Music-Snob

Not dead, just busy...

2011-11-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

... but the Season may bring good tidings... Soon... soon.... soon.

Stirrings...

2011-08-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

Who would've thought that converting so much stuff to digital would take so much time?

The Avengers - Joel McNeely

Empire Strikes Back Symphonic Suite
Charles Gerhardt, cond.

The Fly 2 - Christopher Young

On hiatus...

2011-03-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

... but not dead completely. Attempting to get a leg up on the next batch of scans, and it's taking longer than usual for me to get it together.

Thanks for all the recent comments, those of you who've discovered this spot...

Look for more postings starting in April!

Cassette Pop from the Midwest & West Coast

2010-10-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from digitizing LP's, I decided to break into the trove of cassette tapes that have been boxed up ever since the cassette deck went balls up -- cassettes were great for collecting music from regional bands... usually promos sent out to get bookings, or that first step before going vinyl.

October's Child was a Carbondale, IL band kicking around in the mid-to-late 80's - not much known about them, sorry to say -- the one recurring reference to them is in relation to opening for the then-unknown Smashing Pumpkins at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago.
If memory serves, they were fairly well-loved in the 'Dale - I certainly liked them well enough to get this tape. They were a bit too early for the "No Depression" niche that fellow midwesterners Uncle Tupelo are credited with kicking off just a few short years later, but I suspect that if you look at a lot of bands in this time period, you'll find out how that niche evolved... and this is a great example of one of those unsung heroes.

Love Toast is apparently the only 'full length' "album" put out by Langrehr, a foursome from St. Louis that I had the fortune to see while avoiding boredom in Carbondale, IL. I liked the band and the songs, but that wasn't why I bought the tape...
Only fairly recently, have I discovered that Charlie Langrehr was somewhat of a musical hero in the St. Louis area...

... performing with the M Street Band, then as part of the duo Brown and Langrehr... search around any blogs about the music history of St. Louis, and he'll pop up. At the time I saw him, he was performing with Marilyn Williams (guitar and vocals), Nelson Hollins (bass) - and Bill Yaeger (drums), who was a friend and classmate of mine in Cape Girardeau, MO; and who was the main reason I bought the tape.

This is the self-titled promo that the SF group, The Sextants, put out prior to their signing to Imago Records. I was really into the band at the time (they were the first band I 'discovered' after moving to SF), so getting a copy was like giving a junkie a taste off a spoon - four of the songs ended up on the 'Lucky You' album, but two (favorites of the live shows - "Remember When" & "White Sand") never got released.

I first saw this in Aquarius Records (when they were at their 24th St. location), but didn't pick it up at the time; the next time I went in the store, it was gone -- it took over 15 years to find it again online. Big fan of these guys, but they had gone into Version 2.0 by the time I got to see them - this is the original lineup, with violinist/vocalist Morgan Fichter, before her going over to Camper Van Beethoven. A bit rawer sound, if you're used to how they sounded on the lp's, but still good.

Jean Caffeine is one of those people who should be more widely known than she is, since she's done about everything - feminist punker with the NYC group Pulsallama; country-folk chauntreuse with her All-Nite Truckstop, of which this was her second release. This isn't featured for sale on her website (where you can purchase her other recordings), so I hope you'll head over there after sampling her songs. She's been involved with filmmaking (with Richard Linklater - she's a corpse in SLACKER and an animator on WAKING LIFE) and painting; Jean's sort of a Renaissance Woman.

Prior to moving back to the Midwest in the Fall of '96, I did return to Cape Girardeau for a couple of weeks that summer - before going back to SF for a film project. While there, I caught this band, Drench from Puxico, MO, and did a trade of a zine issue for a cassette. The cassette was in the stack of well-played favorites for awhile, but I never did hear anything again of the band...

While researching for this post, I did stumble over the band again - and a name: Jefferson Fox, who has a website, blog, and all kinds of info - including a page where one can hear Wahoo, and purchase it and other of Mr. Fox's recordings... so I'll direct you over to him rather than a download link, this time.

Not a cassette release - but something that I'd been looking for, for quite sometime. This 4 song 7" was noted favorably by musical curmugeon Robert Christegau, and features the early work of Jill Olson (The Movie Stars and Red Meat).

Lastly, a nice surprise from Little My drummer, Adam McCauley, who found the earlier posting about the band and had nice things to say about it - and who also had files from a never released ep, OPIA - or OPIC, depending on which file name you go with (either way, nice pun!). This 6 song ep does feature early versions of 2 songs which did wind up on ALL OF THE WATER. Adam was also nice enough to give me permission to share that link - so, enjoy! - and drop him a nice note of thanks, please.

Halloween upgrades

2010-10-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Two favorites from the past - I'm bumping up the album from NIGHT OF THE HUNTER - a reading by Charles Laughton of the story with music from the film by Walter Schumann.

And for those who like the wilder, weirder side of the holiday, we once again feature the music of Kansas City's late, lamented and demented musical provider, BIG JETER.

Happy Halloween, everybody!

An August Selection

2010-08-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

Modern Vampires...

Slick crime drama...

Romance for aging liberals...

Well seasoned Western...

with a Spanish dish on the side...

add some classical historical drama...

and top it off with an obscure favorite.

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls - Stu Phillips

2010-08-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Strap it on...

The Box

2010-07-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

THE BOX featured a score by Arcade Fire band members Win Butler & Rene Chassagne and Final Fantasy band member Owen Pallett. A release is rumored to happen perhaps sometime later in the year or next year, after the new Arcade Fire album is released (August 2010).
So far, only a 8 minute suite has been available on YouTube.

While we look forward to an eventual release of this score - whenever - until that time, one can sample this DVD rip. Some sound fx and slight dialog can be heard, and only the last track is in stereo... but I think that fans of the Herrmannesque will be quite pleased.

Mondo Morricone

2010-07-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

The Big Gundown

Days of Heaven

Duck, You Sucker

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

The Mission

My Name Is Nobody

Once Upon A Time in The West

The Thing

Two Mules For Sister Sara

John Morris

2010-07-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

John Morris is usually linked with Mel Brooks, whom he worked with for almost 20 years. Their heyday was in the late 60's thru 70's, when Brooks became one of the faces of outrageous comedy.

In 1978, High Anxiety was released, which gave us a soundtrack from the film on the first side; the second side was a sampler of Brooks/Morris works from previous films, and it serves as a great introduction.

Silent Movie, in 1976, is a great Morris score, and is well served by the soundtrack release

Before the success of BLAZING SADDLES (score available on La La Land Records), Brooks adapted the Russian comedy THE TWELVE CHAIRS.

Most people will think of the Broadway hit show, but there was a film that started it all... the album includes dialog as well as music. Most of Morris' work is underscore, but of note is the title track (Ulla's go-go music in the film); also, Dick Shawn's audition song, 'Love Power', which Brooks and Morris did not write.

Morris usually got typed for comedy, scoring the films of other Brooks' alumni (Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman), but THE ELEPHANT MAN showed that he was capable of far more.

Mancini Madness

2010-03-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Arabesque

Experiment in Terror

More Music from Peter Gunn

Gunn

The Pink Panther

Return of the Pink Panther

Touch of Evil/The Night Visitor

and also some non-Mancini fare:

Kings Row - Erich Wolfgang Korngold

The Madwoman of Chaillot - Michael Lewis

A Fine Mess - David Baerwald & the New Folk Underground

2010-03-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

A Fine Mess was a gift to fans of David Baerwald from the man himself - you had to order it though a fan website. Essentially, some of these songs were revised and released later as HERE COMES THE NEW FOLK UNDERGROUND on Lost Highway Records, while the original limited release goes for high amounts on auction sites.

Spring into some Contemporary Classical music

2010-03-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

Another area of interest - contemporary classical music. Not that far removed from soundtracks, which is contemporary instrumental works, NOT for the concert stage - the following are intended for the concert stage.

Elliot Goldenthal has a foot in both worlds, though he's probably more for his film scoring - he has an impressive concert cv - OTHELLO is his ballet, staged in San Francisco and also available on DVD.

Aaron Copland is widely known - but these early works for ballet weren't, until their recording in the mid 1990's.

Metropolis Symphony is inspired by the Superman comics... composer Daugherty is known for works about pop culture. He's most known for his opera, JACKIE O, which premiered in the late 90's.

February Soundtracks

2010-02-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

Trevor Jones did music for 2 of Alan Parker's films in the 80's, the noirish ANGEL HEART and MISSISSIPPI BURNING. Both albums contain dialogue, and are pretty good audio representations of the films, instead of just presenting the music. Most score fanatics aren't too wild about these types of albums, but both of these are pretty well done.

BARON MUNCHAUSEN is one of the late Michael Kamen's best scores;

WITNESS was one of Maurice Jarre's first scores in his electronic period, starting in the 80's. It was pretty popular at the time, mainly for the track "Building The Barn";

and one more from Bernard Herrmann, this one being one of his concert works - the cantata MOBY DICK.

Ring in 2010 with Herrmann and Horner

2010-01-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010, everyone!

We finish up with the last of the Herrmann recordings - for now, anyway - and there's some early Horner to enjoy, too!

Music From Great Film Classics - has a few selections from the earlier London album DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER/WELLES RAISES KANE, but the suites from JANE EYRE and KILIMANJARO make up for that.

North By Northwest - everyone seems to hate the Laurie Johnson recording, now that the original tracks and a re-recording by Joel McNeely are out there... still, I'm fond of it, and I'm certain others are, also.

Outer Space Suite & The Western Saga - the last of the CBS Library music that Herrmann recorded - fans of TWILIGHT ZONE, HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, GUNSMOKE and other early CBS shows will recognize some of these cues.

Brainstorm - an early Horner score - one of his best - and yes, you'll recognize some bits here and there that you've heard before... but this was before it really got annoying.

Glory - another good Horner score; fans of Prokofiev, especially of his opera WAR AND PEACE will also find much to like here...

and a bonus - Music from THE AVENGERS, THE NEW AVENGERS and THE PROFESSIONALS, by Laurie Johnson. Not my rip, but the cover is from my copy...

GREAT DEAD BANDS - Little My

2009-12-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

Little My was a much loved East Bay trio - "The screwy Oakland-based rock band, whose bent-note sparseness, quirky lyrics, and ignitable live performances put them somewhere near the middle of a musical spectrum bookended by Ed's Redeeming Qualities and Thinking Fellers Union Local 282" who... well, here's a history nutshell from a SF WEEKLY article back in 1998:

Here's the quick Little My rockumentary: Singer Nathaniel Parsons (Nat), guitarist Matt Stahl, bassist Tynan Northrop, and drummer Adam McCauley met at CCAC in 1989. The short-lived lineup never got around to releasing a record before Parsons left to pursue art -- the first time. The band broke up, but Northrop soon reformed the outfit as a trio to make a record for a thesis project. She, Stahl, and McCauley carried on without Parsons for three or four years, honing a manic live act that regularly drew loads of other musicians to their shows.

GRAIN was that thesis project, a 6 song limited edition EP, which led to ASTHMA, a 7 song cassette album; IT'S FOOD AT BEST, a 4 song EP and their best known album; and ALL OF THE WATER, a 4 song 7".

All three are available through Electromotive Records, in Berkeley, CA. Song samples can be found here.

"Bottle" @Sproul Plaza. Adam McCauley (drums), Tynan Northrop (bass), Matt Stahl (guitar)

From SF WEEKLY:

Even though they'd made a definitive split, Parsons and the band continued to share a West Oakland studio for painting and practicing respectively. Stahl says one day someone caught Parsons jumping up and down and lip-syncing to the band's practice. After that, the other members easily lured him back to the group. More releases and many shows and even more bass players later, Parsons decided that he would leave once again in the summer of 1996, this time to study art at the University of Iowa. The impending collapse freed the band members. In its final six months, the outfit played all the time and recorded the 12 originals and the Souled American cover that appear on The Six Fingers of Rick, (their) first full-length record.

