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Review Ironically the saviour of this sonic scariness was the other übermensch of cult movies, Roger Corman. Found within his private collection of film prints, Paul Giovanni's songs reside neatly against a portrait of the idyllic community of Summerisle whose adherence to an older order attracts the unwanted attentions of uptight Presbyterian policeman Edward Woodward. American Giovanni collected a fine bunch of sessioneers under the banner of Magnet and conjured up some surprisingly authentic-sounding folk numbers. The lilting (how come folk is always lilting?) melodies of numbers like ''Corn Rigs'', ''Gently Johnny'' and ''Willow's Song'' are stuffed with a vaguely sinister eroticism, reflecting Woodward's unease as he scratches the tranquil surface of the island community to discover its sinister secret (you know, the usual: child sacrifice, fertility rituals, Britt Ekland rubbing up against a wall etc.).
Christopher Lee (the Laird of Summerisle and, himself, a vocalist on the bawdy ''The Tinker Of Rye'') described this album as:''...quite extraordinary, it is probably the best music I've ever heard in a film''. He's not far short of the truth. Maybe it takes a foreigner to get to the dark heart of much of our indigenous music, but it's a darkness suffused with beauty. Coupled to the original incidental music - complete with snippets of dialogue, including Woodward's terrified shriek as the full weight of realisation hits him ! - this is a vital document of a time when the UK could still produce classic cinema. It's also a really fine album. --Chris Jones
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This is the first time the music from the wicker man has been issued properly…A few years back there was an issue of the “soundtrack”, in its true meaning, sound and dialogue included. So here, for the first time we have the opportunity to hear the music without planes, seagulls and the crackling of a burning wicker man (although these things do appear on the disc, but now separately, between the tracks).
The CD begins with the folk songs from the movie, these sound remarkably clean considering the age…it only now that I realize how integral the songs are to the movie…this album tells the story. Three quarters through and then we get to a bit of score…nice…some dialogue clips and the end credits.
Listening to the album, you get a real feel for what the film is about, I think Paul Giovanni really hit the right note for this movie, I’ll finish this review with a quote from Christopher Lee extracted from the sleeve notes: “The music to The Wicker Man is quite extraordinary, its probably the best music I’ve ever heard in a film”.
One of the most memorable elements of the film was the fantastic film soundtrack but only an album that effectively recorded the soundtrack directly from the film (with loud incidental effects) had been available. Until now.
This release by Silva Screen is brilliant and a huge amount of effort has clearly been made in putting it together (I was even contacted by the record company before the album was released about the work they were doing due to my comments on Amazon about the previous soundtrack available).
The first 6-8 tracks contain crystal clear stereo and complete studio recordings of all the main songs from the film. There is also a carefully mixed medally of other incidental music.
The remaining tracks are once again carefully mixed incidental music pieces from the film. Whilst they contain very occasional sound effects, these add the the music. The mono recording quality is also very clear.
The packing and accompanying booklet prepared by one of the musical score assistants is imformative and contains new information not found elsewhere. It offers valuable incite to the making of the film.
I strongly recommend buying this release, even if you are not familiar with the film. It is a highly enjoyable "folky" listen.
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