Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email


2022 October 10 • Monday

The 747th Soundtrack of the Week is sort of a Goblin score. When George Romero's Martin got an Italian release, the title was changed to Wampyr and the soundtrack replaced by Goblin music from the records Roller and Il Fantastico Viaggio del Bagarozzo, modified for use in the film. Aldo Salvi also contributed two pieces of music for the film. Anyway, that's what we're listening to right now.

It's on blood red vinyl!

It starts with "Titoli di testa", a.k.a. "Roller", a heavy, throbbing tune with massive keyboard sounds and aggressively thudding bass.

Next is "Braddock", a.k.a. "Le Cascate Di Viridiana", a more atmospheric number that pulses in 12/8 and has the unusual, for Goblin, inclusion of hand percussion and saxophone.

"Consegne a domicilio", a.k.a. "Snip Snap" is a short blast of uptempo Euro synth funk.

It's followed by "Martin & Christine" a.k.a. "Il Risveglio del Serpente", an atmospheric and somewhat eerie feature for drums and percussion that has some melodic guitar and piano playing at the end.

Things get creepier with "Attacco sul treno della notte", a.k.a. "Dr. Frankenstein", which has some ominous low tones, classic Goblin backbeat drums and restless bass guitar lines over which keyboard and guitar play some angular and modern ideas. There's also a lot of soloing, sounding like it might have been inspired by electric Miles.

Side A ends with "Martin & Emily", a.k.a. "Aquaman", a fast and wild piece with monomaniacal bass lines and some startling keyboard sounds as well as crazy explosions of prog rock sonorities.

The B side kicks off with "Album di famiglia", a.k.a. "La Danza", that has fast triplets providing the base for an airy and otherworldly melody from keyboard and guitar. Eventually they slam into a more rock sort of groove with pounding syncopated drumming.

"Seguendo la prossima vittima", a.k.a. "Goblin", almost has a Suspiria feel to it but unexpectedly veers off into a triumphant-sounding, anthemic direction with some wailing electric guitar. It fades out on a promising drum solo.

Then there's "Cancellando le tracce", a.k.a. "…E Suono Rock", which has synth arpeggios creating an atmosphere of excitement. Once again a saxophone makes a surprise appearance but then the track fades out quickly.

Computer-like noises introduce "Impalamento", a.k.a. "Wampyr Finale", which has wailing synth tones and stabbing bass and drums, somewhat similar to Goblin's music for Dawn of the Dead and Deep Red.

The last Goblin piece is "Titoli di Coda", a.k.a. "Notte", which actually almost has a groovy kind of lounge feel to it, though it's a demented sort of vampire lounge, I guess. Still, it's nice to hear them play with this kind of feel. There are also some Italian spoken vocals.

The two cues by Aldo Silvi conclude the record. "Strange Terminal" is some genuinely weird dramatic underscore played by free-form rock combo: sythesizers, fuzz guitars, piano, percussion, etc. Sounds like echo effects and other little tricks are being deployed. This is the kind of track that could have been completely improvised if the musicians had sufficient restraint and sensitivity. And maybe the first part was but the band does eventually land on a recognizable tune that they play together.

And finally there's "Royal Road", which begins with the piano playing a tense and fast ostinato part. Drums come in with a laid back rock beat and the electric bass guitar is kind of all over the place. Again it's a very loose and interesting rock number with electric guitar playing with distortion and other effects. Of course the synth plays a part too.

It's a very cool record, as expected! I wouldn't mind seeing Martin with this music tracked into it.