This site was conceived as a side project by a "tekkie" friend of mine who suggested I use my journalistic experience to write about something I love. We bandied about some ideas before settling on this one - largely because I had collected movie soundtracks for much of my life and thought I could write about them. We wanted the site to be user friendly, well-written and reliable.
Over time, I hope to attract other writers keen to contribute to the site, who don't mind foregoing the financial benefits they may be used to in the short-term for something that may, or may not, be profitable further down the line.
The gradual demise of the cd format, re-emergence of vinyl, along with the expansion of blu-ray dvd and downloads translate to an ever-changing market place; despite this, most of us still buy cd's and dvd's and I hope that you will use the Amazon links on this site to buy online.
We have also included mini YouTube video links that accompany the reviews, so that you can listen to your favourite theme music while watching a related trailer or clip from the movie; because film is a visual medium, there seems no better way of presenting it.
Finally, a note on the type of soundtracks featured. Though purists generally view albums such as "Top Gun", "Flashdance" and others like them, as unworthy of coverage on a film soundtrack site, preferring instead to focus on orchestral scores, we have taken the view that these albums have earned their place based on their continued saleability and affection with a large section of cinema-goers. We wanted to reach as broad an audience as possible and have developed the site with this in mind, without forgetting those fans for whom composers such as Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith, among many others, are considered on a par with the master composers. We hope you can find your best movie soundtracks on this site.
Misfits.
1961, United Artists.
Alex North.
Ryko, CD, 1998, RCD 1073 Rating:
Alex North’s highly engaging score, written to accompany director John Huston’s intelligent anti-western, is a surefooted mix of melodrama, jazz and even rock n’ roll. Celebrated playwright, Arthur Miller - who first met North when he scored Miller’s ’Death Of A Salesman’ - wrote the script, about three emotionally flawed ‘Misfits’, getting by at the tail-end of the old frontier. The movie, starring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, in their last movie roles, alongside Montgomery Clift, gave North the perfect opportunity to write for characters who went beyond the usual two-dimentional all-action no-brainers. The effective ‘Main Title’, brimming with human high drama, largely sets the standard, resurfacing in cues ‘Roslyn’, an energetic big band number written for Marilyn Monroe’s character and the understated ‘New Life’. While much of the score accents the character’s emotional lives, the fifteen minute ‘Round Up Suite’ provides a welcome taste of the film’s ranching backdrop in ‘The Chase’ and ‘Tension’ segments. Meanwhile, rock ‘n roll number, ‘Paddleball’ and the spirited ‘Reno Bar Dance’ are light and melodic without being lightweight. Highly recommended. The Misfits Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Main Theme
2. Rendezvous
3. New Life
4. Roslyn (Misfits Theme)
5. Love’s Reverie
6. Love Idyll
7. Paddleball
8. Reno Bar Dance
9. Compassion/Compassion for Guido
10. Help
11. Round up Suite: Disagreement/Round-Up/Chase/Tension
12. Trying for Freedom
13. Resolved, Pt. 1
14. Resolved (End Title)
Sorry, no high quality YouTube clip exists. Will attempt to track one down.
Little Man Tate.
1991, Orion.
Mark Isham.
Verese Sarabande, CD, 1991, VSD-5343 Rating:
Jodie Foster starred in and directed this off-beat tale of a super-brainy kid, Fred Tate (Adam Hann-Byrd), whose enrolment in a school for the gifted brings his working class young mother (Foster) into conflict with his middleclass, psychologist tutor (Dianne Weist). Mark Isham has written a catchy, jazz influenced score full of strong melodies that reflects Fred’s (and his mother’s) quirky, sometimes disorganised behaviour, headlined by the infectious ‘Little Man Swing‘. While there are plenty of uplifting moments here, including the playful ‘Fred And Dede’, the summery, ‘A Walk On The Cool Side’ and the energetic, ‘The Combustion Bounce’, these are off-set by more melancholic cues that reflect the lonelier side of being a child prodigy in a world of adult academics; ‘Shadowplay’ and ‘White Iris’, covey this well, while the standout, ‘Clipper Ships’, effectively combines the isolation of Fred’s predicament with the heightened, almost manic thirst for knowledge that accompanies it. A breezy, highly accessible summer score. Little Man Tate Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Little Man Swing.
2. Little Man Lost.
3. With And Without Science.
4. A Walk On The Cool Side.
5. Fred And Dede.
6. Shadowplay.
7. Missing You Too.
8. Clipper Ships.
9. White Iris.
10. Kids And Grownups.
11. The Combustion Bounce.
12. Books, Dreams And Shadows.
13. Home And Not Alone.
14. The Little Man Swing (Reprise).
Get Carter
1971, Warner Bros.
Roy Budd.
Cinephile, 1998, CINC0001 Rated:
Written and recorded on a meagre budget of £450 and with a total of three musicians, Roy Budd’s second film score, ‘Get Carter‘, has become a cult classic. A jazz musician himself, Budd was perfectly equipped to create a cool, edgy crime score for the eponymous anti-hero played by Michael Caine. The infamous title track (’Carter Takes A Train‘), re-recorded by the Human League for their album ‘Dare’ has become one of film’s best known cues. Based on Ted Lewis’ book ‘Jack’s Return Home’, ‘Carter’ begins as many gangster films (metaphorically, I mean) end, with the lead character leaving, rather than entering London. Set in Newcastle, amid concrete tower blocks and criminal damage, Mike Hodges directorial debut is a harsh, violent thriller with a rather bleak ending. Budd’s score effectively combines early 1970s pop (’Looking for Someone’ and ‘Love Is A Four Letter Word‘) with jazz and lounge (’Something On My Mind’). His instrumental cues, dominated largely by electronic piano, harpsichord, double bass and tablas, are equally impressive, particularly ‘Goodbye Eric!’ and ’Goodbye Carter!’. Another strong cue, ‘The Girl In The Car’ is a funky, high-speed romp full of unpredictability and excitement. While Budd’s soundtrack may not appeal to everyone - it sounds dated, stuck very much in a particular time and place - it is a stylish, varied (within its genre) and voluminous creation, packed with excellent liner notes and dialogue from the film. Definitely worth your time. Get Carter Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray
Track Listing:
1. Intro.
2. Dialogue.
3. Main Title (Carter Takes A Train).
4. Dialogue.
5. Looking For Someone.
6. Dialogue (The Race Track).
7. Something On My Mind.
8. Dialogue.
9. Getting Nowehere In A Hurry.
10. Dialogue.
11. The Girl In The Car.
12. Dialogue.
13. Love Is A Four Letter Word.
14. Dialogue.
15. Livin’ Should Be This Way.
16. Dialogue.
17. Manhunt.
18. Dialogue.
19. Goodbye Eric!
20. Goodbye Carter!
21. Hallucinations.
22. Plaything.
23. How About You.
24. Getting Nowhere In A Hurry (Instrumental).
25. Hallucinations (Instrumental).
