Vangelis - The Ultimate 'Blade Runner' Collection (1982)

As a tribute to Vangelis, who passed away last week, Mike has delved into his collection to give us something unique, and which vividly shows just how much this talented musician meant to him. Over to Mike....

Last Week Vangelis passed away. That was a tremendous blow to me. I own thousands of albums, and 'Blade Runner' is my favorite. Nuff' said. But not enough said really. I love this album, and I personally think it is the greatest soundtrack album ever recorded. And just like the movie it has gone through many, many changes since it was first recorded in 1982, and even with the many changes and editions that have been released over the years, no real, complete and pure version has still seen the light of day.
Until now.
I have been collecting Blade Runner Soundtrackʼs for over 40 years. I have about 60 right now. This collection is the most musically pure version I could create by combining bits and pieces from all of them. Before I tell you about whatʼs included in my version, first let me give you a little background on itʼs history (and my history with it). I was 19 years old when the original film was released. And Iʼll freely admit that this was the second movie I had ever seen high. (TRON was the first). When life changing events happen to you, you tend to remember them vividly. Trust me, sitting in the darkened theater and hearing the super deep and thunderous bass notes and soaring synth notes as the film began its approach over the flaming endless cityscape of Hades, it had an effect on me… a hugely vivid one, one I still feel to this day. That was the day that science fiction books and movies became my passion. Sitting in that theater and hearing that incredible music just made me want to buy the soundtrack album....like that very second. But I waited...and waited, and when, after way too long, they announced that the soundtrack was being finally released, I waited again,,,but this time in the record store on the day of release. And when it finally did arrive... it was NOT the original soundtrack but one by The New American Symphony performing the Music of Vangelis. This “original” version was universally hated, so much so that both Vangelis and

the movie's director Ridley Scott have disowned it. I had to wait until 1994 (12 freakin' years more!!) before another “official” soundtrack came out...and although it was Vangelis' music, it was still incomplete. The 1994 release omitted much of the film's score and included compositions NOT used in the film. Cut now to 2007, 13 years later, when the record company decided to release a 25th-anniversary edition. This version included further unreleased material not in the movie, special effect sounds and dialog on top of the music, and a disc of new music "inspired" by the film.

I remained heart broken.

Still, to this day, they have not released a pure music soundtrack for the film, only these mish-mashed, edited, sound effect-laden, incomplete and horrible versions. So over the years, I have made it my mission to do what Vangelis and the record companies refuse to do. I created a complete, unedited, and musically pure version of the soundtrack… and so much more! This Ultimate Blade Runner Album I Wish Existed is a project I have been working

on (and have continued to add too) for 40 years. Many songs used in the film were edited down to match the scene's lengths. My version includes the longest versions of each song in the film that are currently available, as well as alternate versions used in many of the different released cuts of the film (seven, I think so far!), music written for the film but cut from the final project, and music used during production but never used in the film. Here is a little illumination of what I've included (changed and improved) in this special AIWE version:

Discs 1 & 2: The Score

There are many improvements over all other Blade Runner releases. There has always been an argument as to whether the music of Blade Runner sounds better with or without sound effects. This is the pure score. The score has been completely remixed and created from scratch . When the ‘Blade Runner Trilogyʼ set was released the original 1994 album was remastered and it is these remastered recordings that are used on this edition. Also many
other unreleased tracks have been remastered. One of the most notable additions to this release is the inclusion of a very rare and previously unreleased early demo of 'Tales Of The Future', which is different to the version released on the 1994 Warner/2007 Blade Runner Trilogy releases, and was used for the Animoid Row scene in the movie. Another piece of music that is on this edition and cannot be found on any other previous Blade Runner score is a track entitled 'J.F. Sebastianʼs Apartment' (tagged onto the end of 'Morning At The Bradbury'). All fans of the 'End Titles' will be happy to see that this edition contains the best available version as far as completeness and sound quality goes.
Here is a list of all the other improvements:
● It contains the best available version of the 'Prologue And Main Titles'. Whereas earlier releases contain either poor sound quality, inferior mixing or hiss in the background , this edition uses the full original studio recording, not previously available anywhere else.
● 'Leonʼs Voight Kampff Test' is the original un-modified version (it does not contain the ‘gatedʼ synth that was added to previous releases for effect – this synth was not Vangelis and you can now hear all of Vangelis' sounds instead).
● 'Blade Runner Blues' no longer has a pitch change at around 8.30 mins and  also has improved sound quality.
● 'I Am The Business' has been extended and contains better sound quality.
● 'I Dreamt Music' has been extended. It is longer than the version on the Blade Runner Trilogy (entitled 'Desolation Path').
● 'Dangerous Days' and “Wounded Animals” have much improved sound quality than any previous release. It should be noted that these tracks can be found on the Blade Runner Trilogy as one track entitled 'Deckard and Royʼs Duel', but 'Dangerous Days' and 'Wounded Animals' on this edition are 12 minutes long compared to 'Deckard and Royʼs Duel' which is only 6 minutes.
● The following tracks have been remastered to improve the sound quality: 'Deckard Meets Rachel', 'Deckardʼs Dream', 'Thinking Of Rachel', 'Salomeʼs Dance', 'Morning At The Bradbury'.
● The following tracks no longer contain sound effects, when compared to previous releases: 'Rachelʼs Voight Kampff Test', 'Chewʼs Eye Lab', 'Esper Analysis', 'Rachel Sleeps'.
● 'One More Kiss, Dear' now is the original unaltered version.

