Great soundtrack to a great film and composed by Dave Gruisin that some of you might know from the excellent the get easy! sunshine pop compilation from last year (2003). I think this was the one record who got me into the soundtrack genre. It�s got that typical 70�s funky soundtrack sound. Dig it.
"Kid Charlemagne" sounds like it's starting in the middle -- a little instrumental passage between stanzas, or the middle of a drug bust. Whatever it is, it works: the song drops you right into a seedy, sun-soaked, coke-fueled, sour-tasting hangover of a scene, populated by "Day-Glo freaks" and "low-rent friends."
What makes the song most memorable for me are the two all-too-brief soaring guitar solos unleashed by Larry Carlton (and drums by Bernard Purdie!), particularly the one that still echoes in the ears of the listener on the way out. That and the unforgettable couplet, bracketed in the last verse (and sung by Donald Fagen with a half-faltering note that makes it sound like undisguised joy) for maximum effect:
"Is there gas in the car?
Yes, there's gas in the car."
Sometimes it's just the slightest detail that turns a song into a masterpiece.
from A Decade of Steely Dan, available on CD (MCA)
02 Oct 03 ·tinks: i've never thought much of steely dan. and i still don't. but reading this review set off a frenzy of activity in my little brain trying to figure out where i knew "kid charlemagne" from as a pop-culture reference. at first i thought..."was it the name of a boxer on the simpsons?" was it from mr. show? no...it was the college radio handle of the dad on "malcolm in the middle". 05 Apr 04 ·Latimer: Chuck Rainey's bass work on this track is absolutely great. It's the epitome of his style, a veritable thesaurus of syncopation. - Kid Charlemagne supposedly refers to Augustus Owsley Stanley III, sometime purveyor of high-grade acid to the hippie elite, and raided in 1967.
I don't care much for the rest of the soundtrack, but the title theme for this dario Argento horror film is top rate. Underpinnig the whole thing is a continuous ominous rhythm played on what sounds like a hammered dulcimer, on top of this there doesn't appear to be much actually going on. Apart from the sound effects. Screams, bells. All very, very intense. I have a vinyl version of teh OST (plus a 7 of the theme from Il Giaguaro magazine [quick brag]), but the cd looks good with a couple of extra versions.
from Suspiria (Dagored) available on CD - suspiria
29 Oct 03 ·eftimihn: Oh yeah, this is one of the creepiest tracks ever recorded with it's hypnotically repetitive style building up slowly in the first half and then turning into a faster paced prog-rockish second half with a kind of gothic sounding, massive organ and furious synths. 30 Oct 03 ·n-jeff: I also forgot the chanting. And theres some kind of bassy dijeridoo thing going on in there too.
I'm on such a kraftwerk tip these days that I could recommend loads of their tracks, but this one is a real classic - there they all are, looking super-geeky on the cover, and then they serve up an ice-cool 8 minutes complaining about the horrors of fame. It's the normal kraftwerk thing - robotic beats, beautiful, simple melodies, and heavily accented singing, and going on for a LONG TIME.
My favourite bit is when one of the guys counts in the song - ein, zwei, drei, vier! As if - as if! - the machines need telling the tempo...
from Trans Europe Express, available on CD (Capitol)
"Somebody to Love" is quite possibly my favorite song by Queen, one of my favorite bands in the world. For some reason, this song brings memories of lead singer Freddie Mercury, his energy, his style and his beautiful voice, even though I was only 4 years old when he died of AIDS in 1991.
This song is definitely one of Queen's best, if not one of the greatest songs ever written and performed. The most impressive part is near the end, when all is quiet, and all of the sudden Queen begins singing "Find...me...somebody to lo-ove..." very softly, and crescendoes with clapping and stomping and all kinds of uplifting musical tactics. It's just a magnificent song. My favorite part is when Freddie bursts out,
"I just gotta get out of this prison cell,
Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!
Find me somebody to love!"
from A Day At the Races (Hollywood Records 161035) available on CD - Greatest Hits (Hollywood Records)
