If you have not seen this classic sci-fi apocalyptic Heston tour de force go here!
The decaying bell-like punctuation featured repeatedly in The Omega Man was created by the waterchime, an instrument invented by renowned percussionist Emil Richards. Its ring is so organic because it is literally caused by dipping a bell into water.
“I was into microtonal music at the time and to find out something I could do to make a tone microtonal was very interesting to me,” Richards remembers. “I was looking in antique shops for ethnic instruments, and I came across these four disks about ten inches round all the way up to 14 or 18 inches for the largest ones—they had come out of a huge grandfather clock and they rang G, C, D, E. So I went to a guy working at the drum shop by the name of Howie Oliver, and I asked him if there was some way he could put a trough with some pulleys on these discs, with a pedal so that my hands were free to play the instrument and drop them in water. There was a counterweight to balance it, and four discs on the trough with a faucet to let the water out. I carried a hose with me so I could go to any faucet in the room and fill up the trough.”
The waterchime became a staple of sci-fi scoring of the late ’60s and early ’70s, also appearing in Jerry Goldsmith’s The Illustrated Man and Michel Colombier’s Colossus: The Forbin Project, as well as David Shire’s more earthbound Farewell, My Lovely. Richards does not think he handled it personally on The Omega Man (he often loaned it to other performers), but does remember a humorous anecdote from the instrument’s early days: “I did a picture with Jerry Goldsmith. The drummer Shelly Manne was on it, and on the second day of the movie he brought goldfish and dropped them into the trough. When you dropped the discs into the water after hitting them, the water would vibrate and these fish would just stop in their tracks when the sound was happening.” — Jeff Bond
Track listing
1. A Summer Place (01:38)Max Steiner
2. The Omega Man (03:23)
3. Surprise Party (01:39)
4. Needling Neville (03:37)
5. Swinging at Neville's (01:06)
6. The Spirits Still Linger (04:28)
7. Where Did Lisa Go? (03:39)
8. ' Round Midnight (02:20)Cootie Williams & Thelonious Monk
9. Jumped by the Family (02:19)
10.On the Tumbril (06:04)
11. Bad Medicine for Richie (02:14)
12. All Through the Night (03:51)Cole Porter
13. Zachary Makes His Move (04:51)
14. Hope Springs Eternal (04:05)
15. Richie on the Roof (03:58)
16. Neville Crashes Through (05:32)
17. Matthias the Victor (05:14)
18. Dutch Takes Over (03:08)
GET IT HERE
If you have not seen this classic sci-fi apocalyptic Heston tour de force go here!
The decaying bell-like punctuation featured repeatedly in The Omega Man was created by the waterchime, an instrument invented by renowned percussionist Emil Richards. Its ring is so organic because it is literally caused by dipping a bell into water.
“I was into microtonal music at the time and to find out something I could do to make a tone microtonal was very interesting to me,” Richards remembers. “I was looking in antique shops for ethnic instruments, and I came across these four disks about ten inches round all the way up to 14 or 18 inches for the largest ones—they had come out of a huge grandfather clock and they rang G, C, D, E. So I went to a guy working at the drum shop by the name of Howie Oliver, and I asked him if there was some way he could put a trough with some pulleys on these discs, with a pedal so that my hands were free to play the instrument and drop them in water. There was a counterweight to balance it, and four discs on the trough with a faucet to let the water out. I carried a hose with me so I could go to any faucet in the room and fill up the trough.”
The waterchime became a staple of sci-fi scoring of the late ’60s and early ’70s, also appearing in Jerry Goldsmith’s The Illustrated Man and Michel Colombier’s Colossus: The Forbin Project, as well as David Shire’s more earthbound Farewell, My Lovely. Richards does not think he handled it personally on The Omega Man (he often loaned it to other performers), but does remember a humorous anecdote from the instrument’s early days: “I did a picture with Jerry Goldsmith. The drummer Shelly Manne was on it, and on the second day of the movie he brought goldfish and dropped them into the trough. When you dropped the discs into the water after hitting them, the water would vibrate and these fish would just stop in their tracks when the sound was happening.” — Jeff Bond
Track listing
1. A Summer Place (01:38)Max Steiner
2. The Omega Man (03:23)
3. Surprise Party (01:39)
4. Needling Neville (03:37)
5. Swinging at Neville's (01:06)
6. The Spirits Still Linger (04:28)
7. Where Did Lisa Go? (03:39)
8. ' Round Midnight (02:20)Cootie Williams & Thelonious Monk
9. Jumped by the Family (02:19)
10.On the Tumbril (06:04)
11. Bad Medicine for Richie (02:14)
12. All Through the Night (03:51)Cole Porter
13. Zachary Makes His Move (04:51)
14. Hope Springs Eternal (04:05)
15. Richie on the Roof (03:58)
16. Neville Crashes Through (05:32)
17. Matthias the Victor (05:14)
18. Dutch Takes Over (03:08)
GET IT HERE
