the sound of the future (Blade Runner - Vangelis - Soundtrack)

Member Name: steerpyke

Product:	Blade Runner - Vangelis - Soundtrack
Date:	29/11/04 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great reminder of the film

Disadvantages: synth driven

The end credits of 1982s Blade Runner mentioned a forth coming soundtrack release, but those who were keen to get this product actually had to wait 12 years before a CD was available. The CD is also not a true representation of the sound track of the film, though the tracks on the album grew out of the recordings made at the time of the film, they are often in altered form, some had not even featured in the first place.

Blade Runner was such a ground breaking film, in its style and depth that something special was needed to capture this atmosphere for the soundtrack and with this in mind, Vangelis was called in. Riding high from his oscar winning score to Chariots of Fire, this Greek electronic composer proved to be just the man for the job.

Opening with a track called Main Titles, a wash of dark synth washes into ear shot on top of which we hear Deckard (Harrison Ford) talking to his computer as the music rolls in peaks and troughs, each peak more dominant than the last, until it fades to be replaced by more conversations, this time between Deckard and Rachael, the love tryst of the film. This opening track is not the same as the opening to the film which as a longer more masterful reflection of the awesome first scene. Blush Response begins with more of the same, layers of keyboard building before a back beat kicks in to power the track along. By now you will have a feel for the album, but if you have seen the film you will pretty much know what to expect, even though this second track is one of the new tracks created since the film came out, it is very representitive.

The music immediately takes you back the beautiful decay of the city of the film, the future Los Angeles the rain soaked, crowded streets, the shadows and neon lights, a dark possible future that we may end up becoming. Wait For Me offers a change of direction for the soundtrack, combining the now familiar synthetic keyboard soundscapes of Vangelis and the voices of the actors, a lonely saxaphone adds warmth and even a sexy element to the preceedings, a mixture of future shock and late night jazz club. This romantic and almost erotic mournful sound matches the sexual tensions between Deckard and Rachael. A cold wind rushes through the place as a range of percussion provides the background for the first musical voice we have heard. No words are uttered, the voice is used purely as an instrument, matching the inhuman melodies of the music, taking turns to compete in a contast of woman against machine, this is Rachaels song and neatly matches the questions that the film posses about her, how human is she, how much can a machine be like us.

The most memorable part of the score, Love Theme is dominated by a sleazy saxophone, soft and subtle waves of harmonies provide a bed for it to lay on, and a piano provides a counterpoint, before the synthetic sounds again become the dominant sound, and as they fade the saxophone plays us out once more. Out of the blue One More Kiss Dear is a 1940s radio ballad, totally at odds with what has gone before, but reminding us that even in the far future, there will still be elements of the distant past.

Blade Runner Blues is Vangelis at his starkest, cold stabs of sound cut through a warmer drone of background noise. Memories of Green is a more contemporary piano piece, the occasional incidental electronic sounds remind us were we are, but a wistful and nostalgic nocturn of a piece places us in more human territory. Those incidental futuristic noises carry us into Tales of the Future and an arabesque vocal contrasts with the almost random noises behind it. A spiral of exotic eastern sounds rise from the keyboards that still manage to maintain its futuristc sound, enable the song to come across like a strange mix of ancient past and far future.

Haunting pipes lead us into Damask Rose, still clinging to its arabic charm and its dark future melodies. The End Title Track is the only one on the album that really lets itself go, an up electronic beat carries the tune and epic rolls of percussion punctuate the gaps in the main riff, and finally it builds to a crescendo and is gone. In its place is the rain and the tired breathing of Batty, the anti hero of the film, and he launchs into the most famous part of the script, his dying speech, Tears In Rain.

The soundtrack does capture the feel of the film well, futuristic, dark and sexy. My one word of warning is that almost all of the music is synthetic and keyboard driven. If you are not a fan of this type of music then this is not for you. It is a great soundtrack on its own but I do think that you need to see the film first and use the soundtrack to as a permenant record of the atmosphere of this amazing movie.

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