Blade Runner (25th Anniversary 3CD Special Edition)

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Vangelis

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Like some out there, I'm a fan of Vangelis and Blade Runner. Simply put, the Vangelis fan inside me won out with this release.

Let's face it. It's been a while since there was a new Vangelis CD out.

Disk 3 of the Blade Runner Trilogy set, for me, was worth the money alone. To have Disk 2 is great as well. And to listen to the entire compilation together is just a wonderful experience for me. In fact, the reason why I decided to write something is because I believe Disk 3 deserves more description then it has been getting.

First off, this disk has pretty much new material. The material, though, is very original. At the same time it seems to carry on with the Blade Runner concept very well.

There are some surprising pieces here.

"BR Downtown," followed by "Demetri's Bar," is shockingly fresh. It is very hard to categorize the first especially. Almost like an ambient reggae-techno. You have to hear it for yourself.

"Perfume Exotico" is a very seductive alteration of "Rachel's Song". I was not prepared to hear Vangelis put something like this together, but it works.

Included are some very good pieces as well.

The piece "Piano In An Empty Room," which is solely piano, is full of romantic vibrancies. Anyone who has empathy for his music will come back to this piece many times over.

"Sweet Solitude" reminds me of the days when Vangelis was in his prime in the early 80's. Starts out with a simple keyboard tune, carries on with some percussion, and then becomes complete with a wonderful sax (reminiscent of "Love Theme").

Keep in mind, there are some rather hard-pounding sounds here. "No Expectation Boulevard" is the prime example. But that is to be expected, considering the overall theme being presented.

I think my personal favorite here is "Up and Running." It is just bizarre. It not only carries an unorthodox re-mixing of "One More Kiss, Dear," it has sounds similar of "Nerve Centre" (from his 1990 release "The City") along with the familiar strings from "Main Titles". It then ends with an uplifting piano piece. What an amalgamation!

And that's how I would define Disk 3. An amalgamation of sounds associated with culture, urban lifestyle, subconscious narrative (which aren't distracting and occur mainly during the transitions), and reflective meditation.

It is fairly safe to say Vangelis fans will overall enjoy this release, regardless of your fondness for the Blade Runner franchise. I'm glad I purchased it.

When it was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2007 that a new "extended" 3-disc soundtrack of Vangelis' Blade Runner score would be released by the end of the year to coincide with the release of Ridley Scott's "Final Cut" Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition), fans rejoiced with the assumption that the complete film score was finally getting an "official" release after numerous releases and bootlegs of varying lengths and sub-standard quality. Unfortunately if you are looking for the complete film score, this is not the CD you're looking for.

Disc 1 is a re-mastering of the 1994 Vangelis album (although it sounds identical to my original CD) which featured music from the film edited together with numerous dialog samples from the film as well as newly composed music by Vangelis that did not appear anywhere in the film. As an album, it was interesting thematically in its own right with some beautifully composed themes like "Rachel's Song" and "Damask Rose" but it was still not the original film soundtrack and was considered to be a disappointment.

Disc 2 features officially unreleased cues, some of which are not even heard anywhere in the film. Some are outtakes from the workprint but most of the memorable cues from the film are completely omitted such as the opening "Prologue" with the somber haunting Asian motif that establishes the dark tone and atmosphere of the film as well as the Egyptian Taffey Lewis club ambiance and the cues from when Deckard enters the Bradbury are not included.

Disc 3 is a collection of letters and "spoken word" commentaries from various authors, actors and film makers who share their memories and experiences of the celebrated cult classic along with newly composed music by Vangelis, again "inspired by" the film but not the original, unabridged movie soundtrack.

What SHOULD have been a 3-disc officially released motion picture soundtrack that would have nullified the numerous bootlegs that have proliferated the market is not to be had. Let's examine the different versions available and what's missing from this release:

1982 New American Orchestra Blade Runner: Orchestral Adaptation Of Music Composed For The Motion Picture By Vangelis - an orchestral arrangement and jazz rendition of Vangelis' electronic compositions from the film. Generally regarded as an inferior album and not the original motion picture soundtrack containing barely over a half an hour of material with a scant running time of 33:16 containing the following tracks:

1. Love Theme (4:12)

2. Main Title (5:01)

3. One More Kiss, Dear (4:00)

4. Memories Of Green (4:50)

5. End Title (4:17)

6. Blade Runner Blues (4:38)

7. Farewell (3:10)

8. End Title Reprise (3:08)

1994 Atlantic Vangelis Blade Runner - the first "official" Vangelis release containing nearly an hour of music with a running time of 57:53, most of which contained newly composed themes and dialog samples from the film mixed into selections of the film's soundtrack cues comprised of the following 12 tracks:

