Lalo Schifrin - Bullitt
Conducted by Lalo Schifrin [click to see more vinyl composed by or featuring Lalo Schifrin]
John Audino, Bud Brisbois (tp, fgh); Milt Bernhart, Dick Noel (tb); Bud Shank, Bill Perkins (reeds); Mike Melvoin (p, org); Mike Deasy (g); Ray Brown (b); Carol Kaye (el-b); Stan Levey (dr); Larry Bunker (percussion & strings)
Arranged by Lalo Schiffrin
Written by Lalo Schifrin (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, B1, B2, B3, B4, B6), Sonny Burke (B5), Paul Francis Webster (B5)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Pallas
Label : Speakers Corner
Original Label : Warner
Recording: December 1968 at Western Recorders, Hollywood, by Lee Herschberg
Production: Jimmy Hilliard
Originally released in 1968
Reissued in 2017
Tracks :
Side A :
- Bullitt (Main Title)
- Room "26"
- Hotel Daniels
- The Aftermath Of Love
- Music To Interrogate By
- On The Way To San Mateo
Side B :
- Ice Pick Mike
- A Song For Cathy
- Shifting Gears
- Cantata For Combo
- The First Snowfall
- Bullitt (End Title)
Reviews :
« After establishing himself in the television world with the classic Mission: Impossible theme, Lalo Schifrin soon made himself equally famous in the world of film music with his work on the soundtrack of the Steve MacQueen cop thriller Bullitt. This classic soundtrack found Schifrin combining the skills he honed as an arranger for jazzmen like Count Basie with the gift he developed for writing tight, punchy themes on television soundtracks like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible. The end result is an exciting score that deftly blends traditional orchestral film-scoring techniques with the rhythms and swings of classic jazz. This combination is perfectly presented on "Bullitt (Main Title)," a jazz-pop instrumental that starts with an angular, staccato bass line and quickly layers on jazz guitar and controlled bursts of brass to create a tune that swings and thrills all at once. Other gems in this vein include "Shifting Gears," which adds and subtracts layers of dissonant strings and brass over an insistent, percolating groove from the rhythm section, and "Ice Pick Mike," a chase theme that builds from piano and percussion to a full-blown jazz instrumental complete with a wild horn section. Elsewhere, Schifrin effectively slows down the rhythms to craft lush instrumentals that manage to create a lighter, more pensive mood without losing their jazz edge: "The Aftermath of Love" layers gentle trumpet and flute lines over string-sweetened rhythms and "The First Snowfall" is a bright, horn-driven piece that applies the album's swinging brass section to a poppy melody. Everything on the album is visually evocative the way good soundtrack music should be, yet the individual cuts are tight and melodic enough to hold up to repeated listens. The end result is a soundtrack that succeeds both as a film score and a stand-alone album. This unique combination makes Bullitt one of the finest achievements in the Lalo Schifrin catalog and one of the best action film scores ever written » AllMusic Review by Donald A. Guarisco
A high-speed car chase between a Dodge Charger and a Ford Mustang, with super-cop Bullitt at the wheel, who forces the hitman off the road and into a petrol station, which explodes and incinerates him. Prior to that, harsh clashes of metal, hubcaps flying all over the place, and the chief character Steve McQueen, who grimly changes gears and hurtles through the streets of San Francisco, wheels screaming and rubber burning. That was how Hollywood staged one of the longest and most dramatic car chases, long before the days of the Anti-Blocking-System and Anti-Slide-Control.
Very up-to-date and just as exciting as the screenplay is the music Lalo Schifrin wrote for the film, which embeds the characters, places and events in a musical context. For example, "Bullitt": the metrically angular main theme portrays a mysterious, cool character who sums up a situation with keen alertness and then makes his attack with the speed of lightning.
Initially the music travels through easy-going Latin terrain. But gradually the rhythmic texture changes and takes a rougher path, with clicks, knocks and hammering. Legendary flute lines create a compensatory placidness with airy clouds floating above the sharp mix. A really special track is "Shifting Gears": here you can listen to Schifrin tuning the car, how he manipulates a jammed springy bossa to take on the sound of clean, smooth-running rock.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4.5 / 5 , Discogs : Rate Your Music :