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Against the Wind All This & World War II Boogie Nights |
City of Angels The Devil's Rejects Echo in the Canyon |
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Godzilla Hard Eight |
I ♥ Huckabees The In-Laws |
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Against the Wind (1978, 44.33) ***/½ |
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| Against the Wind (Theme) Seeds of Fire (Sentencing and Transportation) Unfinished Theme (Run for Dignity) Six Ribbons (the Courtship) Mary's Theme The March of the Kings of Laois Waltz Theme (the Women Are Chosen) Six Ribbons |
Dinny and Ngilgi Main Theme Major (the Wedding) Death or Liberty (the Castle Hill Rebellion and Consequences) |
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Against the Wind was an iconic late '70s Australian historical TV series, concerning events early in the country's colonisation, starring Jon English (who also sings on the soundtrack). A certain Mario Millo (Sebastian Hardie, Windchase) was involved with the music, too, writing or co-writing (with English) most of the soundtrack, which is a pretty decent effort, utilising Celtic themes in places, accentuating their country's Scots and Irish heritage. I believe Six Ribbons was a hit for English; a ballad (of course), it's pretty harmless compared to many similar. In fact, I can hear this being tackled by Fairport Convention, should they ever become aware of its existence.
Someone (probably Millo) plays Mellotron on Seeds Of Fire, which opens with an unmistakeable Mellotron flute melody, although that would seem to be your lot. Why use it there when there's a flautist on the album? Who knows? I doubt if anyone concerned could actually remember after all this time, even if I were able to ask. Anyway, probably rather inessential for non-Aussies; actually, probably rather inessential if you are, really. Next to bugger-all Mellotron, either way.
See: Jon English | Sebastian Hardie
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All This & World War II (1976, 96.48) **/½ |
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| Ambrosia: Magical Mystery Tour Elton John: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds Bee Gees: Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight Leo Sayer: I am the Walrus Bryan Ferry: She's Leaving Home Roy Wood: Lovely Rita Keith Moon: When I'm Sixty-Four Rod Stewart: Get Back Leo Sayer: Let it Be David Essex: Yesterday |
Jeff Lynne: With a Little Help From My Friends/Nowhere Man Lynsey De Paul: Because Bee Gees: She Came in Through the Bathroom Window Richard Cocciante: Michelle Four Seasons: We Can Work it Out Helen Reddy: The Fool on the Hill Frankie Laine: Maxwell's Silver Hammer Brothers Johnson: Hey Jude Roy Wood: Polythene Pam |
Bee Gees: Sun King Status Quo: Getting Better Leo Sayer: The Long and Winding Road Henry Gross: Help Peter Gabriel: Strawberry Fields Forever Frankie Valli: A Day in the Life Tina Turner: Come Together Wil Malone & Lou Reizner: You Never Give Me Your Money London Symphony Orchestra: The End |
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All This & World War II (geddit? No? Never mind...) is the soundtrack to one of the more pointless films to come out of the '70s (or so I'm told - I've never seen it), apparently consisting of loads of World War II footage set to a soundtrack of Beatles covers. Um, why? Said covers were mostly recorded for the film and are mostly pretty duff, lightweight versions with orchestral accompaniment, which does few of the tracks any favours. The artist selection is slightly odd, too; Richard Cocciante? Who he? Several flavour of the month types like David Essex and Leo Sayer, too, the latter with no less than three blandola contributions, as have the bloody Bee Gees, caught just as they entered their horrid disco phase.
In my youth, as a fanatical Status Quo fan (they were actually really good once - honest!), I actually bought this for their contribution, Getting Better, only to find that, despite presumably having been recorded recently, it actually sounded like their early cod-psych days; something of a disappointment. Now being older and wiser (?!) and having not played the bugger all the way through for many, many years, I'm more interested in hearing what Peter Gabriel did with Strawberry Fields Forever, or the barely-known-outside-the-States Ambrosia with Magical Mystery Tour (passable version, too much orchestra), but as with the Quo track, it's all pretty disappointing, to be honest.
I only played this again on spec, wondering if there might be any Mellotronic input, as you do - well, as I do. Sad fuck. Anyway, the only track that I know to have been recorded earlier ("Here's one I did earlier?"), Elton John's killer version of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (no, really) is smothered in Mellotron flutes and strings, but is easily otherwise available, while Ambrosia's aforementioned Magical Mystery Tour is largely orchestral, except at the end, where a few seconds of (presumably) Chamberlin strings (from Christopher North?) can be heard over some nicely high-in-the-mix Taurus pedals, providing the nearest this album gets to 'prog' (and it ain't that near).
