Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin — Fear, The Ultimate Anthology

Not to be confused with the original incarnation of Goblin featuring Simonetti, alongside Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli, Agostino Marangolo , Maurizio Guarini, etc. This is Claudio Simonetti’s most recent version of the band, featuring Federico Maragoni on drums, Daniele Amador on guitar and Cecilia Nappo on bass. This 2 CD collection features re-recordings of classic Goblin material from the scores to Suspiria, Deep Red, Tenebrae, Demons and Zombie Flesheaters, as well as tracks from their album Roller and a few classic horror themes thrown in for good measure, both John Carpenter’s Halloween and Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.

Disc one kicks off with the theme from Dario Argento’s Profondo Rosso, aka Deep Red. This version is a little crunchier but doesn’t differ greatly from the original recording. "Phenomena" is up next and follows suit, albeit leaning more closely towards heavy metal in its rockier moments. The new version of "Demon" is up next, and this one definitely feels a little more updated, the production feels much less 80s than the original, but again, there is not that much difference in the performances apart from the improved production. Simonetti’s "Hall of the Mountain King" breaks sound really nice on here. "Il Cartaio, The Card Player", has a much nicer production than the original version from Simonetti’s solo score, whilst "Mater Lacrimarum" features guest vocals from Cradle of Filth’s Dani Filth and sits firmly in prog metal territory.  One of Goblin’s masterworks is up next, the theme from Suspiria, Simonetti and co seem afraid to veer too far from the original versions on this album, so what we get are serviceable versions of songs whose original recordings remain their definitive version. "Suspiria" is no different; it’s like a slightly heavier, more modern update without that certain jeu ne sais quoi that came from the performances of the original musicians. Don’t get me wrong, the band are technically very good, and the songs sound good, they just lack the chemistry of the original band. "Tenebre" is up next and once again, a solid version of the song, but just not quite up to the impeccably high standard set by the original recording. "L’Alba Dei Morti Viventi" is next to get the modern treatment, and this metalized version sounds good, but once again, it’s just not as good as the original. I’m starting to feel like a broken record and quite negative about an album that is actually quite enjoyable. I think my thoughts are probably that it just feels a little unnecessary to me, having grown up with the original versions of the songs. "Zombi" is next and is probably one of the better re-recordings here. "Zaratozom" brings the first disc to a close, and it's another quite interesting version of a Dawn of the Dead track, as with most of this album, it’s heavier than the original, but this one works quite well. 

 Disc two gets underway with the title track of the Goblin album, Roller. Sadly, this one suffers greatly from the lack of Fabio Pignatteli’s bass, which seems to elevate the original version, he has such an amazing tone, particularly on that album. Interestingly, the bass feels a lot lower in the mix on this track than on most of the others on this collection. The theme from the TV series Gamma is up next and doesn’t feel a great deal different to the original, just a more modern production to update it. "Aquaman" from Roller is up next and represents more of the same. Non Ho Sonno was a real return to from Argento and Simonetti’s score was pretty solid, this new recording sounds similar to the original but seems to dial back the guitars a little compared to the original release. "Death Farm" represents more of the same, a solid re-recording of a classic track, while "Cut and Run" may be one of the instances where the 80s production isn’t really missed too much. "Hands of Steel" is a mellower side to Simonetti, jazzy with some slick saxophone; it’s probably my least favourite track here, but it’s inoffensive. Simonetti’s own tribute to John Carpenter’s "Halloween" is up next, and to be honest, at least he does something a little different with it, making it more of an epic prog rock track than the minimalist synth theme it usually is in the hands of Carpenter. The original rules supreme, but it’s nice to hear Simonetti having fun with someone else’s music. The album is brought to a close by Mike Oldfield’s "Tubular Bells", replete with Exorcist samples. I quite enjoyed this; it was a little bit of fun, and Simonetti mixes things up a little rather than just replicating the arrangement of the original.

Overall, Fear, The Ultimate Collection is a pleasant enough listen, but ultimately, all it did was remind me how much those original Goblin recordings are the definitive versions. Simonetti is a genuinely special talent who has surrounded himself with excellent musicians; however, the magic that Goblin created in the '70s and early '80s remains untouchable. This new CD set comes beautifully packaged in a digipak with some terrific artwork and is a wonderful primer for anyone who has never heard Goblin before, however, I can’t help feeling that once you hear the original recordings, you’ll never listen to this again.