Get Carter
This is the first of a number of Silver Screen releases of the film music of renowned jazz musician, Roy Budd.
Get Carter, starring Michael Caine as English gangster Jack Carter, remains as hip today as it was when it was released, back in 1971. This was certainly one of Caine's "dashing" roles, even if he was playing a hardened criminal. (For the record, don't even bother watching the 2000 remake with Sylvester Stallone in the title role).
The music is the epitome of cool in and of itself. But there are additional elements that are most effective in reinforcing the tone of the soundtrack. First of all, some of the tracks incorporate atmospheric sound from the film, at the point at which the pieces are played.
But what makes this soundtrack utterly delectable, is the inclusion of snippets of dialogue from the film. There are some clever lines in this film, but just hearing Michael Caine's voice now and then, really immerses the listener in the mood of the film.
Roy Budd veered away from jazz-infused soundtracks, towards more conventional film scores. Indeed, his final work, was a symphonic score for The Phantom of the Opera.
Budd died tragically young, at the age of 46, of a brain haemorrhage. Thankfully, we have been left with a rich legacy of the creative contribution he made in his short but productive life.