"Not Robert" - Little My @ the Starry Plough - Nat Parsons, Scottie Chapman, Adam McCauley, Matt Stahl

THE 6 FINGERS OF RICK was the last recording by the band, but not the last recording released; a 7" featuring the earlier trio lineup with the songs PAINT THAT TREE!/NATIONAL PARK STYLE got that honor.

Mashed in Plastic trailer

2009-11-12T07:54:00.001-08:00

Promo for MASHED IN PLASTIC, a David Lynch mashup tribute.
Check it out.

Commentaries with Terry Gilliam & Alan Parker

2009-11-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Terry Gilliam's commentaries are always fascinating and wonderful; for me, it was always something to look forward to when The Criterion Collection did a release of his films - they're still highly regarded home video releases.

Baron Munchausen has been released on DVD, recently with a new commentary by Gilliam and co-writer/actor Charles McKeown, but the Criterion release had Gilliam solo, ruminating over the film... should make for an interesting comparison.

The Fisher King still deserves a decent DVD release - and even if it gets one, it probably won't equal Criterion's presentation.

Pink Floyd - The Wall got 2 excellent dvd releases, with commentary from Roger Waters and Gerald Scarfe. Probably not many are aware that a laserdisc release in the late 90's had a commentary with director Alan Parker, since it had a limited pressing.

Hope you liked this experiment... I believe the next posting will be a Great Dead Band, then more soundtracks.

More Rare Commentary

2009-11-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

While the Complete Twin Peaks was a long overdue release, I still have fondness for the original first season release... mainly for the extras, which were not ported over for that later 10 disc release.

All 7 episodes had commentaries featuring either a director, writer, or someone involved with the show. Introduced by Mike Anderson (The Dwarf), they are as follows:

Episode #1 - Director Dwayne Dunham
Episode #2 - DP Frank Byers
Episode #3 - Director Tina Rathborne
Episode #4 - Director Tim Hunter & Writer Robert Engels
Episode #5 - Director Lesli Linka Glatter
Episode #6 - Director Caleb Deschanel & Writer Harley Peyton
Episode #7 - Series Production Designer Richard Hoover

Commentary...

2009-11-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

Going to try something a bit different...

I imagine that if you're here looking for film scores, you might also have an interest in movie commentaries - especially for films and stuff 'off the path', so to speak. So, here's some items that may peak your interest.

I'm not a big fan of his commentary for DONNIE DARKO, but those who just scratch their heads at SOUTHLAND TALES might find some light shed on some aspects of that film. It's an exclusive on the Blu-Ray release... great if you have a Blu-Ray player. If you don't... well, this will tide you over until you DO get that player.

Cronenberg always does good commentary - and for the Canadian release, you not only get his commentary, but one from DP Peter Suschitzky, and one from visual effects supervisor Jim Isaac. The disc is also worth finding for a featurette on production design, with Carol Spier.

Ken Russell's chatty track from the out-of-print Pioneer DVD. Has anyone out there heard his track for the R2 TOMMY release?

An obscure film that shouldn't be... the R1 disc did not port over a commentary track with director Noel Black that was on the R2. If you haven't seen the film, go find a copy -- then after you've watched it, enhance your future viewings with this.

It was great that FLASH GORDON (the DeLaurentiis production) got a decent R1 release, but there was a French release (Silver Anniversary Edition) that had 2 tracks - one from actor Brian Blessed, and one from director Mike Hodges... not ported over, of course. Both are entertaining, though you might understand rather quickly why the Hodges commentary didn't get used for the U.S. release. A shame... as well as leaving out a good 30 minute featurette with Hodges talking about his overall career.

Well, now; judge for yourself.

Mega-Herrmann!!

2009-11-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

OK, it's been awhile... but I come bearing gifts:

It's Alive 2

Great American Film S cores (including a suite from THE KENTUCKIAN)

The Devil & Daniel Webster/Welles Raises Kane

Have Gun Will Travel

Music For Original Radio and Television Scores

Marnie

The Battle of Neretva

Soon to come - more Herrmann, a little bit of James Horner and another Great Dead Bands post.

More Goldsmith and a Grofe

2009-07-03T11:53:00.001-07:00

The versatility of Jerry Goldsmith is aptly illustrated by the following selections...

The Chairman

QB VII

The Swarm

The Secret of NIMH

and a nugget from the Golden Age of film scoring... Ferde Grofe is mainly known for his concert work GRAND CANYON SUITE, but he did dabble in film scoring, mostly for B pictures in the 50's. This is his best known score - also the debut release for the short lived Starlog Records label.

Rocketship X-M

Batch 'O Goldsmith

2009-05-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

The late maestro Goldsmith left an impressive body of work, that's still popular to exploit. We here at Music-Snob, are no exception. Here we present a variety of his scores from the early 60's to the 80's.

LILIES OF THE FIELD is one of Goldsmith's early features. The very simple folkish string/harmonica combinations is a style he used in music for some TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, and he would go back to this sound for scores such as THE FLIM-FLAM MAN, THE HOMECOMING (THE WALTONS pilot), and others. The vocalist is Jester Hairston, who was a supporting actor in the sitcom AMEN in the 80's, and who can be seen as one of the older people near the end of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. What may not be widely known is that Mr. Hairston also worked for composer Dimitri Tiomkin as a vocal arranger.

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM is an adaptation of an unfinished Ernest Hemingway story, and another collaboration with director Franklin Schaffner. The film is not widely known, but Goldsmith has remarked that it is one of his favorite scores. This is a re-recording done for Intrada Records in the 80's.

MacARTHUR is a bio-pic of another WWII general - unlike the earlier PATTON, it hasn't become a classic, but the music, also by Goldsmith, is worthy of note.

LINK was a suspense/black-comedy about primal natures and killer apes - a difficult combination to pull off successfully. That the movie premiered to audience indifference is more indicative of the subject matter rather than the actual quality of the film. Goldsmith's score treads that line a bit more adroitly than the visuals.

LIONHEART is a little known and seen picture set during The Children's Crusade and it was Goldsmith's last major collaboration with Franklin Schaffner. On LP, the score took up two releases, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 - there was a cd reissue that combined both, but it dropped a couple of tracks due to space limitations. If you haven't heard it, this is comparable to his score for LEGEND - but with a more Medieval sound.

"New" Buckets album - Silo

2009-04-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

John Hayes at Robert Frost's Banjo did a recent interview with "Earl Butter" (AKA Ray Halliday) of The Buckets, which, if you've even glanced at this blog occasionally, is a band that's no stranger to these pages.

He did provide a little bit of background and some video for those who may not have heard of the band - proving that in addition to having excellent taste in music and YouTube selections, he knows his subject, and his enthusiasm is evident -- what more to ask for in a blog?

I bring this to your attention, because Earl has finally finished work on SILO - the 'lost' Buckets album. Well, not exactly 'lost'... it was recorded in 1998, but has not seen the light of day until now. It's available at CD Baby, along with SOD, technically the new album - same band, different configuration -- all damn good songs.

Next up: a lotta Goldsmith soundtracks... and some Bernard Herrmann soon to come, also.

HILLBILLY FRANKENSTEIN - Rawbone/Satan's Circus

2009-04-14T20:35:00.001-07:00

Hillbilly Frankenstein was a band from the Athens, GA area whose heyday was in the early/mid-90's - I discovered their album, HYPNOTICA in a San Francisco record store, wondering what it could be from the cover art. The name 'Jeff Walls' jumped out - known as a member of Guadalcanal Diary (and producer, and now a member of The Woggles)... that alone made it a must buy for me.

HF is sort of the aural equivalent of the mental picture that the pairing of those two words brings to mind - a little bit of this, a little bit of that, mix it up and Dixie-Fry it all up in a Wall o' Sound.

Hypnotica is hard to find now - equally hard to find are the compilations that feature HF.

One of the last releases was a split 7" with The Woggles - Side A featuring "Saved" and "Buzz The Jerk", and Side B, featured here, with HF - "Rawbone" and "Satan's Circus".

KINGS GO FORTH - Elmer Bernstein

2009-03-31T07:51:00.001-07:00

More vintage Bernstein with KINGS GO FORTH. This has a little bit of everything that Bernstein was known for at the time -- some strong military riffs, romantic themes, and a little bit of jazz.

There is a little bit of surface noise, especially on the opening track - to take it completely out just compromised the sonics, so I went for a balance.

Improved cover scans.

ERQ + BUCKETS singles

2009-03-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

As promised earlier - more ERQ! This time, it's a couple of their 7" records - not quite singles, but I don't think they technically qualify as e.p.'s... Whatever.

Ed's Day
includes the Dani (previously Dan) Leone title story

Safe World Record
includes the Dom Leone story, "Bridge Woman".

Also included for your listening enjoyment are a couple of 7" from The Buckets.

Cowgirls/Western Star
this features the 'classic' Buckets grouping.

Beer Belly/Pony Express

This version of "Beer Belly" is slightly different than the version on The Buckets cd and demos and "Pony Express" is an instrumental best described as 'industrial country'. This version of the band has member "Blue Jewel" on drums, who used to drum for The Doubters.

GREAT DEAD BANDS - The Sarnos

2009-03-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Another San Francisco band that made a name for itself in the early 90's. The group's core was the trio of Sam Koritz, Dennis Blyth and Don Deaveau; when I first saw them at the Hotel Utah, that was augmented with additional members Liz Kennedy (vocals) and usually a couple of other instrumentalists.

That first lineup is reflected in a 6 song ep released by Heyday Records.

1) She's A Witch
2) Candy
3) So-Called Friends
4) You May Be Right
5) Criminal
6) Just A Ghost

Clever, almost snarky (if the word was in use then) pop songs, including a cover of the Billy Joel hit from GLASS HOUSES.

The next releases had the band stripped down to a trio, and a new label, Hairy Records.
They hadn't lost their sense of humor, as you can see from the song selection:

There was another single, Kiss Me Sunbeam/Sunflower, but I've not turned that one up as of yet, as well as songs on a Hairy Records compilation.

Singles, of course, led to a album release, the only 'full' album that I know of. It includes a couple of the singles songs, and another version of "Just A Ghost".

1) Kiss Me Sunbeam
2) Cigarette Girl
3) Idaho
4) Just A Ghost
5) Honey
6) Leopard Girl
7) Volcanoes
8) So Alive
9) Volcanoes (J.P. Dub version)

Sam Koritz maintains a blog and a MySpace page.

The (almost compleat) Sarnos

Jerry Fielding - ADVISE AND CONSENT, THE GAUNTLET

2009-03-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

ADVISE AND CONSENT was probably the first notable score from Fielding, who had been blacklisted in the 50's and was relegated to nightclub work and special material (which involved promotion for THE ROCKY AND BULWINKLE SHOW, believe it or not); after this, he began working regularly in movies and TV.

THE GAUNTLET is more familiar to fans; very jazzy and accessible accompaniment to a popular, but really wonky Eastwood adventure.

Improved cover scans for AC and GAUNTLET.

Next time... more stuff from Great Dead Bands.

Hugo Friedhofer - THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES & ONE EYED JACKS

2009-03-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple for the true soundtrack enthusiasts... Hugo Friedhofer has long been underrated, and underrepresented on recordings, something that has recently started to be rectified. His name may not be familiar, but his work certainly is.

TBYOL has been called the best film score of the 2oth Century... it's certainly the one that Friedhofer will be remembered for. The movie may not be well known now, although with its subject of veterans returning home from war, it's certainly still relevant and timely.

This was a re-recording of the score released by Entr'acte Records in the late 70's. It also included a booklet with notes about the film, score, and Friedhofer, scans of which are included.

One Eyed Jacks was Marlon Brando's directorial debut (after Stanley Kubrick was briefly involved with the production, but moved on to other things). Friedhofer provides a lush and memorable score. If I had seen the film, I'd say more about it.

