Max Frost Says 14 Or Fight

WILD IN THE STREETS was a film that came out in 1968, and starred such strange bedfellows as Shelley Winters, Hal Holbrook, and Richard Pryor. If I recall correctly, it was about a rock star who decides to join up with a politician to focus on the "youth vote"-- that is to say, to get the voting age lowered to 14, and to have all retired people locked up, unable to vote. Anyway, it was a bit of a mess, and is very dated. The soundtrack is by the inimitable Les Baxter, so you know there will be something worthwhile therein. Most of the tracks are generic copies of popular late 60s hits. When I listen to the record, I often find myself thinking, "Who did this song originally?" Only to find it was, in fact, an "original". But, as I noted, there are a few worthwhile moments, and the track by Les Baxter's nom de plume, The Senators, is definitely worthwhile. It starts as a typical late 60s soundtrack tune-- slow, spare and a little bit, erm, sexy, but quickly reveals its true colors as odd loops, ghostly whoops and hollers, and keyboard warbles and squiggles come in from nowhere, and by the end is a truly psychedelic, heavily-delayed, pile of sound. As far as I can tell, the soundtrack has never been released on CD, (dig those crazy vinyl crackles, man!) and the movie has never been on DVD, but you can buy a VHS copy here.

The Senators "Psychedelic Senate"