n recent years, the closest that most fans of Barbarella have come to hearing the music of this camp classic is listening to the electronic pop melodies of Duran Duran, the well-known rock band that derives its name from one of the film's key characters. Regrettably, that group's slick melodies bear little resemblance, either stylistically or thematically, to the trendy numbers on the movie's soundtrack, a point that's abundantly evident now that the picture's unique score is officially available on CD for the first time.
Released by Harkit Records—a small British label devoted to reissuing hard-to-find recordings from the 1960s and 1970s—the package presents 22 cool cues from the hip 1968 adventure. The film's title tune launches the collection, with singer Mike Gale setting the SF tale's groovy tone by joyously crooning, among other weird lines, "Barbarella, psychedella, there's a kind of cockleshell about you!" A few subsequent cuts also contain lyrics, including the quirky "Love, Love, Love Drags Me Down" and the stirring "An Angel Is Love." Idiosyncratic instrumental works, such as "Dead Duck," with its squeaky guitar and jazzy brass, and the rousing, rat-a-tat-tat percussion of "The Destruction of SoGo," further enhance the album's eccentric, energetic air.
The disc concludes with an extensive "bonus tracks" section featuring five easy-listening renditions of cues from the score played by an obscure ensemble named The Young Lovers, plus three vintage radio spots created by Paramount Pictures to promote the film. In addition to providing detailed background information about the movie and its music, the foldout liner notes also transform into a small poster of Jane Fonda in her sexy Barbarella getup.
A sometimes silly trip down memory lane
Although it's highly unlikely that staunch SF aficionados would ever seriously consider Barbarella the epitome of science-fiction cinema, it's hard to deny that the picture has some truly memorable—albeit silly—moments. The outlandish score beautifully captures the film's oddball ambiance, with laid-back interludes, exciting crescendos and swinging songs generating a stylish and altogether satisfying sonic souvenir of this over-the-top outer-space adventure.
"Goodnight Alfie," the first cut after the effervescent opening theme, utilizes soft horns, mellow keyboards and glorious, twinkling effects to fashion a soothing atmosphere that's wholly calming and restful. A couple of other selections maintain a similarly sedate feel, while compositions like "Pygar's New Wings," with its glitzy reworking of the "An Angel Is Love" motif, and the thrilling horns and quivering strings of "Entrance Into SoGo," are downright inspiring. The "bonus tracks" are equally appealing, supplying enjoyable lounge-lizard versions of such numbers as "I Love All the Love in You" and reminding potential viewers, through the breathless radio ads, that they can see the lovely Barbarella "do her thing in a motion picture that makes science fiction something else!"
Some of the tunes are slightly flawed, especially the at-times overpowering bass line on "The Sex Machine" and the muffed trumpet parts on "The Destruction of SoGo," but essentially the compositions, performed by The Bob Crewe Generation Orchestra, are solid and appropriately swanky. Despite the fact that the band Duran Duran has probably made the movie's main villain more famous than the actual film, most SF buffs, along with devotees of old-fashioned mod melodies, should savor the Barbarella soundtrack and the tuneful trip down memory lane it provides.
