Robocop
Basil Poledouris
" I'd buy that for 20 dollars! "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the limited release
My friends. I've had this dream for more than a decade now. A dream which I've invited you all to share with me. And that dream is to hear Basil Poledouris classic score in the way it was meant to be heard. First we had Varèse Sarabande's 1987 release that featured about 38 minutes of the score's prime directives. After all it served the publics demand, it protected the listening experience and it upheld the bad ass quality of the sound. But it did fail miserably in the presentation of the material (bad tracktitles representing the wrong film cue and so forth). So Varèse made another attempt in 2004, expanding its own company product with about 3 minutes. But still it wasn't what people wanted. So Intrada took a shot at it instead. And they knew just how to let this score become a bad motherf...
You see, all it took was the first introduction statement of the Rococop march, and above all a chronological order, right down to the advertisement sequences that were scored by Poledouris as well. Meaning everything we wanted (from the opening 3 note motif to the explosive end credits summarization), Robocop finally hit the market the way the people wanted it, with remastered sound quality. Intrada fixed it you see, then again they fix everything.
So we finally open Robocop with the understanding that we will get what we came for. The 3 note soul motif (representing Murphy's lost identity) and the newsroom's catchy tune enlightens the score's opening cues, such as the sentimental "Have a Heart" and the proud Americana dream of Dick Jones in "O.C.P. Monitors". But the fun's surely over once we reach what is still one of this score's biggest moments, namely "Van Chase". From the threatening opening bars to the 3 note soul motif underscoring the famous words "Dead or Alive, you are coming with me", this particular cue sums up the brutal force and the mystical element of Rocobop the best possible way.
A track I always admired in the film is "Murphy Dies in O.R.", from the fanfare for Clarence to the final 3 note motif that declares Murphy's death, this particular cue is perhaps the closest thing to perfection if we had to pair visual with audio. But then again the same can be said about the track that made this soundtrack possible, namely "Drive Montage" and the first real statement of the Robocop march, followed close by in "Helpless Woman".
Variations on the soul motif make Robocop wake up from his dream, making him leave the police station in a brutal hurry (with the march assisting his every move and the loss theme persisting this departure even more). The loss theme toying with Murphy's feelings in "Murphy Goes Home", Clarence theme growing menacingly in "Clarence Frags Bob" and the undeniable kick ass quality of "Rock Shop" fuel this score to its big send off. Because from the effective "Directive 4" and the pounding rhythms intertwining with the struggling Robocop march in "Robo & Ed 209 Fight" to the emotionally charged Robocop march in "Force Shoots Robo", there is no stopping the power of Poledouris' score.
Actually there is, but one must simply delete the unused elevator music of "Big is Better" and go directly to the calmness before the storm in "Care Package". Because there's a storm allright coming from the final 2 tracks. In "Looking for Me" we have it all, much from the "Van Chase" returns to kill Robocop once and for all, but now the march is fully re energized again and it shows in this powerful climax of the score. "Across the Board (End Credits)" states for the final time the score's all conquering march.
While he doesn't need back up, he at least has Basil's famous main theme as up backing. And now we have it all in the way we wanted it. From a mere 1 minute montage to the end credits suite fueling this score's last kick ass theme statements, Robocop is finally here to stay. In fact this release quite essentially proves it, Robocop is hands down one of Poledouris' greatest achievements. In fact many films of Verhoeven's career carry some of the accompanying composers' best works (Robocop / Starship Troopers for Poledouris and Total Recall / Basic Instinct for Goldsmith). Meaning there were only 2 that totally understood Verhoeven's drive, and I can testament that this score totally brings out the best of Poledouris' voice. It carries perhaps his most powerful theme of all and this now in the mother of all Robocop releases.
Thank you for your cooperation. Good night!
Robocop "1987 Varèse Sarabande release": ****
Robocop "2004 Varèse Sarabande release": ****
Robocop "2010 Intrada release": ****1/2
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (0.45)
2. Have a Heart (0.33)
3. O.C.P. Monitors (1.41)
4. Twirl (0.25)
5. Van Chase (4.56) Excellent track
6. Murphy Dies in O.R. (2.35) Excellent track
7. Robo Lives (1.05)
8. Drive Montage (1.04) Excellent track
9. Helpless Woman (1.16)
10. Nukem (0.26)
11. Murphy's Dream (3.05) Excellent track
12. Gas Station Blow-Up (1.44)
13. Murphy Goes Home (4.15)
14. Clarence Frags Bob (1.45)
15. Rock Shop (3.42) Excellent track
16. Robo Drives to Jones (1.47)
17. Directive 4 (1.04)
18. Robo & Ed 209 Fight (2.10) Excellent track
19. Force Shoots Robo (2.43) Excellent track
20. Big is Better (2.33)
21. Care Package (2.58)
22. Looking For Me (5.13) Excellent track
23. Across the Board (End Credits) (7.32) Excellent track
Total Length: 55.17
You see, all it took was the first introduction statement of the Rococop march, and above all a chronological order, right down to the advertisement sequences that were scored by Poledouris as well. Meaning everything we wanted (from the opening 3 note motif to the explosive end credits summarization), Robocop finally hit the market the way the people wanted it, with remastered sound quality. Intrada fixed it you see, then again they fix everything.
