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Friday, February 29, 2008Iggy Pop: Hippodrome – Paris 77 Revenge Records 1990Recorded live during the Lust For Life tour at “l’hippodrome” Paris, France – September 23, 1977 That’s enough nicey, nicey little soundtrack albums. It’s time to get loud and annoying. It's time to delve into the world of Iggy Pop. The thing with Iggy is that his career has been so long, varied and volatile, each piece of vinyl, video, CD or DVD adds another small glimpse into a portion of his life. That’s not to say that you’ll get to know James Osterberg (for the uninitiated Iggy’s real name) by listening to his music, but I’d suggest that you’ll build up a pretty accurate portrait of his alter-ego Iggy Pop. By this stage of his career, Iggy was doing a lot of drugs, and may have even been locked away a few times for insanity. With the help of a few friends (which included David Bowie) he ‘sort of’ came through to the other side. (Sort of: I think in the early 80’s he placed himself into a self imposed exile in order to get his shit together again). Coinciding with the rise of punk in Britain, he launched into a European tour. During the early part of the tour, Bowie even played keyboard for him. But by the time of this concert Bowie had moved on. If you’ve seen any video footage from this era, this is when he wore a horses tail on stage. Anyway, that brings us to the Paris leg of the tour and this live album. The line up included: Iggy Pop – Vocals, Stacey Heydon – Guitar, Scott Thurston – Keyboards & Guitar, Tony Sales – Bass, Hunt Sales – Drums. Although the liner notes say that this album is released with the authorisation of Iggy Pop, I don’t believe this show was planned to be released as a live album. It sounds like a bootleg to me. The sound is very ‘tinney’ and the bass is almost absent (or certainly well down in the mix). So the sound quality on this recording is not too flash hot. If that’s what you look for on an album, then steer clear of this release. But if you’re a fan of Iggy going off – swearing, ranting, raving and misbehaving, then this may be your cup of cocoa. Rather than being an album of popular tunes, it is more like a documentary. It starts off with a brutal quartet of songs: Sixteen, Lust For Life, The Passenger, and I Got A Right. For most people that should be enough, bring your ears to total aural cataclysm level, but added to that, interspersed between the songs are Iggy’s rants. The album slows down a bit in the middle with Neighbourhood Threat, Success, and Fall In Love With Me, but then hammers home towards the end with Raw Power, and CC Rider/Jenny Take A Ride. The concert and album wind up with I Wanna Be Your Dog, and by that time, you’ll be exhausted from just listening to the CD. Because of the sound quality, this album could never be considered easy listening, but then again Iggy at his best, never could! I wouldn’t consider this a ‘core’ Iggy album, and if you’re just discovering Iggy, I wouldn’t put this high on your ‘must have’ list. But it is an interesting piece of the Iggy Pop jigsaw puzzle. For fans looking to flesh out their knowledge on the man and his music, this album is a good time capsule of this stage of his life. Labels: Artist: Iggy Pop posted by David at 7:16 PM | 0 Comments | Wednesday, February 20, 2008The Silencers
Dean Martin As Matt Helm Sings Songs From “The Silencers”
LA Gloria Records 1966 (New Zealand pressing) Produced by Jimmy Bowen. Arranged by Ernie Freeman and Gene Page.  When The Silencers was released at the cinemas in the mid sixties, two albums were released to accompany it. First there was Elmer Bernstein’s soundtrack album, which features the incidental music and a few numbers by Vicki Carr (Carr dubbed the singing for Cyd Charisse in the film). The second was Dean Martin As Matt Helm Sings Songs From “The Silencers”. It looks like a soundtrack album, but it is just Dean Martin singin’ a few songs that were featured in the movie – BUT with a difference. In the movie, Matt Helm spends a bit of time fantasising about bikini clad dolly birds. During the fantasies, he sings a few old standards, but with cheeky revised lyrics. But here on the album, the songs are performed straight. These are the notes from the back of the album cover...they are written in some weird sixties 'hip' jargon which at times borders on indecipherable...fun, none-the-less. 