2001 Space Odyssey [Us Import]

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Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0081227256227 Format: Soundtrack Label: Rhino Manufacturer: Rhino Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Rhino Release Date: 1999-12-23 Running Time: 79 Studio: Rhino
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Editorial Reviews: The most famous unused film score in the repertoire, Alex North's music for Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey languished in obscurity until the release of this album in 1993. Unknown to the composer, Kubrick rejected North's original compositions in favour of pre-recorded classical tracks; this revival by long-time North friend and Hollywood legend Jerry Goldsmith goes a long way toward redressing the injustice. Though the disc offers a track-by-track description of each cue, North's score is divided into two distinct parts and stands up exceptionally well when divorced from the film. The first movement is a dark, excursion into man's past. After an imaginative paraphrase of Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra for the main credits, North creates an objective, primitive atmosphere in order to reflect the unforgiving nature of the prehistoric land ("The Foraging"). Part two takes the listener on a journey to a future in which technology has triumphed; the highlight of this section is "Space Station Docking", a scherzo and waltz that is both magical and impressionistic. Whether North's score would have improved Kubrick's film is a moot point--what matters is that this sublime score has now been preserved for the ages. Varese's reference-calibre recording includes the complete score and extensive programme notes. --Kevin Mulhall
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: 8 minutes of music Comment: My opinion on soundtrack cds is that most of the times, they do not stand on their own, and unfortunately "2001" is not an exception. What you get on this disc is, 3 takes of Zarathustra, 2 takes of Blue Danube and the rest of the disc is pretty much atmospheric music, sound effects mixed with some voices and.... that's it! Oh, there's also a "Hal" 9 minutes montage with extracts from the film - completely unnecessery. The 2 main themes last about 8 minutes in total (if you do not count them twice or triple) and that's all the music you'll get from this cd, the rest is pretty boring. Don't misunderstand me, I love the film (after all I wouldn't have bought the soundtrack), and the music works great on it. But it doesn't stand on its own. I felt so cheated when I first listened to it as I always do when I buy soundtrack (music only) albums. Concerning the package, it is as good as it can get. It comes with a multi page colourfull booklet with photos and some information on the film, but a good package isn't enough to buy a cd, is it? Customer Rating: Summary: ...further listening... Comment: Anyone contemplating buying this will most likely already know its worth, having already owned the vinyl version from early on, but in any event I can certainly recommend it in the newer CD incarnation. I vividly remember being totally astounded by '2001' when I first saw it back in 1968 (strewth - that's nearly forty years ago!). This unique masterpiece of the cinema has left an abiding impression and early on sowed the seeds of a passion for classical music and an interest in astronomy. The music very definitely suited the film - the opening of Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra could not have been a better choice as the 'main theme' and of course it was extensively used to accompany coverage of the actual first manned moon landing the year after the film's release. Apart from Also Sprach, the music which left a big impression on first seeing the film was Khachaturian's 'Adagio' from the Gayeneh ballet suite: this is used as we first see the spaceship 'Discovery' on its cold, lonely journey across the great gulf of space. I suppose that the most original-sounding piece is Ligeti's 'Requiem' (Kyrie section, which, having heard the whole work is by far the most interesting of the three). I went out and bought the soundtrack LP straight away and spent many hours listening to it; the music strongly evoking the episodes of the film and gradually growing on me purely as music as time went by. Some time afterwards, Polydor brought out a 'Volume 2' - nothing to do with the film, it was tagged with a line that it was "music inspired by the film" (!) Given that all the music on it was written many years before 2001 was made, this might have been a bit of a con, but it turned out to be music which was similar to the selection on the film's soundtrack; some of it was by the same composers and was in fact a very interesting compilation. Later, on finding out that Also Sprach was only the opening section of a symphonic poem which lasted for over half an hour, I bought the full work and was completely bowled over by what I heard. It's a massively powerful (and by turns meditative) orchestral tour-de-force which thoroughly deserves it's modern-day popularity - a truly inspired work of art. This and the other pieces on the soundtrack were for me a starting point for a veritable voyage of discovery through the world of classical music and other listeners might like to delve a little deeper and try some 'further listening' by way of other works which wouldn't have been inappropriate choices for the film:- Sibelius: Symphonies 4,5,6,7 + The Swan of Tuonela + Tapiola (all on 2 CDs: Berlin Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan on the DG label ASIN B00000J9HE). Gorecki: Symphony 3 (Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Antoni Wit on Naxos label). Bruckner: Symphony 9 (Berlin PO/Karajan - get the 1966 recording not the later one - DG label: ASIN B00000E4II ). Mahler: Symphony 2 (Vienna PO/Zubin Mehta, Decca label). Leifs: 'Hekla' and Requiem (Iceland Symphony Orchestra/En Shao - BIS label). Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Berlin PO/Karajan - 1974 recording - DG label). I'm pretty sure that all of these are available via Amazon. Customer Rating: Summary: All the music was chosen by Kubrick - he was a genius Comment: As anyone who has seen the movie knows, the music used for 2001: a space odyssey is probably the most unusual and influencial score ever used in the history of movie making - though none of it was written especially for the film. It is so hard to believe that "Also Sprach Zarathustra" was not written for the 2001 as never was a piece of music so apt. The strange and alien Ligeti tracks are well chosen and Strauss's "Blue Danube", already imortal, is forever waltzing through infinite space. (It would have been better, I think, if the Blue Danube Waltz had been included in its entirety, from begining to end, as one piece, instead of in two halves.) The inclusion of the original Gyorgy Ligeti "Adventures" adds an interesting touch and shows just how right Kubrick was to have the "altered" version used in the film. To any fan of the film listening to Hal is always a pleasure so the nine and a half minutes of dialogue included on the CD is an exceptional bonus. If you saw 2001 in '68 - your life was probably changed forever! This CD is for you. More Reviews