BLADE RUNNER (OST)

I have not seen the movie Blade Runner, but I got a recommendation from a friend and decided I'd this soundtrack a try--and I was extremely impressed! This is some of the best stuff you'll ever hear the synthesizers of the 1980s do, and I mean that. In spite of how long it took to release this album, it is a product of the 1980s--but not the corny 80s. I'm not quite a synth expert, but I think I'm hearing (among other things) the Yamaha DX-7 synth, absolutely a staple of the 80s. "Dark and mysterious" is what they did best in those days with the technology available, and that definitely fits the Blade Runner soundtrack. What's more, VANGELIS does remember to have a few analogue instruments to give it a bit more of a connection to reality (unlike Alexander where he tried to replicate an orchestra with nothing at all but synths and came off poorly). I also have to give him credit for his expressiveness in playing the synths. He has a talent almost rivaling PINK FLOYD's RICHARD WRIGHT, in terms of getting emotion out of them--and for me that is saying a lot.

Normally I would consider movie dialogue to be an intrusion upon a soundtrack album, but oddly enough, it works quite well, the way it's been mixed in here, especially on "Blush Response". This is wonderfully atmospheric stuff. Particular favorites include the amazing and expressive "Blade Runner Blues"--which is eerily like PINK FLOYD's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" just a half step down in pitch, and a synth that seems almost to "talk"; it's almost up to that quality. VANGELIS, like RICHARD WRIGHT or DREAM THEATER's KEVIN MOORE, knows how many notes to play--and how many notes not to play. The "End Titles" are also enjoyable, but most of all, the powerful combination of "Tales of the Future" with its strange, foreign vocals by DEMIS ROUSSOS and its instrumental follow-up "Damask Rose".

The only thing that breaks up the mood of this album and detracts from its rating is the completely out-of-place "One More Kiss, Dear", which sounds like it came right out of the 1930s or '40s. Perhaps it isn't a bad song, and perhaps it had a place in the movie, but I don't really think it needs to be here...or if it absolutely had to be included, it should have been at the end so as not to break up what I consider the main body of the album. This is what loses Blade Runner a star. Otherwise, I definitely recommend this album, especially to movie-score and synth buffs. It is also something to consider instead of JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, if you were put off by the lack of emotion in his work.