OST: Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof

OST: Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof / 2007 Warner Bros / 16 Tracks / http://www.warnerbros.com / http://www.deathproof.net /

Everyone knows that this soundtrack is for the movie that was Quentin Tarantino’s part of Grindhouse, “Death Proof”. The tracks here feel like they are taken from an earlier period. The first track on this score is Jack Nitzche’s “The Last Race”. This track has the seventies orchestral heaviness present in droves, with cars speeding by as the background. Only two and a half minutes in duration, the track is integral for contributing to the score’s sound as a whole. Smith’s “Baby, It’s You” keeps the overall sound of the disc solid, although the track seems more like a late sixties song than a mid-seventies one. If one takes the track in the context of it being played a few years after it was released, or in that most of the Bond soundtracks used earlier styles, then the song works.

Regardless, it is a classy track and will get individuals singing along. The first track that really seems to slow things down has to be Ennie Morricone’s “Paranoia Prima”. It does not have the dated fuzz or energy of either of the two prior tracks, but it seems to fit into the soundtrack in its own demented way. T Rex’ s “Jeepster” keeps in the general theme, but does not seem to have the same sort of authority that the Smith or Nitzche tracks have. It does make sense in the larger context of the album, and especially so considering Tarantino’s desire to have poppy older tracks pop up in eir soundtracks. As with a number of different soundtracks, there are snippets of dialogue present at different intervals.

While they operate in much the same way as skits, they do provide more to the soundtrack than skits do for albums. This is because they imbue a specific context to the tracks immediately preceding and following them; individuals can get some sort of idea why exactly Tarantino put the track there. Pacific Gas & Electric have the first soul track on the disc, and it continues well given the T Rex track immediately before that. I have not seen Death Proof yet, but I think anyone that is a fan of more classic music or wants to hear some tracks that may have faded into obscurity (such as “Staggolee”), this album is a necessary pick up. After hearing this soundtrack, I’d like to see how “Death Proof” incorporates these distinct and different sounding tracks in a convincing way.

Top Tracks: Pacific Gas & Electric / Staggolee , Eddie Beram – Riot In Thunder Alley

Rating: 6.5/10