Jerry Goldsmith -- Alien: Complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

9/10

Much has been made about Ridley Scott's changes to Jerry Goldsmith's original score for Scott's 1979 classic science fiction horror film, Alien. The famed composer wasn't the first choice of the equally famed director, and was a studio recommendation. Scott disliked Goldsmith's first ideas for the film's main theme, and to add insult to injury, once Goldsmith did record the ideas that Scott was more comfortable with, Scott and the film's editor often chopped the music up, sometimes disregarded Goldsmith's work for music they had used as a temporary score during editing, and perhaps most egregiously for Goldsmith, used music he had composed for other films in certain spots, instead of the music he specifically composed for Alien. Scott even replaced the work Goldsmith composed and recorded for the end titles with an older piece by classical composer, Howard Hanson, titled "Symphony 2 Romantic." 
Now, for the first time ever, Intrada is offering Jerry Goldsmith's fantastic complete score for the film, across two discs. It's all here, from the film's tentative and fun exploration motif (which grows darker as the film goes on), to its weary, yet adventurous and slightly romantic main theme, to menacing low brass for the alien, and asynchronous chaotic fanfare when something scary is happening onscreen. It's an engaging and atmospheric soundtrack, finally the totality of Goldsmith's vision offered in part on the 33-minute soundtrack originally released by 20th Century Fox in 1979, which is also included here. In edition to both the full and truncated versions of Goldsmith's soundtracks, there's myriad alternate takes on several of the pieces here, as well as Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," which the captain of the ship in Alien listens to at one point to relax. It's all here, in a great package, with copious liner nites. Everything is here...except for the music, as presented in the film, a product still not made available for Alien fans.
Yes, though I think Alien: Complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a fine album of music, and I'm glad to have it in my collection, I'll end this review on a bit of a sour note. I'm a huge fan of soundtracks that give me, chronologically, exactly what I heard in the film. I like to listen to that sort of soundtrack, remember the film, and play the visuals back in my imagination to the music. 44 years on, there is no such soundtrack for Alien. I want all of it, from the Goldsmith music used, to the temp score music used, to the music from other Goldsmith work used, to the closing Hanson piece, a romantic, restful counterpoint to the rest of the film that is well-earned after the blinding intensity leading up to it. I want that complete soundtrack, presented in as high quality audio as possible, chronologically, and I know that I am not alone. Now that, technically, Disney owns Alien, I'm doubtful I'll ever see such a soundtrack...but who knows. Stranger things have happened.

2007 Intrada

Disc 1
1. Main Title 4:12
2. Hyper Sleep 2:46
3. The Landing 4:31
4. The Terrain 2:21
5. The Craft 1:00
6. The Passage 1:49
7. The Skeleton 2:30
8. A New Face 2:35
9. Hanging On 3:39
10. The Lab 1:05
11. Drop Out :57
12. Nothing To Say 1:52
13. Cat Nip 1:01
14. Here Kitty 2:08
15. The Shaft 4:31
16. It's A Droid 3:28
17. Parker's Death 1:51
18. The Eggs 2:24
19. Sleepy Alien 1:04
20. To Sleep 1:56
21. The Cupboard 3:05
22. Out The Door 3:13
23. End Title 3:09
24. Main Title Rescored Alternate) 4:11
25. Hyper Sleep Rescored Alternate) 2:45
26. The Terrain Rescored Alternate) 0:58
27. The Skeleton Rescored Alternate) 2:31
28. Hanging On Rescored Alternate) 3:08
29. The Cupboard Rescored Alternate) 3:12
30. Out The Door Rescored Alternate) 3:02

Disc 2
1. Main Title 3:37
2. The Face Hugger 2:36
3. Breakaway 3:03
4. Acid Test 4:40
5. The Landing 4:31
6. The Droid 4:44
7. The Recovery 2:50
8. The Alien Planet 2:30
9. The Shaft 4:01
10. End Title 3:09
11. Main Title (film version) (bonus) 3:44
12. The Skeleton (alternate take) (bonus) 2:34
13.The Passage (demonstration excerpt) (bonus) 1:54
14. Hanging On (demonstration excerpt) (bonus) 1:08
15. Parker's Death (demonstration excerpt) (bonus) 1:07
16. It's A Droid (unused inserts) (bonus) 1:27
17. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (source) (bonus) 1:49