Paul Waller Top Ten
This week we have a Top Ten from a really old friend of mine who’s been in loads of killer bands over the years but is currently fronting Margate Doom Metal Gods Ohmms!! Paul got me into so much killer music over the years from Beat Happening to Thrash Metal to mental Lo-Fi bands like Savage Malignant. So he’s probably partially to blame for me being here writing this today!
Oddly here is a picture of him with my old Housemate (Henry from Moloch who I had no idea he knew !)
1. The Wicker Man – Magnet & Paul Giovanni (1973) Creepy and classical folk music which perfectly matches the visuals that it accompanied. It’s the soundtrack I always come back to & I now probably listen to it more than I watch the film. It’s spellbinding.
2. Hellraiser – Christopher Young (1987) It’s cold and clinky in places & feels a bit scratchy even though I only have this on CD. Again another work of art that perfectly accompanies the movie which also happens to be my all time favourite film.
3. Creepshow – John Harrison (1982) I only recently bought the ‘waxwork records’ Vinyl rerelease & it took me back instantly to when I was a kid & watching this flick on video on a daily basis. Whilst I can’t say that weaker moments such as ‘They’re creeping up on you’ will stay with you until the day you die, the pulp feel throughout this score is certainly a sublimely crafted one plus the artwork & booklet inside is proper ace. It’s a fan treat.
4. Alien – Jerry Goldsmith (1979) Another one that I only have on CD and it’s still the same copy I’ve had since I was a kid. The scene at the beginning where the camera pans around the ship is so wonderfully scored by Goldsmith. The subtler moments on here are the key to building upon the feeling of oncoming dread in the movie.
5. It Follows – Disasterpeace (2015) The popularity of what I call synthwave but the rest of the world seemingly calls darkwave or vaporwave means that there are so many 2nd & 3rd rate protects in the mix that I can’t be bothered to sift through the mire any more. Remember what happened with grunge. Well, just like that. This one tho, this shone bright & can stand up in its own right as a great album. The fact that it scored one of my favourite films of the last few years is simply a bonus.
6. Day Of The Dead – John Harrison (1985) Great synth work yet again (although I could really do without the vocals on the terrible ‘If Tomorrow Comes’) especially on the bookended tracks. The ‘Waxwork Records’ reissue is, once again, vinyl perfection.
7. Poltergeist – Jerry Goldsmith (1982) This one is a real beautiful movie score but the big Spielberg budget means that the music feels over produced & overly sentimental in places. Saying that most of the time you can hear where that MGM dollar went. The sweeping strings & sharp crescendo’s are nothing but epic. Years later I bought the ‘Basic Instinct’ score he made & felt the guy had totally lost his edge, it was bland & predictable, no heart on the whole thing.
8. Under The Skin – Mica Levi (2014) The best movie of the last decade as far as I’m concerned & thankfully this otherworldly soundtrack adds to the intense visuals that appear in the screen. Its creepy & ominous from beginning to end & sounding lo-fi yet lush at the same time is a difficult balancing act to achieve. The reason it’s so low on my list is that it just puts me on edge every time I listen to it. So I tent not to come back to it much. It’s freaky as hell.
9. Trick or Treat – Fastway (1986) This is the only song based soundtrack on my list & it’s utter 80s hard rock perfection. I don’t know much about Fastway except there is an ex member of Motorhead in the band & that this soundtrack is a beat of album. Regardless, I’ve listened to this since I was a child & I continue to do so to this day even though the movie itself is a piece of crap (all be it a thoroughly enjoyable piece of crap).
10. The amitiville Horror – Lalo Schifrin Get it for the title track alone, this kept me up at night as a nipper. It’s got young kids singing a demonic chant & a nails down a chalkboard motif that begs you to lift the needle from the album. It’s horribly wonderful. The rest of the score over uses this initial melody but why not when it’s this good.
Thanks Paul!!! Killer list!
If you don’t know Ohhms you certainly should!
https://ohhms.bandcamp.com