Zombi

Album review

When Dario Argento joined the production team of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, he also offered the services of his resident musical score artists, Goblin, to the table. The group produced a full score for the film and Romero mixed some of the tracks with the music library stuff he favored. When the film was released in Europe as Zombi, it utilized all of the Goblin score. This album represents the full score used in the European version. As one might expect, it contains a few genuinely spooky moments: the best example is "L'Alba Dei Morti Viventi," which creates the mood with its combination of a thudding beat, wordless synthesized vocals, and the occasional power chord. However, the main focus this time out is action music: "Saratozom" layers hard rock riffs over pulsating synthesizer lines to create a solid piece of action scoring, while "La Caccia" is a rousing tune that combines soaring synthesizer riffs with an exciting stop-and-start beat. The album also contains a surprising array of music that doesn't fall under the horror or action categories: "Torte in Faccia" is a lighthearted comedic piece that has a silent movie score feel (complete with tack piano), and "Tirassegno" is an easygoing slice of country-rock that prominently features a fiddle. The resulting album doesn't cohere the way Suspiria or Profondo Rosso did, but makes an impressive case for Goblin's ability to create effective music in a number of different styles. As a result, Zombi lacks the crossover appeal that past albums had for prog rock fans, but it remains a worthwhile purchase for Goblin's faithful following. [This 2000 CD reissue adds to the appeal for the latter group by adding seven tracks to the original album, including an amusing sound effect track that highlights the wails of the film's zombie horde.]
© Donald A. Guarisco /TiVo