Original released on LP Warner Bros BS 2710
(US, 20/6/1973)
Like most
of his largely fantastic post-Animals work, Alan Price's soundtrack to the 1973
film, "O Lucky Man!", went almost completely unnoticed in the United States at
the time of its release. It is a shame too, because the soundtrack holds
together as one of the best albums Price ever put out. The film's plot followed
the adventures of an everyman named Mick Travis (played by Malcolm McDowell) on
his surreal journey through varying class-levels of British society. Price's
music was fully integrated into the film, with scenes of his band's studio
performances providing a kind of Brechtian commentary on the story as it
unfolded. Since the movie was a black-comedy, it stood to reason that the music
(featured so prominently) would reflect that aspect, and it did. All of Price's
offerings are delivered with a healthy dash of wryly-smiling, Pantagruelian
cynicism lurking just beneath their pleasant, dance-hall veneers. "Look
Over Your Shoulder" bounces along with its jolly chord progression, all
the while warning listeners that doom and misfortune could be waiting for them
around every corner. In the song "Justice", Price reminds us that it
is often wealth that guarantees fair treatment under the law, while musically
cavorting across the village green like a harlequin-costumed Ray Davies. Along
with Davies' influence, there are also nods to Randy Newman evident on songs
like "My Home Town" and (especially) the charming side-one offering
"Poor People". Price keeps his influences in their rightful
place though, never channeling them into his songs directly; he, instead, sets
them on top of his piano, like busts of great composers, for inspiration (in
All Music)
