Blade Runner (soundtrack)
Blade Runner is the soundtrack for Ridley Scott's 1982 science-fiction noir film Blade Runner, composed by Greek electronic musician Vangelis. It has received acclaim as among Vangelis's best work and an influential work in the history of electronic music. It was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and Golden Globe as best original score. The score evokes the film's bleak futurism with an emotive synthesizer-based sound, drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as neo-classical elements and Middle Eastern texture. It features vocals from Demis Roussos and saxophone by Dick Morrissey on "Love Theme". The track "Memories of Green" from Vangelis' 1980 album See You Later was also used.
The official release of the soundtrack was delayed for over a decade. The first 1994 release omitted much of the film's score and included compositions not used in the film. A 25th anniversary edition released in 2007 included further unreleased material and a disc of new music inspired by the film. Various bootleg recordings containing more comprehensive versions of the score, as well as superior sound quality to the original 1994 release, have widely circulated.
An orchestral rendition of the soundtrack was released in 1982 by the New American Orchestra, but disowned by both Vangelis and director Scott.
Recording
Vangelis recorded, mixed and produced the score for Blade Runner in his London recording space Nemo Studios in 1982. He crafted the score on an ad-hoc basis by viewing videotapes of scenes from the film in the studio, and then improvising pieces in synchronisation with the images on the screen. He also applied the use of some foley techniques, using synthesisers to produce diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.The most prominent synthesiser used in the score was the Yamaha CS-80, which can be prominently heard in the opening scenes. Other synthesisers employed by Vangelis included four Roland instruments: the ProMars, the Jupiter-4, the CR-5000 drum machine, and the VP-330 Vocoder Plus; a Sequential Circuits Prophet-10; a Yamaha GS1 FM synthesizer; and an E-mu Emulator sampler. A Steinway grand piano, a Yamaha CP-80 electric grand and a modified Fender Rhodes were also used. He also utilised a variety of traditional instruments, including, gamelan, glockenspiel, gong, snare drum, timpani and tubular bells.
Releases
Official Vangelis score
1994 release
In 1994, an official recording of Vangelis' score was released by East West in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US. The album reached the #20 position in the UK album charts. In 2013 it reached #14 on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart. It has been variously described as "influential and mythical", "incredible and pristine", "evocative", and "the pinnacle of synthesiser soundtracks". AllMusic labeled the score as"bleak and electronically chilling as the film itself" and praised Vangelis for creating "haunting soundscapes with whispered subtexts and sweeping revelations".
This release nonetheless omits much of the film's original music and cues, and features compositions which were not present in the film. The accompanying booklet featured this explanation by Vangelis:
While most of the tracks on the album are from the film, a number were composed by Vangelis but were ultimately not used in the film itself. Other compositions that appear in the film were not included on this release.
Four of the tracks feature samples of dialogue from the film. Tracks 1 through 4 are mixed together as a seamless piece; tracks 5 through 7 have silence between them, and the final tracks, 8 through 12, are mixed into another seamless piece.
| Official Vangelis score |
| 1. Main Titles |
| 2. Blush Response |
| 3. Wait for Me |
| 4. Rachel's Song |
| 5. Love Theme |
| 6. One More Kiss, Dear |
| 7. Blade Runner Blues |
| 8. Memories of Green |
| 9. Tales of the Future |
| 10. Damask Rose |
| 11. Blade Runner |
| 12. Tears in Rain |
| Total disc time: 57:53 |
2007 release
Blade Runner Trilogy: 25th Anniversary, a 3-CD set, was released in 2007 to coincide with the 5-DVD release to mark the 25th anniversary of the film. It includes the 1994 official CD along with two bonus CDs, both compiled from original material by Vangelis. The second disc includes some previously officially unreleased material, but is still not complete, omitting the "Main Title" track, for example. The third disc contains new material inspired by Blade Runner. Each track is a separate piece, separated by silence, rather than any of them being mixed together seamlessly as was the case with all but three tracks in the 1994 version.| 25th Anniversary Disc #2 | 25th Anniversary Disc #3 |
| 1. Longing | 1. Launch Approval |
| 2. Unveiled Twinkling Space | 2. Up and Running |
| 3. Dr. Tyrell's Owl | 3. Mail from India |
| 4. At Mr. Chew's | 4. BR Downtown |
| 5. Leo's Room | 5. Dimitri's Bar |
| 6. One Alone | 6. Sweet Solitude |
| 7. Deckard and Roy's Duel | 7. No Expectation Boulevard |
| 8. Dr. Tyrell's Death | 8. Vadavarot |
| 9. Desolation Path | 9. Perfume Exotico |
| 10. Empty Streets | 10. Spotkanie z matką |
| 11. Mechanical Dolls | 11. Piano in an Empty Room |
| 12. Fading Away | 12. Keep Asking |
| Total disc time: | Total disc time: |
Although this release claims to be the "complete" score, there is still some music heard in the film that is missing.
The second disc, of previously unreleased music, contains additional music not present in the film, including two bonus tracks. One of these, "Desolation Path", is a slightly different version of "Alternate Love Theme/I Dreamt Music". This track was originally used in the workprint version of the film, during the Deckard/Rachel love scene.