● “The Ink Spotsʼ 'If I Didn't Care' was used in the original trailer but was replaced by 'One More Kiss Dear'. It can still be heard briefly in the background at the beginning of the move as the camera closes in on Deckard reading the newspaper in the rain.

I found many other little tidbits of music spread out over many of the 60 different versions of the soundtracks that I have collected over the years. When the sound quality met my standards, I placed them at the appropriate spots in soundtrack. But my overall attempt was to keep the music as naturally flowing and segued into the next song as possible. I have also included as a bonus, three additional Vangelis Blade Runner related volumes from my complete collection:
Volume 8- Vangelis' music mixed in WITH the movies sound effects to help you create a perfect “Movie In Your Mind”.
Volume 17 (edited) - Other Vangelis cuts from his complete discography that have a similar feel and sound to the cuts on The Original Blade Runner Soundtrack.
Volume 26 - Vangelis Documentaries and The Making Of The Blade Runner Soundtrack
Hereʼs the link to the bonus folders:
https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/XnKN5yqcgS

R.I.P. Vangelis...and thank you for the soundtrack to so many high points in my life.
You'll live on through your music …forever!

Track listing

Disc One

01 Ladd Company Fanfare (John Williams)
02 Prologue & Main Titles
03 Leon's Test
04 Rain... Peals Of Thunder... And Sounds Of A November Night
05 Los Angeles 2019
06 The Blue Room
07 Flight To Tyrell Corporation
08 Deckard Meets Rachael
09 Deckard Meets Rachael [Reprise Version]
10 Rachael's Voight-Kampff Test (Dr. Tyrell's Owl)
11 Harps Of The Ancient Temples
12 At Mr. Chews
13 Memories Of Green
14 Blade Runner Blues
15 I'm Hungry J.F.
16 Prelude To Deckard's Dream
17 Deckards Dream
18 Thinking Of Rachael
19 Esper Analysis (Longing & Empty Streets)
20 Esper Machine Noises
21 Animoid Row Part 1 (Tales of the Future - On The Trail Of Nexus 6)
22 Animoid Row Part 2
23 Leon's Room

24 Qu'ran (Byrne/Eno)

Disc Two

01 Taffey Lewis' Club
02 Miss Salome And The Snake

03 Waiting For Zhora
03 Zhora's Retirement
04 One More Kiss, Dear (Vangelis/Skellern)
05 I Am The Business
06 I Dreamt Music [Alternate Love Theme Version]
07 I Dreamt Music [Alternate Prelude To Love Theme Version]
08 Love Theme
09 The Blimp
10 Morning At The Bradbury (including  'J.F. Sebastianʼs Apartment')
11 The Prodigal Son Brings Death (Prelude): Will You Help Us

12 The Prodigal Son Brings Death (Interlude): Elevator To Tyrell's Bedroom
13 The Prodigal Son Brings Death (Postlude): Queen To Bishop 6
14 The Prodigal Son Brings Death (Outro): I Want More Life... Father
15 The Prodigal Son Brings Death [Demo Version]
16 Bradbury Apartments [Demo Version]
17 Dangerous Days
18 Roy Enters The Bradbury
19 Wounded Animals
20 Tears In Rain
21 Rachael Sleeps (Unveiled Twinkling Space)
22 End Titles

As well as this ultimate edition of the music soundtrack, Mike has also included links to his complete 32-volume set of discs, which has been over 40 years in the making, and it includes everything a fan of the film could possible want. Do check it out.

