Customer Reviews

Dawn of the Dead - Unreleased Soundtrack Music

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Within a few days of eachother, I bought a reissue of the Goblin score on LP, and today recieved my "Unreleased Soundtrack Music" on CD. Without a second thought, I say that this version of the odd instrumental cues is FAR BETTER than the Goblin album. While I appreciate Goblin, both as a music group, and for being apart of the movie, the CD of unreleased material is a better listen. There were certain sections of the Goblin album that left me guessing where exactly in the movie some of these songs were. But this CD with each track, took me exactly to where the songs were originally placed.
Anyone who may be reading this, is probably very familiar with movie, so a review of the songs would be futile. But there were times upon first listen, that I actually got chills from hearing these tracks in their original, uncut form.
This album is now out-of-print, so anyone who loves this movie should get this soundtrack before the price tag goes out of reach.

I won't apologize...if you're reading this, you're clearly a Dawn of the Dead geek, and then some.

No, this is not the Goblin album in any form. It's the material Dawn obsessists have been waiting for---the many random cues George Romero compiled from a sound library for use in his classic 1978 zombiefest. The liner notes are credited to a 'Johnny Trunk', who is clearly bringing a gem to the market.

Included is much of the music heard in the mall during the film, including Howard Chappell's 'The Gonk', the rinky-dink infectious tune that plays over the closing credits. The zombies have retaken the mall, the people are all dead or soon to be...and all the while The Gonk plays for unpaying constomers.

While the Goblin soundtrack has been available for years (and is undoubtedly owned by anyone reading this), this is the first time any of the other music has seen the light of day. There is more 'other' music in the film than Goblin music (at least in the US Theatrical Version), so this is really the bulk of the actual soundtrack, finally available. And as most of the versions are the same from the film, it's an unaltered and 'original' soundtrack. Included is the opening music from the TV station, the many encounters with the undead in and out of the city (the housing project, the airstrip), the country tune that plays out in the sticks as the people zombie-hunt, the taking of the mall, the triumphant shopping spree (after the mall has been cleansed), and more. Marching bands and synths appear, running the range of styles appropriate for classic zombie cinema.

A no-zombie-brainer for Dawn fans, this is a very reverant disc by a tiny label, no doubt prepared by an obsessed fan. If you have this album and the recently re-released Goblin tracks, you have everything from DotD and can rest in peace.

Don't get me wrong, I bought it and I'm happy to have it, but this is -NOT- music you'll drive around in the car and listen to (well, I do, but that's another story).

This is just a set of incidental music from the film, and the primary value of these clips is association with the scenes from the movie that they were played under. Relive the memory of farmin' folk and Pennsylvania NG troops drinking coffee and gunning down undead to "I'm A Man", or the JC Penney assault to "Mask of Death", or "The Gonk" playing under the closing credits.

At current prices you are paying $1/minute for very obscure electronica from the 70s. Don't buy this album looking for musical fulfillment, buy it looking for memories and associations.

I know, I'm probably the only geek on planet earth who had to have the soundtracks for all of the Living Dead flicks. This one is good (not great), but still makes for some interesting background noise at a party.

The reason I gave this disc 4 stars is only because it is associated with Dawn of the Dead, the greatest movie of all time! Although it's nice to skip thru this album because it will remind you of some scenes from the original film, it isn't an easy listen all the way thru. I skip some songs on the Goblin soundtrack but I also listen to some of those songs over and over, you can't do that with this album. 'Cause I'm A Man is about the only song you can listen to on a regular basis, at least I can. All in all this is a good disc for a halloween party .