Gremlins - The Twilight Zone (Bootleg)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

If there was one project everybody loved, it had to be Dante's insane and Goldsmith's kooky score for Gremlins. Especially Goldsmith's score is the epitome of an electronic sound effect tribute but this all (as with The 'Burbs and others) works so well that we forgive him. The effect is raised and the score is fun, sometimes scary or difficult to enjoy but overall it is so goddamn cool. One of those little returning electronic sound effects is a cat squealing in the background, or clashing tones or simply the low electronic sound for Mrs. Deagle. It all makes sense and combine that with the rag of the gremlins and some cool heroic fanfares or atmospheric builders, you truly have a piece of score that thrills more then questions. Goldsmith is a king when he puts all the things together, Gremlins is as many the result of movie scoring. But the sad thing is, Gremlins is a difficult to obtain bootleg and after all you do not get one but two scores, at least a portion of music of Goldsmith's own The Twilight Zone. In other words it is kooky stuff from start to finish.

Its not hard to like what this soundtrack presents; the undisputed Goldsmith style at work, the dark but comical twist working together and the inevitable bad person motif to put it all in good working order. To appreciate it even more, film fans that saw it will like or appreciate it better because there are some moment that truly need your patience or understanding. For instance the scary parts in 'Mom Vs. the Gremlins'. But nevertheless, it is party when the gremlin theme appears ('Gremlins on the Loose', 'DeagleDeagleDeagle' which is just hilarious, 'The Gremlins Attack' and the simply fun 'The Gremlin Rag'. Other key moments are Gizmo's theme (a slight wink towards Carol Anne's theme from Poltergeist) in moments like 'The Gift' and 'Bye, Billy' but also one to remember is the pure comedic motif for 'Mrs. Deagle', the bat from the film (excuse me for that). But the most stunning track is still 'Gizmo saves the Day', which combines electronic noises with pure astonishing fanfares of heroism. So that was Gremlins.

The last three tracks of the score though are from another science fiction mystery, The Twilight Zone. The style itself is not that far away from the Gremlins' sound, with sound effects even ringing a bell towards the sequel The New Batch. The first track 'Twilight Zone Theme' has the theme supported through the original voice, and mainly 'It's a Good Life' is the most connected to Gremlins. The last track is actually the best track, also found on several compilations from now on. The two scores are without doubt an essential part for Goldsmith collectors, especially Gremlins will attract their attention more then enough. The sound quality of both scores is acceptable if even sometimes better then expected. Of course it can always get better but I am happy it doesn't interrupt the flow of the music. Gremlins and The Twilight Zone are two classics, one portraying perhaps nothing special but the other is pure fun. Simply see it my way, it's such a classic Goldsmith album filled with themes we all just love.

Gremlins: ****
The Twilight Zone: ***

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Tracks

Single Disc

Gremlins

1. Fanfare / Prologue (4.33)

2. Late For Work (1.44)

3. Mrs. Deagle (2.15)

4. The Gift (2.13)

5. Pop Goes The Gremlin (2.58) Excellent Track

6. Billy And Katey (2.51)

7. Gremlins On The Loose (1.22)

8. Mom Vs. The Gremlins (3.59)

9. Stripe Blows His Nose (1.09)

10. A Gremlin Goes Postal (0.44)

11. DeagleDeagleDeagle (2.19)

12. The Gremlins Attack (2.03) Excellent Track

13. Billy To The Rescue / A Christmas Story (3.25)

14. Movie Theatre / Explosion (2.36)

15. Hunting Stripe (3.31)

16. Gizmo Saves The Day (5.39) Excellent Track

17. Bye, Billy (2.54)

18. The Gremlin Rag (4.04) Excellent Track

The Twilight Zone

19. Twilight Zone (0.40)

20. It's A Good Life (10.31)

21. Overture / End Titles (6.01)

Total Length: 67.44

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Jerry Goldsmith ===