Produced by Nathan Barr and Ford A. Thaxton

Release Date: September 16, 2003

        La-La Land Records

     Cabin Fever is another film inspired by Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series (and the director admits as such in the liner notes), and though I usually avoid movies of this ilk, I do admit to enjoying Raimi’s entry and the liner notes and descriptions from Cabin Fever actually aroused an interest. After all, a good, old-fashioned crafted horror film that actually attempts to break ground by returning to the genre’s roots seems like a good idea (in theory at least). Only a viewing of the film will tell whether or not the execution was worthwhile (and the puns will now stop). Another departure from what passes for the norm in scoring this genre is Nathan Barr’s score (with plenty of help from horror-expert Angelo Badalamenti). And while Cabin Fever does represent a twist in the music behind the horror, the results are still a mixed bag.

     While I’m sure the music works wonders in the film, isolated on disc it becomes a different beast altogether (which goes double for the fact that I have no idea what is going on film-wise throughout the different cues). Think a typical episode of the X-Files without any synth, but done with all real instruments, and you’ll get the picture of what this album essentially sounds like. The only departure consists of the song numbers (of which there are four) and a quirky cue of Badalamenti’s for Deputy Winston. While the score manages to avoid the mass of musical clichés that permeate the genre, the end result is nothing more than atmosphere. Oodles of atmosphere, but still just atmosphere. As far as horror scores go, Cabin Fever is better than most of what I’ve heard before, though it doesn’t really stand to the eighties output of Richard Band.

     Finally we have the included songs on the album, and they run the gauntlet from heavy rock to a gospel ballad (Swing Low). The songs appear at the beginning of the album (with the gospel one at the end), and thus it doesn’t break up the score too much, though it’s still annoying to have to skip ahead to track seven before reaching the Main Title.

1 - "Squirrels" (0:12)

2 - Sh*tstorm (Performed by Your Mom) (3:33)

3 - "Lit Him on Fire" (0:09)

4 - Wastin' Time (Performed by Scrappy Hamilton) (3:26)

5 - "Party Man" (0:15)

6 - Walkin', Workin', Lovin', Laughin' (Performed by the Turtlenecks) (3:38)

7 - Main Title / Infectious Dog (3:40)

8 - Dennis Bites (1:56)

9 - Lemonade (0:57)

10 - The Nougat? (0:24)

11 - Paul and Karen / Good Kisser (1:26)

12 - Burn the Hermit (2:25)

13 - What To Do (2:47)

14 - Karen Sips / The Hog Lady (3:33)

15 - Deputy Winston (4:10)

16 - Red Love / Virus Check (4:22)

17 - Karen Falls Apart (3:45)

18 - Marcy & Paul Screw (1:47)

19 - Pancakes / Runnin' From Rednecks (2:26)

20 - The Reservoir / Leg Shaving (5:23)

21 - Die, Redneck, Die (2:32)

22 - Grim's Cave (2:19)

23 - Party Crasher (1:11)

24 - The Party Ain't Over (1:25)

25 - Jeff Makes It (4:07)

26 - Comin' To A Town Near You (0:59)

27 - "I Made It" (0:47)

28 - Swing Low (Performed by Happy Wednesday) (4:33)

29 - "Faced" (0:11)

Bonus Tracks

30 - Hermit's Lair (1:50)

31 - Hunting With Bert (1:53)

32 - Red Love (Extended) (3:35)