GOBLIN

— First review of this album —

La Via Della Droga a.k.a. The Heroin Busters is an Italian crime thriller from 1977 directed by Enzo G. Castellari who most of us know as the director of The Inglorious Bastards from 1978. This is also one of the few movies that Goblin wrote music for despite it not being a horror movie.

This complete version of the soundtrack was released by Cinevox towards the end of the 90's when demand for Goblin's material was bigger than ever among fans of giallo films. This was of course was unfair to the fans of movies like Suspiria and Profondo Rosso since this soundtrack has very little in common with those classical scores. If anything the soundtrack reminds me more of the 70's television police dramas and although Goblin does a nice job here the result isn't that impressive.

I would actually like to state that La Via Della Droga would appeal more to fans of progressive rock than then horror soundtrack fans because of Sequences 3, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 which are quite funky and sometimes cross over to the Jazz Rock/Fusion territory. The main title theme is very pleasant with it's playful melody played on the guitar while Sequence 2 is the closest Goblin gets to sounding like the band we all know.

Despite some nice material and occasional hints of progressive rock I just can't bring myself to awarding this soundtrack anything but an average rating. La Via Della Droga is a good but non-essential reminder of Goblins great material from the 70's.

**** star songs: La Via Della Droga - Seq. 1 - Main Titles (2:09) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 2 (2:03) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 3 (2:06) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 5 (4:39) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 8 (1:44) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 9 (2:30) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 10 (3:16) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 11 (1:36) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 13 - Finale (6:34)

*** star songs: La Via Della Droga - Seq. 4 (2:25) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 6 (2:53) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 7 (1:08) La Via Della Droga - Seq. 12 (2:21)

La Chiesa was a 1989 movie directed by Michele Soavi who was a protégé of Dario Argento. Argento was highly involved in the project by filling in the producer and the scriptwriting duties. To make things even more exciting two of Argento's collaborators Goblin and Keith Emerson were brought in to write some original music for the movie.

I'm not sure what motivation lay behind this idea and my original thought was that such a collaboration would never work out, but that was exactly what made me interested in exploring this material. After listening to the album it's obvious that I was somewhat misled by my original assumption since Goblin and Keith Emerson don't actually collaborate on the album. Instead they have composed and performed their compositions individually where Keith Emerson is responsible for tracks number 1,3,5,9 and 10 while Goblin perform tracks number 2,4,6,11,12,13. So what happened to tracks 7 and 8, you might ask? Well those tracks feel completely out of place since Go To Hell by Zooming On The Zoo is a typical 80's dance tune and yes... it even evolves a rap. As for The Wire Blaze by Definitive Gaze it basically sounds like a bad copy of Morrissey which, once again, has no place on this soundtrack.

Keith Emerson's compositions weren't really as interesting as I have hoped for and with the exception of the main theme make the music here feel quite dull. That is unless you're into Emerson's classical music arrangement. Goblin's music, on the other hand, keeps this whole soundtrack afloat and although it feels as though they didn't have the complete artistic freedom here they still managed to do a decent job on all their compositions.

This album is too much of a mixed bag to receive anything higher than collectors/fans only rating from me. I wish that Cinevox could re-release Goblins material just like they did on Phenomena - The Complete Soundtrack and compile it all on one album.

**** star songs: The Church (Main Theme) (3:58) La Chiesa (5:23) Possessione (3:17) Lotte (3:03) La Chiesa (Suite) (4:05) Suspence Chiesa 1 (3:44)

*** star songs: Prelude 24 (From Well Tempered Clavier) (2:23) The Possession (2:25) The Wire Blaze (3:40) The Church Revisited (4:25) The Church (Single Mix Bonus Track) (3:53) Suspence Chiesa 2 (7:05)

** star songs: Go To Hell (3:40)

Phenomena is probably the Dario Argento-movie that have benefited the most from it's Goblinfied soundtrack since the film itself leaves much to be desired.

The original soundtrack that was released in 1984 featured a total of five Goblin compositions while the remaining eight tracks were already famous songs by Iron Maiden, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and even Motörhead! That soundtrack really feels like a weird combination and I'm really happy about this 1997 compilation that consists entirely of the original Goblin material. The downside here is that it consists basically of the same five compositions that were featured on the original release plus one bonus track entitled The Monster Child which can barely be called a track. But the fun doesn't end here since each of the five original tracks has at least one alternate counterpart featured here and in some cases like the main title theme gets a whooping total of five different versions of it spread over the album.

