Airplane Soundtrack CD

Airplane.
1980, Paramount.
Elmer Bernstein.
La-La Land, CD, 2009, LLLCD 1093.
Rating:

This spoof disaster movie proved a good opportunity for Elmer Bernstein (also responsible for writing scores for comedies ’Ghostbusters’ and ’Trading Places’) to poke affectionate fun at the music that accompanied the originals, including the ‘Airport’ series and ‘Jaws’. While he manages to raise a few chuckles, particularly in cues ‘Resolution/Tag’ and the ‘Jaws’ inflected ‘Main Title’ however, this is largely a functional score written to accompany on-screen action, with plenty of bite sized cues that provide little cohesion. ‘Lisa/Farewell/Takeoff and ‘Zip/Eggs/Roger, Take Off’ bring it up a few notches, along with some exciting and effective action cues but there aren’t enough of these to do the score as a whole justice. This may be a definitive edition, packed full of material, including some cues not used in the final film, but as a complete listening experience it remains a hit and miss affair with only Bernstein’s ample abilities to keep its head above the clouds.
Airplane Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.

Track Listing:
1. Airplane! Main Title
2. Kiss Off
3. Ambulance Arrives*
4. Hari Krishna/Ticket/Nervous**
5. Lisa/Farewell/Take Off**/ Another Meeting
6. Fighting Girls
7. Love Theme from Airplane!
8. From Here to There
9. Head/Memory
10. Shimmer/Molumbo
11. Zip/Eggs/Roger, Take Over
12. Wild Violins/Sickness/Idea 
13. Thar She Blows!/Flash/Panel
14. “Where the Hell is Kramer?”*/Trouble
15. Mayday
16. Punch-Up/Kramer
17. Clumsy
18. Dog Fight/Failure/Pep Talk/ Notre Dame Victory March/Master
19. News
20. “Runway is Niner”*/”The Gear is Down and We’re Ready to Land”*
21. Crasher
22. Resolution/Tag
23. Notre Dame Victory March
24. Tavern
25. Everything’s Coming Up Roses*
26. Instruments
27. Disco**
28. Kiss Off (Alternate)*
29. Fighting Girls (Alternate)*
30. From Here to There (Instrumental)
31. Molumbo (Alternate)*
32. Zip (Original Version)
33. News (Alternates)*
34. Dog Fight (Short Version)
35. “Runway is Niner” (Alternate)*
36. “The Gear is Down and We’re Ready to Land” (Alternate)*
37. Tag (Instrumental)

* track not contained in film
** contains music not used in film

Ghostbusters Soundtrack CD

Ghostbusters
1984, Columbia
Elmer Bernstein/Various
Arista, Remastered CD, 2006, 828767 59852
Rating:

Ivan Reitman’s comedy monster movie starring Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver, about a stooge-like team of ghost hunters, was a big hit on release in 1984. Its appealing, screwball mix of state-of-the-art special effects, action, comedy and spirited performances from Murray and Weaver in particular, made an enjoyable popcorn movie. The accompanying soundtrack also did a brisk trade, largely thanks to Ray Parker, Jr’s catchy theme tune (‘Ghostbusters’) that topped the singles charts. While master composer Elmer Bernstein wrote the score for the film, creating an atmospheric series of suitably spooky motifs, there is little evidence of this on the soundtrack album (though a special, limited edition of the score was later released by Verese Sarabande and is now out of print) which was obviously released to capitalise on the films popular success; Bernstein’s cues ‘Main Title Theme – Ghostbusters’ (see YouTube clip below) and ‘Dana’s Theme’ peak your interest but they seem out of place among the predominantly second-rate pop songs, many by little known artists, that populate the rest of the album. The additional tracks do little to improve things. Disappointing.
Ghostbusters Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.

Track Listing:
1. Ghostbusters (Ray Parker, Jr).
2. Cleanin’ Up The Town (The Bus Boys).
3. Savin’ The Day (Alessi).
4. In The Name Of Love (Thompson Twins).
5. I Can Wait Forever (air Supply).
6. Hot Night (Laura Brannigan).
7. Magic (Mick Smiley).
8. Main Title Theme – Ghostbusters (Elmer Bernstein).
9. Dana’s Theme (Elmer Bernstein).
10. Ghostbusters – Instrumental Version (Ray Parker, Jr).
11. Disco Inferno (The Trampps).
12. Ghostbusters 12″ Remix (Ray Parker, Jr.

Other Versions Available:

Arista, LP, 1984, 206 559
Rating:
Track Listing:
Side One:
1. Ghostbusters (Ray Parker, Jr).
2. Cleanin’ Up The Town (The Bus Boys).
3. Savin’ The Day (Alessi).
4. In The Name Of Love (Thompson Twins).
5. I Can Wait Forever (air Supply).

Side Two:
1. Hot Night (Laura Brannigan).
2. Magic (Mick Smiley).
3. Main Title Theme – Ghostbusters (Elmer Bernstein).
4. Dana’s Theme (Elmer Bernstein).
5. Ghostbusters – Instrumental Version (Ray Parker, Jr).

Beetlejuice Soundtrack CD

Beetlejuice
1988, Warner Bros.
Danny Elfman.
Geffen, CD, 1998, GEF24202-2
Rated:

Packed full of humorous, fast-paced cues, Beetlejuice, remains one of Danny Elfman’s most compulsive and entertaining scores; despite the fact that it was written nearly twenty years ago. The film story, about an odd-ball exorcist named Beetlejuice, who is hired by the dead to protect their homes from invasion by living people is an interesting one and perfect for Elfman’s off-beat musical sensibilities. All of the Elfman hallmarks are here, including the fairytale flourishes that made Edward Scissorhands so listenable. ‘Main Title’ is a madcap romp of a cue including some impressive vocals that highlight the comedy/horror elements of the story. ‘The Book/Obituaries’ is a gothic waltz. Meanwhile, ‘Travel Music’ is a melodic string cue, reminiscent, along with several others of John William’s ‘The Witches Of Eastwick’, written one year earlier. While the two composers generally don’t have much in common, their listenability is undeniable – Beetlejuice is no exception.
Beetlejuice Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.

Track Listing:
1. Main Titles.
2. Travel Music.
3. The Book!/Obituaries.
4. enter…”The Family”/Sand Worm Planet.
5. The Fly.
6. Lydia Discovers.
7. In The Model.
8. Juno’s Theme.
9. Beetle-Snake.
10. “Sold”.
11. The Flier/Lydia’s Pep Talk.
12. Day-O (Harry Belafonte).
13. The Incantation.
14. Lydia Strikes A Bargain…
15. Showtime!
16. “Laughs”.
17. The Wedding.
18. The Aftermath.
19. End Credits.
20. Jump In Line (Shake, Shake Senora). (Harry Belafonte).