Herrmann has the city, the rhythm section, rise up out of the darkness as a jazzy martial beat thudding on the right side of your head. At the end of each shift, Bickle has to clean the blood, vomit, and ejaculate off of his back seat, all of which he sees as acts of war.
“Cleaning the Cab” is especially thorough.
And every once in awhile, jazz saxophonist Ronnie Lang enters with a beautiful melody representing the last vestiges of Bickle’s hope before it’s overwhelmed by his madness. Strings twitter nervously in the lower left, overmatched, while the woodwinds ominously rise in the center like a swelling storm front. “Thank God For the Rain” and “Cleaning the Cab” are the key templates for the soundtrack.Ī jazz rhythm section represents New York City, which is Bickle’s constant adversary, and it’s always placed in the upper right of the soundstage, a position of power. Herrmann understands Bickle completely, and the way the music is arranged and recorded largely reflects Bickle’s illness in a way that is always visceral and often thrilling.
#LISTEN TO BABY DRIVER SOUNDTRACK MOVIE#
It’s a movie about the inherent dangers of loneliness and the damage done when the only reflection we can see of ourselves is in the mirror. As his last futile attempts at human connection fail, he turns to misplaced chivalry and violence - with unexpected results. He has succumbed to an almost Stygian loneliness and sees the world as a cesspool of scum and hypocrisy. That maddening drum keeps popping high in the right channel and the woodwinds, good Lord, the woodwinds sound like Satan taking a deep breath before blowing out all of our candles.įor those who don’t know, Taxi Driver is the story of Travis Bickle, a profoundly damaged Vietnam vet who drives a cab in the worst parts of 1970s New York City. A string section nervously thrums in the left channel. The year 2020 has been such an unrelenting shit show that my defenses are weakened, apparently, and when the Snare Drum of the Damned kicks off this score, it feels like a summation of everything wrong with the world. I’ve been listening to this music for decades, but this time around soon had me thinking: Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Digital was Spotify streamed through a Macbook and iFi ZEN DAC with upgraded power supply and USB filter, both also made by iFi. My 1976 pressing of the LP was listened to using a Schiit Valhalla tube headphone amp, fed by a Clearaudio Concept turntable, Audio Technica AT30E cartridge, and Eastern Electric MiniMax tube phono stage. Headphones were the House of Marley Exodus, which offer a great combination of well-balanced sound and spicy looks.
My ticket to this dark ride was the same collection of gear as on other headphone experiences, such as Dark Side of the Moon, D’Angelo’s Voodoo, FKA Twigs’ LP1, and Robert Fripp’s Exposure. The existential dread at the core of Herrmann’s music thrives when it’s locked inside your head, almost to the point where it can get uncomfortable. Bernard Herrmann – Taxi Driver Original Soundtrack Recording (1976)īoth the film and the soundtrack retain their scorched-earth power, and Herrmann’s score is only enhanced when listened to on headphones.
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