John Carpenter: Anthology II: Movie Themes 1976-1988 album review - Iconic music from his filmography
Soundtracks from Halloween, The Thing, Escape from New York and more feature in this compilation album
There’s only one John Carpenter. Rightly feted as an auteur of ‘raw, fantastic and spectacular emotions’ by the French, this filmmaker’s legacy and genius is yet to be academically assessed. In time though, his first half dozen features (Dark Star, Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape From New York and The Thing) will be studied and eulogised alongside the canons of his heroes John Ford and Howard Hawks. Carpenter is also a gifted composer and has been releasing compilations of his remarkable score work since 2015. Anthology II excavates and sequences some of the most iconic pieces of music from his extensive filmography, all newly recorded with his musical collaborators Daniel Davies (son of Dave Davies from The Kinks) and Cody Carpenter (John’s son).
From the eerie, pulsing synths of ‘Chariots Of Pumpkins’ from Halloween III to the bombast and futurism of ‘69th St Bridge’ from Escape From New York, things get off to a rollicking start. There are Eastern-inspired motifs and electro dynamism in ‘The Alley (War)’ from 1986 masterwork Big Trouble In Little China. The ante is then upped with the rock rebellion of ‘Wake Up’ from They Live. Carpenter’s gift for minimalism and repetition is put through its paces with ‘Julie’s Dead’ from Assault On Precinct 13 and ‘The Shape Enters Laurie’s Room’ from Halloween II. This is sparse synth-driven dissonance at its most effective, before things get apocalyptic with ‘Love At A Distance’ from Prince Of Darkness, and ‘The Shape Stalks Again’ from Halloween II.
Possibly the most interesting tracks are the ones that lean into ambience like ‘Fuchs’ and ‘To Mac’s Shack’ from The Thing, and ‘Walk To The Lighthouse’ from The Fog. Ethereal, odd and isolating, they are a mere diversion before the big finale. Iconic and instantly recognisable, ‘Laurie’s Theme’ from Halloween is all menacing piano with no let up. This lovingly produced and presented collection of sonorous soundscapes from a true master deserves a place on any serious collector’s shelf.