THE CLASSIC THEMES OF BERNARD HERRMANN AND BEBE & LOUIS BARRON
by SONIC SCI-FI
Compact Disc Double
CDCD5051
Label: CHROME DREAMS MUSIC
This Golden Globe winning soundtrack in its completion shares disc one of this collection with another of Herrmann’s scores, 1957’s ‘The Outer Space Suite’, which this master composer wrote for the CBS television series. Just as extraordinary and groundbreaking as ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’e Earh Stood StillTHe Stood Sti, the suite used less electronic instrumentation but somehow achieved a similar ethereal feel using traditional instruments. This rarely heard composition is again featured here in its original and complete form.
Disc 2 of this set features the work of husband and wife team, Louis and Bebe Barron. Famed for their pioneering work in the electronic field, MGM bought them in to write the music for their hugely ambitious 1956 production, ‘The Forbidden Planet’. In doing so the company were rewarded with a score that to this day sounds contemporary, futuristic and eminently listenable (whether or not accompanied by the movie), and which turned a good sci-fi flick into a quite astonishing sensory experience. Considered to be the first completely electronic soundtrack, the Barrons’ remain hugely influential in the electronic music community having influenced everyone from John Cage to Kraftwerk. Also included on this disc is the couple’s ‘Bells Of Atlantis’ (1952), their score for the surreal nine-minute film which featured Anaïs Nin reading her poetry over the Barrons’ electronic soundscape.
DISC ONE
BERNARD HERRMANN THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
1. Prelude – Outer Space – Radar 2. Danger 3. Klaatu 4. Gort – The Visor – The Telescope 5. Escape 6. Solar Diamonds 7. Arlington 8. Lincoln Memorial 9. Nocturne – The Flashlight – The Robot – Space Control 10. The Elevator – Magnetic Pull – The Study – The Conference - The Jewelery Store 11. Panic 12. The Glowing – Alone – Gort’s Rage – Nikto – The Captive – Terror 13. The Prison 14. Rebirth 15. Departure 16. Farewell 17. Finale
OUTER SPACE SUITE (1957)
18. Prelude 19. Signals 20. Space Drift 21. Space Stations 22. Time Suspense 23. Starlight 24. Danger 25. Moonscape 26. Airlock 27. Tycho 28. The Earth
DISC TWO
BEBE & LOUIS BARRON THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956)
1. Main Titles – Overture 2. Deceleration 3. Once Around Altair 4. The Landing 5. Flurry of Dust – A Robot Approaches 6. A Shangri-La in the Desert – Garden With Cuddly Tiger 7. Graveyard – A Night With Two Moons 8. Robby, Make Me A Gown 9. An Invisible Monster Approaches 10. Robby Arranges Flowers, Zaps Monkey 11. Love at the Swimming Hole 12. Morbius’ Study 13. Ancient Krell Music 14. The Mind Booster – Creation of Matter 15. Krell Shuttle Ride and Power Station 16. Giant Footprints in the Sand 17. Nothing Like This Claw Found In Nature! 18. Robby, the Cook, And 60 Gallons of Booze 19. Battle With Invisible Monster 20. Come Back To Earth With Me 21. The Monster Pursues – Morbius Is Overcome 22. The Homecoming 23. Overture Reprise
BONUS TRACK
24. Bells Of Atlantis (1952)
