| |
$31.99 LP+45+Booklet
$9.99 MP3
|
|
DAVID LYNCH & ALAN R. SPLET
Eraserhead OST
(Sacred Bones)
 Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store
This deluxe reissue of the soundtrack to hugely influential director and multimedia artist David Lynch's first full-length feature, Eraserhead, is a stunning tribute not only to the man's unique, dark vision, but also to that of his longtime sound designer Alan Splet. Music and sound design have always played central roles in establishing the distinct atmospheres of Lynch's environmental portraits, but this record in particular is a stunning, gorgeous, dystopic world of industrial noise, beautiful dronescapes, and haunted organ melodies. There is no traditional score per se -- Lynch has explained that when they first released the soundtrack on LP in the late-'70s, they really had no idea exactly how to do such a thing; as a solution, they simply removed all parts of dialogue from the film's sound reel, edited down the audio vérité into manageable sidelong "suites," and left it at that. The sounds documented in turn create an environment that's meant to be fully lived in and immersed into. It's old news that many artists have cited Lynch to be a profound influence on their own work, almost to the point of parody at times, but there has been a keen resurgence as of late for the same sorts of simultaneous marriages which find romance in bleak, shadowed corners of the mind and heart, so wonderfully executed in sound by the likes of Leyland Kirby and the Modern Love record label, right down to the likes of recent black-hearted nostalgic crooners like Dirty Beaches and Daughn Gibson.
Sacred Bones really pulls out all the stops here, the soundtrack wonderfully remastered with a large booklet, art prints, and a bonus 7" featuring the infamous "In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)" once covered by artists like Pixies, Bauhaus, and Sacred Bones siren Zola Jesus, who has recently seen one of her songs remixed by Lynch himself, bringing everything full circle. The real delight for hardcore fans and completists, though, is the b-side of said single, which features a previously unheard song titled "Pete's Boogie," co-written by Peter Ivers, who also authored and performed the music for "In Heaven." As someone who owns the original pressing of this album, I've got to say, this reissue blows it out of the water; it gives the film, the soundtrack, and its creators the respect it deserves without pandering in condescending manners, and helps reestablish the importance of this work as truly influential beyond the cult midnight movie world. Many of you saw this listing and probably already placed it in your shopping cart, but take it from someone who has spent his entire adult life hearing people throw Eraserhead and David Lynch references his way (anyone who has seen my hair will know exactly to what I'm referring... it's a blessing and a curse. Lynch, you owe me a drink someday) -- you want this. Absolute highest recommendation! [IQ]
|
|
