Vangelis - Blade Runner Trilogy: 25th Anniversary [3 CD]
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Free Music Notes for Blade Runner Trilogy: 25th Anniversary [3 CD]
Free Music Review: Why release what you already have?
Hit: 5 Stars
Okay first of all, yes, advertising this release as being the complete soundtrack is bad form.
This is speculation, but I think the release of this 3 disc album broke down something like this:
Vangelis's people would have made him aware of the various bootlegs that have sprung up over the past 15 years. (I think it's safe to say that there have probably been more bootleg variation of the Blade Runner soundtrack than any other movie, some 3 dozen of them in fact: go check out such sites as vangelis-rarities for a list of some of the examples.) So what I think happened was this: Vangelis took a look at all this stuff and thought, "Well, if die-hard fans already have all this stuff, or even some of it, then what's the point of me giving them it all over again?!"
(The point, of course, is that it would have been 'official' and would have been in digitially remastered sound, but of no moment...)
So instead of repackaging all the cues from the bootlegs into an 'official' release Vangelis decided to give the fans almost entirely new music.
It's interesting to note that almost all the fans over on the International Vangelis Forum are delighted with this release. Why? Precisely because it's 'all new music'! The ones who are whining are the film's fans who simply want the actual soundtrack as it appears in the movie. (In which case virtually all of these fans already have it, in the form of the widely available bootlegs, such as the Esper Edition and the Deck Definitive release.)
Now, mind you, I'm a huge fan of the movie (like most people here I have the 5 disc boxset) and I can understand people's wish to simply have the soundtrack's cues sans sound effects and dialogue, and to that end I would have preferred if Vangelis had removed the dialogue from the first disc of this 3CD release, as opposed to simply including the '94 edition unaltered.
It helps, however, to remember this: Vangelis has NEVER revisited the soundtrack to any of the movies he's worked on. Blade Runner is the exception. It's interesting to note that nowhere - unlike ALL of his other official soundtrack releases, including the recent Alexander and El Greco - does the legend 'Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' appear on the '94 release, or for that matter this '07 release, other than that red sticker. This is a 3CD 'album' in celebration of the movie, NOT a soundtrack.
Vangelis has NEVER been interested in taking the exact edits of his cues from a movie and packaging them onto a CD. THIS is what Blade Runner's film fans want. Vangelis will never do this (and precisely BECAUSE there are so many bootlegs that do exactly that he no doubt feels, "What's the point, you have all this material already?") Instead Vangelis prefers to have his soundtrack releases stand on their own as legitimate albums, and not merely a collection of cues, to the point where he will often rearrange certain tracks for their official album release. This is clearly evident on 1492: Conquest of Paradise and Alexander, where the tracks are not only shorter - or in some cases even longer - than how they appear in the movie, but in addition they have been subtly rearranged. Both of these movies boast 2CD Complete Score bootlegs. Both of these bootleg releases are inferior to the far shorter official single disc releases. Why? Because they're bland, flat - THEY'RE TOO LONG! They don't stand on their own as albums. Most film cues are only a minute or two long, especially in the case of Blade Runner, and whereas these work terrifically within the context of the actual movie, they rarely stand on their own, or even if they do they simply don't flow properly if ran together with the film's other cues when placed onto an album.
Vangelis has always been more concerned with his soundtrack releases maintaining their own sense of cohesion than simply taking the easy route of lazily throwing a whole bunch of cues onto a disc. Sure, this would have delighted the film's fans, but the film and the separate release of the music on CD are two different things, two different mediums.
The majority of Vangelis fans are happy with this 3CD release because it gives us two CDs of brand new music which COMPLIMENT the bootlegs which almost all of us already have.
And, for those few who don't owned the bootlegs, please don't buy them from eBay. Members of such sites as the yahoo group bladerunner_soundtrack will happily provide them free of charge.
Blade Runner's film fans are simply going to have to learn to listen to this release as they would an ordinary album; it's clear that this release was meant for Vangelis fans and not Blade Runner's film fans per se.
Free Music Review: This is not a review but a message for all Non - Bladerunner fans
Hit: 5 Stars
This message is intended for the Bladerunner fans who gave the album
a thumbs down.
These die hard Bladerunner fans need to cool it down.
What did they expect?????
Of course Vangelis was not going to release a complete Bladerunner score.
It didn't surprise me at all. I mean....look at Vangelis's other stuff...
He has done soundtracks to other movies...and the complete score is never released.
Vangelis will never release a complete score to any movie. That's the way Vangelis is.
I can live with that. Can you?? I have the bootlegs and i'm happy with those.
.
The chances of releasing THE COMPLETE Bladerunner is slim to none.
Maybe when Vangelis leaves this world, that's when the complete score may be released.
But I understand how the Bladerunner fans feel.
EVERYBODY wants to hear the complete score.
