O Lucky Man [Import, Soundtrack]

Alan Price | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 30, 2000)
• Original Release Date: June 20, 1973
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Soundtrack
• Label: Warner Bros UK
• ASIN: B000002KEW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,720 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. O Lucky Man!

2. Poor People

3. Sell Sell

4. Pastoral

5. Arrival

6. Look Over Your Shoulder

7. Justice

8. My Home Town

9. Changes

10. O Lucky Man!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After playing the haunting organ intro to the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun," Alan Price went solo and carved himself a niche (in England, at least) as a pop craftsman. For many, his most enduring contribution has been this soundtrack to Lindsay Anderson's allegorical 1973 film about a coffee salesman. Price's characteristic keyboard flourishes are all over tracks like "Pastoral" and "Arrival," while the biting wit of "Poor People" and "Sell Sell" never once overshadows the innate tunefulness of the songs. Even if you've never seen the movie, Price's delightful and memorable score is highly recommended. --Dan Epstein

Product Description

First time on CD for the soundtrack to the 1973 comedy starring Malcolm McDowell. Musical score composed by Alan Price for which he won the British Academy Award. Standard jewelcase.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O'Lucky at last!, November 17, 2001

By 

Harris Fogel (PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: O Lucky Man (Audio CD)

I was thrilled to discover that this album was finally released on CD. I've worn through numerous copies of the LP, and ever since the advent of the CD, I have been looking for it on CD with no luck, until now!

Like many other folks, I was profoundly moved by the film and music of O Lucky Man. Years later, when my wife finally saw the film I had talked about for so long, she offered the opinion that it was a little boys adolescent fantasy, and in retrospect, I think there is some truth in that. As soundtracks go, O'Lucky Man is in a class by itself. Not a mere aural background to a film, but rather it is an integrated part of the film, the characters, and the commentary.

I still think of it as an amazing bit of work, and was lucky enough to attend a seminar on the movie in Los Angeles, hosted by Lindsay Anderson and Malcolm McDowell, in which we learned among other things that the song "My Home Town" had a sequence of someone attempting suicide, which Travis tries to stop by climbing a rain gutter and effect a rescue, only to have it tear away from the building at the last moment. Anderson discovered that even the original negative of the scene had been destroyed by Warners, who felt that film was too long, and ordered the cut. Anderson joked about the impact of a 3 minute scene on a movie that was already running at a "leisurely pace" and found a first generation print of the scene under his bed. That night was to be the first time the film was to be screened as it was intended. This was not to be, and although he hand carried a print of the scene to be spliced into the film for the night, somehow, it still never happened! Which led to a very funny, and (...)off director howling at Hollywood for it's classic ineptitude. I'm waiting for my VHS copy to arrive to see if the video release has the footage restored. I'm recalling this from memory, about 15 years ago.. So I hope I haven't made too serious a mistake here.

The music however is another matter. The integration of the Alan Price and his band into the film, the strength of the songwriting, made it one of my favorite albums. I was searching for something related to Alan Price, and there it was, a lovely reissue of the soundtrack on CD. Sound wise, this is an open and clean sounding reissue. The album always seemed to be mixed a bit on the low side, and this reissue allows the soundstage to emerge a bit more defined.

Price is an odd musician, he has released albums that celebrated an almost working class take on the music world, and also lovely concept albums like "Between Today and Yesterday," and a great live album "Performing Price," which was just released on CD.

In contrast to former bandmate Eric Burdon, who followed a completely different career path, Price cut wonderful covers of songs like Randy Newman's "Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear" a far cry from his R&B roots.

I really love this album, and I agree with David Kinney in that this work stands on it's own even without the film. Of interest is the updated liner notes by Malcolm McDowell, in which he says that he was amazed that this wasn't nominated for an Academy Award ... my thoughts exactly.

Go ahead, buy this CD.. it's a wonderful bit of work.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O lucky listener....., January 29, 2001

By 

David Kinney (San Francisco, Ca. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: O Lucky Man (Audio CD)

Here's a rarity alright...a soundtrack to a great cult film that stands on it's own merit. It is not at all neccessary to have seen Lindsay Anderson's minor masterpiece to appreciate Alan Price's wonderful song stylings. Alan Price had a featured role in the film and many of the songs were performed concert style within the context of the fiim, but they have lost none of their lustre away from the big screen and some 30 years down the line. Ballads, instrumentals, music hall, and good old northern english soul make for an eclectic and thouroughly pleasant listening experience.Top pick; The title cut ,a rollicking good time and a tune Alan's old mates The Animals would have been proud to call their own. Hey, go rent the movie (uh..good luck) but by all means don't pass up the chance to own this wonderful timeless piece of musical inspiration.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skip Collector's Choice Reissue, Go For The Older Warner Bros. CD!!!, May 22, 2009

By 

Erik Morton "Erik Morton" (Carmel, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: O Lucky Man! (Audio CD)

The album itself is a mini-masterpiece. The two-star rating refers to this Collector's Choice reissue of the album. Right from the get-go, there are serious problems with background noise/hiss, and it's pretty distracting (and I'd imagine, pretty simple to remove with modern technology). I downloaded the title track from iTunes, and sure enough, their version was crisp and clean. So I figured I had purchased a faulty CD, and ordered another. Sure enough, the same darn background fuzz was there. This is interesting to me, since the Collector's Choice reissue of Alan Price's "Between Today & Yesterday" was devoid of such sound problems.

I'm no audiophile, just a casual music lover, and the sound quality issues on this CD were very noticeable. The remaster needed more noise reduction, or something (and yes, I'm aware that employing too much noise reduction can be detrimental, but go compare the CD and iTunes versions of the title track for yourself to see what I mean).

UPDATE: I sought out the original CD release by Warner Bros., and the background hiss and problems are all gone! So all fans of this album and Alan Price should BUY THE WARNER ARCHIVES CD RELEASE!!!!!!!