Customer Reviews

Rosemary's Baby

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Recently, I purchased one of the CD soundtracks available for ROSEMARY'S BABY. I was rather miffed after discovering that the track listing titles are both out of order and completely mis-named. As some of the tracks were so similar, there was no way for me to "place" which part was which. The CD I purchased had both Komeda's scores for both ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS. I looked at the customer comments, and was relieved to discover I was not alone in this confusion. So.... Last nightI went through the film scene-by-scene, and correctly placed the tracks in order. I also "renamed" the tracks, and have now put them in the proper order. So, for those who may be interested, here are the results of my little project:

TRACKLISTING ON CD AS IT APPEDARS [w/ misspellings and all -- and my retitling]:

1) Maine [sic] Title (2:30) = Main Title (Lullaby from "Rosemary's Baby") [version used in the film's opening]

2) The Coven (1:00) = Lullaby, Part I (Moving In - Montage)

3) Lullaby - part 1 (0.21) = The Coven Next Door

4) Moment musical (4:03) = The Nightmare ("This is no dream -- this is really happening!")

5) The Coven (2:09) = Music to Read a Book To / Music to Make a Baby To [this music used in 2 sequences; one where Rosemary is laying down on her sofa relaxing and is interrupted by Ruth Gordon; the other when she and Guy make love]

6) Moment musical (1:01) = Lullaby, Part II (Rosemary Is Pregnant)

7) Lullaby - part II (1:59) = Rosemary Throws a Party for "Their Old--I Mean Young" Friends ("You have to be under 60 to get in.")

8) Dream (1:27) = Music for an Old Western [this is the music to an old Western that Guy is watching while Rosemary is having pregnancy pains in the other room]

9) Christmas (1:27) = Pregnancy Pains

10) Expectancy - part 1 (1:12) = The Pain Has Stopped ("It's alive! It's moving!")

11) The Coven (0:45) = Rosemary Makes Steak / Roman Meets Hutch [this music is actually two separate music cures that have been put together on this track -- the two cues are relatively back-toback in the movie, so it works out OK]

12) Lullaby (1:05) = Christmastime: Rosemary Goes to Meet Hutch at the Time-Life Building

13) The Coven (0:33) = The Coven! [It's a match for once!~ Unfortunately, I'm not sure where this music cue is in the film -- anyone that knows -- let me know!)

14) Main Title (1:58) = All of Them Witches [Rosemary plays scrabble by herself]

15) Panic (1:37) = Panic [now this is where the CD soundtrack goes off the rails -- this seems to be a different orchestration of the actual version used in the film -- elements of this are in the film when she begins to freak out and walk through the street and pack her belongings...]

*... Note: at this point in the film -- the CD omits the next 6 or 7 music cues, which is pretty unfortunate, since they are some of Komeda's best and most interesting work on the film -- for instance the scene where Rosemary tries to escape Guy and Dr. Sapperstein and runs away and tries to lock herself in the apartment.

16) Rosemary's party (1:08) = End Title (Lullaby Reprise)

17) Expectancy - part II (0:33) = Raw Liver, Her Own Reflection & Sickness

18) Through The Closet (1:25) = What Have You Done to It's Eyes?!

19) What Have Done To Its Eyes (1:51) = Through the Closet

20) Happy News (0:31) = Hutch in a Coma: Rosemary Begins to Suspect Something's Wrong

21) Main Title (2:20) = Lullaby from "Rosemary's Baby" (Top 40 Single release, 1968)

* * * *

Phew. How's that? Here's my question -- does anyone have the missing 6 or 7 music cues from the film? Can they be found -- maybe on an import?

Finally: The correct sequencing of the tracklisting, as it appears in the film is: 1, 2, 3, 5, 4, 6, 9, 11, 8, 12, 20, 17, 7, 10, 14, 15, 19, 18, 16 -- track 13 I couldn't figure out where it fit; and track 21 was the single released when the film was released.

