Goblin, Volume II 1975-1980: Hits, Rare Tracks & Outtakes From Profondo Rossa, Suspiria, Contamination & Others
This collection of mostly extended and alternate takes is a rewarding, amusing, and sometimes insufferable collection of themes by the band most famous for underscoring the films of Italian horror director Dario Argento (Goblin's discoverer). At their worst, Goblin sound like a bunch of pre-goth druggies jamming in a dreary fusion, but their best moments spawn almost Biblical images of dismembered bodies, Satanic masses, and defiant souls forever damned. Included are longer versions of themes fromProfondo Rosso(with more than a nod to Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells") andSuspiria. As the liner notes suggest, this collection attempts to demonstrate that Goblin had a musical identity independent of their famous mantle of soundtrack provider, although the tracks work best as augmented movie cues than as a concept album.--Joseph Lanza