Welcome back Weeners, to the abundant musical bosom of Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives.
When we last saw Court and Vicki, they were being assaulted to the smooth sounds of Alice Cooper‘s Teenage Frankenstein.
But we’re gonna jump back in time here a bit, to just before Court starts bombing down Forest Green Drive in Horrace’s RV. It is here, in that same RV, that couple takes part in a time-honored Friday The 13th tradition – banging at Crystal Lake.
Of course, this is never a good idea when Jason’s on the prowl, which he most certainly is if we’re allowed access, but that has never stopped any of these promiscuous youths before.
Here’s the big guy as he tries to make heads or tails of this RV’s a-rockin’.
Providing the beat for that rockin’ is none other than Graduation Day’s own Felony.
Times have changed a little in intervening years though and they sound just a bit different. A little less Doobie Brothers and a little more Kenny Loggins.
Court just has to make it through the song here, and he’s home free. Vicki tells him it’s only 10 more minutes, which wouldn’t be far off if this was Gangster Rock. Fortunately for Court (and us,) it’s I’m No Animal, and it’s only 3 and a half minutes.
And for Court, it’s even shorter, cause Jason pulls the plug on this ugly-bump inside of a minute. Good call.
Understandably, Vicki’s a little freaked out by this. So, Court hits the gas and gets them speeding away from any trouble. Only Jason’s already stowed himself away on the RV, and now he’s just biding his time.
And we all know how that ends for them.
But Court and Vicki don’t. So, let’s allow them one final, blissfully unaware moment of lust before their Friday fates are sealed. And let’s let Felony set the mood.
Overlay of Evil / Main Titles (Friday the 13th) by Harry Manferdini
Well, it’s been 8 years. 8 long years that have passed, rather quickly it sometimes seems, since I began the website form of Halloween Shindig. Yet, despite that speed, it somehow still feels almost like a lifetime ago.
In those 8 years I’ve included numerous horror themes on the playlist, maybe not as many as I should have and certainly not as many as I’d like, but there’s plenty to go around.
Additionally, I’ve added 7 different songs from various Friday the 13th films. However, somehow I have yet to include Harry Manferdini’s iconic theme from the 1980 original.
As any of you that happened to read yesterday’s entry may now be aware, Harry scored not only the original film, but every subsequent installment in the 10 film saga, with the lone exception of Jason Takes Manhattan. Still, no small feat.
But that’s not all, cause Harry scored All 4 House films, The Hills Have Eyes 2, The Children, Slaughter High, Swamp Thing and Iron Eagle III!
I know it’s taken too long to get you here Harry, but that is no reflection on your incredible contributions to not just Friday, but to the whole of horror. Halloween Shindig is honored to have you among its ranks.
Sail Away Tiny Sparrow by Harry Manferdini & Angela Rotella
Hey gang.
If you’re here reading this, I’ll assume you’re familiar with Jason Voorhees. Seems reasonable. I’ll also assume then that you’re at least familiar with the Friday the 13th film series, in some respect.
From there, I’ll make a lateral maneuver and assume that, since you are here, you may also be familiar with The Halloween Shindig podcast called Shindig Radio.
If you are, then you’re no doubt familiar with Shindig Radio personality and professional Monstersmith, Mikey Rotella.
Now, perhaps then, given you’ve listen to enough episodes (or maybe just the right episodes) and you also have a steel trap memory for weird personal trivia, you may know that Mikey comes from a very musical family.
First, you have his Grandfather, Julius Rotella Sr. He was a drummer and big band leader who had a family band way back. First with his brothers, then later with his own children, including his namesake, Jules Jr., tickling the ivories.
Providing lead vocals for that family band? Why, that was Mikey’s dad – the perpetually good-willed, world-renown spiritual singer, Marty Rotella. That’s right.
Johnny Rotella, on the ready with his fellow Woodwinders.
But wait, that’s not all! Cause you also get Johnny Rotella, an accomplished woodwind session player and the author of over 200 songs, including Nothing But the Best, which Frank Sinatra recorded in 1962.
The Chairman of the Board wasn’t the only one who put a little Johnny Rot on wax either. Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett and Doris Day have all recorded songs written by the illustrious Johnny Rotella. Pretty incredible.
