Treat Every Day Like Christmas: Varese Expands the Scores to “Elf” and “Blue Velvet”
Varese Sarabande has recently released two deluxe soundtracks to fit two very different moods. The first might put you in the Christmas spirit with an expanded presentation of John Debney’s score to the modern holiday classic film Elf. The other will take you on a far darker journey with an expanded look at Angelo Badalamenti’s score to Blue Velvet.
First up is the deluxe edition of the score to 2003’s Elf. The Jon Favreau-directed film starred Will Ferrell in his first lead role after leaving Saturday Night Live. He plays Buddy, a human who has been raised in the North Pole as one of Santa’s (portrayed by the late, great Ed Asner) elves by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart). When Buddy learns of his true heritage, he journeys to New York to meet his father (James Caan). But things don’t go smoothly and Buddy has to overcome many obstacles as he tries to bond with his father, learn to live in the human world, and perhaps even save Christmas. The film also stars Mary Steenburgen and Zooey Deschanel in one of her first roles. Upon its release, Elf became a hit and is recognized as one of the most beloved Christmas films of this century and a true classic. Elf was turned into a Broadway musical in 2010 and an animated TV special in 2014 (which is appropriate as the Rankin/Bass specials were some of Favreau’s main influences for the film.)
For the score, Favreau enlisted John Debney to write a “timeless score.” Debney got his start scoring films in the late 1980s and worked in a variety of genres from moves like I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Scorpion King to The Princess Diaries. For Elf, he looked back on classic Christmas tunes and movies like White Christmas and Home Alone. Elf was Favreau’s breakout as a director and he would continue to collaborate with Debney on films such as Zathura, Iron Man 2, and The Jungle Book.
Varese initially released a truncated version of the score on CD back in 2003. They are now presenting the complete score over 37 tracks. Seven bonus tracks have also been added featuring edits and mixes from the original 2003 CD. A 20-page booklet is also included which contains liner notes by Tim Greiving featuring new interviews with Favreau, Debney, and Steenburgen. It has been mastered by Chas Ferry and Melinda Hurley is limited to 2,000 copies.
Up next and in a decidedly different vein is an expanded edition of the score to David Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet. The dark film begins when college-student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) discovers a severed ear in a field and the mystery as to its owner draws him into a world of crime and sexual perversion. Along the way he meets lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) who is being terrorized by psychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper). Dean Stockwell and Laura Dern also star in the film. The movie was a return to a smaller scale and more psychological films like Eraserhead for Lynch after his dissatisfaction over how his adaptation of Dune turned out.
Music plays an important part in the film, which featured songs such as Bobby Vinton’s version of “Blue Velvet” and Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams.” But the score was provided by Angelo Badalamenti. He was actually brought onto the film by producer Fred Caruso to help Rossellini perform “Blue Velvet” in the picture. Caruso and Badalamenti had worked together previously on the 1974 movie Law and Disorder. He arranged an accompaniment for Rossellini’s performance, even appearing onstage with her. He continued to hang around the film set and Lynch eventually tapped him to write the entire score, evoking Russian classical pieces and jazz. Badalamenti had primarily worked on pop songwriting and only had two film scoring credits to that point, but something clicked with Lynch and a bond was formed. Badalamenti has scored every one of Lynch’s films since Blue Velvet, including the television series Twin Peaks.
In 1986, Varese released the original score on LP and CD in a 14-track program. There were ten score tracks and four songs: Bill Doggett’s “Honky Tonk Part 1,” Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams,” Ketty Lester’s “Love Letters,” and Julee Cruise’s “Mysteries of Love” (an original song written for the film by Badalamenti and Lynch. The pair would even work with Cruise on a later pop album.). The first CD of this 2-CD presentation recreates that sequence while adding Bobby Vinton’s “Blue Velvet.” The second CD is entitled “Lumberton Firewood” and features the beginnings of the scoring process the pair would utilize on future collaborations. While Blue Velvet was scored in more traditional way, Badalamenti would compose orchestral tracks he dubbed “firewood” for Lynch to use in his sound design. This would eventually lead to the more impressionistic scoring method the two would utilize on future films. These orchestral pieces as well as other alternates and cues not used in the film comprise disc two. The package includes a 24-page full-color booklet with notes by Tim Greiving featuring new interviews with Lynch, Badalamenti, MacLachlan and Caruso. It has been mastered by Chas Ferry and Melinda Hurley and is limited to 3,000 copies.
