doubt, one of the most famous scores to come out of Hollywood in the 40s – David Raksin's enduring soundtrack for Laura – and it's as beautiful now as ever! The theme was recorded time and time again over the next few decades – in vocal and instrumental versions, by hundreds of artists. The entire score is wonderful though – and mighty influential, too! It's lush and lovely, with noirish touches – seemingly serving as a template for so many dramatic scores to come! This version includes "The Laura Suite – Theme & Variations" conducted by Alfred Newman, plus Bernard Herrmann's score to Jane Eyre – conducted by the composer himself! CD

One of Nelson Riddle's finest moments of the 60s – the wonderful original soundtrack for the campy full length Batman film! The tunes have a totally excellent blend of the dramatic and the jazzy – often using full orchestrations, but in a tight way that goes for rhythmic passages and tight little themes – all hitting hard with a style that goes "Zap!" "Pow!" "Slam!" CD

Mostly dramatic material, written by Riddle to accompany this mid 60s film based on the John O'Hara novel of the same name. Ferrante & Teicher perform the main theme – which is jaunty enough – but the other tracks are pretty dark and orchestral, with a fairly gloomy feel overall. Titles include "Roger Bannon", "Table Talk", "Why Don't You Tell Her", "Kiss Me Pumpkin", "A Rage To Live", "I've Got A Husband", and "A Two Hour Drive". LP, Vinyl record album

A driving, dramatic score for this early 80s epic of the gods! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time classic Italian film scores – a groundbreaking soundtrack from Nino Rota, and one of the first Italian works of this nature to hit the record racks in the US! The music is a beautiful blend of whimsy and sadness – penned by Rota with a variety of light themes that dance together with a dreamy sort of quality – romantic one minute, dramatic the next – always handled with Nino's inventive sense of musical play! Larger orchestrations come into play with smaller combo elements that evoke the new world of jazz and rock on the scene in Rome – and the whole thing is a musical delight throughout – with titles that include "La Dolce Vita", "Cadillac", "Via Veneto", "Titoli Di Testa", and "Valzer". LP, Vinyl record album

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A dramatic soundtrack to this Douglas Sirk film! LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty tense score – especially for Lalo Schifrin, who we normally know for his groovier soundtracks! Lalo's working here in a mode that's quite like some of the best 70s Italian horror scores – lots of turgid orchestral passages moving slowly, with dramatic flourishes that are really great, and some breakout moments that are guaranteed to send chills down your spine! Quite evocative, and although not usually Schifrin's forte, a great score in the best tradition of the genre. Titles include "The Ax", "Amityville Frenzy", "Bleeding Walls", "Juke Box", "The Basement", and "The Wind". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Lalo Schifrin's first, and rarest soundtracks – and a bit more complicated than some of his later work. Given the setting of the film, there's a surprising number of jazzy tunes on here – including some cool easy breezy ones that are in keeping with Schfrin's best mid 60s work. These are also mixed with some more dramatic numbers, and a few tracks that have acoustic guitar playing a gentle lead style, similar to some of the tunes in The Fox. Titles include "Bean Time", "Egg Eating Contest", "Tar Sequence", "Ballad Of Cool Hand Luke", and "Road Gang". LP, Vinyl record album

British jazzman Johnny Scott leads a larger orchestra in a set of serious and dramatic pieces for this 60s film that paired Sherlock Holmes and Jack The Ripper (how many of these were made over the years?) The mood of the music is stark and dramatic – mostly going for the sort of string-heavy horror approach that you'd expect, but occasionally hitting some lighter modes. LP, Vinyl record album

Dramatic, orchestral, dramatic-orchestral, and dramatic-exotic tunes – all scorred for this Indian-themed adventure film that starred Yul Brynner and Trevor Howard. There's a bit of sitar on a few tracks, mixed in with the orchestrations, and titles include "The Leopard", "Jail Break", "The Wrecked Bhanta Camp", "Strutting At Gynkhana", "Fire At The Fort", "Freddy & Jane", "The Train", and "Hanging Bridge Incident". Also includes a slight vocal performance on "The World Is Ready", by Vince Hill. LP, Vinyl record album

2 soundtracks by David Shire – an oft-overlooked film composer, best known for his work on Pelham 123! Farewell My Lovely is a great late Robert Mitchum film – kind of a 70s noir, featuring Mitchum as Philip Marlowe – and the music is kind of a reworking of an older style of dramatic crime soundtrack styles, with the additional of some more off-beat and edgey passages that create a more sinister feel. The score's actually got some nice jazz work by players that include Dick Nash, Don Menza, and Artie Kane – and features 12 titles that include "Mrs Grayle's Theme", "Amthor's Place", "Marlowe's Trip", "Three Mile Limited", and "Moose Finds His Velma". That soundtrack is followed up by Monkey Shines – a dark 80s horror flick, done with a mix of atonal orchestrated numbers, and others that somehow have a sweeter more redemptive feel. Titles include "The Lab", "Death Of A Parakeet", "The Reascent Of Man", "Agon: Man Versus Monkey", and "Asocial Climbing". CD