The original material is phenomenal (*pun intended*) and should definitely have a place among Goblin's greatest masterpieces. Among these fine tunes is also Jennifer which is my personal favorite. The composition starts like an 80's sounding instrumental ballad but halfway through its running time Jennifer transforms into a wonderful up-tempo theme. The alternate versions of the material sticks, in most cases, relatively close to the originals but there are a few exceptions. The Wind - "Insects" - film version suite 2 is a seven minute version of the original just over a minute long composition. This wasn't a good sign from the get go but things actually get even worse once I experienced this abomination. Let's just say that it involves a lot of high pitch sounds that will make Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music sound like complete masterpiece!

The music on Phenomena - The Complete Soundtrack is not without its flaws where my most prominent concern is the 80's sounding drum sounds, which can of course be easily blamed on Phil Collins for creating such a pointless gimmick as gated drum sound. But ultimately it's every artists own responsibility to enhance their music and not go over board in the production department.

I know that I'm probably being generous for calling this anything else but a collectors/fans only album but I just can't help it since the original material is really great.

***** star songs: Jennifer (3:53)

**** star songs: Phenomena (4:26) The Wind (1:18) Sleepwalking (3:51) Jennifer's Friends (3:29) Phenomena - Film version 1 (1:25) Phenomena - Film version 2 (1:56) Phenomena - Piano solo - film version 3 (1:01) Sleepwalking - Alternate version (3:56) The Wind - Film version suite 1 (2:35) Jennifer's Friends - Alternate version (3:30) Jennifer - End titles (4:51) Phenomena - Video clip version - bonus track 2 (4:08) Phenomena - Alternate version - bonus track 3 (3:09)

*** star songs: The Monster Child - Spfx bonus track 1 (2:07)

** star songs: The Wind - "Insects" - film version suite 2 (6:57)

One thing that really surprised me the first time I heard this soundtrack was the fact that I almost didn't recognize any of the compositions. Being a huge fan of the movie which I own on DVD in both its original version and the Dario Argento's European Cut I just couldn't figure out how this music was overlooked by me! The explanation to that was actually very simple. Soundtracks are delicate and atmospheric pieces of music that when done just right don't overshadow the context of the movie. Just think of all the great John Williams and Ennio Morricone soundtracks that may at first seem familiar due to the title theme of the movie but the rest of the tunes might seem unfamiliar and still they are there in your subconscious memory!

This is exactly the case with Dawn Of The Dead which in my opinion makes it a superior in comparison to both Profondo Rosso/Deep Red and Suspiria! The first two tracks are theme pieces from the movie and what a great combination it is. L'Alba Dei Morti Viventi is a chilling atmospheric piece that has a great keyboard melody played over it while Zombi takes things up a notch by transforming that chilling feeling into pure horror! These two pieces are in my opinion alone worth the price of admission!

The rest of the compositions consist for the most part of atmospheric pieces that actually work surprisingly well on their own! There is of course a minor exception in the form of Torte In Faccia that sounded annoying when Emerson Lake & Palmer did it on The Sheriff and Benny The Bouncer but here it's even more out of place than ever.

This is a soundtrack that I have no problem of recommending to everyone since the music does a great job of distinguishing itself from the movie. Hence it's an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

***** star songs: Zombi (4:24)

**** star songs: L'Alba Dei Morti Viventi (6:04) Safari (2:11) Al Morgini Della Follia (1:32) Zaratozom (3:36) La Caccia (3:38) Tirassegno (2:51) Oblio (5:13) Risveglio (1:04)

*** star songs: Torte In Faccia (1:57)

Most people got introduced to Goblin's music by either watching Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) or Suspiria and I'm a proud member of the latter category. If you haven't seen them then I definitely suggest to do so since they are two of the most stylish and elaborate horror/mystery movies of the 70's. But now I digress...

After hearing the main title theme for Suspiria I fell in love with the mysterious and somewhat Gothic-like atmosphere that was embedded in the music so purchasing this album as my introduction to Goblin was an obvious choice. I remember that the first time I played the album on my CD-player I turned the volume way up high which made the high pitch sounds really unbearable. After adjusting the volume I could finally fully appreciate the opening composition in all its glory. I'm saying this because the main title theme is mainly know for the intro section and not many have ever bothered to discover the wonderful composition that follows. The same goes for Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells which most people recognize from the opening sounds of the movie The Exorcist.

