| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Alien Nation (Jerry Goldsmith/Curt Sobel)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you either demand every incarnation of Jerry Goldsmith's
classic theme from The Russia House or were among the minority to
appreciate the composer's equally synthetic futuristic detective score
for Runaway.
Avoid it... if you seek otherwise interesting and distinctive music from Goldsmith or replacement Curt Sobel in either of their badly dated, underachieving scores for this forgettable film.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Alien Nation: (Jerry Goldsmith/Curt Sobel) Although
the premise of Alien Nation was successful enough to green-light
the production of several television incarnations along the same lines,
the original 1988 film is often forgotten because of its lack of
distinctive characteristics. The plot postulated that in the near
future, a few hundred thousand aliens (called "newcomers") take refuge
on Earth and assimilate into society. The Graham Baker film doesn't
attempt to explore the larger worldwide societal issues that such an
event might cause, but instead redirects the story to the confined
spectrum of a cop and buddy picture. A lonely officer played by James
Caan is a bigot in regards to the newcomers but is forced to reckon with
the assignment of one such alien to be his partner in the investigation
of his previous partner's slaying. On one hand, you have a typical
detective story, and on the other, you have comments about prejudice
that could have been equally explored (and have been countless times) in
more conventional ways. Only the fact that the aggrieved group here is
alien distinguishes Alien Nation from the plethora of similar
films. By rooting the story in the short-term future, Alien
Nation avoids all the expenditures of a science fiction tale,
instead opting to treat its subject matter in a much more down to earth
manner. That was in part the problem with the score provided for the
film by composer Jerry Goldsmith, who had written an impressive work for
Baker's The Final Conflict several years prior. Goldsmith
approached the film as he had done once before for a futuristic cop
story, Runaway, deciding to record an all-electronic score for
the picture. Ultimately, Goldsmith's music was likely too cold and
alienating to serve Alien Nation, emphasizing the cultural divide
on screen rather than the urban, contemporary location and standard
detective elements. When Goldsmith was reportedly unavailable to
re-score the film, his music was completely dropped and veteran music
editor and novice composer Curt Sobel stepped in.
Not only did Alien Nation end up with a predictably stale light rock score from Sobel that did absolutely nothing to extend the fantasy aspect of the film, but the experience turned out to be a tremendous blessing for Goldsmith, who was not bothered by the rejection because he recognized the poor quality of the film. In fact, Alien Nation turned out to be simply a practice run for one of the composer's greatest career achievements. Goldsmith once again performs the score solo, and of his three purely synthetic efforts of the 1980's, this one is the most interesting. The electronic textures of the score are engaging in places and certainly an improvement over Runaway and Link. Compare "Alien Dance" in this rejected score to the rejected cue "The Rec Room" in Outland to hear that Goldsmith had made significant progress in applying his synthetic tones. Intriguingly, the ambience of Alien Nation arguably has more in common with the composer's 1990's sound than his previous endeavors. It's still obnoxious in many places and anonymous in others. An ominous title theme is punctuated by a rising two-note progression that is liberally quoted throughout the score and is treated much like the three-note motif that was so effective in Lionheart. Some of the wacky renditions of this rising motif in Alien Nation, especially detached from the rest of the theme it forms, are striking in their unique character and other-worldly demeanor. The action music is the weakest portion of the score, sometimes revisiting the stinging and obnoxiously flat tone of Runaway's most irritating staccato pounding on the keyboard. Goldsmith has done far worse on his synthesizers, but those keyboards and their associated sounds are still much more powerful when merged with a symphonic ensemble. All of this discussion about Alien Nation's primary elements is completely irrelevant, though, because for most Goldsmith enthusiasts, this score is all about one unlikely thing: The Russia House. Indeed, for those not familiar with the evolution of The Russia House, learning about the relevance of Alien Nation to that classic score's primary identity might seem bizarre, but Hollywood is full of such strange circumstances. In 1987, Goldsmith wrote but never recorded a heartbreaking theme of romance for Oliver Stone's Wall Street. After substantial disagreements with Stone, however, Goldsmith took the theme with him and used it to represent the solitude of Caan's