A new remaster of a classic soundtrack album and two new expansions are on display in our latest soundtrack-round-up.

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Quartet Records is remastering Ennio Morricone's score to John Carpenter's sci-fi classic The Thing. An adaptation of the John W. Campbell Jr. short story Who Goes There? (first filmed as 1951's The Thing From Another World), The Thing features an ensemble cast portraying researchers at an Antarctic outpost who encounter an alien creature that can take the form of its hosts. The film's combination of suspense and gooey special effects has since earned it classic status despite an initial wave of negative reviews.  While Carpenter had composed the scores to his previous five films, he sought a European flavor for this big-budget studio flick.  He turned to Ennio Morricone.  The Italian maestro presented the director with three versions of the score: one orchestral, one electronic, and one combined.  He sensed, correctly, that the latter would be Carpenter's preference.  Morricone recorded his electronic music in Italy and the orchestra in Los Angeles.  Ultimately, though, over half of Morricone's music was unheard in the film.  Carpenter and Alan Howarth ended up adding some of their own electronic work into the final cut.  But like the film itself, Morricone's score has gained a cult following and is now among his most beloved works.  He sequenced the original MCA soundtrack album to emphasize the fear, foreboding, and paranoia of his eerie score.  This reissue, remastered by Chris Malone from the original MCA master tapes, reprises the composer's original 10-track, roughly 50-minute presentation.  A 16-page booklet boasts liner notes from film score historian Jeff Bond.

Another composer who achieved tremendous success with synthesizer-based music was Harold Faltermeyer.  The Munich native rose to fame collaborating with Giorgio Moroder on both films (Midnight Express, American Gigolo, Foxes, Thief of Hearts) and recordings (Janis Ian, Donna Summer, The Three Degrees, The Sylvers).  The Running Man, loosely based on Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name (written as Richard Bachman), was set in a dark future for the U.S. (2017-2019!) in which a game show featured criminal "runners" fighting for their lives against professional killers, or "stalkers."  Much to King's chagrin, Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast as Benjamin Richards, a pilot framed for a massacre who is coerced into appearing on the show hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian (Family Feud's Richard Dawson, in a masterfully spot-on turn).  Mick Fleetwood and Dweezil Zappa also appeared in the movie which featured choreographed dance sequences from Paula Abdul.  For his score, Faltermeyer employed synthesizers including the Synclavier, an instrument that was also a favorite of Dweezil's father Frank Zappa.  With pulsating action sequences and cold, dark, minor-key themes, Faltermeyer's rhythmic score perfectly suited the dystopian world created onscreen by director Paul Michael Glaser. Varèse Sarabande's new Deluxe Edition, limited to 2,000 copies, greatly expands the label's original 17-track album with 35 tracks, premiering original, full-length film versions and including a number of alternates, too.  (Note that the John Parr power ballad "Restless Heart (Running Away with You)" as heard in the movie could not be included here despite being composed and produced by Faltermeyer.)  The 16-page booklet has numerous stills from the film as well as liner notes by Daniel Schweiger drawing on the author's interview with Faltermeyer.  Chas Ferry has mastered all tracks.  The Running Man is also available on 2-LP vinyl.

Varèse's second new release is a 2-CD set featuring highlights from John Debney's score to executive producer Steven Spielberg's NBC underwater adventure series, seaQuest DSV.  The series premiered in 1993, the same year Spielberg shepherded Jurassic Park and Schindler's List to the big screen, so hopes were high.  Created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, it was one of the most expensive series to date.  The show was set in 2018 (!), when a group called The United Earth Oceans had formed as a result of the colonization of the seas; seaQuest DSV (Deep Submersion Vehicle) would resolve conflicts throughout the oceans.  Roy Scheider (Jaws, All That Jazz) starred in the lead role of Captain Nathan Bridger, with the cast rounded out by Stephanie Beacham, Stacy Haiduk, Don Franklin, and teen idol Jonathan Brandis.  John Debney was tapped to pen the weekly scores.  A veteran of TV (A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Young Riders) with some film credits (Jetsons: The Movie for seaQuest producer Universal) had previously worked on the Spielberg-produced pilot Class of '61, and while the pilot wasn't picked up, Spielberg was impressed with his music.  Debney proved the right choice for seaQuest DSV with his sweeping scores for large orchestras echoing the grand big-screen themes favored by the producer.  He ended up scoring all but two episodes of the show's three-season run, and his main title theme earned him his second Primetime Emmy Award.  He catapulted to big-screen success the same year, 1993, with Disney's Hocus Pocus, and recently returned to the world of episodic TV for another sci-fi adventure, Seth MacFarlane's The Orville. Varèse's deluxe edition greatly expands upon its 1995 CD soundtrack, with the complete pilot score, highlights from Season One, and various bonus tracks.  Limited to 1,500 units, the seaQuest DSV set has a colorful 12-page booklet with an introduction from creator O'Bannon and new liner notes from Tim Grieving.  Chas Ferry has once again mastered.