Both the Elf and Blue Velvet deluxe editions are available now. If you would like to give either of these titles a try, we’ve got the full track listings and ordering links below.
John Debney, Elf: The Deluxe Edition (Varese Sarabande, 2021)
- Papa Elf / Main Title (Pt. 1)
- Storybook / Main Title (Pt. 2)
- Orphanage / Elf Dancing
- Here’s The Baby
- Buddy’s Childhood / Santa’s Sleigh
- Nightmare
- Buddy Learns Truth About Parents [Edit]
- The Book / Goodbye Buddy
- Buddy’s Journey To New York
- Susan Wells / Buddy Meets Jovie
- Yearbook/Beautiful Voice
- Fake Santa
- Dad’s Present
- Jail Time
- Buddy And Little Girl
- Elfized Home
- Tucked In
- Where Did You Get The Wood
- Pants Down / Evil Radiator
- Elf At School
- Snowball Fight / The Star
- Buddy To Work With You
- Let’s Hire Miles Finch
- Problem In The Mailroom / Miles Finch
- Miles And Buddy
- Miles Book / Buddy’s Goodbye
- The Pitch Will Wait / Sad Buddy On The Bridge
- Buddy Sees Santa
- Buddy, Dad And Brother In The Park
- Mounted Police / Santa / Attack
- Here Come The Police
- The Chase Continues
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Pt. 2)
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Pt. 3)
- Still Only 90% / Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Pt. 4)
- Here Comes The Sleigh
- End Credits Score Suite (1:11
- Papa Elf [Original Soundtrack Mix]
- Main Title [Original Soundtrack Mix]
- Snowman’s Advice [Original Soundtrack Edit]
- A Walk In The Park [Original Soundtrack Version Without Vocal]
- Attack Of The Little People [Original Soundtrack Edit]
- Buddy And Santa Take Flight [Original Soundtrack Edit]
- Christmas Medley [From The Original Soundtrack] (2:23)
Angelo Badalamenti, Blue Velvet: The Deluxe Edition (Varese Sarabande, 2021)
Disc 1: The Original Soundtrack
- Main Title (From the Motion Picture Blue Velvet)
- Night Streets / Sandy and Jeffrey
- Frank
- Jeffrey’s Dark Side
- Mysteries of Love (French Horn solo)
- Frank Returns
- Mysteries of Love (Instrumental)
- Blue Velvet / Blue Star – Montage
- Lumberton U.S.A. / Going Down to Lincoln – Sound Effects Suite
- Alrcon Meets the Blues
- Blue Velvet performed by Bobby Vinton
- Honky Tonk Part I performed by Bill Doggett
- In Dreams performed by Roy Orbison
- Love Letters performed by Ketty Lester
- Mysteries of Love performed by Julee Cruise
Disc 2: Lumberton Firewood
- Alrcon Meets the Blues (alternate)
- Lumberton U.S.A. Radio Ad
- Timpo
- Ribbon Scissor
- Going Down to Lincoln
- Organs and Sirens (take 2)
- Sandy and Jeffery
- Dorothy Alone
- Mount Frank’s Eruption aka Frank (Film version without Clarinet)
- Sloe Club Boys
- High Gentle Memories
- Stalking Out
- Yellow Man
- Sandy and Jeffrey (Version 2)
- Ominously Yours II
- Ominously Yours IV
- Organ (Version 3)/Mysteries of Love
- Organ Toots and Sirens
- Cue 61A
- Cue 05
- Cue 09
- Cue 09A
- Cue 13
- Cue 16
- Cue 21 & 24
- Cue 27
- Cue 36
- Cue 46
- Cue 48
- Cue 50
- Cue 56
- Cue 65
- Cue D
- Cue 65 (Version 2)
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1 thought on “Treat Every Day Like Christmas: Varese Expands the Scores to “Elf” and “Blue Velvet””
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Well, that’s probably the only time you’ll ever see those two movies sharing a media space.
Now I’m imagining a mashup of the two with Buddy the Elf replacing Frank Booth.