SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 49 Min.
Released in 1992, this Laserlight Digital album consist of instrumental fifteen covers of mostly familiar sci-fi movie and television themes. The ‘synthesizer realizations’ are attributed to “G.S.O.” Its tracks, run times, and original composer(s) are the following:
| 1. Raiders of the Lost Ark 2:32 John Williams |
| 2. Blade Runner 3:19 Vangelis |
| 3. Alien 2:36 Jerry Goldsmith |
| 4. Return of the Jedi (aka Luke & Leia) 3:48 John Williams |
| 5. Star Wars 2:35 John Williams |
| 6. E.T. (The Extra-Terrestrial) 3:59 John Williams |
| 7. Silent Moon 4:47 ‘Wagener’ & ‘Löhmer’ |
| 8. Battlestar Galactica 3:52 Stu Phillips & Glen Larson |
| 9. The Unending Story (aka The Never-Ending Story) 2:29 ‘K. Doldinger’ |
| 10. Noah’s Ark 3:19 Not Credited |
| 11. Raumpatrouille Orion 4:46 P. Thomas |
| 12. Cosmic Wind 2:56 ‘P.Thomas/Wagener/Engelhardt/Löhmer’ |
| 13. Star Trek: The Motion Picture 2:58 Jerry Goldsmith & Alexander Courage |
| 14. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2:17 John Williams |
| 15. War of the Worlds 3:00 Leith Stevens |
Notes: The flashy cover art montage is credited to “A. Backhausen” and “Köln.” Track 3 mistakenly refers to Jerry Goldsmith as ‘John Goldsmith.’
REVIEW:
For an upbeat movie/TV tunes album, its bag of tricks has some surprises. Tracks 1-3 are traditionally performed, sounding precisely as one might expect. Tracks 4-6, however, mimic Meco’s disco adaptations more than John Williams. Still, Track 4’s energetic take on Return of the Jedi (Luke & Leia) is more engaging than Williams’ yawn-inducing original. Despite its pleasant sound, the unremarkable Track 7 (as well as Tracks 11-12) evidently spawned from an obscure German TV series, Space Patrol Orion, which debuted in late 1966 (coinciding with the original Star Trek series).
Track 8, too, mimics a Meco-style cover of Battlestar Galactica. It’s pretty good, at least as compared to Track 13’s Star Trek, which is bubblier than champagne (again, think Meco). At the risk of a migraine headache, beware of the grating Track 14, which includes what oddly sounds like high-pitch bird-trilling. Hence, it’s one Close Encounter too many.
Like the first few tracks, Track 9’s The Unending Story impressively recreates the original version. Track 10 evidently originates from the mid-80’s German film, The Noah’s Ark Principle. While it delivers the album’s most unique theme, its sound is still reminiscent of background music one might overhear at an 80’s-era video arcade.
Rather dubiously, the only vocals (who is actually singing remains a mystery) are heard in Track 15. After a dramatic intro, War of the Worlds then kicks over to insipid disco vocals about invading “men from mars.” One can imagine Bill Murray’s Nick the Lounge Singer from a 70’s Saturday Night Live crooning this tune in a cheap bar somewhere. If anything, this tongue-in-cheek track belongs to those sci-fi aficionados who believe the moon really is made of cheese.
For its overall consumer value (at least, up through Track 12), Science Fiction Movie Themes allows listeners to experience some instrumental standards in a funky European disco-style.
PACKAGING:
The tracks and running times are listed on the back cover. The tracks are also listed on the disc itself. Though the cover artwork montage is stellar, its inclusion of a Poltergeist (1982) image is deceptive, as the film’s theme isn’t included. Despite its billing, 2001 – A Space Odyssey (1968) isn’t show up on this album. either. The album insert is a Laserlight catalog.
Note: The album’s advertised claim of a fifty-nine-minute running time is off by ten minutes.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3 Stars