One of the most overlooked and underappreciated scores of all time, Krzystzof Komeda's powerful and chilling score for the film finally gets a CD release. The Lullaby, the films two part theme, is one of the most memorable of all horror film themes, featuring an uncredited Mia Farrow "La-La-La-ing". The theme is redone several times throughout the score, mainly in a light and pretty tone, which masks the darkness soon to come. Soon, the score turns tense and demonic, much like Jerry Goldsmith's later horror attempt, "The Omen". "What Have You Done To It's Eyes!" is a great track, capturing all of Rosemary's horror at what she has discovered about her baby. Not for all, this is a love it or hate it score, but I highly recommend it!

We were so broke when I was twelve that this is the only item I got for Christmas - the old $5.99 Dot LP version of Komeda's "Rosemary's Baby," that is, the score that, pretty much, ended his life(!). Not your normal kid.

Komeda died of an odd mishap in Hollywood shortly after he recorded this (at the same time the Manson gang went wack on Polanski's poor wife and her friends on Cielo Drive). Komeda was also very depressed at the lack of work that failed to appear after he had scored his Hollywood debut. Hollywood is like that.

So, uh, this is dark, dark music.

And very pretty, jazzy, as Komeda was the foremost of Polish jazz artists, and those Poles know their jazz, and have loved it for a long time. Anyone who has heard "Astigmatic" knows how talented and forward-looking a jazz artist Komeda was.

Is much of that reflected herein? Well, not a lot, really. But it is a score of cues, and, uh, well, interesting. "Moment Musical" is two minutes of dark, disquieting lounge, and I love it, and "Christmas" is sprightly, with an edge, of course.

Mia Farrow's vocalese on "Main Title/Lullaby" is haunting, eerie, heartbreaking; the melody is brilliantly simple, and masterfully orchestrated as well in the DOT records version by Neal Tipton as it is here (I think these are Komeda's actual studio tapes, not the versions re-orchestrated for the 68 DOT records soundtrack. They're fairly similar, anyway. Komeda supervised both sessions).

But be warned: there is something dangerous lurking in this soundtrack, something of its time and the misfortunes that surrounded Polanski and his comic/scary masterpiece. Pieces like "The Coven" and "Panic" get under your skin - the whole darn thing does. I've listened to thousands upon thousands of albums, and I can't play this one much anymore; it's got a sad, sad undertow I just can't abide.

After you've lived this kind of darkness, you just don't revisit it much anymore.

But, as art, it's definitely it's own thing.

'Drink ya tanis root, Rosemary.'

I read the reviews for the 'Rosemary's Baby' Soundtrack (Import). What many fail to realize is that that soundtrack is totally incomplete. You get 11 tracks from Rosemary's Baby and the rest is from the movie 'Jack The Ripper'. If you want the real soundtrack.......This one right here is IT. 24 of the most chilling, frightening pieces ever recorded. Plus 2 rare studio versions of the Main Theme. Comapring this soundtrack to that other import you will notice that on the import version the titles are misplaced. For example. On the import version...'Dream' is apparently the Dream sequence with Rosemary laying on the bed and the coven gathered around her....not so with this soundtrack. Give it a try. I think you will agree that this is the definite soundtrack to the movie

As with most movie soundtracks from the 1960's, the original record sold for "Rosemary's Baby" was once-removed from the original film soundtrack. That is: official studio re-recordings of the score meant as a souvenir of the movie-going experience, decades before VHS and DVD. It was official, however, on Dot/Paramount records, and it was perfectly adequate. It even included the version of Rosemary's lullaby that became a top-20 hit. That so-called "Soundtrack Recording" is still available as an import on CD for a few dollars more.

This version of the soundtrack is more of the "real thing." The music is taken directly from the film soundtrack, and the whole record gives the impression of something that was pirated. There are no references to Paramount Pictures or rights reserved. The liner notes are just a plot summary in English and Polish and sound like a high-school student wrote them. It may be a matter of translation.

The sound is high-treble probably because it was not re-mastered, or re-mastered properly. The track-listing on the case does not match the sequence on the disc, so you can't always be sure what piece it is you're listening to.

The extras include two piano pieces that are identified as composer Christopher Komeda trying out the main title theme in "a studio." More detail would be nice. Which studio? When? Nothing in the liner notes or credits tells you a thing. There are some movie factoids listed that were lifted off of a fan website. The most interesting extra is a strange piece recorded live in a club in Poland. It is a jazzy impression of the score, including vocals that resemble the Swingle Singers. It would be a great piece to play at a Hallowe'en party. Or, more accurately, a great piece for a latter day Rosemary to play at her next baby shower.

