notable film music, Fabio Pignatelli has become the driving force behind Goblin [VW 25:58]. Simonetti’s DAYS OF CONFUSION (1991, Disco- magic CD 634, Italy, approx. 518.95, 48m 09s), which features new compositions as well as innovative cover versions of themes from BLADE RUNNER, HALLOWEEN and THE EXORCIST, has recently surfaced in America, while a new compilation, THE SIMONETTI PROJECT: MYSTERY, MAGIC & MADNESS (1994, President PCOM 1137, England, approx. $18.95, 49m 43s), merges five cuts from DAYS OF CONFUSION with seven tracks from his MUSIC FROM DARIO ARGENTO’S HORROR MOVIES [see VW 25:59].


Una Lucertola con la Pelle di Argento October marked the debut of an independent


soundtrack label dedicated to the release of obscure European horror film scores. Founded by sometimeVW contributor Peter Blumenstock, Lucertola Media offers its first release, THE FILMS OF JEAN ROLLIN (Lucertola LMCD 001, Ger­many, 67m 40s), in a limited edition of 1200 copies. The disc features an 8-page booklet with an introduction by Rollin, and highlights from five original soundtracks—principally written by Phillipe d’Aram, who created the music for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Alberville: Le Frisson des Vampires (“Strange Things Happen at Night”/ “Sex and the Vampire” ); La Rose de Fer (“The Iron Rose”); Fascination (which includes the “singing saw” that was to become a hallmark of Rollin film music); La Morte Vivante (“The Living Dead Girl” ); and Perdues dans New York (“Lost in New York”). The CD is highly recommended, and it is certain to prove a collector’s item. European readers may order THE FILMS OF


JEAN ROLLIN directly from Lucertola Media, Limbacherstrasse 82, D-91126 Schwabach, Ger­ many, for DM 35.90 postpaid. American readers may purchase the disc for $22.00 ppd. fromETC, P.O. Box 5367, Kingwood, TX 77325. Lucertola’s next release, due in December, is


the Simon Boswell/Stefano Mainetti soundtrack of Michele Soavi’s Deliria (aka STAGE FRIGHT aka AQUARIUS aka BLOODY BIRD, 1987).


U/iU uw


Tsunami has brought another classic out of the vaults and into the grey market with the Dimitri


74


Tiomkin score for George Cukor’s WILD IS THE WIND (Tsunami 1st Floor TSU 0110, Germany, approx. $21.99, 39m 21s). Unlike Tsunami’s pathetic MAGNIFICENT SEVEN [VW 22:59], this CD is mastered from an acceptable tape source. To date, only three tracks from the original soundtrack—including one cue not released on vinyl, “Tell the Truth”—have been officially avail­ able, courtesy of THE FILM MUSIC OF DIMITRI TIOMKIN (1988, Columbia/CBS Records CK 44370, $15.99, 72m 00s). Tiomkin conducts the Paramount Studio Or­


chestra with the brash jauntiness that character­ ized his western scores, but the centerpiece is the theme song, whose Ned Washington lyrics were immortalized by Johnny Mathis. (Contrary to both Tsunami’s packaging and popular belief, the Mathis vocal was not conducted by Tiomkin, but by Ray Ellis.) “Wild Is the Wind” is one of the few conventional movie themes to be covered by rock musicians, including David Bowie (whose version from STATION TO STATION [1975] was reissued in 1981 as a single from the “greatest hits” package CHANGESTWOBOWIE) and, more recently, by Dutch trance/gloom stylists Xymox on HEADCLOUDS (1993, Zok ZCD XY004, En­ gland, $15.99, 45m 42s).


Reader John Denson asks whether the sound­


track of CANDYMAN—arguably the best motion picture score of 1992—has been released. The answer, sadly, is “No.” Written by acclaimed minimalist composer Philip Glass, this haunting music has not appeared on vinyl or CD, ostensi­ bly because of its brevity. Glass’s hypnotic, sequence-based music is


peculiarly suited to expressionist filmmaking, as witness his collaborations on Godfrey Reggio’s KOYAANISQATSI (1983), POWAQQATSI (1988) and ANIMA MUNDI (1993). His other scores include MISHIMA (1985), HAMBURGER HILL (1987) and Errol Morris’ THE THIN BLUE LINE (1989). A Glass composition also figures promi­ nently in Michele Soavi’s THE CHURCH [La chiesa, 1988], and his music was interpolated by Goblin for Argento’s PHENOMENA (aka CREEPERS, 1985) and by Sergio Mainetti for Soavi’s STAGE FRIGHT.


& Send material for review to:


Audio Watchdog c/o One Eyed Dog, P.O. Box 28365, Washington DC 20038.

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