1. THE LAST RACE — Jack Nitzsche
Originally appearing as the instrumental theme for the sexploitation cult favorite, VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS, this track was actually released as a single before it appeared in the 1965 sci-fi teen film.  Nitzsche's pulsing guitar and soaring horns are quite reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's classic western scores, but mixed (literally) with drag racing sound effects which flip the track into the mid-60s surf/hot rod flick genres as well. This tune puts the pedal to the metal right off the line in the DEATH PROOF soundtrack, and makes a spirited first cut to set the slasher/car chase mood of Tarantino's double feature finale.

2. BABY, IT'S YOU — Smith
This 1969 cover by the band Smith followed the Burt Bacharach/Barney Williams/Mack David song's debut as as 1961 top-ten hit by the Shirelles, and a favorite cover tune by the Beatles in their 1961-63 stage act.   Smith released it on their debut album, A Group Called Smith, and the cut eventually climbed to #5 on the Billboard charts. Smith shifted the vocals away from the Shirelles' arrangement, belting the tune more in the late '60s vein of Janis Joplin.  This is typical of Tarantino's song library choices mixed into his films, providing a cultural touchstone which helps pin the score on the edge of the 1970s.

3. PARANOIA PRIMA — Ennio Morricone
From the 1971 Dario Argento thriller IL GATTO A NOVA CODE (The Cat o' Nine Tails), Morricone's track is quite subtle compared to his more prominent themes, but the lurking strings and wandering flute build up musical tension and suspense effectively.  This score reference to one of Argento's more obscure films (to US audiences, at least) still serves as a nice introduction of the quasi-horror mood of DEATH PROOF, though it would have been equally at home on the KILL BILL Vol. 1 soundtrack.

4. PLANNING & SCHEMING — Eli Roth & Michael Bacall
This is the first dialogue-only track of the CD, listening in on the sex-and-booze related plotting of Dov (Roth) and Omar (Bacall) to pick up the girls in the bar.  Nothing special by itself without a film context in which to place these two characters, but indicative of Tarantino's character and plot work through dialogue.

5. JEEPSTER — T Rex
This #2 UK hit for the glam rock band was later admitted by singer Marc Bolan to be lifted from a 1962 Howlin' Wolf tune, You'll Be Mine. Appearing on T Rex's 1971 Electric Warrior album, Jeepster slips another contrasting musical style into DEATH PROOF which give both a very time- and genre-specific sound. Also it's a clever thematic mix of sex and cars (the original Jeepster being a first attempt at an SUV-like crossover from military Jeep to civilian car) which plays right into Stuntman Mike's auto-slasher motives.

6. STUNTMAN MIKE — Rose McGowan & Kurt Russell
The CD's second dialogue track taps into Pam's (McGowan) meeting Stuntman Mike (Russell) at the bar, with Quentin Tarantino as Warren the bartender paying off the humorous exchange.  Unfortunately Pam will soon find out exactly who is Stuntman Mike.

7. STAGOLEE — Pacific Gas & Electric
The origins of this song date back to an 1895 murder in Missouri, after which the tune was recorded hundreds of times by various artists including PG&E for their 1970 album, Are You Ready?  Their solid blues style explore yet another genre tempo and tone in the DEATH PROOF score, weaving a musical tale of what evil one man may do on his road to Hell.  Trivia note: PG&E's 1971 lineup featured trumpet player Stanly Abernathy, sharing his last name with the handle of Rosario Dawson's character in this Tarantino story.

8. THE LOVE YOU SAVE (MAY BE YOUR OWN) — Joe Tex
An early pioneer of the vocal style which later evolved into rap, Tex was a popular soul artist of the 1960s and '70s, first reaching songwriting success for James Brown's Baby You're Right in 1962.  This title track of Tex's 1966 album would be just as easy a fit into Tarantino's PULP FICTION soundtrack, and is a good omen for the score of his newest film.

9. GOOD LOVE, BAD LOVE — Eddie Floyd
This song was a B-side to Floyd's Things Get Better, his first single recorded for Stax Records where the artist recorded later successes like Bring It On Home to Me and Knock On Wood, later covered as a disco hit by Amii Stewart. This is the second mournful "love" song in a row on the soundtrack, boding that romance and Stuntman Mike may not mix well.  Eddie Floyd later lent his R&B vocal stylings to a tour of the Blues Brothers Band, perpetuating his soulful vocals across numerous decades in the music business.

10. DOWN IN MEXICO — The Coasters
This classic group's first single from 1956 picks up the pace and turns up the heat, blending storytelling rock, R&B and south-of-the-border sizzle. Down in Mexico topped the US R&B charts at #8 that year, starting the Coasters down a long and prolific road of recordings to later include Searchin' and Yakity Yak. For DEATH PROOF it's a solid, seductive sound which blends R&B with the southwest flavor of Texas.