Amazingly, this has just been released on (double) CD, but I can't honestly recommend it; almost every track is a dull, watered-down version of the original, with about the only even remotely interesting arrangement quirk being the odd bar of I Want You (She's So Heavy) thrown into The Four Seasons' otherwise super-bland We Can Work It Out. So; apart from Elt's track, there's about three seconds of probable Chamby strings here. Just don't.
See: Beatles | Ambrosia | Elton John
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Boogie Nights (1997, 50.40) ***/T |
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| John C. Reilly & Mark Wahlberg: Intro (Feel the Heat) The Emotions: Best of My Love The Chakachas: Jungle Fever Melanie: Brand New Key War: Spill the Wine |
Marvin Gaye: Got to Give it Up (Part 1) The Commodores: Machine Gun Walter Egan: Magnet and Steel McFadden & Whitehead: Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now Night Ranger: Sister Christian |
Electric Light Orchestra: Livin' Thing The Beach Boys: God Only Knows Michael Penn & Patrick Warren: The Big Top (Theme From Boogie Nights) |
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Boogie Nights was an excellent film; a Mark Wahlberg (Rock Star) vehicle, it lampooned the late '70s disco scene beautifully, in all its hedonistic, coked-up glory. The talented Michael Penn was brought in to soundtrack it, but for reasons unknown, most of his incidental music didn't make it to either of the soundtrack albums released, in favour of a bunch of contemporaneous hits (and the sublime God Only Knows, of course) that the producers hoped would sell the albums. Idiocy.
Anyway, the one piece that made the final cut was The Big Top (Theme From Boogie Nights), performed by Penn and Patrick Warren, consisting of several minutes of weird, vaguely circusy music, played on a wobbly organ and one or more Chamberlins, with plenty of flutes and strings, with a lengthy solo passage on the latter, plus what sounds like real brass. The second half of the near-ten minute track is taken up with Wahlberg messing about, as on the album's opener, Intro (Feel The Heat), playing and singing along with a record. I forget the scene, but it makes me want to see the film again.
So; one great Chamby tracks and a bunch of '70s and '80s mainstream pop/rock. I'd try to find the track online, if I were you.
See: Michael Penn
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City of Angels (1998, 72.08) ***/½ |
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| U2: If God Will Send His Angels Alanis Morissette: Uninvited Jimi Hendrix: Red House Paula Cole: Feelin' Love John Lee Hooker: Mama, You Got a Daughter |
Sarah McLachlan: Angel Goo Goo Dolls: Iris Peter Gabriel: I Grieve Jude: I Know Eric Clapton: Further on Up the Road |
Gabriel Yared: An Angel Falls The Unfeeling Kiss Spreading Wings City of Angels |
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The City of Angels soundtrack is apparently revered in 'the biz' for the phenomenally successful marketing strategy used to sell what is, essentially, a various artists compilation. Two of its contributors, Alanis Morissette and the Goo Goo Dolls (of whom it has been said, who?) sold not only a great many copies of this, but also of their own records on the back of it, so big smiles all round. As far as we here are concerned, though, the only point of the album is the four tracks of Gabriel Yared's slushy incidental music tacked on the end as an afterthought, although the bulk of the album does actually contain a couple of worthwhile tracks, just for once.
Damir Prcic and Paul Kimble are both credited with Chamberlin, although I can't say there's an awful lot of it to be heard, with the only even possible parts being some distant choirs (sounding more like a Mellotron) on The Unfeeling Kiss and the title track and the credited string part on Jude's insipid I Know. I know a Chamby can sound an awful lot like real strings, but the strings on the rest of these tracks sound exactly like real ones, to the point where that's quite clearly what they are. So; despite a few reasonable tracks, I can hardly recommend this, largely due to the practically non-existent Chamberlin.
