Explorers (Complete) [1985-2011]

Intrada presents the long-overdue expansion of Jerry Goldsmith's 1985 score to the Paramount film Explorers. The original LP release from MCA records featured highlights of the score, but only focused on two of its many facets, primarily the adventure and later the quirky outer space setting of the final act. It's a bit deceptive in a way, for the score has more dimensions and is often a contradictory work: buoyant, melancholic, celebratory but slyly witty, bursting with energy and optimism but also tinged with regret. It was this latter element that was sorely missed the most in the previous release.

“I put a very mournful temp score on the movie,” director Joe Dante recalls. “I used Bernard Herrmann’s ‘Walking Distance’ music from The Twilight Zone, ...and I remember Jerry saying ‘Do you really want it to be this sad?’ I said I didn’t want it depressing but it’s a movie about dreams that don’t come true...so there was a sense of loss about the movie that I wanted to get into it, but Jerry also managed to do a lot of bouncy stuff that made it a lot more fun.”

Melancholy aspect notwithstanding, the album is a lot of fun: the music is packed with robust orchestral energy in the action, inventive electronic effects for the character’s dreams and soaring melodic sweep for the flight sequences. For the alien spaceship sequences, Goldsmith even adds colorful hip flavor to his musical mix. The score offers just about everything.

Explorers was director Dante’s follow-up to the 1984 smash hit Gremlins. The story involves three young boys (played by Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix and Jason Presson) who construct their own spaceship under the influence of thought transmissions from an alien race. The boys convert an old Tilt-A-Whirl car into the “Thunder Road,” and test-drive the vehicle over their town, eventually flying it into outer space for an encounter with the aliens summoning them. But the extraterrestrials behind the alien technology turn out to be quite different than any of the boys expect.

This release is limited to 3000 units. But this sold out again.
Track List:

1. Main Title (Unused Version with "Wak's Boogie") (00:51)
2. Main Title (Film Version) (00:47)
3. The First Dream (00:58)
4. Sticks and Stones (02:23)
5. Lori / Intervention (00:50)
6. Home (02:10)
7. The Bubble (01:47)
8. "Sci-Fi" Flick / The Roof-Top (02:04)
9. Crazed Bubble / Fuse Box (02:44)
10. Free Ride (03:43)
11. Peek-A-Boo (01:53)
12. The Prospect (01:40)
13. The Construction (02:35)
14. The Thunder Road (01:25)
15. First Flight (03:03)
16. No Air (02:34)
17. I Want to Live (01:42)
18. Time for Bed (01:36)
19. More Dreams / Dreams (01:45)
20. Let's Go (01:44)
21. Fast Getaway (04:58)
22. Wait Up (01:00)
23. The Spider (00:56)
24. Alien Love Call (00:57)
25. We Come in Peace (02:04)
26. She Likes Me (02:39)
27. Neek Chords (00:19)
28. Looks Real (02:03)
29. Space Pirates (00:32)
30. Gifts / Home Flight (05:21)
31. Have a Nice Trip (08:03)

The Extras:
32. *Tannhauser Overture [Excerpt] (04:04)
*Richard Wagner
33. **Space Movie (03:02)
**Alexander Courage

Total Duration: 01:14:12

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