Zachariah (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) MP3

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Love the album... HATE Amazon's Bit Rate of the MP3 download

October 10th 2013
By Reign Beaux
Format: MP3 Music - Amazon Verified Purchase

I had both the vinyl and 8-track of this album way back when. (I still have a vinyl copy.) When I realized this was available as a mp3 download, I was more than happy to add it to my digital collection, particularly at the price of $5.99. Sadly, Amazon is no longer providing the higher quality / higher bitrate rips they once were that made me fall in love with them in the first place. The average bitrate for the songs on this album was @ 160 VBR. I was expecting much better. Still, the album was always a fun listen and I'm glad to have it in a form I can listen to once again.

Three stars, (5+1)/2... (five for the album based on nostalgic recall alone and 1 for the mp3 bitrate)/2. Sure, 160 is better than 128 but an average of 256 or 320 is better still. Also, as a Linux user, I can only download one track at a time because Amazon's site creators apparently can't create a truly cross platform web interface/application! As thankful as I am I have the free cloud storage for my purchases, I must admit I "cuss" every time I want to add my purchases to my personal library.


5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! July 28th 2013
By Zachariah
Format: Audio CD - Amazon Verified Purchase

I had the vinyl record of this back in 1971, it was stolen after a couple of years, and I've been waiting all these years to replace it. It's finally out on CD. I've always liked the music on this movie and CD. I also own the DVD of this movie.


1.0 out of 5 stars Hope You Have Better Luck... February 2nd 2013
By M. S. Arledge
Format: Audio CD - Amazon Verified Purchase

I just love this soundtrack and was very excited to get it on CD. Unfortunately, the first CD would not play without skipping. Returned it and the 2nd does the same. So (sigh!) returned it for a refund. Amazon gets 6 stars for their return policy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great music! February 16th 2012
By G. Rene
Format: MP3 Music - Amazon Verified Purchase

I have the vinyl copy of this album but it's fairly beat up. But I have loved the music on it for over 30 years so I was really excited to see it released in digital format! Yes, it's strange, someone was very stoned when they wrote it, but hey, it was the Firesign Theater...what did you expect? There's Joe Walsh and the James Gang, Doug Kershaw (a personal favorite of mine and this was the record that introduced me to him!), Country Joe and the Fish, and much more. And I love Jimmie Haskell's themes! All I can say is keep an open mind, crank it and remember the 70's!

4.0 out of 5 stars Favorite Rock Opera of 1972! May 4th 2011
By Sandra J. Kozloff
Format: MP3 Music

Loved the movie - a half-dozen midnight shows in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Campy fun film and the music set it all up perfectly. Opening scene with James Gang in the desert is memorable! Great mix of artists from the era - what's not to like!?

Soundtrack is available as MP3 download and CD.

Product Details

Audio CD (June 12th 2012)
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Master Classics Records
ASIN: B008B0DZGM

Formats

Audio CD, 2012 - Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

Amazon Price
Vinyl - New from $175.00
Vinyl - Used from $10.00

http://www.amazon.com/Zachariah-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B008B0DZGM/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt






Zachariah (1971) is a film starring John Rubinstein as Zachariah and Don Johnson as his best friend Matthew. The film is loosely based on Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha, surrealistically adapted as a musical Western by Joe Massot and the members of the Firesign Theatre comedy troupe. The band Country Joe and the Fish perform as an inept gang of robbers (more adept as musicians) called "the Crackers," who are always "looking for people who like to draw." In the same vein, Zachariah boasts: "I can think, I can wait, and I'm fast on the draw." This is a parody of Siddhartha's famous line: "I can think, I can wait, I can fast."
Underneath the gunplay, the jokes, and the music, an important message is delivered: a life of pacifism, quiet contemplation, male bonding and vegetarianism is preferable to a life of violence.

This film is defined as being part of the Acid Western genre. More precisely, in its own publicity releases, it was called, "The first electric western." This was, in no small part, because this film featured several appearances and music supplied by successful rock bands from the era, including the James Gang and Country Joe and the Fish. Fiddler Doug Kershaw has a musical cameo that advances the plot of the film.

The movie also features former John Coltrane sideman Elvin Jones as a gunslinging drummer named "Job Cain."Cream's drummer Ginger Baker was originally going to play the part of Zachariah. The Minneapolis group White Lightnin' (an off-shoot of the band The Litter) performs their rock and roll version of the William Tell Overture on the soundtrack. The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble perform Grave Digger on the soundtrack. The soundtrack features songs by the James Gang, Joe Walsh, and Country Joe and the Fish. "Laguna Salada" and "Country Fever", performed in the film by the James Gang, later reappeared as bonus tracks on the 2000 re-release of The James Gang Greatest Hits.



The soundtrack for Zachariah has also recently become available.
Film composers Michael Kamen and Mark Snow can be seen half naked singing in a band while film composer/actor John Rubinstein's character makes love to Patricia Quinn (the American actress, who co-starred in Alice's Restaurant) in bed.

The film and its soundtrack received a positive review in the pages of Circus, a rock music magazine. The soundtrack album was released as a vinyl LP by Probe, a subsidiary label owned by ABC.

Directed by George Englund
Produced by George Englund
Lawrence Kubik

Written by

Joe Massot
Phil Austin
Peter Bergman
David Ossman
Philip Proctor

Starring

John Rubinstein
Pat Quinn
Don Johnson
Dick Van Patten

Music by

Jimmie Haskell
Mark Snow (song co-composer, "Grave Digger", as "Martin Fultermann")
Michael Kamen (song co-composer, "Grave Digger")
Kamen & Snow part of the New York Rock and Roll Ensemble
John Rubinstein ("Camino Waltz")
Cinematography Jorge Stahl Jr.
Editing by Gary Griffin
Distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Release dates 1971
Running time 93 min.
Country United States
Language English

Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $625,000
The film recorded a loss of $1,435,000