Housekeeping - Michael Gibbs

2009-03-21T23:01:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite films by Bill Forsythe (which isn't available on DVD - it is worth searching for on VHS), and one of my favorite scores. Gibbs worked with Forsythe again on BEING HUMAN, also worth a listen if you come across it.

The next best thing to watching the film is to read the excellent novel that it's adapted from (by Marilynne Robinson) with the score playing in the background.

Housekeeping

Improved cover scans

A Double shot of George Fenton

2009-03-21T22:53:00.001-07:00

Time to shake off that Winter malaise and welcome Spring with some new postings!

Let's start things off with a couple of early scores by George Fenton:

84 Charing Cross Road

The Jewel in the Crown

Both from LP's. If you haven't heard any George Fenton, these are nice introductions to his work...

GREAT DEAD BANDS - Ed's Redeeming Qualities "More Bad Times"

2009-02-06T23:05:00.001-08:00

I'm an 'Ed-head', having accidentally discovered them while band-hopping in my time in SF; they were playing in the basement of Spike's Cafe (R.I.P.) My initial reaction was WTF - by the evening's end, I was won over to the point of buying their second album, IT'S ALL GOOD NEWS, which had just been released. I subsequently found their first official album and it's enjoyed a periodic run on my turntable, cassette deck and CD player.

Most will say that this is their favorite album; it's certainly the best introduction to the band, their first after the death of member Dom Leone and their relocation from the East Coast to the West. It's also very hard to find, hence its presence here.

1.) Camouflage
2.) Spoken Word
3.) Bob
4.) Sad
5.) The Boy I Work With
6.) Buck Tempo
7.) Cheese Grater
8.) Too Pretty
9.) A Little Thing
10.) New Distributor Cap
11.) Things That Scare Me
12.) Virginia
13.) Lawn Dart
14.) Mrs. Price
15.) I'm Not Eating, I'm Not Anything
16.) Poem
17.) More Bad Times

More ERQ stuff to come in the near future.

The blog Robert Frost's Banjo has some very recent interviews with Carrie Bradley and Dani Leone; and The Presidents of the United States of America have done a cover of "More Bad Times" on their recent album.

The Songs of Dom Leone (ERQ)

2008-11-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is a compilation of Ed's Redeeming Qualities songs... Dom Leone was the principal songwriter of many of the groups songs, so this includes mainly songs that he wrote or co-wrote - many of them being treasured ERQ classics.

Some are ERQ performances; some appear to be Dom accompanied by guitar. Dom is the vocalist, except for three songs sung by Carrie Bradley and one sung by Jonah Winter.

THE SONGS OF DOM LEONE

1. Coriander Eyes
2. Drivin' On 9
3. My Apartment
4. More Bad Times
5. Intentions (Carrie singing)
6. Guess Who This Is
7. My Friend Bob
8. Scofflaw of Gravity
9. Song Nancy Hates
10. Lighthouse
11. Mom (Jonah singing)
12. Buck Tempo
13. Bad Memories
14. Sweater
15. Swiss Chard
16. Cheese Grater (Carrie singing)
17. Sit Them Old Ladies Down
18. Spider
19. Song For Elise
20. The Letter
21. Spoken Word (Carrie singing)
22. Christmas in Vermont
23. Mrs. Price
24. Week Old The Chili
25. Poems

Crack In The Sidewalk

2008-09-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

a short film about Bryan Harvey/House of Freaks... on IMdb

If you don't know who they were... well, that's what the Internet was made for.

Look him up... now!

The iMPOSTERS

2008-07-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

In 1999, while at SXSW, one of the many items of swag that I snagged in the week or so I was there was a 6 song promo cd - the label said Restricted Records, and the songs were gorgeous, righteous almost old-school pop.

I could not find a full release of that cd, nor any mention of the iMPOSTERS for a few years, until the early 00's and found them mentioned on several websites with a few mp3s. Of course, if you were in L.A., you would have known of, or at least heard of them.

Now with Facebook, MySpace and the death of the Music Industry As We Knew It, it's easier to find information... that amazing voice belongs to one Morty Coyle and The iMPOSTERS have morphed into another band, ALL DAY SUCKER, who have a cd out.

Some iMPOSTERS songs have made it to ALL DAY SUCKER's set list - you can hear some samples on their site and their MySpace page, and I highly recommend you purchase the album.

This includes the 6 song ep plus 3 additional songs.

01 Heavy Weather
02 Rub It In
03 Amsterdam
04 Payday
05 Die Together
06 Sound Sleep
07 Good Man Down
08 The Note
09 Rational Anthem

Blue Sunshine - Charles Gross

2008-06-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here's another one that you may or may not have heard of... very good cult movie, as most of Jeff Lieberman's films are. The score for this is by Charles Gross, mainly known for his score for the film COUNTRY in 1984.

This is pretty interesting... very moody, with lots of work with gongs and strings. There's a couple of source cues that I'm not entirely sure if he composed (including the infamous "Disco Blue").

It'll grow on you... I highly recommend checking out the film.

W0w, man... what happened to your hair?

Virginia Dare

2008-06-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Not quite a dead band - they list themselves as being on 'hiatus'.

Comprised of Mary O'Neil, Brad Johnson and uberproducer Greg Freeman, the best way to describe their sound is 'tweaked country' - the band's history can be found here.

This CD comprises their first 2 10" ep's (Six Songs and Gone Again) and a single ("Shipwreck/Division St.") that was released on their own label, Nuf Sed - Brinkman Records (European label) gathered those together into one package - yet, hard to find unless you play the import game. They went on to do a full album, BABY GOT AWAY, on Absolutely Kosher Records, and a few tracks on some compilations. Very haunting stuff... you won't be able to get it out of your head once you hear it.

The first six songs (from the first ep) feature Tarnation vocalist/leader Paula Frazer on bass and vocals.

GREAT DEAD BANDS - Paddlefoot

2008-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you go looking on Google or some other search engine for "Paddlefoot", you'll probably first find out that it was the name of a dog on the old "Clutch Cargo" cartoon; if you widen out the search for bands, you'll probably find at least 2 others with that name... but still, "no dice".

The Paddlefoot that's of concern with this posting, is a band, based in San Francisco for the bulk of the 1990s. Comprised of Lee Chae, Jason Kleinberg, Philip Hereso, Timothy McCrystle and Joel Murach, they were one of those musical hybrid bands that San Francisco seems to be able to allow to flourish - a bit of rock, some folk, country; all mashed up and given a uniquely American flavor of its own. They did a series of cassette releases, and released 2 cd's before packing it in 1998.

The First CD

from their defunct website:

On this CD, Paddlefoot moved back into the recording studio but tried to maintain the live approach that had been developed on the previous efforts. The result is crisp, clean production with live energy and interplay. Although 72 minutes long and a bit unwieldy at times, it is regarded by many Paddlefoot fans as the best recording effort to date. This group of songs marks the first time that Paddlefoot recorded with Greg Freeman at his Lowdown Studios and the last time that Paddlefoot recorded with Nancy Scharlau. Evident here is Jason's newfound love of traditional Irish and American fiddle tunes. This CD includes such Paddlefoot live-show standards as "The Murphy-Ryan Polkas" - a traditional Irish fiddle tune, "John Henry's Blues" - an original by Lee, "64 Corvair, Part 2" - an original by Joel that uses part of a traditional tune, and "Sound of the Fiddle" - an original by Jason. The trend toward guest appearances continues on this CD with contributions by The Beer 'n' Bach Orchestra and one of Paddlefoot's favorite bands, Ed's Redeeming Qualities -- including some great penny whistle playing by Jonah Winter.

engineered by Greg Freeman
and Nancy Sharlau (5, 16, 17)

recorded and mixed at Lowdown
Studios, SF in 3 quick weekends
in May 1996.

5, 16, and 17 recorded and mixed
in November 1995

special guest appearances by:

Beer -n- Bach Orchestra 1, 9, 11, 13, 17
Peter Altenberg
Wallace Harvey
Anne Mellinger
Ian Stoba
Cindy Wiggington

Ed's Redeeming Qualities 14
Carrie Bradley
Dan Leone
Jonah Winter 4, 14, 15

Penny Mapa - accordian breakdown 15

1. Pete and Jimmy
2. Whiskey Before Breakfast
3. Fishing Rod
4. The Murphy-Ryan Polkas
5. John Henry's Blues
6. '64 Corvair Part 2
7. Racoons like Moonshine, too
8. Shelf Life
9. Hey Chris
10. Rock and Roll Scene
11. Tiny House
12. Strum Along Slow
13. She's Moving Back Home
14. When I Was Nine
15. Kangaroo's Paw
16. sound of the fiddle
17. Amaxti Smiled
18. Yeah
19. Dashboard Waltz

The Last CD

from their defunct website:

The 14 songs on this CD were selected from 20 songs that were recorded in two sessions. All songs were recorded by Greg Freeman. The first session was recorded during the last days of Greg's Lowdown Studio (which was torn down to make way for the outfield bleachers of the new Giants stadium). These songs were recorded directly after the third and last tour and included such songs as "Just About Midnight," one of Lee's new songs that had been a favorite of the tour, "Neon Lights," an old song of Jason's that was new to Paddlefoot, and a new version of "Find Me," one of Tim's finest songs. The second session was recorded at Roof Brothers studio in Emeryville. During these sessions, spirits were low as the band struggled with darker new material and with general feelings of unhappiness and depression. Still, the recording has a richer tonal quality than the previous recordings and some of the new songs come across as well or better than anything Paddlefoot has recorded so far. Jason's instrumental "Let the Possums Play Possum," for example, is a musical journey that stands as a PFoot masterpiece. After this session, it slowly became clear that Paddlefoot had reached the end of its rope and that the band would split. As a result, a limited number of these CDs were pressed.

with special guests
Margaret Moore
Bruce Sherin
Brian Theriault
Corey Porter
Marissa Hereso

Beer & Bach Orchestra
Anne Mellinger
Cindy Wiggington
Elise Engelberg
Marc Franchitto
Ian Stoba

1. Neon Lights
2. Just about Midnight
3. Tank Hill
4. Let the Possums Play Possum
5. Find Me
6. Take a Picture
7. Billy Banjo
8. Most of the Time
9. Armenian Wedding
10. West Portal
11. Twist Away
12. Kern County Waltz
13. Distance
14. Sunshine on the Trees

To hear any of the tracks on these cd's, Joel Murach has a Paddlefoot page, where you can either download individual tracks, or the entire album.

If you like the music of Paddlefoot, you might also sample some of Murach's other work, which is available for download - either his solo work, or several albums of the band, 86.

San Francisco - A Music City Compilation 1998

2008-06-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Living in SF for 7 years (1989 -1996) was the biggest influence on my musical tastes, as far as rock/pop goes... this compilation released by Trocadero Records in 1999 (a European label). Featuring 30 bands and bookended with spoken word piece about the birth, life and death of a music band, it's a great introduction to the San Francisco scene... and a decade later, stands as a good snapshot of the music scene of the late 90's.

A good portion of these bands did release albums in Europe, since they were picked up by European labels, or did their own releases... a select few can be found on American (but defunct) labels.

CD 1

CD 2

The Buckets Reunion

2008-06-02T11:26:00.001-07:00

Old-school Buckets (from L to R):
Long John Gonzales,Wanda Taters,
Jesse "Boots" Daniels, Earl Butter, Kid Coyote

I'd put The Buckets under 'Great Dead Bands' except that they haven't been completely dead - maybe comatose would be a better description. Every so often, leader 'Earl Butter' would emerge with a new lineup, and they'd play a show in the SF area.

In their heyday, they released one CD, several tapes and a couple of vinyl singles, and they played a lot of shows:

Emma June

The Curb

Bold Face Lie

Song of the True Divided Highway

There were rumors flying about that the summer of '08 might see some activity - well, the sleeper is getting ready to awake:

The Buckets
July, 17 2008 at Cafe Du Nord
2170 Market St., San Francisco, California 94114
Cost : $10.00

the Buckets Reunion/Alumni show....with all of your favorite Buckets past and present. And with just a little luck, we will have two cds....never released for you. the Great Auk, with Carrie, and Sister Exister with Dani round out the bill!