I'm not really a fan of the next couple of numbers because they are mainly atmospheric pieces that work well in the context of the movie but fall relatively flat while experienced on their own. Luckily Markos is a nice piece that basically picks up where the main title theme left off but this time the synthesizer sound slowly pan from one side to another as if to indicate the present danger in the context of the movie. Black Forest is definitely the most progressive piece of music off this album which even features some nice saxophone sections. Unfortunately I often get tired of the slow build-up that this composition tries to establish before getting to the two minutes of pure bliss, so it's never been one of my favorites. Blind Concert on the other hand manages to do everything I lacked on the previous track and even beyond! It's also probably the only of these tracks that would have worked well outside the soundtrack setting.

It's a real surprise for me to find out that I actually don't like this album as much as I originally assumed. Suspiria is a great soundtrack that I can't recommend to everyone because of some compositions that can only be enjoyed once you've seen the movie. I think that good, but non-essential rating is definitely in order here!

***** star songs: Suspiria (5:57)

**** star songs: Markos (4:03) Blind Concert (6:11) Death Valzer (1:51)

*** star songs: Witch (3:10) Opening To The Sighs (0:32) Sighs (5:15) Black Forest (6:06)

Perché Si Uccidono has so far been my latest Goblin-related purchase and I owe it mainly to the intriguing review posted by UMUR! After browsing the web I finally settled for the MP3 format version of the album off Amazon mainly because it would cost me at least $30 to get the real deal.

To tell you the truth I was originally disappointed by this album because I didn't feel that the music sounded like Goblin. I even compared the tracks with the samples available on other websites just to be sure that I've got the real album. I think that I was concerned by the fact that this album was originally released in the same year as Roller and I just couldn't believe that the style would change so drastically as it did here. Luckily the more I listened to Perché Si Uccidono the more I got into it and today I believe that my original comparison was indeed unjust.

The first two tracks may not sound like either Roller or Suspiria but they are great in their own special way. Both are very melodic instrumentals and I especially like Ammoniaca for its slow pace and nice keyboard work. The similar themes will be touched upon during Dodici E Un Quarto which roughly translates to "Twelve-fifteen" but before we get there we'll have to make acquaintance with the inferior middle section of the album.

Kalu at it's almost five minute running time is the longest composition here but it's also the one I enjoy the least because of its flirtation with the disco-styled sounds and rhythms. I would also probably have appreciated My Damned Shit a lot more without the vocals and although I have no problem with the performance the Italian accent of the singer just rubs me the wrong way every time I hear it.

The album's final 14 minutes (out of the 32 minutes) put the album once again on the right track with compositions like R.I.B. and Apotheke adding sort of a Jazz Rock/Fusion flavor in the overall mix. I like the versatile mix of compositions featured on this album which is something that Goblin will explore even more on their future releases, but strangely enough I feel like there are very few indications of the band that was featured on their previous album. Out of the 11 tracks here only compositions like Block and Distrazioni could have made sense on Roller.

Primarily I would recommend this album for fans of the later Goblin soundtracks while newcomers should probably start with albums like Roller, Suspiria and Profondo Rosso. Still this release is far from collectors/fans only material so I'll move it up a notch!

**** star songs: Epopea (2:55) Ammoniaca (2:25) Edda (3:02) Dodici E Un Quarto (1:58) Block (2:41) R.I.B. (4:16) Apotheke (2:32) Distrazioni (2:33)

*** star songs: Kalu (4:55) Epopea (Reprise) (1:27) My Damned Shit (3:09)

I enjoy Goblin's soundtracks and often even watch some of the more obscure movie titles by relying entirely on the great soundtracks that will keep me entertained no matter how the movies turns out. So I was even more intrigued when I heard of a possible existence of a Goblin album that wasn't recorded as a soundtrack. To my great joy it didn't take long before I had the CD in my hands. Even upon my first experience the album managed to surpass any predetermined expectations that I had!

The first track entitled Roller reminded me of the great movie themes that the band have written over the years. Starting with the trademark-keyboard sounds but this time on a much more progressive side. I think the main reason for the progressive feel also comes from the great drum work from Agostino Marangolo. His performance alone is pretty much worth the price of admission!

The next three quirky compositions don't move me as much as the opener but instead manage to hold me over for the next gem of this album. I might even go as far as proclaim Goblin as the pinnacle of the band's entire carrier and it definitely deserves the name Goblin! The track starts slowly with a repeated keyboard passage that eventually takes off once the all the other instruments join in. What follows then are probably some of the most beautiful melodies that I've heard. The percussion work might at first seem quite subtle but just zoom in on that polyrhythm section and you'll be hooked! The composition is, just like everything here in life, not without its flaws and for me there are two specific moments that stand out more than the rest. I understand that this band-titled track was supposed to be a sort of an introduction of the band but the guitar solo towards the end of the forth minute was really unnecessary. The other flaw is the one minute drum solo that precedes the outro and might get weary on repeated listens. Still these two minor complaints can't take away the fact that Goblin is a magnificent composition and I only nitpick because I've heard it far too many times over these past few years.

