... CD

(Rock, Soundtracks) CD

Beautiful music from Chicago, set to another Chicago-themed project – a film based around the Roy stories of writer Barry Gifford! Yet that literary reference aside, the music here has fantastic merits of its own, even if you've never read Gifford at all – a very different, more compositional side of the spectrum from vibist Jason Adasiewicz, yet still music that has a loose small combo vibe as well – serve dup by a cool quintet that features Jonathan Doyle on saxes, Josh Berman on cornet, Joshua Abrams on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums! There's a mix of new tones and modern ideas that take us back to that late 50s time on the Chicago scene when Sun Ra's Arkestra was still in town – and the tunes penned by Adasiewicz are not only superb, but a perfect showcase for his incredible tones on vibes. Doyle is a real revelation too – a player we don't know well at all at this point, but whose sense of timing and presence really makes the whole record sparkle – as does the work of the rest of the better-known players in the group. Titles include "Ballad For Kitty", "River Blindness", "Walkin To Clinton", "Rudy's Basement", "Sand", and "Blue People". (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A real oddity – a soundtrack on Vee Jay records, the label best known for their groundbreaking work in soul, blues, and jazz. Even stranger, the score is for a schlocky Vincent Price film, based on a Jules Verne story – written by Les Baxter, in the flowery style he used for some of his late 50s, non-exotic work at Capitol. The album is performed by the 100 Men, directed by Cal Carter of Vee Jay – and titles include "Topage", "Flight Concerto", "Philadelphia", "Drifting Clouds", and "Over The Rocks". Nice painted cover, too! LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s racing soundtrack from Stelvio Cipriani – but one that's served up in a much wider mix of modes than the usual Formula 1 or stock car movie! Some numbers feature Cipriani's trademark use of keyboards – in groovy ways that drift over breezy rhythms with a very groovy vibe – even some bossa currents that are a real surprise! A few other tracks have a guitar strutting along in a playful melody – and a few others slow the pace, but still keep things kind of comedic, but with loping energy that you wouldn't expect from the fast-moving world of the racetrack. As you might guess, the bossa-styled tunes are our favorites here – and the CD features 16 tracks in all. CD

A groovy little soundtrack – played by The Sandals, the same group who worked on the film The Endless Summer – director Bruce Brown's strange documentary about surfers around the world. This time around, the theme is skiers – and The Sandals more than rise to meet the challenge – crafting some tight and groovy 60s instrumentals, with lots of guitar riffing over crackling bass and drum parts. Check out the tracks "Soul Something" and "Porsche" for some real grooviness – and keep on grooving through "Ski Bum", "Yellow Dove", "Return From The Casino", and "Water & Stone". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic to end all classics – and the record that showed the world that the kung fu genre could be every bit as funky as American crime and action films! Lalo Schifrin's at the height of his powers on this set – working in a blend of raw guitars, rolling bass, and choppy rhythms that groove about as fast as Bruce Lee's hands move on the screen in the film – and the album's a real standout in the 70s soundtrack scene, well worth all the hype and attention that's been given to it over the years! The record's one you'll dig if you're a fan of funk, or a student of Schifrin – and even after the passage of decades, it's still a tough soundtrack to beat. Titles include the classic "Theme From Enter The Dragon", plus "Bamboo Bird Cage", "The Monk", "Han's Island", "The Big Battle", and "The Human Fly". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those mixed-bag soundtracks that often showed up for lesser films of the hippie generation – a set that features some vocal rock tunes done especially for the movie, plus some much better instrumental tunes that really stand out! The real standout track here is the title instrumental "Time To Run" – but that's a really great one, with a fast funky cop show feel overall. There's clearly a religious bent to the film – most evident on the trippy "Alleluia", clearly a church track with chorus vocals, but done in a slightly tripped out way that's kind of spooky. Other titles include "I Love You" by Randy Stonehill, "Catch Me" and "Isn't It Good To Know" by Jerry Whitman, and "Traveling Man" by Barbara Sigel. LP, Vinyl record album

