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I just picked up Lazarus...it's the cast recording from the Bowie jukebox musical he did of man who fell to earth....very difficult to listen to the last few tracks with Bowies final studio output, but maybe one of the best purchases I've made this year. Title track is devestatingly beautiful no matter who sings it.

In no particular order, and subject to regular change:

Reality Check
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Synchronicity
Twin Peaks
Zoo Folle
The Neon Demon
Turbo Kid
Bone Tomahawk (only watched this a couple of nights ago - really enjoyed the performances, and the score is pretty sparsely used, as you'd expect for a 20 min score).
Nightcrawler
High Rise

The only one that wasn't a 'real' score was Reality Check, but hands down that's been my favourite release of the year.

I noticed a few end of year lists included Nils Frahm's Victoria - I picked it up this year, but was sure it was released in 2015. If not, that's definitely on the list.

A couple of releases I think I need to revisit again, based on your lists:
Papaya
The Poliziotteschi Files

As I look back on my list as well I realise I've only seen two of them (Victoria and Bone Tomahawk) - I think I need to watch more films next year - the perfection of the Victoria score can't be recognised without seeing the film, and I wonder if I'm selling too many scores short by not seeing the visuals. Can we set up a STBC babysitting club??

Sounds great Hatter. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the info on that one.

This was difficult. Random order, mix of first pressings and reissues:

Manuel De Sica - Dellamorte Dellamore (Lunaris) - All the way back to January 2016, this personal film favorite and score got many listens throughout the year. Delightful artwork and package to go along with the entertaining music. A bit difficult to describe, and somehow both eclectic and electronic, this one is hard to pin down and also hard to forget.

Bixio, Frizzi, Tempera - Magnetic Systems (Finders Keepers) - Culminated with my own obsessive personal research project into this trio, and worth the time if only to hear the "Film Version" of Escape. Also, helped spread the love of many excellent and rare 45's and LP's in a nicely curated compilation album.

Wojciek Kilar - The Ninth Gate (Silva Screen) - A second monolith next to Bram Stoker's Dracula in Kilar's annals of demonic horror. Long-desired and finally pressed to vinyl in worthy fashion. Although I grabbed a black vinyl copy, there are even reports of unbelievers enjoying strangely deformed colored vinyl which was melted solely by the power of Satan himself.

Repeated Viewing - Frozen Existence (Lunaris) - I have been caning test pressings of this album since 2015, and I am going to include this one as it is just so good that it has to be recognized in 2016. Very likely my favorite album from the last few years, and has been enjoyed on many different formats, but the Lunaris LP sleeve design and solid vinyl pressing make this an easy repeat listen.

Clint Mansell - The Fountain (Mondo) - I seemed to have lucked out with my splatter vinyl copy, but retail black vinyl is available as well. I was also going to mention Requiem for a Dream in this year's list, and it just seems like a wealth of Mansell albums have been pressed to vinyl in the last few years. The Fountain is where my heart is though, and it will probably continue to be that way. A very personal and powerful album for me, and I appreciate the presentation from Mondo. Meeting Clint at MondoCon only solidifies the experience. Thank you.

Giuliano Sorgini - Zoo Folle (Four Flies) - Full disclosure: my hearing isn't anywhere near @texasvinyl's, but I found this to be an enjoyable listen. Drums on tunes like Ultima Caccia just can't be beat. Edda's vocals on Red, Old Skies are lovely. A grail worthy of being called a grail. We all still quest for an OG copy, but few of us will ever land one.

Morricone Youth - Night of the Living Dead (Country Club) - Surprise of the year for me, and very likely one of the best live performances I have heard recorded in a while. I feel this is a highly worthy rescore of NotLD, and I am jealous of those who had the pleasure of seeing this performed live. Highly recommended. Thank you to @ScoJo for introducing me to this band.

John Carpenter - Lost Themes II (Sacred Bones) - I haven't seen this one in too many lists, but I felt it was just as exciting as volume I. I'm sure the timing of the tour/show had some impact on my appreciation for this album, but it's all killer music to my ears. I would probably pick favorites from both volumes, but I found this to be irresistible.

Brad Fiedel - The Terminator (Milan) - Although I had some pressing issues with the very eye-catching colored vinyl on this release, having the expanded Terminator experience on 2LP is as good as it gets. An absolute favorite of the year, and I find Fiedel's work to be some of the most inspiring to revisit after all these years. Also, very fitting artwork style from Milan on this package. Looks great next to Robocop.