The album concludes on a weird sounding improv of a composition titled Dr. Frankenstein. Although the last two minutes of it are magnificent and end the album on a wonderful highlight they just can't outweigh the four preceding minutes that honestly bore me to tears. Maybe the result is magnified even more due to wonderful performance on the previous track.

So far Roller is the only non-soundtrack related album that I've heard from Goblin and I'd love to hear more where that came from!

***** star songs: Roller (4:38) Goblin (11:10)

**** star songs: Aquaman (5:22) Snip Snap (3:37) The Snake Awakens (3:27)

*** star songs: Dr. Frankenstein (6:00)

The Complete Profondo Rosso Edition, is indeed, the complete soundtrack.

Goblin are a band I really like and have loved since I discovered them some years ago, they are not the archetypical RPI band that you may think, because their music goes together with several movies, I mean, most of Goblin's albums are some movie's soundtrack, Profondo Rosso as you guess is the soundtrack of the movie with the same name, a Giallo directed by Dario Argento, so if you have watched his movies, you may realize what kind of music is played here.

So Goblin´s music has that dark, nervous and thrilling sound that implies a terror movie, but very well elaborated with a strong keyboard base, which goes very well along with an extraordinary bass sound and perfect drumming.

Some years ago I reviewed the original Profondo Rosso album, released in 1975 which contains only 7 tracks, with a total time of 35 minutes approximately, and which in my personal opinion is a masterpiece. But this time, with this Complete Edition you will find 28 tracks, and a total time of 70 minutes, almost twice the original LP. The fact, is that in this edition you will listen to several versions of the same songs, including the original ones, so as the previous reviewer said, this is the complete soundtrack because it features all the songs Goblin composed, and also the ones that Giorgio Gaslini composed.

Not really much to add here, it is nice to listen to this complete edition if you like alternate versions and if you like to listen to what could have been the original version but at the end wasn't, but honestly, there is too much of the same here, so if I rated the original LP with 3 stars, this Complete Edition deserves only 3, and actually I would say it is only for fans, but anyway, I believe any Goblin or Italian prog lover would like it.

Enjoy it!

As much praise that Goblin's first soundtrack "Profondo Rosso" preferentially gets from prog collectors everywhere (and quite rightly so), I must admit that my favorite Goblin OST is the one they wrote and recorded for the "Suspiria" movie. There has always been a special magic that connected Goblin's musical creativity and Dario Argento's twisted refurbishment of cinematographic horror, it was so intense that it made Goblin a big name in the Italian progressive rock scene even if the framework of a movie's soundtrack was restrictive enough as notto give room to symphonic epics or systematic displays of refined virtuosity. Epic sounds and virtuosic playing are two things that one does not precisely miss in a god Goblin album, but the fact is that the room for sonicexpression was always constrained by the narrative demands of a particular movie. But as I said a few lines above, there was a magic in the marriage of Goblin's music and Argento's cinematic vision that allowed these soundtrack albums to become relevant prog rock items in themselves. In the case of "Suspiria", the namesake opener is an iconic sample of Goblin's masterful handling of cacophonic tension and powerful horrific textures. This piece is just irressistible (the Smashing Pumpkins used this piece as an intro theme for many concerts, so they will agree with me on this, for sure), with the delicate sounds of celesta and glockenspiel portraying an uneasy aura that gradually grows into restless darkness as the instrumentation augments (including bouzouki and exotic perucssive beats). The greyish rocking interlude states a moment of majesty among the overall horror. The final result sounds like a mixture of early Oldfield and 75-77 Tangerine Dream. The next 3 pieces elaborate a crucial enhancement of the horror, with the basis musical ideas leaning more on abstract colors - 'Witch' develops an orgy of demented screams and sadistic percussions, while the pairing of 'Opening To The Sighs' and 'Sighs' states an ethereal twist to the ongoing terror. The album's second half starts with 'Markos', whose main body is focused on a pulsating intensity rigorously engaged with a robus architecture of synths and percussions. This almost cacophonic (black) magic serves efficiently as a sonic image of urgency and despair. On the other side of things, 'Black Forest' first brings an air of nebulous mystery within a mostly calm framework. At a certain point, the piece shifts toward an agile exercise on jazz-rock with clever fusion-oriented undertones. Morante brings in some amazing guitar soloing, dynamically interacting with other leads brought in by Simonetti on synth and guest Antonio Marangolo on sax. 'Blind Concert' is the most vital track in the album, a jazz-funky composition that allows the band to move into Baricentro and Perigeo territories: to my ears, it doesn't sound out of place, but it works as a well- csontructed space for release from the dominant darkness (after all, this is a horror movie's OST, isn't it?). 'Death Valzer' is also a joyful piece, with a featured piano delivering a Cabaret-like waltz: most certainly, this is related to the irony and sick humor that play a big part in Argento's movies. The CD edition includes some bonus tracks, which are mostly curiosities. All in all, "Suspiria" is an excellent item in any prog rock collection.

