Aliens [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

by James Horner

Overview

When James Horner accepted scoring duties for James Cameron's sci-fi epic Aliens, the composer was an inexperienced action specialist best known for two unremarkable Star Trek sequel scores that owed much and added little to Jerry Goldsmith's famous theme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Aliens, too, was a sequel to a Goldsmith scored blockbuster. But this time Horner's efforts stood firmly on their own, borrowing little more than general mood from Goldsmith's Alien score. The dense ambient orchestrations and inventive electronic percussion used in Aliens were so well received in the film music community that many of the film's cues have become action flick cliches. Aliens also brought Horner his first Academy scoring nomination despite the fact that dissonant sci-fi action compositions by no-name newcomers are not often recognized. (Horner may have benefited from weak competition; ironically, Leonard Rosenmann was also nominated that year for boldly going where Horner had gone twice before: another Star Trek sequel.) Though highly effective in the context of the film, the Aliens score is far from Horner's most listenable. There are some compelling melodies particularly in the opening and closing credits, but the bulk of the CD is dominated by jarring strings and driving percussion that don't work very well as background music. Film music buffs and Aliens diehards may enjoy Varese Sarabonde's 2001 "Deluxe Edition," which contains 16 previously unreleased cues. But casual listeners will probably be more than satisfied with the original version. ~ Evan Cater

Product Details

Release Date:	05/01/2001
Label:	Var?Se Sarabande
UPC:	0030206624120
Rank:	29876

Tracks

1. Aliens, film score~Main Title
2. Aliens, film score~Bad Dreams
3. Aliens, film score~Dark Discovery/Newt's Horror
4. Aliens, film score~LV-426
5. Aliens, film score~Combat Drop
6. Aliens, film score~Complex
7. Aliens, film score~Atmosphere Station
8. Aliens, film score~Med. Lab
9. Aliens, film score~Newt
10. Aliens, film score~Sub-Level 3
11. Aliens, film score~Ripley's Rescue
12. Aliens, film score~Face Huggers
13. Aliens, film score~Futile Escape
14. Aliens, film score~Newt Is Taken
15. Aliens, film score~Going After Newt
16. Aliens, film score~Queen
17. Aliens, film score~Bishop's Countdown
18. Aliens, film score~Queen to Bishop
19. Aliens, film score~Resolution and Hyperspace
20. Aliens, film score~Bad Dreams (alternate)
21. Aliens, film score~Ripley's Rescue (percussion only)
22. Aliens, film score~LV-426 (alternate edit - film version)
23. Aliens, film score~Combat Drop (percussion only)
24. Aliens, film score~Hyperspace (alternate ending)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

James Horner   Primary Artist,Conductor
London Symphony Orchestra   Ensemble,Orchestra

Technical Credits

James Horner   Composer,Performer,Producer
Eric Tomlinson   Mixing,Music Scoring Mixer
Robert Townson   Executive Producer
Richard Kraft   Executive Producer
Nick Redman   Producer
Michael McDonald   Mastering,Editing,Assembly,Transfers
London Symphony Orchestra   Performer
Tom Null   Executive Producer
Robin Clark   Editing,Music Editor
Greig McRitchie   Orchestration
Daniel Hersch   Digital Mastering,Digital Transfers