favourite soundtrack composer

[Strider79it]

I'm talkin abt conductors arrangers,composers (I mean no Isaac Hayes ) that were workin mainly in the 70's If you go through this underground scene there is a lot of talents and of course a lot of crap too.....if we take hollywood.....the first name in the list would be L Schifrin.....I think most of you would agree for obvious reasons but I have a soft spot for Johnny Pate stuff.......(some of is never issued on record are the most funky he ever did (Bucktown,Dr Black Mr White)Anyway some of them were really conservative people (like Jerry Fielding read this to know what I mean http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Jerry%20Fielding_2.htm) even if their score were brilliant........some of them IMO are overrated (Jerry Goldsmith, the planet of the ape is really that innovative as the critics claims ?)some of them were young honest workers that "need to pay the rent" (Charles Bernstein)Since every day more, small labels are are resissuing and issuing for the first time many obscure OST, I would like to know your opinion and discuss the topic a bit if you likelaterA

 

[robert_murt]

For my part, it depends if you talk in a straight OST way or in a music fan way.

In a strictly soundtrack makers way, the best one came from your country: Ennio Morricone.
I was shocked by his music even when I didn't give a F**** about crate diggin', records etc..
I couldn't say the same thing about Schifrin, except perhaps for Mission: Impossible. But the guy is incredible.

John Barry, all the James Bond music are great. The theme from the Persuaders are unforgettable.

You can't forget John Williams too.

Here's my Top10 OST (in no particularly order):
Ennio Morricone / The Good The Bad And The Ugly
John Williams / All the Star Wars music (Especially the Imperial March!)
John Barry / The Persuaders Theme
John Barry / All the James Bond music, with a special mention for At Her Majesty Secret Service, Operation ThunderBall and Goldfinger. But sorry John.. my fave one is probably by George Martin and the Wings "To Live And Let Die"
Lalo Schifrin / Mission: Impossible
Lalo Schifrin / Enter The Dragon
Bernard Hermann / Psycho
Miles Davis / Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud
Isaac Hayes / Shaft
Bill Conti / Rocky


In a cratediggin'/raregroovin' way, here's my top10 list for now:
Michel Legrand / Un Homme Est Mort
Roy Budd / Get Carter
Francois De Roubaix / Dernier Domicile Connu
Jean Pierre Mirouze / Le Mariage Collectif
Alain Goraguer / La Planete Sauvage
Francois De Roubaix / L'Homme Orchestre
Gainsbourg-Colombier / Le Pacha
Lalo Schifrin / Sudden Impact
Klaus Doldinger / Negresco
Melvin Van Peebles / Sweet Sweetback Badass Song

 

[Strider79it]

For my part, it depends if you talk in a straight OST way or in a music fan way.


In a cratediggin'/raregroovin' way, here's my top10 list for now:
Michel Legrand / Un Homme Est Mort
Roy Budd / Get Carter
Francois De Roubaix / Dernier Domicile Connu
Jean Pierre Mirouze / Le Mariage Collectif
Alain Goraguer / La Planete Sauvage
Francois De Roubaix / L'Homme Orchestre
Gainsbourg-Colombier / Le Pacha
Lalo Schifrin / Sudden Impact
Klaus Doldinger / Negresco
Melvin Van Peebles / Sweet Sweetback Badass Song

my favourites are the ones that even if they were creating music to fit with images and so adding content to the movie itself, still give an eye to the listening value of the music theywere creating

that's why I should say Schifrin is the top of the list cause all his themes were memorable and being on soulstrut, we should say always very groove oriented....

...you can't say the same thing for morricone...I like his scores but I have to say he has been given too much "fame and fortune" compared to his peers... it's true he was among the best but he also recycled the same themes many many times....... this is why he is the author of 200 score when someone like schifrin did just 100 ...........not always quantity means quality

 

[paulnice]

....some of them IMO are overrated (Jerry Goldsmith, the planet of the ape is really that innovative as the critics claims ?)

Man, I can't even get into this right now but Jerry Goldsmith was UNDERrated if anything. The man has a consistent body of work that stands up with the best of em. And while you may argue whether or not his score for Apes was "inovative" (although I don't really see how), there's no doubt that that score was a crucial element of that entire franchise.
My favorites: Papillon, Alien, The Omen, the Flint movies, The Great Train Robbery, Logan's Run, Chinatown, BARNABY JONES!!!!
Hell, the only good thing about that first bullshit Star trek movie (besides that bald Indian chica) was his score - which has gone on to become the enduring theme of that franchise.
Not to mention the fact that during the entire course of his career he was looked over/snubbed by the Academy. Overrated? Hardly.

 

[paulnice]

oh, and Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani are no fucking joke.

