Various Artists
The B-Music of Jean Rollin 1968-1973

THE REVIEW

Jean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil, or more simply Jean Rollin (1938-2010), is such an interesting figure that his own life would deserve to be the plot of a cinematic work. Rollin was a great director and at the same time remained a true icon. Many critics compare him to our Lucio Fulci: both were masters of the horror genre, pioneers, and both created true masterpieces with minimal budgets. It must be said, however, that if Rollin was not a "genre terrorist" like the great Fulci, his fame and influence are perhaps greater, and his vampire stories, characterized by dreamlike and surreal visions, frightening obsessions, and eroticism, are a true classic. Even though he is recognized as a master, it's worth mentioning that Rollin's fame was somewhat cursed: he had to work his entire career on pornographic/erotic film productions to make some money, which drained him of time and energy.

This stunning (for a change) collection by the Finders Keepers label recovers 19 tracks from the soundtracks of the French director's films, specifically from his first four vampire films, which, within his incredibly vast filmography, still constitute the key moments and gave him the most popularity. The collection includes contributions from the psychedelic progressive world, such as Acanthus; avant-garde composers like Pierre Ralph, who navigates between dark guitar arpeggios and acid compositions, in many cases based solely on the sound of the electronic organ flaring up into vampiric plots with the backdrop of suffering women screaming in chains; the minimalist tracks of Ivone Gérault, and the experimental avant-jazz of a fundamental musician for the French scene, like the Parisian Francois Tusques.

The collection rightly opens with "Blind Songbird" by Ivon Gérault and the voice of Nicole Romaine from "Le viol du vampire," the first vampire film and perhaps his most controversial work as it was released during the events of the French May of 1968 and immediately caused a scandal. However, it would not be the last in a career that, although it elected him as a cult author, did not give him in life what he would have deserved. This collection can be seen as a dual operation: on one hand, to bring attention back to Rollin's cinema; on the other hand, to use it as a tool to tell a piece of musical counterculture that includes well-known authors (see Francois Tusques) or who, for many (see Acanthus), are already objects of veneration.