Customer Reviews

Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To start off, I must say that I do not own this album. I've purchased the complete album (20 tracks), and it overshadows the commercial release by quite a bit. Many good tracks were left out of the release, and regrettably my favorite track (Preparing for the Drop) isn't even used in the movie.

Aside from the qualms about the CD release itself, the music is pretty good. Fortunately, Horner wrote this score early in his career, so he was forced to come up with as much original music as possible. Horner-bashers aside, you CAN recognize some themes in this release, most notably the Klingon theme from Star Trek III, and a litle of Khan's theme from Star Trek II. Both are not overused throughout the score, but you will notice other small Hornerisms here and there.

Horner captures the essence of the movie in his score. Suspense, action, terror are all conveyed to the viewer through the music. The main and end titles have a solemn, lonely feeling, as Ripley floats in space in hypersleep.

Near the end of Bishop's Countdown, Horner created a phrase that has been used in myriads of film trailers and scores by many composers. During the scene in the movie, Ripley and Company are desperately trying to escape the plume of fire from the nuclear blast on the planet below. The brass rhythm is repeated, with dissonant strings taking up the rhythm just before the whole planet explodes. The tension builds at a faster pace until Horner lets the whole orchestra explode with cacophony. It is a true delight to see coupled with the movie.

On the whole, Aliens is a good score from early in Horner's career. It is utilized very well in the movie and although it has been presented poorly on CD, it makes for an eerie, action-packed listening.

By the way, if you're wondering where to acquire this complete score, send me an email and I'll be happy to direct you to it.

There tends to always be a mixed response on this score from the Horner bashers and lovers. This was a score I longed to purchased many years ago for one reason only: the sequence of music composed during the Marines escape upon finally discovering the aliens for the first time. On the CD, this lengthy track is "Futile Escape." In the movie, the music is drowned out by the sound effects, but on your stereo the true nature of this amazing track depicting the terror of the marines and their desire to escape can be heard properly. Additionally, this CD has a track (Bishop's Countdown) which is routinely used in movie trailers because of it's adrenaline pumping climax. It's sensational. The CD overall is a great listen. It has very solid action pieces and very quiet moody moments that keep the suspense hanging. If you want wall-to-wall action cues, you won't get it. Some may also get annoyed with the handful of quieter tracks. But, it's a good balance. A great score to a great film.

ALIENS had little in common with its predecessor other than the return of Ripley, the Alien, and the production design of the first movie. So it is not surprising that James Horner's excellent score goes in a different direction. Using the spooky sound of Jerry Goldsmith's score as a starting point (with all the clicking and clacking of sounds in the background and the faint moaning of melancholy woodwinds and brass) the score has echoes of military motifs during the suspense cues and a fierce pounding rhythm for the action ones. Great stuff, no library would be complete without it. Highly recommended. But you might want to hunt out the expanded edition rather than this one.

I went to a place that sells stuff for practically nothing, like tomorrow never dies CD in good condition for three bucks. i got the tape of this for 1 buck. Boy, if only those people knew the value of the score they were about to give away! Its not the best. Deep blue sea has better use of instruments, but this is still one of my favs. it actually sounds like music, which i didn't like about the matrix score, which sounded like a bunch of instuments being hastily played. this stuff sounds great and i love the action. "Going after newt has a few tunes that were revised and played in the "ALIEN 3" video game for super nintendo. ANd ever wondered about that awesome music you here in so many action trailers? THat just so happens to be the remarkable brilliance of James's score. this is my first score by James Horner. I'm so glad I got it and i will definatly check out others

Take a deep breath and get ready to the listening experience provided by James Horner's best score ever. When you hear this soundtrack you will be immediately transported to the infinity of space, the chaos of a war, and will be with a constant feeling of being watched, terrifyed by malign aliens. Some pieces of music on this CD are really chaotic, but the great moments, in my opinion, are those of silence, quiet and suspenseful music. Never silence has been so frightening...

Before I start my review I thought I would get people's attention.

I'd like to start off by saying that if anyone wishes to email please contact me at sndtrkfn@hotmail.com regarding the Aliens score.

2nd I would like to let everyone know that there will be an expanded edition to the Aliens score by Varese Sarabande (Deluxe Edition)which will consist 74 minutes of uncut, longer and unedited music that everyone has been wishing for for at least over a decade now.