1. Main Titles (3:42)

2. Blush Response (5:47)

3. Wait for Me (5:27)

4. Rachel's Song (4:46)

5. Love Theme (4:56)

6. One More Kiss, Dear (3:58)

7. Blade Runner Blues (8:53)

8. Memories of Green (5:05)

9. Tales of the Future (4:46)

10. Damask Rose (2:32)

11. Blade Runner (End Titles) (4:40)

12. Tears in Rain (3:00)

The 1993 Off-World Edition bootleg featuring nearly all of the film's original soundtrack including the John William's composed Ladd Company logo from the film and source music for the "Bicycle Riders"(aka "Harps of the Ancient Temples") by Gail Laughton and "If I didn't Care" by Jack Lawrence, but with less than acceptable CD quality sound but features over 72:42 worth of original un-edited music from the film:

1. Ladd Company Logo (0:24) John Williams

2. Main Titles and Prologue (4:03)

3. Los Angeles, November 2019 (1:46)

4. Deckard Meets Rachel (1:29)

5. Bicycle Riders (2:05) Gail Laughton

6. Memories of Green (5:39)

7. Blade Runner Blues (10:19)

8. Deckard's Dream (1:12)

9. On the Trail of Nexus 6 (5:30)

10. If I Didn't Care (3:03) Jack Lawrence

11. Love Theme (4:57)

12. The Prodigal Son Brings Death (3:35)

13. Dangerous Days (1:02)

14. Wounded Animals (10:58)

15. Tears in Rain (2:41)

16. End Titles (7:24)

17. One More Kiss Dear (4:00) Skellern & Vangelis

18. Trailer and Alternate Main Titles (1:39) Robert Randles

The 1995 Gongo Edition - an import distributed in Romania was a slightly better quality version of the Off-World edition without the trailer music. This release omits the 1939 recording of "If I Didn't Care" which originally appeared in an early workprint of Blade Runner, but was replaced by the Don Percival song "One More Kiss, Dear" in the final version. Also includes "Blimpverts" the Japanese female blimp vocals.

The 2003 2-Disc Esper Edition - features ambient film soundtrack including music and effects engineered from the ambient Dolby surround sound channels with occasional rear-channel effects mixed in but retains all of the previously unreleased and unavailable score for almost the full 2 running hours of the film.

Esper Edition Disc-1

1. Prologue And Main Titles (3:54)

2. Leon's Voight Kampff Test (1:09)

3. Sushi Bar - Damask Rose (2:46)

4. Spinner Ascent (1:21)

5. Blush Response (5:43)

6. Wait For Me (5:12)

7. Deckard Meets Rachel (1:36)

8. Rachael's Song (4:20)

9. Tales Of The Future (4:53)

10. Bicycle Riders (2:10)

11. Chew's Eye Lab (1:15)

12. Memories Of Green (5:35)

13. Blade Runner Blues (10:01)

14. Pris Meets J.F. Sebastian (1:47)

15. One More Kiss, Dear (4:04)

Esper Edition Disc-2

1. Deckard's Dream (1:10)

2. Thinking Of Rachel (1:18)

3. Esper Analysis (2:34)

4. Animoid Row (2:34)

5. Taffey Lewis Night Club (2:02)

6. Salome's Dance (1:23)

7. Zhora's Retirement (1:42)

8. I Am The Business (2:29)

9. Love Theme (4:58)

10. I Dreamt Music (4:32)

11. Morning At The Bradbury (3:46)

12. The Prodigal Son Brings Death (4:07)

13. Deckard Enters The Bradbury (3:37)

14. Dangerous Days (:57)

15. Wounded Animals (10:53)

16. Tears In Rain (2:51)

17. Rachel Sleeps (2:08)

18. End Titles (4:06)

Los Angeles, November 2019 Edition - also released in 2003 was mostly ambient sound and atmosphere again extrapolated from the Dolby rear-channel mix and padded with additional music taken from the Westwood Blade Runner (PC) videogame.

In conclusion, what could have been the "definitive" official soundtrack is sadly not to be. The complete original soundtrack has become almost as legendary and elusive amongst fans as the various versions and cuts of the film itself. Perhaps for the 30th, 40th or even 50th anniversary release might be the soundtrack's "Final Cut" but this 3-disc release is anything but.