Brian May — The Brian May Fantasy Film Music Collectio

Not to be confused with Queen Guitarist of the same name, Brian May is one the most respected film score composers to come out of Australia. His most known scores take in the likes of Mad Max I & 2- though he was well versed in scoring all manner of films from comedy, westerns, action films, horror and thrillers- and just before his death in the 90’s he’d started breaking into more popular US B-budget like Freddy’s Dead & Missing In Action 2. The two-disc set I’m reviewing focuses in on his score work for four films that sit in the thriller/fantasy/ horror genres- and they are 1979 thriller Snapshot( aka The Day After Halloween), 1981 horror thriller The Survivor, 1980 Harlequin( aka Dark Force) an 80’s Oz set retelling of the Rasputin story, and Ozploitation horror classic 1978 Patrick. In total the two-disc set takes in over two hours worth of music- so you certainly get a lot of bang for your buck.

The two-CD set is presented in a slim-line jewel case. This features an eight-panel, full-color foldout inlay sleeve which takes a bio of May, along with write-ups about each of the four films and their scores, as well as few stills & poster art for the films too. As with many soundtrack related releases, this is ltd- so there were only 1000 copies pressed.

So starting off the collection we have May’s score for 1978’s Snapshot( aka The Day After Halloween, or One Minute More)- it’s plot told of Angela, a naive hairdresser, who is kicked out of her family home by her puritanical mother. At the behest of a model client, she gets her first modeling gig. While her future seems bright, she soon learns that everyone around her wants to use her. The film was somewhat of a flop in Oz, but went on to do fairly good business elsewhere as in fine exploitation fashion it was marketed with one of its titles as a slasher/sequel to  , but in reality, it was a drama-come light thriller. For his eighteen track score for the film May nicely darts all over the genre map- going from the dramatically cascading piano & darkly grand rolling orchestration of the opening title music, onto felt & sad jazziness meets warbling discordant strings of "Locked Out", through to the strutting big horn ‘n’ swinging funk guitars of "The Gay Disco". Onto the swooping- rather soapy orchestration & piano meets edgy jazz horn sneer of tracks like "Angela’s Transformation".
Next, we have May's score for 1981 The Survivor- this was a horror thriller based on the late 70’s pulp horror novel of the same name by James Herbert. The film’s plot tells of airplane pilot Keller(Robert Powell) who's the only one who survives a plane crash,  in which 300 passengers died. He seemingly has no memories of the accident, but starts  suffering from strange supernatural visions, guiding him to suspect that something happened in the crash and that the accident maybe wasn't an accident. The film was reissued a year or two back on Severin.  This score takes in ten tracks in all- it moves from the dramatic tolling piano & rising yet forlorn orchestral dart ‘n’ bound of the main theme. Through to brooding & swarming horn, string & rushing keys of “Scary Bit In The House”. Onto wow-wowing electronics meets dramatically darting orchestra & rapidly darting piano of "Drive To Hanger/ Gruesome Discovery". It’s not as varied/ adventurous as the first track, but there are some memorable key themes & the whole things well played/ composed.

Moving onto the second disc, and first up we have the score for the 1980s a thriller/dark fantasy Harlequin (known as Dark Forces in the US). It tells of a political family seduced by the powers of a traveling magician who befriends their ill son- it featured Robert Powell once again playing said magician. This score takes in twenty-four tracks in all- these moving from the dramatic & rising orchestrated meets darting keys urgency of the main titles. Onto the bounding horn meets string simmer & slightly electro touched melodramatics of “The Cure”. Through to galloping string & light horn sneered work of “Wolfe’s Dead”. This scores very much more formally orchestrated in its feel & presentation, though there is a nice selection of moods & atmosphere on display.
Next, we get a suite of the themes from 1978 Patrick- this is probably one of the most known of the Oz horror films of the late ’70s, and it’s about a young man who kills his mother then slips into a coma, and from his hospital bed, he causes all manner of murderous mayhem. Sadly the suite only last just over the seven-minute mark- but a lot gets packed in as we move from a spiraling harpsichord & string theme, through to graceful & romantic string jauntiness. Onto darkly bounding keys meet simmer orchestrated dramatics,  through to dark bombastic & racing scoring, onto mellow bounding keys meets horn & string swoon. The disc is topped off with two fifteen-minute suites of the themes from Snapshot- it’s nice to hear the score presented in this way, though it does feel a little redundant/ pointless- as we have the full score at the start of the first disc.

In conclusion, this is a nicely presented set taking in the four soundtracks May scored in the ’70s/ 80’s- it’s just a pity there couldn’t have been the whole score for Patrick instead of the retread of the themes from Snapshot- but maybe the label couldn’t get hold the rights for the score.