Those cds - one features songs from the older Buckets lineup and the other features brand new songs. Some cuts can be heard on their MySpace page, as well as more performance video.

Mark your calendars!

Quintet - Tom Pierson

2008-05-27T17:34:00.001-07:00

Something rather novel, this time - my first DVD rip!

QUINTET is the much maligned post apocalyptic science-fiction joint from Robert Altman. Released in 1979, it's understandable that it would get lost in the shuffle, being the 'year of ALIEN', also released by the same studio. Not having the usual trappings of sci-fi, and more in the line of Tarkovsky SF film like SOLARIS and STALKER (and being a good 15 years before appreciation of those films would be trendy in the USA), this was a commercial disaster at the time, and is still considered to be Altman's worst film.

I wouldn't go that far, but if you don't have any appreciation for foreign films with heavy psychological themes and a severe lack of physical action, you're not going to be a fan of this film - there are, however, some interesting things in it, despite a miscast Paul Newman... it's very strong visually, and good sound design.

Another asset is the score by Tom Pierson - if you're a fan of Leonard Rosenman or of Goldsmith's PLANET OF THE APES, you'll appreciate Pierson's work on QUINTET. People who like contemporary classical may also find this of interest.

There's about an hour of score here, ripped from the DVD. This is my first rip, so keep that in mind. There are some sound effects heard on some tracks.

This really deserves a legitimate release at some point - it could happen at some point, with all the limited editions being done... at best, it's an obscure score, but maybe it'll garner some fans.

Check it out.

The Billy Nayer Show - Reno

2008-05-13T11:49:00.001-07:00

the new single from BNS - also a short film done for Sundance.

Little Shop of Horrors- Deleted Unhappy Ending

2008-04-10T22:27:00.001-07:00

Finally, thanks to YouTube, we get to see the original ending of Frank Oz's adaptation of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS... (although you might have to sign in - for some reason it's flagged - probably due to a couple of naughty words sung in "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space"). This is about 22 minutes, so settle in.

They should've stuck to their guns and kept this ending, though it's easy to see why they did change it... but when you do a 'horror musical', you GOTTA give props to the horror side. And, as stated in the immortal Spader/Lowe film, BAD INFLUENCE, "You get in bed with The Devil, sooner or later, he's gonna wanna fuck." With no lube.

Nice to see Paul Dooley... Jim Belushi was not an improvement.

This is from the first DVD release, which was recalled, due to this footage going out in this state. It'd be nice to see it restored in color (which some tantalizing outtakes remain on the DVD), but I have to admit that it really works in black and white - and makes it more of an homage to the original Corman film.

If a restored version ever sees the light of day (always rumored... like the release of THE DEVILS), it would be nice if they'd did a SE like THE MIST, and also do a b/w release...

Jazz from "Phantom Lady"

2008-04-05T19:30:00.001-07:00

Some 40's hep jazz from the most famous sequence of "Phantom Lady" with Ella Raines and Elisha Cook Jr.

Binging on The Club Foot Orchestra

2008-02-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome back... and Happy 2008 to you!

To kick off the year, I'm offering up music from the beloved Bay Area band The Club Foot Orchestra. After garnering a reputation as an idiosyncratic dance band/avant jazz group with two albums under their belt, they then embarked on providing scores for silent films... probably one of the first groups to do so - they certainly paved the way for others like the Alloy Orchestra and other ensembles to also succeed in that niche. In my opinion, they were the best.

Their first score was for THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, composed by band leader Richard Mariott and conducted by Steed Cowart. Originally released on cassette on Ralph Records.

NOSFERATU, composed by Mariott and Gino Robair, conducted by Steed Cowart.
This was for the short version of the film, prior to its restoration. Originally released on cassette by Ralph Records.

METROPOLIS, collaboratively scored by Mariott and CFO. Released by Heyday Records. Tracks 1-18 are sequenced to work as a soundtrack to the video of Giorgio Moroder's restored version of the film. Track 25 is the soundtrack to Peter McCandless' film "Pool Of Thanatos," composed by Beth Custer.

1. Metropolis
2. Workers' Chorus
3. Stadium, Eternal Garden Of Pleasures & Maria's Gaze
4. Industry, Theme Of The Ancient Slaves, The City
5. Joh Frederson
6. Four Views Of Metropolis
7. Rebellion
8. Door V
9. Yoshiwara
10. Rotwang's House
11. Will These Ten Hours Ever End?
12. Descent To The Catacombs
13. Story Of Babel, The
14. Love In The Catacombs
15. Rotwang's Visage
16. Cathedral
17. Abduction In Imbroglio
18. Claustrophobia
19. Descent Into Madness
20. Dance And Hallucination
21. Riot II
22. Trance & Fire
23. Climax
24. Aftermath
25. Pool Of Thanatos

And, as added bonuses:

Erik Satie's score for Rene Clair's short film ENTR'ACTE, performed live by CFO;

SHERLOCK JR., collaboratively scored by Mariott & CFO, performed live at the Castro Theatre sometime in 1994 (tape not properly labelled - apologies). Conducted by Dierdre McClure.

CFO also did scores for PANDORA'S BOX and several other films and was scoring an animated Felix The Cat show in the mid-90's; SHERLOCK JR. is available on DVD with the Clubfoot score as well as another silent film, LEGONG, DANCE OF THE VIRGINS. For availability of other CFO projects, check the CFO and Richard Mariott's official sites.

If you're in the Bay Area this April, you can see Club Foot in performance as part of The San Francisco Jazz Festival.

Christmastime

2007-12-24T14:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

It's been quite awhile since there were any new posts... all the usual excuses apply - too busy, not enough time, not enough new content, laziness, etc.

Nothing new to offer; but in the spirit of the season, I will offer up a repost - Christmas Music!
From last year's Christmas post... everything is still available, except for the Mojo Nixon music, sorry to say.

The lp rips will resume in January... and there may be some other surprises thrown in from time to time - I don't want to say exactly what just yet, though.

Take care - we'll meet again in 2008.

Goin' on hiatus - Back in early Fall

2007-08-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

I'll be going on another hiatus soon, due to work, so expect no update until mid to late September.

Until that time, please pillage the archives and enjoy these new additions:

FORBIDDEN ZONE is Danny Elfman's first score, for his brother's whacked out cult film. When released on CD, two tracks, "Pico and Sepulveda" and "La Petit Tonkinoise" were excluded, mainly due to rights issues. I've restored those tracks, so this mirrors the original LP release.

THE HIDDEN is an early Michael Convertino score, mixing percussion and electronics with some orchestral overlays. Very interesting. This is from the cassette release, which doesn't have a track the CD release had.

Enjoy the rest of your summer - see you in September!

Great Dead Bands - The Sextants "I Don't Lie"

2007-07-22T20:46:00.001-07:00

I Don't Lie ep (1992)

01 - Morrissey
02 - Read All About It
03 - Gunslinger
04 - Hungry Wolf
05 - Every Day
06 - Radio Boy
07 - I Heard A Train

After the release of their album LUCKY YOU on Imago Records (which can be easily found in used cd stores and cut out bins) and touring, this EP quietly slipped out... practically under the radar. The Sextants should have been more successful - for the reasons why that didn't happen, read an interview with member Brennan Hester.

Great Dead Bands - Granfaloon Bus

2007-07-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

One of the great San Francisco (by way of San Diego) bands of the '90s, GB never fully got their due until relatively recently in the 00s, and even then it was too little, too late - their albums were on a European label and hard to find, unless you were in the Bay Area to catch their live shows, or to get it from the local record stores. They have an affinity with another Great Dead Band, Dieselhed - they both got lumped into the 'alt-country' genre, though it never really was a snug fit.

Comprised of Felix Costanza, Ajax Green, and Jeff Palmer - Steve Daubenspeck was around for the first couple of albums, and was replaced by Jeff Stevenson from GOOD FUNERAL WEATHER on to the end, the albums were produced by Bay Area uberproducer Greg Freeman.
Only one of their albums, EXPLODED VIEW, found a label in the States (and is readily available). Their last album, LUCKY CURTAINS, was released in Europe.

Rocket Noon (1996)

01 - We're So Happy
02 - The Witchdoctors Are Sulking
03 - Alexandra
04 - OK
05 - Daisy
06 - Wearin' Blue
07 - Queen Ann's Hill
08 - Satellite Frank
09 - Dearth
10 - Candy's Carousel
11 - God's Little Sequin
12 - Witchdoctor's Reprise

Sleeping Car (1997)

01 - Say Cheese
02 - Widow's Weeds
03 - Free Gold Halo
04 - 1/2 a Beer, 1/2 a Song
05 - The Burning Sun Within Me
06 - Remains
07 - The Mission Song
08 - A Few Less Things
09 - Miss Essmaker
10 - Waldo
11 - Twistin' The Doctor

Good Funeral Weather (1998)

01 - Seeded Clouds
02 - Believers
03 - Worldwar Lovesong (WW I)
04 - Potboiler
05 - Too Angry To Fly
06 - Some Kind of Other Love (WW II)
07 - Cold Morning
08 - Borders
09 - We're Sellin' Helen's Hearse
10 - A Bunch of Times
11 - I'm A Leaf
12 - Sound
13 - Oysterpirates

Major Re-Up Finished!

2007-07-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

It took awhile, but it was worth the effort...

I've gone through and re-upped the sound files in the archives, so everything should be available for quite some time, unless the file host I'm using has issues (not impossible, considering this is the third major shift I've had to do). Most of the links that had issues, I've labelled as 'Dead', so there'll be no confusion.

So sift through the archives at your leisure... I'll do a fresh posting in about a week - after that, I'll be taking a long break, due to other projects starting up.

June Soundtracks

2007-06-25T15:16:00.001-07:00

More sountracks for the end of June...

Marc Shaiman - the movie is a suckfest, but the music is A-1. Includes Elijah Wood singing "If I Were A Rich Man"... just a snippet of verse.

Herschel Burke-Gilbert - very much an 'old-school Western' score, but fans of THE RIFLEMAN and Western music will like this.

Terence Blanchard - a very surprising score for a very underrated film. A huge stretch from his previous work with Spike Lee.

Jerome Moross - a collection of his concert works, 'Symphony #1', 'The Last Judgement' and 'Variations on a Waltz'.

New postings in July before taking another long break -- before that, I may re-up some of the dead links.

Enjoy!

The Sleeper Awakes

2007-06-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

No, Music-Snob isn't quite dead yet -- just sleeping!

It's been slow-going, doing lp burning, in-between the other things that have been going on in my life. And it's been a challenge, trying to offer up some things that aren't currently circulating - I think that the soundtrack blog fad has just about reached saturation.

This time around, I offer up a couple more rock/pop albums, and I throw a bone out to the soundtrack fans:

Well, this is a bit of a trick answer; it's BOTH. More from The Billy Nayer Show - the film is available on DVD and well worth checking out, but I think the soundtrack is more successful... the images in your head as you listen aren't subject to a budget.

The live/reunion album from Georgia's Guadalcanal Diary, who reformed briefly in the late 90's.

For the soundtrack guys, a helping of English composer Frank Cordell - suites from his scores for RING OF BRIGHT WATER and GOD TOLD ME TO.

THE BILLY NAYER SHOW

2007-04-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

As stated earlier, I thought I'd take a momentary break from posting soundtracks and delve into the other side of my collection... mainly bands that were started, or based in San Francisco for a good portion of the 90's

BNS isn't a Great Dead Band - they're very much alive and well, and now based out of NYC, and still releasing albums. Chances are, you've heard of BNS or its frontman, Cory McAbee, due to the movie THE AMERICAN ASTRONAUT.

This is their first album/cd, long out of print, which features selections from the short film and soundtrack THE KETCHUP AND MUSTARD MAN, along with their first single, and various songs that were mainstays of their live shows. Their sound isn't quite as wild now as on these recordings, but this is a great place to start being a Billy Nayer fan.