'DEAN MARTIN, in his neat role as super secret Matt Helm - sophisticate of the world, gutty guy, virile adventurer, devil with the dollies - "thinks" snatches of favorite songs thruout "The Silencers". These "think" songs explode in this album. Martin sings out loud all of the evergreen pops from the film, and sings them with some of the most exciting, hit-sounding arrangements ever suscitated. Backed by the big bands of Ernie Freeman and Gene Page, Martin goes moseying through the grand songs from "The Silencers", and does it with the same easy style that has recently made him into America's most consistent best-selling recording artist. Surrounding his songs are four Elmer Bernstein-authored instrumentals, all themes from the picture, performed in lofty swinging style by the Freeman-Page orchestras. In "The Silencers", Martin plays no poor man's secret agent. Martin secret agents right: dressed up snappy by Sy Devore...chased by nasty Chinese bandits...surrounded by kiss-n-kill cuties...ambushed in motel rooms with supine Slaygirls...every girl he meets makes Apassionata Von Climax look like one runt kid. Fun as females can be, they can also be nasty-deadly, as "The Silencers" proves. But songs by Martin can never be deadly, nor nasty. This zingy album proves that. It's the nicest thing that ever happened to a super secret agent.' TRACK LISTING: Side One 01 The Glory Of Love 02 Empty Saddles In The Old Coral 03 Lovey Kravezit (Instrumental) 04 The Last Round Up 05 Anniversary Song (Instrumental) 06 Side By Side Side Two 01 South Of The Border 02 Red Sails In The Sunset 03 Lord, You Made The Night Too Long (Instrumental) 04 If You Knew Susie 05 On The Sunny Side Of The Street 06 The Silencers (Instrumental) If you’re a fan of Dean Martin, then this album is okay. If you’re after a ‘soundtrack’ album, then you’re bound to be disappointed. The four instrumentals featured on the album aren’t really from the film either. Labels: Soundtracks posted by David at 3:48 PM | 3 Comments | Thursday, February 14, 2008Dick Smart 2.007 / Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die
Mario Nascimbene
 Here’s two soundtracks to Eurospy films from the sixties, composed by Mario Nascimbene. Both movies are set in Rio, so their soundtracks feature a lot of Latin American bossa nova lounge grooves.First up, Dick Smart 2.007 Composed and arranged by Mario Nascimbene. Orchestra conducted by Roberto Pregadio. Released by Hexacord. Dick Smart is a pretty wild Eurospy production directed by Franco Prosperi. It features Richard Wyler as swinging sixties dilettante, womaniser, and part-time spy, Dick Smart. Smart is hired by the CIA, for a fee of one million dollars, after five atomic scientists go missing from around the world. Nascimbene’s score is very good, and the hook will get stuck in your head for days, even weeks perhaps. You will find yourself humming the theme after you’ve finished listening to the album. As the film is primarily set in and around Rio, the soundtrack features a lot of Latin beats, like Sambas and Bossa Novas. Each track gives away it’s musical style in it’s title ‘Samba For Dick’, ‘Bossa For Dick’ etc... There are no vocals until the end track. The male vocal is quite flat – it almost seems spoken. But the instrumentals are quite good, although slightly repetitive, but it is a soundtrack, so you’d expect that a few musical motif’s are repeated. If the album has a weakness, it is that sometimes the instrumentals tend toward ‘elevator music’ with weird sixties electronic sound effects over the top. At the end of the CD, there are some musical cues and control room dialogue from Nascimbene. It is an interesting curio – but doesn’t add much. But still it isn’t a bad album. If you’re a fan of Eurospy Soundtracks, I’d buy this one. I wasn’t disappointed. Track listing: 01 Main Titles Theme 02 Dick Smart Investigates 03 The Amazing World Of Dick Smart 04 The Chase #1 05 Discotheque Party 06 Dick Smart In Action 07 Swimming Pool Bossa Party 08 The Chase #2 09 My Name