Most rock & roll fans associate the title "Love Her Madly" with
the Doors' hit from 1971, especially when the former keyboardist of the band
Ray Manzarek is involved. In the case of this Oglio release,
Love Her Madly has nothing to do with
the Doors, but it is the title of both a film and soundtrack produced by
Manzarek along with
Bruce Hanifan.
Manzarek is a noted fan of film noir, so it should come as no surprise that both the movie and soundtrack follow that dark shadowy tradition while doing an admirable job injecting electronica and techno into the musical mix. There is a tricky aspect that goes along with composing for film. The listener is aware that the music was written with a specific scene in mind, but without access to those visuals, the listener often feels left out. That's not the case with
Love Her Madly, since
Manzarek and
Hanifan approached the score knowing that it should not only enhance what's on the screen but also provide an enjoyable listening experience sans visuals. While
Manzarek and
Hanifan composed and performed the whole of this set, they engaged the assistance of guitarists Gregg Montane and another former member of
the Doors Robbie Krieger. ~ Al Campbell