The two best synth scores of all time, hands down, no arguments, from a long-time electronic-enthusiast-maniac.......
BLADE RUNNER by Vangelis - still not fully, wholly represented on CD, even with the new 3cd set!!!!!! The bootlegs are a joke (and there are entire WEBSITES devoted to these!!), the Vangelis attempt in '94 is good, but not the real deal, the 3cd set is a step closer but still misses the extended love sequence in Deckard's apartment for starters, and what's up with that 3rd disc anyway?
THE KEEP by Tangerine Dream - someday, when I'm really old and grey this will come out, and I will cry for hours....a work of perfection, makes a silly movie seem so classy and profound. I DARE a record company to crack the uncrackable code of Edgar Froese AND Paramount to release this. The super-limited TDI release is a joke, the bootlegs are a joke-but better than any "real" release. And to further complicate/frustrate things, I find a recent upload to youtube of the extended-original-tv version end title which is even MORE beautiful than the short version I know and love !??!????! I hope I don't eat a dirt sandwich before this music sees a proper release.....
...and I can understand what you mean about Poledouris' synth work, Doug, but personally I warmed to it. I HATED No Man's Land on first listen...it wasn't Robocop, what the hell? But on further investigation, I grew to enjoy it. And he wonderfully fused synthetics on Cherry 2k, Robocop, Under Siege 2, for starters. He surely shined in those Rozsa-Newman-esque settings though and I miss his music dearly.....
While I'm at it, another fun synth-classic, for me, was just released, only about 20 years too late....VAMP by Jonathan Elias. This score makes no pretentions about anything, it's just a fun ensemble group-synth jam that revels in the era it was created. Ok, the orchestral/choral Vampire Coven Prayer didn't make it to the Varese CD, big deal, we have it on Ford's VAMPIRE CIRCUS CD.(Elias cleverly incorporates the final Katrina cue/theme here orchestrally).
Elias actually has themes and motifs in this score that stick, and enhance the film 100%, while being a fun, now-nostalgic listen on album. I rewatched the film last week, and it's a terrific time-capsule for us aging 80's kids. You have to love the copious neon-lighting, dutch angles, and pure Reagan-era fashion/hairdos of this thing, not to mention a great sense of humor that is sorely lacking in film these days. Give it a 2nd chance, I dare you that you won't be entertained for at least the first half....if not, there are 1000 choppily edited/desaturated Michael Bay-era "classics" awaiting you.....
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