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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Indeed. Lynch hired the popular rock band Toto to score the film, and likewise, Dune turned out to be a royal pain in the neck for the Toto members as well. It was Toto's first scoring attempt, and as they tried to combine their native electronic sounds with those of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Austria, they were quickly overwhelmed. Several different themes and genres of music were thrown together to form a crazed mess of grandiose electronically hip orchestral nonsense. And, in strangely a perfect ending, the mess of a movie and mess of a score went remarkably well together. I absolutely love them both. This brings me to Dune's messy history on CD. The original release in 1984 is frustratingly lacking. The 1997 release has badly warped sound in parts, accidental voices, and more missing music. The imports released in between were just the same as the regular 1984 release. A remastered version of the 1997 release was distributed through non-commercial channels in 2001 after the label had ceased to exist. So what should you buy if you want the full score experience of Dune? Sadly, more than one of them. This prospect alone has understandably caused much consternation for fans of the film and score. Before I dive into the ups and downs of the CD releases, let me discuss the music first. As I said, it is an awkward combination of themes and genres of music that alternate from track to track. Lynch asked Toto to keep the score "slow and low" and refused any audible presence of a harp (some people are strange). The result of that order is a score that spends a lot of time churning below the surface, with occasional bursts of a strong electronic beat or orchestral theme. The opening titles are personally my favorite --it is the grandiose orchestral opening that is very simple in its repeating four-note construction. It's very enjoyable, however it only can be heard twice in full in the film. The theme for Leto and Atreides is noble and serves its purpose well. Likewise, the Fremen theme is a repeating choral piece that is enjoyable. The end credits, as the band lets loose more of its electronic talents, is also very good. I'm not impressed by the Prophecy theme by Eno --it is dreary, although it goes well with Paul's dreams and hallucinations in the film. These themes are all good, yet at moments they lack the power that they could have had with a full orchestra minus electronics (I suppose it was an 80's thing). There are five or six tracks of unbearable noise (the baron, the robot, etc...) that disrupt even the film. On the whole, though, the score's absent-minded wanderings work very well with Lynch's convoluted film. As for the CD releases, there is no word to sum up the frustration that consumers feel towards these albums. For a long time, only various versions of the original 1984 album were floating around as "imports" in America. People sought the expanded 1997 CD for the orchestral performance of the main titles, and although it is included on that re-release, nothing else on the 1997 CD is up to par. I can give or take Eno's theme --it does not appear on the re-release as it had on the 1984 one. Also, the dialog cannot be heard on the newer releases. I find this to be a shame, because I had grown very fond of the speech by the Emperor's daughter before the opening credits --the only good music you miss is the same as that in "Leto's Theme." I'm generally in favor of dialog as long as the music behind it is boring or can be heard elsewhere. The biggest disappointment of the 1997 re-release was the horrible distortion that can be heard in about half of the tracks. It was a problem that many, many people have brought to attention, so it is indeed a universal problem with the release. The distortion sounds like a wobbling record --it causes the sound to lower/rise in pitch and so on... It is extremely annoying and, in my belief, completely unacceptable. Especially for a CD that was carefully digitally remastered! I love the music in track 2, as the Guild Navigator warns the "Emperor of the Known Universe" that spice production on Arrakis must go on. Unfortunately, there's a wobble right in the middle of it (at 20 sec.). The most embarrassing wobble "in the known universe" happens during track 12, which really upsets me because that was an unreleased track (Betrayal/Shields Down) that I really looked forward to hearing. The distortion is so bad that I stood in awe at my stereo. Track 22 has the beautiful love theme for Chani and Paul that was included on the 1984 release --keep your 1984 release, though, because the same track on the 1997 one has a wobble about a minute into it! There are about 10 to 12 other tracks that have noticeable wobbles. I hate to come down so hard on P.E.G., but these things almost ruin the listening experience. Really. One concern that I have, and though I have seen and listened to Dune numerous times, I cannot answer: One of the best uses of music in the film is the scene in which the