But Fans don't understand what kind of person they are dealing with.
Vangelis is a recluse just like the great Stanley Kubrick and Howard Hughes.
They can be difficult to deal with and they will not always listen to the fans wishes or requests.
These artists will only appease themselves.
What I'm trying to say is that.....the Bladerunner fans have to respect him for who he is.
Vangelis may be a great composer but he can be difficult. People have to accept that as well.
I do.
People have to understand that there are some things in life (and that goes with people too)
that can't change. If Vangelis doesn't want to release the complete score to Bladerunner, then so be it.
That's life. Life goes on. Its not the end of the world.
Vangelis is one of my all time favorites. I love his music.
But I also disagree with how he handles his material.
Some of it should be released....but Vangelis has other ideas...and i learned to respect that.
I can't argue with him....I just have to learn to accept his ideas.
The true die hard fans will learn to drop the criticism and learn to accept the Trilogy as it is.
I heard some of the stuff already from the internet, and I was very pleased with what i heard.
I'm greatful to have had the opportunity to listen to more good Bladerunner stuff.
Sure, it would be great to have more good Bladerunner new stuff added to the trilogy,
but maybe Vangelis is saving that for later...he continues to tease.
The Bladerunner mystique lives on...thanks to Vangelis.
The die hard fans should also listen to Vangelis's other works.
Some people will say Vangelis's Bladerunner is the best album he has ever done.
AND I SAY THEY ARE WRONG.
Vangelis has done so many great scores like Cosmos, Antartica, El Greco, Alexander, The City,
Direct, Oceanic, the Olympics, and other stuff that he has done in the 70's, 80's, and 90's...
all of them are equally impressive. Each album takes you to another time, dimension or atmosphere.
Its staggering and mind blowing.
I'm just greatful that i had the opportunity to listen to the bootleg stuff from everything that I downloaded.....
i'm just at awe with the great master Vangelis. :)
Those Bladerunner fans just need to find another hobby instead of trashing the trilogy.
Put away Bladerunner for awhile and do something else...maybe they should trash Star Trek..hahaaahha
I look forward to listening to the new soundtrack to El Greco when it comes out.
Whether or not El Greco will be a bootleg or not...thats fine with me....its just going to be another
great listening experience. :)
As for the trilogy, i just recently received it...and
i'm just totally amazed at disk 2 and 3.
Its an incredible experience and i just want to lay down and dream about the Bladerunner
soundtrack.
I don't have time to give my impressions on the album. hahahha
Just go buy it
Free Music Review: Inspiring!
Hit: 5 Stars
Who dared to dream of this....
Two new disks of Blade Runner related music, in one go! Sold together with the 1994 release, to have it all in one buy.
Disk 1 is the album as we knew it. Blade Runner's most famous themes in perfect sound quality, together with some unused recordings, made into one big "story". There's a reason this is one of the best loved movie scores ever.
Disk 2 provides some of the movie's themes and moods that didn't make it into the first album, as well as some wonderful pieces that weren't finally used in the movie. Of the three disks, this is the dark one; the desolate place Blade Runner's overcrowded world has turned into. This entire album is comprised of music made in 1982 for the movie, although some of it was not used in the movie, and other tracks were used but are presented here in longer, more developed versions. All the lush and major themes were on disk one, leaving this the brooding, dark, melancholic atmosphere, with a few delightfully bright breaks. An intriguing album for anyone who has complained the first release wasn't dark enough, omitting the intense and rainy music scapes. You can't listen to this CD without finding yourself in the world we saw and lived in while watching Blade Runner.
With disk 3, Vangelis expands the world of Blade Runner, with new music he created to celebrate the movie's 25th Anniversary. Vangelis seems to explore different parts of this world, and does manage to find, among all the rain and darkness, a few brighter spots as well. Undeniably Blade Runner, yet also completely new and modern. A thoroughly inspiring album of music, that needs attention to be listened to and this time will ask you to imagine your own scenes. As inspiring as it is on first listen, like all the better albums, for full appreciation it needs some getting used to, but grows with every listen. An intriguing addition to the release and a great album in its own right.
What a pity that the purists are always making themselves the loudest. Sure, this is not the full 100% exactly what a few of the purist completist fans of the movie were dreaming about. Sure, a few desirable cues are indeed still missing. But this comes with so much more, which altogether easily makes up for the omissions. But the purists are so busy complaining about what's not on there, they don't find the time to explore what actually *is* on there.
To think, while one person may complain the bootlegs' extended End Titles version is not included, another is unhappy because many of the tracks on this release extend beyond what we heard of them in the movie. You can't please everyone, it simply defies logic. One is bound to be disappointed when listening to this CD only to compare it with preconceived expectations, rather than to enjoy the music.