So we finally open Robocop with the understanding that we will get what we came for. The 3 note soul motif (representing Murphy's lost identity) and the newsroom's catchy tune enlightens the score's opening cues, such as the sentimental "Have a Heart" and the proud Americana dream of Dick Jones in "O.C.P. Monitors". But the fun's surely over once we reach what is still one of this score's biggest moments, namely "Van Chase". From the threatening opening bars to the 3 note soul motif underscoring the famous words "Dead or Alive, you are coming with me", this particular cue sums up the brutal force and the mystical element of Rocobop the best possible way.
A track I always admired in the film is "Murphy Dies in O.R.", from the fanfare for Clarence to the final 3 note motif that declares Murphy's death, this particular cue is perhaps the closest thing to perfection if we had to pair visual with audio. But then again the same can be said about the track that made this soundtrack possible, namely "Drive Montage" and the first real statement of the Robocop march, followed close by in "Helpless Woman".
Variations on the soul motif make Robocop wake up from his dream, making him leave the police station in a brutal hurry (with the march assisting his every move and the loss theme persisting this departure even more). The loss theme toying with Murphy's feelings in "Murphy Goes Home", Clarence theme growing menacingly in "Clarence Frags Bob" and the undeniable kick ass quality of "Rock Shop" fuel this score to its big send off. Because from the effective "Directive 4" and the pounding rhythms intertwining with the struggling Robocop march in "Robo & Ed 209 Fight" to the emotionally charged Robocop march in "Force Shoots Robo", there is no stopping the power of Poledouris' score.
Actually there is, but one must simply delete the unused elevator music of "Big is Better" and go directly to the calmness before the storm in "Care Package". Because there's a storm allright coming from the final 2 tracks. In "Looking for Me" we have it all, much from the "Van Chase" returns to kill Robocop once and for all, but now the march is fully re energized again and it shows in this powerful climax of the score. "Across the Board (End Credits)" states for the final time the score's all conquering march.
While he doesn't need back up, he at least has Basil's famous main theme as up backing. And now we have it all in the way we wanted it. From a mere 1 minute montage to the end credits suite fueling this score's last kick ass theme statements, Robocop is finally here to stay. In fact this release quite essentially proves it, Robocop is hands down one of Poledouris' greatest achievements. In fact many films of Verhoeven's career carry some of the accompanying composers' best works (Robocop / Starship Troopers for Poledouris and Total Recall / Basic Instinct for Goldsmith). Meaning there were only 2 that totally understood Verhoeven's drive, and I can testament that this score totally brings out the best of Poledouris' voice. It carries perhaps his most powerful theme of all and this now in the mother of all Robocop releases.
Thank you for your cooperation. Good night!
Robocop "1987 Varèse Sarabande release": ****
Robocop "2004 Varèse Sarabande release": ****
Robocop "2010 Intrada release": ****1/2
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (0.45)
2. Have a Heart (0.33)
3. O.C.P. Monitors (1.41)
4. Twirl (0.25)
5. Van Chase (4.56) Excellent track
6. Murphy Dies in O.R. (2.35) Excellent track
7. Robo Lives (1.05)
8. Drive Montage (1.04) Excellent track
9. Helpless Woman (1.16)
10. Nukem (0.26)
11. Murphy's Dream (3.05) Excellent track
12. Gas Station Blow-Up (1.44)
13. Murphy Goes Home (4.15)
14. Clarence Frags Bob (1.45)
15. Rock Shop (3.42) Excellent track
16. Robo Drives to Jones (1.47)
17. Directive 4 (1.04)
18. Robo & Ed 209 Fight (2.10) Excellent track
19. Force Shoots Robo (2.43) Excellent track
20. Big is Better (2.33)
21. Care Package (2.58)
22. Looking For Me (5.13) Excellent track
23. Across the Board (End Credits) (7.32) Excellent track
Total Length: 55.17