Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email


2024 December 16 • Monday

Happy birthday!

Death Wish was a hit so you know what happened next. But Death Wish II relocates Charles Bronson from NYC to LA. Big difference. The music should be different too. Jimmy Page is perhaps as different from Herbie Hancock as LA is from NYC so… the 835th Soundtrack of the Week, is Jimmy Page's music for Death Wish II!

There's an impressive range of material on here and it's all good enough to wish that Page had done more soundtrack work. (He does Death Wish III as well, using some of the same themes.)

While Hancock's score for the movie had a sort of jazz/funk/Latin thread running through it, Page opts for blues rock as the musical center for the second movie. The first track is the full strength versionm "Who's To Blame", with vocals by Chris Falowe and guitar and guitar synth soloing by Page.

Some odd sounds and effective use of space distinguish the first half of "The Chase", which hints at bluesy roots by indulging them in short bursts among more unsettling clusters of sparsely scored sections. Then there's a more standard string section followed by a suspenseful and textural conclusion.

"City Sirens" is another really good blues rock number with a catchy descending vocal line and, naturally, great guitar playing.

Then there's a monster blues rock stomp instrumental in "Jam Sandwich" that could easily have been slipped into a Led Zeppelin song.

The sensitive ballad requirement is easily fulfilled by "Carole's Theme", which blends piano, strings and acoustic guitar for a lovely and serene piece.

Tense "crime" writing for strings kicks off "The Release" but is soon supplanted by Page's signature guitar playing and the rock rhythm section taking us into another rock instrumental, not so much bluesy this time but almost hinting at Iron Maiden-style guitar lines.

A woozy electric bass sound occupies the center of "Hotel Rats and Photostats", which also has some nice synth touches. This feeling of suspension in space with interesting tones and textures floating in and out continues with different colors and feels in "A Shadow in the City", with Page alternating between electric guitar harmonics and guitar synth.

"Jill's Theme" is an urgently tragic cue for one of the movie's lowest points, followed by a space rock version of a Chopin prelude for "Prelude".

Then it's time to rock again for the big and loud "Big Band, Sax, and Violence", another vocal number. Then it's another slab of intense instrumental rock for "Hypnotizing Ways (Oh Mamma)".

This expanded edition of the soundtrack also has some alternates and different arrangements as well as some extra diegetic music, such as the country rock song "Country Sandwich" as well as a beautiful multi-guitar tune called "A Mirror Sketch".