GOBLIN

Released under the pseudonym "Il Reale Impero Britannica," Goblin's soundtrack to the controversial 1976 film Perche Si Uccidono is very different from most of their material. The individual songs are varied and distinctive, giving the album a compilation feel; every track sounds like a possible single, largely abandoning Goblin's trademark mystery, and instead hearkens back to their days as a backing band on Gamma. Though this is the same group that simultaneously recorded Roller, Perche Si Uccidono sounds nothing like it. It's almost as if Goblin used the anonymity of Il Reale Impero Britannica as a vehicle for these compositions that didn't necessarily fit the Goblin mold; I doubt this is the case as the name change was primarily due to Cinevox and their blocking of the Goblin name because of the movie's subject matter. Ridiculously obscure and hard-to-find for years, the album is now readily available as a digital download and is highly recommended for soundtrack collectors, Goblin fans and even instrumental music lovers.

The introductory "Epopea" is announced with a gong crash and Claudio Simonetti's keyboard onslaught. As on Cherry Five and Roller, Simonetti plays a key role, providing most of the melody single-handedly. Nowhere is this more apparent than the gentle "Ammoniaca," as Simonetti trades in the Moog for electric piano, amply assisted by swathes of tape synthesizer. "Kalu" adds real orchestration to a sleazy, funky backdrop; imagine "Barney Miller" meets Ennio Morricone. "Edda" is the first track with vocals, sweetly provided by namesake Edda Dell'Orso, who also worked with Morricone. Again Simonetti is all over this thing, dishing out tons of Mellotron and Fender Rhodes in equal measure. "Epopea (Reprise)" is a jaunty shuffle version of the album opener.

Cherry Five singer Tony Tartarini makes a guest appearance on the album's only other vocal track. "My Damned Shit" is lyrically kitschy but is still strong melodically. A symphonic tone describes "Docici E un Quarto," my favorite on the album, sounding somewhat like early Procol Harum. "Block" sees guitarist Massimo Morante step out of Simonetti's shadow, asserting himself after more of a support role. "R.I.B." is vintage Goblin, heavy on the theatrics and atmosphere. "Apotheke" previews the urban sound Goblin would adopt on many of their late-seventies soundtracks like La Via Della Droga. Lastly, "Distrazoni" offers a killer analog synth solo atop a tasty funk foundation. Perche Si Uccidono is hardly the most representative Goblin album and may not please everyone but it is one of my favorites, and I heartily recommend it.

Volo is so bad Cinevox has never bothered to issue it on CD, but for some reason the MP3s are now available for digital download. Short of lighting a ten dollar bill on fire, I couldn't think of a worse way to waste your money. Goblin (if that's what you want to call this) had completely abandoned prog by 1982. I wouldn't even call this rock music. Volo is completely disposable pop music of the worst sort; instead of evolving and integrating 80s tech with 70s musicality like Yes, King Crimson and Genesis, Goblin completely loses the plot here and sells out unabashedly. Even Goblin collectors cannot be bothered to click Buy, and other than sheer morbid curiosity, there is no reason to hear Volo.

Fabio Pignatelli was the only original member of Goblin by this point, as Agostino Marangolo had left ship for New Perigeo, and Simonetti and Morante were off collaborating with Dario Argento. Goblin alums Maurizio Guarini and Derek Wilson were welcomed back into the fold, and new members Marco Rinalduzzi and Mauro Lusini were recruited for guitar and vocal duties respectively. Rinalduzzi has a very polished, session-man technique not totally adaptable to the trademark Goblin creepiness. Yes pulled a similar stunt with Trevor Rabin and had slightly more successful results. Lusini actually has a really nice, smooth vocal quality and manages to sing in tune most of the time, which is more than I could say for Massimo Morante. This professionalism does not necessarily translate to anything pleasing however, as his uptight delivery never ventures outside a limited dynamic range nor is the material difficult enough to challenge him. Volo is nothing more than 1980s pop, pure and simple.

