" we confer upon you a rare gift, these days - a martyr's death..."
I guess that most people who come to read this post have seen the classic 1973 horror movie The Wicker Man. It is a film which is in my top 10 favourite films of all time, and I don’t expect it to be going anywhere soon. Written by Anthony Shaffer and directed by Robin Hardy, this low budget Lion Films movie became a cult classic, and for good reason. With a superb cast including that master of horror, Christopher Lee, as the pagan Lord Summerisle and the fantastic Edward Woodward as the devoutly Christian Sergeant Howie, even endless conflict between Shaffer and Hardy could not spoil the end result. (As an aside, Hardy has just released a sequel, nearly 40 years later, called The Wicker Tree, which could be worth a view, if for no other reason than to see the lovely Honeysuckle Weeks in it).
The music in the film was mainly written and composed by Paul Giovanni and his band, ‘Magnet’ (sometimes also credited as ‘Lodestone’). I loved the music from the first time I heard it, but try as I may I was unable to get the soundtrack anywhere – as it, well… it was the seventies and the Original Sound Track from the Motion Picture… yada yada yada was
The 2002 release of the Soundtrack
not the De Rigeur piece of marketing that it became post 1990. In fact, I had to wait until 1998 before a small independent producer put out a version on vinyl. Released by Trunk Records, it left a lot to be desired, being in mono and ripped directly off the film stock itself. But still, I could listen to those wonderful songs sung by Paul Giovanni and Lesley Mackie to name two. except for a cover of the track ‘How Do‘ by the Sneaker Pimps, that was how it remained for a few years, until, in 2002 *GASP* a mixed stereo album was released!
Well, that’s the background to the album. But if you are not familiar with it, you really need to check it out. From the beautiful opening bars of Corn Rigs, you are in for a musical treat. It is all music which was specifically written for the film and much is based on old english folk lore and children’s rhymes and songs. Corn Rigs is based on a poem by the great Scots poet, Robert Burns. Next up is ‘The Landlords Daughter’ (played in the film by Britt Eckland), a rather bawdy song which is sung by the men in the bar of the Hotel on Summerisle. Incidentally, the Landlord is played brilliantly by Lindsay Kemp, a rather eccentric actor and mime who taught David Bowie and subsequently appeared in one of his videos. The Maypole
Oh Jesus! Oh Jesus Christ!
Song is a song about the endless circle of life with birth, death and rebirth. It is a beautiful song with fantastic lyrics and I have to say I enjoy singing along to the chorus! The track the Tinker of Rye was sung by Christopher Lee himself; a song filled with double-entendres about repairing a kettle! Again, a wonderful track. Willows Song comes from a scene where the Willow(Britt Eckland), the landlords daughter, tries to tempt Sergeant Howie. Sung in real life by a wonderful folk singer called Lesley Mackie, it is a beautifully soothing song. To all those obsessive Wicker Man fans out there, there is an alternative version recorded by Mackie and it is also the song which the Sneaker Pimps based their track How Do on. There is also some great instrumental tracks on the album, and later on some rather wild sixties electric instrumentals. All I can say is that these add to the quirkiness of the album but don’t detract from it in my opinion.
SPOILER ALERT!
At the end of the album we then hear the final scene where Lord Summerisle has Howie put inside the Wicker Man and burned alive.
This is followed by ‘Sumer is Icumen in’ and the end to a short, but definitely very sweet, album!
"In the woods there grew a tree... and a fine, fine tree was he.."
Buy ‘The Wicker Man’ OST from Amazon for about a tenner new or £7 used at Amazon Or buy the film for less than a fiver at Amazon! Watch a trailer of the Wicker Tree and then keep an eye out for it being shown. It could come to the Duke of Yorks in Brighton if we’re lucky.
