One of the most beloved action adventure films of the 1990s turned 25 this year, and here at Renovatio Records we want to celebrate its anniversary with a new album. We are thus proud to present Jerry Goldsmith's iconic score for The Mummy. Directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah Kevin J. O’Connor, Jonathan Hyde, and Arnold Vosloo in the title role, The Mummy is a loose remake of the 1932 film of the same name. Set in 1926 Egypt, the story follows adventurer Rick O'Connell, librarian Evelyn Carnahan, and her older brother Jonathan, as they travel to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, where they accidentally awaken Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian high priest who had been cursed and buried alive centuries ago.
Development of the film took several years, with the script being rewritten many times, as well as several directors, such as George A. Romero, Clive Barker and Joe Dante, being attached to helm the film. Eventually, Sommers’ pitch of a romantic action-adventure epic with a few horror elements earned the studio’s approval. At the time of release, The Mummy quickly became a huge hit for Universal Pictures, grossing $416 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million, with much praise given to its groundbreaking special visual effects (courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic), its tongue-in-cheek approach, and its outstanding musical score by Jerry Goldsmith.
At the heart of Goldsmith's score are four key thematic motifs. In his first cue (“Imhotep”), Goldsmith already introduces three of these, the first being an exotic theme for ancient Egypt, that makes a grand entrance with brass, choir and thundering percussion, underscoring an excellent shot where the camera pans over an Egyptian cityspace. This theme makes several other appearances in the form of action driven renditions in cues like “Tuareg Attack” and “My Favorite Plage”. During “The Caravan”, Goldsmith uses this theme as a basis to develop a majestic motif for a traveling montage, as the protagonists ride camels across the Sahara agains epic desert vistas; this track is one of the highlights of the entire score.
Complementing the ancient Egypt theme is a sinister motif associated with Imhotep and his curse. This theme is foreshadowed in “Imhotep” and “The Sarcophagus”, and remains dormant until Imhotep is resurrected and starts wreaking havoc in cues like “Locusts”, “My Favorite Plague”, “Sand Storm” and “Rebirth”. In these cues, the seven-note theme progresses from low and doom-laden performances to aggressive brass treatments and menacing choir, embodying the relentless brutality of the mummy's growing powers and actions.
The third theme, also introduced in the cue “Imhotep”, is a poignant love theme that Goldsmith dedicates to Imhotep and his illicit love, Anck Su Namun, the bride of Pharaoh Seti I. Later, Goldsmith uses this theme to underscore the romantic relationship between Rick and Evelyn. The love theme thus reappears in “Giza Port”, as the couple begin to like each other, and progresses into a sweeping treatment in “Camel Race”, a lush performance during the film’s climax during “The Sand Volcano”, and a full majestic statement with elegant choir accompaniment during the end credits cue “The Mummy”. Least to say, Goldsmith's love theme for The Mummy is one of Goldsmith’s career achievements and each of its performances steal the show.
The fourth and final theme is an swashbuckling heroic theme for Rick which makes its debut in “Tuareg Attack”, and is later given a powerful heroic performance during “Night Boarders”. Additional full-on action treatments of this theme reappear during “My Favorite Plague”, “Sand Storm”, and the tour de force “Rebirth”, which sees Rick’s theme struggling for dominance with Imothep’s theme as the cue progresses.
In addition to these thematic ideas, Goldsmith incorporates his signature motific approach and bombastic action material. Tracks like "The Crypt" and "Discoveries" exhibit the composer's mastery of suspenseful atmospheres, while cues like "Death Is Only the Beginning" deliver pulse-pounding excitement that will put your speakers to the test. In conclusion, Jerry Goldsmith's score for The Mummy is a tour de force of cinematic composition, showcasing the composer's unparalleled talent for storytelling through music.
Back in 1999, the score was released by Decca Records as an album that contained many of the work’s highlights, but it still omitted significant cues like the one for the sandstorm sequence. Several bootleg releases followed, most of them assembled with the music obtained from the DVD isolated score feature. In 2018, Intrada Records released a 2-CD limited edition that contained all the music that Goldsmith recorded for the film. While it provided excellent sound quality and a new mix by Bruce Botnick, as expected, much of the new music were filler suspense additions that make the album experience way too long for listeners. This new release by Renovatio Records addresses those issues and presents a new program that makes justice to Goldsmith’s outstanding score. A must-have addition to any fan's collection of the maestro.
Track List:
Total Running Time: 65:50
Cover Artwork:
Credits:
|
Track
Title |
Slate
& Cue Title |
|
1. Imhotep |
R1P1 Imhotep |
|
2. The Sarcophagus |
R1P3 The Sarcophagus |
|
3. Tuareg Attack |
R1P4 The Tauregs Attack |
|
4. The Desert Will Kill Him |
R1P5-R2P1 Closed Door R2P2A Undiscovered Creature |
|
5. Giza Port |
R4P1 Giza Port |
|
6. Night Boarders |
R4P3-R5P1 Night Boarders |
|
7. The Caravan |
R5P3 The Caravan (Edited) |
|
8. Camel Race |
R5P4 Camel Race R6P1 Ancient Mirrors |
|
9. The Crypt |
R6P2 The Prep Room (Edited) R6P3 The Scarab Tunnel
(Edited) R6P4 Bad Air (Edited) R6P5 The Mummy Sarcophagus |
|
10. Discoveries |
R7P3 Discoveries |
|
11. Locusts |
R8P2-R9P1 The Locusts
(Edited) R9P2 Never Stop |
|
12. My Favorite Plague |
R111P1A Wild D Chord R11P1 My Favorite Plague |
|
13. Crowd Control |
R11P2 Crowd Control |
|
14. Sand Storm |
R12PA Airplane Ride R12P1 Sand Storm (Edited) |
|
15. Rebirth |
R12P3-R13P1 p/u Intro Bugs
Again R12P3-R13P1 Rebirth
(Edited) R13P1A Rebirth Pt.2 |
|
16. Death Is Only the
Beginning |
R14P1 The Mummy Attack
(Edited) |
|
17. The Sand Volcano |
R14P3 The Sand Volcano |
|
18. The Mummy |
R14P5 Love Theme |