Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Artist: James Horner
Label: Varese Sarabande
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Soundtrack
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 030206828320
EAN: 0030206828320
ASIN: B000001542


Release Date: 1990-10-25

Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack


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Tracks:

  1. Main Title
  2. Going After Newt
  3. Sub-Level 3
  4. Ripley's Rescue
  5. Atmosphere Station
  6. Futile Escape
  7. Dark Discovery
  8. Bishop's Countdown
  9. Resolution And Hyperspace

Similar Items:

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  3. The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration (Film Score Anthology)
  4. The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score
  5. Jaws: Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A classic sequel with a distinct sound of its own........2003-07-20

ALIENS had little in common with its predecessor other than the return of Ripley, the Alien, and the production design of the first movie. So it is not surprising that James Horner's excellent score goes in a different direction. Using the spooky sound of Jerry Goldsmith's score as a starting point (with all the clicking and clacking of sounds in the background and the faint moaning of melancholy woodwinds and brass) the score has echoes of military motifs during the suspense cues and a fierce pounding rhythm for the action ones. Great stuff, no library would be complete without it. Highly recommended. But you might want to hunt out the expanded edition rather than this one.

5 out of 5 stars A Spine-Chiller.......2001-04-22

Aliens isn't considered completely original (in fact, I heard a small little part from the Rocketeer on Futile Escape for those with keen ears) but it sure sounds good. The main theme on Alien sounds lonely and far out, fitting in with how Ripley has lost everyone she knew and remembered. An alternating two-note motif used during some of the less-action oriented cues really adds that spacey feeling to the movie. Snares and other percussion dominate this score, besides hearing the usual synthesizer. Hearing the pounding snares on Ripley's Rescue, Futile Escape, and Bishop's Countdown really drive them home, though the drums don't have the same deep, resonant, syncopated feeling as heard on Danny Elfman's Batman (probably because of the mixing). Let me just sum up part of Going After Newt: it has a part that sounds just like the theme from Dexter's Laboratory but darker and more brass-oriented and it is a favorite. Bishop's Countdown is furious and upbeat with a tense ending reminiciscent of the very ending of the Battle Of Yavin from Star Wars: A New Hope. What can I say, the action sequences are the high points of the score. I recommend this score but get the Varese version being released because it is the complete thing and, from hearing the bootleg of Aliens I also have, you'll love the unreleased frightning dissonant cues heard while the soldiers are checking the base.

5 out of 5 stars Bone Chilling and Terrifying.......2001-03-25

Before I start my review I thought I would get people's attention.

I'd like to start off by saying that if anyone wishes to email please contact me at sndtrkfn@hotmail.com regarding the Aliens score.

2nd I would like to let everyone know that there will be an expanded edition to the Aliens score by Varese Sarabande (Deluxe Edition)which will consist 74 minutes of uncut, longer and unedited music that everyone has been wishing for for at least over a decade now.

Now as for my review. I did initially get the short 39 minute version that was released and bought a few years ago and thought it was 3 1/2 star soundtrack at best because I knew that a lot of music was missing but since then I did aquire the limited edition that was released a year or 2 ago and thought it was a definite improvement. Although some of the music is borrowed from an earlier composer which we all know and is again used in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, the scary theme/Aliens alternative theme that is used throughout the movie for instance after Newt and Ripley are stuck in the one room with the facehuggers and once they go against the window before you hear Newt ask Ripley to brake the window (hopefully everyone knows which theme I'm talking about) it's not used pro-dominitely in the varese release but is released more in the expanded edition. Sorry I'm not a music major so please don't mind my non-music analysis.

Anyway's many times especially the first time I heard this score I found myself in the dark with no lights on and just listening to Sub-Level 3 for the first few times and was scarred out of my mind because this track works so well like in the film itself.

Now I know there are some tracks that don't reach out to music lovers but I still have to rank this soundtrack high on my list just like the movie itself just because it works so well in the scenes and because this is one movie I wish that could have been even longer. I love every minute of this movie and score that sometimes I seem to wear myself out. My favorite tracks are Going after Newt, Main Title, Sub-Level 3, Ripley's Rescue, Bishop's Countdown, Resolution and Hyperspace/ my favorite tracks from the expanded are included.."Where's the Darn(different word)Beacon?", Marines Prepare oh what the heck it's all good and for my favorite characters of the movie are Newt and Ripley although I like them all these 2 stand out the most for me.

Well in Conclusion I'm very much looking forward to the 74 minute version vs. the 64 minute I have now and this soundtrack again like the movie is one of my top 15 choices of all time (by James Horner standards and movie)

If they do decide to make Alien 5 I sure and hope they have Horner doing the score and who knows maybe Cameron will return the helm. At all costs for people who don't have the short 39 minute version you must buy the 74 minute because that will be the most complete of the score and you may change your mind about James Horners efforts of this score and if you like to be scarred this ranks among the best with Poltergeist.

Thanks for reading, regards, Alex Brouns

4 out of 5 stars Good proto-Horner; works well in the movie.......2000-02-24

To start off, I must say that I do not own this album. I've purchased the complete album (20 tracks), and it overshadows the commercial release by quite a bit. Many good tracks were left out of the release, and regrettably my favorite track (Preparing for the Drop) isn't even used in the movie.

Aside from the qualms about the CD release itself, the music is pretty good. Fortunately, Horner wrote this score early in his career, so he was forced to come up with as much original music as possible. Horner-bashers aside, you CAN recognize some themes in this release, most notably the Klingon theme from Star Trek III, and a litle of Khan's theme from Star Trek II. Both are not overused throughout the score, but you will notice other small Hornerisms here and there.

Horner captures the essence of the movie in his score. Suspense, action, terror are all conveyed to the viewer through the music. The main and end titles have a solemn, lonely feeling, as Ripley floats in space in hypersleep.

Near the end of Bishop's Countdown, Horner created a phrase that has been used in myriads of film trailers and scores by many composers. During the scene in the movie, Ripley and Company are desperately trying to escape the plume of fire from the nuclear blast on the planet below. The brass rhythm is repeated, with dissonant strings taking up the rhythm just before the whole planet explodes. The tension builds at a faster pace until Horner lets the whole orchestra explode with cacophony. It is a true delight to see coupled with the movie.

On the whole, Aliens is a good score from early in Horner's career. It is utilized very well in the movie and although it has been presented poorly on CD, it makes for an eerie, action-packed listening.

By the way, if you're wondering where to acquire this complete score, send me an email and I'll be happy to direct you to it.

4 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

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  2. Grumpier Old Men: Music From The Motion Picture ~ Alan Silvestri
  3. Patriot Games: Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ~ James Horner
  4. Mancini Soundtracks Collection: Charade/Experiment in Terror ~ Henry Mancini
  5. Bright Lights, Big City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ~ Original Soundtrack
  6. Insomnia (Score) ~ David Julyan
  7. Bachelor Party ~ Various Artists
  8. Always: Motion Picture Soundtrack Album ~ John Williams
  9. Wet Warm Cling - Film Red Velvet Crush ~ Specimen
  10. Vanishing Point ~ Original Soundtrack

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