Legend (Tangerine Dream soundtrack)

Legend
Soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream
Released 1986
Recorded 1985
Genre Electronic music
Progressive rock
Label MCA
Tangerine Dream chronology
Pergamon
(1980)
Legend
(1986)
Underwater Sunlight
(1986)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Legend is a soundtrack album released in 1986 by the German band Tangerine Dream for the North American theatrical version of the film Legend, issued a year earlier in Europe.[2] The film was written by William Hjortsberg, produced by Arnon Milchan, directed by Ridley Scott and released domestically by Universal Studios.[3]

Contents

Background

After a disappointing test screening with Jerry Goldsmith's original orchestral score, Scott decided to make changes to the film. Sidney Sheinberg, president of MCA (the parent company of Universal at the time) felt that the Goldsmith score would not appeal to the youth and pressed Scott for a new score. Tangerine Dream was contracted to complete a new, more contemporary score—a job they completed in three weeks. Until 2002, only European audiences could see Legend with Goldsmith's score.

Tangerine Dream score

"Loved By The Sun" is a vocal version of "Unicorn Theme" with lyrics written and sung by Jon Anderson of Yes. The vocals were added after Tangerine Dream had composed the instrumental music. It was originally recorded with vocals by Susanne Pawlitzki based on William Blake's poem, "The Angel" but was rejected in favor of the Jon Anderson version. "Unicorn Theme" has been played live at several concerts in various versions. "Is Your Love Strong Enough?", played over the end credits, has lyrics written and sung by Bryan Ferry with guitar by David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd fame) and bass by Guy Pratt. It is a former out-take of the recording sessions for Avalon, the eighth and last Roxy Music album. All of the other tracks are Tangerine Dream instrumentals. "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" was also released as a 12" single which included an extended version of the same song as well as an instrumental; neither of these last two versions were included on the Avalon album.

Prologue

Tangerine Dream had recorded another piece that did not appear on the official soundtrack, however did appear in the film. It has only been found in bootlegs and in MP3 form at some P2P sites. Within both mediums, the song was given the title "Prologue". This music can be heard in the intro to the American film release and is also heard in one of the early scenes between Jack and Lilly. It is recognized for its distinct and memorable flute melody. Additionally, some of this melody can be heard at the end of the song, "Loved By The Sun", as it fades out. It can be assumed that the band originally intended that outro to be the "epilogue". Reprising the opening melody as a means of continuity - to end the story in the place where it began.

The reason for its exclusion from the official soundtrack album is unknown. Many fans of the film, as well as Tangerine Dream fans, have referred to it as their favorite musical piece from the film, expressing some disappointment in its absence.

The track order, for the most part, follows the order of appearance in the film, with the exception of two of the songs: "Loved By the Sun", which appears in the final scene of the film, just before the credits, was moved closer to the middle of the soundtrack. "Is Your Love Strong Enough", which played during the ending credits, is at the beginning of the soundtrack.

DVD isolated score

Legend: Ultimate Edition was released on DVD in May 2002. One of the DVD options is to play the U.S. version with an isolated Tangerine Dream score (no dialog or sound effects). There is no music other than what had already been released on LP and CD, thus the DVD plays with long silences in between the music.

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Is Your Love Strong Enough?"   5:10
2. "Opening"   2:53
3. "Cottage"   3:19
4. "Unicorn Theme"   3:22
5. "Goblins"   3:00
6. "Fairies"   2:57
7. "Loved by the Sun"   5:57
8. "Blue Room"   3:24
9. "The Dance"   2:23
10. "Darkness"   3:05
11. "The Kitchen/ The Unicorn Theme Reprise"   4:49

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Berling, Michael. "Legend". Voices in the Net. http://www.voices-in-the-net.de/legend.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  3. ^ "The Music of Legend". Ridley Scott's Legend FAQ. http://www.figmentfly.com/legend/music10a.html. Retrieved 2006-08-26.