Goblin's ZOMBI- DAWN OF THE DEAD is the soundtrack to "Zombi," the Italian version of the classic horror film "Dawn of the Dead." Goblin's discography consists mainly of soundtracks to Italian horror films, and they are very good at. Of course, the problem with this is that you can't really make a masterpiece from background music to a campy horror flick. I haven't seen "Dawn of the Dead" or "Zombi," so I really can't say how each song correlates to the film.

The album opens up with "L'alba Dei Morti Viventi." This song is very ethereal and brooding, and really sends chills down your spine. Like most tracks by Goblin, this song is very synth- based, and make all sorts of sounds to emulate a choir and an organ. The guitars also give it an intense atmosphere, and a high-pitched synth note also adds to the horror. This is a great track, and sets the mood very well.

"Zombi" is the second track. This track is very intense and confrotational, opening with the pounding of a single chord rapidly, which alternates multiple times with different chords more spaced apart. One thing that really impressed me with this track is the drumming, which ends the song with a loud crash. "Zombi" is also a great track, and it really gives the idea of suddenly being attacked by a zombie.

"Safari" is the third track. It's very short, and is not as synth-based as the first two tracks. It has tribal chanting and timpani drums, which is very interesting in a horror soundtrack. If you enjoy world music with a dark tone, you'll like this song, but it probably won't impress anyone else.

"Torte in Faccia" is the fourth track. This track is pretty much a novelty song, being only a quick ditty on the piano. Apparently, it translates as "Pie in the Face," which is very apt as it is nothing more than a humorous throwaway track. There's not a lot to appreciate here, except some charming piano playing.

"Ai Margini Della Follia" is the fifth track. It is based mostly around ethereal textures, with the same confrontational chord from "Zombi" sneaking it's way in. There isn't a lot to this track, and it's pretty much a throwaway.

"Zaratozom" is the sixth track. The guitar is the dominant instrument in this track, and similar to "Rhayader Goes to Town" by Camel, it's very exciting. The synths add some nice touches here and there, and this is all-around a fine track.

"La Caccia" is the seventh track. For the most part, it's very triumphant, but the single pounded chord from "Zombi" pops up and here and there. I really love the synths that come in at 1:10, which gives the song a very positive and uplifting feeling, even if there is some darkness underneath the joyful mood.

"Tirrasengo" is the eight track. Like "La Caccia," this track is very positive and uplifting, and this time there is no implied danger. There is a violin here, which sounds very pleasant, and the riff from what sounds like a banjo is very light-hearted as well. This is a pleasant track to listen to, although I can't see how it fits in a horror film.

"Oblio" is the ninth track. This track has a very dreary and remorseful mood, which is communicated as the guitar plays the melody, and the piano plays an emotional if repetitive theme. Some parts of this track are actually quite beautiful, particularly in the sections with mellotron and saxophone, but I still think that all the instruments all are played very well here. This is quite an emotional track, even though it's instrumental, and almost reminds me of "Us and Them" by Pink Floyd.

"Risveglio" is the tenth track, and is another very piano-centric track. This one is very short, and while it's starts out beautiful, it then sinks and ends on a dark and paranoid note. A strange way to conclude the album, but I think that it wouldn't have made much sense if it ended happily, would it?

ZOMBI- THE DAWN OF THE DEAD isn't essential Italian Prog, but I'm sure it's a great soundtrack for a film. The album is fine background music, and as I said before, that's all it well ever amount to: background music. If you like instrumental music with lots of synths, pick this one up (although I think ROLLER is a bit better.) Just don't expect you're life to be changed.

3 Stars- Good, but non-essential