BLADE RUNNER (OST)

The music of Vangelis is akin to Blade Runner as John Williams' music is to Star Wars. It is impossible to view Blade Runner without taking notice of those soaring synth soaked washes that permeate the soundtrack. The spinner flys towards the tower as Vangelis music streams out of the speakers. We can visualise the replicants wandering through the acid soaked streets, or the sudden breathtaking violence they perpetrate when they are discovered. It is an incredible compliment to Ridley Scott's vision.

Every track is off kilter and laden with weird effects that send you to a place of the not too distant future. The moment the tracks begin you are transported into the movie. The Japanese influences are abundant and many times one can imagine the over-populated metropolis where Deckard embarks on his mission to air out as many replicants as he can before thier incept date expires. Gary Numan was extremely influenced by this music, often sampling pieces of it on his albums and writing lyrics based on the themes and it is easy to see why (eg: Call Out the Dogs (samples the Japanese influences), Time To Die, My Breathing (samples the titles).

Vangelis' music resonated the theme of alienation and the cold sterile environment of a future dystopia. Rachel's Song encapsulates the female android's struggle with humanity, whereas Tales of the Future captures the essence of abandonment and confusion where nothing is as it seems. The End Titles are wonderful and I stayed for the entire thing when the film played at the local cinema.

Vangelis music can often alienate and can be tiresome at times in my experience, but this is one of his best releases and most popular as a result. I recommend this although it is lacking the progginess of other Vangelis releases.