I'll say one thing for Wunderlich (or,
more likely, the people behind him), he knows how to package his stuff in an eye
catching cover; this is the third on the trot that I've picked up solely
because....well because it caught my eye. What's lurking behind it, however, is
a disparate mix of music from film soundtracks (everything from 'High Noon' to
'Goldfinger'), each given the Wunderlich makeover. And by 'the Wunderlich
makeover', I mean played on a reedy Hammond organ that sounds like its never
seen the sun. True, it's not entirely solo and you don't need to be a native
Berliner to work out the cover note where it says 'Hammond Orgel mit
Rhythmusgruppe', but any backing musicians in that rhythmusgruppe play very much
a fourth fiddle to the man on the organ (and truth be told a lot of what they do
is so far back in the mix it just sounds like one of the organ's pre-set rhythms
anyway).
Turn it over and the back studiously
sets out the name of the tune, the film it came from, the year it was released
and the names of the lead actors in a way that suggests we're in for some
faithful recreations of the scores as they were written. But alas, Wunderlich is
not Geoff Love and he makes no attempt at that all. Instead, all are plonked out
in a mono tone and mono key style that gives them a homogenous, flat quality
that's all out of step with how they sounded in the context of their
host movies. Like most film music, these tunes were scored for mood and dramatic
effect, all of which goes straight down the drain when they're reduced to just
the bare bones of their melodies. Linking some of them medley style doesn't help
either; in fact, on occasion it makes it worse - the one tune that
would most fit the Wunderlich approach (Francis Lai's 'A Man And A
Woman') is enjoyable enough in it's own way until it suddenly pulls a handbrake
turn into a parping version of 'Goldfinger' that's not enjoyable on any
level.
Because of that, I can't imagine many
film fans getting anything from this except disappointment and the feeling
they've been sold a pup; for all that window dressing this could more accurately
have been served up in a plain cardboard sleeve - this is music more suited to
the lift shaft and shopping mall than a serious listen for film fans. A plain
sleeve would have at least more accurately reflected the bland and faceless
contents within - contents which, instead of the relaxing, easy listening
experience it's meant to generate, actually left me feeling more and more tense
as it went on and I willed the whole thing to be over and done with. So, not
good then.
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