Search - Various Artists :: Hammer the Studio That Dripped Blood

"Hammer & Silva...raises the hair on the back of your neck"

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 04/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Silva Screen takes us on tour through the castles of Transylvania with a collection of
outstanding scores from James Bernard on Disc One ~ "DRACULA" (1958)..."KISS OF
THE VAMPIRE" (1964)..."DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS"
(1966)..."FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN" (1967)..."THE DEVIL RIDES OUT"
(1968)..."DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE" (1968)..."THE SCARS OF
DRACULA" (1970)..."TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA" (1970)...even though the
blood doesn't flow as easily in "KISS OF THE VAMPIRE", the score from Bernard is
seductive, sensual to say the least for "creatures of the night", masked ball scene blends
atmospheric trance-masquerade themes, intoxicating main title is hauntingly mesmerizing with
"VAMPIRE RHAPSODY", just listen to the piano solo from our character in the film Carl
Ravna (Barry Warren), son of Dr. Ravna (Noel Willman) along with daughter Sabena Ravna
(Jacqueline Wallis), a cult of vampires in early 20th century Bavarian, praying on a young
honeymoon couple...Bernard's rhapsody captures the listeners heart and BLOOD! Let's look at Disc Two with the other Hammer themes and their composers ~ "THE
ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN" (1957-Humphrey Searle)..."QUATERMASS II"
(1957-James Bernard)..."CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF" (1960-Benjamin
Frankel)..."CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB" (1964-Carlo Martelli)..."SHE"
(1965-James Bernard)..."ONE MILLION YEARS B.C." (1966-Mario
Nascimbene)..."WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH" (1969-Mario
Nascimbene)..."HANDS OF THE RIPPER" (1971-Christopher Gunning)..."VAMPIRE
CIRCUS" (1971-David Whitaker)..."VAMPIRE HUNTER" (2000-James
Bernard)...difficult as it may be, there is a stand out ~ "THE CURSE OF THE
WEREWOLF", fine direction from Terence Fisher (director) with an outstanding cast Oliver
Reed (Leon-the Werewolf), Clifford Evans (Alfredo), Yvonne Romain (Servant Girl) and
Catherine Feller (Christina), Hammer's departure from the old stereotype of the beast is
refreshing, Reed's performance as the tormented sole, from man to wolf is touching, the score
by Ben Frankel is tense building at it's best, to say the least, setting the tone and mood for the
transformation with counterpoints is stimulating, inclusive orchestration development for what
lies ahead during a full moon. Without a doubt the highlight pick hands down is "SHE", composer James Bernard gives of
himself without question, the SUITE takes the orchestra into lilting melodic exercises with
percussion chiming in, the harmonies are hypnotic blends of textured fabric, listen as The
Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Alwyn display stirring strings and
a solo harp run the scales in "THE ETERNAL FLAME AND THE DESTRUCTION OF
SHE", hold-fast arrangement has haunting echoes of Bernard's constant theme, with a final
beat from a drum in the percussion section. Must make mention the cast of players that made this possible ~ The Philharmonia Orchestra,
The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra ~ and
their various conductors Kenneth Alwyn, Paul Bateman, Nic Raine and Neil
Richardson...supported by the illustrious staff from Silva Screen Records LTD ~ Reynold da
Silva (executive producer), David Stoner (associate producer), Gareth Williams (Dolby
Surround/HDCD Mastering) and of course James Fitzpatrick (compilation producer), who
has the knack of developing quality in every Silva Screen release...similar to "A History Of
Horror:From Nosferatu To The Sixth Sense" (SSD-1111/2CD Set), guaranteed to raise the
hair on the back of your neck! Total Time: Disc One 68:01 on 14 Tracks & Disc Two 68:46 on 14 Tracks ~ Silva Screen
Records SSD-357 ~ (2002)"

5 stars for performance, 4 stars due to omissions

tjguitar | 08/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Why doesn't this get a perfect five stars?



Simple reason.



The producers at Silva, for wahtever reason, decided to cut down their SHE suites and Hands of the Ripper suites.



On the previous Hammer releases, "Draculas - Classic Horror Films", released in 1993, recorded in 1989, they had seven additional minutes of "Hands of the Ripper" that could have been included on this set.



Additionally, The Devil Rides Out: Film Music of James Bernard, released in 1997, recorded in 1995 and 1996 had about a minute more of additional music from SHE, PLUS about seven minutes worth of suites from Quatermass and X: The Unknown.



Both discs in this new re-issue round out at around 68 minutes, so there was room for some of these omissions.



Silva Screen gets big kudos for a reissuing these recordeings in the remastered HDCD format, but I don't understand these omissions. In fact, one of the tracks included, "Vampire Hunter" isn't even from a Hammer film, and its the only recording on this collection not on previous Silva CD's.



Again, 5 stars for the performances, the 1989 performances with Neil Richardson and the Philharmonia are fantastic. (Dracula, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Dracula Has Risen From The Grave, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Hands of the Ripper, Vampire Circus.)



Additionally, The Westminster Philharmonic under the baton of Kenneth Alwyn do an excellent job as usual (Kiss of the Vampire, Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, She, THe Abominable Snowman, Quatermass II and Curse of the Werewolf.) Finally, the City of Prague Philharmonic, who get a bad rap more often than they deserve round out hte album and IMHO, deliver the goods, under the trusty batons of Paul Bateman (Scars of Dracula, Frankenstein Created Woman, additionally, Bateman also plays the piano solo on Kiss of the Vampire.) and Nic Raine (The Devil Rides Out, One Million Years BC, When Dinosuars Ruled the Earth, Creatures The World Forgot, The Vampire Hunter)



I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could.



Much thanks to producers David Wishart, Eric Tomlinson and James Fitzpatrick and recording engineers Mike Ross-Trevor, John Luard Timperley and Jan Holzner for contributing to these fine historical film music recordings."

I'm having flashbacks!

J. Foy | NC | 05/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oh, to hear this music takes me back to being a teenager and watching Hammer horror films at midnight. I wouldn't call it ambient by any means. If you watched these movies as a kid, you'll be in wonderful flashback heaven."