character in Alien Nation. Though hinted in "Alien Landing," Goldsmith provides an eerily chilly synthetic sax rendition of this theme in "Take it Easy" before unleashing its full character in light rock fashion in "The Wedding" at the end. The progressions eventually changed in a few places over the length of the entire idea, but for the many lovers of The Russia House, the theme is immediately recognizable; casual listeners may not even notice a difference. The rejection of the score for Alien Nation allowed Goldsmith to take the theme with him once again, translating it into its stunning jazzy incarnation in The Russia House. Despite the hardships that Goldsmith experienced in the middle to late 1980's in regards to the rejection of his music (led by his masterful work for Ridley Scott's Legend), The Russia House was not only the kind of highly personal and redemptive assignment that the composer had been waiting for, but also an opportunity to beautifully apply a defining theme that he would later declare as one of the personal favorites of his career. He would even adapt an altered version of the melody for the end of The Vanishing a couple of years later. Some might argue that to label Alien Nation as simply a footnote to The Russia House is unfair to the former score. But let's face it, Alien Nation is a somewhat mindless and underachieving score at best and The Russia House is considered by many Goldsmith collectors to be a classic on the level of Hoosiers and Under Fire in terms of emotive quality. Meanwhile, with the predictably troubled post-production of Alien Nation having shed Goldsmith's score, Sobel stepped in and provided music that largely eliminates the fantasy element and instead concentrates on the urban thriller environment. His synthetic instrumentation is not terribly different from Goldsmith's to the average ear, with some of the keyboarded tones sounding like direct carry-overs and the general sound quality of the two works largely indistinguishable in their best mastered forms. In his take on Alien Nation, Sobel doesn't restrain the jazz and light rock elements in the demeanor of his motific development for the "Main Title" and the character theme in "Coming Home," saxophone and guitar joining electric bass and the drum pads for the occasion. The action and suspense sequences rely heavily on a wailing electric guitar, which, as at the start of "Monster Lives," is immensely irritating and badly dates the score in its decade. Rambunctious passages for just percussion and droning bass don't particularly help, either. More anonymous than Goldsmith's original effort, the Sobel replacement score arguably better fits the film's time and social commentary sans the fantasy element. Neither score is worth much consideration outside of the sentimental connection with Goldsmith's character theme, and for a for a long time, few fans had the opportunity to hear this rough draft of the theme on album. Goldsmith enthusiasts had long circulated bootlegs of Alien Nation, but these roughly 40-minute presentations almost always featured extremely unsatisfying sound quality. In 2005, with the death of Goldsmith still fresh in mind, Varèse Sarabande released 47 minutes of Alien Nation in perfect sound quality. The 3,000-copy pressing sold out quickly, likely taking advantage of collectors eager to hear six minutes of what amounts to a demo recording of the favorite theme. This material is appealing on the strength of the melody and not necessarily because of the cold or pop-like renderings; only the tingling flow of metallic effects in the background connect the two highly disparate scores' performances. Outside of these six minutes, Goldsmith's Alien Nation isn't worth exploring unless you're attempting to maintain a complete collection of the composer's works (or liked Runaway for some reason). In 2013, Kritzerland re-released the same presentation of the Goldsmith score with a few minor edits but also included the original album arrangement that Sobel had prepared for his score but went unutilized. Unlike other Kritzerland offerings of 1,200 copies, this one didn't sell out in short order, a clear indication of the quality of music. Sobel's material is generic 1980's cop-thriller muck indistinguishable from countless equivalents, and it's no wonder the recording took so long to debut on album. In the end, if The Russia House melts your heart every time, then allow your loyalty to that score the luxury of either of the Alien Nation albums' rough foreshadowing of that classic. Just don't expect much else of interest at this juncture. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
2005 Varèse Album:
Total Time: 46:41
2013 Kritzerland Album: Total Time: 87:25
NOTES & QUOTES:
The inserts of both albums include background information about the score and film.
Copyright ©
2009-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Alien Nation are Copyright © 2005, 2013, Varèse Sarabande (Rejected Score), Kritzerland Records (Both Scores) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/18/09 and last updated 5/15/18. |