Did anyone ever notice how boring these bootlegs (that the purists keep referring to) actually were, to listen to? These two new official CDs instead present the music as *music*, as much as *atmosphere*, a work of art that can live on its own. Not a set of cues used in the background of a movie, but instead an actual album of music derived from its inspiring source.
Well, I guess anything linked to Blade Runner cannot be released without its share of some controversy. So, do be sure to check out this marvellous release, and remember not to be discouraged by its critics, just like all of us never let the movie critics take our "Blade Runner" away. Instead, close your curtains, turn off the lights, put on the headphones and listen to almost 3 hours of Vangelis' "Blade Runner" genius!
Free Music Review: A Vangelis Fan's Perspective on Disk 3
Hit: 5 Stars
Like some out there, I'm a fan of Vangelis and Blade Runner. Simply put, the Vangelis fan inside me won out with this release.
Let's face it. It's been a while since there was a new Vangelis CD out.
Disk 3 of the Blade Runner Trilogy set, for me, was worth the money alone. To have Disk 2 is great as well. And to listen to the entire compilation together is just a wonderful experience for me. In fact, the reason why I decided to write something is because I believe Disk 3 deserves more description then it has been getting.
First off, this disk has pretty much new material. The material, though, is very original. At the same time it seems to carry on with the Blade Runner concept very well.
There are some surprising pieces here.
"BR Downtown," followed by "Demetri's Bar," is shockingly fresh. It is very hard to categorize the first especially. Almost like an ambient reggae-techno. You have to hear it for yourself.
"Perfume Exotico" is a very seductive alteration of "Rachel's Song". I was not prepared to hear Vangelis put something like this together, but it works.
Included are some very good pieces as well.
The piece "Piano In An Empty Room," which is solely piano, is full of romantic vibrancies. Anyone who has empathy for his music will come back to this piece many times over.
"Sweet Solitude" reminds me of the days when Vangelis was in his prime in the early 80's. Starts out with a simple keyboard tune, carries on with some percussion, and then becomes complete with a wonderful sax (reminiscent of "Love Theme").
Keep in mind, there are some rather hard-pounding sounds here. "No Expectation Boulevard" is the prime example. But that is to be expected, considering the overall theme being presented.
I think my personal favorite here is "Up and Running." It is just bizarre. It not only carries an unorthodox re-mixing of "One More Kiss, Dear," it has sounds similar of "Nerve Centre" (from his 1990 release "The City") along with the familiar strings from "Main Titles". It then ends with an uplifting piano piece. What an amalgamation!
And that's how I would define Disk 3. An amalgamation of sounds associated with culture, urban lifestyle, subconscious narrative (which aren't distracting and occur mainly during the transitions), and reflective meditation.
It is fairly safe to say Vangelis fans will overall enjoy this release, regardless of your fondness for the Blade Runner franchise. I'm glad I purchased it.
Free Music Review: Revisiting Perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
I wasn't paying much attention it seems, when the 25th anniversary edition of Blade Runner came out, so I wasn't that interested. After all, I've worn laser grooves into my copy of the Vangelis CD for the 1982 version; and while iTunes reports its my number 2 album overall, I DIDN'T like the Director's cut (Ridley's Scott's last version) of the film (I much preferred the original Harrison Ford's narration overdubs, akin to Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon). Still, a director is allowed to rethink his life's work, so why not my own preconceptions (at least with the music).
So i gave it a try.
WOW.
Disc 1 was NOT the same as the 1982 release; it added 4 more cuts, some overdubbing from the film dialogues, and the tracks that were the same as the 1982 version appeared to be from different recording sessions (different tempos, different keys, different volumes, and so forth). It played like variations on a theme (like the Brandenburg Concertos); something different, something familiar, nothing boring. Some tracks were retitled as well from the 1982 release.
Volume 2 was MORE. Stuff that was missing from the 82 release (like Dr. Tyrell;s Death, and an extended version of Fading Away.
Volume 3 was WAY out there. Inspired by the premises of the film, it goes places the original wasn't allowed to go to (think My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Eno/Byrne, or something by Jon Hassell). Techno-progressive in some places, and oddly retro in others, it certainly wasn't BORING! Or like the extra bonus music tracks from the Matrix Collector's Edition (adjuncts that didn't make it in due to time constraints, but continuing the music tradition). Perfume Exotico was breathtaking and Launch Approval sounded like the prologue to the film (i could SEE the Replicants boarding the shuttle before hijacking it to Earth, and so, sparking Deker's mission). Piano In An Empty Room feels right at home with Harrison Ford/Sean Young in his apartment.
I highly recommend it (but if you have the original 1982 version, even more so; it expands on that release, gives you more perspective, another alternative take, and maybe, just an inkling into the creative process that must obsess over something we would take as minutae, but which in the end determines to the artist whether something has made the grade). IMHO, it did.
But decide for yourself.