After their most successful fourth quarter yet, La-La Land Records storms into 2017 with a belated 20th anniversary expansion of Mark Mancina's score to the '90s disaster flick Twister.

The second film by Jan De Bont, who parlayed a successful career as cinematographer (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Basic Instinct) into the smash directorial debut Speed in 1994, Twister featured Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as a separated couple of storm chasers whose paths cross in pursuit of a dangerous set of tornadoes. Together, they endeavor to put their advanced storm-monitoring equipment in the path of a deadly twister, to unlock heretofore unknown secrets about the weather phenomenon.

With an eclectic ensemble cast that included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck (Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Jeremy Davies (an Emmy winner for Justified) as members of the storm-chasing team and an impressive behind-the-scenes pedigree that included Jurassic Park creator Michael Crichton as co-screenwriter and Steven Spielberg as executive producer, Twister was the first and best in a late-'90s run of weather-based disaster films. (It was even the inspiration for a theme park attraction at Universal Studios in Orlando, which ran from 1997 to 2015.)

Speed composer Mark Mancina scored Twister with an urgent mix of orchestral swell and rock gusto--a point underscored by guitar overdubs on the score by Yes axe man Trevor Rabin, and two Van Halen songs featured prominently in the film. (Lead single "Humans Being" was, at the time, the final VH track recorded with frontman Sammy Hagar, while the Van Halen brothers, guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex, crafted the hypnotic instrumental "Respect the Wind," which closes the film.

La-La Land's presentation of the long out-of-print Twister features the remastered and expanded score, produced by Mike Matessino (who edited and mastered) and Dan Goldwasser (who directed the art) and "correcting all errors from the previous release." (Completists take note: the quirky mash-up of Rossini's William Tell overture and the title song to the musical Oklahoma! does not carry over from the original CD. "Humans Being" does not appear, while "Respect the Wind" does, as it did on the original score album.) Tim Grieving penned the package's liner notes, which feature highlights from new interviews with De Bont and Mancina.

If you thought you had to wait until cows could fly to get a definitive listen of Twister, the wait is over--this 20th anniversary presentation, limited to 3,000 copies, is on sale January 17 at La-La Land's web site!

Twister: Expanded Archival Collection (originally released as Atlantic Classics 82954, 1996 - reissued La-La Land Records LLLCD 1412, 2017)

1. Wheatfield (Film Version) **
2. The Hunt Begins **
3. The Sky **
4. Dorothy IV (Film Version)
5. The First Twister *
6. In the Ditch/Where's My Truck
7. Waterspouts **
8. Cow
9. Walk in the Woods *
10. Bob's Road
11. Hail No!
12. Futility (Film Version)
13. Drive-In Twister **
14. Wakita (Film Version) **
15. Sculptures (Film Version)
16. House Visit
17. The Big Suck (Film Version) **
18. End Title **
19. Wheatfield (Alternate)
20. Waterspouts (Alternate) **
21. The Big Suck (Alternate)
22. End Title / Respect the Wind - Edward & Alex Van Halen

(*) previously unreleased
(**) contains previously unreleased material