Harkonnens attack the Atreides with their shields down and take control of Arrakis (by the way, what's with all these names that start with an 'A' sound?). The main orchestral theme begins when the Atreides officer screams, "Shields! Shields!" and ends when Gurney (Patrick Stewart) yells "Long Live Duke Leto!" This is an audio sequence that I had taped right off the VHS because I like it so much. The performance is likely the same as the one in the opening credits, which is why it does not appear on either CD release. However, the one during the attack sequence seems to be of a different mixing than that of the opening credits. Any ideas? Either way, the music that can be heard under the title "Shields Down" on the 1997 release does not appear completely in the film. Another gripe/peculiarity about the 1997 pressing: Track 20, which is heard as Paul and the Fremen first ride a sandworm, has multiple problems. The music is great, as it starts off electronically and the orchestra takes over the theme in an almost seamless transition, building to a climax. The track starts with horrific distortions and ends with someone's voice noticeably speaking a word or two over the music. What is this? Some type of post-recording screw-up? What's the guy saying? (then again, does it really matter?). Complaints from fans, who insist that a "vomiting" sound (their words, not mine) can be heard at the end of this track, are unwarranted. The 1997 re-release still had very good tracks of music --especially choral-- that did not appear on the 1984 release. The demo version of the main theme at the end is not the same electronic performance as that on the 1984 release. This version is not as strong, with weak bass. The departure music from Atreides is excellent, as is the scene of the Duke's death. All together, Dune is a great score that had been poorly presented on CD numerous times. The sound quality was not improved on the 1997 release, and the wobbles and voices make it a generally poorer-sounding CD. On the other hand, it had almost twice the amount of music that the original has. Thus, at the time, it was still a slightly better buy. Many still awaited the day, though, when the Dune score that we love and have longed for is released in its entirety and with superior sound... Well, if you aren't confused as of yet, then now it's time to let you know that a remastered edition of the 1997 Dune release has experienced a limited release (limited in that it does not appear in stores --you have to seek it at specialty outlets). The 2001 release is edited so that the wobbles and voices are minimized to near extinction, and the overall sound quality of the whole album is improved. Only at the end of the "Prelude" track does a new distortion take place, though this is insignificant because that track has appeared without problem on both the other releases. In short, the 2001 album is what the 1997 one should have been... but even this 2001 album has its negatives. The 2001 album, of course, does not comfort those who purchased the 1997 one. Because of the constraining agreement between distributor SuperCollector and the now defunct P.E.G. Recordings, no exchanges of the faulty 1997 product can be accepted. In turn, this means that those who want the correct edit of the music have to pay for the album twice, and this is completely unacceptable. The same agreement dictated that even the errors in packaging could not be corrected, meaning that there is no way to tell from the outside packaging whether or not you are purchasing the 1997 or 2001 release (not to mention that the URL on the insert is still faulty). Good luck! Another negative is the fact that this new CD has failed to appear in stores, where most of the unhappy customers purchased the faulty 1997 product. Therefore, most will never know about this remastering. The label will insist that "it was either this or nothing," but that still doesn't solve the problem. The saga of Dune on CD ends just as badly as it began. Even more than 15 years after the ill-fated music was first heard, no album has produced a comprehensive and satisfying result. The only people who will be completely happy with the situation are those who enter the arena now, and can find the 2001 album online. If you find the 1997 album in stores, do not purchase it!.
1984 Release: ** 1997 Release: * 2001 Release: ***
* Not heard in 1997/2001 releases ** Contains dialog
* Previously unreleased tracks ** Does not contain dialog *** Contains previously unreleased music, but not the main title as heard in film # Contains recording of the main theme not heard on 1984 release
Toto members: David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, Mike Porcaro, Steve Lukather. The newer CDs are dedicated to deceased members of the musical crew (Marty Paich and Jeff Porcaro) and writer (Frank Herbert) of Dune. The web address listed for art direction kudos in the insert notes is incorrect. It should be: http://www.primenet.com/~stills/index.html. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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