'Hogan, The Hawk & Dirty John Crown'

Issued for the first time on vinyl, this British library set sits deep in the seam where crime drama, funk and jazz overlap. Drawn from the Music De Wolfe catalogue, it brings together a small circle of UK composers working at the height of the early ‘70s library boom, including Alan Parker, Alan Hawkshaw, Simon Haseley, Reg Tilsley and Gordon Grant. The cues move with cinematic intent: 'The Hawk' and 'Dirty John Crown' lean into hard-edged rhythm and bass, while pieces such as 'Precinct' and 'Main Chance' favor tension and atmosphere over melody. Elsewhere, orchestral touches soften the frame without dulling the grit. Restored here with care, the record plays like a lost soundtrack, vivid, streetwise and sharply drawn.