 

[Strider79it]

oh, and Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani are no fucking joke.

ok I agree with the Goldsmith speech, but Ritz Ortolani ?

 

[Secret_Chimp]

Can't forget Johnny Pate!

 

[paulnice]

ok I agree with the Goldsmith speech, but Ritz Ortolani ?

oh yes!! A personal favorite of mine who I only just discovered in the last few years.


The primary reason being that he's responsible for tons of scores that were later lifted for use in many of my favorite Shaw Bros. kung fu flicks. Besides the De Wolfe library, the Shaws really seemed to favor Riz.


And with all the euro westerns I've been getting into lately his name consistently pops up for the better scores.

 

[paulnice]

Anyway some of them were really conservative people (like Jerry Fielding read this to know what I mean http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Jerry%20Fielding_2.htm) even if their score were brilliant....

from that interview I found this to be kinda interesting...


"And for that I wrote a very heavy score, very romantic in the old sense, but it was about old Mexico in 1910. Well, Warner Brothers printed up five thousand of ???em, and broke the master. They didn???t have a rock hit in it ! I???ve?? got the only box of Wild Bunch scores in existence, and I can sell ???em for four hundred dollars apiece if I want to, right now. But do you think they???ll give me back those rights to put that album out myself in, say, Japan? Or any of the pictures I did for Michael Winner???The Mechanic, Scorpio or any of those???which did very well in Japan and Germany. I???ve had feelers for the rights for those things. I could make a lot of money if I could get those albums released, but it???s an American company and they don???t see that the return, as opposed to the cost, is worth it.
They???re content to stay with their rock hits. These are the frustrations we have to live with."

 

[mcdee]

oh, and Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani are no fucking joke.

ok I agree with the Goldsmith speech, but Ritz Ortolani ?

if you have doubts in riz you should check out the confessione di un commissarion di polizia soundtrack. great score!

 

[The_Hook_Up]

Quincy Jones----'nuff said

 

[edith head]

john barry's space march from moonraker is heavenly and sounds almost axelrody. he is up there along with angelo badalamenti and morricone for me





edit: oh shit, i just realized you guys were only talking about the 70s. you can leave badalamenti out then.

 

[prof_rockwell]

and going into fanboy mode: Howard Shore killed it on LOTR...

Also John Williams (c'mon Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones, Close Encounters, Superman, Airplane!)

and Walter/Wendy Carlos for Clockwork Orange and Tron

 

[The_Non]

Appreciate this guy batches!

-RD Burman scored more soundtracks and did it in a more diverse fashion than anyone EVAR! Cmon, dudes got 808 tunes, rapping, him scatting and gargling on a song, whip crack as percussion, more experimental and genius than headz will ever know!

-Lalo Schifrin
-Quincy Jones
-James Brown (he did some of the best blaxploit, even though he didn't wanna!)
-Stu Phillips-This last one is tough. If dude is involved on a soundtrack, pick it up. Often bikesploitation shiz, but a GREAT UNDER APPRECIATED composer.

Peace
T.N.

 

[Strider79it]

isn't that classical music ? please would you mind to describe how this sounds ?...I saw a reissue cd by the "varese" label in a local store

thanks

 

[BeardedD]

Rollerball has two sleazy elctrolounge tracks, the rest is (really well done) classical chestnuts. Worth owning.

No one has mentioned Piero Piccioni. He was the greatest soundtrack composer of all, at least in terms of making music you can listen to & play out, with the possible exception of Morricone, who is 100x better known. Camille 2000, Smoking in London, The Tenth Victim? Fuck man. And as much range as Morricone, just as adventuresome with the 'modern' instruments as he was adept in classical idioms.

Jerry Goldsmith is doo doo is for OST fetishists. Sorry but it has to be said -- only soundtrack collectors like that guy -- you can't listen to his music. I like Logan's Run too but largely because of how wrong and bad it is.

The French -- Legrand, Lai, Delerue, and the Italians -- Nicolai, Trovajoli, the aformentioned dudes. That's the real deal.

 

[Nuts]

Pierro Umiliani has some of the best soundtracks from the 70's, I really love this guys output. Gianni Ferrio also has alot of incredible osts. I also have a soft spot for francis lai & henry mancinis soundtracks.

 

[Dubious]

Nico Fidenco

laura gemser naked with pulsing flango basslines???

 

[LaserWolf]

, the Flint movies,

Those are 2 great soundtracks.

Quincy Jones, only one mention so far? Hot Rock?

Lalo, sure.

Ennio, don't dispute, he's undisputable.

Ravi Shankar (Chappaqua!!! Charly, Ghandi, Raga, I bet he did more.)

Bernard Herrmann (Did he do Taxi Driver? That's a great one.)

 

[funky16corners]

Nino Rota