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Posted: |
Jun 27, 2011 - 2:26 PM
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By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
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Let's discuss the onslaught of Les Baxter releases that has occurred over the past couple of years. I never thought I'd see so many of these get released, especially in such a short period of time.
So what are your thoughts? My four favorites would have to be, in no order:
House of Usher, Marco Polo, Sadismo, and Panic in Year Zero.
I choose these especially because they have never been previously available. (Master of the World is of course a true gem, but I've had it on LP for ages, so I was more excited to get stuff I didn't have).
But honestly, I love all of these and have spent serious time with all of them (except Beach Blanket Bingo, the one I didn't buy).
I wonder what's left in the warehouse?
Thus far:
Exotica:
Master of the World/Barbarian
Cervantes
Sadismo
Marco Polo
Groovy/Now Sound:
Hell's Belles
The Dunwich Horror (This could be classified as "horror" but 70s decadence trumps horror content)
Bora Bora (This could be classified as "exotica" but 70s decadence trumps exotic content)
Horror/Gothic/Macabre:
The Beast Within (This could be classified as 80s synth cheese)
House of Usher
Black Sunday (expanded)
X/Morella
Black Sabbath (One of the scores has nervous angular longhair qualities)
The Raven/An Evening with Poe
The Curse of Dracula
Nervous Angular Longhair Jazz:
Panic in Year Zero
Other:
Beach Blanket Bingo
Comedy of Terrors
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Les Baxter can be very hit or miss for me. I love so many PARTS of most of his scores, but there's quite often some excrutiating silliness popping up when least wanted. And I never really warmed to either SADISMO or THE DUNWICH HORROR, to name but two lack-lustre efforts with great moments.
Having said that, (FALL OF THE) HOUSE OF USHER was a dream come true. A holy grail long-thought lost, suddenly released by Intrada. It's one of the few occasions where a score I'd wanted for nearly forty years turned out to be as good as I'd hoped all the way through. A magnificent piece of work.
PIT AND THE PENDULUM is the other Baxter score which I would deem "masterpiece". Could a miracle happen with that as it did with USHER?
I've got this daft rating system going around in my head all the time. Keeps me from sleeping. On a scale of 1 to 10, Les Baxter has two 10s (USHER and PIT). About another five or six scores range between a 6 and an 8. But there are an awful lot of 5s and 4s too.
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Onya, I'm "familiar" with Baxter's exotica albums in the sense that I've heard them in imperfect conditions (Grooveshark, YouTube, my brother's house - he's a fan and has a number of them), but I was never so bowled over by them that I actually spent any money on them!
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Just thinking about the Baxter exotica albums I've heard (but don't own)... I seem to recall that one of the themes from BLACK SABBATH appeared on a non-film score album of the composer's. Anyone care to enlighten me as to the name of the Baxter album and the track title? And which came first, the film or the exotica track? I might have just been dreaming it all of course, so you could maybe confirm that too if it's the case.
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