Is Smart...Dick Smart 10 Samba For Dick 11 The Chase #3 12 The DS 2.007 Shake 13 Kiss Kiss, Girl Girl 14 Bossa For Dick 15 Background Exotica 16 The DS 2.007 Shake #2 17 Finale 18 Il Tuo Sguardo Atomico – End title Song Next, Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die Composed and arranged by Mario Nascimbene. Released by Avanz Records  Firstly, I’ll admit that I haven’t seen Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die, so it’s difficult to place the music in context with the film, but as a stand alone listening experience, this is great. It is better than the Dick Smart soundtrack, but is similar in so many ways. Once again, the film is set in Rio, so the soundtrack has a Latin American feel to it. Although there is a lot more variety on the Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die soundtrack. The closing title song, although not listed on the album, is performed by Lydia Macdonald (I think. Please correct me if you know otherwise). Macdonald, while hardly a household name these days, was a very busy girl in the 1960’s especially singing title songs to Eurospy films. She can be found singing ‘Don’t Ever Let Me Go’ on the soundtrack to Requiem For A Secret Agent; ‘Nothing To Fear’ from MMM Missione Morte Molo 83, and the title track to From The Orient With Fury.As with the Dick Smart, Kiss The Girls also has a few weird sci-fi electronic soundscapes. No doubt, if I had seen the film I’d know what these are. Most likely they are from scenes in the film, where the chief villain is test firing his latest hi-tech weapon. These call be a little bit grating. They aren’t really ‘lounge’ tunes, and as such aren’t really easy listening. But on the whole, this is a pretty good soundtrack album. It’s a bit harder to track down than Dick Smart, but once again, if you are a fan of this type of soundtrack, this is worth hunting down. Track listing: 01 Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die (Main Titles) 02 Kelly Captured 03 Carnival In Rio 04 Scientist's Laboratory 05 Love Scene 06 Susanne's Revelation And Arrest - Escape 07 Car Chase 08 Kelly's Pursuit - Frozing The Girls 09 Kelly Captured (Alternate Version) 10 Frozing The Scientist 11 Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die (With Harps) 12 Susanne And Kelly 13 Guaracha (Version 1) 14 Guaracha (Version 2) 15 Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die (Finale) Labels: Soundtracks posted by David at 6:56 PM | 0 Comments | Tuesday, February 12, 2008Zulu
Original Soundtrack Recording & Selection Of Zulu Stamps
John Barry (1964)  One Saturday morning, in the not so distant past, I was scrounging around the record bins at a local fete when I came across the Soundtrack to Zulu. Strangely, I wasn’t too familiar with the music. Why is this strange? For one, I am a huge fan of John Barry, and secondly, when I was at college, I shared a house with a bloke whose favourite film was Zulu. He’d drag out his old VHS copy at all hours. In the middle of the night, I’d wake up in terror, hearing strange chants emanating from the lounge room. To cut a long story short, I picked up a copy of the album. Hey, it was only two dollars!Since that day, I have found out that there are all sorts of re-issues, and re-recordings of the Zulu Soundtrack. The one I am talking about here is the 1964 version, with narration by Richard Burton (well you’d want that, wouldn’t you?), and on the second side of the album, what is described as a selection of Zulu Stamps. Well they are not exactly ‘Zulu Stamps’. They are sixties pop reworkings of John Barry’s themes from the movie. They do have an African influence, but they are hardly traditional ‘Zulu’ music. Here’s a snippet from Cy Endfield’s liner notes. ”A number of these great traditional dance and song themes have been studied by the brilliant composer and arranger John Barry, who scored the film, and converted to a music so that all of us who listen to this record can do a little dancing of our own. If you learn the Zulu Stamp you will be doing some of the exciting, groovy dance movements that the Zulus themselves use.” With an enticement like that, I am sure that many bored sixties housewives, while their husbands