TRACK #255:

Green Slime by Sherry Gaden, Richard Delvecchio & Rick Lancelot

Now, we’re gonna kick things all the way back to ‘68 with a brand new contender for Oldest Title Track on the Shindig. And what a doozy of a contender it is.

You’d be forgiven for thinking the Title Track to The Green Slime must be a joke. It sounds almost like an anachronism. It sounds like it doesn’t belong in this movie. It sounds awesome.

Produced by Surf Rock pioneer Richard Delvecchio and sung by Frank Zappa vocalist Rick Lancelot, Green Slime is a rollicking garage-rock romper that feels a little ahead of its time, and a bit out of place.

This Japanese produced space-standoff proceeds like Sid and Marty Croft directed a Toho remake of This Island Earth. It’s a movie with a weird vibe.

What’s weirder? The fact that this song kicks off the whole damn thing. It honestly gets you pumped. Almost too pumped. This song is probably the coolest thing about the movie. Not that there’s anything specifically terrible about the movie, it’s just that cool of a song.

I mean, I won’t lie, you really gotta be into 60’s sci-fi monster movies. And being frank here, that’s not gonna be everyone’s bag, particularly these days. The miniatures look like the model train sets your Dad built in the basement, the acting in stagey and the aliens looks like 33rd degree Sigmund the Sea Monsters. But all of that is the charm. If you’re in the right mood, anyway.

Also, the pacing is pretty crisp for its day, though nothing close to what audiences have become accustomed to over the intervening 40 odd years.

So, you know yourself. Would you like that? Eh, then maybe give The Green Slime a go. If not, at least kick back and enjoy this trailblazing tune. One of the great Title Tracks of all time.