John Carpenter | Anthology (Movie Themes 1974-1998) (CD)

John Carpenter is a legend. As the director and composer behind dozens of classic movies, Carpenter has established a reputation as one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of modern cinema, as well as one of its most influential musicians. The minimal, synthesizer-driven themes to films like Halloween, Escape From New York, and Assault on Precinct 13 are as indelible as their images, and their timelessness was evident as Carpenter performed them live in a string of internationally sold-out concert dates in 2016. Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998 collects 13 classic themes from Carpenter's illustrious career together on one volume for the first time. Each theme has been newly recorded with the same collaborators that Carpenter worked with on his hit Lost Themes studio albums: his son, Cody Carpenter, and godson, Daniel Davies.

Photographers: Chris Helcermanas-Benge; Kim Gottlieb-Walker; Sidney Baldwin; John Shannon; Kyle Cassidy; John Hamilton; Sophie Gransard; Shane Harvey; Rena Small; Neil Jacobs.The mid-2010s found undisputed master of horror John Carpenter far busier as a musician than as a filmmaker. After releasing two volumes of original, non-soundtrack compositions (Lost Themes I and II) and touring for the first time, he revisited the themes to a baker's dozen of his most well-known movies from the '70s, '80s, and '90s. As with the Lost Themes albums and his concerts, he's joined by his son, Cody Carpenter, and his godson, guitarist Daniel Davies. The re-recordings are played straight through, with no attempts to update the sound or make the arrangements more complex, as such adjustments would simply be counterproductive. Carpenter's music had become fully in vogue by the time this album appeared, with numerous styles of rock, electronic music, and hip-hop (particularly trap) echoing his ominous themes and brilliantly minimalist arrangements. As such, the trio sounds completely au courant just by plugging in and playing. The selections aren't sequenced chronologically, which means that it starts off with the Metallica-influenced hard rock blowout "In the Mouth of Madness" (1995) before the immortal "Assault on Precinct 13" (1976). Like many early Carpenter scores, this one was composed and performed by the director himself on a minimal keyboard setup because he had no budget to hire anyone else to do the music, yet the simplicity contributed greatly to the suspense of the films, and the music became highly influential even outside of the context of the movies. The album also includes recordings of two themes to Carpenter films that he didn't compose himself (or with frequent collaborator Alan Howarth), such as Ennio Morricone's stark, pulsating "The Thing" and Jack Nitzsche's lush, romantic "Starman." Anthology won't offer any surprises to Carpenter devotees, but the music is undeniably authentic and faithful to his vision, and it sounds fantastic in any case. For anyone who isn't already familiar with Carpenter's films or music, this is a handy way to become acquainted.

Tracklist

1        In The Mouth Of Madness
2        Assault On Precinct 13
3        The Fog
4        Prince Of Darkness
5        Santiago (Vampires)
6        Escape From New York
7        Halloween
8        Porkchop Express (Big Trouble In Little China)
9        They Live
10        The Thing
11        Starman
12        Dark Star
13        Christine

*Audio and/or tracklist may vary slightly from the CD version.

Label: SBON
Rel. Date: 10/20/2017
UPC: 616892521846

• Format: CD
• Genre: Soundtrack
• Released: 10/20/2017