9.10.2010

Xihong Library Finale: The Eagle Epitaph

Finally! Right? It's been over a year since the last update and I'm ready to hang it up... ready to sell my records... ready to pack away these DVDs. I've solved some of the great mysteries of Shaw Bros music. I've reached many milestones as to what I was looking for. Out of the 100's I've found there's literally a handful I still care about finding, but they're not out there (at this moment).

These tracks mean different things to different people. I know that "WOW" feeling. It can be addictive. It's gotten to the point where I'm pretty much sick of looking. My brain is scrambled. Everything sounds the same. Stuff I've never even heard before sounds like I heard it already.

Aside from some of the rarest hardcore Shaw Bros music, I've also included some re-rips of previous tracks in better quality. I didn't quite meet my goal of 100 tracks but you have to admit, I tried damn hard.



Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


And now for my longest list of thanks yet...

Qwerzz - shares rare movies
Mr. T - provided helpful hints
H2O - for Akutagawa
Brianiac - for Camille 2000
NRC - for Patchwork No5
Mr. Wong - provided helpful hints
Double-O-Soul - for Sun High
Dorian - cleared up a troublesome misunderstanding
Fraykerbreaks - for Zenith
Kungfu Cinema Forums - also provided many tips

And a special thanks to...

Jacques - Edouard Michael expert! We teamed up on tracking down a MOST ELUSIVE record. The Edouard Michael sound was picked up by Derek Laren and Spencer Nakin and we've covered all bases. Nakin was the missing link all this time. Anything else sounding similar is pure coincidence. Thanks for going above and beyond the extra mile my French friend.

Andrea - The most righteous trader I've had the pleasure of dealing with. It was like the laws of attraction at work. The tracks I was looking for all along ended up falling right into my lap. Your timing could not have been any better. Thanks for putting my mind at ease. I still owe you my Italian friend.

17 comments:

Mike said...

Needless to say, nobody else has done as good a job of identifying and compiling old Shaw Brothers film music. It's really remarkable. It's also impressive to know that SB was able to acquire so much music from so many different genres and sources, so in a way these mixes are a learning experience, a revelation. From one longtime martial arts film fan to another, thank you. I look forward to a mix of truly epic proportions!

Hrangue said...

Yeah man it's so broad that this is really gonna be a lifetime hobby. One day I want to spend some time in Europe and Asia and actually track down the mythical records. It might not happen for many years though. It's a stretch for me to leave the state right now let alone the country.

Even people who don't care about Shaw or kungfu can enjoy it... that is if they like soundtracks.

Thanks BTW.

Killa said...

Obviously alot of time and effort put into these compilations. thanks alot for puttting me on to all this great music.

Anonymous said...

FINALLY...5 Shaolin Masters...you´re the best !!!

Stegman

R Wong said...

It has been both fun and fustrating finding Shaw music. Wanted to thank you so much for helping me find the tracks I have been looking for for so long. Hope you dont totally give up on finding your final few tracks. thanks again.

isfahani said...

I hope so too... thanks and thanks again for all of the tunes.

Hrangue said...

@Rick

Who knows when I might catch my next spark. The formula I've been using stopped working for me as I've heard most of the 60s-70s DW Library now (100's of LPs... 1000's of tracks) So I need a hook into another source.

@Stegman

Couldn't have done it without Andrea.

@Everyone

Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Hey, so a big hug and THX to Andrea ! I coudn´t believe it at first...I loaded your site and "Oh my god, he found it...." The next Minutes I was jumping around :-)


Can you tell me, where its from ? I mean its Gianni Oddi, but which source ?

THX again, god bless you

Stegman

Hrangue said...

I answered Stegman's question via email, but in case anyone wanted to know... it's from Gianni Oddi's "Style." I wouldn't count on finding it.

Also, the track "10 Tigers From Kwangtung - Winged Fury" is really titled "Amok." I noticed after the fact that I goofed the movie title too.

Klaus said...

Hello,

Thanks for the Musik. Is "Tema Di Kid" from "
Ringo Il Texano"?

I collect Shaw-Soundtracks, too. I have a big collection. In many movies you can hear music from "Sound Dimonsions" (Morricone, Nicolai), like the Snake-Theme from "Killer Snakes".

Hrangue said...

You're right it's Ringo Il Texano. And you're welcome.

As for Sound Dimensions (and RCA April Orchestra), they are/were really hard to keep track of. The 6 LPs sound so similar, but just slightly different. I'm glad I figured them out early on as I wouldn't be able to tell the difference now.

If you have something I don't have or have any more questions, feel free to contact me at Hrangue@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Great Job and many thanks for all the hard work!

Oh and if anybody could help me get some Englisch dialoge samples from kung fu / Shaw movies please let me know!

Regards,
Ronald

www.kungfufilms.nl

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this amazing collection. I played the track labeled REBEL INTRUDERS-ACTION MOOD No2 and was very surprised to find that it's from the Paul Ferris score for the Vincent Price film WITCHFINDER GENERAL. To my knowledge this score has never been available on LP or CD. Where on earth did you find it?

Hrangue said...

@Ronald I'd recommend just making your own from DVDs or youtube if you know how to use audio software.

@Anon 3.24.11

Glad you like it.

Witchfinder General, like these kungfu movies, doesn't have an official score. It comes from various library music records. This one in particular is called "Strange Location." It's hard to find, but it may pop up on Ebay.

Anonymous said...

Actually, WITCHFINDER GENERAL does have an official score. Not only did Paul Ferris compose the score, he has a small part in the movie as a husband trying to avenge his wife's death only to be killed by Matthew Hopkins the witchfinder. When the film was first released on vhs in the U.S. by Orion video they were too cheap to pay for the rights to the score so they replaced it with a synthesizer score. You can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchfinder_General_(film)
The track on your list can be heard during a scene of the young soldier on horseback chasing Hopkin's henchman.

Anonymous said...

hi again,
just found a Youtube link of Witchfinder General. The music track starts at about 00:25



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2_fNrUWSs&feature

Hrangue said...

You're right, I do remember hearing a few years ago that he was in the movie. As far as the music goes, the other composer of Strange Location (Peter Knight) did a score to another movie (Flight of the Heron) on the same label self titled and even that one wasn't considered official. It's more so a technical (unreleased/non-commercial) thing than a literal thing.