At The Movies

This is a superb collection of prog-rock keyboard maestro Keith Emerson's film music presented on 3 CDs, containing music from American, Italian and Japanese films.This collection of music highlights the musical genius of Keith Emerson. I have been a huge fan of this musician for many years - particularly his output with the rock bands 'The Nice' and 'Emerson, Lake & Palmer' and I have found his film scores very interesting and exciting to listen to.My favourite scores in this collection are the ones for the 1981 Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer movie 'Nighthawks', the 1980 Dario Argento cult horror movie 'Inferno' and the 1984 giallo film 'Murderrock' directed by Lucio Fulci. All the music in this set is well worth a listen though. An information booklet is also included so this really is a good buy for fans of Keith Emerson, prog-rock or film music in general.

This is a superb collection of prog-rock keyboard maestro Keith Emerson's film music presented on 3 CDs, containing music from American, Italian and Japanese films.This collection of music highlights the musical genius of Keith Emerson. I have been a huge fan of this musician for many years - particularly his output with the rock bands 'The Nice' and 'Emerson, Lake & Palmer' and I have found his film scores very interesting and exciting to listen to.My favourite scores in this collection are the ones for the 1981 Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer movie 'Nighthawks', the 1980 Dario Argento cult horror movie 'Inferno' and the 1984 giallo film 'Murderrock' directed by Lucio Fulci. All the music in this set is well worth a listen though. An information booklet is also included so this really is a good buy for fans of Keith Emerson, prog-rock or film music in general.

