David Gawne gives us a detailed track by track review of the exceptional complete Jurassic Park soundtrack from La La Land Records.
The Jurassic Park score is very important to me for three reasons. Firstly it`s a score to my favourite movie of all time, secondly it`s by John Williams, lastly it was the very first score i bought - that and Home Alone later that same year.
For over twenty years I've listened to it over and over and I've never tired of it one bit. So late last year when La La Land Records announced they were going to release an expanded edition along with The Lost World, it felt like a dream come true.
When Jurassic Park was released as a digital only expanded edition in 2013 I had mixed feelings. I much prefer physical media to download, being a collector and all. Also I wasn't a fan of how the extra tracks were just tacked on at the end.
Then Mondo announced they were to release the score on vinyl with the extra tracks, this was amazing news. To finally have these tracks on physical media, but there was a problem. Despite stating in the liner notes of the album that side B of the second LP did include the tracks, they were no where to be found and the last two tracks were sequenced wrong. So a genuine super-duper bells and whistles edition was yet to be released. That's when La La Land Records came to the rescue.
Here is my track by track guide:
Track 1: Opening Titles
This is the same as the original album with the ominous drums and choir that concludes with the sound of a Japanese flute, the Shakuhachi.
Track 2: Incident At Isla Nublar
The original album version of 'Incident At Isla Nublar' contained two tracks, the first half accompanied the scene where Muldoon oversaw the arrival of the Raptor at the pen which ended with Jophery being pulled into the cage.The second part accompanied the scene where Alan and Tim desperately escape the falling explorer in the tree. Now we can finally hear these two cues isolated from each other. 'Incident At Isla Nublar' on the expanded edition ends as in the movie-with low
brass slowly fading out.
Track 3:The Encased Mosquito
It was great to hear this track. It was included on the 2013 edition where it ended the track 'The Coming Storm` that also included 'The T-Rex Chase'.
Here we get to hear it on it`s own. People don`t give Williams` use of choir in this movie enough credit as the ethereal voices heard as the camera pans into the mosquito in the piece of amber are spine tingling. We then cut to the dig scene as Alan and Ellie brush away dirt to reveal the Velociraptor skeleton. Williams continues with the choir as the camera gives us a god`s eye view of the dig. We then get a ominous low chord as Alan expresses his hatred for computers and walks away with Ellie.
Track 4: Entrance Of Mr HammondThis is another track that made it's debut on the 2013 album. It was on the track 'History Lesson' and
was paired with the music that accompanies the scene outside the visitors centre where Tim introduces himself to Alan. It starts with a more wistful rendition of the notes we first hear in track 2 then builds to a beautiful climax as Alan and Ellie take Hammond up on his offer. The track ends with a few bars not heard in the movie that I assume was meant to fade out as Dodgson arrives at the San Jose cafe.
Track 5: Journey To The Island
This track is the same as on the original album.
Track 6:Hatching Baby Raptor
This first appeared on the original album with the track 'Life finds a way'.Here we hear it as it appears in the movie
as the visitors watch the baby raptor hatch.
Track 7: You Bred Raptors?
Making it`s debut here is the track that accentuates Grant`s shock that he`s *holding* a Velociraptor. it`s only about 37 seconds long but it`s nice to hear and notice instruments aren't really audible within the movies soundtrack.
Track 8: The History Lesson
This track first appeared on the 2013 edition with 'Entrance Of Mr Hammond'. It`s an amazing track and hard to say why Williams left it off the original album. Williams has fun playing around with the main theme as it appears in a much more playful variation here than anywhere else in the movie.
Track 9: Jurassic Park Gate
I`ll always remember the first time I heard this track. As Hammond watches the visitors depart and breaths a sigh of anxiety the music builds the takes a complete 180, Williams then give us tribal drums with a gorgeous harp theme that is exclusive to this track which then segues into the Jurassic Park theme as the gates open. Then in the park the explorers pass through the Dilophosaur paddock, the animals themselves remain elusive. This track is the same as it appeared on the original album.
This was the biggest revelation for me when I heard it on the expanded edition. On the original album this track took up the first two minutes of 'Eye To Eye.' I always knew it didn't appear in the movie so had no idea it was originally meant to accompany the scene were the visitors arrive at the T-Rex paddock. Personally I`m glad they decided to cut it from the scene as the silence adds to the anticipation. I remember seeing this scene for the first time and thinking the Rex will jump out and it will be a huge scare, that didn't happen and that feeling would not of been there if this piece had been kept in.
Track 11: The Saboteur
Like track 10 this track doesn't appear in the movie and makes it`s debut on the expanded edition. Over the years I've heard a few bootleg editions of the Jurassic Park score that have included some unheard music like 'Hungry Raptor' but this was a complete surprise for me. It was meant to be heard just after Grant steps out of the moving explorer-we see this on one of the control room monitors as Muldoon complains about the lack of 'Locking mechanisms on the vehicle doors'. The camera then pans over to Nedry as he watches the Dock from the monitor. The music then builds as the camera moves towards the Barbasol can.
Track 12: Ailing Triceratops
On the original album this was paired with the track 'My Friend, the Brachiosaurus'.I can see why Williams would put them together as they compliment each other well. The Triceratops music is probably the most gorgeous track on the album. What we have here an isolated version of the same track that appeared on the 93 album.
Track 13: The Coming Storm
This first appeared on the 2013 album under the same title but was put together with 'The T-Rex Chase' and 'The Encased Mosquito'.