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The Devil's Rejects: Original Motion Picture Score (2005, 59.28) ***/½ |
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| Tiny and His Girl/Police Ten Cars - Twenty Five Pigs Shootout Mama Pulls the Trigger Ride the Horse Driving to the Khaki Palms Unwanted Guests Official Clown Business |
Dirty Knees See You in Hell Yellow Brick Road Another Failed Escape Adam's Face The Rejects Were Here Road Kill Brother George/I Found Your Guy |
Holy Guacamole Hand Sandwich Joyride Staples You Feeling it, Brother? Run Baby Girl Tiny Snaps Wydell We'll Come Back for You |
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The Devil's Rejects was written and directed by horror connoisseur Rob Zombie, a sequel to his House of 1000 Corpses. Why is it that I have precisely zero desire to see either of these films? I can't tell you any more about the plot (such as it is) than you'll learn from looking where I did, i.e. Wikipedia, but the soundtrack, or, rather, the Original Motion Picture Score, is a rather splendid set of crashing noises, some of them incorporating some fairly noisy music. The soundtrack itself actually features nearly thirty songs used in the film, so don't get 'em confused.
Bigelf's Damon Fox just about plays Mellotron, with a handful of flute notes at the end of Brother George/I Found Your Guy and distant choirs on We'll Come Back For You, neither track the heaviest use you'll ever hear (he said, with restraint). A good album for frightening small children, then, but don't bother for the minimal Mellotron.
See: Bigelf
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Echo in the Canyon (2019, 41.13) ****/TT |
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| Jakob Dylan & Jade Castrinos: Go Where You Wanna Go Jakob Dylan & Beck: The Bells of Rhymney Jakob Dylan & Cat Power: You Showed Me Jakob Dylan & Josh Homme: She Jakob Dylan & Fiona Apple: In My Room Jakob Dylan & Beck: Goin' Back Jakob Dylan & Norah Jones: Never My Love |
Jakob Dylan & Fiona Apple: It Won't Be Wrong Jakob Dylan & Regina Spektor: No Matter What You Do Jakob Dylan, Eric Clapton & Stephen Stills: Questions Jakob Dylan & Neil Young: I Just Wasn't Made For These Times Jakob Dylan & Regina Spektor: Expecting to Fly Jakob Dylan & Neil Young: What's Happening |
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2018's Echo in the Canyon is a documentary celebrating the music emanating from California's Laurel Canyon in the mid-'60s, featuring archive footage, contemporary interviews with participants and concert footage of The Wallflowers's Jakob Dylan with a raft of guests, playing era classics. The soundtrack, however, consists of studio recordings, Dylan duetting with the likes of Beck, Cat Power, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones and, in what must've been considered a major coup, Neil Young, covering songs by the likes of The Mamas & the Papas, The Byrds (no fewer than four times), Love, The Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield. Highlights include The Bells Of Rhymney (with Beck), The Monkees' She (with John Homme), In My Room (with Fiona Apple) and, above all, closer What's Happening, featuring the godlike Neil's instantly-recognisable guitar work.
Jordan Summers and Patrick Warren play Mellotron and Chamberlin (both presumably belonging to Warren), with Summers' Mellotron strings and Chamby cellos (?) on opener Go Where You Wanna Go, Summers on Mellotron vibes and Warren on Chamby strings on You Showed Me, Warren's Chamby flutes (credited as strings) on In My Room and Summers' Mellotron vibes and strings and Warren's Chamby somethings (strings?) on Never My Love. An unexpectedly tape-replayish various artists effort, then, although little of it's that overt, while I'm not 100% convinced about the authenticity of those Mellotron vibes.
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, 57.04) ***½/T½ |
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| Jon Brion: Theme Electric Light Orchestra: Mr Blue Sky Jon Brion: Collecting Things Polyphonic Spree: Light & Day Jon Brion: Bookstore Polyphonic Spree: It's the Sun Lata Mangeshkar: Wada Na Tod Jon Brion: Showtime |
Beck: Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes Jon Brion: Sidewalk Flight Don Nelson: Some Kinda Shuffle Jon Brion: Howard Makes it All Go Away Willowz: Something Jon Brion: Postcard Willowz: I Wonder |
Jon Brion: Peer Pressure A Dream Upon Waking The Strings That Tie to You Phone Call Don Nelson: Nola's Bounce Jon Brion: Down the Drain Row Drive in Main Title Spotless Mind Elephant Parade |
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The estimable Jon Brion was brought in to soundtrack Michel Gondry's excellent Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film of considerable quirk. The first time I saw it I spent the first ten minutes moaning that 'it's just some crapola love story'. Then it got weird, despite Jim Carrey's starring role. Then again, remember The Truman Show? I've even seen this described as 'science fiction'; I suppose it does have vague SF elements to it, but it ain't exactly Star Trek...