Orchestral release
The first official release was a reinterpretation by the New American Orchestra in 1982. Billed as an "orchestral adaptation of music composed for the motion picture by Vangelis", this release consisted of jazz-inspired, orchestrated renditions of the major tracks from the film, but not the original score tracks.| New American Orchestra |
| 1. Love Theme |
| 2. Main Title |
| 3. One More Kiss, Dear |
| 4. Memories of Green |
| 5. End Title |
| 6. Blade Runner Blues |
| 7. Farewell |
| 8. End Title Reprise |
| Total disc time: 33:16 |
Bootlegs
The delays and poor reproductions of the Blade Runner score led to the production of many bootleg recordings over the years. A bootleg tape surfaced in 1982 at science fiction conventions and became popular, given the delay of an official release of the original recordings. In 1993 "Off World Music, Ltd." created a bootleg CD that would prove more comprehensive than Vangelis' official CD in 1994. A disc from "Gongo Music" features most of the same material, but more of it. The Deck Definitive Edition came about in 2001, with 27 tracks. In 2002, the "Esper Edition" bootleg surfaced, followed by "Los Angeles, November 2019" in 2003. The double-disc "Esper Edition" combined tracks from the official release, the Gongo boot and the film itself. Finally, "2019" provided a single-disc compilation almost wholly consisting of ambient sound from the film, padded out with some sounds from the Westwood game Blade Runner.Studio tape
The first release of the Blade Runner score in any form was a tape suspected of coming from a sound engineer during the film's mixing. It was popular, despite subpar audio quality, given there were no plans to release a Vangelis score.Off World Music
A second bootleg Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Blade Runner appeared in 1993 by "Off World Music, Ltd." on CD. Issued as a limited edition of 2000 numbered copies, it was of high quality and actually more comprehensive than the official release by Vangelis in 1994. This release includes the 1939 recording "If I Didn't Care" by R&B group The Ink Spots that originally appeared in the workprint of Blade Runner, but was replaced by the Don Percival cut "One More Kiss, Dear" in the final version.| Off World Music Bootleg |
| 1. Ladd Company Logo John Williams |
| 2. Main Titles and Prologue |
| 3. Los Angeles, November 2019 |
| 4. Deckard Meets Rachael |
| 5. Bicycle Riders Gail Laughton |
| 6. Memories of Green |
| 7. Blade Runner Blues |
| 8. Deckard's Dream |
| 9. On the Trail of Nexus 6 |
| 10. If I Didn't Care Jack Lawrence |
| 11. Love Theme |
| 12. The Prodigal Son Brings Death |
| 13. Dangerous Days |
| 14. Wounded Animals |
| 15. Tears in Rain |
| 16. End Titles |
| 17. One More Kiss Dear Skellern & Vangelis |
| 18. Trailer and Alternate Main Titles Robert Randles |
| Total disc time: 72:42 |
Gongo Music
In 1995, a disc from Romanian label "Gongo Music, Ltd" was issued as a limited edition of 3000 copies. It contained mostly the same music as the Off World Music release, but included one track, "Blimpvert", which had not featured on any previous releases. This track contains an excerpt from "Ogi no Mato" by Ensemble Nipponia.| Gongo Music Bootleg |
| 1. Tema de Semnatura a Companiei Ladd |
| 2. Titlurile si Prologurile Principale |
| 3. Los Angeles, Noiembrie, 2019 |
| 4. Intalnirea lui Deckard cu Rachel |
| 5. Ciclisti |
| 6. Amintirile Verdelui |
| 7. Tristetile lui Blade Runner |
| 8. Visul lui Deckard |
| 9. La Procesul lui Nexus 6 |
| 10. Inca un Sarut, Draga |
| 11. Tema Iubirii |
| 12. Fiul Multiubit Aduce Moartea |
| 13. Blimpvert |
| 14. Zile Periculoase |
| 15. Animale Ranite |
| 16. Lacrimi in Ploaie |
| 17. Titlurile de Sfirsit |
| Total disc time: 70:17 |
Deck Definitive Edition
In 2001, a 27-track CD from Japanese label "Deck Art" was released as a limited edition of 500 copies with high-quality sound. No tracklist was provided, but the disc contained material found on earlier bootlegs, as well as music that had not appeared on any previous releases.Esper Edition
In 2002 a bootleg Blade Runner: Esper Edition by "Esper Productions" was created as a limited edition of 10 copies, providing a comprehensive Blade Runner soundtrack. It contains some background music that has never been released.Esper Edition notes:
- Original music composed and performed by Vangelis
- "Harps of the Ancient Temples" written and performed by Gail Laughton
- Vocals performed on tracks 3, 9 and track 5 by Demis Roussos
- Vocals performed on "Rachael's Song" by Mary Hopkin
- Saxophone on tracks 2 and 9 by Dick Morrissey
- Lyrics and vocals on "One More Kiss‚ Dear" by Don Percival
- "Salome's Dance" includes a snippet that the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark expanded into the single "Junk Culture" from the album of the same name, released in 1984.