The great folks at Motor Music in Germany have compiled a bunch of groovy tracks from swingin' films from the late 60's, and patched them together into a really cool package with excellent liner notes for the fan of soundtrack stuff and mod 60's music. Excellent selection, with a real emphasis towards hard to find tracks, like Harpers Bizarre's "Malibu U" (the theme to a short lived TV show about a beach school), Mark Lindsay's "Somethin' Big" (a great lost Bacharach track), the theme to The Party, and loads more groovy vocal and instrumental tracks! (Funky Compilations, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A lost treasure from the legendary John Coltrane Quartet – material recorded as the soundtrack for the Canadian film Le Chat Danse Le Sac – which features new recordings of material that Coltrane had done in previous years, but really updated by the fresh version of this group! Although the music was used in the film, which was an art house hit at best, it's never been issued on record before – and in fact, its existence was something of a mystery until not that long ago – quite a surprise, given that the sessions were done at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, and have a quality level that really matches the Impulse Records best by these musicians! The tunes are almost like this amazing bridge between the mid 60s Impulse years and the Coltrane sound at the start of the decade on Atlantic – as the grooves are modal, and most music is more inside than the group was hitting by 1965 – yet still burning with that searching spirit that made them so great. The lineup, of course, features John Coltrane on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the whole thing is an instant key addition to the catalog of this tremendous quartet. Titles include two takes on "Naima", three takes on "Village Blues", and the tracks "Like Sonny", "Traneing In", and "Blue World". (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A movie that's so familiar, we sometimes forget the greatness of its soundtrack! True, the film did give the world a few big hits from Barry Manilow, but the instrumental score by Charles Fox is mighty nice – a great blend of 70s cop/crime modes with a few tenser moments – orchestrated wonderfully with this approach that's still very classic in its instrumentation, while sparkling with just a few slight contemporary elements. And away from the performances on the screen, the music almost sounds even classier – elevated past PG comedy realm, into the range of classic film score! LP, Vinyl record album

British soundtrack great Ron Grainer makes a great American appearance here – turning in music for the early 70s film The Omega Man – the first film version of I Am Legend! The styles here are much more fitting for the time of the movie's release than the world of America in the future – as there are plenty of great blacksploitation and cop/crime elements that really fit the 70s urban setting of the story – really great elements that make the whole thing very different than the usual horror soundtrack of the period, and which also widen the palette of Grainer's style too! There's also a few familiar themes that are used almost tongue in cheek – instrumental hits that offset the darker mood of the action – and together, the blend of sounds is wonderful – presented here in an overstuffed collection that's well worth the 2.0 billing in the title. Given that the original score never showed up on record in the 70s, this release is long overdue – with titles that include "The Omega Man/Where Have All The People Gone", "Surprise Party/After The Ball", "Zachary Makes His Move", "Richie On The Roof", "The Trap/Nemesis For Neville/Matthias The Victor", "Dutch Takes Over", "Swinging At Nevilles", "Jumped By The Family/The Trial", and "Dutch Takes Over". CD

One of the greatest soundtracks ever – an archetypal album from French composer Francis Lai, and a record that set the tone for countless other imitations to come – yet which is still the best! The groove here is really unique – a spare blend of bossa influences, jazzy organ lines, and wordless vocals that are sung beautifully by French singers Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh – and although a mainstream success, the record was the initial force behind the legendary Saravah imprint that Barouh would form later, to record a wide range of groundbreaking work in a variety of genres. But history aside, the music here is plenty – and from the very first note the whole soundtrack grabs you with a sense of warmth and sentiment that defy description – modes never heard before in the soundtrack world, and which really broke the mold from Hollywood conventions! Titles include the seminal bossa number "Samba Saravah", plus "A Man & A Woman", "Today It's You", "In Our Shadow", "At 200 MPH", and "Stronger Than Us". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest soundtracks ever – an archetypal album from French composer Francis Lai, and a record that set the tone for countless other imitations to come – yet which is still the best! The groove here is really unique – a spare blend of bossa influences, jazzy organ lines, and wordless vocals that are sung beautifully by French singers Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh – and although a mainstream success, the record was the initial force behind the legendary Saravah imprint that Barouh would form later, to record a wide range of groundbreaking work in a variety of genres. But history aside, the music here is plenty – and from the very first note the whole soundtrack grabs you with a sense of warmth and sentiment that defy description – modes never heard before in the soundtrack world, and which really broke the mold from Hollywood conventions! Titles include the seminal bossa number "Samba Saravah", plus "A Man & A Woman", "Today It's You", "In Our Shadow", "At 200 MPH", and "Stronger Than Us". LP, Vinyl record album

The definitive reissue of one of the most influential musical moments of the 60s – Hair! Hair not only forever changed the concept of musical theater on Broadway, but it also gave the world an incredible array of groovy tunes with odd rhythms – and made a place for composer Galt MacDermot to continue his musical experiments for years to come – eventually influencing a generation of beatheads and hip hoppers as a result! This package brings together the official Broadway recording of the score, along with the earlier (and quite different) Off-Broadway recording – and also features a few previously unissued tracks, as well as an interview with Galt MacDermot himself! The lavish 2CD package is really great – and it marks the first time much of this music is on CD! CD