Soundtrack Spotlight: The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)

Last week I received a mystery package from my good chum-pal Bill over at Spartak Mixtapes, and when this beauty popped out I was suitably blown away. Bill introduced me to Death Waltz Records last year, when he was showing off his lovely edition of Halloween III's incredible score. Since then they've been high on my radar, but I had yet to thrown down for any of their releases. So thanks Bill, for busting my Death Waltz cherry!


It's currently too hot to be doing much of anything in Dublin right now, other than sitting in the shade, listening to some music and reading or writing. For anyone who's working indoors.. you have my sympathies. The score to Jorge Grau's cult zombie shocker seems like the perfect record to go with today, as for some reason it always seemed like a hot and sweaty kinda film... despite being shot in Yorkshire. Maybe it's just the fact that the film opens with a streaker running through the streets of Manchester, and that's kinda what I feel like doing right now. I gotta catch a breeze somehow...

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue is also known to a few of you under the title, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, or possibly, the unimaginative Don't Open the Window. Whichever title is familiar, it's still the same film - something strange and zombie-ish is happening in Yorkshire, and it's up to a hippy, George, (Ray Lovelock) and his stressed out lady friend, Edna (Cristina Galbo) to get to the bottom of the local murders and put an end to the ghost-like zombies for good. If for some reason you haven't seen it, then do yourself a favour and get on it - the film makes great use of the British countryside which only adds to the bag loads of atmosphere it has, and it all nicely balances out with the glorious early 70's gore. It's definitely one of the best post-Night of the Living Dead cash in's, and feels very different from the Italian splatter entries that came much later in the decade.

The score though, is something quite different. I have to admit, beyond the opening, upbeat sounds of 'John Dalton Street', it was never a score that I had ever thought of seeking out on its own. How wrong I've been, as what's on display here is excellent. Not only has it got that groovy, euro-horror vibe, but it has some truly creepy ambient sections that any self respecting horror score fan would love. The use of atmospheric rumblings coupled with the shrieks and cries of the dead (allegedly made by the director himself, according to the linear notes) really is quite effective, and although not anything on the same level as the discordant psycho-sexual shrieks that Morricone was doing at the time, it is a similarly forward-thinking way of scoring a horror picture. The soundtrack as a whole has a gloriously claustrophobic feel to it, almost like the breathy sounds of the corpses are in the room with you...

The packaging is lovely on this release; they really have done a great job on the artwork (by Luke Insect), and the linear notes include some brief commentary from genre expert Stephen Thrower, and an insight into the recording by the composer, Giuliano Sorgini. There is a nice looking poster for the company packed in, featuring the sleeve artwork. Overall, it's an eerie collection of sounds, and well worth dipping into. The problem I have now is figuring out which one to get next from these guys, as they are amassing quite a catalogue at this stage.

Now, if only it wasn't too hot to sit inside watching the film, I'd be happy...

and the second part: