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I'm currently enjoying his jazz/big band/world music crossover album Esperanto, which I think I bought after hearing an isolated track on his My Life in Film compilation. Once again, a collaboration in part with the WDR Big Band (groan) but it's a great album despite that
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Looking forward to reading other fans' lists. Don't mind if I do. My ranking below is filtered via my perspectives that dissonance/atonality demonstrates highly sophisticated techniques and aesthetics. 1) The Fox 2) The Amityville Horror 3) the unused music Schifrin wrote for The Exorcist 4) "The Good Seeds" episode from the 1974 Planet of the Apes TV series 5) Les Felins (aka Joy House) 6) Abominable 7) Telefon 8) Once a Thief (the film recordings in the FSM set - not the re-recorded Verve LP) 9) The Hellstrom Chronicle 10) THX 1138 Plus special mentions for the '68 feature Hell in the Pacific and the TV movie Good Against Evil from '77 ... because - if these 2 had soundtrack albums - they'd be on my top 10 instead of THX 1138 & Hellstrom.
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Bullitt Cool hand luke dirty harry Charley varrick Magnum Force Love n bullets charley Enter the dragon Telefon The eagle has landed The Wrath of God
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I owned the Rollercoaster LP too. Wasnt a fan- especially the fairground sound effects. I think its the only Lalo i didnt care much for. I liked Harry in your pocket too, zardoz. And i never minded Che and Sol madrid. And St Ives. Forgot that one. And i loved Brubaker. Thats probably no11. I also liked Battle street brawl, sky riders and voyage of the damned. Overall i think i found his post 1980s output less interesting.
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Bullitt Cool hand luke dirty harry Charley varrick Magnum Force Love n bullets charley Enter the dragon Telefon The eagle has landed The Wrath of God Oddly enough, I took a long time to warm to The Wrath of God - maybe it was all the Latin-flavoured cues that started the CD off - but it's become one of my favourite Lalo scores. It treads a line between 'spiritual' (there are some quiet and contemplative cues) and 'action'. I've just ordered the film on DVD. Now if only I could warm up to Lalo's score to Coogan's Bluff...
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#8 is The Fox, from 1968. The theme is haunting, brooding perfection, often played on solo flue accompanied by harp, harpsichord, spare keyboards. Schifrin's best theme. The score is a chilling chamber experience conjuring the triangular relationship of the three main characters and the spacious and chilly Canadian setting. A masterpiece that turned people's heads when they heard it (no Exorcist references, please) because previously Lalo was that jazz guy or that latin guy or that spy guy. The Fox proved that he could handle a dramatic and serious film with authority and without relying on a large symphony. Well deserved oscar nomination. The original album is short, but perfect in mood. Sally Stevens sings a spot-on version of the theme. Schifrin's re-recorded album is excellent but the jazz and vocal versions break the mood. Get both if you can.
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Posted: |
Apr 5, 2019 - 11:23 AM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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So why don't I just get on with it and post MY Top 10 Lalos? Okay then, I will. All film/ TV scores/ albums. No jazz or anything else because I'm a short-sighted gink. In no particular order... BULLITT - The FSM is a joy. I much prefer the original tracks to the re-recording, which is kind of strange seeing that the LP had been one of my favourites for over thirty years. But on the original tracks even the source music is edgier. ENTER THE DRAGON - Whoo Whooo, WHHHAAAAOOOO! Brilliant. THE FOX - The original soundtrack from 1968. Beautiful, stark, haunting. Wade through my old diarrhea. THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE - Startlingly great and inventive. Even the annoying bits are brilliant. That "swish, swoosh... swoosh... SWISH" effect is like some big muthafuckin' moth battering its hairy body off the side of your head in the dark. JOE KIDD - An under-discussed one for sure. The Intrada release is a revelation, because a lot of the music hadn't been used in the actual film. Wonderful surprise. MAGNUM FORCE - I actually prefer this over the original DIRTY HARRY. More re-spin value, although the first one is great I must admit. DIRTY HARRY - I actually prefer the sequel score (and probably Fielding's THE ENFORCER the best of all), but I have to admit that this is great. THE WRATH OF GOD - Splendid one from FSM, once the opening Benny Hill tracks have been got out of the way. COOL HAND LUKE - One or two irritating bits, but when it's good it's awesome, and even heartbreaking. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - An old recording I have of listener-friendly themes, mostly but not all penned by Lalo. Swingin'! The three others we need - CHARLEY VARRICK THE BEGUILED THE MANITOU
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2 more coming from my list. A clue--one of the 2 is on your list.