As a session player, Johnny himself can be heard on tracks from the likes of Benny Goodman, Neil Diamond, Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, and Steely Dan! Snap. That’s a murderer’s row of musicians right there, all with Johnny Rotella right at their side.
But that’s still not all. Because there’s also Johnny’s son, Bill Rotella, who’s band, Urban Shocker, provided the full-throttled action extraction Long After Midnight for the 1989 film Action USA. You can check Bill’s new music right here. Man, does it stop with this family?
Nope, because there’s also Bill’s sister, Geraldine. Who, like her father, is an accomplished flutist. One of the best in the industry, Geraldine can be heard on countless film scores including The Omen, Peter Jackson’s King Kong and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Mikey’s VG+ looking copy of Tranquil Sun’s …Thinking of You. Hell, with that shrink, I might even go NM on that. And since there isn’t even 1 copy of this on Discogs, I’d hang onto that one pal.
But, back before Action USA,Friday the 13th, and Spock saving the Whales, Marty Rotella and his sister, Angela, had a band called Tranquil Sun. They produced a funky mix of disco pop and soul, with enough driving bass, stabbing brass and smooth synth to satisfy any aficionado. They have a sort of Chicago meets ABBA vibe that’s perfectly a product of it’s era and definitely grooves.
A part time member of this band, rippin’ a Sax himself and sweeping that analog cut-off filter, was a young, local New Jersey musician named Harry Manferdini.
Now, assuming (as I did above) you are familiar with Friday the 13th, then perhaps you are also familiar with Harry Manferdini. He’s the man responsible for scoring every film in the original 10 picture series, with the lone exception of Jason Takes Manhattan.
It was Harry’s “Ki Ki Ki, Ma Ma Ma” which went on to become the stuff of horror legend.
In addition to bustin’ reeds and detuning oscillators on Tranquil Sun’s 1981 release …Thinking of You, Harry also arranged and conducted the enitre album. Not a bad pull for a small New Jersey disco band.
The reverse of the LP, … Thinking of You. Harry on that synth and sax baby. And Jules Jr. hittin’ the organ!
Which brings us to Friday the 13th.
Harry revealed that an early cut of the film featured a fairly well known Dolly Parton tune called Fly Away Little Bluebird. However, Dolly was a bit out of budget for the small production and the track needing replacing. It’s kinda like what happened with Prom Night around the same time.
So, Harry penned the curiously titled, Sail Away Tiny Sparrow, as a replacement. He then tapped the best singer he knew, Angie from Tranquil Sun, to sing the tune.
Yep, that’s Mikey’s Aunt Angie all over the original Friday the 13th soundtrack. You can even hear Marty in the background providing, what Mikey referred to as, “the juice.”
A fan favorite in the Friday message boards, Sail Away Tiny Sparrowis just the kind of nice you’re not expecting from a film like Friday the 13th, and it adds a healthy dose of lived-in realism to environs of Crystal Lake. Lots of fans over the years have wondered about it’s origins and performers, and hopefully this will fill in some of the gaps.
But, is that the end of the Rotella’s musical contributions? Not by a long shot, And not even as it concerns this playlist, as Mikey himself can be heard right here, belting it out with The Kyrpt-Keeper 5 on their cover of The Monster Mash. Sure, it’s no Run-Off, but it’s probably more in-line with our listener’s proclivities.
And hey, don’t knock showing up on The Shindig as a musical accomplishment. The last time I checked, neither Al Jourgensen nor Peter Steele could make that claim. So, check your hater jacket at the door.
And how about Marty? Oh, Marty’s doin’ aces. Don’t worry about that.
He’s been shootin’ 73% from the floor, trailing the Hoboken Bigfoot and recording songs under his very own label, Spirit Power Music, for over 30 years. It’s the banner under which you can find him on Instagram. There you can hear nuggets of sage-like advice and his wonderful singing voice. Follow Marty and show him some love from us over at @spiritpowermusic.
But enough about The Juice, what of this song?
Well, it’s most notably heard in the beginning of the film, when Annie enters the Crystal Lake general store to ask for directions to Camp Blood.