Highlights include "Fortuna," which features a female vocal and some interesting harmonized guitar work courtesy of newbie Rinalduzzi. The title track, which was apparently used as the theme song for the Italian broadcast "Discoring," has a hilariously awesome keyboard solo by Guarini which uses a synthesized guitar sound. "Est," which would later be used on Notturno, sounds unlike anything else on the album and seems out of place as the album closer. Everything else is forgettable dross, from the Toto-esque "Giornata Isterica" to the syncopated disco leanings of "Punta Di Rottura." If you need a soundtrack for your Italian-themed Eighties party, look no further than Volo. If not, I encourage you to avoid it at all costs.

`Contamination' sees Italian progressive and cult soundtrack band Goblin add a refreshing dose of other wordly sci-fi sounds to their usual creeping horror atmospherics, and it makes for a mostly consistent and successful album.This time the soundtrack to a science-fiction film, It's a shame that the album is another mostly unnoticed and somewhat ignored work from the band, because in addition to a number of suspenseful and moody numbers, it contains the classic Goblin track `Quiet Drops', one of the most delicate and subtle pieces the band ever wrote.

`Connexion' gets things off to a great start, with it's intimidating drum-beat and classic Goblin church organ mixed with swirling spacey sound effects and slightly computerized sounding funky bass. Extra points for the `Alien choir' Mellotron too! `Withy' shares the moody guitar melody and plodding bass-line from Pink Floyd's `Another Brick...part 1' off `The Wall', playing over ghostly synth melodies, icy winds and booming drums that constantly creep closer and louder. `Bikini Island' is a highly kitsch upbeat disco/jazz-fusion commercial throwaway, but it's something of a guilty pleasure. Of course the album would work better without it, but it is full of lovely bass playing, catchy guitar runs and varied percussion sounds. Back to the nightmare for `Flood', which has Alan Parsons Project style chiming guitars, washes of spasmodic synth notes and harsh single drumbeat interruptions all playing over a tense metronome style ticking beat. `Pillage' has murky and darkly funky bass with dramatic fusion style guitar soloing over a repetitive stop-start arrangement with bashing drums. At least these last two tracks work towards creating the chilly mood again!

Side B's `The Carver' offers more light jazz and Latin percussion with slightly bent and unnerving wavering keyboards with driving bass. `Rush' unsurprisingly has a tense and haunted stalking quality full of ambient droning synths and a repetitive guitar melody that plays over and over. `Fright' is one of the most effective pieces on the album, with harsh electronics drifting amongst oppressive massive drums and a looped alien cry. Not much of a tune, but an experimental attempt at a moody soundscape that has more in common with bands like Tangerine Dream. `Time Is On' abruptly fades in from the previous track, and is a nightmarish echoing piano and electronic piece filled with distorted devilish wailing. Some parts of this sound a little like Rick Wright's frightening avant-garde contributions to the `Ummagumma' Pink Floyd album. `Ogre' by comparison is a reflective wilting sax, piano and bass diversion that lulls you into a brief respite of comfort before the album centrepiece.

`Quiet Drops' is a lonely and highly emotional piano piece with a very somber and sad melody. Impossibly fragile and low-key, with very restrained and stirring gentle string washes over the second half. It will truly bring you to tears, so don't listen to it on a broken heart. I was first aware of this track from the Morte Macabre cover on their album `Symphonic Holocaust', which in itself is an amazing interpretation. But the sparse original is a very moving beautiful piece, and ranks among the very best work of the Goblin band.

The CD reissue adds some curios in the form of alternate takes, unused fragments and unreleased pieces from the film. They don't exactly add anything to the album, but don't detract from it either. Just nice additions to an already effective album. I chose the vinyl reissue because that format makes it feel a little more special, with lovely vibrant artwork and the album presented the way it was always meant to be. If you do decide to get the CD, go for one with the dark cover feautured on this page, not the horrid blue washed out photo one.

This album shares some tracks from the `Buio Omega' soundtrack, so rather than grumble and moan about inconsistency or record company (and/or band?!) laziness in padding out already short albums with recycled/reused pieces, I just decided to review what is on here for it's individual strengths and weaknesses. You can go crazy trying to figure out what piece appears on what album sometimes with this band! Just enjoy, I say!

