Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2024 October 28 • Monday

Happy birthday!

It doesn't get much more classic than The Wicker Man, surely the peak of "folk horror" so far. Let's make its music, mostly by Paul Giovanni, the 828th Soundtrack of the Week.

The case has been made that The Wicker Man is actually a musical. It's persuasive.

Certainly the soundtrack is mostly songs that realize and propel the film and its characters as clearly and deliberately as songs in musicals do. Most of them are very folksy, acoustic-guitar driven with bright vocals. "Corn Rigs" and "Maypole" are excellent examples.

"Fire Leap" has just flutes accompanying several women's voices while "The Landlord's Daughter" opts for careening, shantyish approach with accordion and violin doing a lot of the work.

There are some instrumental tracks as well, some of them originating in traditional folk songs.

And some of the music is taken from the film itself, so you'll hear Christopher Lee and other parts of the movie.

Is it a musical? If you want it to be, sure. Call it whatever you want as long as you call it great.