The history of Predator on album has been difficult. A fictional label called Alien Records presented three different bootlegs of Silvestri's score between 1997 and 2001, all with label number 27569. Some included the song Long Tall Sally by Little Richard, or other Silvestri works, like seven minutes from Blown Away. Others included four minutes from Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot and the Silver Pictures Logo Theme, or had a sampling of music from Predator 2 and a Schwarzenegger quote from the original. Sixteen years later, Varèse Sarabande officially released the soundtrack as a Limited Collector's Edition, with only 3000 copies produced.
One of the unusual things, especially considering
that Predator was such a successful film, was the lack
of any accompanying soundtrack release. This bootleg has gone some way towards putting that right. The sound
quality of the release is just about bearable, but is more than
made up for by the generous running time (over an hour) and the
decent packaging and presentation.
Alan Silvestri, who was scoring one of his
first major action movies, came up with a score full of his now
familiar genre characteristics: heavy horn blasts, staccato string
rhythms, undulating timpani rolls and the like. Although the
vast majority of Predator is made up of this non-thematic, dissonant
action music, there are a couple of recurring central themes
which appear during the score. 'Main Title' includes the
first rendition of the powerful central theme which, when accompanied
by various ethnic rattles and percussion effects, sometimes seems
to evoke, and even mimic, the sounds of the film's tropical setting.
'Grim Discovery' introduces the haunting four-note motif
for the Predator itself which, as the score wears on, becomes
more and more prominent as the creature's increasingly violent
actions begin to dominate the movie.
The majority of the 'underscore' cues are
all quite similar, featuring an array of urgent brass trills
and ominous string figures combined with a wide variety of both
live and sampled percussion effects ranging from an echo similar
to the cry of a howler monkey ('The Chopper') to frantic
tom-tom solos ('Dog Tags'). Admittedly, these cues don't
make espesially pleasent listening, but are extremely effective
in capturing the feeling of oppression and omnipresent danger
given off by both the stifling and confining jungle setting and,
later, the invisible predator. 'Goodbye' and 'Mac on
Watch' are also worth noting, featuring as they do an unexpectedly
moving last-post style trumpet elegy in tribute to the recently
disembowelled Blain.
Throughout the score, there are plenty of
action cues. During the first half, 'First Strike', 'Pig
Alarm', 'Mac Loses It' and 'Dillon Disarmed'
are especially effective - loud, powerful and feverishly going
about their business of leaving the listener breathless and on
the edge of their seat, but the entire last half hour is virtually
one long action sequence. Schwarzenegger, being the sole survivor
of his platoon, pits his wits against the deadly foe in a battle
to the death and, of these final cues, 'Preparation',
the wondrous 'Predator Unmasked' and the 'End Title'
cue are of particular note.
Ultimately, there is very little in Predator
that is immediately striking or original. The main title is justly
famous and recognised, and the score itself helped define Silvestri's
style of action music but, beyond those limited constraints,
the score is enjoyable but fairly unremarkable. However, for
fans of the genre, or of Silvestri in particular, Predator
nevertheless offers a decent sample of some of his best work
of this type. For those who don't feel like coughing up the dough,
though, there is always the sequel - Predator 2 - which
is more widely available and contains much of the same music.
Limited Collector's Edition of 3000 copies
Release date: August 2003
Catalog #: VCL 0803 1022
Music Composed and Conducted by Alan Silvestri
Okay, finally, here it is! Perhaps the most
famous and requested unreleased film score of the 1980s, Alan
Silvestri's Predator is at last available.
Everyone knows the story... produced by Joel
Silver and Lawrence Gordon and directed by John McTiernan, Predator
(1987) starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Major Dutch, the leader
of an elite commando unit assigned to recover hostages held by
South American guerillas. But the team's true nemesis is the
alien hunter who stalks them, invisible, from the jungle roof.