All in all, if you like the music from the film - and it's pretty cool stuff - this is something you will enjoy having in your music collection.

The other album of the Rosemary's Baby soundtrack is a reperformance while this recording contains the actual music track used for the film.

Pros:

-It sounds like it does in the film.

-Nice booklet.

Cons:

-Tracks are wildly out of order.

-The volume fluctuates as it does in the movie to accomodate the dialogue.

-Some tracks have very bad tape hiss.

-Some of the tracks which are mono will imbalance; that is, the original mono recording was played on stereo equipment and was saved to a stereo file so that any stereo anomalies were also saved. This could have been remedied by simply consolidating the left and right channels so that any anomalies (the left channel goes more quiet at one point) specific to one channel would not cause imabalance.

-Tracks are mislabeled.

-Although there is a track named "Panic" the actual "Panic" cut is not at all included in this recording. This is the part in the movie when Rosemary runs away from her captors into the elevator and then into her apartment. (Which is probably one of my favourite cues in the score.) Why?

Well. I don't know.

OK, this is an awesome cd if you havent had in your possession any of the Rosemary's Baby soundtrack, the first one which was an import, did have alot of the tracks missing but... also a very peculiar one which I haven't been able to find in these soo called "complete" soundtrack versions. The import includes a main title very different from the one in this cd, and only included on that cd especially. I bought another Rosemary's Baby soundtrack but not the import one, it was one named Krzysztof Komeda "Zofia Komeda Presents Volume 12." It includes the Rosemary's Baby Soundtrack and also the Fearless Vampire Killers. The only thing missing from this second version is the two "rare tracks" included on the third version which is this one your seeing on amazon. I thought id get more than the one I originally have and went and special ordered it through tower records, what did I get? Same thing as the second version I own except this bonus track of some almost 6 minute instrumental recording at the Riviera-Remont Club and the two bonus "rare" tracks. Yup, that's it. Paid $32.00 basically for the same thing, the booklet is a nice addition though, it talks about the movie and also has cool trivia. If you own the import version which I call the first version, get this album, you'll like it, if you own the second one like I do, don't... Unless your dying to listen to the "rare" tracks or something, I don't think their quite that special anyways since it's all instrumental, yeah... no Mia Farrow La La's. But well, if this was my first copy, i'd be all over it and loving it. Also, once again, the tracks are very super misnamed and not in order, for example, the track The Coven which is track 2 in this cd, is actually Lullaby Part 1, Lullaby Part 1 is The Coven and from there it goes on being misnamed all throughout the soundtrack. Seriously, they have never gotten this right, that's all I have to say.

I saw the movie as a teenager on late night TV and never forgot it and the score , then many years later I saw the soundtrack in a used and new record store and grabbed it and to this day still own it and its in great condtion.

I recommend this soundtrack to everyone it has a haunting sadness to it .

Even released almost 40 years ago, the remastering is excelent. I love it, I played several times to remember sound track of Polansky's movie. I love soud tracks.

There is good reason modern bands like Stereolab and Broadcast mine such insperation from Roman Polanski's main music man, Kryztozof Komeda. Hell, there is even a space pop band who has taken his last name for their band.

Actually, the soundtrack for Rosemary's baby is not the trip that this might have you beleive. Komeda was a jazz musician, and a lot of this score is covered by lighter jazz, and the obligartory quasi-rock track that every film score remotely hip needed in 1968.

Polanski was not making art freak films, but mainstreem ones for suburbinates hiring a babysitter and going out on the town-- suburbinates nieve by 2010 standards, so you couldn't take a mainstreem film score TOO far out.

But in many peices here, there is a little voice, a creepy orchestra swell, something to make it just a little off, give you a little chill. What modern bands have done is taken Komeda's beautiful orchestrations--his use of the electric harpsichord strikes me as particularlly full and particularlly influencial--and extracted them to make this an entire genre of music/

Don't be fooled. Rosemary's soundtrack proves Komeda was hipper than he probably even knew.