- Record Label: Sacred Bones
- Release Date: Oct 20, 2017
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Oct 25, 2017Carpenter here brings together the themes from 13 of his movies to remind us exactly how pervasive is his influence on modern culture.
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Oct 19, 2017From Assault on Precinct 13, to Halloween, to Escape From New York, to even Vampires, this set has literally everything fans would want from the guy, going so far as to include tracks he didn’t even write (see: The Thing, Starman).
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The WireDec 6, 2017You might not think you need new versions of these. But you’d be wrong. [Nov 2017, p.52]
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Nov 13, 2017In the absence of a live album, these re-recordings with a band including son-of- John Cody offer loving snapshots of Carpenter’s reckoning with his track record, here covering the years between 1974’s goofy Dark Star and 1998’s macho Vampires.
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Nov 8, 2017These might not be the original performances, but the reworking of them has made them a little brighter and most importantly, they’ve lost none of their original power.
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Oct 31, 2017Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998 is a fine introduction to John Carpenter the musician for newbies, and a welcome re-visit for longtime fans.
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Oct 23, 2017Anthology is a bold, often dazzling throwback, a grand suite rendered in crystalline keyboards and lavish synths.
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Oct 19, 2017This collection of re-recorded themes confirms his keen attention to mood and tonal colour, though the alterations are sometimes irritating--notably the itchily urgent percussion track rattling along beneath the familiar keyboard motif of Halloween.
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Oct 19, 2017Anthology won't offer any surprises to Carpenter devotees, but the music is undeniably authentic and faithful to his vision, and it sounds fantastic in any case. For anyone who isn't already familiar with Carpenter's films or music, this is a handy way to become acquainted.
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Oct 19, 2017The 2017 versions sound bigger, bolder--with better mixing and, no doubt, more advanced studio equipment. This is especially true on the themes from his earlier films.
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Nov 1, 2017It’s a treat to hear all these iconic and sometimes underrated themes again, even going so far as to cover Ennio Morricone’s ominous theme for The Thing and Jack Nitzsche’s grand, celestial Starman theme.
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Oct 30, 2017On Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998, Carpenter allows a panoramic view of the music he created to accompany his films that, of course, is hard to separate from the movies themselves.
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Nov 22, 2017All this does is reassert the effortless, enduring power of those original pieces; find the originals and save your pennies for the forthcoming Carpenter tour.
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Oct 24, 2017There are a lot of fascinating, really good pieces on Anthology, and several of them work well even removed from their film context. But the ones that don’t work as stand-alone songs end up calling attention to Carpenter’s limitations as a musician.
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UncutOct 23, 2017"Escape From New York" and "Halloween" can't top the cold desolation of the originals. ... Pretty much every one of the album's 13 tracks confirm Carpenter's skill for an eerie earworm. [Dec 2017, p.25]