As I've spent the first week of October
up to my neck in decorations and novelties, I've begun to notice a
change. Ever since becoming gainfully employed on a more steady
basis, my stash of spooky décor has been enhanced to the point that
I'm having to kick some of the old simple stuff out. On the one hand
it's nice to be able to put out just a few nice items rather than an
armada of junk but it does throw things for a loop and forces me to
change a lot of usual tricks and patterns for decorating. Things
change, that can't be avoided I guess. One change that I've fully
embraced however is the option of scoring these spooky nights with
fine music. Ever since getting into vinyl collecting, I made a point
of getting some good horror soundtracks in advance so as to not
murder my poor bank account. Seeing as it's to gross outside to place
more tombstones, and that the mystery box I wanted to kick off this
month with is running a week late, let's talk about horror
soundtracks.
One of my must own titles for the
collection from the start was The Fog. No doubt it is one of
my top horror flicks, one I watch every year for it's atmosphere and
simple campfire tale storytelling. It doesn't hurt that director,
John Carpenter pumped out one of his best scores for this effort.
Death Waltz Records had already made a
special release of this soundtrack several years ago which has become
something of a pricey collectors item. Thankfully Silva Screen
Records jumped in with their own double LP version. The presentation
is quite nice with one green disc and one white. Most importantly the
sound is rich and clear. If you've never heard the score before, it's
best as an aftermath affair. Say you were out shopping or went to an
event. When it's time to go home and settle down this is the music
that perfectly fits the mood.
Much as I want to scream the merits of
this release there is one issue. Not unlike most Carpenter film
scores, this one is very repetitive to the point that listening to
both LP's in a row is simply too much of a good thing. Taking in one
LP or one side at a time is great, but going through it all in one
sitting is a surefire way to overdo it.
The first horror soundtrack in my
collection from a label I knew practically nothing about beforehand
is The Fly. Varese Saranamde brought this little beauty out in
a few different color variations of which I purchased the black and
green mix from Collectors Choice Vinyl. That color choice perfectly
captures the off-putting and grotesque nature of the film.
As for the music composer, Howard
Shore crafted something a bit more lively and almost operatic here.
It's definitely not something to come down on. No, this one works
best for me come chore time. It's just far enough over the top that
it can turn antics like folding cloths or cleaning the kitchen into
manic and spooky affairs. Best of all, Varese releases tend to be a
bit more affordable than titles from Mondo or Waxwork so this can be
gotten for a decent price.
Another colored release from Varese
Sarabande that I initially wasn't sure about buying is their new
version of Christine. For as many times as I've seen the film,
the score never stood out to me as much as other John Carpenter
works. In part that's because it has more variety than his usual
scores which in turn makes for a refreshing listening experience.
The score itself has a mix of
melancholy and synth sounds that really make for grade-A rainy day
music. It may not be Carpenter's most lauded work but in all honesty
it stands on its own better than most of his other scores.
The artwork and coloration of the LP
are outstanding but there is one thing that bothers me about
Sarabande titles so far, and that's how flimsy the packaging feels.
This one even more so than The Fly just feels pathetic and
wimpy. I suppose that's the trade-off for being more affordable.
Now this one has a story behind it. In
early August as I was looking to get The Fog, I visited the
Silva Screen website for more info when I found that they had also
released The Ninth Gate. Right then and there this thing shot
to the front of the line. Not many people have seen the film, and
even fewer actually enjoy it, but I'll bet even haters would be hard
pressed to dislike the outstanding music. Little did I know it would
take two months to finally lay my mitts on the thing.
Silva Screen made two different
versions of this two LP release. One was all black, and the other had
a red and orange fire color. The colored version suffered from
pressing issues which messed with sound quality and makes it the
cheaper of the two. Since I wanted the best sound I had to get the
black version. Here's the problem; when I started to shop around,
finding a copy available within the U.S. Was almost impossible. I did
not cherish the notion of paying extra for international shipping
only to be potentially disappointed (I'd revived two broken records
in the mail that same month). For me it had to be domestic and
finally I found one from an ebay store. So I sucked it up and payed
the pretty hefty price tag. Time passed and I didn't receive
anything. Turns out the initial order failed to process correctly and
then the distributor took a massive amount of time to restock the
store. In that time the owner gave me a refund and promised to inform
me of new stock ahead of time. With his help I was finally able to
hold and listen to this release in order to usher in the month of
ghouls and ghosts.
Man was the wait ever worth it. This
is classic horror music complete with chanting and harpsichords. It's
the stuff you turn on when it's time to get a little classy, maybe
drink a bit of brandy while wearing a cape. It's excellent, but also
pretty damned expensive. Keep that in mind if you're a fan because
this one will take a nice bite outta your paycheck.
Last but nowhere near least is
C.H.U.D. From Waxwork records. These guys deal almost
exclusively in horror soundtracks and man do they ever give em some
love. Right of the bat the packaging is beautiful and sturdy. The LP
is gorgeous and a weighty 180 gram pressing, there's even a director
interview on the record sleeve. The only problem is that same sleeve
is shitty paper that leaves debris on the LP. Oh how I wish companies
would get away from these cheap sleeves.
On the music front this one may
actually garner my highest recommendation, not for any level of
emotional depth or complex notes. On the contrary, this is simplistic
and largely cheesy. What makes it great though is both the variety of
tracks and their short run times, making this the closest thing I
have to an awesome spooky sounds album. If you're looking for a
horror soundtrack for a party setting, this is one to get.
That's all I've got for today. Believe
me, I'd love to have about a dozen more to show you like Insidious
or the new Hellraiser release but I have more important AKA
responsible things to spend money on. So tell me folks, what are your
favorite horror soundtracks? Gimmie something nice to listen too
while I puzzle out how to rewire the front lawn display. With any
luck, I'll have to posts for you all next week.
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