All three of these releases are available now and can be purchased at the links below!

Ennio Morricone, John Carpenter's The Thing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (originally released as MCA Records 6111, 1982 - reissued Quartet QR420, 2020) (Quartet Records / Screen Archives)

1. Humanity (Part 1)
2. Shape
3. Contamination
4. Bestiality
5. Solitude
6. Eternity
7. Wait
8. Humanity (Part 2)
9. Sterilization
10. Despair

Harold Faltermeyer, The Running Man: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - The Deluxe Edition (originally released as Varèse Sarabande VST-47356, 1987 - reissued Varèse Sarabande, 2020)

CD / Vinyl

1. Logo-Bakersfield (full-length version) **
2. Fight/Escape **
3. Game Show Promo **
4. Laughlin's Collar/Richards' Collar **
5. Network **
6. Richards' Apt. Sneak **
7. Captain Freedom's Workout **
8. Airport Chase **
9. Medical Checkup **
10. Richards' Intro **
11. Hawaii/Amber Sneaks/Richards' Betrayal/Blast Off **
12. Richards Lands /Come On Down **
13. Subzero Intro **
14. Subzero **
15. Count's Aria Marriage Of Figaro (instrumental version of Dynamo's theme)
16. Uplink/Amber Launch/Richards Grabs Amber **
17. Buzzsaw Dynamo **
18. Buzzsaw Attack **
19. Weiss Finds Uplink **
20. Buzzsaw-Richards Fight **
21. Valkyrie Intro/Valkyrie (composed by Harold Faltermeyer and Richard Wagner) *
22. Spare Dynamo/Laughlin Dies **
23. Fireball Intro **
24. Fireball Chase **
25. Fireball-Amber **
26. Death March (composed by Jackie Jackson and Glen Barbee) **
27. Fake Death **
28. Mick/Richards Amber **
29. Broadcast Attack **
30. Killian Is Launched (unreleased version) **
31. Revolution/End Credits (alternate version of "Intro-Bakersfield")
32. Intro-Bakersfield *
33. Captain Freedom's Workout (full-length version) *
34. Massacre Highlights *
35. Buzzsaw Attack (minus lead guitar) *

* from original soundtrack album ** film version

John Debney, seaQuest DSV: Original Television Soundtrack (originally released as Varèse Sarabande VSD-5565, 1995 - reissued Varèse Sarabande, 2020)

Disc 1: The Pilot ("To Be Or Not To Be" - aired 9/12/1993)

1. SeaQuest Opening Credits
2. SeaQuest Arrives
3. Military Welcome
4. To The Island
5. Come See Her
6. seaQuest
7. Playon To Seaquest
8. Hitchcock Retreats
9. Darwin Speaks
10. Stark Prepares
11. Act In To Seaquest
12. Transition
13. Attack Formation
14. At The Precipice/Into The Rift
15. Stark Plots
16. Damage Assessment
17. Hyper-Probe
18. Impending Battle/Play On
19. Bridger Returns
20. Battle Stations
21. Caught
22. To The Bottom Of The Sea/A Tag To Bonnie The Bad Girl
23. To The Ocean
24. SeaQuest: End Credits
25. SeaQuest Opening (alternate version with Choir mixed down)
26. SeaQuest (alternate version)

Disc 2: Season One Highlights

1. SeaQuest Series Promo
2. Of Treasures In The Deep
3. The Discovery
4. Mind Meld #2
5. Big Tension
6. Exploring The Depot
7. Saying Goodbye
8. Into The Ghost Ship
9. The Possesion Of Kristini
10. Lukas Confronts Captain
11. The Forgiving
12. Vern Leaves
13. Monkey Fish
14. Inside Us All
15. Attacked
16. Cynthia
17. Drug Store
18. Narrow Escape
19. The Plan
20. Close Call
21. The Escape
22. Darwin Save Malik
23. Cheo Checkmate
24. Discovery
25. Of Gods and Astronauts
26. Encounter
27. Wolf In The Fold
28. Intruder
29. Communication
30. Understanding/Possible Pickup
31. Invitation Extended
32. SeaQuest: End Credits

Tracks 1-7 from Episode 5: "Brothers and Sisters" (Airdate: 10/17/1993)
Tracks 8-11 from Episode 7: "Knight Of Shadows" (Air date: 10/31/1993)
Tracks 12-14 from Episode 9: "The Regulator" (Air date: 11/21/1993)
Tracks 15-23 from Episode 21: "The Good Death" (Air date: 5/15/1994)
Tracks 24-31 from Episode 20: "Such Great Patience" (Air date: 5/15/1994)
Track 32 from Episode 1: "The Devil's Window" (Air date: 9/19/1993)