When one of the best albums of the ’90s dropped, pretty much out of nowhere, after instant fans (like this writer) realized their sonic world had been at once obliterated and expanded, and grappled with the sheer quality (a gift that never stops giving — Portishead’s Dummy sounds as fresh and unfettered over three decades later, gathering glory like a cellared bottle of vintage vino, buried beneath the cellar), the question was: where did all those obvious, amazing samples come from? The source material was legit, perfect, and evidenced old vinyl connoisseurs who had picked through some dusty crates.
So it’s not for nothing that when the news of Lalo Schifrin’s passing hit the wire, I immediately thought of this song, which utilizes his “Danube Incident” to delightful, intoxicating effect.
Here’s the original, in all its exotic and beguiling glory.
Schifrin is one of those geniuses you know even if you think you have no idea who he is. If you’ve seen, just to name a relative handful of the joints he was involved with, Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, Mission: Impossible (from which one can find “Danube Incident”), and especially the Dirty Harry franchise. Check out his outrageous, awesome oeuvre, here. Go seek out some tributes/bios, and you’ll see and hear some familiar names. For me, today, I want to offer genuine kudos (not even a hint of winking irony, no matter how well the movies have aged; some of them, especially the immortal first offering, quite nicely) for his work on a handful of amazing ’70s spectacles.
If one were to say: give me 1970 in sound, you could do much worse than this (paired with epic visuals of Mr. Eastwood at the height of his formidable Clint-ness).
If you’re a fan of the film (of which more another time) the soundtrack is not merely perfect, it can absolutely be enjoyed, sans film, as, you know, music. Check out this funkier than all get out groove:
This is brooding, moody, effective — but if you know the specific scene it accompanied, you can fully appreciate how brilliant Schifrin was.
The follow-up, Magnum Force, was almost destined to be a dud, and it is (though it’s not without some satisfactory moments, obvi). But check out how of its time and totally timeless this one is (including the way-ahead-of-its-time fax machine freakout):
And, at the other end of the spectrum, dude could just create absolutely gorgeous melodies. I mean DAMN.
Our boy still had serious game in the early ’80s.
Finally, for now, your mileage may vary, but I’m here for this all day every day.
