n the rarefied realm of soundtrack recordings, it's uncommon for tunes from a movie's sequel to be issued prior to music from the original picture. However, that's exactly what happened with the score to The Abominable Dr. Phibes, an album that has only recently become available, months after the debut of a platter spotlighting its follow-up film, Dr. Phibes Rises Again. Notwithstanding that unusual flip-flop, the new disc offers novel arrangements and classic sounds, providing fans of the 1971 horror adventure with fond musical memories.
Following the opening piece, an imposing performance of Felix Mendelssohn's "War March of the Priests," the first iteration of the poignant yet portentous leitmotif for the title character, portrayed by Vincent Price, emerges on "Phibes Waltz/Cage Full of Bats." This theme is varied in subsequent selections like "Phibes' Preparations/Locusts" and "Phibes Revealed," with a secondary melody for the doctor's silent assistant, Vulnavia (Virginia North), presented on "Phibes Visits Dr. Longstreet/The Curse of Blood/Injection" and the aptly titled "Vulnavia." The collection concludes with "Suite of Unused Music," a challenging conglomeration of cues that alternates traditional orchestral elements with discordant, avant-garde noises.
A few short source works—indirectly copied from a print of the film—are also sprinkled throughout the assemblage, by turns tendering sinister, spry and sweet moments. The booklet supplementing the CD delivers revealing comments from composer Basil Kirchin and director Robert Fuest, along with incomplete but reasonably informative trivia concerning the motion picture.
Disorderly and disappointing
While both Phibes films are beloved by horror buffs, the productions are in many ways very different. The initial tale is much more serious—the multifaceted plot is drawn, in part, from the book of Exodus—with the gruesome "plagues" inflicted by the disfigured madman far more insidious than the second adventure's relatively tongue-in-cheek tortures. The melodies of The Abominable Dr. Phibes are consequently quite dissimilar from the Dr. Phibes Rises Again numbers, exhibiting an unsettling ambiance that's dynamic but also rather disheartening.
"Dr. Phibes' Theme" is a crucial cut, presenting a range of variations on the movie's main motif. Sweet strings convey a calm, contented atmosphere before distorted noises and the fleeting peal of bells establish a troubled air. A plucked bass intermittently imparts an aura of uneasiness, with sprightly carnival-like tones buoying the mood toward the conclusion of the piece. It's an impressive work that, via unnerving and euphoric instrumentation, slyly suggests the doctor's unstable emotional state. "Charmaine/Medley" is also enjoyable, with woodwinds and a soothing violin supplying an antiquated elegance, even as one of the three source cues, "The Operation," furnishes a markedly scary, albeit scratchy, interlude.
Still, The Abominable Dr. Phibes tracks by and large lack the consistency of the sequel's score. Whether due to a generally dour disposition or, as the liner notes suggest, post-production butchering of Kirchin's contributions, the compositions are engaging but by no means extraordinary. Phibes-philes will certainly cherish the collection, but casual listeners will find it disorderly, dreary and disappointing.
