Stone - Billy Green
D.L.J.Mann | UK | 02/27/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Stone was a 70's biker movie made in Australia starring Ken Shorter as undercover cop infiltrating a motorcycle gang. For some reason that escapes me it has become something of a cult movie - it really is not that good. Billy Green's score, however, is magnificent and of all the biker scores I've managed to hear is the most deserving of a re-issue.
Most of the biker films from the 60's & 70's had, with few exceptions, disappointing soundtracks that included far too many weedy vocals and not enough grind. Musically, they were unadventurous, interchangeable and often sound like they were recorded in a few hours. Stone, on the other hand, is a pot pourri of invention and styles. Green's utilisation of different instruments including viola, guitar, digideroo, moog sytnthesiser, bango, harmonica, guitar and piano as well as voice and electronic sound effects manages to transcend the obvious cliches found on many of these biker scores and still provide enough grind to satisfy the outlaw biker in us all.
For those used to the vinyl version, this will come as a shock. The score has been totally re-arranged and includes several cues that were missing from the orignal release, all the rock songs, the trailer and an hilarious monologue that might make you think twice about hunting down the hard to find DVD.
Yet again another fine release from Finders Keepers, an independant label tun by music lovers for music lovers. Sleeve notes are comprehensive and include many rare stills.
For trivia fans, Billy Green now lives in New York and is now an alto saxaphonist and has started writing reviews on Amazon!"