Dust Brothers - Fight Club (Mondo) - So much fun I could not ignore it. Completely missed the original vinyl release back in the day, and very stoked to have an affordable copy. Prime time trip hop that would fit into many a set. Bonus points for the overall package design and nerd needling.

Alain Goraguer - Brigitte Lahaie, Le Disque De Culte (private press) - The year-long wait alone is worth mentioning, but what a delightful package to receive at the end. Lush eye candy aside, Goraguer is on fire on these tunes, which are well-arranged and curated (and sound great). The kickstarter thing was a bit much, but hopefully more copies will surface as the music should be heard far and wide.

Bruno Nicolai - The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (Death Waltz) - Stunning, magical, otherworldly... funky? Death Waltz continuing to bring the heat, along with many other rad releases this past year. Love everything about this, and I don't see it going too far out of reach. More, please.

So much great music this last year! I could not even begin to keep up, and still need to pick up a copy of of Torossi and Brugnolini's Musica Per Commenti Sonori along with a couple hundred other soundtracks and library albums. Also, plenty of enjoyment for Candyman II, Prometheus, Arrival, Esterno Giorno/Notte, Shock Waves, Micalizzi on DW, Papaya, Tetsuo bootleg, F13 III, Feelings, Bone Tomahawk, Twin Peaks, and all those tapes: LARVA, Bryce Miller's W A S P, Ver Sacrum.... and on and on.

Dead, great write up. Love reading about what these records mean to you.

Great write-ups deaf, it was a crazy year of releases!

Just for kicks... Here are four samples taken in audacity. Zoo Folle reissue, sangue di sbirro, Sortilegio and an original copy of I Gres vol 1. Not in that order... Can you guess which is which? ;)

All taken in 'loud" parts of tracks with the same gain & EQ settings and needle.

That's pretty wild, Tex. I, like Deaf, have really enjoyed Zoo Folle (and all of my Four Flies LPs), but there's no denying the drop off. Is it poor quality source materials or just a matter of not turning up the inputs when they made their new masters?

I don't know anything about the art/science of mastering and cutting. I know they did remaster using original master tape and didn't source from an LP. Honestly zoo Folle isn't bad, and it maybe isn't a fair comparison to put it next to the I Gres because that one is cut very loud. For me the sangue was the real disappointment especially for such a great soundtrack. I don't think it needed to be a double or anything, I believe that one is something like 18 minutes a side. No idea why it doesn't have the output of the others.

Thanks for your input, Tex. I bet somebody on here knows a bit more than you and I about these sorts of things.

@deaf I had a nice pile of records turn up yesterday from One Way Static, including Morricone Youth's NOTLD rescore. You inspired me to put that on first, and I'm so glad I did. Just at the end of side 1 and it's wonderful. Thanks for your post.

@dead / @frozen

Great to hear some love for NOTLD re-score, I can't agree more! We have it currently at a very nice price in our store if anyone else is interested, along with their also-excellent exotica soundtrack for Adventures of Prince Achmed.

http://www.ondespositivesrecordings.com/products

They are currently launching their latest LP, the truly epic live score for MAD MAX!

http://modern-vinyl.com/2016/12/27/morr ... max-score/

Agreed that these guys are very cool and I have to say that I really enjoy the Price Achmed record.

deaf - nice write up...agree with many of those picks. I am curious about that NOTLD rescore? Will look into that one.

I had a friend ask me if taking her boyfriend to the NOTLD morricone youth rescore screening in New York was a good idea, I was SUPREMELY jealous and then promptly forgot all about it until they dropped the recording. Fantastic stuff, can't wait to hear what they did with mad max.

Luckily when the full restoration debuted here with Romero I was more diligent in my ticket buying :)

deafmetal wrote:
Alain Goraguer - Brigitte Lahaie, Le Disque De Culte (private press) - The year-long wait alone is worth mentioning, but what a delightful package to receive at the end. Lush eye candy aside, Goraguer is on fire on these tunes, which are well-arranged and curated (and sound great). The kickstarter thing was a bit much, but hopefully more copies will surface as the music should be heard far and wide.

Hello Everyone

The new X-Rated Alain Goraguer vinyl is finally here ! Same as Brigitte Lahaie LP, a crowdfounding campaign for rare and unreleased musics written by genius Goraguer for movies from the golden age of french porn.

It features a X-Rated Exercice book, made with great french illustrator Erwann Terrier, the first section (the coloring section) is about to be unlocked, and the point to link drawings and the carving section will follow if the campaign goes well.

The english campaign page is here :
http://bit.ly/goraguerxratedmusic

The campaign video has english subtitles that you can activate in the player.

Thank you everyone for sharing this project !