Juno Recommends Soundtracks Best of 2021

Review: This is the unreleased soundtrack from Bartleby, the British drama film from 1970 directed by Anthony Friedman. It was an adaptation of the short story Bartleby, the Scrivener; A Story of Wall-street by Herman Melville. The plot revolved around the young audit clerk Bartleby, who as a result of being overwhelmed by the pressures of modern life withdraws into his own world. 31 years later, there was another remake directed by Jonathan Parker, with Crispin Glover in the lead role. Sound wise, it is a' blissful mix of British pastoral jazz and serious drum, double bass and string action'.

Review: Controversies surrounding 007 are well documented. Questionable sexual ethics and a drink problem that goes well-beyond borderline alcoholism are just two examples. Emotional trauma and mental health issues being one, or maybe two, more. In comparison, the soundtracks to the films we all grew up around are much less open to interpretation and subjectivity. Simply put, the scores - not least the main theme for each flick - are always huge.

Hence the sheer volume of albums that celebrate the sonic world of this super spy. This release is just one in a number that have come and gone over time, and it's hard to know what's left to say. Presenting the likes of Carly Simon, Shirley Bassey, Garbage, Madonna, Adele and - from the forthcoming flick No Time To Die - Billie Eilish, here's proof, if you needed it, that the studios always punt for on-point artists, defining of their era.

Review: The aural aesthetics of Flying Lotus go hand-in-hand with film scores. There was the original music contributed to the Blade Runner 2049 anime prequel, tunes for Carole & Tuesday, and the small matter of his label Brainfeeder's new film division. Now we have Yasuke, his first full score.

If you're unaware, Yasuke is the Japanese animated series that's been a hit among fans of Far Eastern cartoons since arriving on Netflix. So far so factual, what about the actual tracks themselves? Well, this collection of arrangements is at once very FlyLo, and then not that FlyLo at all. Yes, there's plenty of deep genre diving going on, nodding to freewheeling jazz, prog rock, trap and more. But here it's much more minimalistic than many might be used to - resulting in a thoroughly original approach to soundtracking a samurai story, void of stereotypes, while never fully breaking from tradition.

Review: It's not long now until the much-delayed new James Bond film gets released, so to mark the occasion - and Record Store Day - the good folks at Silva Screen have decided to offer up this seven-inch containing cover versions of theme tunes from the iconic spy series. On the A-side, the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra joins forces with guitarist Vic Flick on a fittingly excitement-packed take on Monty Norman's original 'James Bond Theme'. Flick reprises his 1960s spy-funk guitar licks from the original version, while the orchestra hits all the right notes on a familiar favourite. Arguably even better is London Sound Works' similarly authentic and luscious cover of 'Goldfinger', with Louise Dearman doing a rather good impression of Dame Shirley Bassey.

Review: On vinyl for the first time here is Tangerine Dream's soundtrack to the 1983 film The Keep, directed by Michael Mann and - as part of Record Store Day 2021 - receives an official release as part of the band's boxset Pilots Of Purple Twilight. Story has it that Virgin Records planned a world wide release for February 1984, but it was scrapped when it appeared that the movie was a box office flop. With no vinyl (including test pressings) having been made, the original master tapes were shelved for more than 35 years. Cosmic, psychedelic and absolutely neon-lit all throughout, this one is definitely a worthy addition to the collection of any of the revered outfit's many fans.

Review: Red Dead Redemption II continues with the serialised release of its original soundtrack, this time building an EP around sounds players will recognise from early parts of the story, wherein central character John Marston is setting down roots with his family.

As you would imagine, then, there's a sense of optimism about the main piece that's vivid as a view across the open frontier. Also included are scores from missions that involve getting drunk and horseback riding along a creek, with tunes conceived to help make those mini-adventures come to life, so it's more a case of literal interpretations befitting the settings, rather than anything too experimental. Nevertheless, it's all expertly crafted, with acclaimed guitarist, producer and composer Sweeney (Cash, Run The Jewels, Iggy Pop) at the helm.

Review: The soundtrack of the Lord of the Rings trilogy - composed so masterfully by the great Howard Shore - will take you on a wide adventure to the centre of middle earth even without the accompanying film scenes. It has been played by the Philharmonic Prague Orcherstra and is presented on this limited edition triple vinyl set in all its epic glory. You will be able re-live all the moments of high tension, the supersized cinematic landscapes and various other emotional highs and lows of the historic film series all from the comfort of your own sofa.

