FREEDOM – NEROSUBIANCO

a good opener for the international funky soundtrack section! let's start off with Tinto Brass' cult avantgarde movie from 1969 (one of the film's alternative titles was ‚The Artful Penetration of Barbara') about a married Italian woman (Anita Sanders) becoming sexually attracted by a black man (Terry Carter) she sees while wandering around London. sparse dialogues and very few words can be heard in this violent and disturbing cinematic experience full of bizarre female fantasies about concentration camps, rape, orgies and eyeballs sliced with razor blades, all accentuated by the powerful Jazz Rock by UK Group Freedom, who were commissioned by director Brass to write fourteen songs for Nerosubianco. in the film the band members –including ex-Procol Harum musicians Ray Royer and Bobby Harrison, singer / bassist Steve Shirley and organist / man behind Studio G's Beat Group Mike Lease- can be seen performing topless and bodypainted in several well worth seeing sequences. musically speaking, Freedom sound similar to the early Traffic adding a jazzy vibe to their Psychedelic Rock, which is reflected in the usage of electric piano and clavinet beside a raging fuzz guitar. their playful approach successfully captures the feeling of the swinging late 60s London leaving plenty space for groovy instrumental jams, often driven by Lease's funky hammond organ. according to specialists in Psychedelic Rock, ‚Nerosubianco' represents Freedom's best recording output and ranges meanwhile among the cream of the crop of the genre. due to very limited pressing quantities the original Italian only Atlantic issue is considered as a legendary vinyl artifact and featured only 10 tracks of the original material. highly recommended tracks: ‚The Truth Is Plain To See' and ‚With You' (Atlantic Ita 1969)

 

 

 

ROY BUDD – GET CARTER

with his eclectic score for the cult revenge thriller ‚Get Carter' (inspired by Ted Lewis' novel ‚Jack Returns Home') from 1971, Roy Budd soon gained reputation to be one of the most talented soundtrack composers in the film business. the film itself ranges among the cream of british gangster flicks and introduced Britt Ekland (who can be seen in a remarkable telefone sex scene) and a young Michael Caine in probably his best role: the tough, vicious and unsympathetic anti hero Jack Carter returning to his hometown to investigate the death of his brother. an unpredictable plot and Jack Fishman's cynical dialogues are completed with cheerless-realistic camera settings of lower class Newcastle at the beginning of the 70s and create with the help of Budd's music a violent as well as sexy ‚film noir' atmosphere. recorded in London with an extremely low budget with fellow musicians Geoff Cline on bass and Chris Careen on drums & percussion only, the soundtrack material is a successful combination of contemporary Jazz and early 70s Pop music. the funky chasers ‚Plaything', ‚Carter Takes The Train' and ‚The Girl In The Car' are based on a haunting harpischord-led main theme accompanied by double bass, tablas and moody riffs on electric piano. also featured are three more Pop oriented vocal numbers with an Easy Mod Beat type of vibe: ‚Love Is A Four Letter Word' has a supergroovy beat driven by congas, whirling moves on a hammond-like sounding e-piano and a great female voice singing the leads on top of it. last but not least ‚Livin' Should Be This Way' was used in the film to underscore a hip party scene and showcases a stylish fuzz guitar roaring in the background. unfortunately not included on the score is the ultra-beaty dancefloor shuffle ‚30-60-90' from the famous night club sequence performed by the Jack Hawkins Orchestra. (originally available only on a rare UK only album entitled ‚Psychedelic 70s') the complete ‚Get Carter' score was released in LP format only in Japan by Odeon Records. if rumours are to believe many copies have been destroyed or gone lost for unknown reasons, which has made the album a true holy grail ond over the top desireable object for soundtrack hunters, always reaching exorbitant prices when changing owner's hands. (Odeon Japan 1971)

 

 

 

