MAY and Other Selected Works

A limited edition compilation of selections from Jammes Luckett's early feature film and TV soundtrack work, across several productions, and previously unreleased demos.

Note: Although now out of print, used copies of this release occasionally pop up at auction. Additionally, some of the music on this collection or alternate versions can also be found on the May OST as well as releases by Poperratic.

This release was a career retrospective featuring remastered selections from Jammes Luckett's early soundtrack work, including scores, original songs, and unreleased sketch demos from several films and television series. It was commissioned by noted soundtrack label La-La Land Records, with a limited edition of 1000 units sold online and in boutique shops.

The collection includes an 8-page full-color booklet with liner notes by Luckett, McKee, and Bettis, as well as set photographs from the productions of the films.

Some discs were signed in-person by Luckett at that year's Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors where La-La Land Records helped present the convention's first-ever Composer panel. Luckett was named a "Maestro of Horror" and shared the stage as well as the signing table with a number of horror music legends.

Original description from La-La Land Records:
Presenting an early career retrospective of score and original songs from composer/songwriter [Jammes] Luckett (of the rock band Poperratic), featuring her amazing work from the films of Lucky McKee and Angela Bettis.

Haunting melodies and textured atmosphere weave throughout Luckett's beautiful score to the cult horror hit MAY, written and directed by Lucky McKee and starring Angela Bettis. Luckett collaborates successfully with the duo again in the just-released horror/character-drama ROMAN, starring and written by McKee and directed by Bettis. Also included are spellbinding demo tracks from another McKee genre film, THE WOODS. A must-have collection for genre and movie music fans alike from a fresh, exciting talent.

This is a Limited Edition pressing of 1000 Units. All tracks have been re-mastered for this release, and also features tracks from the McKee-directed MASTERS OF HORROR television episode SICK GIRL, and the rare documentary THE TOOLBOX MURDERS: AS IT WAS (directed by Kevin Ford and Chris Sivertson; Executive Produced by Tobe Hooper).

Critical Acclaim for Luckett's OST
Both at the time of release and in the 20+ years since, Luckett's original songs and score in the film have received a lot of love from critics. Among reviews of the film and its subsequent releases (such as its recent Blu-Ray edition), as well as analysis articles and essays covering the film's cultural importance within the horror genre and as a character study, the soundtrack consistently earns high praise. Words frequently used to describe the work are "great", "amazing," and "killer."

Upon the film's initial premiere, Luckett received award nominations for "Best Score" from multiple international film festivals, as well as nods from Ain't It Cool News, the late Roger Ebert, The Los Angeles Times, and Variety Magazine (the latter two of which cited Jammes as "One to Watch").

Among those with a deep knowledge of film music, Luckett's score and original songs have stood out as a key element that both enhanced and elevated the film's atmosphere and its crucial emotional and psychological aspects. This distinctive and evocative score is often cited by both critics and fans as a primary reason for May's enduring cult classic status.

More than just an accompaniment, Luckett's music has often felt to many like a direct conduit to May's inner world, mirroring her escalating isolation, her childlike innocence, and her eventual descent into madness. Its distinct sound, melodic nature, and ability to seamlessly weave disparate genres into one cohesive soundtrack have been praised for not only deepening the audience's connection to the story but also for having played a crucial role in solidifying the film's unique, often unclassifiable blend of dark character study and psychological horror. Its often melancholic yet subtly whimsical motifs perfectly encapsulate May's fractured innocence and burgeoning pathology, making it an integral part of the film's lasting impact and appeal.

See a sampling of reviews below.

2006 CD Compilation Production

All music and lyrics written by Jammes Luckett and published by Pied Piper Lorre Musesick (ASCAP), except where noted.

This CD edition ©2006 La-La Land Records under license from Art Mechanix.

Original Soundtrack and Bonus Track Recordings ℗2001-2006 Art Mechanix.

Executive Producers: M.V. Gerhard and Matt Verboys, La-La Land Records
Remastered by: TBA
Art Direction & Layout by: TBA
Liner Note Authors: Jammes Luckett, Lucky McKee, and Angela Bettis
Composer Photo: Claude Hazanavicius, Montreal, Canada, 2003

MAY OST Recordings

All music and lyrics written by Jammes Luckett
All music published by Pied Piper Lorre Musesick (ASCAP)
All music performed by Jammes Luckett, except where noted:

Guest Artists / Features:

• Angela Bettis (vocals): "Deviation on a Theme: Shatter"
• Claudia Schwartz (vocals): "Deviation on a Theme: Shatter"

Produced by: Jammes Luckett & Angelo Metz
Recorded in: Hollywood, CA & West Hollywood, CA
Engineering & Mixing by: Angelo Metz
Additional Recording & Mixing by: Jammes Luckett

Originally released under the pseudonyms Jaye Barnes Luckett and Alien Tempo Experiment 13 (ATE 13).

