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Co-Orchestrated and Conducted by:
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Pete Anthony
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Co-Produced by:
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Douglass Fake
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Availability:
The promo is a Christopher Young Private Release, one of five released together in a set in 1997. Valued at about $50 when sold separately from the set.
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Sorry, there are no commercial ordering options for this title. However, you can
search for this title at the soundtrack specialty outlets listed on the Filmtracks Links Page. |
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Species: (Christopher Young) Among alien horror stories
set on Earth, Species is a little more campy in its sexuality and
plentiful in the area of loose ends, and the story's popularity would lead
to a sequel. Assisting actress Natasha Henstridge in her journey to cult
film fame, Species was a college town kind of film. That made it
perfect, of course, for composer Christopher Young, who has made a living in
the horror genre from college to the mainstream. When thinking of a mental
sound that summarizes Young's stereotypical horror compositions,
Species is very consistent with that sound. Its combination of
chilling beauty and stark, striking horror cues shows Young at his most
romantic in the horror genre and continues to establish him as an artist who
can switch between tonal harmony and dissonant chaos in a moment's notice.
For Species, you have two twists on an otherwise normal horror outing
for Young: first, the element of outer space adds the necessity for some
wondrous cues of scientific discovery, and secondly, having a beautiful
woman at the center of the story creates a need for sexual enticement (or
slightly off-kilter romance). The remainder of the score for Species
would turn out to be a regular endeavor for Young, with the normal, jarring
chase cues of high horror merging Young's usual output with perhaps some
influence from James Horner's Aliens at times. The most consistent
signs of Young hard at work here is the use of single lengthy, unharmonious
notes extending on brass or strings in the background of nearly every cue
(sounding like counterpoint intentionally set a measure off) and the use of
brass in its very lowest ranges to push the broad, lower scope of the
horror. The latter technique is often how Young adds the "scariness" into
his work.
The majority of Species consists of crashing,
high-strung cues of straight-forward terror. The string section is often let
loose, seemingly performing several different avenues of quivering
dissonance at maximum volume within their own ranks. A meandering piano
occasionally pounds on extremely low notes to coincide with Young's usual
use of a drum array to set jarring rhythms to the action. Higher percussion
often tingles at the spine in its lighter, metallic forms. Young's ability
to establish a motif and then yank it around in these moments of fright is
effective; he starts the motif and then cuts it off dramatically, repeating
this process, and eventually forcing the listener (or audience) to expect
the unexpected. Pulling the whole ensemble down in a single, descending note
is a technique that Young uses to almost resemble a machine failing, and
gives the listener an equally effective 'sinking feeling.' All of the
dissonance aside, however, Species is best known for its four
fantastically beautiful performances of the title theme. The awe and beauty
of space is captured by Young in a very slow, elegant theme for plucked bass
strings, swirling violins, soothing choir, and, once again, broad low brass.
The use of a wood block to keep the rhythm of this theme adds to its
chilling effect; the theme has best been described as "cold," which is
indeed an accurate description. As beautiful as it is, the theme for
Species is distant and alienating (no pun intended). In "Fever," the
original opening titles re-assigned to a scene later in the film, Young's
theme is at its most interesting, moving only once at a heightened pace that
better engages the audience. Never released commercially, Species was
pressed promotionally by Young and his associates at Intrada Records in the
mid-1990's as part of a five-CD promo set (of which Species and
Virtuosity are the most popular). Finding an original can be
expensive, and unless you are determined to be haunted by the twelve minutes
or so of that cold title theme, then the overall package may not be worth
the search. The dissonant horror cues can be found in similar form on other
Young albums, and a gorgeous suite from this score was recorded for Silva
Screen's "Space and Beyond" compilation near the time of the score's
release. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Species (3:38)
• 2. A Vibrant Slime (3:29)
• 3. Protostar (2:52)
• 4. Ring Nebula (5:28)
• 5. Fever (Original "Main Title") (2:27)
• 6. Species Feces (4:24)
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• 7. Bax Max (3:40)
• 8. Milky Way Breasts (4:52)
• 9. Safe Sex (2:32)
• 10. Worm Hole (2:20)
• 11. Son of Sil (1:50)
• 12. Star Bright (5:01)
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The packaging consists only of a single slip cover and rear sheet with track listings and no extra information about the score or film.
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