lthough he had earlier penned scores for numerous low-budget productions, including a couple of science-fiction adventures, by the mid-1980s Basil Poledouris was most famous for his work on the
sword-and-sorcery epics Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. With his exciting soundtrack to the 1987 picture Robocop, that relatively restricted reputation was significantly enhanced. A fresh CD allows fans to reassess the movie's melodies, providing an exceptional opportunity to re-experience the exhilaration, apprehension and occasional sarcasm of the composer's at-the-time atypical—though, given the nature of the film, highly appropriate—amalgam of symphonic and synthetic elements.
A palpably tense air dominates the disc, with pieces like "Van Chase," "Rock Shop," "Clarence Frags Bob" and "Robo Drives to Jones" overflowing with dynamic disruptions and chaotic crescendos. At the same time, comparatively softer selections such as "Home" and "Care Package" furnish amiable yet, via slightly discordant arrangements, still anxious moments. A fittingly metallic beat drives the industrial "Robo vs. ED-209," even as the concluding composition, "Showdown," blends ruthless, relentless rhythms with a muted but triumphant motif.
The 15 primary cues are augmented by a quartet of brief "bonus tracks." Three of these cuts—"Have a Heart," "Nuke 'Em" and "Big Is Better"—supplement the film's mock TV commercials, with the final number, "OCP Monitors," enhancing a catastrophic corporate meeting. An eight-page booklet accompanies the album, offering a handful of color photos and an in-depth text analysis of the project.
Appropriately arresting arrangements
Upon hearing Poledouris' Robocop creations, most casual movie-music buffs were likely rather confused. At the time, the composer's best-known works fused orchestral opulence with sumptuous choral accents, supplying an almost sacred stateliness to such admired fantasy tales as
Flesh & Blood and the first Conan film. Here, the setting is far more futuristic, necessitating a high-spirited but also fairly harsh, high-tech sound. These pieces ideally complement the picture, utilizing warm organic instrumentation and unusual effects to fashion a suitably affecting, arresting and, when required, alarming score.
Synthesized noises and clanging tones clash with portentous strings on "Main Title," a succinct cue that skillfully signals the upcoming battles—both psychological and physical—between man and machine. "Across the Board" also stresses this struggle, mixing a robust theme for the valiant cyborg with faint electronic inflections, just as "Robo vs. ED-209" amplifies, through forceful artificial anvil clangs and aggressive horns, a particularly destructive dustup. "Murphy's Death" is another moving tune, employing melancholy but muscular brass to intensify the
soon-to-be-resurrected hero's violent murder, while "Betrayal" and "Directive IV" each emphasize a tempting symphonic atmosphere that's at once thrilling and threatening.
The bonus cuts, which combined total less than three minutes in length, are enjoyable though certainly not essential, serving as little more than short satirical snippets. Still, Robocop is a worthwhile soundtrack, providing SF fans with a fun fusion of style and technique that captivatingly captures the picture's violent yet vibrant ambiance.
