long with ubiquitous sayings like "May the Force be with you" and "Live long and prosper," science-fiction movies and TV shows have spawned dozens of cult catch phrases that are immediately recognizable to true-blue genre buffs. "Soylent Green is people!"—from the 1973 motion picture Soylent Green—is one of those unforgettable slogans, and although some critics might argue that it's the only memorable moment from the heavy-handed production, the long-neglected score is noteworthy, too. As part of its continuing Silver Age Classics CD series, Film Score Monthly magazine recently issued Fred Myrow's original music for the movie, together with Jerry Fielding's less notable but nonetheless interesting accompaniment to the futuristic 1977 flick Demon Seed.
The 10 Soylent Green cuts emphasize an array of melodic textures. "Prologue/Opening City Music" at first appears to be an upbeat, orchestral overture infused with R&B and jazz rhythms. However, the tempo ebbs and flows as the piece proceeds, ultimately transmuting it into a chilling synthesized work. At the same time, the hushed violins and piano of "Stalking the Pad" furnish a frightening, furtive feel, just as "Home Lobby Source" suggests calmness coupled with quiet resignation. A six-minute segment titled "Symphony Music," which within the picture plays over scenes of a key character's death, interweaves excerpts from Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique," Beethoven's "Pastorale" and Grieg's "Peer Gynt."
Menacing manufactured noises vie with symphonic sounds throughout the eight Demon Seed tracks. Utilizing extensive electronic processing, Fielding consistently evinces a dark, malevolent air via selections like "Birth Scene/Speaking Room/Elk Herd" and "Visiting Hours/Probed and Put to Bed." The 20-page liner notes supply detailed background information on each film, in addition to meticulous breakdowns of every cue.
Distinct dystopian melodies
Soylent Green depicts a grim future where, through overpopulation and natural-resource mismanagement, the Earth has been so totally devastated that a free society no longer exists. To effectively complement this extraordinarily dour scenario, the movie's music had to strike a delicate balance, subtly signaling the elegance of the past while accentuating overwhelming misery and profound sorrow. Myrow's remarkable soundtrack admirably accomplishes this feat, producing a riveting ambiance that, though not always easy on the ear, is exciting, evocative and, at times, quite exigent.
"Out for a Walk/Nothing Like This/Assassin Approaches/Necessary to God/New Tenant" encompasses nearly everything commendable about the score. Initially dominated by resonant tones and soft chimes, the cut subsequently introduces an imprecise saxophone-fueled motif before switching to a scary segment governed by synthesizer and sporadic woodwind and percussion noises. The piece—which concludes with a brief funk-filled composition excised from the completed film—is, by turns, unsettling and enticing, successfully capturing the rare pleasures and relentless apprehension of the picture's congested, strictly controlled world. Fortunately, there are also a few numbers that are incessantly buoyant, including one, "Can I Do Something for You?," that's accurately described within the liner notes as "lounge music of the future."
Fielding's Demon Seed cues combine acoustic instruments and bleak electronic elements, with tracks such as "Pre-Trip/Big Wind/Sperm/Spirograph/Tetra Waltz" interspersing episodes of elation, edginess and unadulterated evil. However, these tunes lack the persistent dynamism and disturbing grace of Myrow's wide-ranging creations. In the end, the Soylent Green score is plainly more substantial and suggestive, but both works offer thought-provoking accompaniment to nightmarish, and possibly prophetic, SF tales.
