Zombi, Dawn of the Dead

Composer : Goblin
Year : 1978
Label : Cinevox Record
Total time : 51:15

People often lose sight of his unique method of handling every brand new project he is assigned to either as a director or writer ; they tend to forget that, indeed, he always likes a challenge of working with new partners, and that those people he has surrounded himself with often treasure moments of intense complicity and great freedom, even more willing to reiterate another involvement when the filmmaker has an open mind and is always fully inclined to hear the opinions of his fellow co-workers. He who never looks forward to working with big names actors and such things just remembers you'll be a lot more convincing if viewers haven't seen you a hundred times on screen before. I believe he is accurately right... Nowadays, and using an instance to reinforce my assertions, who still takes Bruce Willis seriously as an actor? I certainly am not being judgmental towards him, inasmuch as I think the die-hard guy's given so much to the world of cinema we all know, but the director's sort of right in saying unknown faces will touch you more, which in the end more or less justifies this constant need to work with new 'ghouls'. Meet George Romero, a tough hardworker with unflinching integrity whose inner desire has always been to be free when it comes to the babies he works on, even though it implies doing sacrifices, like a reduced budget. Speaking of money, the cineast does not feel comfortable with it, he's reluctant to have such a big burden on his shoulders, as this is often a hell of a responsability and, if you would excuse this pleonasm, bloodthirsty vampires from Hollywood would suck him dry. The man behind such diverse films as Martin, Knightriders or Monkey Shines would actually deserve tons of tribute pages had we wanted to be fair, but this would achieve nothing ; equally, I would heartily recommend you taking a peek at his movies, self-speaking. A genuine genius every dead fan naturally bows to.

The prior Dead Trilogy -- 'priorness' due, as you all know, to the existent Land of the Dead, marking a turning point in the continuity, hopefully the promise of a new saga -- is no different from this ideology : three films, two different composers, whose sole task was to provide every episode with a personal and easy-to-identify musical identity. The soundtrack for Night of the Living Dead, as faintly suggested, consisted exclusively of temporary tracks, the explanation disclosing that Romero couldn't actually afford paying for a real orchestra, so he opted for that less expensive solution. Behind the musical direction of this second chapter in the living dead series, and in collaboration with Dario Argento, are The Goblin's, a five men crew all carrying Rock'n'Roll roots, mostly known for scoring Italian horror films, among which, Argento's Profondo Rosso, their first contribution ever to movies.

The first track, L'Alba Dei Morte Vivente, to be heard on the album is the actual main titles, having you plunge into what you know is a dark and austere world, where the dead are coming back to life and attacking the living, with its use of choirs and repeated rhythms on synthesizers ; the other tracks, on the contrary, are presented in a totally wrong order compared to that of the film. But this won't prevent you from rearranging them in a less disordered way ; not a difficult mental reproduction, anyhow. Zombi happens to be the first action track, and there are two of them. Truthfully speaking, I would dare you to find any likeness between these two action tracks and others out there. All the best luck, for it is really uncommon material, at least as long as film music is concerned. Safari is chiefly tribal stuff, driven by African voices. Torte In Faccia adds a touch of derision, trying not to take itself too seriously. Ai Margini Della Follia is by far the most tortured incarnation of evil and madness, when Francine is left alone with what would be a bald 'voodoo zombie', in the vain of a crescendo, a direct resultant of 'synthesizers, echoes, and a basin full of water hit with the drum sticks'.

On a much more emotional note, Oblio is one of the saddest piano pieces I have heard, such as the sorrow to be felt when one loses a close relative ; it is at once quiet and minimalist, slowly evolving, with the guitar and saxophone not overdoing it. So is Risveglio, in a much similar manner, a very pessimistic and gloomy piece for piano, yet stressing a very different kind of situation, videlicet the relation between Francine & Steven kind of falling apart.

Among the bizarrest production are L'Alba Dei Morti Viventi (Alternate Take), Ai Margini Della Follia (Alternate Take) and Ai Margini Della Follia (Alternate Take 2), making up for remarkable atonality. When our quartet minus one is later on overcome by looters, the music becomes excitingly rock'n'roll, leaving room for some raging behaviour. Zaratozom is thus this second piece of action music I was writing to you earlier about, and is also played during the end credits. Those living dead voices, ending the album, are pain and suffering of the utmost meaning: those screaming souls begging to be put out of their misery when there is no way out...

A fact that should be noted and born in mind is very few bits of the timeless Goblin's music was preserved for the film presented in its Director's Cut, instead Romero went for a much more out-of-date sound and, as a result, it impacts so much less on the listening experience, to such a degree that very little remains of the incredible correlation between images and music. Perhaps just a question of habit.

The score to Dawn of the Dead is undoubtedly the most eclectic soundtrack out of the three, not only an excellent accompaniment to the film itself but also stands out as an unforgettable and daring masterpiece. A gem that gets better with every listen. Not to be missed.

The Best: They're all truly great, unique and outstanding pieces, but Oblio is theee track!

The Worst: A'ight, let us be honest: Ai Margini Della Follia (Alternate Take) & Zombi (The Living Dead Voices), as I can't really imagine you would listen to these SFX tracks repeatedly.

dudeofthedead