Each year, tons and tons of albums in nearly every genre imaginable are reissued to varying capacities. However, very few in this day and age are coming either from vinyl directly to digital (or CD) or from complete non-existence. This is basically an anomaly of film music. The fan base for the genre is so devout that we cling to hopes year after year for those special nuggets of musical joy to finally surface in one way, shape, or form.
Sadly, the licensing for some of these titles are so strict that only limited quantities are legally allowed to be pressed, meaning there is always going to be a portion of the fan base that is never satisfied. Thus is the labor of the film music fan.
Rather than recap every catalogue or retro title released in 2011, here is a sampling of some of my personal favorites:
10. SPELLBINDER, composed by Basil Poledouris (La-La Land)
Although one of Poledouris’ lesser-known scores, it is no less deserving of recognition for its whimsical, romantic incorporation of synthesizer work. Riding the line between horror and suspense/thriller, Poledouris showed elegant restraint and managed to develop an aural tale of love, death, and arcane mysticism that rivals the work of Pino Donaggio.
9. CONAN THE DESTROYER, composed by Basil Poledouris / conducted by Nic Raine (Prometheus)
While not the original recordings, this reproduction of the complete score for Conan “2” is just as rapturous as its underappreciated as its parental version…and then some. While Conan The Barbarian was balls-out bloodthirst, Destroyer moved into more a LoTR-ish realm of questing and magic-dealing, while retaining that brassy, sanguine flavor. Classier than it is primordial, this re-representation of Destroyer amplifies an already good score into a thing of greatness.
8. MIMIC, composed by Marco Beltrami (Varese Sarabande)
While Marco Beltrami is known to the masses primarily for his tireless work on for the Scream franchise (oh yeah, and that Oscar nomination for The Hurt Locker), I’m glad Varese Sarabande allowed us to revisit what should have become a classic score for him (especially since the flick was directed by Guillermo del Toro). Unfortunately, it was a box office bomb, so the film fell to cult obscurity. But Beltrami’s score lives on, as a sort of sideways, long-delayed response to Horner’s Aliens. Sure, it’s got its fair share of red herrings, but it is still a great listening session!
7. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, composed by Alan Howarth (AHI)
A surprise to me, when I saw this creepy crawly score reissued. Easily the most underrated of the Halloween film music series, Howarth further developed the electronic tone base for the series on this score more than any other. A soundtrack that preyed upon innocent atmosphere, Howarth unleashed a barrage of unnerving sound effects and electronic instrumentation that easily put him on par with co-80s suspense conspirator Brad Fiedel. As Halloween was Howarth’s meal-ticket, he deemed it necessary for the music to evolve in order to survive, and here we are with an appropriate reissue finally getting its due!
6. 55 DAYS AT PEKING, composed by Dimitri Tiomkin (La-La Land)
It’s always a good year when we see scores Hollywood’s storied past emerge from the mothballs for new generations of music fans to experience. Frenzied and exotic, Dimitri Tiomkin took time out from his beefy, manly western score-work to take us on a journey to the Orient, an adventure into strange and wondrous lands that would ultimately garner him an Academy Award. Although Tiomkin went down in history for his groundbreaking work in the aforementioned western genre, his travelogue expeditions always struck a deeper chord with me, and apparently, someone at La-La Land, as well.
5. YOUNG GUNS II, composed by Alan Silvestri (Intrada)
Call it a guilty pleasure, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Silvestri’s score for Young Guns II. Having never been a fan of the original film’s score, Silvestri made me pay attention (even though the movie itself wasn’t quite as charming as its predecessor). But that didn’t matter, because Silvestri was playing cowboy, and he was fortunately saddled with a hit-single theme song by Jon Bon Jovi. I say fortunate, because it forced Silvestri to think in modern terms for a period piece. And somehow, he magically brought the Old West into the present, with electronic percussion and electric guitars playing in tandem with Native American rhythms and dusty traditionalism.
4. SCROOGED, composed by Danny Elfman (La-La Land)
This one always stuck out like a bit of a sore thumb to me in Elfman canon, because, although it was right up his alley theme-wise (quirky and dark-humored), there was a heart at the core of Scrooged that enticed Elfman to lighten his Beetlejuice-ness and conform just a bit to the Dickensian nature of the script. Never before available until La-La Land got ahold of it (a soundtrack of songs did exist at one point in time), one never really got to experience the score on its own. What is interesting about this score is that Elfman seems to be riding shotgun with Frank Cross’ journey of self-discovery, evolving his tune as he gets deeper into the story. And yet, it’s like a live-action cartoon, the way the music bobs and weaves through each impossible situation, and we’re having a blast through the entire ride!
3. FRIGHT NIGHT, composed by Brad Fiedel (Intrada)
A score I thought would never see light of day, except on the bootleg circuit, you would not believe my extended sigh of relief when Intrada announced the release of Brad Fiedel’s score for the 1985 cult horror classic Fright Night! One of the few flicks that continued to give me the willies every time I saw it, Fright Night yielded that little something extra that made me keep one light on. Eventually, I figured out that it was Mr. Fiedel’s wickedly gorgeous electronic ensemble that kept the chill in my spine. The world knows him for The Terminator; give me Fright Night any day!
2. THE BLACK HOLE, composed by John Barry (Intrada)
I kneel and kiss the feet of Intrada for unveiling one of John Barry’s most underappreciated works. One of my favorite sci-fi movies as a kid, I grew up with the twisted ballet theme to The Black Hole bobbing around my brain with only the vinyl soundtrack to keep me from forgetting it altogether. Barry blended orchestra and synthesizer in a true techno-organic stew that spewed melodic tendrils through every scene in the movie. I was always amazed by Barry’s ability to frighten me while keeping me interested in what was going to happen next, all the while, keeping me off-centered by that swirling recurring “Main Title” motif.
1. GREMLINS, composed by Jerry Goldsmith (FSM)
This was a score I don’t think anyone ever expected to be released. A holy grail, even in the bootleg circuit, Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Gremlins was always that elusive gem that everyone talked about and yet no one owned. Film Score Monthly heard our collective cries, and after what seemed an eternity, we were finally treated to some of Jerry Goldsmith’s most magical and mirthful compositions. Like the film, the score for Gremlins was chaotic, zany, fun, and of course, heartwarming, thanks to a little mogwai named Gizmo. I’m especially grateful, because now I can properly blare “The Gremlin Rag!” As an added bonus, FSM included a second CD, which contained the original soundtrack album for the film (that included a previously unreleased cut by Peter Gabriel)! And now that we’ve got it, please don’t get it wet, let it get hit by sunlight, or feed it after midnight! [Read my 2009 essay on Gremlins here.]
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