Track 14: Dennis Steals The Emrbyo
This is the same version as the original album.
Track 15: Race To The Dock
Making it`s debut here is the music that we hear right after the T-Rex's *roar*, as Arnold explains to Hammond, Ellie and Muldoon what has happened to the parks systems. This is what makes the whole Spielberg/Williams working relationship so unique. Any other director would of wanted the whole main road attack attack sequence scored then the score would probably drop out as the dialogue comes in. Here we go the opposite and it works. Now I'm not too sure who we should thank for this as it could of been a Williams decision.
Track 16: The Falling Car
This track appeared on the original album with 'Incident At Isla Nublar' and here it`s paired with 'The T-Rex Chase'. According to the expanded editions album producer Mike Matessino this was done on Williams` request as he wasn't confident enough with the track being presented on it`s own. Here the track is the first movement in a three act piece. First-obviously being the tree sequence,the second is when Ellie and Muldoon arrive at the main road searching for Grant and the kids only to find what was left of Gennerro and an injured Malcolm. The third part is the Rex chase which ends with a few notes not heard in the movie.
Track 17: A Tree For My BedThis track is the same as it appears on the original 93 album.
Track 18: Remembering Petticoat Lane
Again this is the same as the original 93 album.
Track 19: My Friend,the Brachiosaurus
This is an isolated film version of the same titled track from the original album,where it was paired with the sick Triceratops music.
Track 20: Life Finds Away
On the original 93 album this appeared as the second part of 'Hatching Baby Raptor'. The decision to pair these two tracks up is an interesting move by Williams as the the scene in the movie where Grant and the kids find the hatched eggs is a great contrast to the scene we witnessed earlier in the movie were we're told the animals cannot breed in the wild, they are only born in the hatchery.
Track 21:System Ready
Another piece of unreleased music as Arnold switches off the whole system to reboot it. This is a brief piece but still nice to have.
Track 22:To The Maintenance Shed
This track was on the original album under the title 'Eye To Eye' which started with track 10 'Goat Bait'. The track follows the movie as Ellie runs out of patience waiting for Arnold only to pair up with Muldoon to make their own way to the shed.
Track 23:High Wire Stunts
This track appears as it did on the original 93 album.
Track 24:Hungry Raptor
Like most people the first time I heard this track was at the end credits of the documentary The Making Of Jurassic Park. Some of the track does appear in the movie as Muldoon prepares his gun to shoot the Raptor but most of the track has been unheard until now, even on some bootlegs the track always faded out too early. It`s an exciting variation of the carnivore theme. In the movie this track was replaced with the running music from track 22 as the raptor appears behind Ellie and also as Arnold's severed arm falls on her shoulder we get the opening bars of track 26. Then as the Raptor gets through the gate and chases Ellie through the shed we get some music from the track 'T-Rex Rescue and Finale'. So this whole scene is essentially a Frankenstein`s monster of all different cues but it still works.
Track 25:The Raptor Attack
This track appeared on the original 93 album but sequenced much earlier at track 5. It appears in the movie during the Muldoon ambush scene, so it replaced the music we hear in track 24. The music also contains a few pieces not heard in the movie but the pieces that do appear are in truncated versions that play during the kitchen scene.
The opening of the track appears in the movie as the spoon falls to the floor and the Raptors move closer to Tim. It also appeared earlier as Arnold's severed arm hits Ellie's shoulder. This track is the same as it appears on the original album. One interesting aspect of this track is the very end as the T-Rex saves the day. In the movie the Jurassic Park theme comes in as the T-Rex bites down on the first raptor, here we get a variation of the carnivore theme as the second raptor jumps onto the T-Rex to save his friend. I really like that the theme appears at this point in the movie it adds to the hero moment even though the T-Rex is anything but.
Track 27:Welcome To Jurassic Park
This appears on the original album much earlier at track 7. It's the same version here. Despite being titled 'Welcome To Jurassic Park' in the movie it appears as the group leave the island which then goes into the end credits.
Additional Music
Track 28:Theme From Jurassic Park
This was track 2 on the original album.
Track 29:Stalling Around
This made it`s debut on the 2013 edition.It`s a fun piece of source music with a clever title referring to Carl Stalling who was a composer for animated productions such as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts.
Track 30: Welcome To Jurassic Park
This is a reprise of track 27.
Final thoughts.
This is an amazing release of one of the greatest scores ever.The original '93 album was generous having over 70 minutes of music but it`s great to finally hear all the unreleased tracks in amazing quality. For years the only way to hear these tracks outside of the movie were the many bootlegs that had been released. Unfortunately these editions were all DVD rips so they included some sound F/X. Then to get the 2013 expanded edition was another bonus but it never felt right to hear them included as bonus tracks and I always wished Williams had re-sequenced the album to fit the new
tracks. But now I can forget all about the bootlegs and the 2013 album.
Mike Matissino and everyone else at La La Land Records have given us Williams and Jurassic Park fans something to cherish.
DAVID GAWNE
'Spielberg fan since birth, the soundtrack to my life is by John Williams. Massive Star Wars geek.
The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.
THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK
THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER
THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+
THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST
CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG
CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS
CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS
Their original un-enhanced quality sounds JUST as amazing.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, these titles:
"The Saboteur"
"Ailing Triceratops"
"Race To The Dock"
"Life Finds Away"
"To The Maintenance Shed"
"Stalling Around"
Are these their original titles? are they what Williams calls them?
or are they for this specific release?