If you like this, check out the BNS site, where you can order their other albums, as well as the short films and THE AMERICAN ASTRONAUT. And for more about the band, here's an interview with Cory McAbee and an overview of BNS.

Go meet The Bunny King

Re-Ups!

2007-04-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Good to be back, after being away for a few weeks...

If I, personally, haven't been missed, I know that some of the listings here have been - apparently, several expired since I've been away. So I've re-upped the following:

Christus Apollo (J. Goldsmith)
Cold Turkey (R. Newman)
Revolution (J. Corigliano)
Altered States (J. Corigilano)
Night of the Hunter (W. Schumann)
5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (F. Hollander/Dr. Suess)

Big Jeter compilation
Big Jeter Halloween 2001
Riggs

Get 'em while you can!!

Amazing Grace and Chuck - FEAST OF BERNSTEIN, Dish #3

2007-02-23T21:42:00.000-08:00

The final dish in our repast is a Bernstein score from the late 1980's for the nuclear disarmament fable AMAZING GRACE AND CHUCK, with William Peterson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Gregory Peck.
AG catches Bernstein reminding everyone what he does best, while also in career transition - for a large part of the 80's, starting with ANIMAL HOUSE in '78, he was the go-to guy for comedies (AIRPLANE!, STRIPES, GHOSTBUSTERS, etc), while also sticking his toes into sci-fi/fantasy (SATURN 3, SPACEHUNTER, THE BLACK CAULDRON).
AMAZING GRACE features Bernstein doing Americana themes (some slight hint of his Western scoring), and utilizing, AGAIN, the Ondes Martenot (an instrument that was pretty much Bernstein's pet during this period). It's pretty stirring stuff, especially for an idealistic Capraesque story... RAMBLING ROSE, composed in 1991, is the capstone for this period in his career.

Despite the cover art used, this rip is from the LP. It's the same artwork, though.

Check it out

Thus, gorged and sated, we end our Feast of Bernstein. Hope you enjoyed the selections.

Next few postings may be on the rock/pop side of things... then more soundtracks.

Summer And Smoke - FEAST OF BERNSTEIN: Dish #2

2007-02-23T21:16:00.000-08:00

The second dish for your enjoyment is Bernstein's score for the film of Tennessee Williams' play SUMMER AND SMOKE, made in 1961. The film isn't quite as hot and bothered as BABY DOLL, but there's plenty of heat from sublimated desires onscreen - definitely worth a look if you can find a copy on tape (no DVD as of yet, sadly).

Bernstein was pretty prolific by this time in his career and Summer and Smoke tends to get overlooked, in lieu of some of his other work in this period - TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, for instance, which came 2 years later. He did get Oscar nominations for both scores, and lost out both times.

Check it out

The Man With The Golden Arm - Elmer Bernstein

2007-02-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

As previously promised, we kick off our Feast of Bernstein with a particularly meaty selection and one of Bernstein's most popular efforts. Based on the Nelson Algren novel, it was one of the first films to deal seriously with the subject of drug addiction, with Frank Sinatra as card dealer/jazz drummer/junkie, Frankie Machine, who attempts to kick his habit for good.

Jazz had been used in movies well before MGA, but Bernstein's score is notable for using jazz as a continuous element in the score... it's not just limited to scenes set in a club. The score really sells the depths of Machine's addiction.

This is from the Decca LP - many have covered the main theme, and even Bernstein has conducted it on several compilations -- none of those have the heft and kick of the original, and that's mainly due to the musicians involved... the jazz sequences were arranged by Shorty Rogers and played by his Giants - Pete Candoli, trumpet; Milt Bernhart, trombone; Bud Shank, Alto; Bob Cooper, Tenor; Ralph Pena, Bass; Shelly Manne, drums and Rogers on the flugelhorn. Shelly Manne supervised the drumming sequences and Fred Steiner (TWILIGHT ZONE, PERRY MASON, STAR TREK, BULLWINKLE) did the orchestrations.

Jazz fans should eat this up... and if you haven't heard much early Bernstein, this is when he was just getting started...

Check it out

Look for a couple more selections coming to round out our Feast - another early score and something from his later years.

If you haven't yet, feel free to check the archives for other selections... most of those links are still functional, and I did do some re-uploading.

Rogepost tends to be a bit screwy from time to time - some selections that I thought had been purged turned out not to have been - probably due to the periodic site 'maintenance' done from time to time. If it appears that something is not downloading, be patient; try back in a couple of days or so... more than likely, it'll reappear again.

Taking care of biz and Remembering Frankie Laine

2007-02-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who's left a comment over the past year... glad to know that most people like the eclectic selections.

I've discovered that a few of the links have been recently busted - like 95% of the last post and some of the earlier ones, like the Antheil and Addison selections. I'll attempt to get those back up at some point, but the way things are shaping up, if you see it, get it immediately!

Coming very soon - some vintage Bernstein.

And, in memory of the recently deceased Frankie Laine... well, can't you guess?

Snacks before the main meal

2007-02-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Currently in the vinyl vault, hard at work burning several albums for posting - all OUT OF PRINT, for the benefit of anyone who cares about such things... until those are ready, I thought I'd throw up a couple of things up that are.

First is a repost of a previous entry - I've had a couple of requests for this so it should make the Shirley Walker fans happy. DEAD

CAPE FEAR is Bernard Herrmann's score from the J. Lee Thompson film with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum... and this is the original recording, conducted by Herrmann. DEAD

SPFM Tribute is a disc from the 1993 convention of The Society for the Preservation of Film Music, held in L.A. The guest of honor was Jerry Goldsmith and this was a highly prized collectable given to attendees of the dinner... and afterwards available to people who joined the society. The disc includes suites from THE FLIM-FLAM MAN, TAKE A HARD RIDE, MAGIC, and BABY: SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND. Most of this has since been released commercially and is available elsewhere, with the probable exception of BABY. DEAD

I've also meant to include music other than soundtracks here... "Theme from THE GREEN SLIME" sort of covers both areas.

Enjoy!

Busted!

2007-01-23T15:52:00.000-08:00

Looks like it's the Night of the Long Knives in Bloggerdom - soundtrack blogs are taking another big hit, with files deleted from their hosters, and blogger throwing in the towel...

Even here, you'll find that PRACTICAL MAGIC, LAST MAN STANDING have been killed - everything else seems fine - for the moment, that is.

Requests & a Repost

2007-01-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

Happy 2007, everyone!

Thought I'd start out the year in a helpful frame of mind... although a lot of bloggers have fallen by the wayside, there have been a few new kids plying their wares... like:

Soundtracks of Doom
Soundtrack Lover's Paradise
80's Movie Soundtracks

to name just a very few... as well as the older standbys still out there working the corner.

So, I'd thought I'd help out on some requested items:

Practical Magic - Michael Nyman
DEAD

The rejected score, here in its entirety... Some of the early pressings of the soundtrack album did include two cuts from the Nyman score, before they were replaced with cuts from Alan Silvestri's replacement score.

Last Man Standing - Elmer Bernstein
DEAD

For the Walter Hill remake of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, set in the 1920's... but FISTFUL was a remake of YOJIMBO, set in feudal Japan... which in turn was based on Dashiell Hammett's novel RED HARVEST, set in the 1920's.

Anyway... Bernstein's score was thrown out in favor of music from Hill's usual collaborator, Ry Cooder.

The Addams Family - Marc Shaiman
DEAD

BIG sounding score, lots of fun...

and a repost from a few months ago, which got killed.

The Right Stuff/North & South - Bill Conti
TOTALLY DEAD!!

The Last Christmas Mix of 2006

2006-12-22T21:16:00.000-08:00

This is the oldest Christmas mix that I still have - a present from a friend in San Francisco:

NANCY REAGAN'S FAVORITE CHRISTMAS CAROLS

01) Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong
02) Santa Got Stuck (In My Chimney) - Ella Fitzgerald
03) Jack Benny Christmas Bit - Jack Benny
04) Jingle Bells - Don Carlos, G. Spenser
05) J.E.S.U.S. Commercial
06) Jesus Hits (Like An Atom Bomb) - Acme String Association
07) Merry Christmas, Everybody - Bob Rivers Comedy Group
08) Happy Holidays - Ray Noble
09) Santa Baby - Madonna
10) Democrats On Holiday -The Washington Steps
11) Christmastime Is Here (The Chipmunk Song) - Alvin & The Chipmunks (Ross Bagdasarian)
12) Christmas Boogie - Canned Heat w/Alvin & The Chipmunks
13) Smothers Brother Xmas Carol - The Smothers Brothers
14) I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Ronettes
15) The Christmas Song - Billy Crystal/Nat King Cole
16) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
17) I Wanna Spend Christmas With Elvis - Debbie Dabney
18) Christmas Greeting/Santa, Bring My Baby Back To Me - Elvis Presley
19) Christmas Is Coming - The Muppets
20) Linus & Lucy - Vince Guaraldi
21) Zat U, Santa Claus? - Louis Armstrong
22) Mambo, Santa, Mambo - The Enchanters
23) Droid Christmas - Star Wars Christmas

Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions - hope that you all have a Great Holiday.

New posts will begin in the New Year.

Millennium Christmas Mix

2006-12-22T00:29:00.000-08:00

MILLENNIUM CHRISTMAS

01) Must Be Santa - The Billy Nayer Show
02) Edward Scissorhands (suite) - Danny Elfman
03) Linus & Lucy - Vince Guaraldi
04) Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer - The Smithereens
05) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Revillos
06) Christmastime - Aimee Mann/Michael Penn
07) Gloria - Elastica
08) A Drew Carey Christmas - The Drew Carey Show
09) Carol of the Bells - John Williams
10) Star of Bethlehem - John Williams
11) Who Says There Ain't No Santa Claus? - Ron Holden & The Thunderbirds
12) Scrooged (suite) - Danny Elfman
13) Thanks For Christmas - XTC
14) Merry Christmas, Baby - Southern Culture On The Skids
15) Jingle Bells (The Simpsons) - Robert Goulet
16) Home Alone (suite) - John Williams
17) Christmas In Heaven (The Meaning of Life) - Monty Python
18) Nut Rocker - B. Bumble & The Stingers
19) The Closing of the Year (Toys) - Wendy & Lisa w/Seal

Enjoy!

Bummer Xmas Mixes

2006-12-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

For those of you who can't stand the saccharine sweetness of the Holidays, here's some alternative listening...

FESTIVUS '04
"A lump of coal for your Festivus sock"

1). Xmas Is For Mugs - Graham Parker
2). Back Door Santa - Clarence Carter
3). What Do The Lonely Do At Xmas? - The Emotion
4). 12 Days of Waffle House - The Waffle House Singers
5). Who Took The Merry Out of Xmas? - The Staples Singers
6). Merry Xmas From The Family - Robert Earl Keen

This compilation was a gift from the lovely and talented A.J. Michel of Syndicate Product, using Festivus as the focus of this tight little package of Grinchiness... it's become one of my favorites.

Thought I'd add a bonus - part II of a Millennium Christmas Tape mix I did a few years ago, Side B focusing on "Bummer Xmas" songs:

MILLENNIUM CHRISTMAS MIX
Bummer edition

01) Christmas Spirit?! - The Wailers
02) Don't Believe In Christmas - The Sonics
03) Santa Came Home Drunk - Clyde Lasley & the Cadillac Baby Specials
04) Christmas - Remy Zero
05) Christmas Eve Can Kill You - The Everly Brothers
06) Please Come Home For Christmas - Southside Johnny Lyon
07) Christmas - The Posies
08) Christmas In Vermont - Ed's Redeeming Qualities

Horny Holidays! - Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors

2006-12-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

Definitely NOT for the little kids!
well, Track 16, at least.

