Wednesday, August 18, 2010

SOUNDTRACK REVIEW: ROY BUDD'S 'GET CARTER' (2010)


For those of you who are familiar with the musical works of Roy Budd, you already know that this is one of his most revered scores. Simply put, Roy Budd is to 'Get Carter' as Isaac Hayes is to 'Shaft'. That being said, it was only a matter of time before this classic soundtrack would get re-released again, and Silva Screen Records does just that. They put the icing on the cake with this groovy reissue of the classic soundtrack album.

'Get Carter' was previously released on CD over in the UK during the past ten years. Back in 1998, Cinephile Records in the UK released a "Special Edition CD" which included a mini-replica film poster and a nifty slipcase! Being a soundtrack collector myself, I hold this version of the soundtrack near-and-dear to my heart, as it was the first soundtrack release from this film that I had ever listened to. Two years later, when Sly Stallone remade 'Get Carter', the media jumped all over it, and re-released what Cinephile had already established with their previous soundtrack release, but this time around, they added a few alternative "remixes" of the infamous "Get Carter" theme song. Now, recently obtaining the licensing rights to Roy Budd's extensive film music catalogue, Silva Screen Records kicks off their reissue series with his most famous film score.

'Get Carter' (2010) includes a total of 28 tracks of music and dialogue from the film, a three-track differential from the Cinephile release. Silva Screen Records has done a boss job of remastering the music from the original source elements! Some new sound effects were added to the songs, such as the "Intro" track that leads into the "Main Theme - Carter Takes A Train", or the powerful stinger that's been upgraded at the beginning of "Goodbye Eric!" In fact, some of the songs are slightly extended versions that were previously shortened on the Cinephile release. Listen to the end of "Love Is A Four Letter Word." The segue way between the end of the song track and the beginning of the dialogue track is quite different. My only beef with the new release is the absence of the classic lounge song "How About You" that was on the Cinephile release. Perhaps Budd had nothing to do with the song, hence the reason why it's not featured on here. There was another song that played intermittently during one particular scene in the film, where Carter (Michael Caine) is chasing Thorpe (Bernard Hepton) down the street, and Thorpe ducks into a dance hall. I was hoping that mystery track would have been included on this release, but I guess not.

The new 'Carter' also features classic dialogue bits from the film that were previously released, but Silva Screen added some new ones, including my all-time favorite..."You're A Big Man But You're In Bad Shape"! Classic!

The new release also includes a 20-page booklet featuring an interview with the director of the film, Mike Hodges, as well as color and black-and-white behind-the-scenes stills from the film. If you're a fan of Roy Budd's musical works, there's no doubt that you're going to want to add this to your collection. If you're a 'Get Carter' fan and love the music, but aren't sure whether or not to upgrade to this new version, trust me...you'll want to. Whatever you do, don't piss all over this soundtrack release, or Carter will come for you!


My rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 stars

Sunday, August 1, 2010

SPOTLIGHT ON...GEORGE A. ROMERO


August is finally here, which means Summer is almost over! Since this is the month that literally marks the "dead" of Summer, we're spotlighting the career of one of the most legendary horror filmmakers in history...George A. Romero! In fact, this month also marks the home video debut of his latest entry into his ever-popular 'Dead' series,'Survival Of The Dead'! Yours truly is looking forward to seeing it!