LALO SCHIFRIN – EN BUENOS AIRES

Lalo Schifrin needs no big introduction here. on ‚Bullitt', ‚Dirty Harry', ‚Enter The Dragon' and many of his other countless scores he has created his own, unique definition of ‚Soundtrack Funk'. but how does one of the best composers of all time sound outside the studio situation live on stage accompanied by bass, guitar and drums only? ‚En Buenos Aires' released in Argentina only by RCA in 1970 is the ultimate answer and will make every Schifrin fan happy for sure. capturing the concert's atmosphere perfectly with spoken intros by Schifrin in spanish, this live pressing serves up with an extremely hard and loud electric bass, exchanging excellently with Lalo's extraordinary performance on piano. by reinventing the originals in a funked-up, improvisional context, his breathtaking versions of the 'Bullitt' theme and 'The Cat' manage to sound very exciting and completely new. essential record not only for soundtrack collectors and very rare! (RCA Argentina 1970)

 

 

 

 

 

POOL-PAH – THE FLASHER

an obscure sexploitation score from 1973 taken from a x-rated gonzo flick strangely subtitled ‚forbidden under censorship of the king'. directed by Barry R. Kerr and starring Harry Reems as narrator, this bizarre movie is set around a bearded, Jesus-looking pervert flashing people in NYC and features some tasty orgiastic sex scenes with all kinds of food involved. weird, weird, weird … and so is its soundtrack released on the tiny Green Bottle label and performed by the unknown US band Pool-Pah with assistance from the group Ralph and their ARP synthisizer. prepare yourself for a strange mix of Psychedelic Rock, 60s Beat, slightly folkish vocal Pop tracks, solo electronic oddness and some outstanding head-nodding beats on the funky moog drama ‚Sour Soul': a masterpiece of slowburning Psychedelic Funk with cool wah-wah licks, blazing brass, deep bassline and nice effects on a squibbling moog. excellent! (Green Bottle Records 1973)

 

 

 

 

DOMINIC FRONTIERE – HAMMERSMITH IS OUT

an excellent score taken from an odd Peter Ustinov directed movie from the early 70s, based loosely on the Faust legend and starring Liz Taylor, Richard Burton and Beau Bridges. according to the liner notes on the back, the weird-sounding plot ‚follows the adventures of hopelessly dumb and slovenly Billy Breedlove in a world of topless bars, brooding Mephistopheleses, big business and Liz Taylor.' noteworthy for several strange night club sequences, which have been underscored with driving Big Band Funk instrumentals slightly polluted by a rocky electric guitar sound. ‚Topless Rock', ‚Kidoo' and ‚Snake Dance' serve up with a rhythm section in groovy top form and are loaded with swirling hammond licks, tough backbeats and some blazing brass action. strangely enough, all three tracks can be heard and seen in the film performed by a naked girlie band with the politically incorrect name of ‚The Tits' (!) bad, bad misogynous 70s … but then again, a good example for ‚Porn Music' and slinky Sexploitation beats! (Capitol 1972)

 

 

 

 

 

MICHAEL SMALL – KLUTE

taken from Alan J. Pakula's infamous crime thriller starring a young Donald Sutherland as private eye John Klute, oscar winning Jane Fonda as a hooker and Roy Scheider as her pimp comes one of the most desireable US Funk scores. film composer Michael Small's disturbing and trippy soundtrack reflects perfectly the thrilling atmosphere of ‚Klute', which has become legendary not least for its chilling discotheque sequences. the music? absolutely stunning and very psychy Funk Rock beats underlaid with big drums, drama horns, a downright evil fuzzed lead guitar, the fattest bassline u can imagine and Fonda's voice frantically screaming ‚Take Me Higher, Light My Fire' on top of it! ‚Checking Leads' is an excellent example for pure incidental funky drama music, very intense and in the same vein as Lalo Schifrin's Dirty Harry. among some jazzier tracks and several assorted open drum & bass breaks for Hip Hop producers u can find even a beautiful, long Psych Folk instrumental entitled ‚Righteous'. with no tracklist or breaks between the numbers, ‚Klute' was printed in small quantities and saw a semi officially Warner Brothers release only. rare stuff! (WS Records 1970)