Night of the Living Dead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1968)

I was originally planning on posting this closer to Halloween, but I just couldn't wait. I wish I could remember who originally uploaded this, but it escapes me at the present time. However I included the information that came with the album in order to give some credit where it is due. If you are a fan of horror soundtracks, or just soundtracks in general, then this is essential for your collection. The atmosphere of this soundtrack is one of impending doom, as would be expected. Moments of peace and tranquility are sprinkled throughout this LP, only to be interrupted by the powerful brass section which cues the imminent arrival of zombie hordes eager for human flesh. There are also a few moments that remind me of a very bad acid trip, such as the beginning of 'Helen's Death'. My favorite thing about this soundtrack is the cuts of dialouge taken from the movie, such as the unforgettable "They're coming to get you Barbera", and the various radio broadcasts. I'll leave you with the aforementioned information that was included with this release:

"Shot on a shoe-string budget in Pittsburgh, PA, this production didn't have the luxury of hiring a composer to create a soundtrack. Instead they used library music. Library music generally consists of various soundtrack cues created by production houses to be used in movies, TV shows, commercials, whatever and pressed to vinyl. By purchasing the record itself, you are paying for the right to use any of the cues or background music in your production. Using pre-produced library music was a cost-effective way to add production value. These limited run library music LPs have become sought-after collectibles. There are several full-album music blogs online that offer rips of library music vinyl. They're well worth pursuing as the music is often quite eclectic, particularly as you enter the late-60s and early-70s.

The filmmakers for Night of the Living Dead went with cues from Capital Hi-Q 1950's Production Music Library. In 1982, Varèse Sarabande compiled the various cues used, added some dialogue bits and released it as an LP soundtrack. This has never seen an official CD release. I grabbed this excellent vinyl rip off Usenet years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of who did the rip (or they didn't say), but I did place the following info in the "Encoder" tag: Vinyl Rip - Sound Forge 5 w/Vinyl Restoration - Lame 3.88. The original poster went a little overboard encoding these single-channel mono MP3 files at 192kbps, but I appreciate the desire to keep the quality as high as possible."

Year of Release: 1968 (Original) | 1982 (Re-Release)
Label: Varèse Sarabande
Genre: Soundtrack, Classical
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. Driveway to the Cemetary (Main Title)
2. At the Gravesite / Flight / Refuge
3. Farmhouse / First Approach
4. Ghoulash (JR's Demise)
5. Boarding Up
6. First Radio Report / Torch on the Porch
7. Boarding Up 2 / Discovery: Gun 'n Ammo
8. Cleaning House
9. First Advance
10. Discovery of TV / Preparing to Escape / Tom and Judy
11. Attempted Escape
12. Truck on Fire / Ben Attacks Harry / Leg of Leg
13. Beat 'Em or Burn 'Em / Final Advance
14. Helen's Death / Dawn / Posse in the Fields / Ben Awakes
15. OK Vince / Funeral Pyre (End Title)

Download: Night of the Living Dead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Download Size: 53MB