A slightly different version of the song is heard again later, at the Blairsville Diner, when Steve stops in for a quick bite and a coffee during the rainstorm.
Now, a version of this song appears on the Orignal Motion Picture soundtrack, but anyone familiar with the film will immediately hear a discrepancy. It sounds nothing like the prominent version in the film. The tempo has been reduced and Angie’s vocals have been pitched shifted down. Probably just side effect of the tempo change.
There are a few low-bit rate versions floating around the internet which attempt to correct this, and some aren’t bad. But I decided, what the hell, and took a crack at correcting it myself to see if i couldn’t get it a little closer and produce a cleaner, re-timed version for all of the Shindig fans. I tried to match the tempo and pitch as much as I could without being too destructive.
However, such tricks can not be accomplished without introducing some digital artifacts, which the eagle-eared among you may be able to detect. Hopefully, that’s not too distracting.
So, what do you think Friday fans? Did I get it pretty close to matching Angie’s original voice? I guess only She, Harry and The Juice know for sure. But hopefully one day, that original recording will resurface somewhere.
Until then, sail away tiny sparrow, out into the world.
Young horror nerd Mikey Rotella stands next to Harry Manferdini, adorned in a Friday the 13th shirt. Coincidentally though, I’m sure.
For some years now, I’ve been meaning to make a small playlist that groups all the Friday The 13th tracks into one convenient place. Well, this year it’s finally happening.
Sure, you could just click Jason’s picture in the Icons category, but there’s no playlist, damn it!
So, this year, grab a hockey mask, jump in the Jeep and head on down to Camp Blood. While you’re there, smoke a little grass, dance up a storm and celebrate Friday the 13th with The Best of Jason Voorhees, on 4 cassettes or 2 compact discs…
A Friday the 13th, in October? Now that’s a rarity. You know we gotta represent on this one. Good thing The Shindig is prepared with a poppy piece of Crystal Lake crooning from Jason’s later catalog.
A lot of people dislike Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood. I’m not one of them, but they exist and I can’t say I blame them.
Its heavily censored kills feel like highway robbery, it has one most disappointing endings in the series, the teenage fodder on display isn’t particularly interesting and the film just feels tired. Psychic girl unwittingly resurrects Jason? C’mon…
However, 7 has a lot going for it. I think of it as Jason’s last hoorah, for it’s the last time he’s in his element doing what he does best, before he takes off to Manhattan, other peoples bodies, Hell, Space, Elm Street, and ultimately Remakewood. Say what you want about 7, it never gets this good (or as true to itself) again.
But it is stretching its limits, as the whole thing finally succumbs to the Elm Street Effect and goes full-on supernatural.
The psychic angle, while a bit much, offers some interest though. Mainly, it puts a new spin on a formula that had already well worn out its welcome, having seen probably it’s best reworking in Jason Lives. It also finally gives Jason a formidable opponent, something really unseen up to this point in the series, silly as that opponent might be.
However, New Blood’s biggest plus come in the form of Jason himself, namely the addition of literal new blood, Kane Hodder, and the make-up work of John Carl Buechler.
Jason never looked this good before, or after. This is it. This is the most badass Jason around. With his spine-exposed and masked destroyed, he’s constantly dripping water and stalking around with a menace unmatched. And lets face it, that’s what we’re all here to see.
The soundtrack is coming up pretty short here though, in my opinion. Mostly just handed over to prog-wavers FM out of what feel like laziness, the songs never play much prominence, or hit any high notes. Even the score here feels a little wrong.
However, I’ve chosen one of those FM tracks for the Shindig, mostly so I can rant a little about Part 7 and post some gifs. Besides, that opening narration is too cool not too use somewhere.
And as if the psychic girl wasn’t Elm Street enough for you, this song’s all about dreaming. Sure, it’s a more figurative kind of dreaming, but I still I think it’s safe to say that by 1987, Freddy was winning the fight.
He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask)by Alice Cooper
In 1984, Paramount Pictutres made way too much money on Friday The 13th Part 4: The Final Chapterto let that truly be Jason’s final chapter. So they set upon quickly churning out a part 5. Only Jason was dead now,…for good,…right?
What’s a greedy production company to do?
