Soundtracks

Favourite soundtrack albums of a '60s/'70s boy:

Back in that pre-video age of the '60s and '70s the soundtrack album was essential, as witness the sales of THE SOUND OF MUSIC album! I started off as a teen with those big hits like SOUTH PACIFIC, WEST SIDE STORY and the Broadway cast of MY FAIR LADY. The following though were my essentials before getting my first vhs recorder at the end of 1979! The Beatles albums A HARD DAYS NIGHT and HELP! did not seem like soundtrack albums at all, but were regarded as the new Beatles albums.

BLOWUP - this 1966 soundtrack has been part of my life, first on album, then CD and now on the ipod. Herbie Hancock's spare score still fascinates and was my introduction to modern jazz, its great background music too. One felt very cool playing this to friends back then...

UN HOMME ET UNE FEMME - Francis Lai's score was also much played over the years, particularly that "Samba Saravah" number with its enticing bossa nova beat.

2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY - Kubrick's films all have great scores and make great use of music, this being the daddy of them all giving "The Blue Danube" and "Thus Spake Zarathustra" a new lease of life...

AMERICAN GIGOLO - this sums up the late '70s for me - disco grooves like "Love and Passion" and more laid back Giorgio Moroder ambient pieces

CLEOPATRA - a great soundtrack by Alex North capturing the lushness of the film, particularly the love theme and Cleo's entry into Rome. (also of course the scores for BEN HUR, EL CID etc)

THE LION IN WINTER - John Barry's score of this much loved 1968 film is a perfect blend of faux medieval chants and choral work that perfectly capture the period - and he did not use "Carmina Burana"!

MIDNIGHT COWBOY - Barry's 1969 hit album is also just right, with the "Everybody's Talking" hit...

FUNNY GIRL - how we loved it at the time, also the Broadway cast album (as I had seen the London stage production in 1966, when 20 and in the front row!). We also liked the soundtrack for HELLY DOLLY!

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND - perhaps the best of the John Williams scores?

BARRY LYNDON / DEATH IN VENICE / ELVIRA MADIGAN - the great classical crossover albums - Mahler became the sound of the Visconti film, and Mozart for Bo Widerberg's almost too pretty ELVIRA.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER - kitsch now of course but enormous at the time, we had to have it.