Now as for my review. I did initially get the short 39 minute version that was released and bought a few years ago and thought it was 3 1/2 star soundtrack at best because I knew that a lot of music was missing but since then I did aquire the limited edition that was released a year or 2 ago and thought it was a definite improvement. Although some of the music is borrowed from an earlier composer which we all know and is again used in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, the scary theme/Aliens alternative theme that is used throughout the movie for instance after Newt and Ripley are stuck in the one room with the facehuggers and once they go against the window before you hear Newt ask Ripley to brake the window (hopefully everyone knows which theme I'm talking about) it's not used pro-dominitely in the varese release but is released more in the expanded edition. Sorry I'm not a music major so please don't mind my non-music analysis.

Anyway's many times especially the first time I heard this score I found myself in the dark with no lights on and just listening to Sub-Level 3 for the first few times and was scarred out of my mind because this track works so well like in the film itself.

Now I know there are some tracks that don't reach out to music lovers but I still have to rank this soundtrack high on my list just like the movie itself just because it works so well in the scenes and because this is one movie I wish that could have been even longer. I love every minute of this movie and score that sometimes I seem to wear myself out. My favorite tracks are Going after Newt, Main Title, Sub-Level 3, Ripley's Rescue, Bishop's Countdown, Resolution and Hyperspace/ my favorite tracks from the expanded are included.."Where's the Darn(different word)Beacon?", Marines Prepare oh what the heck it's all good and for my favorite characters of the movie are Newt and Ripley although I like them all these 2 stand out the most for me.

Well in Conclusion I'm very much looking forward to the 74 minute version vs. the 64 minute I have now and this soundtrack again like the movie is one of my top 15 choices of all time (by James Horner standards and movie)

If they do decide to make Alien 5 I sure and hope they have Horner doing the score and who knows maybe Cameron will return the helm. At all costs for people who don't have the short 39 minute version you must buy the 74 minute because that will be the most complete of the score and you may change your mind about James Horners efforts of this score and if you like to be scarred this ranks among the best with Poltergeist.

Thanks for reading, regards, Alex Brouns

No qualms on the music. The first and last tracks are another Horner tribute to his beloved Russians. In this case, Khachaturian (it might go further than that since it is Gayaneh's floating Adagio, used in the mythical '2001 Space Odyssey'). That, with more than a hint of Shostakovich 5th, of course. (Some criticize Horner for these "recyclings", I don't. I call them "tributes" and they work great.)

The score is very atmospheric, and addresses the gut. The orchestration (by one Greig McRitchie) is phenomenal (careful how you set the volume: there are many fff surprises!)
The only criticism to this (original) release is its short duration (35+ minutes) but that was 1986, and Varese has been extremely smart in reissuing a so-called Deluxe Edition, which contains, as it is shown, double the music. I also say "smart" because hardcore collectors will want both. In addition, the existence of the Deluxe obviously decreases the competition supply prices for this one.
Having many Horner releases in my collection, I cannot situate 'Aliens' as one of my favorites, but that's me not the music. If you liked the thrill of the movie(s), don't even doubt!

Jame Horner's Aliens soundtrack is great. It really captures the tension and darkness of the movie. However, the Aliens: The Deluxe Edition has almost twice as much music, much of which has never been released. I unfortunately made the mistake of getting the original Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and regretted to find out that they released a deluxe edition soon after. Don't make that same mistake!

Aliens isn't considered completely original (in fact, I heard a small little part from the Rocketeer on Futile Escape for those with keen ears) but it sure sounds good. The main theme on Alien sounds lonely and far out, fitting in with how Ripley has lost everyone she knew and remembered. An alternating two-note motif used during some of the less-action oriented cues really adds that spacey feeling to the movie. Snares and other percussion dominate this score, besides hearing the usual synthesizer. Hearing the pounding snares on Ripley's Rescue, Futile Escape, and Bishop's Countdown really drive them home, though the drums don't have the same deep, resonant, syncopated feeling as heard on Danny Elfman's Batman (probably because of the mixing). Let me just sum up part of Going After Newt: it has a part that sounds just like the theme from Dexter's Laboratory but darker and more brass-oriented and it is a favorite. Bishop's Countdown is furious and upbeat with a tense ending reminiciscent of the very ending of the Battle Of Yavin from Star Wars: A New Hope. What can I say, the action sequences are the high points of the score. I recommend this score but get the Varese version being released because it is the complete thing and, from hearing the bootleg of Aliens I also have, you'll love the unreleased frightning dissonant cues heard while the soldiers are checking the base.

Aliens is the best of all Alien Trilogy. And so is the music. The best trakcs are Futile Escape and Bishops Countdown. The only thing wrong with the CD is the front cover. Who's mistake was that?