Library Music Themes
General Sharing & Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Mr on April 18, 2018, 01:11:07 PM
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I find this is often people's first assumption of what library music is - sloppy 'sound-alikes' piggybacking off of famous pieces of music. Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, most library isn't.
I do quite enjoy those sort of cues, however! Do you know any cues that have taken a bit much inspiration from elsewhere?
Some of my favourites:
"Silent Witness" (Zack Laurence, Music House MHA-2)
(Mike Oldfield - "Tubular Bells")
"License to Kill - Pt. 2" (Anthony Mawer, Southern Library of Recorded Music MQ/LP-31)
(John Barry/Nancy Sinatra - "You Only Live Twice")
"Stingray", "Purple Moon" (David Reilly, Programme Music PM 026)
(Gary Numan - "Cars")
(Pink Floyd - "Breathe")
"Participation" (Ole Georg, Media Music the Professional PSE-17)
(Michael Jackson - "Thriller")
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David Reilly's "Purple Moon" was the first track I had in mind when I saw your post here, Mr. The title of this is such a clever wink to the listener ;)
I know there are numerous "Shaft" sound-alikes out there, but don't have time to track them down.
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"Chicken Sax" by Gerhard Trede is obviously a ripoff of "Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph.
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There's a KPM which is a blatant rip of 'Pick Up the Pieces' by The Average White Band. I forget the LP.
DWS/LP 3513 - 'Let's All Be Happy' is 'Best Years of Our Lives' by Modern Romance. Same LP has Thriller rip off 'Black Heart'
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Keith Mansfield's 'Bubble Machine' on the KPM album Lifeforce was withdrawn after Gershon Kinglsey objected to the similarity to 'Popcorn' - it was re-recorded as 'Micro Pops' with a new bass and melody line and appeared on KPM CD 099. The original remains unavailable.
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Steve Gray did a History of Jazz series for Bruton Music.
“Midnight Serenade” sounds an awful like Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade”.
“Take Your Time” is a take-off of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”.
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Here's one I found recently - compare and contrast Dave Richmond's 'Confunktion' (aka the tune off the Denim aftershave adverts)
.....with obscure 1971 British prog rock track 'Sing' by Ransome Head:
Although Dave Richmond didn't play on the Ransome Head track, guitarist Clive Hicks did - I wonder if there was a bit of subconscious influencing going on there?
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Wow, LT. That's an obscure catch there. I dig that Ransome Head track.
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I love it! Some very familiar names playing on it too, including Brian Dee, Harold Fisher and John Fiddy.
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Sauveur Mallia's "Digital Proton" (Cosmosynthetic Vol. 1) is a clear rip-off of Devo's "Girl U Want".
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David Reilly's "Purple Moon" was the first track I had in mind when I saw your post here, Mr. The title of this is such a clever wink to the listener ;)
I know there are numerous "Shaft" sound-alikes out there, but don't have time to track them down.
If I recall correctly one of them is actually called Shafty or something. Makes it easy for the sound editor to find the sort of thing they're looking for I guess!
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I feel Joerg Reiter's three "Fun Key" LPs have several moments that sound very *cough* "inspired".
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‘Mile High’ by Yellowjackets
‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ by Tears for Fears
‘Truth or Consequences’ by Stop Gap
‘I Love Lucy’ by Wilbur Hatch
‘Liberty’ by Steve Vai
‘Don’t Take Your Guns to Town’ by Ry Cooder from the Blue City motion picture soundtrack
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Mono Ski Keith Mansfield
And Glen Somers Band, Walking Boots
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Reg Owen again (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv7kmqxT8uk)
sounding very like Jimmy Webb's By The Time I get to Phoenix
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Also i think Glen Somers' Demerara sounds very like Keith Mansfield's Funky Fanfare/Soul Thing.
Maybe Reg Owen was a big Keith Mansfield fan and wanted to pay homage :D
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Here's a real blatant one.
....couldn't possibly be a very loose reworking of....
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Here's another I came across. I guess this group of Bruton composers fancy themselves as smooth operators:
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'Microchaos' and 'Distillation' by Blue Phantom/Armando Sciascia are two very obvious and well-known tracks "inspired" by The Stooges' 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' and Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' respectively, but they're so charming that I had to mention them again. Does anyone recognise any of the other songs on the same LP? 'Violence' reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it... And I sure would like to know what the inspiration for 'Equilibrium' is, as that's my favourite on the album! Parts of the melody sounds like the Rolling Stones' 'She's a Rainbow'.
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Reviving the thread...
Practically all of Programme Music PM 16 - Rock Reflections (Steve March) is filled with rip-offs, e.g. The Who, Queen, The Eagles, Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly, etc.
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Ray Davies wrote Atlantic Drive as a soundalike to Herb Alpert's Route 101:
And here is Herb:
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Ray Davies wrote Atlantic Drive as a soundalike to Herb Alpert's Route 101:
And here is Herb:
Never knew about the Herb Alpert rip off! I'm a huge Alpert fan, so really dug that. And I love when they named the library knock offs so obvious in the titles to hint what they were doing.
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D. Todd Sorensen's "Wishbone" from Non-Stop Music library [NS-WS 004/NSPS-ALT 001/NSPS-1990 001] sounds similar to the "Friends" theme song:
https://milesofmusik.com/music_catalog/album-374704/
Meanwhile, "Kit Cartoon" by Eric Gemsa [KOS 025] is suspiciously based on the first seconds of the famous Looney Tunes theme "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" (No wonder the track has been discontinued!):
https://www.sakuranotes.jp/Music35828.html
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Here are a couple of soundalikes of this one instrumental piece from the score of a familiar Disney animated film:
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Kovac’s ‘Nymphe’ is really ‘I Robot’
and from same Selected Sound LP is a ‘Money Runner’ rip-off...
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Neither is library music, but there was nowhere else to post this (without starting a new thread). Here is Harry Robinson's main title from the 1971 Hammer movie, Twins of Evil:
...and the Lolita Ritmanis main title theme for the 2001-2004 seasons of the Justice League animated series:
Ritmanis barely tried to conceal the sticky-fingered swiping of the Robinson composition.
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Frederic Masson - Happy Tax Payer => Pink Floyd - Money
The Magic Sound Celebration - At The Rainbow's End => Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Mike Moore Company - Third Step => Barclay James Harvest - Life is for Living