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Intrada’s first archival score release of 2021 is a killer! The label will release, for the first time on CD, Carter Burwell’s chilling score to Psycho III.

After 1983’s shockingly solid sequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic, Universal Pictures sought star Anthony Perkins to both lead and direct a third film. Norman Bates is back at his old motel, having learned a terrible secret about his dear old mother in the last film. It’s a secret that threatens to unravel when new faces show up to the motel: an investigative journalist, a sleazy rocker serving as the night manager, and a disturbed ex-nun with a striking resemblance to Bates’ most notorious victim, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh).

Turning away from both the iconic stringed terror of Bernard Herrmann’s original score or the haunting orchestral sweep of Jerry Goldsmith’s work on Psycho II, Perkins sought out a fresher face: Carter Burwell, who’d only made his first score two years earlier to a film called Blood Simple. (It was the first work by Joel and Ethan Coen; the brothers would hire Burwell for 15 more films and counting, including Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski.) Burwell’s score was quite unlike the others, composed on a Synclavier and augmented with percussion and choir.

In another marked departure from the other films, the score features several pop-oriented cues written in collaboration with saxophonist David Sanborn (himself a year away from making a splash on soundtracks with a performance in the score to Lethal Weapon), Madonna collaborator/Breakfast Club drummer Stephen Bray and alternative artist Stanton Miranda. One of them, “Scream of Love,” was supported by a single release (with remixes by Arthur Baker) and even a music video, which Perkins presented on MTV as a guest VJ!

Intrada’s double-disc Psycho III presentation includes the full score as heard in the film – sourced from the original scoring masters at Universal Studios – plus the original MCA Records album release and almost a half-hour of alternate material – mostly rare and unreleased remixes of “Scream of Love.” Your cabin awaits at the link below!

Carter Burwell, Psycho III: Music from the Motion Picture (Intrada ISC 453, 2021 – original film released 1986)

Disc 1: Film score (previously unreleased)

1. Nunnery
2. Main Title
3. Catherine Mary
4. Dirty Street
5. Emma Flashback
6. Duke Meets Norm
7. Maureen Exits Truck
8. Piano Theme (Film Version)
9. House, Mom Intro
10. Duke in Bar (Warm As a Cry for Help)
11. Norman Watches T.V. (White Water/Red Water)
12. Norman to Maureen in Bath
13. Norman in Maureen’s Hospital Room
14. Scream of Love (Film Version)
15. Ruthie’s Murder
16. Maureen and Shrink
17. Norman and Tracy on Steps
18. Tracy in Emma’s Apt.
19. Norman and Mom Argue Over Maureen
20. Bathroom Murder
21. Mom’s Missing
22. Rest Home (Electroshock Waiting Room)
23. Swamp
24. Maureen Comes to Norman, Tracy, Norman and Mom
25. Norman Arrested
26. End Credits

Disc 2: Extras (1-7) and original soundtrack album (8-17)

1. Piano Theme (Alternate)
2. Scream of Love (Version C)
3. Scream of Love (Psycho Mix)
4. Scream of Love (Psycho Dance Mix)
5. Scream of Love (Psycho Dub Mix)
6. Scream of Love (Alternate No. 1)
7. Scream of Love (Alternate No. 2)
8. Scream of Love (Theme Song from the Motion Picture Psycho III)
9. Maureen in the Desert
10. Dirty Street
11. Before and After Shower
12. Warm As a Cry for Help
13. Sisters/Catherine Mary
14. Mother?
15. Bad Boys and Body Bags
16. Revenge of a Thankless Child
17. Electroshock Waiting Room

Tracks 1, 3 and 5-7 previously unreleased
Tracks 2 and 4 released on MCA Records 12″ 23648, 1986 – previously unreleased on CD
Tracks 8-17 released as MCA Records 6174, 1986 – previously unreleased on CD