Review: Muggles rejoice! Harry Potter superfans are sure to be delighted at this complete rendition of the every original score from every film in the boy wizard series, all the way through from The Philosopher's Stone to the Deathly Hallows. Handled responsibly by the City of Prague's Philharmonic Orchestra, we hear all your hilariously-titled favourites (originally written by the likes of John Williams and Nicholas Hooper), including 'Aunt Marge's Waltz' and 'Dobby The House Elf'; contrast these to doomy orchestral builds like 'Obliviate' and 'Dumbledore's Farewell'. This 3xLP brings together music from all eight films for the first time, following a 2012 CD release.

Review: Linear, heartfelt videogames tend to be an overlooked art form. But Massimo Guarini's Last Day Of June might be one of the first games to buck this trend, having been described as an "incredibly powerful" experience and "some pretty exceptional art" by major critics Eurogamer and Gaming Age. Inspired by ex-Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and his 2013 song 'Drive Home', this puzzle game follows the hazy memories of a couple suffering a car accident. Most music nerds understand that the key to a good A/V project is a good score; now fittingly, coming to all DSPs, is the game's full-length soundtrack by Wilson, who was tracked down to score its entirety after learning of its inspirations. Expect hammocking post-rock, piano interludes and strange, dark ambient crevices from this album, accompanying an adventurous and critically acclaimed epic.

Review: A number of Ennio Morricone's best soundtracks have been pieced together in a five part reissue series that now serves up its final instalment. Each collection centres on a different movie genre and this one, Passion, shows the more romantic and lovestruck side to the artist's sound. The Italian brings all his usual gusto, energy and passion to these pieces which range of sentimental and teary eyed ton more heavy and heart broken. Each one is pregnant with emotion and makes for truly involved listening even without the pictures to accompany them.

Review: If there's one genre that captures the rush of motor racing, it's surely D&B. So it's a match made in heaven as the lauded Forza Horizon 5 game teams up with some of the brightest talents in big room D&B for a blockbuster soundtrack which will get your virtual foot slamming the virtual pedals with appreciation through every chicane and hair-raising hairpin bend. Hospital Records are carrying the soundtrack, and who better to platform this absolutely top-drawer crew of sharp shooters. From Flava D and Grafix to SPY, Logistics and Nu:Tone, there's no shortage of talent rolling out the beats across three mighty slabs of wax, meaning you can enjoy the tunes even when you're not frantically racing your mates in the flashiest sports cars in the game.

Review: If you've seen the movie Drive you'll realise how much this needed a reissue. Check the cost of College's bonafide synth pop anthem 'A Real Hero' on secondary marketplaces and you'll understand what we mean: not quite priceless, definitely inflated, but either way very expensive indeed. Of course buying the full LP will never get you the clout of the single pressing, but investing in this particular presentation gets you a stack more quality to play.

And some of the other work here is, frankly, spellbinding. The songs themselves are great, running the gamut from the stomp and spiral of 'Nightcall' by Kavinsky & Lovefoxx, to the show tune-esque 'Oh My Love' by Riz Ortolani, but really Cliff Martinez's original score is the bit we want to focus on. From the slow mo chug of 'Rubber Head' to the blissful, floating on a cloud towards a lovely sort of death ambience of 'He Had A Good Time'.

Review: The widely regarded king of soundtrack composition that is Enzo Morricone is enjoying a run of reissues right now by Music on Vinyl. The latest is his haunting score to Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange? from 1972. The film was directed by Massimo Dallamano and tells the tale of a series of violent murders that happened at a Catholic girls' school in England where a young student has gone missing. The soundtrack is suitably taught and tense throughout, with grand moments of drama and theatre in his usual unique fashion.

Review: Although acclaimed by critics as Roy Budd's most impressive scores, the British composer's soundtrack for Michael Winner's 1973 crime thriller The Stone Killer has long been almost impossible to find - in part because it was only ever released in Italy and Japan. This reissue then is long overdue. The originally released soundtrack - a subtly synth-laden fusion of Blaxploitation style funk, spy-movie chic, jazz-funk, suspenseful orchestration and typically quirky musical eccentricities - can be found stretched across both sides of record one, with the second disc gathering together previously unreleased outtakes, alternative mixes and unheard compositions. These are by and large every bit as good as those tracks that originally made the cut and genuinely enhance the quality of the release.

Review:  Back to The Future is one of the most widely love films of all time, with a similarly iconic soundtrack - not to mention the hover board, the Nike trainers - so news of it landing on vinyl for the first time ever is always going to be huge. For this heavyweight pressing, the music has been fully restored from original master recordings under the supervision of composer Alan Silvestr. The album includes two tracks from Alan Silvestri's compositions for the film, two tracks from Huey Lewis and the News, and two songs played by the fictional band Marvin Berry and The Starlighters.

