The Abyss (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed and Conducted by Alan Silvestri
Next release in Renovatio Records' music cycle for films that take place in underwater settings is Alan Silvestri's superb score for James Cameron's 1989 movie The Abyss. Following the successes of The Terminator and Aliens, Cameron's sci-fi film follows an underwater platform crew that is charged by the US government to find the whereabouts of a missing nuclear submarine. The crew, led by an estranged couple played by Mary Elisabeth Mastrantonio and Ed Harris, not only has to deal with an unstable and paranoid Navy SEAL Lieutenant (played brilliantly by Michael Biehn) but also with bizarre phenomena involving bright lights moving at great speeds and a water-formed tentacle that curiously inspects the rig. The team eventually discovers that the strange happenings are being produced by bio-luminescent beings living at the bottom of a nearby abyss. The film was a success both critically and financially, with much credit given to the groundbreaking visual effects (namely the incredible water tentacle scene) and Silvestri's score.
When scoring The Abyss, the soon-to-become A-list film composer already had a few hits in his résumé with the Back to the Future series and Predator. With The Abyss, Silvestri delivered one of his finest works in the 80's. The score can be split into three distinctive sections. One third is dominated by pulsing electronic rhythms and synthesizer effects along with minimal orchestral/choir writing to create an ominous atmosphere for the sea depths (tracks "Manta Ship", "The Pseuodopod" and "Lindsey Drowns" being the best examples in this album release). Another part involves a collection of bursting orchestral action cues with Silvestri's distinctive style, best found in the tracks "The Crane" and "Sub Battle". And finally, the highly-acclaimed third part, in which orchestra and choir come to the forefront, with the track "Bud On The Ledge" beginning a finale that many enthusiasts consider to be one of the most remarkable music sequences of the composer's entire career.
The score for The Abyss was released on CD and LP by Varèse Sarabande at the time the film was released, containing the most important moments of Silvestri’s work. However, the album's listening experience was disrupted by a few out-of-place musical inclusions and a poor editing when combining cues together, which left collectors fully enjoying and thus praising only the last three choral and orchestral tracks. In 2014, the same label released an expanded 2-CD version of the complete score, with 45 minutes of new music, along with a dozen of demo cues, alternates and bonus tracks. This was a solid full presentation of the score, but the majority of the music can be categorized as ‘more of the same’, making it quite difficult to enjoy the edition from beginning to end. Now Renovatio Records has rearranged the composer's score into an album that offers a balanced listening experience to keep the listener engaged from start to finish. Take a new leap into The Abyss and let yourself be caught once more into the deep complexities of one of Silvestri's most fondly remembered scores!
Track Listing:
1. Opening Titles (0:37)
2. Search The Montana (3:42)
3. The Crane (3:26)
4. Manta Ship (6:22)
5. The Pseudopod (5:34)
6. Coffey (3:50)
7. Sub Battle (5:14)
8. Leap Into The Abyss (4:42)
9. Lindsey Drowns (4:13)
10. Resurrection (1:50)
11. The Only Way (4:52)
12. Bud On The Ledge (3:14)
13. Back On The Air (1:37)
14. Finale (6:28)
Total Running Time: 55:41
Cover Artwork:
