I’ve always been a fan of orchestral soundtracks ever since I bought my very first one which for the record was Danny Elfman’s Batman score.  The unpleasant teenager behind the counter asked me if I was aware that it was only the score and not the Prince album. Actually in fairness she probably wasn’t unpleasant and was no doubt trying to save me a bit of disappointment.  To be honest I hadn’t actually considered what “score” meant but after listening to it for the first time on my cassette tape walkman a lifelong love affair with film scores began.

So yes I know what I’m doing when I am featuring a CD that doesn’t have any actual “songs” on it.

Of course that being said The Last Starfighter actually does have a couple of 80′s tracks on it in addition to the musical score, a surprise to me the other day because for some reason I’d blocked it out, previous ipod installations must have seen me leave those songs off to focus purely on the score.

Now Dan and I have reviewed The Last Starfighter in the past so you possibly already know that this is one of my favourite science fiction films of all time.  The concept is simple, the execution well done and the music is downright heroic. Which is probably why I love the soundtrack so much, it may not be as recognisable as say Star Wars or Star Trek but once you know it, the music is forever ingrained as the Starfighter theme.  The theme captures that essence of the adventurous spirit of 80s young adult adventure scifi films. These themes are some of the richest ones heard in cinema, music that seeks to invoke wonderment, excitement and probably escapism.

Craig Safan has achieved something that I think is becoming harder and harder which is develop a theme that is intrinsically tied to the property.  John Williams is the absolute master of this with his Superman, Star Wars and Jurassic Park themes (actually 99% of his themes tend to be pure icon) but it’s always a treat to discover another artist producing soundtracks on the same level which The Last Starfighter certainly does.

As with a lot of these kinds of soundtracks there are at least two versions, the copy I have is the 1987 release that also contains the songs: Never Crossed my Mind and Incommunicado both written by Craig Safan and performed by Cliff Magness.  The second soundtrack released in 1996 apparently has an expanded score and does not feature the two 80′s style songs.

I unfortunately could only get a hold of the one track from the film on Grooveshark but it’s probably the best of them anyway.  Have a listen and let me know what you think in the comments!

Other episodes you might like :

The Last Starfighter (1984)