VARIOUS – THE WARRIORS
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (SPECTRUM MUSIC/A&M RECORDS)
The Warriors is a
lowlife masterpiece. It represents a
curious confusing of period and time as it mixes the urban funk of pre-hip hop
New York while claiming to be part of a gang war torn future. It is tense from the off as the unexplained
motions of the gang called The Warriors appears very serious stuff. And to emphasise this we are treated to an
appropriately affecting score. By the
time the train arrives at its destination you are scared.
It pulsates from the
off. I will concede taken out of
context many of these tracks may not necessarily work. It may not harbour the bulk of the David
Shire soundtrack of “The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three” but it certainly
encapsulates the era and the sounds fuelling the conflict.
The hero of the piece
is Barry De Vorzon who delivers the driving instrumental score that carries The
Warriors across the city towards Coney Island.
The three pieces are truly original/individual pieces of work splicing
an odd hybrid of funk, disco and future sounds in keyboard play. Even though proceedings are filled with
menace, they still come with a glow.
And thus was always the success of the movie: as rotten as things
became, it always looked great. Stylistic
everyone involved really tapped into a unique process, one that definitely
appealed (and still does today).
In addition to his
score work here, De Vorzon also found himself involved co-writing “In The City”
with Joe Walsh that was later re-recorded by The Eagles after being considered
so good. To me it sounds like a
countrified Warren Zevon having gone through a (then) modern studio
blender. The build up is very much in
the same style/region as “Lawyers, Guns And Money”. It my not necessarily fit the vibe of gang warfare but it suits
the time.
The other starring
track of the album is “Echoes In My Mind” which is a slick soul work out very
much appropriate for the suffocating and paranoid fear of the gang’s
situation. In true cinematic fashion
after a subdued opening it builds to a high string pay off in lo-fi Shaft
fashion. This scene got swagger.
Of course it’s not all
amazing. A few tracks are downright
awful but others crash through with kitsch value. The cover version of “Nowhere To Run” by Martha Reeves And The
Vandellas from Arnold McCuller is horribly lightweight and never likely to work
anywhere. Also the overtly sexual
sentiments of “Love Is A Fire” by Genya Ravan feels juvenile when considering
it is being used to express gang members emotions but certainly this is (and
was) not the only time such pieces have been used in such a context. And the less said about the bar room boogie
of “You’re Movin’ Too Slow” by Johnny Vastano the better (although it does win
with kitsch).
It all ends with a
crash with Desmond Child earnestly exuding “Last Of An Ancient Breed” which
emerges like a second rate Springsteen singing over the Top Gun theme. In theory that should sound awesome but
really it does not. The real Bruce
Springsteen is cheese enough. Time to
turn things off.
In contrast to the
record’s failings, the sprinkling of sound clips from the movie at the end of
tracks is something that never hurts.
This truly was a time
when guitars could be used to express the sounds of the streets. Better times. That said, the songs sound better in the movie.
Thesaurus moment:
desiderate.
No comments:
Post a Comment