The cover is based on a poster by CandykillerArt, adapted by WesterosiAssassin, and updated by pj.

Aphrodite's Child - Magic Mirror (1970)

By 1967 Vangelis Papathanassiou and Demis Roussos had already been successful in Greece, playing in the bands The Forminx and The Idols respectively, and when they decided to form a band together they invited drummer Loukas Sideras and guitarist Silver Koulouris to join them. The first recording by the as yet un-named band was for George Romanos' 1968 album 'In Concert And In Studio', where they played on four songs and were credited as 'Vangelis And His Orchestra', and in the same year they recorded a two-song demo and submitted it to Philips Records, who released it as the band's first single. It was probably Vangelis's idea that the band should relocate to London, which would be a more suitable environment for their music, as their country had entered a right-wing dictatorship in 1967. This decision, however, was not problem-free, as Koulouris had to stay in Greece to fulfill his military service, and while on their way to London the band got stuck in Paris, partly because they did not have the correct work permits and partly because of the strikes associated with the May 1968 riots. While in Paris the band signed to Mercury Records and were christened Aphrodite's Child by Lou Reizner, who released their second single 'Rain And Tears', and which resulted in them becoming an overnight sensation in France and several other European countries in which the single charted well. In October 1968 the band released their first album 'End Of The World', containing a mixture of psychedelic pop songs and ballads in the vein of Procol Harum or The Moody Blues. The band began touring around Europe, and in January 1969 they recorded a single in Italian for the Sanremo Festival, even though they didn't participate in it, and they then traveled to London to record their second album at Trident Studios, with 'It's Five O'Clock' appearing in January 1970. The band began touring again to promote it, but this time Vangelis wanted to stay in Paris to record the music for Henry Chapier's film 'Sex Power', and so he was replaced on stage by Harris Halkitis. 

In late 1970, with Vangelis back in the fold and Koulouris rejoining after his military service, the band started work on their next album, which was to be a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelation, entitled '666'. Relations between the band members were declining by this point, and things continued to worsen during the methodically slow recording process. This wasn't helped by the other members of the band resenting the fact that Vangelis had taken charge of the concept of the album, bringing in an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris, to help him compose it, and that the music was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything they'd ever done, whereas the rest of the band wanted to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Recording was further delayed while Roussos released a solo single and an album, while Vangelis was working on the score for the 1970 French TV documentary 'L'Apocalypse Des Animaux', as well as issuing a single with his then-girlfriend Vilma Ladopoulou, performing with Koulouris under the pseudonym 'Alpha Beta'. When the album was finally completed, Mercury had reservations about its content and so shifted it over to the their Vertigo imprint for release in June 1972, nearly two years after recording had started, and by which time the band had already split up. Despite some positive reviews it didn't sell that well at the time, but over the ensuing 50 years it has become rightly recognised as a classic of progressive rock. Both Vangelis and Roussos had significant solo success following the split, with Roussos pursuing a career in pop music, and Vangelis becoming a highly regarded electronic music artist and movie soundtrack composer. This collection from their first band together takes in that first Phillips single, the 1969 Italian recordings, a couple of non-album singles and their b-sides, as well as one track from their very first session with George Romanos, and a stunning, previously unreleased sixteen-minute instrumental, which should never have stayed hidden away for this long.   

