Gerald Fried 2CD Set

It's Here! The Return of Dracula & More!

News Flash by Lukas Kendall

Hanukah Harry has delivered to us early the new Silver Age Classics release: a Gerald Fried 2CD set featuring four of the composer's horror scores of the late 1950s and early 1960s! We did not expect to have this until January, so the new issue of FSM (which should reach people in the next week) offers people the ability to pre-order it, but does not give all the details.

But, since we now physically have the discs, here's all the information on it, and we hope you order it now either for yourself or as a holiday present for the horror music junkie in your family. Holy cow! Gerald Fried music!

Gerald Fried has scored a variety of esteemed projects over his 40+ year career: famous television shows such as Star Trek, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Gilligan's Island; the historic miniseries Roots; and such well-regarded features as Stanley Kubrick's The Killing and Paths of Glory, and Robert Aldrich's Too Late the Hero. He is the only composer ever to receive an Academy Award nomination for a documentary score, Birds Do It, Bees Do It (1975). Throughout it all, his bold style has emphasized dynamic rhythms passed throughout the orchestra, dissonant, ambitious counterpoint, and gentle, effortless melodies.

In the late 1950s and early '60s, Fried scored multiple low-budget horror films primarily for United Artists. This jam-packed 2CD set compiles four of the best, each a distinctly Fried-ian effort but offering something different:

1) The Return of Dracula (1958), built around an adventurous use of the Dies Irae.

2) I Bury the Living (1958, a creepy graveyard thriller) with an extensive use of harpsichord.

3) The Cabinet of Caligari (1962), which has a beautiful, romantic theme and elaborate, impressionistic cues for the various set-pieces.

4) Mark of the Vampire (1957), which makes use of pulsing three-against-four rhythms and suspended chords in the style of The Killing.

These scores should thrill horror aficionados as well as connoisseurs of the "Chiller Theater"-type TV programs which have aired the films. Fans of Fried's Star Trek scores (like "Amok Time," "Friday's Child," and especially "Catspaw") will be delighted to find many similar passages and orchestrations. As a special bonus, at the end of disc two are rare demo versions of the jazz vocal of the theme from Caligari, "The Sounds of the Night," with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

This entire 2CD set (over two hours of music) is in mono and has been laboriously restored from the composer's personal collection, with each score presented in as complete a chronological form as possible. The Return of Dracula and The Cabinet of Caligari are from reel-to-reel tape sources; I Bury the Living and Mark of the Vampire have been transferred from barely played acetates and de-clicked using the Sonic Solutions program. In each case, the element used is believed to be the only surviving source in the world. The album overall is the result of several years' work.

The two discs are packaged in a single "slimline" jewel box. The 24-page booklet features copious photos, an introduction by Lukas Kendall, and essays on each of the films and scores by D.L. Fuller, Bruce Kimmel, Doug Adams and Jeff Bond.

Complete track list

Disc One: 61:07

The Return of Dracula: 1. Dracula Fugue/Main Title. 2. Sunrise. 3. Family Reunion. 4. Dracula Pad. 5. Street Scene. 6. JennyÕs Saga. 7. A DogÕs Life. 8. Seducing Rachel. 9. Suspicions. 10. Night Night, Rembrandt. 11. Party Pooper. 12. The End

I Bury the Living: 13. Main Title. 14. Quite a Map. 15. Through This Before. 16. Go Ahead, Bob. 17. Thinking It Over. 18. Scratch Batch. 19. Granite Gully. 20. Quiet Kiss. 21. Bring ÔEm Back Alive. 22. Cemetery. 23. McKee Flips/End Title

Disc Two: 72:28

The Cabinet of Caligari: 1. Prelude. 2. Main Title/The New Guest. 3. The Rorshach Test. 4. JaneÕs Life. 5. A Nice Bath. 6. House of Horrors. 7. Sleeping Pills. 8. Happily Alive/The Maze. 9. Still Trapped. 10. Seduction. 11. Breakthrough. 12. Going Home/End Credits

Mark of the Vampire: 13. Main Title. 14. Mysterious Patient. 15. Ballet Practice/Murder!. 16. Pill Popper. 17. Human Season. 18. Introspection/Transformation. 19. Cops on the Trail. 20. Daylight Chase.

Bonus Tracks: 21. Radio Source (The Cabinet of Caligari). 22. Radio Source (I Bury the Living). 23. The Sounds of the Night (male vocal). 24. The Sounds of the Night (female vocal)

This release is a limited edition of 2,500 copies. It is available exclusively through FSM, the magazine and this web site, and we are not offering wholesale copies to dealers. YOU CAN'T GET IT ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE!

How to Order!

This Gerald Fried 2CD set is $29.95 plus shipping -- more than reasonable for a limited edition 2CD set of 2+ hours of material never before available. Ordering is a breeze:

1) Use our online ordering form (the Fried 2CD set is at top) to transmit your credit card information securely over the Internet.

(NOTE A.M. Wednesday: We may not have updated the form yet. If you don't see the Fried item, don't order any of the other stuff [unless you want to!], but just write "Fried" after your name and I'll know that's what you want, and charge you the $32.95 (U.S./Canada) or $34.95 (rest of world) appropriately--more if you want multiple copies [write that too]. I'm the person who handles the orders... small company, huh? Most of you guys should be "regulars" anyway! Email me if there are any problems: Lukas@filmscoremonthly.com)

2) Print and mail or fax this form, either with your credit card information or with a U.S. funds check, if you don't want to do the above, or have a problem with the online mechanism.

FSM offers its gracious thanks to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., 20th Century Fox, and Screen Archives Entertainment for making this release possible. I have literally been working on this set for over a year, and restoration of the tracks has been going on for at least two or three. Isn't this a cool world? You probably woke up, went to work, checked this site, and here is a 2CD set of classic Gerald Fried horror music you can buy, lovingly restored. I mean, who would have ever thought this would happen? Wow!

We physically have these discs at our office! Order now and we will dispatch immediately! You should have your copy in time for Christmas!

Please send your comments, any questions you might have, or any suggestions for future CDs to MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com