So in 1985, Paramount quickly proceed to fuck right up. They essentially took the exact same model, delivered a by the numbers Friday installment, with Jason in a hockey mask and called it A New Beginning. Only they pulled the old Kansas City Shuffle. It wasn’t actually Jason. Fans were pissed.
Roy? Who the fuck is Roy? Seriously? This dude’s name is Roy?
Here’s Roy.
Fans didn’t cotton to old Roy here.
“But why?” You may ask.
“There’s a guy in a hockey mask brutally murdering teenagers at a summer camp. Isn’t that the point? Fuck, Roy kills 18 people for Christ’s sake! Jason ain’t puttin’ up those kinda numbers yet. Who cares who’s under the mask? It’s been a different actor, sometimes in the same damn movie, since part 2. Is it that important it be Jason Voorhees?”
Apparently so.
I’d say it’s a least somewhat important, if only to keep Friday the 13th from turning into a running Scooby-Doo gag. “Why it’s old man Burns, the guy who run’s that haunted ambulance!”
Plus, we always get a peak at Jason, and it’s usually fucking horrifying. Observe…
Maybe it’s a little important. No?
So, Paramount quickly swung in on a jungle vine for some damage control. In 1986 they unleashed Jason Lives and changed the entire franchise forever.
No more is Jason a mere mortal stalking the woods of Crystal Lake. He’s now a full fledged supernatural, unstoppable zombie killing machine.
No longer is the series a straight faced stalk-n-slash either. Tinges of satire, self parody and silliness have entered the Friday landscape.
Additionally this installment, while producing a sizable body count, is suspiciously lacking in the gore department. It’s also the only entry to feature no nudity. Fo reals?
But more importantly pop icons appear.
Enter Alice Cooper and his single He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask) blatantly reassuring all the Friday Freaks that yes, he’s back. Yes, the man behind the mask, Jason. Don’t worry, we even put his name first in the title to placate all the jaded fans that may not come to suckle from our money cow’s teat.
Jason goes for a full blown team-up. Music videos, multiple songs, Fangoria spreads which give us such awesome images as this.
Thankfully, Jason didn’t take too many cues from Freddy, and remained silent. I don’t know if I could have handled a wisecracking Voorhees.
Despite its lighter tone and generalized Skynet-like self-awareness, Jason Lives is still a fine entry. Jason is still menacing, and there are some good kills, however neutered they may feel. It’s certainly not the poorest entry and it has a lot of style. It may just be one of the more entertaining of The Fridays, but that’s all up for debate, as that assessment depends largely on your temperament and what kind of Friday you prefer.
It remains perhaps my favorite of the post-zombie half of the series. It’s all downhill from 6, by degrees. I gotta lotta love for 7 though, so there’s some wiggle room with that declaration.
Pulling Jason Voorhees clear into the the mid-80’s, here’s Alice Cooper’s He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask).
We’ve already gotten a sampling of Freddy Krueger’s sonically iconic offerings, but surely his contemporary and adversary Jason Voorhees has a thing or two to say on the matter awesome 80’s soundtracks, no?
Yes. Yes he does.
From 1984’s prematurely subtitled The Final Chapter (a title made all the more ridiculous considering there are fewer Friday the 13ths proceeding it than following it), comes this tune from LA butt-rockers Lion.
Man, that’s pretty emphatic. They even blow up the mask for God’s sake.
This is the song to which Crispin Glover (aka George McFly, or Jimbo here) famously does he’s strange and erratic gyrations.
I’ve heard from unconfirmed sources (read: my buddy Matt Mastrella, AC/DC fan and possible rumorist) that during filming, the actual song playing was Back In Black, which they could not ultimately use after failing to secure the rights. If that’s true, it would certainly go a long way to explaining Jimbo’s arrhythmic seizing.
Led in with the archetypal campfire tale of Jason, originally featured in Part 2 and rehashed in pieces during the pre-title sequence from Part 4. Its a favorite moment of mine from the series, and goes great with the song, if a tad lengthy.
I think it’s worth the wait though, and makes for a spooky interlude where your party guest can kick back and take in a little histrionic Voorhees history before Lion commence to rock.
