Soundtrack Saturday

1968 film Bullitt is a classic of its kind, a late 60s crime/ detective thriller with a realistic feel, shot almost entirely on location, with gritty characters, violence, a car chase, corrupt city officials, some very natural sounding speech and scriptwriting, some very outdated attitudes towards the female characters, and Steve McQueen as Frank Bullitt. Most films would be improved by Steve McQueen. 

The score by Lalo Schifrin is a massive part of the film too, 60s American jazz that adds an edge to the film but works as a standalone album. Some of the tracks were re- recorded for the album's release, given a more pop feel to aid sales. 

Bullitt (Main Title, Movie Version)

Just Coffee wasn't on the original album release but made it onto the expanded edition, a slow and atmospheric musical backdrop to your Saturday morning espresso while you think about the day ahead. Wear the blue polo neck jumper and the tweed jacket over it. Oh, and the brown suede chukka boots...

Just Coffee

Cathy, played by Jacqueline Bissett, is Frank Bullitt's girlfriend. Cathy is an architect, a world away from Frank's police work. In one scene they find a young woman murdered in a motel bedroom. 'Frank, you work in a sewer', she says to him. But she's still there at the end of the film, asleep in bed when Frank returns from the finale at San Francisco airport having shot a man dead. 

Song For Cathy

Coffee

I'm a tea drinker. I drink multiple cups of tea a day- since giving up the cigs I think it's only the tea that keeps me going sometimes. But there aren't any songs about tea on my hard drive. Coffee on the other hand is well represented. Coffee is cooler than tea, more sophisticated- to us Brits coffee is the continent, pavement cafes, and frothy milk. Now the high street is littered with coffee shops selling a bewildering array of coffees all served by your expert barista who's happy to stamp your loyalty card. Our first cup is served by Lalo Shifrin, an unsettling instrumental from the film Bullitt (hence the picture of Steve McQueen at the top).

Just Coffee

The caffeine is kicking in now. The Bullitt soundtrack can be a bit jittery even without a shot of the black stuff. In 1994 James Lavelle put out a double vinyl ep called The Time Has Come, a bunch of remixes from Howie B, Portishead and Plaid. Plaid did this, breakbeat- jazz- trip hop that isn't a million miles from Lalo Shifrin..

Coffeehouse Conversation (Plaid Remix)

In 1989 Edwyn Collins released his Hope And Despair album, a lovely collection of songs. This one, drum machine led and with a lovely circular guitar riff, builds for nearly five minutes as Edwyn croons. Gorgeous.

Coffee Table Song

Blur's 1999 album 13 was a reaction to the Britpop thing. Graham Coxon sings and wrote it, describing his battle with alcohol over a chirpy indie-pop tune with a sqwarky, string-bending guitar solo. A bit of an ear worm.

Coffee And TV

To finish before the barista chucks us out for nursing one cup for an hour, here's Wild Billy Childish And The Musicians Of The British Empire, from the magnificent Thatcher's Children album, and a three chord rush tirade sung by Nurse Julie...

Coffee Date

'Look, You Work Your Side Of The Street, And I'll Work Mine'

There's a bit of a spy movie theme thing going on at a couple of places at the moment, so I'll chuck my tuppence worth in. Besides that, it gives us a chance to admire Steve McQueen's complete coolness.

This is the main title theme from Bullitt (1968), scored by Lalo Schiffrin. The score was reworked from the film for record release and jazzed up a bit (literally) to make it more saleable. The version here is from the cd re-release. On the vinyl version this track is a bit shorter- cd buyers value for money I suppose. The whole album is great and while I don't listen to this sort of thing (jazzy instrumentals or film soundtracks) very often this always sounds good.

Now, where did I put my polo neck jumper?

01 Bullitt, Main Title (Movie Versio.mp3