After a spectacular firefight in the guerilla encampment the
alien begins eliminating the commandos one after another. Ultimately,
Dutch must face the Predator alone. Stripped of his gear, Dutch
fashions weapons and traps out of what the jungle offers. Meanwhile,
the Predator prepares for the climactic battle by polishing his
trophies - the skulls of his kills.
For Predator, Alan Silvestri fashioned
a lethal weapon of his own. An expanded symphony orchestra with
an enormous battery of percussion is shown off to spectacular
effect in one of the most heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping
action scores of the time.
Despite emerging from the 80s as one of the
biggest blockbusters of the decade, Predator never received
a soundtrack release. Amidst this year's sea of summer blockbusters,
it seemed an appropriate time to end the wait of Predator
fans around the world. Sixteen years later, Varèse
Sarabande's release of Alan Silvestri's score for Twentieth Century
Fox's Predator is now available for ordering.
Running Time: 45 minutes 14 seconds
Release Date: 12/11/1990
Distributor: Universal Distribution
Mono/Stereo: Stereo
Composer / Conductor: Alan Silvestri
I do find it puzzling that as of the time of writing, an official release
for the 1st score has not appeared; but at least the second is
available for people who want a taste of Predator score music
(though I have managed to purchase the entire predator 1 score
in bootleg form, and just for the record, it's great).
The best tracks are 1, 3, 6, 8 and 11. The
other tracks tend to comtain a vast amount of "tension"
music, which rarely makes for an interesting listen, unlike the
first film score, of which I actually enjoy most if not all of
the tension tracks.
This Varese release is actually rather generous
too, there is quite a bit of score on this cd (unlike many Varese
releases), so i found that i didn't have to go for a bootleg
to get my moneys worth.
I recommend this score, its an enjoyable listen.
But if you really like the predator music, then i suggest that
you search on some auction sites for a bootleg of the superior
first film score. And the advantage of bootlegs are that they
usually contain the ENTIRE film score, rather than snippets like
most official releases.
Review by Amazon reviewer James from United Kingdom, September 27 2000
Of course, many soundtrack fans bought this
one for the music cues made so famous in the first movie soundtrack
(now newly released by Varese Sarabande, and hopefully also available
on Amazon soon!), but this soundtrack holds its own appeal, with
rearranged versions of the main title with the jungle drums and
blaring brass passages. The chase music parts are also breathtaking
as always, and plenty of low-key, "sneaking around"
music cues too.
This CD will satisfy your thirst for the exciting
theme music, but too often, I found myself skipping ahead through
the slower stuff to find the rearrangements of the familiar cues
we all know and love. Now that it's out, save your money for
the original. This is only an appetizer!
Review by Amazon reviewer Kelly from Florida, February 26 2004
Running Time: 38 minutes, 3 seconds
Release Date: 31/8/2004
Label: Varese Records
Mono/Stereo: Stereo
Composer / Conductor: Harald Kloser
Varese Records takes us on a ride of escapism with Alien Vs Predator, featuring the magnificent score of Harald Kloser, who also gave us Thirteenth Floor [1999] and Day After Tomorrow [2004] just to name a few, but there are more if you want to check them out.
The music is a roller coaster experience - HANGING BODIES. Listen to ALIEN VS. PREDATOR MAIN THEME, it's almost hymn-like in content, as if you're standing in cathedral witnessing a funeral procession passing by, very haunting. ANTARCTICA blends percussion, heavy brass and pure orchestration abound with lifting strings that echo back and forth. TEMPLE sends vibes of native American instruments mixed with solo piano and strings, very effective. The HISTORY OF THE WORLD main theme comes through with alternate arrangements, undertowing counterparts surface and a chorus quietly brings a new beginning of chanting that will give you chills. In ALIEN FIGHT Kloser pulls out all the stops, hold on tight for a fast and entertaining journey. And THE END...OR MAYBE NOT features all cues remixed and setting up a possible sequel.
