Caldera Records proudly presents Roy Budd’s score for the action thriller “Zeppelin”.

The 1960s and 70s saw a flood of films depicting the horrors of the world wars as entertaining action fare, of which “Zeppelin” is one. Michael York plays a young lieutenant in the British Army who is sent on a secret mission to Germany. The Germans are building the LZ 36, a Zeppelin that can fly up to 12,000 feet and thus higher than any British aircraft. For the lieutenant it becomes a dangerous mission, one that threatens his life and the existence of his country.

The strongest element of the film is its score by Roy Budd, who provided a rousing and memorable soundtrack that stands as one of his most refined and accomplished works. It is an especially worthy achievement since Budd was still in his early 20s when he wrote it. While Roy Budd was able to flex his muscles writing dense action music, he also infuses the score with his trademark jazzy style, most notable in the quieter scenes featuring Geoffrey and Erika, as well as in the moments between Geoffrey and Stephanie, the woman with whom he is having an affair, who turns out to be a spy. The love theme that Budd uses for this romantic triangle is one of his most beautiful.

The release of Budd’s “Zeppelin” score almost didn’t see the light of day. For a long time, the recording tapes were considered lost. Budd’s widow Sylvia had one stereo tape of selected cues in her personal archive, but for decades the vast majority of the score was nowhere to be found. Then in early 2024, Roy’s cousin presented us with an acetate copy of several cues from the recordings. We have done our best to clean up the transfer. Unfortunately, several pieces are still missing and are unlikely ever to be found. Considering the circumstances, we are still glad to finally present a selection of his cues from his score for “Zeppelin,” and thus pay tribute to his talent and versatility. As a bonus, we included several instrumental demos Roy recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s that were previously unreleased.

The 65th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke.

Mono
01. Main Titles (2:19)
02. Showdown (4:36)
03. Approaching Balcoven/In Germany (1:57)
04. Trouble in the Sky (5:37)
05. LZ 36 (2:57)

Stereo
06. Erika Visits (1:13)
07. To the Boat (1:01)
08. Docking (1:19)
09. Reaching 12,000 Feet (1:44)
10. Descend! (2:15)
11. A Night with a Spy (3:09)
12. Erika Visits (alt.) (1:17)
13. Garden Party (0:43)

Bonus:
14. A Day Alone With You (3:04)
15. Roy’s Tune (2:52)
16. Someday Summertime Will Come (2:25)
17. Untitled Demo (2:35)
18. Give Me One More Chance (Demo) (4:09)