Anyway, Brion's soundtrack includes several songs from old Hindi films, a couple each by The Polyphonic Spree (including ex-Tripping Daisy members), The Willowz and Don Nelson and ELO's creaky Mr Blue Sky, even though it doesn't appear in the final version of the film. One of its highlights, however, has to be Beck's version of The Korgis' sublime Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes (ex-Stackridge, fact fans); you really can't go wrong with a great song... Unsurprisingly, Brion gets some Chamberlin in there, with warbling flutes, pitchbent to a stop on Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes, solo female voice on A Dream Upon Waking and cranky flutes on The Strings That Tie To You, although it may well crop up elsewhere; you know how it is with Chambys... And is that an Optigan I hear on a few tracks?
Anyway, some interesting mood music mixed with some rather unnecessary contemporary stuff; typical modern soundtrack, then. Actually, most modern soundtracks skip the 'interesting mood music' bit altogether and just feature a run of shite pop and rock songs with only a tangential link to the film, if any at all, so we should be grateful that this one actually sounds like the film.
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Godzilla: The Album (1998, 59.12) ***/TT½ |
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| The Wallflowers: Heroes Puff Daddy/Jimmy Page: Come With Me Jamiroquai: Deeper Underground Rage Against the Machine: No Shelter Ben Folds Five: Air |
Days of the New: Running Knees Michael Penn: Macy Day Parade Fuel: Walk the Sky Foo Fighters: A320 Green Day: Brain Stew" (the Godzilla Remix) |
Silverchair: Untitled Fuzzbubble: Out There Joey DeLuxe: Undercover David Arnold: Opening Titles Looking for Clues |
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The American 1998 remake of Godzilla was a pretty stinky effort, all things considered; merely so-so CGI, poor storyline, iffy acting... The film eventually made a profit, but couldn't be considered a runaway success. Its soundtrack album is full of the usual dodgy remakes, although at least that's preferable to just re-running 'classics', I suppose. The best-known (and worst) is Puff Daddy (as he was known at the time)'s appalling Kashmir remake, titled Come With Me, featuring Jimmy Page on guitar; it's essentially an instrumental version of the track with the Puffster grunting some bollocks over the iconic riff for no obvious reason. It played over the end credits, as far as I can remember, also for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
Benmont Tench, from Tom Petty's band, plays Chamberlin on a few of the new recordings, presumably brought in to give some sort of sonic consistency to the project. Anyway, we get strings and cellos on The Wallflowers' Bowie cover, Heroes (actually played by Patrick Warren), Michael Penn's Macy Day Parade, the Foo Fighters' A320, plus flutes on Silverchair's imaginatively-titled Untitled, although it's possible there's more hidden away here and there.
Overall, then, a halfway house between the 'old faves' type of soundtrack and the 'incidental music' variety, with several Chamberlin-heavy tracks, which isn't to say you'll necessarily want to listen to them. More tape-replay than expected, though.
See: Wallflowers | Michael Penn | Foo Fighters
!['Hard Eight [a.k.a. Sydney]'](images/ost-hard8.jpg) |
Hard Eight [a.k.a. Sydney] (1996, 24.58) ***/TT½ |
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| Cash to Tokens Tokens to Cash Sydney's Work Walk Clementine's Loop Craps Table Leaving the Motel Leaving the City The Money |
The Phone Call, Waiting for Jimmy Sydney Doesn't Speak |
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Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight (a.k.a. Sydney, after one of the central protagonists, although I've no idea why it's known by two different titles) is a film about gambling and how it can go horribly wrong, as far as I can ascertain. The soundtrack was written and assembled by our old friends Jon Brion and Michael Penn, with help from Patrick Warren, so it's hardly a surprise to hear that the last-named adds Chamberlin to several tracks. The material itself has a sleazy, gambling dive feel to it, as you'd both expect and want, although whether it works out of context is something of a moot point.