Although there's some occasional late 70's/early 80's disco and commercial jazz funk elements that not only the band, but many horror soundtracks in general were incorporating at the time, `Contamination' can still stand perfectly well alongside their string of fascinating and consistent lesser-known soundtracks. It is still easily recognizable as a work of Goblin, with all the usual strange atmosphere, tasteful playing and inventive arrangements. Definitely not one to dismiss or ignore.

Three and a half stars!

`La Via Della Droga' is another mostly unknown and forgotten soundtrack from Italian legends Goblin. I was lucky enough to pick up a CD of this years ago at a record fair, where I paid WAY more than what it was worth, but it's not exactly a dud album. Although not a horror soundtrack, rather from my understanding a police/drug/crime film, it still has typical Goblin characteristics and trademark sounds scattered amongst the low-key and tasteful jazz/fusion playing and arrangements. Special mention must go to the Fabio Pignatelli's murmuring dank bass playing and Agnostino Marangolo's ton of varying percussion sounds, but of course Claudio Simonetti and Massimo Morante are reliable as ever.

Although the CD tracklisting would pass the album off as one single 13 part piece, it's really a collection of separate isolated chunks that don't have individual song titles. Sorry, prog fans, no album-long piece or multi-part epic suite here!

The album begins and ends with the main theme, featuring lovely subtle synths (or is that Mellotron mixed way back?) with a typical wailing Massimo guitar solo. The next few tracks have hypnotic looping electronics with metallic percussion and droning male wordless vocals, slightly funky repetitive jazzy percussion with lovely murky sliding bass and tense electric piano. Nice wavering synths and Latin percussion pop in too. Like most of the pieces on this album, these bits usually run about two minutes.

But finally a longer track, and it begins rather like a more typical Goblin piece - more please! `Sequence 5' begins with very eerie shimmering synths and random loopy electronic effects with numbing plodding drumwork and nimble acoustic guitar, before fading out as very harsh and violent stabbing percussion enter, with aggressive bass and wild acoustic guitar strums over colourful dancing synth runs. Going by the theme of the movie the music is based on, perhaps it's meant to represent a disorientating drug-trip? Anyway, it's far and away the standout track on the album, and one more casual Goblin fans will probably appreciate most.

Sequence 6 onwards has bashing electronic abrasive percussion and cold computer effects assaulting the listener over hypnotic near-tribal beats, before returning for a run of loose jazzy sections full of busy drumming, funky driving guitar and more of that supremely dirty bass playing! Lots of different percussion sounds through these moments as well. Sure, it's disjointed, but full of lots of different sounds and ideas to keep you interested. The final part is a downbeat and slightly sinister movement with slowly unwinding dark guitar lines.

It's a shame that most of the pieces are so short, because pretty much every fragment has enough musical potential that would have been even better if they'd been worked on a little more and expanded. This music was probably never even meant for a proper album, but the demand for more Goblin product resulted in this product. Goblin have a few of these sort of belated CD releases, and I think it would be better if they could be packaged together on a few multi-disc sets to keep the costs down and make them more attractive and affordable. It would be nice having them all in one place too, and opposed to searching them down individually.

As it stands, `La Via Della Droga' is a perfectly laidback, subtle and restrained instrumental album that probably occasionally drifts into the realm of forgettable and a little unremarkable from time to time. Certainly don't pay a high price for it like I did, but if you do come across it cheap and happen to be a Goblin fan who appreciates their lesser known work as well as their classics, by all means give the album a try. It makes for a perfectly rewarding background light prog instrumental album played by great musicians.

Three stars.

By 1983, Goblin had split into two camps: The "Real" Goblin, featuring core members Claudio Simonetti and Massimo Morante; and The "New" Goblin, led by drummer Agostino Marangolo and assisted by Maurizio Guarini among others. Bassist Fabio Pignatelli would straddle both lineups, and provide both guitar and bass on this spy thriller soundtrack. This incarnation of the group would keep not only the Goblin name, but hearken back to a sound not heard since its heyday. While Simonetti-Pignatelli-Morante still had ties to Dario Argento, their work on 1982's Tenebre was hardly representative of the Goblin tradition, but instead featured the electronic sounds of the day and some repetitive themes. The score to Notturno is arguably better, and among the best of Goblin's output in the entire decade. However, Notturno is definitely not RPI, and really not even prog, and can only be rated as such - 2 stars.

