A comprehensive recording of Richard Band's quirky homage to Herrmann, RE-ANIMATOR
© 2003 LaLaLand Records
Re-Animating Band
By: Randall D. LarsonDate: Friday, March 21, 2003
This Week's Recommendation
Richard Band's wonderfully twisted, Bernard Herrmann-tinged score for Stuart Gordon's debut grand-guignol, over-the-top horror visualization of H. P. Lovecraft's RE-ANIMATOR has come out in a lavish new edition on La-La-Land Records. An earlier release on the Silva Screen label was issued a few years ago, compiling portions of Band's RE-ANIMATOR score with that of its sequel, BRIDE OF THE RE-ANIMATOR, but this new 15-track edition has been newly re-mastered and contains never-before-released music and presents the score in fairly complete form. Band had final approval on the sound for the CD, which seems to well represent the score as it was heard in the film.
The music is zany. Band chose the familiar PSYCHO riff of Bernard Herrmann as a starting point for his score, and its jaunty, back-and-forth string tonalities creates a highly tongue-in-cheek counterpoint to the film's lavishly graphic gore and violence. Band says he chose that musical reference as means of pointing out to audiences that the film should not be taken seriously. Band gives the Herrmann motif a modern drumbeat and soon a playfully soaring theme of his own emerges and plays through the riff.
The CD booklet reprints a 1985 interview I did with Band after the film's premiere; he frankly discusses the score and the controversy over its Herrmann elements. A new audio interview with Band is included on the CD tracks wherein he also explains and defends what he was doing with the score, which has taken some hits from Herrmann purists who don't get the homage and can't appreciate the adaptive use of the PSYCHO riff. Additional liner notes in the booklet include comments from director/co-writer Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, Ain't-It-Cool News' Harry Knowles and actor Jeffrey Combs, who played Dr. Herbert West in the film. The CD is available through www.buysoundtrax.com and other specialty retailers.
SOUNDTRACK NEWS
As reported at filmscoremonthly.com, composer/conductor/arranger John Lanchbery died on February 26th in Melbourne, Australia, of cancer. Lanchbery scored a handful of films in the early fifties - NO TRACE, BLACKOUT, COLONEL MARCH INVESTIGATES, DOUBLE EXPOSURE, and DELAYED ACTION but he achieved his greatest success with the ballet. His collaboration with choreographer Frederick Ashton led to his score for the 1971 movie TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER, which Ashton choreographed, and his music was an Oscar finalist in the Adaptation category. Perhaps his most memorable film work was for the 1982 Agatha Christie adaptation EVIL UNDER THE SUN, the third film in the Hercule Poirot series (and the second to feature Peter Ustinov in the role). Lanchbery's score was based on the songs of Cole Porter (soundtrack CD was issued by DRG a few years ago).
If you get out to see DREAMCATCHER in the theaters this week, you will also see the ANIMATRIX short, "The Last Flight of the Osiris," which features a large-scale, fully orchestral score by Don Davis, derived from his MATRIX and MATRIX: RELOADED scores.
After months of editing and writing music, John Ottman finally started recording the 100+ minute score to X-MEN 2 on March 7th. With a 90+ piece orchestra (and choir) to be utilized, conductor/orchestrator Damon Intrabartolo kicked off the scoring session at the Newman Scoring Stage. For more [IMG3R]details, see http://www.johnottman.com/html/news.html.
'Tis the season of Brian Tyler. His score for the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, CHILDREN OF DUNE, is in the stores this week from Varese Sarabande Records. His score for DARKNESS FALLS came out on Varese last month, THE HUNTED came out last week, and he will soon be scoring the Universal film THE IMMORTALS.
La-La-Land Records has issued the soundtrack CD from Elia Cmiral's moody score for the Wes Craven [IMG4L]sci-fi thriller, THEY.
Basil Poledouris's new score for THE TOUCH, a 2002 Michelle Yeoh martial arts film made in Hong Kong, has been issued on CD in that country. It is available as an import from www.buysoundtrax.com. The large-scale orchestral score is dramatically exotic, exhibiting sensational percussion rhythms and soaring strings. The film's theme song is performed in Mandarin by Kelly Chen.
Film Score Monthly offers the first ever soundtrack recording of Lalo Schifrin's eclectic music for George Lucas' directorial debut, the sterile and futuristic THX-1138 (1971). Schifrin's score utilizes a diverse blend of styles, [IMG5R]from Baroque-influenced choral work for the main titles, to liturgical cues, to brooding strings for the oppressive society, to the use of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion for the end credits. There are strange, avant-garde sounds for the film's memorable creations - buzzing organ for the white-on-white prison and menacing percussion for the robot policemen an evocative love theme for alto flute and harp, and source cues meant to sound like "drugged-out" Muzak. The FSM CD includes passages not heard in the finished film and is entirely in stereo, remixed from the original Warner Bros. elements. FSM's release of ICE STATION ZEBRA last month was also a winner containing one of Michel Legrand's most accessible and effective action scores. The Alistair MacLean adventure thriller takes a great deal of life from this powerful Legrand score. See www.filmscoremonthly.com.
March may [IMG6L]see the release of a new, restored edition of the classic Morricone Western scores, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and its sequel, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, with numerous unreleased tracks.
Silva Screen Records UK has announced THUNDERBIRDS - ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK, the first in what will be a historic series of releases of original music from the much-loved Gerry Anderson SuperMarionation shows. The shows are legendary in television history STINGRAY, CAPTAIN SCARLET, UFO, SPACE: 1999 and, of course, THUNDERBIRDS. These recordings have never been made available before and have been carefully restored and edited from composer Barry Gray's own archives courtesy of The Barry Gray Estate and Carlton International. Gerry Anderson's classic SuperMarionation TV show THUNDERBIRDS on CD © 2003 Silva Screen
Silva Screen also announced for April 22 release HELLRAISER: THE CHRONICLES a specially packaged 3-CD boxed-set containing original soundtrack recordings of all three films - HELLRAISER (music by Christopher Young), HELLRAISER II: HELLBOUND (music by Christopher Young), and HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH (music by Randy Miller). These films were especially noted for their music. While other horror movies relied on synthesizer music, these films featured large-scale, richly orchestrated symphonic scores. The set will include unique collectable packaging and extensive notes and pictures. See http://www.silvascreen.co.uk/hellraiser.htm.
Composer George S. Clinton (AUSTIN POWERS) just finished shooting a guest spot on an episode of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, as the lead singer in a wedding band. The episode will air on May 4th. Clinton, quoted on his web site, said the shoot was "lots of fun." See http://www.georgesclinton.com/news.html.
Alfred Newman's magnificent score for the 1949 swashbuckling adventure CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE finally arrives on CD late April/early May - 2 CDs of never before released cues, mostly stereo, and lots of extras! Early 2003, the next BYU Film Music Archives releases are THE BIG SKY (May?), a classic western by Dimitri Tiomkin, and the complete Max Steiner score for A SUMMER PLACE (summer).
Also look for two of Michael Lewis' scores: THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF (a psychological thriller adapted from an episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series, and starring Roger Moore as Mr. Pelham) and 92 IN THE SHADE (with Peter Fonda), both on one CD.
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