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So why don't I just get on with it and post MY Top 10 Lalos? Okay then, I will. Lalo Schifrin - kilted! By Chris Kilt-Man ... er ... I mean Graham Watt [Argentinian composer gets kilted (in English) by a Scott in Spain]
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#9 on my list is Cool Hand Luke. An incredibly inventive work, mixing harmonicas, fiddles, and banjos in with full orchestra. The bittersweet theme, first played by two guitars, shows once again how gifted Schifrin is in creating memorable themes. The egg-eating contest and tar sequence are exciting and dramatic, and the source cue--"Lucille"--is shimmering sexiness. One of Schifrin's very best scores--oscar-nominated the same year along with In Cold Blood and Far From the Madding Crowd, arguably the best scores by those three composers. The main theme had lyrics added at some point and the song was called "Down Here on the Ground." There were many instrumental covers, including the great jazz guitarists Grant Green and Wes Montgomery. I think this score may have been the reason Schifrin was asked to score The Reivers, and possibly why The Wild Bunch producer Phil Feldman was pushing Peckinpah to hire Schifrin for that film. (source: new book about the making of The Wild Bunch). My last Schifrin pick is somewhat more obscure and very under-appreciated. Coming soon . . .
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Love this score, and this is my favorite movie. Thanks for your analysis. Yeah me n joanie love this film n score. The score has deep and clever layers.
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Posted: |
Apr 12, 2019 - 8:08 AM
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By: |
Hurdy Gurdy
(Member)
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It's strange, but having been a collector of film scores for over 40 years now, I don't have a great many discs by Lalo in my collection, despite always finding his music interesting and intriguing. My Top 10 (if I can get it that high...ooh err) would be; COOL HAND LUKE (Just perfect with the film, some great bits without) KELLY'S HEROES (Always loved the song Burning Bridges and the Tiger Tank stuff is ace) PLANET OF THE APES - TV Series (As a huge POTA fan as a kid, these scores are full of great childhood memories and that Main Title theme is one of THE best ever) ROLLERCOASTER (I actually love a lot of the catchy funfair tunes Lalo wrote for this, plus you get the Herrmann-y psycho/killer theme and that jazz/blues detective theme to boot) THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (One of the best and spookiest horror scores we've ever been blessed with. I love the unreleased sequel score too) BRUBAKER (Man, that 5 minute Finale cue - especially IN FILM - always brings me to tears) err, that's it. I do also have THX-1138, CAVEMAN, RETURN FROM THE RIVER KWAI & RUSH HOUR on CD, but wouldn't call them favourites.
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My last selection is the very underrated 1971 album Rock Requiem. I say underrated because it's not talked about much--some wise folks on these threads have praised it--and Schifrim himself has never re-visited this material. Also, in Stuart Nicholson's excellent book Jazz-Rock: A History Nicholson derided the album--in a footnote! And when I first heard it as a cocky teenager when it came out I was disappointed because it lacked the orchestral wonders or super-cool of his film scores, and I felt it didn't match up to his own Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts. I sold the album along with many others during leaner times. In the early 2000's I wanted to hear it again and eventually tracked down an lp. I was shocked at how much I liked the album. I just kept playing it and playing it and playing it. It only got better. At turns heart-breakingly sad, celebratory, contemplative, and occasionally raging with gospel fervor, Schifrin uses a small but eclectic ensemble, the Mike Curb Congregation, and the solo voice of Alexander Saint Charles. Why the difference in my opinion? Well, since 1971 I've lived a bit of a life and have experienced some grief; I'm sure that has helped. Plus, though I am a bit of a music snob, I am much less one now, and I find this straight-forward work incredibly moving. I am always deeply affected when I hear it. Thanks to Universal-France for including it on their excellent Schifrin box.
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Part 2: So that's my list. Many of you are more familiar with Schifrin's scores rather than his concert or jazz works, so if I were to complete my list with scores only, removing Gillespiana, Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts, and Rock Requiem, I would add the Mission: Impossible cd that combined Schifrin's both albums from the 60s, the Amityville Horror, and The Liquidator. When i did my list I didn't include the boxes because I was listing individual scores/works. But the FSM MGM box and the Uni-France boxes are musts. The former includes so many great scores including the previously unreleased The Venetian Affair and Rhino. The latter includes Rock Requiem and the original Schifrin/Sade album. Thanks for reading.
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Thanks for reading. Is that it then?,!
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