Ask most audiences what comes to mind when they think of the music found in adult movies, and they'd probably describe either the casio-driven elevator music cheese of recent porn or the bum-chicka-bow-wow funk of yesteryear.  While neither description is completely incorrect, it seems that the music is most adult films is more or less irrelevant and more often than not seems to be repetitious library music cues thrown over the film footage.  What most people don't realize is that, for a time in the 1970s when porn threatened to cross into the mainstream, adult movie soundtracks actually were well produced, adding to the sense of fun in goofy flicks like Deep Throat and heightening the drama of efforts such as The Devil in Miss Jones.  In some ways, I think it could be argued that the notion that soundtracks don't matter in adult movies is half the reason why the porn of today is garbage compared to old-time adult cinema.  If the producers don't bother worrying about the soundtracks, why should they worry about acting, story, or continuity...?

Shining light on the just plain bizarre porn soundtracks of yesteryear, Deep Note: Music of 1970's Adult Cinema proves that adult film soundtracks weren't always as bland as the stereotypes would lead one to believe.  The selections contained on this hour long, 40 track collection run the gamut to include all types of music, the majority of which is surprisingly well-produced and often quite catchy.  Certainly, many of the tracks have a slightly sleazy feel to them, often driven by honky bass grooves and heavy percussion (and hooray for Bongos!), but one can easily tell that some thought went into the pieces and their performance.  It's clearly not just a bunch of studio bums cranking out listless library music, but rather gifted instrumentalists having fun and delivering some solid tunes.  Rumor has it that many established musicians of the day (Frank Zappa's name was frequently mentioned) played on these sessions to pay the bills, and I wouldn't really be surprised, as the general quality of the music is better than I would necessarily have expected.

This disc probably would work better as mood music, although I'm not sure you'd ever want to put this music on if you were trying to create a romantic situation with someone special; in such cases Deep Note almost certainly would come across as laughable.  There are several just plain goofy tracks here, both from a musical standpoint and as created by the inclusion of choice dialogue moments from vintage adult films.  These segments are frequently hilarious: The "Home Alone" clip from the movie Diary of a Horny Housewife, with its first-hand account of the titular character "handling some business" -literally- while a super-sleazy trumpet blares in the background cracks me up instantly.  While this compilation seems generally good-natured and humorous, the track selection occasionally gets down 'n' dirty: "Dale's Theme" from Witchy Woman is the quintessential old porn track, with a slinky and funky bass line and reggae beat establishing the mood, and the occasional trumpet stabs and uber-cheesy guitar melody (supposedly) working panty-dropping magic.

I can't emphasize enough the bizarre nature of many of the tracks here; some of them seem completely inappropriate for use in adult movies.  Thus, Deep Note becomes somewhat fun to listen to just to imagine how some of these tunes would have been used in the various films.  "Boob Tube" from Orgasmatron 75, with a sinister kind of sound and instrumentation, seems more appropriate for a spy thriller, while electronics-heavy "Robots Rule" from Plan 69 From Outer Space is wild, synth-driven madness. "Psychedelic Orgy" from The X-orcist amusingly perverts Mike Oldfield's music from the 1973 horror film,  and "Auntie’s Panties" is good, ol' fashioned, country-twinged Americana.  I maintained a smile throughout the duration of the album just visualizing hairy people bumping uglies in ways that seemed to fit the music. The fantastic song selection on the disc is nothing if not diverse, and the inclusion of the dialogue clips ensure that the album comes across as enjoyably dirty.

Really, the only criticism I could present with regard to this album is that the sound quality is somewhat poor.  The entire album has a hissy quality, and some tracks are particularly indistinct.  This is kind of a moot point on a disc that collects adult film soundtrack music though; I can't imagine these songs were ever crystal clear even on the original masters, and actually the questionable sound quality may add to the overall effect of the disc.  Released on the Danish Grammafon label, this album also includes several juicy photos on the folding CD package, and brief notes on the nature of these recordings, making it a gas for the listener interested in this type of music.  Deep Note certainly wouldn't be appropriate for listeners offended by sexual content or some naughty language, and the quality and nature of the music wouldn't be to everyone's taste either.  For what it is though, I'd have to say this album is quite enjoyable and although it’s not (in my opinion) as much fun as the many somewhat similar Euro-lounge and -jazz compilations, the often funky collection of tracks on this disc would be right up the alley of the sleaze connoisseur.

Recommended: Yes