Herbie Hancock - Blow-Up (Soundtrack, 1966)

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Herbie Hancock - Blow-Up (Soundtrack, 1966)

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This is the original soundtrack for the movie "Blow-Up", A surreal whodunit that captures the flavor of Swinging London as seen through the eyes of a character loosely based on real-life fashion photographers David Bailey and Terence Donovan from which Michelangelo Antonioni's cinematic cult classic yielded an equally intriguing soundtrack. Herbie Hancock's debut as a film-score composer, BLOW-UP benefits from the fact that its Italian director was a jazz aficionado. Consequently, Hancock was able to recruit a Who's Who of jazz greats to aid him in the studio, including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, and Jack DeJohnette. Out of this rich working relationship comes the smoldering, noir-ish "The Naked Camera," the snappy funk of "The Thief," and the undulating "Verushka (Part 1)," with its quirky melodica and guitar interplay. Of particular note is the spry "Bring Down the Birds," whose bass line was later incorporated into the 1990 Deee-Lite hit "Groove Is In the Heart." The non-Hancock parts of the score include solo contributions from Lovin' Spoonful members Steve Boone and John Sebastian, cuts from Steve Howe's pre-Yes outfit Tomorrow, and "Stroll On," a lyrical reworking of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" by a rare Yardbirds line-up featuring both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.