Lewis is famous for his gory exploitation films from the 1960s: Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs!, Color Me Blood Red and so on.

What I didn't realize is that he also composed much of the music for his movies. This CD, with engaging liner notes by Lewis himself, is an interesting document.

He liked kettle drums. (Who doesn't?) He doesn't claim any special skill or talent for coming up with cues, saying he was only capable of coming up with "primitive melodies and background scores" "to save money".

There are some surprising moments, though, such as the cello on "How Dry I Am", which looks backward to parts of the classical canon while also sounding a bit like one of John Williams's famous Star Wars cues.

He also enlisted some bands of the time to help out, such as The Faded Blue who play on "Blast Off Girls Rock 'n' Roll Party.

And of course the program begins with an official warning...