Category Archives: editorial

Three The Hard Way

January 28, 2014editorial, For Sale, Soundtracks, Vinyl FindsFred Williamson, Gordon Parks Jr., Jim Brown, Jim Kelly, The Impressions, Three The Hard Way

“Three The Hard Way, three cities, three of us.” So it is decided. Three heroes are needed to save the black populations of Detroit, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles . This movie has some heroes in Fred Williamson, Jim Brown and Jim Kelly. Failure is not an option. How they kick racist asses has many options. This movie shows the viewer quite a few.

Gordon Parks Jr. directed this film in 1974, two years after Super Fly. The soundtrack is by The Impressions who star as a band in the recording studio. Some of the stand out songs are “That’s What Love Will Do” and the theme for Jim Kelly’s character Mister Keyes. His first name is Mister so everybody will show him respect whether they want to or not. Setting this fellow up for a fall is not an easy thing for the crooked police officers to do.

I haven’t seen the film yet. Be warned, there are several versions out there. I spotted on Internet Movie Database a thread that claims the original running time is different and a scene with the song Make A Resolution is missing from recent television and cable broadcasts. Perhaps, an editor did not cut the film for commercials in a wise fashion. Having the assignment of cutting content is at times impossible. Thankfully , the song does play during the credits and there’s a full version on the soundtrack album (track one).

Turntabling has a copy of the vinyl LP soundtrack of Three The Hard Way for sale -first come first served. It is a used copy, but in great shape, tough, yet sweet, just like the stars. If we find any new copies we’ll give you a heads up.

Girl On A Motorcycle And Modesty Blaise

January 27, 2014album, editorial, For Sale, Soundtracks60s soundtracks, Girl on A Motorcycle, Modesty Blaise, vinyl soundtracks

Turntabling has a copy of the vinyl LP the soundtrack for Girl on a Motorcycle for sale. It is first come, first served.

This film is about a woman, a man, the countryside, and a leather suit with a unique zipper. The music is sultry and romantic at times and reflect the freedom of the road at other times. How could this movie do wrong?

Turntabling also has a copy of the vinyl LP of the soundtrack to Modesty Blaise for sale. The soundtrack globe hops like the main character and has some exciting melodies. It’s the clear vinyl remastered limited edition version that we have –first come, first served.

Both movies have dream casts, great directors (Jack Cardiff for Girl on a Motorcycle and Joseph Losey for Modesty Blaise) and stunning locations. Unfortunately for me, that wasn’t enough.

As full movies, I find them impossible to tolerate more that once (That first time-what a chore!). The characters in each were nice to look at (check out the casts in the trailers above , they’re all superstars of the ’60s), but the dialogue came across as stilted.

Maybe there was some behind the scenes problems for those in front of the camera. I’ve seen most of the actors do fine jobs in other films (Marianne Faithful, I’ve only seen as God on AbFab). For both films I’d rather turn the sound down and enjoy each with the soundtracks on the turntable.

What went wrong with these two films? Perhaps it was the pacing and the passage of time. Perhaps their story lines are dated to my internal story preferences. Thankfully, the soundtracks are fantastic and I heard those first.

Jen Kilzer

Agente Speciale LK – Operazione Re Mida Vinyl LP for Sale

January 24, 2014editorial, For Sale, Italian Vinyl, Soundtracks60s soundtracks, Agente Speciale LK - Operazione Re Mida, bruno nicolai soundtracks, Jess Franco soundtrack

Friday is a day for dancing, for most of us. And for others, everyday should be a day to dance. Today, we’re shaking the hips to the soundtrack to Agente Speciale LK – Operazione Re Mida A.K.A Lucky, El Intrépido. Here’s hoping all the references to ‘Lucky’ will soak into our general moods. Oh, and the pretty dancer in the credits improves our mood too.

We’ve only seen clips of this action film so far. We hope that Bruno Nicolai’s globe hopping soundtrack mirrors some of the action we have yet to experience. The music is quite addictive.

The following is a Carnival clip we’ve found of the film. Being a Jess Franco movie, we hope to see a restored version someday. Note the great tune in the background. That’s a swinging Nicolai song to get the feet moving. Like Carnival (or any great party), it’s overflows with energy.

Turntabling has a copy of Agente Speciale LK – Operazione Re Mida Vinyl LP for sale on Discogs–first come, first served. It’s a Dragored sealed vinyl copy of the 1999 pressing of the film’s soundtrack. For the new year, it has Lucky written all over it!

Riz Ortolani Farewell

January 23, 2014Compact Discs For Sale, editorial, Italian Vinyl, Soundtracks60s and 70s soundtracks, 80s soundtrack, Italian soundtracks, riz ortolani, Salute

We here at Turntabling are sad to hear of the passing of Riz Ortolani. The scope of his soundtrack work is enormous. His mark on the world of pop culture soundtracks continues into the present day. Many comments on social media thank the 2011 film ‘Drive’ for the composer’s introduction. Also, Quentin Tarantino has used the composer’s work in more than one film because he enjoys it so much. For that we’re glad.

One of our favorite soundtrack’s of Mr. Ortolani is the 1969 thriller Una sull’altra a.k.a. Perversion Story. The swinging grooves of this one fit the images presented of wild San Francisco nightlife like a glove. Listening to the menu screen of the DVD several times before playing the movie is actually a joy. The music is that wonderful.

Of course, there’s not enough room to completely cover the great soundtracks that this master has contributed to. Turntabling has several titles on Discogs. Riz Ortolani’s soundtracks for sale at the moment are first come, first served. We’ll keep our eyes out for more, as we know he has plenty of fans. For that, we’re glad, they are well deserved.