Warren's Chamberlin turns up on at least four tracks, with vibes and strings on Sydney's Work Walk, sleazy brass and flutes on Craps Table, strings on Leaving The Motel and upfront flutes and cellos on The Phone Call, Waiting For Jimmy, while the repetitive church bell on Clementine's Loop is more than likely to emanate from it, too. As with so many soundtrack albums, it's difficult to recommend it to anything other than fans of the genre, although at least we're looking at all-original music here. Anderson went on to write and direct Boogie Nights and Magnolia, amongst others, while Brion and Penn's careers are summarised in their entries on this site. Overall, Hard Eight/Sydney is a pretty decent soundtrack of its type, with some nice Chamberlin use into the bargain.
See: Jon Brion | Michael Penn
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I ♥ Huckabees (2004, 43.29) ***½/TTT |
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| Monday Knock Yourself Out Strange Bath Cubes Didn't Think it Would Turn Out Bad Coincidences Over Our Heads |
You Learn Later Monday Ska Wouldn't Have it Any Other Way Huckabees Jingle (50's Version) Revolving Door JB's Blues |
True to Yourself Didn't Think it Would Turn Out Bad (String Quartet Version) Strangest Times Omni Get What it's About Monday (End Credits) |
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Ah, now this is a proper soundtrack, not just some excuse to stick a bunch of FM staples or, alternatively, new, 'hot' tracks together, in the pretence that you'll actually hear them in the film. I've never seen I ♥ Huckabees (listed as 'I Heart Huckabees' or 'I Love Huckabees', more often than not) and I've no idea if it's any good, but Jon Brion's soundtrack does all the things that soundtracks should do, being a collection of little musical vignettes, with the occasional song thrown in for good measure.
Jon Brion wrote and recorded the soundtrack and of course he gets his Chamberlin in all over the place; opener Monday features what sounds like a plethora of Chamby sounds, with oboe, violins, cellos and maybe others, with flutes on Knock Yourself Out, solo male voice on Cubes, strings on Later Monday, flutes on Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way and various combinations of flutes and strings on the other highlighted tracks, with Monday (End Credits) repeating the film/album opener's Chamby parts. Of course, chances are it's used on several other tracks, but given that the Chamberlin's the chameleon of the tape-replay world, who knows?
Overall, then, a welcome change from the usual so-called 'soundtrack' drivel, with some nice Chamberlin work to boot. All hail Jon Brion!
See: Jon Brion
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The In-Laws (2003, 59.49) **½/½ |
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| Paul McCartney: A Love for You Badfinger: No Matter What Electric Light Orchestra: Don't Bring Me Down Paul McCartney: Live and Let Die Elvis Presley: It's Now or Never Bee Gees: Wedding Day |
Paul McCartney: I'm Carrying KC & the Sunshine Band: Get Down Tonight Chic: Good Times Cameo: Word Up All Too Much: More Than a Friend B.J. Thomas: Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head |
Ella Fitzgerald: Sunshine of Your Love Mel Torme: Too Close for Comfort Michel Legrand: Di-Gue-Ding-Ding Claudine Longet: A Man and a Woman (Un Homme et une Femme) Yma Sumac: Gopher Mambo |
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2003's The In-Laws is a remake of a 1979 film, but having seen neither version, I find myself unable to comment on their respective merits or lack of same. Suffice to say, the schizophrenic soundtrack includes several 'wedding party' favourites (KC & the Sunshine Band, Chic, Cameo), lounge (Ella Fitzgerald's outrageous Sunshine Of Your Love, Michel Legrand, Yma Sumac) and some welcome powerpop (Badfinger, ELO, the previously unknown All Too Much), not to mention no fewer than two previously unreleased Paul McCartney ditties (third contribution I'm Carrying is from '78's London Town), enough to make any Macca fan salivate uncontrollably.
Of the two, the one that'll have 'em swooning in the aisles, album opener A Love For You ('71, Ram sessions) is, well, fairly typical, although I prefer the rawer take on Live And Let Die, with Macca on Rhodes and Linda on Moog and Mellotron, although all I can hear are a few seconds of strings towards the end of the song. This almost sounds like a demo version, only it has the finished take's orchestral overdubs, so its provenance will have to remain unknown, at least for now. There's supposed to be a four-disc Macca rarities set appearing at some point, which would include A Love For You, at least, but like so many similar efforts (the ongoing Neil Young saga springs to mind), it's currently unknown when this magnus opus might finally appear.
Anyway, were it not for the Macca tracks, this soundtrack, like so many others, is essentially worthless, a few seconds of previously unheard Mellotron making no difference to its desirability.
See: Paul McCartney