Composer Harald Kloser brings film music to the maximum. I've been listening to this album over and over again, his depth and orchestral mix of tempo, drama and mood swings is incredible. Look out James Horner and John Williams, Maestro Kloser is giving all the 'film-score-buffs' pure satisfaction through his compositions... just the way we like 'em!
Review by Amazon reviewer J. Lovins from Missouri, October 11 2004
In this follow-up to the worldwide hit Alien vs. Predator, the iconic monsters from two of the scariest film franchises ever, wage their most brutal battle yet in an unsuspecting Colorado town.
Visual effects specialists Greg and Colin Strause both make their feature directorial debut with this no-holds-barred monster mash that attempts to set itself apart from the 2004 Paul W.S. Anderson original by serving as a straight up sci-fi horror scare-fest.
The epic score by composer Brian Tyler is truly apocalyptic. Its a massive, driving, powerful orchestra assault that adds an exciting new opus to the previous franchise scores of Jerry Goldsmith (Alien), Alan Silvestri (Predator, Predator 2), James Horner (Aliens) and Elliot Goldenthal (Alien 3).
Information from Varese Sarabande, December 2007
I'll be the first to say that Harald Kloser's score for the original AVP was utterly worthless and he had no business writing the music for that film as much as Paul Anderson had no business directing. The new AVP movie promises to be a very gory, hard R-rated movie and has a new composer with a better track record.
But Bryan Tyler's score is nothing more than blaring brass sections and pounding percussion for near 80 minutes. There's no hint of any new theme or anything resembling melody. It does slightly resemble the sounds that Goldsmith and Horner created for the first two Alien movies but there's none of the mystery of either franchise. How I long for Alan Silvestri to return and show how it's really done.
I am disappointed. Tyler created a wonderful score for Bubba-Ho-Tep but his efforts for AVPR are so simple that anyone could really have come up with it. It's loud, inarticulate and chaotic. Yes, it does get the blood pumping occasionally but cheesy trance music also achieves the same effect. If you must buy, pick it up cheap. Otherwise, just save your pennies for Silvestri's scores to Predator or Predator 2, both available from Varese Sarabande.
Review by Amazon reviewer Shawn Watson from Scotland, December 2007
All files are in MP3 format, 44100Hz Stereo 128kbps. Files are hosted off-site, so if you have any problems accessing them email me for assistance. Enjoy!
"You're ghosting us, motherf**ker. I don't care who you are back in the world... you give up our position one more time and I'll bleed you, real quiet, and leave you here. Got that?"
"I know one thing, Major. I drew down and fired straight at him. Capped off 200 rounds in the minigun, full pack... nothing. Nothing on this Earth coulda lived."
Blain: "Bunch of slack-jawed faggots around here! This stuff'll make you a god-damn sexual tyrannosaurus... just like me." Poncho: "Yeah? Strap this on your sore ass, Blain!"
Billy: "I'm scared, Poncho." Poncho: "Bulls**t, you ain't scared of no man!" Billy: "There's something out there, waiting for us... and it ain't no man. We're all gonna die."
"There's no stoppin' what can't be stopped... no killin' what can't be killed." Harrigan: "Hey, make sense, man." King Willie: "This thing that's killin' your people and mine, is from the other side."
"As drought-ridden Los Angeles swelters in agonizing heat, drug lords wage bloody warfare in the streets. Yet another open conflict... *gunfire* Oh, f**k this, get me out of here!"
Harrigan: "I pried this from Danny's hands, this is what took him up into the rafters." Doctor: "It has almost no weight!" Harrigan: "But it cuts like steel."
Enjoy Predator: The Hunted? Want to see it keep expanding, with new info and downloads added more often? Then please consider a donation - no amount is too small. Your help will ensure the growth and survival of the site, and you'll enter the Donator Hall of Fame, forever known as a true Yautja follower. Thank you!!
Last modified 20th February 2011. Best viewed at a screen resolution 1024x768 or higher.
Questions? Check out Joker's
Homepage and you might find answers. Comments? Email
me!
