Angel Heart (1987) - Soundtrack Collection

I remember plucking William Hjortsberg's novel Falling Angel from the paperback rack at a local store, way back in 1982, and giving it a brief once over. I did so because there was a blurb from Stephen King himself stating, "A terrific book. I've never read anything like it." The publisher ad copy, just beneath Hjortsberg's name, also promised that the book was a spellbinding novel of terror and the occult.

Despite all that, I passed on getting and reading Falling Angel. Why? No idea. I was fourteen and the book's artwork did not look scary enough to me, maybe? That was forty-two or so years ago, after all, and I wasn't taking notes.

Five years later a friend and I attended a matinee screening of Angel Heart that left us creeped out and good and rattled. That experience got me to track down and read Falling Angel. As much as I liked and admired the movie, I thought the book was even better.

I also purchased this soundtrack. which muddied the score presentation with snippets of dialog and sound effects from the film. Another shortcoming is the absence of the recording of Girl of My Dreams used in the film. Thanks to Angel Heart and its soundtrack, the song's melody became an ear worm that haunts me to this very day.