Review: When considering who should write the score for Minimata, his film about war photographer W. Eugene Smith, Andrew Levitas had one man in mind: Japanese great Ryuichi Sakamoto. Happily, Sakamoto said yes, and the subsequent soundtrack - presented here to coincide with the film's release - proves why Levitas was so keen on getting him involved. Ethereal, emotive and immersive, Sakamoto's compositions are little less than breath-taking. Comprising a mixture of gentle piano pieces, sweeping orchestrated movements, meditative ambient pieces and woozy, slow-burn epics, it's one of the most impressive soundtracks Sakomoto has composed in recent years. Simply stunning.

Review: French label Wagram have pulled together a great compilation here featuring 12 essential funk and soul tracks from the Baxploitation era. Out was a time define, musically, by a groove heavy strain of soul throughout the 70s so makes for a n all killer no filler collection. Incredible Bongo Band kick things off with the high speed funk of 'Bongolia,' All The People bring more raw, soul infused styles on their 'Cramp Your Style' (feat Robert Moore) and Lafayette Afro Rock Band work up a real psyched out sound with 'Darkest Light,' which has an iconic lead riff.

Review: Sparks have always been a hugely theatrical and decidedly camp experience, so it wasn't really a surprise to learn the brothers Russell and Ron Mael were working on a musical extravaganza with Leos Carax, the French movie director who shot to fame in the mid-1980s with Boy Meets Girl. Telling the story of a provocative stand up comedian and his wife, based on this score it's certainly going to wear its heart on the sleeve. But then again, this is musical theatre.

As for the soundtrack itself, you're pulled into the narrative before you even realise it thanks to the prescriptive lyrics that literally say what's happening on screen for much of the time. It's operatic, grandiose, and incredibly dramatic, spanning classic balladry and more contemporary electronically-informed takes on the musical tune blueprint. Weird, but hugely entertaining.

Review: Those with a deep knowledge of cult Italian horror movies should be aware of the work of Giulliano Sorgini, and in particular his soundtrack to Non Si Deve Profanre Il Sonno Dei Mortie (a movie known in English as both The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue and Let Sleeping Corpses Lie). This Four Flies Records' "45" boasts two of the most potent recordings from the soundtrack. On the A-side you'll find the movie's main theme, 'John Dalton Theme', a superb slab of zombified psych-funk laden with simmering horror strings, loose-limbed percussion solos, crunchy drum-breaks and toasty bass. Over o the flip you'll find 'Manchester M2 6LD', a stripped-back reprise version that replaces Sorgini's cut-glass strings with sustained Hammond organ chords. Happily, the killer groove and righteous drum solos remain in-tact.

Review: If only all of life was like Big Bend national park. The Texan reserve is spectacular, from steep lime-stone cliffs to the hot springs. It represents everything that should make us content - namely the whole 'isn't Earth a spectacular fluke we really need to be more careful with' kind of thing. The reali-ty being, when you consider how our time here is panning out, you feel at once heartbroken and in-spired.

Without wanting to be reductive, Explosions In The Sky have always had a similar effect. A band that can conjure the strongest emotions while still somehow delivering the ultimate background music, it's no wonder this isn't their first score. But what a score it is. At once subtle and yet foreboding, it's a subtly commanding masterpiece.

Review: RECOMMENDED
With its cover plucked straight from the imagination of Salvador Dali, and running to no less than four individual vinyls, this retrospective collection of Apparat's various film score chapters to date clearly means serious conceptual business. But it's far more than an exercise in proving artistic ingenuity.

As an artist, the chap better known to some as Sasha Ring has always been able to capture the spectrum of human emotions in instrumental arrangements, and this has perhaps never been clearer and in these beautiful but brief slices of sound. Work like 'La Gravidanza' won't leave a dry eye in the house, despite the fact it shares as much in common with a pre-symphony tune-up than a track per se. 'Reconciliation' feels like a sweet testament to redemption and moving forward, but barely has tangible structure. In short, many works of micro genius.

Review: Camden Town's Silva Screen Records serves up another fine soundtrack here, this time all the way from Mumbai. Gully Boy is inspired by the lives of local rappers Naezy and Divine, who express real dissent at the political system and triumph as a result. Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh is the titular Gulyl Boy character and he raps alongside a heavyweight selection of writers such as Divine, Naezy, Spitfire, Rishi Rich, Raghu Dixit and many more. No matter that the words might no mean anything to you, they still convey plenty in their delivery and tone alone.