11. HOLD TIGHT — Dave Dee, Beaky, Mick & Tich
The lengthy band moniker compiles the nicknames of the musicians who released this track as an A-side single which rose to #4 on the UK charts in 1966.  Never catching on well in the States, the Brit band spent more weeks on the UK charts than The Beatles between 1965-69.  This catchy pop tune offers a diverting side road curiosity from the previous tracks, but its appeal depends entirely on the listener's taste for sugary Brit hits from the mid-60s.  Yet somehow it all still makes sense in Quentin Tarantino's universe.

12. SALLY AND JACK — Pino Donaggio
This classically-trained violinist has recorded numerous films scores including Nicolas Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW, Dario Argento's TRAUMA, and several Brian De Palma films including this cut's origin, BLOW OUT.  Its mournful, lonely mood sits in sharp contrast to the British spun-candy tune preceding it on the disc, and no doubt this piece serves a similar function in DEATH PROOF.

13. IT'S SO EASY — Willy DeVille
It's easy to see why Tarantino likes this artist who got his start heading the band Mink DeVille, a proto-punk pioneer and original house band at New York's CBGB in the mid-1970s. DeVille shifts between musical styles (country, blues and soul) as deftly as Stuntman Mike powers his 1970 Chevy Nova.  His musical talents are often appreciated by filmmakers, with this track first appearing in the 1980 Al Pacino film CRUISING, as well as DeVille penning the Oscar-nominated theme Storybook Love for THE PRINCESS BRIDE in 1987.

14. WHATEVER-HOWEVER — Tracie Thoms & Zoe Bell
A third dialogue track jumps into an argument between Kim (Thoms) and Zoe (Bell) demonstrating the character of these strong-willed girls soon to tension and terror on the roads.

15. RIOT IN THUNDER ALLEY — Eddie Beram
Originating as a guitar-riff track underscoring the 1967 AIP film THUNDER ALLEY, producer Eddie Beram provided this wild instrumental for Mike Curb's heavily-used indie score label.  Strong on fast-rhythm drum tempo and electric guitar, this cut is a rare but typical score for drag racing, car crashing exploitation cinema and makes a lively callback in DEATH PROOF.

16. CHICK HABIT — April March
Indie pop singer/songwriter Elinor Blake records under the name April March, though her background includes being a cartoon animator (one of the lead artists behind REN AND STIMPY).  Blake formed two bands in the late-80 / early-90s before going solo.  Her cover of Chick Habit first appeared on her 1995 album Paris in April, later to be featured on the soundtrack of the 1999 campy comedy BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER. Reminiscent of the bubbly 1960s pop/novelty sound akin to the Nair commercial remake of the Royal Teens' Short Shorts, a careful listen to the lyrics of Chick Habit foreshadows the eventual finale with Stuntman Mike in this wild cinematic collision of hot chicks and hot rod revenge.

SUMMARY — This eclectic compilation ranks up with some of Q's better soundtracks, perhaps not as memorable as his Collector's Edition for PULP FICTION but nonetheless solid and enjoyable cut-to-cut.  I'm one of those soundtrack and score fans who like the trend to include film dialogue as long as it's relevant and used in moderation, and DEATH PROOF strikes the proper balance between tunes and talking with the music getting the lion's share of play time. The selected dialogue clips aren't classically memorable Tarantino script speeches (yet), but they interweave some of the central characters into the soundtrack environment well without stepping on the music.

I enjoyed the deeper source tracks Tarantino chose, which make the CD a valuable purchase itself if you share Q's interest in a broad array of genres -- it's unlikely you already own much if any of these songs, though several will be more familiar than most listeners may expect.   The more obscure tracks hailing from vintage cult film fodder — The Last Race, Paranoia Prima and Riot in Thunder Alley — entice listeners' ears and appetites to check out other grindhouse-era cinema which inspired this entire Rodriguez/Tarantino project.

Only a couple cuts, which no doubt fit the film perfectly, will distract from the soundtrack listening experience: mainly the instrumental 'downers' like Paranoia Prima or Sally and Jack, though both are still solid score choices in their own right.  Ennio Morricone's selection delivers the skill but lacks the bravado of his other works which would keep the disc on an upward trajectory to the ear.  But such interpretations may change once listeners can soon relate their function in the film score to their inclusion on the CD.

Overall, I rate the DEATH PROOF soundtrack highly on its own merits and as a new entry in Quentin Tarantino's illustrious canon of cinematic score compilations. There's no doubt DEATH PROOF is going to rock and shock when it opens in theaters April 6th.

Be sure to visit the official DEATH PROOF soundtrack site for information on ordering special editions of this score, including the limited edition booklet version and two vinyl releases including a special box set!

READ FILMEDGE'S REVIEW OF GRINDHOUSE NOW PLAYING!