Track listing

01 Otan Moupes (with George Romanos 1968)
01 Plastics Nevermore (single 1968)
02 The Other People (b-side of 'Plastics Nevermore')
03 I Want To Live (single 1969)
04 Magic Mirror (b-side of 'I Want To Live')
05 Quando L'Amore Diventa Poesia (Italian single 1969)   
06 Lontano Dagli Occhi (b-side of 'Quando L'Amore Diventa Poesia') 
07 Chakachak (previously unreleased 1969)
08 Spring, Summer, Winter And Fall (single 1970)
09 Air (b-side of 'Spring, Summer, Winter And Fall')

Vangelis - Themes (2018)

Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou was born on 29 March 1943 in Agria, Greece, and raised in Athens. At the age of twelve he developed an interest in jazz and rock music, and at fifteen he started to form school bands, acquiring his first Hammond organ at eighteen. In 1963, the newly named Vangelis and three school friends started a short-lived five-piece rock band called The Forminx, and after they split he spent the next two years mostly in the studio, writing and producing for other Greek artists. He also composed scores for Greek films, completing six over those two years, and in 1968 he moved to London in order to further his career. However, he was denied entry into the UK and so settled in Paris for the next six years, where he formed the progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child with Demis Roussos, Loukas Sideras, and Anargyros "Silver" Koulouris. Their debut single 'Rain and Tears' was a commercial success in Europe, and was followed by two albums, 'End of the World' in 1968 and 'It's Five O'Clock' in 1969. Vangelis conceived the idea of their third record as a concept album based on the Book of Revelation, and '666' is now hailed as a progressive rock masterpiece. If you haven't heard either the pop songs or '666' then do check them out as they are all classics of their genre. 
After increasing tensions during the recording of '666', the group split in 1971, with Roussos going on to have a number of hit singles in a long career as a pop singer, while Vangelis set up his own 16-track studio, Nemo Studios, and secured a record deal with RCA Records. He released some well-received electronic albums throughout the 70's, simultaneously scoring a number of films, including 'Ignacio' aka 'Do You Hear the Dogs Barking?' in 1975, and scores for some of Frederic Rossif's nature documentaries in 1976 and 1979. In 1980, Vangelis agreed to record the score for 'Chariots of Fire', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, and with his star now in the ascendant he was much sought-after to compose film soundtracks. In 1982 he scored 'Missing' for director by Costa-Gavras, which was awarded the Palme d'Or and gained Vangelis a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music. In 1981, he collaborated with director Ridley Scott to score his science fiction film 'Blade Runner', expertly capturing the isolation and melancholy of Harrison Ford's character, Rick Deckard. In 1992, Paramount Pictures released the film '1492: Conquest of Paradise', also directed by Ridley Scott, and the score by Vangelis was nominated for Best Original Score – Motion Picture' at the 1993 Golden Globe awards, which then led to offers of work on the 1992 films 'Bitter Moon' and 'The Plague'. 
In 2002 he wrote the theme for the FIFA World Cup, and in 2018 he composed a tribute to Stephen Hawking, which was given out free to guests attending the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey when Stephen Hawking's ashes were interred. After the internment some remaining copies were available from the Stephen Hawking Foundation in return for a charitable donation until stock ran out. For this collection of his film soundtracks I've deliberately omitted his four most famous works, on 'Chariots Of Fire', 'Missing', 'Blade Runner' and 'The Bounty', as they are already quite well-known, and can be found on an official collection of his soundtrack work. Instead I've concentrated on the rarer, early work for lesser-known directors, although I have included the theme to '1492' as it was too late to be included on the official collection and it's also one of my favourites. It's a fairly long album at 70 minutes, but it flows so well that I don't want to split it into two, so we'll just treat it as a CD.  

Track listing

01 Sex Power Part IX from 'Sex Power' 1970
02 Theme from 'Salut, Jerusalem' 1972
03 Generique from 'L'Apocalypse des Animaux' 1973
04 Theme from 'Amore' 1973
05 Theme from 'Ignacio (Do You Hear The Dogs Barking?)' 1975
06 Theme from 'La Fete Sauvage' 1976
07 Hymne from 'Opera Sauvage' 1979
08 Theme from the TV Series 'Cosmos' 1980
09 Theme from 'Antarctica' 1983
10 Theme from 'Sauvage et Beau' 1984
11 Theme from 'De Nuremburg A Nuremburg' 1989
12 Theme from '1492 :(Conquest Of Paradise)' 1992
13 Theme from 'Bitter Moon' 1992
14 Theme from 'The Plague' 1992
15 Theme from 'Cavafy' 1996
16 Anthem for the FIFA World Cup 2002
17 Theme from 'El Greco' 2007
18 Seize The Moment - The Stephen Hawking Tribute 2018