Conan The Barbarian: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

conan the barbarian: original motion picture soundtrack [soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Soundtrack to the Film that Helped Make Arnold Schwarzenegger a Household Word. The Score Wascreated by Famed Composer Basil Pouledaris. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Conan The Barbarian: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,Basil Poledouris,Varese Sarabande,Original Score,Pop,Soundtrack,Soundtracks & Film Scores

Conan The Barbarian: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Average customer rating:

Awesome Soundtrack.....However....
I'm just a bit sad right about now...
Rest in Peace Basil
Differences between the Varese and Milan editions...
Incredible Soundtrack

Conan The Barbarian: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Basil Poledouris
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000014T1
Release Date: 1992-11-10

Tracks:

Anvil Of Crom
Riddle Of Steel/Riders Of Doom
Gift Of Fury
Wheel Of Pain
Atlantean Sword
Theology/Civilization
Wifeing (Theme Of Love From 'Conan The Barbarian')
The Leaving/The Search
Mountain Of Power Procession
The Tree Of Woe
Recovery
The Kitchen/The Orgy
Funeral Pyre
Battle Of The Mounds
Death Of Rexor
Orphans Of Doom/The Awakening

Album Details

Soundtrack to the Film that Helped Make Arnold Schwarzenegger a Household Word. The Score Wascreated by Famed Composer Basil Pouledaris.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Soundtrack.....However...........2006-12-19

It is damned sad how rare and highly expensive this CD has become. Buy the 12-track version? Screw that. I trip over piles of used Varese Sarabande CDs in local shops, and this one is rarer than ivory. Because of the CD's high price, I'm still playing my tape of this from 15 years ago.

Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

I'm just a bit sad right about now..........2006-11-11

Basil Poledouris died on Wednesday? Wow. No more music from this phenominal composer. Conan the Barbarian is the one soundtrack that I just automatically pick out if I start thumbing through my CDs and I can't quite figure out what I want to listen to. It's just, well, always right. Powerful. Mournful. Hopeful. Playful. Soul-stirring. This soundtrack simply has everything anyone could want. I bought my first copy back in the mid 80's, and I wore it out. Yep, you can be as careful as you want, but nearly twenty years of playing a disc takes its toll. When I went to get another copy a couple of years ago, I discovered that they started at about fifty bucks, used, because they'd been out of print for so long. I don't think that I hesitated for more than about five seconds fore I bought the next one. Ahhhhh. Much better. The twelve songs on the Milan release (plus the intro by Mako) are nice (and cheaper), but the Varese Sarabande release, with the full 16 songs, was the one that I needed. Yes, needed. This is a fantastic piece of music that is, as I mentioned, Always Right.

Rest in Peace Basil.......2006-11-11

The great Basil Poledouris passed away wednesday, 8 of november. Let's all hear the Conan soundtrack in silence and pray for one of the greatest composers of all time.
Thanks Basil, for the best songs of the XX century.
Rest in Peace.

Differences between the Varese and Milan editions..........2006-03-08

Basil Poledouris' score to Conan the Barbarian is one of the great powerhouses of film music and remains as one of my favorite film scores to this date.

The score is a perfect blend of melodic beauty and raw power with a huge orchestral sound and lots of wonderful choral passages that range from haunting and slow to in-your-face and over-the-top. I could go on forever on this score, but suffice it to say that I really can't think of a more perfect score than this.

As for the CD's sound quality...

The sound quality is definitely dated and isn't quite as crisp and clean as one would hope. However, what it lacks in sound quality, it more than makes up for in musical quality. I've purchased a number of albums containing re-recordings of Conan music and while the sound quality has been better, NOTHING has matched the emotion and power of the original film soundtrack.

Differences between the editions...

The 12-track Milan edition was released first, followed later by an expanded 16-track edition by Varese Sarabande.

The Milan CD runs around 49 minutes, while the Varese edition runs about 67 minutes. The Varese edition includes pretty much all the same music as the Milan release, with one exception:
The first track of the Milan edition opens up with Mako's opening prologue speech which then immediately segues into the "Anvil of Crom" opening. The Varese track opens up directly with "Anvil of Crom".