1. Happy Birthday
2. Trim Yo" Tree
3. Good King Wenceslas
4. Mr. Grinch
5. Head Crushing Yuletide Sing-A-Long
6. It"s Christmas Time
7. Jingle Bells
8. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
9. Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto
10. Run Rudolph Run
11. We Three Kings
12. Everyday Will Be A Holiday
13. Sleigh Ride
14. Little Man Song
15. Go Tell It On A Mountain
16. Twas The Night Before Christmas

Horny Holidays to All!

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

2006-12-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

Music: Frederick Hollander
Lyrics: Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel)

01) Opening Credits/Butterfly Ballet - Orchestra
02) Ten Happy Fingers - Mary Healy & Tommy Rettig*
03) Piano Concerto (Ten Happy Fingers Variation) - Orchestra
04) Dream Stuff - Peter Lind Hayes & Tommy Rettig*
05) Hypnotic Duel - Hans Conried
06) Get Together Weather - Hans Conried, Mary Healy, Peter Lind Hayes
07) Because We're Kids - Tommy Rettig*
08) Dungeon Ballet - Orchestra
09) We Are Victorious - Chorus/Dr. T's Soldiers
10) Elevator Song - Elevator Operator
11) Dressing Song - Do-Me-Do Duds - Hans Conried & Chorus
12) End Credit - Orchestra

(* actually Tony Butala did Tommy's vocals)

Outtakes - Recorded, but not used in film

13) My Favorite Note - Hans Conried
14) Oh! We Are The Guards - Chorus/Dr. T's Soldiers
15) I Will Not Get Involved, Part 1 - Peter Lind Hayes
16) I Will Not Get Involved, Part 2 - Peter Lind Hayes
17) Grindstone - Peter Lind Hayes
18) Money - Peter Lind Hayes
19) Terwilliker - Hans Conried & Mary Healy
20) I Will Not Go To Sleep - Hans Conried
21) Many Questions - Mary Healy
22) One Moment Ago - Chorus
23) One Moment Ago - Orchestra

I hope this one makes a few people happy.
Being an 'archival' recording, some of the sound quality isn't pristine, especially on some of the outtake selections... I did do my best, however.
For more information about the film, and some RA samples of other deleted songs, you might check out this Dr. T. fan site.

He's in the drum.

I'll try to get a couple of Christmas things up, then I'll take a short break until after the new year.

John Barry

2006-12-19T06:49:00.000-08:00

In the mid- to late- 60's, Columbia Records released several John Barry compilation albums, two of them being JOHN BARRY CONDUCTS HIS GREATEST MOVIE HITS and READY WHEN YOU ARE, J.B.

In the late 80's, when labels began raiding their back catalogs to issue on CD, one of the many John Barry compilations was THE FILM MUSIC OF JOHN BARRY, which was comprised of the bulk of both albums and a third compilation LP.

Since the CD is still available & easy to find, I collected the 9 tracks from both albums that were left off of the CD

01) Afternoon
02) Dutchman
03) The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair
04) Midnight Cowboy
05) Romance for Guitar and Orchestra - Theme (from DEADFALL)
06) The More Things Change
07) Try (from OHMSS)
08) Who Will Buy My Yesterdays?
09) You Only Live Twice

Selections 2, 3, 9 - from JOHN BARRY CONDUCTS HIS GREATEST MOVIE HITS LP
Selections 1,4-8 - from READY WHEN YOU ARE, J.B. LP

THE GIRL is a theme from a British shampoo commercial that ran in the mid 60's, while Dutchman is from the score of Anthony Harvey's film of LeRoi Jones' play.

Go get it.

Shirley Walker, R.I.P.

2006-11-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

This was very shocking news... I had learned about it just a little bit after I put up MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN.

Over the next few days, most of the soundtrack sites (like FSM) will have obits up... but probably the best way to honor her is to listen and admire her work. So, watch the DVD's of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND, ESCAPE FROM L.A., TURBULENCE, MYSTERY MEN (Stephen Warbeck is credited with the score, but Walker contributed additional music), FINAL DESTINATION 1, 2, & 3, and WILLARD ( Crispin Glover version).

Her last score will be for the remake of BLACK CHRISTMAS, which hits theatres in a few weeks.

Early Herrmann

2006-11-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

I knew I'd eventually getting around to putting up some Bernard Herrmann... to start out, I'm featuring his debut work with Orson Welles.

Kane

Kane was the film debut of both Welles and Herrmann - and while there are lots of recordings of music from it (Herrmann's own suites on London Phase 4 and Charles Gerhardt's great recording on RCA to the recent Joel McNeely on Varese), I'm a bit partial to this version... probably this and the McNeely re-recording combined would be as close to a complete version on record/disc as you can get.

Tony Bremner conducting the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra

1. Prelude (02:19)
2. Susan in Night Club (Rain Sequence) (00:52)
3. Thatcher Library (Litany); Ms. Reading and Snow Picture; Mother's Sacrifice; Charlie Meets Thatcher (03:23)
4. Galop (00:57)
5. Dissolve to Thatcher; Second Ms.; Bernstein's Narration (01:40)
6. Kane's News Office; Carter's Exit; Chronicle Scherzo (02:57)
7. Bernstein's Presto (00:39)
8. Kane's Return; Valse Presentation (01:39)
9. Sunset Narrative (02:17)
10. Theme and Variations (Breakfast Montage) (03:18)
11. Kane Meets Susan; Susan's Room; Mother Memory (03:07)
12. The Trip to Susan's; Getty's Departure; Kane Marries (02:08)
13. Salaambo's Aria (04:21)
(Rosamund Illing, soprano)
14. Leland's Dismissal (00:57)
15. Susan in Night Club (New Dawn Sequence) (00:52)
16. Opera Montage (00:46)
(Rosamund Illing, soprano)
17. Xanadu; Jigsaw Puzzles (Perpetual Motion); Second Xanadu (03:49)
18. Kane's Picnic; Susan Leaves (01:59)
19. El Rancho (Second Dawn Sequence) (00:38)
20. The Glass Ball (01:21)

Ambersons

The other reason for featuring this version of KANE is to bookend the next Welles/Herrmann film, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. If you see the film, you'll notice that Herrmann's name doesn't appear in the credits - he took his name off of the film after tampering was done to the film and his score. This disc represents a complete reconstruction of Herrmann's score for the film, restoring selections that didn't end up in the film.

Tony Bremner conducting the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra

1. Theme & Variations; George's Homecoming (07:18)
2. Snow Ride (03:05)
3. The Door; Death & Youth (00:56)
4. Toccata (01:12)
5. Pleasure Trip (01:06)
6. Prelude (01:30)
7. First Nocturne (04:08)
Neville Taweel, violin solo

8. Garden Scene (01:14)

9. Fantasia (02:11)

10. Scene Pathetique (02:19)

11. Waiting 1 and 2 (01:32)

12. Ostinato (01:52)

13. First Letter Scene (03:25)

14. Second Letter Scene; Romanza (02:12)

15. Second Nocturne (03:22)

Henry Wenig, cello solo

16. Departure; Isabel's Death (01:47)
17. First Reverie; Second Reverie (02:40)
18. The Walk Home (02:49)
19. Garden Music (02:59)
Janet Perkins, organ solo

20. Elegy (01:23)
21. End Title (02:20)

The Last Valley - John Barry

2006-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

An underrated score from John Barry from a movie that very few have probably seen - written and directed by the man who wrote SHOGUN... and TO SIR, WITH LOVE incidentally.

Barry had scored THE LION IN WINTER, making use of a choir and he stretches a little further in that direction with LAST VALLEY... this is from the lp release.

If you like this, you might want to pick up the expanded re-recording on CD.

7/13/07 - I didn't re-up this because it has recently been released on CD by the Intrada label.

The Pride and The Passion - George Antheil

2006-11-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

Never have seen the Stanley Kramer film of this... I mainly picked up the lp due to the composer, George Antheil, the former "Bad Boy of Music" in the early part of the 20th Century (try to find his famous composition "Ballet Mechanique").

Being set in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, the score has a heavy Spanish flavor - if you're a fan of Miklos Rozsa's EL CID, you'd find this to be a great companion.

Give it a try.

John Addison - The 7% Solution & Tom Jones

2006-11-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

John Addison is not a name that's bandied about very much nowadays - those who are just getting into soundtracks may know him as the guy who did the "Murder, She Wrote" theme, or as the guy whose music replaced Bernard Herrmann's for Hitchcock's misbegotten TORN CURTAIN.

Addison burst onto the scene with his score for the movie TOM JONES (1963) and was very popular in the 60's & 70's... some of his other scores include SLEUTH, A BRIDGE TOO FAR and several t.v. miniseries in the mid-70's. Another acclaimed score he did was for the Holmes pastiche, THE 7% SOLUTION (1976).

Both scores were released on lp and have not seen a CD release.

Tom Jones

7% Solution

Chrisopher Young doubled - THE VAGRANT, INVADERS FROM MARS

2006-11-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

Some obscure and great scores to appeal to those who like their music - experimental.

For the rest of you, that just means that it's Weird... but Weird is Good!

Invade it

One of Chris Young's first plum assignments was Tobe Hooper's (ill-advised) remake of INVADERS FROM MARS (1986). Actually, very little of his score was in the film - all of the orchestral cue made it into the film, but he had composed, for the sequences featuring the Martian invaders, cues that bordered on musique concrete - and naturally, that got thrown out of the picture.

In the early 90's, Young was given the opportunity to rework those rejected cues into a 30 minute concert piece, presented on an album that also featured an early work (Oasis) and another concert piece (Holy Matrimony). I use the term 'concert piece' loosely, since they could only exist in the recording studio - there's no way that the pieces could be performed live.
The liner notes go into great detail, for any musicians into electronic music.

Shelter it

Young also did the music for this 1992 black comedy/horror film that was produced by Mel Brooks' company...(and which is still not available on DVD - with a cast like Bill Paxton, Marshall Bell and Michael Ironside, the SCI-FI Channel should be running this every month instead of the crap they usually show). There's not quite a word to describe Young's score - it manages to capture the tone of the film quite well (a feat that wasn't so easy, according to the liner notes), but it's not an easy listen, at first.

If you're looking for melody/harmony, these probably aren't the scores to settle in with for a nice quiet evening. But even though they're 'Weird', they're very compelling.

Go on... take a chance.

Looking For Richard - Howard Shore

2006-11-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

A relatively rare (as of now) score by Howard Shore for Al Pacino's fascinating docudrama.
In the early days pre-LOTR (mid-90's), there was a lot of concern about Howard Shore being hired on to compose music for the film series... sure, Shore had proved himself by doing comedies (1st bandleader on SNL, The Great Years), and thrillers (Se7en, Silence of the Lambs), and was David Cronenberg's composer-of-choice - but did he have what it took to do an epic?

Those who were lucky enough to see LOOKING FOR RICHARD, or to get the score release already knew the answer to that question. And after the success of LOTR, LfR became a much sought after CD.

It's NOT LOTR - but many of the elements that Shore utilized can be found here.

Listen up

RIGGS

2006-11-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

Not much known about these guys... if you've seen HEAVY METAL:THE MOVIE, you know two of their songs "Radar Rider" and "Heartbeat" But you probably overlooked their one album that came out in '82...

Lend an ear

Big Jeter - Halloween 2001

2006-10-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

If you check the (mim-uh-zeen) archive, you can find some background info about Kansas City's late, lamented Big Jeter - although the main members have gone on to other, better things (burlesque shows and movie-making and screening), there's something very sad about living in a Big-Jeter-less universe.

BJ has been described as a cowpunk/country outfit - not totally inaccurate, since they did start out by doing tweaked countryish songs - but it doesn't tell the whole story.

They had more in common with bands on both coasts that would do wild shit, and deliver great songs. In BJ, if the musicianship was sometimes a little shaky, they more than made up for it in the passion of performance and cleverness.

Case in point: not just ANY band would do a cover of THE GREEN SLIME Theme.