THE WOODS Sketch Demo Recordings

All music and lyrics written by Jammes Luckett
All music published by Pied Piper Lorre Musesick (ASCAP)
All music performed by Jammes Luckett, except where noted:

Guest Artists / Features:

• David "Dizmix" Lopez - Sound Design on "Bad Girl"

Produced by: Jammes Luckett & David "Dizmix" Lopez
Sketch demos recorded by: Jammes Luckett
Studio recordings engineered and mixed by: David "Dizmix" Lopez
Recorded in: Hollywood, CA and West Hollywood, CA

THE TOOLBOX MURDERS: AS IT WAS OST Recordings

All music written by Jammes Luckett
All music published by Pied Piper Lorre Musesick (ASCAP)
All music performed by Jammes Luckett, except where noted:
Produced by: Jammes Luckett & David "Dizmix" Lopez
Studio recordings engineered and mixed by: David "Dizmix" Lopez
Recorded at: Paramount-Amerycan, Hollywood, CA

MASTERS OF HORROR: SICK GIRL OST and Vagus Recordings

All music and lyrics written by Jammes Luckett, except where noted.
All music published by Pied Piper Lorre Musesick (ASCAP), except where noted.
All music performed by Jammes Luckett

• Original score interpolates songs Written by Ben Boyer (additional song and publishing details forthcoming)

Guest Artists / Features:

• Chris Gregory - acoustic drums on "Hide and Seek (Film Version)"

Score and core song stems Recorded and Produced by: Jammes Luckett in Silverlake, CA
Additional Engineering by: David "Dizmix" Lopez at Dizmix Studios in Glendale, CA, Amerycan Recording in North Hollywood, CA and Paramount-Amerycan Recording in Hollywood, CA
Mixing by: David "Dizmix" Lopez at Dizmix Studios in Glendale, CA, Amerycan Recording in North Hollywood, CA and Paramount-Amerycan Recording in Hollywood, CA

The songs that appear in the soundtrack were simultaneously produced for the Poperratic album "Vagus the Wandering Nerve" and licensed to the film.

ROMAN OST Recordings

All music and lyrics written by Jammes Luckett
All music published by Pied Piper Lorre Musesick (ASCAP)
All music performed by Jammes Luckett
Recorded and Produced by: Jammes Luckett
Mixing by: David "Dizmix" Lopez at Dizmix Studios, Glendale, CA

“MAY and Other Selected Works” CD review originally published by KitleySkrypt.com – 2006

Having scores from 5 different movies is great, giving a taste of the different scores of each. …Since this CD is well over an hour long, there is still enough tracks here to appease my singular appetite. Luckett does have some creepy melodies throughout this CD. One track from MAY, which even features star Angela Bettis on vocals, sounds like something from a 70’s Italian film. Very cool. The brief snippet from her score for Hooper”s THE TOOLBOX MURDERS left me wanting to hear more of it. Over all, while there is a lot of “normal” music for my particlar soundtrack tastes, this is a great sampler of a very talented composer, showing that she can hit any theme style.

“MAY and Other Selected Works” CD review originally published by FearZone.com – 2006

Not many directors seemed brave enough or confident enough in their own film to just allow the score to shut up for a bit. But MAY director Lucky McKee understood; and so did his composer [Jammes] Luckett. The result is one of my favorite film scores of the last 10 years, and now it’s available on CD. The folks at La-La-Land have issued this collection of Ms. Luckett’s soundtrack work, and it is a treat. What is interesting to me is that the material spans several films, years, and improved technical production value, yet all of it feels at home on this CD; flowing seamlessly from track to track.

Pay attention. those of y’all who fancy yourselves musicians out there: This is called having your OWN STYLE. [Jammes] is also a performer and songwriter, which is why I think her scores have an emphasis on themes & catchy melodies.

Before you go thinking this is gonna be an unashamed love letter to Ms. Luckett, and not a review…let me point out that (to my ears) some of the material is a bit hit and miss here and there. Some things just work better in conjunction with a visual (which obviously is not available in this release), and that was how this music was intended to be presented. However, this seems symptomatic of the soundtrack album format in general.

As much as I love hearing this music on its own, it should be understood that it (especially some of the demo material for the unused score to “The Woods”) are components of something bigger, and in some cases not quite fully realized. If you listen you’re gonna hear some flubbed notes, some sloppy execution in the guitars here and there, perhaps some of the instrument sounds themselves are a bit rushed (I’m not a fan of direct-in guitar; gotta get a microphone on it, and that’s the gospel truth ), but NONE of these things ruin the material for me. In fact, they serve to make the performances MUCH more human.

There is an urgency to these tracks. This music feels like it emerged; raw & bleeding; straight from the composer’s heart. In this day & age where so much of what passes for film “composition” is actually some jerkoff programming tempo grids in computer programs such as Reason, Cakewalk, or the dread Acid….well, I’ll take [Jammes’] stuff any day. The tracks are ripe with experimentation, great textures, and what I like to call “Brilliant Accidents.”

For example, during “The Toolbox Murders” there is some nasty tape hiss that is cleverly panned left & right in tempo with the music, thus making it an instrument to itself and not a technical liability. “Lazy Liars” (from the Masters Of Horror episode “Sick Girl”) has some sleek-n-sexified retro keyboard that is very much in keeping with the film proper (Misty Mundae & Angela Bettis…oh my, don”t mind if I do…)

The music from “Roman” shows Luckett truly coming into her own, and the arrangements are more sophisticated and yet more subtle. Not an easy task, I assure you. These are among my favorite works on this CD, and they close the disc with a gloomy, desperate beauty.

Simply put, this is a grab bag of great stuff; a wonderful retrospective of a very talented up and coming musician. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to add some beautiful, emotional music to their CD collection.