The title theme "Nocturne" sounds immediately familiar, as the similarity to Dawn of The Dead is apparently obvious. Regardless, this derivative track reminds me of what Goblin does so well, and that is score films. I must admit I have never seen Notturno (aka "Spy Connection"), but one can imagine a high-speed chase or action scene set quite easily to this music. "Bass Theme" is exactly what it sounds like, a chance for Pignatelli to show off some of his fretless bass chops. The tone here is decidedly "eighties," but not unlike King Crimson circa side two of Beat. The creepy synth pads also remind us this is Goblin, but are also reminiscent of Libra's soundtrack to Schock. "Landing Strip" is a ballad more akin to what Goblin was doing on Amo non Amo, and "Helycopter" also echoes those soothing sounds. This goes a little too far on "Est," which careens into Grammy Jazz territory as we are treated to more fretless bass. The original LP would end here, after a reprise of the "Landing Strip" cue.

Notturno was issued on CD once by Cinevox in 1998, and this version features seven variations on the "Notturno" theme. None of these outtakes really add any value to the album as a whole, but do display the commitment Cinevox has to keeping the Goblin catalog as complete as possible, and are a treat for fans in that regard. But it is those Goblin fans alone that will be bothered to track this down, as I can't recommend Notturno to anyone else, really.

After a year of casual listening, I finally took the time it takes to get acquainted with Goblin's Roller. It's been spinning in my player going on four days straight.

Goblin's methods are subtle on this record, compared to the output of their contemporaries. Fully mature and emotionally complex, Goblin's sound on Roller is restrained, litlting, at at certain points downright lovely. Track 4, "Il Risveglio Del Serpente" is a shining example--a tasteful live piano solo that sounds like Keith Emerson on downers.

This album contains the funkiest prog tune (Snip Snap) one of the best all time openers in "Roller" one of the best prog jams in "Goblin" and easily one of the best closers of all time in "Dr Frankenstein". What a dynamic way to end an almost flawless album. Time floats by when I listen to this one, and each sound is a trip for me.

I'm glad I took the time to listen to this one and I give it the highest marks I can. Great cover art too enhances the classic feel.

The 1978 Australian horror film 'Patrick' is by no means a classic but it is notable for two reasons. Firstly, it began the career of director Richard Franklin, a competent hack who would go on to direct the effective-if- overwrought 'Psycho II' in 1986; secondly, it would feature a surprisingly shallow soundtrack by Italian synth- prog exponents Goblin. It would also be one of the first soundtracks produced by the group that didn't feature on a movie by either Dario Argento or George A. Romero, Goblin having made their name with the creepy music that adorned the seminal horror hits 'Profondo Rosso', 'Suspiria' and 'Dawn Of The Dead'. However, whilst all three of those managed to be good enough albums in their own right, 'Patrick' for the most seems rather aimless without the addition of Franklin's darkly-hued images, though the excellent title theme, which must surely rank as one of Goblin's finest as well as one of their most frustrating, does buck the trend. A glistening, strangely upbeat keyboard-led medley, the title-theme features a sparkling melody and suitably moody atmosphere, though sadly the requirements of the film mean that the bulk of the track is made up of a meandering ghostly ambience that leaves one yearning for the initial patter of catchy, neon-dropped keyboard tones. Whilst the title theme does return to it's impressive beginning, it's far too brief a return, and this refusal by Goblin to focus on their own instrumental strengths is exactly what stymies 'Patrick', making it for the most a strangely disheartening experience. Of course, this is a soundtrack album, and the demands of the film are obviously foremost, making it a notoriously difficult sub-genre to navigate, especially for progressive-minded groups. However, Goblin have made a career out walking this stylistic tightrope, the best of their output combining the spooky ambience of sonic horror convention with their own curiously colourful synthesized prog- funk-rock sound, creating albums that could be listened to either as part of the film they were designed to accompany or simply as stand-alone efforts with a nice line in ethereal creepiness. Disappointingly, 'Patrick' lacks the funk-dipped strut, stringy guitars and complex keyboard noodling that features on their very best work, thus what we get here is an album strong on atmosphere but weak on melody or instrumental invention. The title-track aside, this is formulaic Goblin without the progressive thrills and as uninvolving an album they have yet created.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON 2012

