Vital to the success of the songs in
Top Gun is the
common vocabulary Moroder and Faltermeyer use in the progressions,
instrumentation, and general demeanor of the works. Some of the
remaining songs veer off towards other genres of music, but they all
still maintain a core personality and quality that supported the whole.
With the songs placed liberally throughout the score, this sense of
cohesion plays a huge role on screen. The memorable riffs from the two
leading songs would have an outsized impact on Faltermeyer's
interpolations in the score, too. Less successful is his reworking of
his "Mighty Wings" song into the score, its progressions not as
engaging. But "Danger Zone" and "Take My Breath Away" define no less
than three score cues each and serve as equals to Faltermeyer's two
original themes dedicated to solely the score. Most of the praise the
composer has received for
Top Gun through the years has been via
his "Top Gun Anthem," which is the main identity that graces the moments
of victory in the film. Written originally for Faltermeyer's
Fletch, the idea was transitioned to this movie instead, where it
thrives with the lead guitar performances of Steve Stevens. The theme's
bassline alone opens the score in "Main Titles" with a sense of
anticipation, and the melody on guitar erupts during the first combat
scene in "Cougar Chased by Mig/Mav Flips the Bird" and in "Tower Flyby,"
both brief but vital renditions. The latter makes good use of the
theme's ascendant bridge sequence in between the stylish electric guitar
statements of the main melody. The composer accesses the "Main Title"
instrumental backing on its own once again for "Carrier Ready Room and
Takeoffs," dropping the melody smartly to denote a sense of build-up.
Notable is a very brief clarinet solo for the anthem opening this cue, a
touch reprised in "Viper's House Pt. 1." The fuller format of the theme
and its secondary lines from "Tower Flyby" returns in "Return to
Carrier" at the end of the film and is summarized in a long suite format
for the album, where it receives the official "Anthem" moniker.
Essentially an extension of the songs' personality and performance
inflection, this theme won Faltermeyer a Grammy award independently and
was an obvious and necessary inclusion in
Top Gun: Maverick as
well.
More intriguing and emotionally beneficial to
Top
Gun for some of its most ardent fans is Faltermeyer's other original
theme in the score, one for death, loss and memories. Sometimes
associated directly with the Goose character, this acoustic guitar
identity captures the emotional needs where romance isn't involved. The
composer develops it nicely throughout the score, its presence evolving
from "Mav and Goose in Room," "End Locker Room and Photo," and
"Memories" until it achieves outsized power with the electric guitar
performances in "Viper's House Pt. 2." This idea also appears in the
sequel score and is a nice respite from the score's suspense and action
sequences, which are Faltermeyer's weak point in
Top Gun. His
material for the combat scenes comes across as a more abrasive variant
of equivalent cues in his two
Beverly Hills Cop scores. The
pounding synth motifs in "Board of Inquiry" are among his harshest
recordings, akin to
The Running Man. When he tones it back to
achieve a sense of lighter drama with gravity, as in "Viper Comes Down
on Mav," the results are somewhat anonymous. That said, the success of
the main anthem and loss theme are what float the score, along with the
interpolations of "Danger Zone" in "Carrier Takeoffs and Landings," "Mav
Goes to Fightertown," and "Aerial Sequence" and the infusion of "Take My
Breath Away" into "Dinner at Charlie's," "Mav Says Goodbye to Charlie,"
and "Love Scene." Generally speaking, some listeners may find fault with
the repetitive nature of the score, but that was simply the method of
operation for both Moroder and Faltermeyer when crafting their scores at
the time. With the thematic duties spread further across so many song
and score melodies here, however, the five or so distinct ideas in the
score range widely enough to keep the work from becoming overly
monotonous. The exception to that observation might be the three cues in
the middle of the score that all adapt "Take My Breath Away" in
succession; anyone who hears that bassline in their nightmares will find
that sequence tiresome quickly. Some quibbling can be made with the
harsh edges to the action scenes, music that Faltermeyer found quite
difficult to fine-tune, but these portions represent the minority of the
whole. In the end, the score is a really good match for the tone of the
story and uses the song melodies at just the right times.
The original 1986 album for
Top Gun ranks among
the top-selling soundtracks of all time, featuring the original songs
recorded for the film and Faltermeyer's anthem arrangement of the
score's main theme. Re-issued countless times on LP records and CD, that
presentation was finally expanded in 1999 for a "Special Edition" that
includes a handful of extra tracks. Most of them feature the source song
inclusions on screen, but a remix of one of the Loggins songs and an
arrangement of Faltermeyer's loss theme were also provided. The latter
was pivotal, because it illuminated the score's second theme that had
been totally unreleased at the time. Enthusiasts of the score amazingly
went without a fuller release of Faltermeyer's work until 2024, when the
La-La Land Records label provided the complete score on one half of a
2-CD set and all the previously released song and score tracks on the
second. That 5,000-copy product was immensely popular up front, often
out of print as the label attempted to keep up with demand. At a price
point of $30 and with the immense popularity of this soundtrack, it was
easy to predict that a pressing of 5,000 would be insufficient. That's
in part because the presentation of the score is so comprehensive. The
inclusion of all the songs is absolutely key, even for those seeking
just the score, because they are an undeniable and inextricable part of
the whole package. (It also allows listeners the two older album
arrangements of the score.) The score-only presentation on the first CD
condenses many of its shorter cues into long suites, which is actually a
detriment to the listening experience, especially since there are
obnoxious fade outs and cross fades everywhere. Still, the score and the
songs sound magnificent, the mastering for this album remarkably crisp
and resounding, betraying the score's age. Rounding out the expansion
are three 1985 demo recordings of the anthem that each have their own
appeal in their instrumental balance. (The melody itself was locked in
by then.) Two short, unused cues are offered as well, "First Shot of Mav
and Goose" using the anthem's guitar prominently and "Don't Worry About
the Mig" presenting a lighter variant on "Take My Breath Away." Overall,
the 2024 set is, despite its occasionally awkward presentation of the
score cues, an outstanding tribute to this critical success story of the
1980's. This soundtrack was the pinnacle for the Moroder and Faltermeyer
partnership and will forever be remembered for its absolute dominance in
the mainstream.
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