A “Cliffhanger” Coming from Intrada

Intrada knows how to make film score fans hang onto every release: their latest batch includes a long-unreleased, underrated suspense score and the long-awaited deluxe reissue of a classic early ’90s action score.

Released in 1993, Cliffhanger, starring Sylvester Stallone as a mountaineer unwillingly forced into a heist led by John Lithgow was a critical and commercial success, and featured a great action score by Trevor Jones. The soundtrack called back to classic scores by luminaries like James Horner and Alan Silvestri, with a captivating theme that put it head and shoulders above the pack. A soundtrack CD was released by Scotti Bros. after the film’s release, but Intrada’s new, double-disc edition not only presents the complete score, but showcases a brand-new mix from the original 48-track digital session masters, making it the most optimal edition of Cliffhanger yet.

Intrada’s other release for the week goes a bit further back to 1970, with the first-ever release of the score to The Kremlin Letter, a John Huston thriller starring Max Von Sydow and Orson Welles. The score was composed by Robert Drasnin, not a household name to many but revered for his work on classic television including The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and others, not to mention a great curiosity of the 1950s, the exotic instrumental LP Voodoo (1959). Among the musicians on that record of exotic music: a pianist named John Williams, who would go on to great things as a composer.) Drasnin’s score presents ethnic, suspenseful cues befitting the U.S.-Soviet espionage scenario of the film.

Cliffhanger is limited to 2,000 copies while The Kremlin Letter is capped at 1,000. Track lists and order info are after the jump.

Trevor Jones, Cliffhanger: Original Motion Picture Score (Intrada Special Collection Vol. 156, 2011 – original film released 1993)

Disc 1

  1. Cliffhanger Theme
  2. Setting Cable
  3. Sarah Slips
  4. Driving Invitation
  5. I Understand
  6. Being Tracked/Matheson Revives
  7. Plane Crash
  8. Two Man Job
  9. Tolerated HelpFetch/Expensive Funeral
  10. Hal Leads
  11. Ice Castle/Sunset Searching
  12. Night Searching/Face Flare

Disc 2

  1. Qualen in Hut/Fireside Chat
  2. Brett’s Death/Evan’s Dive
  3. Bats
  4. Wolves Away
  5. Footbridge
  6. Gabe’s Caught
  7. Kynette’s Impaled
  8. Qualen’s Timebomb/Jessie’s Close Call
  9. Frank’s Demise
  10. Blown Bridge/Krystel’s Sacrifice
  11. Rabbit Hole
  12. Delmar Falls
  13. Rabbit Surprise
  14. Icy Stream/Jessie’s Release/Hooked Copter/Copter Fight
  15. Cliffhanger End Credits

Robert Drasnin, The Kremlin Letter: Original Motion Picture Score (Intrada Special Collection Vol. 160, 2011 – original film released 1970)

  1. Accordion Prelude
  2. Main Title
  3. Cell Aberration
  4. Mexican Scuffle
  5. Samba Con Pollo
  6. San Francisco Cabaret
  7. The Puppet Mill/Love Like
  8. A Delicate Position
  9. The Village Scene
  10. Snow Storm in Siberia/Tumble Down Lorry
  11. Moscow Nights (Balalaika/Accordion)
  12. Mince Meet
  13. Cat on a White Roof
  14. The File on Rone
  15. 7M2 (Not in Finished Film)
  16. 7M4 (Not in Finished Film)
  17. Erika Leaves the Dinner
  18. Games Erika Plays
  19. Love’s Labours Lost/The Unraveling
  20. Too Late, the Hero
  21. Goodbye, Kitai, Goodbye/Erika’s Disenchantment/Erika’s Eroica
  22. Giselle Bridge/The Not So Tender Trap
  23. Acid to Acid
  24. My Love, the Prisoner
  25. The Kremlin Players (End Credits)
  26. Nearer My God to Thee (Organ)
  27. Love is a Many Splendored Thing (Piano) (Music by Alfred Newman/Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
  28. Giselle – Ballet (Excerpt No. 1) (Adolphe Adam)
  29. Giselle – Ballet (Excerpt No. 2) (Adolphe Adam)

All tracks previously unreleased. Tracks 26-29 are extras recorded during scoring sessions.

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Mike Duquette
Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.

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