Back catalogue: Soundtracks

Review: Don't believe the hype - we certainly don't. Halloween Ends, 2022's trilogy-concluding horror flick that brought the story of evil Michael Myers to a bone chilling climax, is almost definitely not going to be the last time we hear the terrifying piano riff John Carpenter came up with for his original 1978 slasher classic, Halloween. Nor will it likely be the final outing for the mask-wearing, knife-wielding menace of Haddonfield, Illinois; fictional town the franchise centres on.

Let's face it, the most recent outing in the saga only represented the conclusion of the last three films, but since the first time there have been 13 movies, many comic books, one video game and tons of merchandise. All that aside, you can believe the hype surrounding the latest score, which sees synth and atmosphere master Carpenter, alongside son and regular collaborator Davies, invoke the eerie unease that first catapulted Halloween into the pantheons of all-time greatest scare fests. Don't sleep after listening, then; who knows what's out there.

Review: Is John Carpenter the most formidable force in 20th Century US moviemaking? He must certainly be in the running. Say what you will about the genres he focuses on (horror, suspense, sci fi, slasher, those details aren't significant. Instead, what's important to remember is that for decades the director has dedicated his career to creating not just vivid on-screen worlds, but atmospheres and feelings. Taking ownership of his own scores is a big part of that, and in many ways Carpenter's tunes are as memorable as his plots. Here joined by son Cody, and Lost Themes I & II sparring partner Daniel Davies, many of the most iconic tones, keys, melodies, and hooks from more than 20 years of cinematic delights are presented as new - and we couldn't be happier.

Review: It was big news when Daft Punk were enlisted to record the soundtrack to Disney's remake of Tron. While the film has perhaps faded from view slightly, the soundtrack remains a popular notch in the French duo's latter-day legacy. Here, we get treated to a reissue of the big budget remix collection which came out in 2011. It's a neat snapshot of the electronic music landscape at the time, ranging from The Glitch Mob to M83, Moby to Paul Oakenfold, Boys Noize to Photek and the late, great Avicii. You certainly wouldn't get the same cast of characters together for a similar package now, making this a document of the era as well as an essential collection of premier league dance music.

Review: It's the late 1950s and modernism reigns. The fires of World War II have been extinguished, leaving behind scorched earth, half-ruined cities, and a firm focus on looking ahead to a better world. How little they knew. From this Cold War setting, wherein the lines between good and bad appear deceptively clear, a new form of jazz begins to emerge. Smooth, cool, and unarguably inviting, Miles Davis was among the greatest proponents of the 'modal' movement - whereby long, linear melodic movements were favoured over the nervous energy and tension of what had come before. The legendary trumpeter, bandleader and composer gave us a lot of landmark sounds, and his score to the Louis Malle film, Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud, isn't one of the best known. Nevertheless, it defines everything that was great and timeless about the iconic brass man.

Review: Guillermo Del Toro's take on the 'Pinocchio' story - a stop-frame animation affair that relocates the action to 1930s fascist Italy - has been widely praised since it dropped on Netflix earlier in the year. Plenty of plaudits have been directed at Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack, which combines original music with brand-new musical-style songs. As this CD edition of the soundtrack proves, the Oscar-winning composer delivered one of his most magical scores to date, with picturesque, musically detailed instrumentals being joined by genuine 'earworm' songs performed admirably by the film's voice cast (see Ewan McGregor's rendition of 'Better Tomorrows', veteran British actor David Bradley's tender take on 'My Son' and Christoph Waltz's villainous version of 'We Were a King Once'.

Review: We thought they didn't make them like this anymore. Then they made four seasons like this, and we all remembered what it meant to combine fantasy, horror, coming of age, and stick the lot in the most nostalgic decade for many people aged between mid-20s and late-50s. An age that, even if memories are hazy or you weren't even born ye, still manages to reflect the way the world was and had been for some time. The culmination of half a century's progress in mechanics and engineering, the final hurrah before the tech revolution got underway and changed our lives for good.

A key part of what makes Stranger Things so evocative is the music itself. Each instalment is littered with great chart tracks from the year in which they are set - not least this time round, with Kate Bush rocketing to the top of the charts with 'Running Up That Hill' thanks to its use in the show. Nevertheless, the finest sounds on offer are the original tracks, which come in the form of these synth heavy masterpieces, which should be longer, but instead opt for a 'keep them wanting more' philosophy.

Review: Waxwork Records presents the iconic Body Double Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Pino Donaggio. Directed by Brian De Palma, this 1984 neo-noir erotic thriller pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock's classics, exploring themes of voyeurism and obsession. Starring Craig Wasson and Melanie Griffith, the film follows struggling actor Jake Scully, who, after witnessing a murder, delves into the seedy underworld of Hollywood's adult entertainment industry. De Palma, aiming to defy censorship, crafted an erotic and thrilling narrative. Donaggio's legendary score, including the standout track 'Telescope', masterfully blends orchestral grandeur with 80s electronic beats, perfectly capturing the film's neon-drenched ambiance and suspenseful atmosphere.

Review: When Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon came out at the box office, it went some way to confirming we'd entered a new millennium, and a fresh era in cinema. Visually spectacular, despite being made on a small budget for epics even back then ($17million), the stunning tale of warring Chinese dynasties, told through battle scenes disguised as beautiful, entrancingly choreographed performance art, was an aesthetic landmark, and a more thoughtful take on the wuxia martial arts action canon. Picking up Golden Globes and Academy Awards, Tan Dun's soundtrack certainly contributes a lot to just how amazing the overall experience of watching CTHD is. Although losing out on its own nomination to the equally powerful Gladiator score - what a year it was for historic fanfares - the combination of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai National Orchestra, and Shanghai Percussion Ensemble makes for a classical masterpiece, from the drummiest war marches to the most serene, cherry blossom-hued harmonies.

Review: "People have described their music as ambient, although that's a description they don't care much for. It's certainly atmospheric and there's something about their sunny-sounding guitar that seemed appropriate to a book that, although published in 1927, didn't become popular in America until the 1960s."
So says writer and director Gerard McInulty about The Durutti Column, the group he drafted for the soundtrack to his 12 Stars group production of Treatise On The Steppenwolf, first staged in Glasgow in 2003. This is what that sounds like - call it what you like, essentially it's just beautiful music to captivate and enthral, without insisting on itself - and you also get an additional trio of extended movements that were used to score the Human Avatars art installation at MOSI, Manchester, in 2005. Ace all round.

Review: If you've seen the TV series The Last Kingdom chances are you're pretty hyped about the idea of a feature length movie. Before that, though, we get Destiny Is All, an album made up of sounds from the super-popular Viking drama that stands out for many reasons. Whether you consider this dinner party music is a question of taste, but in the grand scheme of tunes made to score historical shows this is a cut above so much.
Forsaking tradition in favour of innovation, the arrangements here seem to transcend the period in which the narrative was set, and yet are so evocative of that age. A time of heroes, myths, legends, thunderstorms, rituals, runes, and an overwhelming sense of adventure, all those things are captured here but through the combination of orchestral bombast, choral voices, chants and electronic equipment.