This one's a pretty serious score – despite what looks like a groovy sexy cover – written and conducted by Ronald Stein, with mostly sombre emotional themes. Sammy Davis Jr sings "Katherine's Love Theme", which has some nice sad lyrics – and there is one groover called "The Acapulco Hilton Mariachi Samba Twist" – but most of the tunes are pretty mellow and dramatic. Titles include "First Trio", "Rape Scene", "Second Run", "The Garden", "The Terrace", and "The Pool". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky grooves, floating vocals, mellow keyboards, and a whole lot more – easily one of the greatest soundtracks ever from the legendary Armando Trovajoli – and certainly one of the grooviest too! There's a sublime quality to this score that's well made Sessomatto one of the best-remembered albums from the glory years of the Italian soundtracks – a sense of space, pacing, and timing that are simply breathtaking – and which are the perfect summation of Trovajoli's earlier experiments in music. As with his score to La Matriarca, the instrumentation here varies often – sometimes a bit of horns, nicely compressed; sometimes a floating harmonica line; sometimes keyboards; and sometimes a funky rhythm topped with vocals – all woven together in a rich pastiche of styles that makes the album one of the deepest soundtracks you'll hope to own from the time. The remastering here is wonderful – way better than the previous Japanese reissues, and done in a way that really isolates the best elements of the music – letting the simple balance of sound and space resonate beautifully, and exposing even more of Trovajoli's genius with a wealth of bonus tracks. These added numbers really open the whole thing up – taking the album way past the familiar "Sessomatto" theme (reworked and remixed for the dancefloor often in later years), and almost creating a mini-movie in sound – with all the requisite scene shifts and drama to match! CD features a whopping 41 tracks in all – with titles that include "Sessomatto", "Signora Sono Le Otto", "Two Happy People", "Ammuri Ammuri", "D'Amore Si Muore", "Un Amore Difficile", "Due Cuori E Una Birra", "Bravo Balli bene", "Scappa Gilda", "Vorrei Che Fosse Amore", "Searching For Something", and "L'Ospite". CD

A spooky little soundtrack, with some slight erotic moments as well – all scored for a schlocky Italian film starring an ex-patriot Farley Granger! The story centers around an investigation of an earlier rape and murder – and the music does a good deal to underscore the mix of sexual tension and drama in the film – often using spare stepping basslines that move very slowly on the bottom of the tunes, while eerie keyboards, guitar, and weirder effects drift lightly over the top. A few numbers have a slightly warmer feel, in keeping with more erotic moments in early 70s Italian cinema – and there's also a bit of wordless vocals that float through some of the tunes, often with a theremin-like quality. LP features 15 tracks from the film! LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to find soundtrack to this early Don Siegel film that starred John Cassavetes, Sal Mineo, and James Whitmore as a bunch of JD's. The score has a dramatic crime jazz sound, similar to Elmer Bernstein's work in the same vein – and the LP also includes Waxman's "Three Sketches for Jazz Orchestra", which features nice solo passages by the likes of Pete Candoli, Joe Mondragon, and Jack Dumont. A classic Decca score, and one that we never see! LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly intimate score from John Williams – recorded right at the start of his bigger fame for late 70s epics, but done with a personal quality that really fits the mood of this unusual film with Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson! The style is definitely western, but in modes that are different than the more dramatic styles used in other films of the genre – almost more Americana overall, with lots of playful folksy touches, and a fair bit of acoustic guitar, harmonica, fiddle, and other instruments that get a lot of space out front in the lead. This great 2CD package features the original album of music, plus the work used in the film – and some bonus tracks as well! Titles include "Crossing The River", "Clayton At The Wake", "Boys Will Play", "The Chase", "Crossing The Missouri", and "Bizarre Wake". CD

One of the greatest European jazz guitarists – heard here in some of his grooviest work of the 60s – an amazing batch of material recorded for the art house films of director Hansjurgen Pohland! Zoller already had a modern tone by the time of these recordings – a sublime sound on the guitar that rivaled that of Billy Bauer with the Lee Konitz group of the 50s, but which was also freer, and open to rich new ideas too – especially from a rhythmic and tonal standpoint, which always keeps Zoller's work compelling! Attila's way more than just another jazzy player on the instrument – and film material like this really lets him stretch his imagination – and unlock a whole whose of tones and colors that are quite imagistic in nature. Most tracks are played by a small combo led by Zoller – often working in front of the screen as images passed by – scenes from films that include Katz Und Maus, Tamara, and The Bread Of Our Early Years. This set marks the first release of the material actually recorded for those films on record – and titles include "Family Bricks", "Pilenz", "Road Song", "Minesweeper", "Cold Fusion", "Adam's Apple", "Hedwig's Departure", "Mousetip Strut", and "Mahlke". (Jazz, Soundtracks) CD