The Main and End Titles are the warmest sections of the score. Quite what Goldsmith's purpose in composing a fairly lush opening title was, I'm not entirely sure. I suspect the emphasis on the beauty of the opening shot and to subvert the audience slightly is the most reasonable explanation. The Main Title material is reprised for a fairly optimistic finale in the End Title, which is probably the most recorded cue from the score, despite not necessarily being representative of the music as a whole. As you would imagine, Goldsmith's score is very chilling and as with most of his horror efforts does not rely on merely screeching synths and strings, but carefully used orchestration and instrumental effects. Goldsmith's solitary trumpet theme from the titles makes a few appearances which actually warm the music up more than might be expected.
While cues such as The Landing have an eerie grace to them, there are plenty where the action and suspense nerves of Goldsmith are sparked. The Droid is a typically spectacular 70's Goldsmith action sequence that doesn't rely on just a repeating device, but throws the orchestra around with sublime results. The end to the cue is somewhat more subdued and prominently features Goldsmith's ticking motif which is simple, but extremely effective device that is more in evidence in the film than it is on the album. Goldsmith does do well to break the nerves of the listeners with The Alien Planet and The Shaft where his more inventive orchestral effects are used to great effect at musically depicting cold blooded horror.
Although at times this is a very nerve wracking listen, it still doesn't quite compete with the dread inherent in his Omen scores or even the later Alien scores. The main theme is more pleasing than one might expect and certainly quite memorable particularly in its incarnation during the End Title. I wonder whether a lengthier release would ensure the score wielded as much tension as the film does. While Scott was wrong to replace some of Goldsmith's music, most notably the pointless replacement of his End Credit music (having looked through the alternate music track on the DVD of the film), some of the choices, such as Goldsmith's finally used and incredibly chilling Main Title, were probably justified. However, an iconic Goldsmith score which, in places, manages to evoke more menace than any of today's synth and over-orchestrated horror efforts.
Rating ~ Total Time ~ 35:32Both of the first two Alien films share much in common for both the respective directors. Both are the director's second major feature films, Ridley Scott had previously made The Duellists and Cameron had made Terminator (I think we can discount Piranha 2) and the composers for each had a rough time with their scores. For James Horner it was crushing deadlines and then arbitrary use of his score. For Jerry Goldsmith time wasn't as critical, but Scott's replaced bits of it with various music from the temp track, including Goldsmith's own score to Freud and the end title being replaced with an excerpt from Howard Hanson's Romantic Symphony as well as moving cues around. This album represents the music that Goldsmith originally wrote and for the scenes it was originally intended.
