SORCERER (OST)

I'm a pretty big fan of "Sorcerer" TANGERINE DREAM's first soundtrack recording and their best at that. If your a fan of the mellotron like I am then TD has to be on your hit list because they have many mellotron soaked records including this one from 1977. Nine of the twelve songs feature mellotron. All three guys play it on here as well as synths with Edgar bringing out his guitar and adding piano. This record along with "Electronic Meditation" and "Stratosfear" are their only 70's albums not to feature a side long track. Please read Stefro's review for some excellent information about the movie this soundtrack was made for.

William Friedkin had previously made "The French Connection" and "The Excorcist" while "Sorcerer" was a remake of the classic 50's movie called "The Wages Of Fear" which in turn was based on a novel. This movie flopped and I can't help to think that this in part was because he named it "Sorcerer" trying to capitalize on "The Excorcist" success. People aren't that dumb apparently and while many feel it was a good movie it sure wasn't a great one like the two I mentioned that he did prior. This has nothing to do with sorcery but it is a fairly dark album that clocks in at around 45 minutes. I love this record, I mean there's mellotron and electronics all over it, plenty of atmosphere and some really cool ideas. They sure didn't just mail this one in as I find it very creative.

While this is dark and melancholic I wouldn't call it haunting or scary in the least, I mean "Creation" is a song that opens with a haunting mood but there's not much more of that. "Main Theme" the opener is a top five track as sounds build with spacey winds and experimental expressions. This is dark and certainly headphone music. It ends with some pretty intense sounds. "Vengeance" isn't a top five for me but I want to mention the three guys all playing separate synth melodies different from each other.

Next top five is "Rain Forest" with those fast paced sounds and atmosphere. A real cool sound to this one like we're on a train. "Abyss" is the longest at 7 minutes and man it's so well done with that dark soundscape, I mean this just sounds a little different. It starts to move after 3 minutes with sequencers as spacey sounds and mellotron create atmosphere. The intensity rises before 6 minutes as it gets a little crazy. "Impressions Of A Sorcerer" has Froese adding his guitar which I really like and this is somewhat catchy. The closer "Betrayal(Sorcerer Theme)" is my final top five track ending this record in style with the electronics, beats and mellotron standing out.

This holds up very well on it's own without any visual needed. I just love the sound of this one.