You know how they say that checking certain books out of the library will get your name put on a list? Well, here’s another good way to get put on one of those lists!
The Last House on Dead End Street, for those who aren’t already familiar, was a 1970s grindhouse film that’s not to be confused with Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left, because by all accounts, it made that film look more like The Last House on Sesame Street. What little plot there was centered on a snuff film director. Perhaps more interesting than the films within the film is the story of the film itself, about which very little was known for years after its initial 1973 release. Most fans weren’t even sure who directed it until Roger Watkins fessed up to the deed on a message board in 2000, at which time he also claimed that the film’s premiere caused a riot in which the theater burned down. (Hopefully this premiere goes smoother.)
Equally mysterious was the film’s soundtrack. Comprised of experimental electronics and dark funk from the KPM Music Library, it existed only in the form of bootlegs until now. Having direct access to the KPM master tapes, Vombis Records (the label that previously brought you the Concorde Affaire ‘79 Soundtrack) is issuing tomorrow for the first time ever, The Last House on Dead End Street Soundtrack on vinyl LP. Per the label, “Since none of the music is credited in the film, it has taken years of independent fan research to compile the complete electronic soundtrack … an astounding & impactfully curated collection of sinister hidden gems from the mythic underworld of British 1970s avant-garde electronic music including Delia Derbyshire, David Fanshawe, Ron Geesin, Alan Hawkshaw, Eric Peters, and Lewis Stern.”
If that roster piques your interest, it’s nothing compared to the list of social deviants you’ll join by streaming the soundtrack below and purchasing the LP from Vombis Records.