Big Jeter didn't really release much - there was a promo CD-R of 5 songs that used to be sold at shows, and some MP3's were on a site or two before the Napster Smackdown canned the First Wave of FileSharing. There are a few files on the Chucky Lou A/V Club Yahoo group, but it's just a taste. What exists is on bootleg recordings, both audio and video.

This is a compilation I did of the BJ songs I'd manage to scavenge over the years, which include that CD and MP3's.

But to get a sense of what they were like onstage, you'd have to listen to their Halloween show at The Hurricane in KC, MO in 2001.

Altered States

2006-10-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

John Corigliano's first film score for the wild Ken Russell adaptation of Paddy Cheyefsky's novel.

Thought I should put this up as well, as a companion to REVOLUTION - AS is more 'out there', but listening to it some 25+ years later, it doesn't seem as outlandish as when it debuted. It's a landmark score, and people should be more aware of it.

If you're also thinking that it sounds a bit like some of Elliot Goldenthal's work - Goldenthal did study under Corigilano, so that explains that.

Check it out

The Night of the Hunter

2006-10-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

With Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd dig out some items that are seasonally appropriate... with that in mind, gather the kids around the MP3 player and listen to a scary story.

Most probably wouldn't consider THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER to be Halloween fare. Specifically, it's not - but it's plenty scary, the kind of scare that follows you in dreams, if you were young enough to see it on the Late Show. It holds up, and it's the kind of film for Halloween that you can let the kids see as well.

Part of what makes the film work so well is the music by Walter Schumann (who's also known for co-composing the theme for DRAGNET). RCA did release an album, but instead of being merely musical selections, got Charles Laughton (the director of the film) to also perform a reading of the story with the underscore. Most of the time, this drives soundtrack listeners nuts, but this is one of the few times when it works well... pretend that you're listening to an old-time radio broadcast - or, to be more contemporary, listening to an audiobook performance.

Check it out

COLD TURKEY - Randy Newman

2006-10-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

When people think of Randy Newman as a film composer, and trace his career back, most may assume that his first score was for Milos Forman's muddled adaptation of E.L. Doctrow's RAGTIME.

Not so... although RAGTIME would not be a bad debut score.

Newman's first score was for a Norman Lear/Bud Yorkin (producers of ALL IN THE FAMILY, MAUDE, SANFORD & SON, THE JEFFERSONS, among others) film, COLD TURKEY, with Dick VanDyke, Bob Newhart and a lot of familiar faces from 70's sit-coms, about a small town in Iowa that takes up a tobacco company's challenge for every resident to quit smoking for 30 days. The humor may be a bit forced in today's climate of non-smoking, but it's a pretty good satire for its time.

Newman's score plays up a lot of his now-trademark Americana, as well as a take on Elmer Bernstein's MAGNIFICENT SEVEN theme opening the picture (part of the joke - the theme was used on Marlboro commercials in the 60's), and the song "He Gives Us All His Love" as the Main and End Titles (of which an arrangement can be found on Newman's album SAIL AWAY).

One of the earliest scores I remember hearing and totally digging, along with the film. The film is only on VHS, for the time being; the score never got a release, the song notwithstanding.
This file is from my own archives, so sound quality is not pristine; plus there are some snippets of dialog, which I've tried to minimize.

Go get it.

REVOLUTION - OST John Corigliano

2006-10-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

John Corigiliano is well known in the Classical Music world as a renouned composer and in the film music world for the scores for ALTERED STATES and THE RED VIOLIN. Back in 1986, he composed a score for the Al Pacino film REVOLUTION. If you haven't heard of it... well, no surprise. Hugh Hudson's follow-up film after GREYSTOKE, REVOLUTION was a look at the
emergining America from under British rule. Despite a pretty decent cast (Natassia Kinski, Donald Sutherland and ROCKY HORROR's Richard O'Brien in a supporting role) the film pretty much stunk on ice.

One of its saving graces is Corigiliano's score, which features flautist James Galway.
Since the movie tanked, no record was released, although test pressings were made and a few did make their way into the hands of collectors. This has long been requested as a legitimate release, but legal wrangling still makes this MIA... well, until now.

Go get it.

Christus Apollo - Jerry Goldsmith

2006-10-12T00:35:00.000-07:00

My first big musical love was - and still is, really - movie soundtracks. Due to a steady diet of 60's television rerun on afternoons after school and on weekends, I suspect - well before STAR WARS burst the soundtrack gates wide open in '77, I knew who John Williams was; when he was "Johnny" Williams and doing the music for Irwin Allen shows like LOST IN SPACE and LAND OF THE GIANTS, to name one example.

For me, it's opened the doors into a lot of aural landscapes; rather than being limited, it's a genre/label that's pretty inclusive - everything from orchestral, to pop songs, to sound/noise design.

I mention this because in addition to the occasional pop/rock items that may show up here from time to time, I'll also post soundtrack/soundtrack related items also.

CHRISTUS APOLLO falls into 'soundtrack related' - it's not a soundtrack, but a concert work from the late 60's composed by Jerry Goldsmith... specifically a "A Cantata For Contralto, Narrator, Chorus And Orchestra", with text by Ray Bradbury.

If you only know Jerry Goldsmith from his work in the 90's, like TOTAL RECALL, BASIC INSTINCT, RUDY... well, this is the Jerry Goldsmith from the 60's, when he was into serial composition - stuff like PLANET OF THE APES. Great stuff, but the neighbors may complain.

There is a recent recording of this, on the Telarc label, that features Anthony Hopkins doing the narration, as well as features two other concert pieces from Goldsmith, that is highly recommended.

This recording is from the premiere performance by The Southern Chamber Orchestra and Choir, with Goldsmith conducting and narration by Charlton Heston.

CHRISTUS APOLLO

Jumping into the File-Share pool

2006-10-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

It's been quite some time since updating this particular corner... to be honest, I was a bit intimidated - I've written about music before, but no matter how talented your poetic gifts are, nothing quite puts it across like the genuine article.

Over the summer, I discovered the new crop of music blogs all over the place - and decided to wait until I had some access of posting some of my favorites, which will back up all the good things I have to say about them.

So I'm jumping into the pool, with the other lemmings... let's see how long we can swim before we go under.

I started this blog off with The Smarties post - if I had the ability then, I would have put up those songs which caught my attention. Craig does have some downloads of songs at the MySpace page, but I'll put up those 3 songs that were on that tape. According to him, that was a tape that was sent out to bookers for gigs - two of the songs are on the PLAY IT! album, but these versions are slightly different -- and one song hasn't been featured anywhere else, from what I gather.

So enjoy!

He Fixes Things

Day Off

Is Your Daddy Gonna Pay (For My Broken Heart)?

Addendum 10/27/06

Craig of The Smarties posted news that a limited quantity of PLAY IT! cd's were discovered and are now on sale at CD Baby; and that Smarties songs will soon be found on iTunes and other online music services.

2006-10-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Tribute to Brian Harvey and his family

Hello - finally some time to post some content!

Just recently signed up on YouTube, and one of the first things I found was this tribute - "Remember Me Well", the closer on the CAKEWALK album is used.

A fitting epitaph...

The Return of Dieselhed

2006-05-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

For those lucky enough to be in San Francisco on May 21, there's a special treat in store, if you can get tickets. Windy Chien (former owner of Aquarius Records and acquaintance) writes about what made Dieselhed great.

If you haven't heard of them, look up their listing on All Music Guide... and try to find some samples on-line.

Return from Columbia / Play It -The Smarties

2006-05-11T22:41:00.000-07:00

Back from filming in Columbia, Mo, where the following photo was taken in The Blue Note, one of Columbia's better clubs...

Since I started this whole music blog off about a mystery band that quickly turned out not to be such a mystery (now that technology has enabled any one of us to post about literally anything), it seems fitting that the Journey To The Smarties ends very happily... when Craig Bostick signed in and agreed to answer questions, it was far more than I ever expected - that still left that elusive CD to find (well, a cassette tape too, but I'm not that obsessive anymore).

Of course, after years of searching e-Bay, and finding nothing, I make one small post about a band no one I know has heard of, and people come out of the woodwork - no exception here. A couple of days after sending questions to Craig about the band, I make another random search on eBay and finally, hit paydirt. Someone in New Hampshire, of all places, has it up for auction at a reasonable price.

So, after 10 years after its release (1996) and several years of searching for more material, does the album hold up well & was it worth all the trouble searching for it? Being a fan of upbeat songs like those of The Go-Go's, Josie Cotton & The B-52's, I think that it holds up quite well, especially when in that company... it's one of the better 'summer' albums that I've found; with songs like "Sundazed", "Loved and Lost Her (In A Flying Saucer)", "Hero of the Beach", it'll get lots of play along with the Joe "King" Carrasco songs I've found. That it comes from a band in Southern MO instead of L.A. makes it even more wonderful - I'd be tempted to look for beach parties in the Springfield area after several listens.

It's hard to find... hell, it took me several years to even know there was a CD... but if you come across it, grab it! You can also find clips at The Smarties MySpace.com page, and if you do some hard searching on various Internet music sites, you may hit some paydirt.

On hiatus...

2006-03-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Gone to do some feature film shooting for the month of April - but I promise to come back with updates... some looks at soundtracks and The Smarties "Play It".

Check out some of the links while I'm away - and the other blog, of course.

See you soon!

"Remember Me Well" - R.I.P. Bryan Harvey

2006-02-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

I just discovered this item, while surfing around today... very rarely am I shocked or surprised by current news items, but this shook me. Fortunately, it seems that they have found the perps, but MY GOD! Very much like IN COLD BLOOD, in terms of the circumstances and how they were found.

House of Freaks may have never broken big into the mainstream, but they always had a tight core of listeners. They were the precursor of bands like The White Stripes and their imitators, but HofF songs seemed to come out the heart of Harvey and percussionist Johnny Hott's experience in growing up in the South, and have a rawness that most of the current two person bands eschew... you didn't hear very many HofF songs on the radio, unfortunately.

I first got introduced to them via MTV, in the grand old days when it did play music, and used to feature bands not in the mainstream spotlight - performing 'Yellow Dog'. MTV used to feature their video "40 Years" from their first album, MONKEY ON A CHAIN GANG, and I went out to find that album.

I picked up all of their work - TANTILLA, the ep ALL MY FRIENDS, and thought that their major label release CAKEWALK (their best album with their best song, "Never") would put them over... that wasn't to be. There remained their last album, INVISIBLE JEWEL and splintering into becoming part of Gutterball, and session work with Cracker.

I was fortunate to see them in '89, after missing them touring with Midnight Oil, doing shows in support of ALL MY FRIENDS - it was a free show at the I-Beam (R.I.P.) in the Haight in S.F. It still remains the best live show I've seen, at least in my experience.

Rhino Records recently reissued their first two albums and ep with bonus tracks and CAKEWALK can usually be found in cut-out bins.

Smarties Interview! (with Craig Bostick)

2006-01-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

Craig Bostick was very gracious in answering some questions I had about The Smarties... you can also hear his most recent musical work with the band Spoilsport.

First of all, how did you all meet and form The Smarties?



I had just moved back to Springfield after some time in LA and was
working with Jay Williamson (now in Big Smith). I must have made him a
tape or something because he told me that this girl he had met really
liked my music. It was probably stuff like Lone Justice, Los Lobos,
Lucinda Williams... I really can't remember exactly. Anyway, I had been
thinking about starting a band (even though I didn't know how to play
guitar) but I didn't know many people who shared my taste in music so I
was curious if this girl, Sheri, was interested in singing or playing
with me. As it turned out she had an amazing voice and the three of us
started The Smarties.



I got an old Fender Mustang and a friend showed me the basic chords.
Jay played the bongos (which we got at a flea market for seven dollars)
and Sheri sang lead on most of the songs and played the tambourine. Her
parents were both musicians and her mom had this great old tambourine.
Sheri played it for years until it finally fell apart. We'd sneak into
this parking garage after hours and on weekends to practice. Our first
show was in March of 1992 I think.



