Jerry Goldsmith Alien OST 1979 LP 1987 UK Silva Screen reissue NM

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Jerry Goldsmith Alien OST 1979 LP 1987 UK Silva Screen reissue NM

Original UK reissue pressing on Silva Screen

The iconic, avant-garde score to the film Alien was composed by Jerry Goldsmith and is considered by some to be one of his best, most visceral scores. Rather than focusing on themes, Goldsmith creates a bleak and dissonant soundscape that fits the film's dark and intense atmosphere, with only a few "romantic" cues.

The music was performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Lionel Newman. However, the music was not originally used or heard as intended. The score was substantially cut for the film's released versions, and some recordings from other sources were added, notably portions of Goldsmith's original score for the 1962 film Freud (which were that film's Main Title, as well as the tracks Charcot's Show and Desperate Case), and the first movement (adagio) from Howard Hanson's 1930 "Symphony No. 2, Romantic" for the film's end credits.

Much has been documented about Ridley Scott’s poor use of this classic score, as Goldsmith’s fans well know. Hanson’s Symphony No.2 replacing the End credits, the clunky misuse of Goldsmith’s decidedly 60’s Freud (a temp track that became permanent as favoured by Scott) and the sheer number of cues cut, butchered and reduced in the final mix.

However, the original soundtrack album remains the way in which to listen to the score as intended by the composer, an utterly authentic soundscape of atonal motifs book ended by its Romantic theme. In fact, 1979 heralded what would become a golden era in the composers writing. Eschewing the 70’s sound of say Capricorn One & Magic the year before, the Main Title displays the shift with a richer more timeless symphonic sound that would characterise classics such as Poltergeist and The Final Conflict.

Goldsmith avoids easy signposting with a theme that captures both the beauty of space and a feeling of endurance to reflect the crew’s passage through it. However, it was to be replaced by the more dissonant yet genre direct version heard in the final film. It ends with a haunting four note motif that suggests time passing and a sense of things to come, something that James Horner would go on to employ in the sequel Aliens.

Facehugger and Breakaway demonstrates some of the composers most difficult and aggressive writing. With an array of orchestral effects that blur the line between music score and diegetic sound (sound heard within the film itself), Goldsmith concocts a soundscape that expands our understanding of the world within the film. These cues also introduce the Alien motif. Avoiding monster movie scares, Goldsmith characterises the duality of the creature’s evolution with a hybrid of two musical ideas. Facehugger is conveyed with scuttling percussive effects and the alien is given an otherness through Ram’s Horn. Organic and of the body, it works in keeping with the key theme of bodily invasion and infection. Whilst listeners preferring more tonal fare may smart, the sheer class of each cues acute musical structure elevates it way above the type of background filler other composers must settle for.

Goldsmith is famous for employing flexible secondary motifs in addition to the main theme, but a notable feature of this score is the use of smaller repeated musical statements. In fact, virtually each cue has its own, something which assists the scores musicality and drive.

Acid Test opens with a full statement of the Alien motif with notable use of the anvil and a deeply atmospheric sliding whistle. The Landing, a key set piece, pushes through to a euphoric rendition of the main theme as the ship Nostromo struggles through the alien atmosphere.The Droid is startling and primal, with tremoring and plucked strings. The cue segues into the funeral sequence in which Kane’s body is dispensed into space; tonal respite with the four note “time” motif and a delicate use of wind machine to add colour and mystery.

Recovery, Alien Planet and The Shaft each demonstrate aggressive action, an atmospheric soundscape of orchestral echoes and reverbs, and sustained suspense writing in turn. The album closes with End Title. Here the theme is heralded by chimes to convey an elegiac sense of things that have passed and ends with a triumphantly filmic coda of tonal resolution.

A1         Main Title        3:30

A2         The Face Hugger         2:32

A3         Breakaway      3:00

A4         Acid Test          4:35

A5         The Landing   4:29

B1         The Droid         4:40

B2         The Recovery                2:44

B3         The Alien Planet          2:28

B4         The Shaft          3:57

B5         End Title           3:02

CONDITION:

SLEEVE: EX+  Some minor marks, no ring wear

RECORD: NM

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