Back catalogue: Soundtracks

Review: It only seems like yesterday when Nick Cave delivered his wonderfully captivating joint piece with fellow-Australian Bad Seed Warren Ellis. In fact it was early March, and since then we've all likely been through the kinds of highs and lows this record reflects so accurately. There's a lot of space to Carnage, but it's also an album of intensity, in a refined and sophisticated way.

Packed with incredibly cinematic, theatrical and dramatic moments, at its loudest 'White Elephant' is bordering on a genuinely euphoric religious experience, one rousing and hugely emotional crescendo of chorus and big stage notes after another. At its quietest, 'Shattered Ground' sounds like one man alone with a piano and eternal sadness. Meanwhile, the title track is classic troubadour business. In summary, a grand, mesmerising and personal voyage.

Review: Italy's TAVA TAVA Rare label has become quite the hotspot for all manner of weird and wonderful Japanese Anime and soundtrack albums. This latest one looks to the much-loved Great Mazinger series which was composed by M. Watanabe. This super-limited, autographed and hand-numbered Mazinger Z TV BGM Best Collection is a mix of scores and thees from the show which first aired in the 1970s. It is steeped in heavy jazz and library-style music with majestic cover art to boot. Only 100 copies of this real collector's item exist so move quickly to snap up yours.

Review: This CD, vinyl and download version of the Us & Them tour risks doing Pink Floyd legend Waters a disservice. Recorded on the 2017-2018 tour of the same name, the shows were dedicated to peace and love, but were also purposefully designed to stoke some particularly heated political fires, much of which is lost on this audio-only version.

No Black Lives Matters or Palestine-Israel imagery here, then. Nor flying pig props. But while this might disappoint some it means the album adds a new dimension to the Us & Them legacy. The tour is distilled into nothing but music and audible atmosphere. So we focus entirely on spoken messages, air raid effects, and a set list packed with Floyd classics ('Another Brick In The Wall', 'Wish You Were Here', 'Welcome To The Machine'), sometimes adapted, sometimes perfectly preserved by one of the UK's finest 20th Century artists.

Review: Franz Waxman's contributions to the history of cinema, and its scores, cannot be understated. Having provided music for movies including Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, and Rear Window, he was working at the top of his game right through to around a year before his untimely death, aged 60, garnering 150 credits in total, with 12 Academy Award nominations and two Oscars to his name. The Bride of Frankenstein was one of the nominated titles, and it's certainly an evocative listen. Written in 1935, it's packed with the kind of tense string arrangements that once helped create brooding atmospheres from black and white early talkies. Grand at times, in other moments teetering on the brink of explosive cacophony, or poised on a knife edge.

Review: This is the unreleased soundtrack from Bartleby, the British drama film from 1970 directed by Anthony Friedman. It was an adaptation of the short story Bartleby, the Scrivener; A Story of Wall-street by Herman Melville. The plot revolved around the young audit clerk Bartleby, who as a result of being overwhelmed by the pressures of modern life withdraws into his own world. 31 years later, there was another remake directed by Jonathan Parker, with Crispin Glover in the lead role. Sound wise, it is a' blissful mix of British pastoral jazz and serious drum, double bass and string action'.

Review: In the John Williams & Hans Zimmer Odyssey, the Orchestre Curieux embarks on a sonic journey through the iconic film scores of two legendary composers. John Williams, known for his sweeping orchestral arrangements in classics like Star Wars and Jurassic Park, contrasts with Hans Zimmer's modern, dynamic and more minimal soundscapes from films like Inception and Gladiator. This orchestral fusion bridges generations of cinema lovers and seamlessly blends Williams' timeless melodies with Zimmer's contemporary flair. The performance promises a cinematic experience, transporting audiences through the rich tapestry of emotions evoked by these masterpieces, all interpreted through the Orchestre Curieux's unique artistic lens.

Review: The most beautiful themes of the famous science fiction universe Star Wars created by the American director George Lucas are now gathered together on this exclusive vinyl record. First conceived as a cinematic trilogy in 1977, the franchise now counts films, series, novels and other goodies taking place «a long time ago in a galaxy far far away» in which a conflict between Jedi knights and Sith warriors is forever waged. The infamous soundtrack composed by John Williams, notably inspired by Wagner's operas, has gone on to influence the greatest of film musics and is veritably etched into the brains of anyone who's ever set foot inside a cinema. On this majestic record, the soundtrack's star pieces are herd performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. May the force be with you!

Review: The 2022 horror film 'M3gan' deals with the uncanny terror of having a sort of AI-driven robot gain malevolent sentience in the comfort of a suburban home. British composer Anthony Willis, known for his work on past greats like 'How To Train Your Dragon', proves himself adept at sonically reflecting this pre-singularity dread. Much like its theme of a shadowy toy company programmer's invention of a murderous lifelike doll, the soundtrack is looming and conspiratorial, and deservingly comes to OST specialists Waxwork on the LP version here.

Review: It's always fascinating to discover a completely different side to an artist like Gerald Woodruff. Jezz to most, he's best known for his spell with the mighty Black Sabbath, appearing on the Technical Ecstasy album, and performing on both that tour and the dates in support of landmark LP Sabotage. He also recorded with Robert Plant and Phil Collins on the former's debut album, Pictures at Eleven. As such he's probably not the first artist you'd expect to have made an underwater soundtrack to a forgotten marine life epic, Wonders of the Underwater World. A production two years in the making, Woodroffe's accompaniment uses a number of synths and electronic instruments that Vangelis was fond of at the time, lending a sense of the miraculous and unknown to the score, while the crew at Trunk Record have also created a retro sleeve complete with sticker sheet, meaning you can create your own seabed scene on the cover