Jay quit at the end of 1993 and eventually we found Kristy. Jay's
cousin Mark was playing bass for us at that time and after he left in
the fall of 1994, Matt joined. That was the line up until the end:
Matt, Kristy, Sheri and me.



And how did you all decide on the sound -



Obviously we wanted a very pared down sound at first. I wanted the
guitar to sound very reverby and surfy. And we wanted lots of
harmonies. Besides that I think we just wanted to sound like what we
were listening to. We learned a lot of other people's songs at first.
Besides the bands I mentioned earlier we also were doing songs by The
Go-Go's, The B-52's, Josie Cotton, Bow Wow Wow. So I guess we were
going for a surfy/beach thing mixed in with country and other kinds of
rootsy music.




You mentioned that you were the principal
songwriter... did any of the others contribute songs?



I wrote most of our original songs. I started making up songs as soon
as we decided to start a band, before I even learned to play guitar. We
did a couple songs that Sheri wrote and they were included on "Play
It". (The song "Day Off" on the demo you found was Sheri's.) After Matt
and Kristy joined we did a couple of songs by each of them. We recorded
one of Matt's at our only post-"Play It" recording session.



Jay mentioned there was a tape, "Beach Blanket Bongo"
and the CD "Play It", from which you have some MP3's
up... can you talk a little about the making of those?

Jay's cousin Mark Bilyeu (also of Big Smith) took and interest in the
band and decided he wanted to record us. I don't think he had ever
really recorded anyone before and we had never done any recording
either. He had a friend with a small studio set up in his basement and
that's where we recorded that first cassette. We really had no idea
what we were doing. The guitars especially never sounded the way I
wanted them too but that recording has certain charms I suppose.

What was the general reaction to The Smarties in the
region and on tour - I assume that you guys did
probably tour...



We were pretty popular I'd say, especially in Springfield. We also
played quite a bit in St. Louis as well as Kansas City, Rolla,
Columbia, Joplin, and Fayetteville, Arkansas.




What led to the disbanding - was it a case of
conflicting musical desires, better opportunities, or
personal turmoil?



What is it they always say, "musical differences"? That's good enough
for me.



How well do you keep in touch with other members of
The Smarties?



I haven't talked to Matt and Sheri in years. I got a couple of emails
from Sheri after I moved to Boston but that was at least  6 years ago
or more. Kristy and I are still in contact. We email all the time.
She's living in LA and I see her whenever I take a trip out there.
She's been to Boston a couple of times too. We just met up in St. Louis
around Christmas when we were both home visiting our families.



I hear from Mark every now and then. I haven't heard from Jay in a
while. I was in his wedding right before I moved to Boston. Last I
heard he was teaching, playing in Big Smith, and had two kids. I
imagine he's pretty busy.



What led you to Boston and how is your life as a
graphic artist/illustrator and comix artist?

I was never a fan of Springfield and stayed around just because of the
band. After we broke up I moved to St. Louis for a year but I wanted to
live somewhere bigger. When a friend of mine decided to go to school in
Boston I decided to go along.



I love illustration and design and the flexibility of freelancing. For
me, it doesn't get any better than that. I've got lots of comics
related things going on right now. This spring I'll be part of an
exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. I've also
contributed to several books that will be published a little later this
year.



I guess that's it for now. I hope you find this useful in some way.


It's kind of astonishing to find someone interested in The Smarties
after all this time. It's been about 9 years since the band broke up.
Time flies...

Validation!

2006-01-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

Part of what spurred this offshoot has been an ongoing project that started late last year - after acquiring a CD burner, I decided to start burning the lp and cassette collections in the house (a smart decision since my cassette deck went flooey in the fall - fortunately, the turntable is still holding up). Part of the whole archiving process, although I ultimately wonder how futile it all is... with differing views on how long burned CD's and digital media will actually last, copyright law and rights issues guaranteeing that a substantial amount of media will not make the digital jump unless it's though 'grey' channels, and with knowledge of past technology dissapearing as soon as the Next New Thing arrives (face it, at some point, no one is going to know what a cassette player or a turntable was), one has to wonder what the is the point of holding on to something so arbitrary.

That has been answered somewhat by the comment left by some Smarties fan out there who came across the previous post, and who was gracious enough to leave a response (Thanks, Missy!).

The next best thing would be to have some band member crawl out from the woodwork -- well, that DID happen... Craig Bostick found the post and left an e-mail, with news that he's developing a page for The Smarties at myspace.com - it's in the beginning stages, but you'll find several Smarties cuts available on the page.

Go check it out - he's invited questions, so look for another Smarties posting here soon... or go ask him yourself.

Maybe some of the other Smarties will discover this and pitch in some info as well - one can only hope.

Currently in the midst of burning the last of the cassette collection, so that's why there's been no postings as of late... but look for a new update next week.

The Smarties (a haphazard mystery story)

2006-01-03T13:24:00.000-08:00

It all started with this…

A simple cassette tape demo, found in the late 90’s while scrounging around Love Garden Sounds, in Lawrence, KS, with three songs: “He Fixes Things”, “Day Off”, “Is Your Daddy Gonna Pay For My Broken Heart?” Very tight playing, uptempo, infectious pop – from Springfield, MO!

Naturally, there’s no other info on the tape, other than a phone number that tips me that it’s from Springfield, but the number doesn’t lead to any info about the band.

Frustration over a dead end… nothing more is heard, except for the occasional net search that yields more dead ends – until one search in 2005 leads me to the web page of Big Smith, a ‘hillbilly band’ from Springfield, Mo, and looking over the bio pages confirms that one of the members was part of The Smarties – Jay Williamson.

So we then go to the Big Smith forum board to pose some questions:

Tue May 31, 2005

A few years back while at Love Garden Sounds in Lawrence, KS, I picked up a bunch of cassette tapes that the store was selling - among those tapes was a 3 song demo for The Smarties

I loved the songs, but didn't know anything about the band (I had just moved back to the area after about 15 years), and couldn't find anything... I'm guessing that they disbanded in '97/'98?

Every so often I'll go out and do some searches, in the hopes of finding out more about the band - which has led me to this message board for Big Smith.

Mainly, I'm just curious - I LOVE the three songs and wonder if anything ever got committed to vinyl.

Thu Jun 02, 2005 (Jay Williamson’s reply)

Wow, a Smarties question. Never expected one of those!

Well, the band started out in the early 90's. Myself on bongos, Craig Bostick on surf guitar and Sheri Hurst on vocals/tambourine. We stayed that way for a few years until Mark Bilyeu started helping out on bass. Not long after, I retired and Kristy McInnis started playing drums for them. Mark left and was replaced by Matt Netzer. The lineup stayed like that until they broke up about the time you mentioned.

The tape you mentioned was done soon after I left the band, I think.

There was a full-length cassette called Beach Blanket Bongo, but I doubt you'll be able to find any copies… There is also a CD entitled Play It! that might be floating around out there. I'm not sure what record stores might have it, but Craig was from St. Louis, so there might be some there or here in Springfield

Finally! Solid information and names to pursue… I notice that Jay’s bandmate, Mark, also put in time with The Smarties – so following the timeline that Jay provided, the line-up of the band at the time that the demo was recorded was Sheri Hurst, Kristy McInnis, Craig Bostick and Matt Netzer.

Googling the first two albums doesn’t produce any useful results, but then probably nothing will come of that short of a thorough search of record stores in MO…

So I start with names… Sheri Hurst, who apparently is still in the Springfield area and in demand as a vocalist… recent projects include singing backup vocals on Brian Capp’s WALK THROUGH WALLS, sharing vocal chores w/The Bottlerockets on their cut on Bloodshot Records Wanda Jackson tribute HARD HEADED WOMAN: A CELEBRATION OF WANDA JACKSON.

She and Matt Netzer were in Honky Tonk Chateau, which produced one album; and both scored a film shot in Springfield, WINDING ROADS, with James Marsters in a supporting role. Currently Netzer is part of a trio, Sweetwater Abilene, with Brian Acevedo and J.R. Top, with a CD available.

So most of The Smarties line-up went towards their roots and are still near their home. As for the other two…

Kristy McInnis was part of what became The Morells until she took off for the West Coast and became a member of The Delphines (with Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s) and The Randies. She was part of The Dark Horse Project, but it appears she’s no longer a current member.

Craig Bostick is now in Boston, currently in the band Spoilsport, and is doing art, design and photography work.

So, what does this all add up to... not a hell of a lot, come to think of it. There's no grand pay-off to this story, other than the fact of one mystery cassette leading to a lot of music, ranging from country to hard rock. And maybe hoping some Smarties fan may come across this and share some love of this obscure band...

I heard the worst bands of my generation...

2006-01-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

What would possess me to start another blog to not keep up with?

Well... look at the name (which I hope people will realize is sarcastic, but true in its own way) - thought that I'd do some writing on stuff in my own collection and that fascinates me, known and unknown, regardless of it being 'cool' or not. Most of my listening encompasses motion picture scores, classical (contemporary and 'old school), rock/pop, and just plain weird, and a substantial portion of it has nothing to do with whatever is on current listings.

So let's see how long it'll last....

(title stolen from TMBG's "I Must Be Allowed To Think".

Music-Snob

Not dead, just busy...

Stirrings...

On hiatus...

Cassette Pop from the Midwest & West Coast

Halloween upgrades

An August Selection

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls - Stu Phillips

The Box

Mondo Morricone

John Morris

Mancini Madness

A Fine Mess - David Baerwald & the New Folk Underground

Spring into some Contemporary Classical music

February Soundtracks

Ring in 2010 with Herrmann and Horner

GREAT DEAD BANDS - Little My

Mashed in Plastic trailer

Commentaries with Terry Gilliam & Alan Parker

More Rare Commentary

Commentary...

Mega-Herrmann!!

More Goldsmith and a Grofe

Batch 'O Goldsmith

"New" Buckets album - Silo

HILLBILLY FRANKENSTEIN - Rawbone/Satan's Circus

KINGS GO FORTH - Elmer Bernstein

ERQ + BUCKETS singles

GREAT DEAD BANDS - The Sarnos

Jerry Fielding - ADVISE AND CONSENT, THE GAUNTLET

Hugo Friedhofer - THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES & ONE EYED JACKS

Housekeeping - Michael Gibbs

A Double shot of George Fenton

GREAT DEAD BANDS - Ed's Redeeming Qualities "More Bad Times"

The Songs of Dom Leone (ERQ)

Crack In The Sidewalk

The iMPOSTERS

Blue Sunshine - Charles Gross

Virginia Dare

GREAT DEAD BANDS - Paddlefoot

San Francisco - A Music City Compilation 1998

The Buckets Reunion

Quintet - Tom Pierson

The Billy Nayer Show - Reno

Little Shop of Horrors- Deleted Unhappy Ending

Jazz from "Phantom Lady"

Binging on The Club Foot Orchestra

Christmastime

Goin' on hiatus - Back in early Fall

Great Dead Bands - The Sextants "I Don't Lie"

Great Dead Bands - Granfaloon Bus

Major Re-Up Finished!

June Soundtracks

The Sleeper Awakes

THE BILLY NAYER SHOW

Re-Ups!

Amazing Grace and Chuck - FEAST OF BERNSTEIN, Dish #3

Summer And Smoke - FEAST OF BERNSTEIN: Dish #2

The Man With The Golden Arm - Elmer Bernstein

Taking care of biz and Remembering Frankie Laine

Snacks before the main meal

Busted!

Requests & a Repost

The Last Christmas Mix of 2006

Millennium Christmas Mix

Bummer Xmas Mixes

Horny Holidays! - Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

John Barry

Shirley Walker, R.I.P.

Early Herrmann

More postings!

The Last Valley - John Barry

The Pride and The Passion - George Antheil

John Addison - The 7% Solution & Tom Jones

Chrisopher Young doubled - THE VAGRANT, INVADERS FROM MARS

Looking For Richard - Howard Shore

RIGGS

Big Jeter - Halloween 2001

Altered States