THE BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY

ALAN SILVESTRI

Rating:

Original Review: A 1980s pop culture icon, and one of the best-loved films of its decade, Back To The Future and its subsequent sequels launched the career of young star Michael J. Fox into the stratosphere, put director Robert Zemeckis on the road to Oscar triumph, and gave composer Alan Silvestri his first chance to prove to the world that he was a musical force to be reckoned with. The continuing escapades of Marty McFly (Fox) and his eccentric mad professor friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), the first Back To The Future had the troublesome teenager transported back in time to the year 1955 by a time machine built into a converted De Lorean sports car, trying to figure out how to get home before he is literally wiped off the face of the earth after his then-teenage mother "has the hots for him", and is in danger of not falling in love with his father-to-be.

In the second movie, Marty finds himself not going back in time, but forward to the year 2015, where he encounters his older self, various members of his own family, and inadvertently changes reality by allowing his nemesis Biff Tannen to create an alternate universe where his home town is a nightmarish Las Vegas clone. Finally, Marty travels back to the old west in Part III to rescue Doc, who became stranded there at the end of Episode II - but doesn't count on Doc falling in love with a beautiful schoolteacher named Clara! By the time the series finally ended in 1990, the Back To The Future trilogy, as it was known, had become on of the most successful movie franchises in history, and had left the film music world with three wonderful scores to boot.

There were dedicated score albums for both the second and third BTTF movies, but until now the vast majority of the underscore from the original has been unavailable, save for a brief score suite on a song album dominated by Huey Lewis and the News. This new album, which features re-recordings of music from the first two films by John Debney with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, plus selections from Varèse's own score album of the third, captures the vibrant essence of the music without missing a beat. The sound is crisp and clear, Debney keeps the tempo quick and lively, and the orchestrations are virtually indistinguishable from the originals. In short, this is one of the best re-recordings Varèse have ever undertaken, and highlights their growing aptitude in the arena.

The recurring theme, which is present throughout the trilogy and is first heard in the opening 'Back To The Future', marks one of the greatest moments of Silvestri's career in film music. From the slow, deliberate opening fanfare of rolling brass and cymbal waves, which builds towards a triumphant surge as the main melody kicks in for the first time, the theme captures in an instant everything that made the film such a classic. A sense of adventure, an upbeat tone, the infectious energy of Marty McFly himself, just a hint of comedy... it's all there wrapped up in one neat three-and-a-half minute package, and the vast majority of the first film's underscore is rightly derived from the material therein. In 'Marty's Letter' and '4x4', the orchestra dolefully throws the familiar five-note motif around the string and woodwind sections, while the epic action sequences in 'Clocktower', 'Helicopter' and the conclusive 'Doc's Return' mix Silvestri's now-familiar percolating percussion and horn-led action style with further dramatic permutations of the same five notes.

As dictated by the nature of the story, the music in Part II is somewhat darker than the first, despite opening with an equally vigorous performance of the main theme in 'Hill Valley 2015', and it suffers in comparison to the others. The only real highlights are the mechanistic orchestral textures that herald the party's arrival in the future during the latter half of the opening track, the recapitulations of Silvestri's patented martial action tones in 'Burn The Book' and 'I'm Back', and the uplifting 'The Letter', the only other track to last longer than a minute. But the best is left for last, with the magnificent new theme Silvestri wrote to accompany the wild west exploits of Part III.

Almost Bernsteinian in scale, with massive open fanfares and familiar genre orchestrations (harmonica, tambourine) that stay just on the right side of cliché, the theme for Part III revels in the sweeping nostalgia of the old country, and figures prominently in the list of Silvestri's greatest achievements to date. It's two main performances, in 'Point of No Return' and the 'End Credits' simply sparkle with energy and spirit, while the uncommonly attractive love theme for Doc and Clara, which also features in both the two aforementioned cues and 'Main Title', is an unexpected bonus. Silvestri even has the chance to indulge himself in some marauding action material in the marvellous 'Indians' which, according to the excellent liner notes by FSM contributors Jon and Al Kaplan, is a "developmental variation of a syncopated six-note figure from the BTTF march".

As one might have guessed, I absolutely love this CD. Growing up, the Back To The Future films were always favourites of mine, and although I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, Alan Silvestri's invaluable contribution was a significant part of my enjoyment. After fifteen years of waiting, the music from the entire trilogy is now available for all to savour, and I find myself unable to recommend this album too highly.

Track Listing:

BACK TO THE FUTURE BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III Running Time: 53 minutes 10 seconds

Varèse Sarabande VSD-5950 (1999)

Music composed by Alan Silvestri. BACK TO THE FUTURE and BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II performed by Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Conducted by John Debney. Recorded and mixed by Jonathan Allen. Mastered by Bruce Botnick. BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III conducted by Alan Silvestri. Orchestrations by James B. Campbell. Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands. Album produced by Robert Townson.

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