Alejandro Jodorowsky “The Holy Mountain soundtrack” (Real Gone Music, 2015)

In seeking direction for the musical score to his 1973 epic surreal film The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodrorowsy called on the services of two musical minds: avant-garde jazz musician Don Cherry, most known for his work with Ornette Coleman, and Ron Frangipane, a studio player whose musical CV includes everything from being a playing member of the Archies band to collaborating with an array of artists ranging from Dusty Springfield to KISS. The resulting soundtrack is a shape-shifting collage of varied sounds and feels, befitting of the mind-bending film. It sounds like five or six different soundtracks in one, all of them good. As I listen through the 24 tracks on this new edition, I’m put in mind of all of this cinema music: Nino Rota’s work for Fellini movies, Popul Vuh’s for Herzog films, Pink Floyd’s for More, Gert Wilden’s Schoolgirl Reports music and other softcore soundtracks, etc. What I like best about the album are the surprises. The majority of the tracks have a strings-heavy, melancholic feel, but out of nowhere there are pleasingly startling bits like the heavy rock attack of “Psychedelic Weapons” or the Sci-Fi sound effects orgy on “Fuck Machine.” You don’t have to be an admirer of Jodorowsky’s films to appreciate this soundtrack; but if you are, it’s a sure bet for you.