The classic 1939 samba song "Aquarela do Brasil" by Ary Barroso, otherwise known as simply "Brazil" in English, remains one of the most popular to ever originate from Brazil, with English-language covers coming from the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Harry Belafonte long before and after the song's adaptation into this 1985 movie. Kamen loved this song and crafted it brilliantly into Brazil. The original samba performances of "Aquarela do Brasil" were not really all that attractive unless you have an affinity for its distinct cultural personality. Kamen managed to pull that tone and melodic structures before adapting it into a variety of functional modes for both song and film score applications, ranging in genre from 1930's mainstream pop to later jazz and romantic film music conventions. By the end, he even applies it as an all-out action piece akin to something you might hear in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The interpolations of the piece and its counterpoint lines are phenomenal, the main string melody often carrying the optimistic wonder of the doomed main character while brass and other elements are tasked with exploring the underlying lines for suspense and battle. By "Harry Tuttle (A Man Consumed by Paperwork)," even the underlying rhythmic riff has become a tool of danger. The massive scope of some of these performances, especially in the concluding hallucinatory scenes of confrontation, apply space opera proportions, including apocalyptic choir and chimes in "Mother Funeral (Forces of Darkness)." In their accessible and tonally impressive bravado, the immensity of these late cues remarkably eclipses Kamen's later major action scores in appeal. When the film reveals its spoiled ending of tragic irony in "Escape! No Escape!," the composer reduces the idea down to waltz-like strings of lament. The most alluring performances of the Barroso theme come in Kamen's lovely string-led fantasy portions, highlighted by "Sam Lowry's 1st Dream (Brazil)," "Waiting for Daddy/Sam Lowry's Wetter Dream 'The Monoliths Erupt'," and "Jill Brazil (Power Station)," the 1930's nostalgia factor in full force with flowing harp. The orchestrations in these cues and the remainder of the score are sublime, elements from wood blocks to subtle synths providing outstanding coloration to the ensemble. The brass employment in action cues like "Truck Drive" compete favorably with the Die Hard scores in muscularity. Flute and clarinet also receive remarkable solos in a few cues.

Notable in the soundtrack for Brazil, of course, are the song renditions of this main theme. Kamen recorded three of them for the film, but only two were used. The opening credits Geoff Muldaur version of "Brazil," starting with an extended whistled rendition, is closer to the samba origins of the song, which are openly embraced in the ensemble party explosion with wildness over the end credits in "Bachianos Brazil Samba." (The personality of this performance, complete with catcalls, whistles, percussive aids, and shrieks from the crowd, is a really good capturing of the film's insanity in its juxtaposition of style.) Kamen also recorded a more romantic ballad version of the song with Kate Bush, but Gilliam didn't include it in the picture. Instead, the instrumental version of "Sam Lowry's 1st Dream (Brazil)" heard in context was long unattainable since the Bush performance took its place on the albums. With significant flourishes of percussion, this instrumental version remains a glaring absence from the album presentation, but Kamen didn't take the opportunity to rectify that when he assembled the new recordings for his 1998 "Michael Kamen's Opus" compilation. Instead, he remained loyal to his favored version with Bush, layering her vocals over a more robust, digitally-recorded performance in what remains the better version of the song. The vocals are pushed a little forward in the mix despite their inaccessible elegance, maintaining the song's balance of innocence and sinister madness. The remainder of the soundtrack includes a few outright comedy renditions of the melody, led by the use of typewriters for the underlying rhythmic parts of the song in "Central Service (The Office)" and the humorously accelerating "The Elevator." A touch of 1950's vibe occupies "Ducts" as well, one of several source-like jingles Kamen wrote for the picture. On album, these cheeky recordings mingle with the composer's straight romance and action material, the latter most concentrated near the end but placing some vital cues earlier in the presentation out of order. The albums for Brazil have long frustrated, the one consistent presentation for decades presenting the non-chronological ordering amongst the film's quotes and omitting the first dream sequence. A remastered product in 2006 adds an interview with Gilliam but is otherwise unnecessary. Ultimately, though, this soundtrack lives on as a cult favorite, the "Central Service (The Office)" cue even appearing in 2014's Mr. Peabody & Sherman. It remains one of Kamen's most admirable career achievements, a strikingly smart and compelling work that forever changed the destiny of its adapted song.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download