The Varese edition adds the following four tracks:
- Mountain of Power Procession (3:21)
- The Tree of Woe (3:31)
- Recovery (2:11)
- Death of Rexor (5:34)

and expands the following two tracks:
- The Leaving/The Search (5:59)
- The Kitchen/The Orgy (6:30)

Compared to the original Milan tracks:
- The Search (3:09)
- The Orgy (4:14)

All in all, the Milan edition is missing about 19 minutes worth of music.

In my opinion, the Varese edition is definitely worth seeking out, but even if you decide to get the 12-track Milan edition, the music is worth getting in whatever form you can.

For any fan of film music and for any fan of the film, this score is definitely a must have!

However, if you're an audiophile, you may want to think twice.

NOTE: I noticed that Amazon lists the Milan edition twice and the Varese edition once... yet the reviews for both the Varese and one of the Milan editions appear on both pages, so beware of which page you are looking at, especially if you are ordering the title.

You can easily tell which edition it is by checking the Label information under "Product Details" or simply looking at the cover image: The Varese cover has a black area on the right side of the containing the title and credits, while the Milan edition has the Conan cover image centered in a box with the title centered at the top.

[ASIN B00008O89K] Milan
[ASIN B0000261NH] Milan
[ASIN B0000014T1] Varese

Incredible Soundtrack.......2006-01-26

This is a really great soundtrack, one of the best movie soundtracks I have ever heard. It put Basil Poledouris on the map as one of the greatest composers in history, in my mind at least.

I was surprised to see that the price has gone up so much on this soundtrack now that it is not available new, but I guess it is not all that surprising considering the high quality of the music. I don't really have much to offer on a review here beyond what other people have said, but here's a few thoughts anyway.

Having seen the movie many times, it is very easy to visualize it along the way as you listen to the soundtrack. It makes the soundtrack all the more exciting.

1. Anvil of Crom
2. Riddle of Steel / Riders of Doom

Corny as it sounds, you can feel the rush of battle in the heart-pounding main theme.

3. Gift of Fury

Then there's the pain of Conan's loss of his mother. (And a hot mom she was, I must say.)

4. Wheel of Pain
5. Atlantean Sword

Conan grows up as a slave and discovers his freedom.

6. Theology/Civilization

The movie finally turns in a less-dark direction and the future looks less bleak as Conan gains his first true friend: Subotai.

7. Wifeing
8. The Leaving/The Search

Conan finds love with Valeria, but even that cannot quench his thirst for revenge. He ultimately chooses revenge over love.

9. Mountain of Power Procession

Three Words: James Earl Jones. 'Nuff said.

10. The Tree of Woe
11. Recovery

Excellent tracks with great background vocals as Conan is crucified and returns to life. Except unlike Jesus, Conan comes back ready to kick some ___.

12. The Kitchen/The Orgy
13. Funeral Pyre

Valeria's untimely demise.

14. Battle of the Mounds
15. Death of Rexor

Finally it all comes to a head in the last battle. Conan's prayer is the absolute best. It is truly a classic.

16. Orphans of Doom/The Awakening

The end of an awesome story, a true saga.

I notice one discrepancy and it is found in the liner notes. It refers to the last track as "Orphans of the Storm", while the back of the CD clearly says "Orphans of Doom." So I'm not sure which title is canon (not that it matters). In any case, both titles sound cool.

This is a long CD with lots of good music. It does cover the vast majority of the movie. Still, I am slightly disappointed in one thing. In the movie, there was very interesting background music in the scene where Conan fights the giant snake. That music is missing from the CD. This is a minor thing, to be sure, but I hope that someday we can get a soundtrack that has it all. Unfortunately, that's not very likely.

If you like this CD, then I also recommend the soundtrack CD to the kinder, gentler sequel "Conan the Destroyer" as a companion piece. But nothing beats the original.

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