were at work, and their kids were at school, urged on by the primitive jungle rhythms would throw themselves around the lounge room doing the Zulu Stamp. The music on the first side of the album, however is quite brilliant. Not that I expected anything less from Barry. It is good stirring stuff, that reflects the bravery of the men who held their positions at Rorke’s Drift as wave after wave of Zulu warrior swept down upon them. I know that sounds pompous, but those who have seen the film will know what I mean. TRACK LISTING: Side One: Original Soundtrack Recording 1. Main Title Theme – Isandhlwana 1879 (Narration by Richard Burton) 2. News Of The Massacre – Rorke’s Drift Threatened 3. Wagons Over 4. First Zulu Appearance And Assault 5. Durnfords Horse Arrive And Depart – The Third Assault 6. Zulu’s Final Appearance And Salute 7. The V.C. Roll and Men Of Harlech Side Two: Selection Of Zulu Stamps 1. Stamp And Shake 2. High Grass 3. Zulu Stamp 4. Big Shield 5. Zulu Maid 6. Monkey Feathers Labels: Soundtracks posted by David at 2:33 AM | 0 Comments | Friday, February 8, 2008Agente Speciale LK (1967)
Bruno Nicolai
1999, Dagored CD Re-issue  Agente Speciale LK, or Lucky The Inscrutable as I call it, is a strange little film that was directed by Jess Franco, and released in 1967. Just mentioning Franco’s name either conjures up fear or perverse delight. But generally, Franco’s films, despite what you may think of their content, usually had pretty good soundtracks. This one is composed by Bruno Nicolai.The film itself is a weird hybrid of comic book and spy movies. It stars Ray Danton as ‘Lucky The Inscrutable’, a super hero - spy who wears superman style costume with a large ‘L’ on his chest. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the soundtrack is light hearted and pop oriented – albeit sixties Italian pop, rather than cool spy jazz. It includes some sixties choral singing – Light ‘Bub-adubba-das’ lilt over the top during action sequences – and deep ‘Bum, Bums’ resonate in the title song. The style is more like Hugo Montenegro (Matt Helm phase) than Nicolai’s sometimes partner, Ennio Morricone. I must admit when I saw the film, I didn’t think the music was that bad at all (hence, why I bought the album), but as a listening experience on it’s own without visuals, I was fairly disappointed. It is quite cheesy in places. But it does take the smorgasbord approach. Unlike some soundtracks which keep repeating the same theme over and over again, here each track is very different. If you don’t like one, you may like the next. The standout track for me, is ‘Lopagan Island’ which is a jaunty calypso style number with Edda Dell’Orso’s soprano voice warbling over the top. The CD is almost worth it, for this track alone (only it is too short). Who is Edda Dell’Orso I hear you ask? Thanks to her collaborations with Ennio Morricone, on the soundtracks to Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, she is often referred to as ‘The Voice Of Italian Cinema’. You might not know her name, but anyone who has listened to The Good, the Bad & The Ugly or Once Upon A Time In The West soundtracks, will recognise her voice. The tracks are: 1. Lucky Theme Song 2. Carnival Fanfare & Party 3. Group Therapy 4. Lucky & Cleopatra/Circus Fight 5. Secret Reunion “Lucky Theme” 6. Lucky In Rome 7. Lovely, But Dangerous 8. Spy Chase 9. Parachute Down/Mission Danger/Patrol Pursuit 10. Funny Trains 11. Lucky & Yaka Love Theme 12. Escape & Last Goodbye 13. Lopagan Island 14. Bossa For Lucky/Showgirl Dance 15. Lucky Tango/Lucky & Madame Linda 16. L.K. Shake 17. Gold Glasses/Escape From The Base/Death Of Goldglasses 18. End Titles Lucky Theme Song 19. The Lucky Suite As each track is so different it is hard to classify or compare this album to something else. On the whole, I find it a bit abrasive. It isn’t smooth ‘lounge music’. If you are a fan of Eurospy soundtracks (and you’ve got spare cash to throw away) if you see it, buy it. It’s worth a listen, and I am sure one of the tracks will grab your attention, but I wouldn’t spend hours searching the net for a seller. Labels: Soundtracks posted by David at 4:01 PM | 0 Comments | |
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