Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2011 July 18 • Monday

The 174th Soundtrack of the Week is Summertime Killer by Luis Bacalov.

Django is probably my favorite Bacalov score and I'm sure we'll get around to that one of these days. In the meantime, here's his groovy music for an Italian/French/Spanish crime movie starring Robert Mitchum's son Chris.

The main theme, "Run and Run", was co-written by Bacalov and performed by a band called Country Lovers. It's a dreamy, sunshiney sort of song, a bit of American Beauty, a bit of Muzak. I like it. You hear it more than once.

Then there's another theme that gets a work out, called "Like a Play" the first time it shows up on the CD. This is another song, very, very similar to "The House of the Rising Sun".

Then there's "The Summertime Killer", a monstrous, guitar-heavy, driving instrumental.

The other common theme is "The House on the Lake", dramatic underscore that features the strings.

You hear all these themes several times in different versions. There are seven "The House on the Lake" cues, five "Like a Play" and so on. "The Summertime Killer" is heard in a lounge version and also in the track "Motorcycle Circus".

There's also "Lisboa's Tram", which features Portuguese-style guitar playing.

The movie's not as good as the album cover.