A daft but thoroughly enjoyable Euro-pudding from cult Italian filmmaker Dario Argento, the 1985 shocker 'Phenomena' features a youthful Jennifer Connolly(as a spoilt teenager able to communicate with insects.) and a not-so-youthful, wheelchair-bound Donald Pleasance(as a grouchy Scottish entymologist) working together(with a monkey) to track down a mysterious murderer with a penchant for slicing up posh school-girls. Set in Switzerland, featuring a fairly incomprehensible plot(a trademark of Argento's films which sadly marred much of his bravura, stylistic excess) and some truly bizarre moments(pits of maggots, decapitation-by-scissors, deformed imps etc) 'Phenomena' the film is, simply put, barking. Yet it's also quite fun. Despite some distracting elements, such the dreadful mid-Atlantic dubbing forced upon the European supporting cast and the frankly rather odd addition of a clutch of NWOBHM tracks - by the likes of Iron Maiden, Andy Sex Gang, Accept, Motley Crue to name but a few - to the soundtrack, the film features a strong visual aesthetic and some superbly-mounted, stylishly-executed set-pieces. Accompanied by Goblin's ethereal, synthesizer-heavy score, the music is once again a central part of Argento's tension-building technique, just as it was in his two best feature films, 1975's Hitchcockian thriller 'Deep Red' and the seminal supernatural piece 'Suspiria', both of which featured classic Goblin compositions in the shape of their respective theme tunes. The 'Phenomena' album isn't quite of that calibre - Goblin's best efforts all came in a brief period during the mid-to-late-seventies - yet it's still a strong release, both as a soundtrack piece AND as a stand-alone slice of symphonic synth-prog. Highlights include the classically-spiked title track, the keyboard- washed 'Jennifer', and the suitably spooky 'The Wind', a delicate track laced with a slight experimental bent a la early Tangerine Dream. Ignoring the awful 1980's metal(which Argento himself hated) this should more than please Goblin's legion of hardcore fans, the group's overall sound perfectly suited(once again) to the blood- drenched visuals of Argento's films.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

The first move soundtrack from a band which developed from Cherry Five if I am not mistaken. I got a fistful of their albums.

Movie soundtracks can be really boring and rather pointless without the pictures. In the case of Goblin; mostly the gory details. These are not missed by me and the soundtrack is sufficient, thank you.

The music on this album is mostly jazz orientated. It is very Canterbury too. I have been listening to Gong inbetween sessions with this album and that has almost confused my evaluations of both albums. But only almost. There is a lot of interesting details on this album which is mostly keyboards orientated. But a saxophone really adds value to this album and there is almost something Soft Machine over this. The overall quality is great on this far too short album. A real killer track is missing. But this is still a great album and the rehab of the movie soundtrack genre in my estimation. This is an album not to be missed.

4 stars

Though Dawn of the Dead is one of my favourite films, I can't say the same about the Goblin soundtrack album. To be fair, this isn't necessarily Goblin's fault; George Romero deliberately used music in a range of styles, both produced for the film by Goblin and stock pieces dragged out of public domain vaults, because part of the point of the film is juxtaposing the horrors of the zombie apocalypse with the sterile atmosphere of the shopping mall within which most of the film is set, as well as bringing out the artificiality of the existence the survivors create for themselves within the mall.

Consequently, the album doesn't have a consistent, coherent mood in the same way that Suspiria or Profondo Rosso do; sometimes Goblin are playing their accustomed horror-prog, sometimes they are making a stab at hard rock, sometimes they are producing pseudo-African beats, sometimes they are playing muzak. The end result is an album which is just a collection of musical pieces as opposed to a cohesive listen in its own right. Interesting, but you'll probably find yourself skipping a track or two.