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.
Roman Polanski’s psychological horror yarn about a woman who believes herself to be pregnant by the devil is an intelligent study in paranoia. Not only does Polanski keep the viewer guessing for most of the film but his restrained storytelling stops it from becoming ridiculous. The late Krzystof Komeida’s score keeps this in mind, offering up a varied enough interpretation of the genre to attract more than your average horror music fan. Cues such as, ‘Expectancy’ and ‘Christmas’ highlight the anticipation of an exciting event, while ‘The Covern’ Parts 1 and 2 and ‘What Have They Done To It’s Eyes?’, send shivers down your spine with strings, demonic chanting and atonal whistling. ‘Rosemary’s Party’ and ‘Moment Musical’ feature 1960s instrumental jazz and lounge, used in the film to mark moments of normality - Komeda’s experiences as a Jazz musician in Poland during the 1950s has undoubtedly influenced his work on this score - and it is this unsettling mixture of the exceedingly normal and disturbingly abnormal that make both the film and its score work so well. Rosemary’s Baby Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Main Title (Mia Farrow)
2. The Coven
3. Lullaby - Part 1
4. Moment Musical
5. The Coven
6. Moment Musical
7. Lullaby - Part 2
8. Dream
9. Christmas
10. Expectancy - Part 1
11. The Coven
12. Lullaby
13. The Coven
14. Main Title
15. Panic
16. Rosemary’s Party
17. Expectancy - Part 2
18. Through The Closet
19. What Have You Done To Its Eyes?
20. Happy News
21. Main Title
Valley Of The Dolls.
1967, 20th Century Fox.
Dory & Andre Previn.
Philips CD, 314 536 876-2 Rating:
Valley Of The Dolls is one of those big budget (for the time period) Hollywood events that is all show and no real sizzle. Based on the bestselling potboiler by Jacqueline Susann, it’s about three young women from vastly different backgrounds working in the entertainment business whose lives converge and then collapse due to their various addictions. Packed with pill-popping movie stars and overwrought performances, the film contains plenty to laugh about but whether that was what director Mark Robson, who made the film version of Peyton Place into a hit, intended we will probably never know. ‘Dolls’ is essentially a melodrama and the soundtrack reflects this, though there are some good melodies and performances here including ‘It’s Impossible’ , ‘I’ll Plant My Own Tree’ and the ‘Theme From Valley Of The Dolls’, performed by Barbara Parkins who stars in the film. The cues combine 1960s pop and jazz – extremely lightweight but listenable, which pretty much sums up the whole score. Valley Of The Dolls Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Theme From ‘Valley Of The Dolls’
2. It’s Impossible
3. Ann At Lawrenceville
4. Chance Meeting
5. Neely’s Career Montage
6. Come Live with Me
7. I’ll Plant My Own Tree
8. The Gillian Girl Commercial
9. Jennifer’s French Movie
10. Give A Little More
11. Jennifer’s Recollection
12. Theme From ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ (reprise)
Other Versions Available:
Valley Of The Dolls Soundtrack LP
EMI Stateside, LP, 1967, SSL 10228 Rating: Track Listing:
Side One:
1. Theme From ‘Valley Of The Dolls’
2. It’s Impossible
3. Ann At Lawrenceville
4. Chance Meeting
5. Neely’s Career Montage
6. Come Live with Me
Side Two:
1. I’ll Plant My Own Tree
2. The Gillian Girl Commercial
3. Jennifer’s French Movie
4. Give A Little More
5. Jennifer’s Recollection
6. Theme From ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ (reprise)
The Taking Of Pelham 123.
1974, MGM.
David Shire.
Retrograde CD, 1996, FSM-80123-2 Rating:
David Shire’s score for Pelham, recorded three years before he went all disco with ‘Saturday Night Fever’, is a far darker effort than ‘Saturday’ but the funky urban riffs and pure scale evident in his earlier work are also on show here. ‘Main Title’ with its driving percussive rhythm thunders its way through much of the score in a variety of forms but remains robust and interesting enough to sustain itself, particularly well used in ‘Fifty Seconds/The Money Express’ and ‘End Title’. In ‘Mini-Manhunt’ a combination of the main theme is interspersed with flickering piano. Very much locked in the 1970s, Shire’s score reflects both the gritty, dangerous aspects of New York life (before Mayor Guilliani cleaned it up) and the unsettling nervous energy felt by the protagonists. An exciting, edgy score. The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Main Title
2. The Taking
3. Dolowitz Takes A Look/Dolowitz Gets Killed
4. Blue and Green Talk
5. Money Montage
6. Fifty Seconds/The Money Express
7. Conductor Killed/The Money Bag
8. The Pelham’s-Moving-Again Blues
9. I’m A Police Officer/Renewing Disguises/Goodbye Green, Hello Garber. Goodbye Hippie/Smoking More, Enjoying It Less
10. Mini-Manhunt
11. End Title