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Keith Emerson at the Movies: A 3 CD Box set from Cherry Red Records.Following the break-up of Emerson, Lake and Palmer at the end of the 1970s, Keith Emerson ventured into the world of film soundtrack composition with his score for Italian director Dario Aregento's horror film Inferno in 1980. This in turn led to Emerson being commissioned to compose and perform the music for the Sylvester Stallone film Nighthawks in 1981. From here a succession of film scores were to follow for directors in Italy, Japan and the United States. At the Movies gathers together Emerson's music for seven movies including Nighthawks, Best Revenge, Inferno, La Chiesa (The Church), "Muderock, Harmagedon and Godzilla Final Wars.Disc One (US Movies) contains 2 full soundtracks. Firstly, there is Nighthawks (1981) an enjoyable cop thriller from Sylvester Stallone. The movie co-starred Billy Dee Williams as Stallone's partner, Lindsey Wagner (of TVs Bionic Woman fame) as the love interest and Rutger Hauer as terrorist Heymar Reinhardt. Emerson's music, in consideration of its period, works very well indeed. Many composers, including the likes of orchestral masters such as Jerry Goldsmith, were experimenting tentatively with electronic music and synths during this film making period, and many failed miserably. However, Emerson appears to address the balance rather impressively. If you possess the patience to overlook a few genuinely cheesy moments - such as `Nighthawkin' and `I'm a man' which contain a vocal style reminiscent of the dying disco era - than you are in for a treat. There is some fine dramatic scoring here. Its main theme works very well - listen carefully and you may even pick up on a motif which is not too dissimilar to that of ELP's `Fanfare for the common man'. The soundtrack is sometimes deep and broody - sometimes light and soulful. `Tramway' for instance is a tense and edgy piece that never seems to rely permanently on synths - Emerson instead feels confident enough to introduce and experiment - and in this case - adds a delicate sound of a whirling police siren as part of the soundscape. All in all, Nighthawks still works very well - which is a pleasant surprise.The second half of the CD contains the soundtrack of John Trent's Bad Revenge (1984) which appears to be a European - British production? Nevertheless, it is something of an obscure film which has disappeared under the radar. But it contained a rather impressive cast including John Heard, John Rhys-Davies and Michael Ironside. The story revolves around an American tourist in Spain who is forced to take part in a $4 million drug deal, because his best friend has been kidnapped and is being tortured by the drug kingpin who set up the operation. The score begins with a somewhat lengthy orchestral suite (15.29) which serves in setting the tone. Whistles, rhythmic clapping hands and maracas indicate a strong European flavour. Bad Revenge certainly has a more established prog rock feel to it, again there are some vocals which perhaps unflatteringly date the score. But there are some real nice moments too - The Dreamer, for instance is the film's love theme and is performed beautifully by simple piano and delicate background synths. Because Bad Revenge is such a rarely seen movie, we don't ever enter this score with any preconceived ideas - no clues, which, whilst refreshing, it can also, leave you a little empty. However, Bad Revenge is also a very nice way to round off the first disc, look upon it as a generous bonus and all will serve well.Disc Two (Italian Movies) contains 2 full soundtracks and an EP. Disc 2 begins with Dario Argento's Inferno (1980) the film in which Emerson cut his teeth in terms of film music. Inferno is a wonderful score, opening with a truly beautiful theme, which is so often the case with Italian horror films. However, there is a rich diversity throughout the score; tracks such as Taxi Ride provide a clear example of Emerson's classically trained background and his virtuosity as an accomplished pianist. Sarah in the Library Vaults also highlights his flair for tense, dramatic scoring with the aid of lengthy, unsettling strings. Whilst Mater Tenebrarum explodes like an assault on the senses and becomes a full blown synth orientated operetta. The soundtrack as a whole remains quite superb and bristles with a seemingly eternal energy.Next is an EP containing music (Four tracks) from Michele Soavi's La Chiesa (The Church) (1989). The film told of an old Gothic cathedral, built over a mass grave, which develops strange powers. The Church traps a number of people inside with ghosts from a 12th Century massacre seeking to resurrect an ancient demon from the bowels of the Earth. Emerson's music for La Chiesa, takes on a much darker element, the emphasis is centred very much on its gothic surroundings. Much of its fifteen minutes are broody, tense and full of dread, but Emerson does dabble with some electronic percussion which does inject a burst of much needed elevation.Rounding off Disc 2 is Emerson's score for Lucio Fulci's Murderock (Uccide a passo di danza)(1984). By Fulci's standards, Muderock was something of a standard thriller which saw the owner of a prestigious New York ballet school team up with a male model in order to solve a series of bizarre murders of a few of the students. The soundtrack is something of a mixed bag - following a fast paced opening theme, the score wastes little time in reverting to a very dated vocal (Not so innocent) provided by Doreen Chanter. Hereafter, the album takes on a very mainstream life. Instrumental keyboard pieces are broken up with some nice individual cues, Prelude to Candice is a sweet, subtle composition, and Coffee Time provides some light Jazzy relief (and a rare excursion) before we are launched back into a standard prog rock landscape. The score concludes with a lift in the shape of The Spilone, a funky bass driven track that seems somewhat out of place with what has preceded it.Disc 3 (Japanese Movies) consists of 2 full soundtracks starting off with Harmagedon: The Great Battle with Genma, a science fiction anime movie released in 1983. Emerson's score for this rarely seen movie is probably the lightest from this box set. The music is pretty safe throughout - entertaining organ riffs dominate and provide a jolly enough experience if this is your kind of thing. Totalling some 18 minutes in length, it is thankfully rather short.To finish disc 3, there is the score to Ryûhei Kitamura's Godzilla Final Wars (2004). This turned out to be something very different, I found myself quite enjoying this score. Perhaps it was due to the fast forwarding - a quantum leap of some 20 years in the evolution of Emerson's film music? I'm not sure? The music for Godzilla Final Wars is without doubt, more upbeat, and arguably down to the advances - not only in Emerson's compositions - but in technology and instrumentation. The score is incredibly diverse - tracks such as EDF Headquarters fight are pure club dance! EDF museum is a track bordering on trance? Whilst Infant Island has more than a passing resemblance to Jean Michel Jarre's ambient classic Équinoxe? All of which is wonderful, so why do I remain confused? Well, I just can't match this music to Godzilla... Featuring elements of break beat and electronic rock mixed with orchestral elements, it is unlike any other Godzilla soundtrack. A little research revealed that Emerson was only given two weeks to write the score of the film and that only a small percentage of his score made it to the final cut of the film. Having not seen the movie - I can't comment on what appeared in the film, but I'm led to believe it contains more music by the director's regular collaborators, Nobuhiko Morino and Daisuke Yano, who were later hired to complete the rest of the film's score. So, as a result, I'm assuming this is Emerson's music for the film - most of which did not make the final cut. However, as a standalone listen, the soundtrack works well and benefits enormously from Akira Ifukube's original Godzilla theme arranged by Emerson - which is very good indeed!Overall, this excellent set is always going to intrigue - as a collective, it is a fine representation of Keith Emerson's film work. Sound quality is absolutely spot on, as is the packaging which uses individual card covers for each of its 3 CDs and sits in a very strong clamshell box alongside a 16 page book. Released by Esoteric Recordings and available through Cherry Red Records, it's well worth taking a look at.Darren Allison, Soundtrack Editor, Cinema Retro Magazine.