YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE FILM SCORE ALBUMS!!!

#29: IL DEMONIO (1963) by Piero Piccioni, on Beat Records CD (2013).

My 4th favorite Piccioni score as well as my 3rd favorite Piccioni soundtrack album, IL DEMONIO is the most recent release on my Top 50 list (it was issued May of last year - around 50 years after the film itself).
This is also the final appearance of Piccioni on my Top 50 (but there're more Piccioni albums which I've left off my Top 50 simply because there is no more room for them).

Since I wrote a very detailed post on this album @ FSM, I won't re-do it here and provide a link instead ...

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/p … ;archive=0

Well, I do not have "Die tote Stadt" because I am not that much into opera. I do like to watch an opera in the theatre or if broadcasted on TV from time to time but I do not buy opera on CD.

What I do have of Konrgold's classical pieces is his violin concerto:
http://www.amazon.de/Esprit-Violinkonze … linkonzert

And a collection of his symphonic works:

http://www.amazon.com/Orchestral-Works- … B0000061JA

This awesome set has gone out of print, so I urge everyone interested to get those last copies at amazon.com.

Volker

Some JB, yes, that one...


# 30 JOHN BARRY - READY WHEN YOU ARE, J.B.



The first but not the last compilation album choice of mine. I first bought this on LP back in the mid-70's and oh what a joy it was to discover this, not just straight covers of existing hits but totally different and superbly arranged tracks from the likes of the theme to MIDNIGHT COWBOY including one of the most chilled and laid back tracks ever, Fun City which is also from the same film and a scintillating version of the theme from ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, a superbly condensed theme to DEADFALL but best of all were the tracks that were never before available such as WHO WILL BUY MY YESTERDAYS, a track from OHMSS that never appeared on the soundtrack album and given a full treatment by John Barry here, as if that wasn't enough there's the gloriously unique THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, nobody, including the Barry experts, know the exact origins of this tune but it's not unlikely that this was an unused theme for OHMSS.

Just check out this jazzy version of THE LION IN WINTER from the album. Dig that funky jazz organ daddy-O!

The LP was released on CD in 1998 but the album is difficult to get hold of now, at least at a decent price anyway. An excellent album from beginning to end that never outstays a welcome, just brilliant!

Do Androids dream of electric sheep?


No 30:

BLADE RUNNER (1982) - Vangelis


Do you like electronic music? I love it, I even own two hardware synthesizers to fool around with. Do you remember those "Best of Synthesizer" compilations back from the 90s? They were great for learning about names and titles, but they sounded dreadful. Thus originated a Golden Rule: When it comes to electronic music there is no substitute for the original recording.

Then along came Edgar Rothermich.

The score album for BLADE RUNNER was a thing long in the making. There was a bootleg, that can say nothing about. In 1994 a legitimate album finally got released. There are passages of dialogue mixted into the music. While I'm no fan of dialogue in score albums it did not bother me too much in this case. The cuese on the album are not always those you hear in the film. Vangelis often uses different versions of his music for the film and for the album respectively. All in all I was fine with that album.

In 2007 a three CD set was released, CD 1 containing the 1994 album, CD 2 featuring additional music from the film and music recorded back then but not used in the film. CD 3 features new recordings insoured by the film. I love this third CD. It is crimminally underrated and overlooked. Vangelis manages to recreate the mood of the original recordings, effectively delivering the score for a BR sequel that never was.

In 2012 BSX Records released a re-recording of the original score. Rothermich strived to recreat the music as heard in the film, with no dialogue whatsoever. This album is one of the very few of which I keep two copies in different places. There have been mixed reactions to this release. In my opinion this recording is nothing short of sensational. I would never have thought such an achievement possible. This is my favourite incarnation of this score outside the film. Can you distinguish this recording from the original. Yes, if you are very familiar with the original. That doesn't bother me at all. Rothermich comes that close - it is a marvel.

I revere Philip K. Dick, I love the novel, the film, the score. Vangelis creates moody, multicoloured soundscapes that perfectly underline the cinematic narrative. This is surely one of the best electronic scores ever.

Volker

And what would your reason be for that Tom?

I think the score is perfect to the film, perfect! I can't imagine it working any other way.

BLADERUNNER was a serious contender for my top 50 albums but was relegated by a couple of others. As I mentioned before, I'll explain why I didn't include certain albums when I've filled my 50 choices.

"Ubik", "The Man in the High Castle" and "Do Androids ..." are among my favourite science fiction novels. (And I have read hundrets of them.) Concerning his writing merits: In don't consider his body of work "world literature" but it is up there with Frank Herbert, Alfred Bester or Robert Silverberg (among others), who are the "upper class" of genre SciFi.
Yet I am biased: Due to his major topics Dick is extemely polular in philosophical circles.

Volker

And back with music, I presume I'm the only one involved in this thread that has heard and owns READY WHEN YOU ARE, J.B.

I've got the album also Tim. Never transferred it over to CD.
Tom

I wanted to ask you if there is any electronic film score you got to like.

The Barry compilation sounds nice. I'm no big fan, as you know, but I dig his themes and this seems to be a great listening experience.

As for BLADE RUNNER, I don't need to comment further, as this featured in my TOP 10 many months ago! Pure perfection from start to finish.

Great choice! One of the greates scores ever and one that brought JW to the attention of classic-music-listeners.

The original CD I think was by Intrada (1986), VS reissued it later.

I've always had reservations recommending anything John Barry to you as you well know Thor, however, I have no reservations recommending this one, an excellent 35 minute listen.

album cover

Unfortunately the album isn't on Spotify.

Arista, not Intrada!