Thief (soundtrack)

Last updated

Thief
Thief (Tangerine Dream album) cover.png
LP cover USA
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedMarch 1981
RecordedFebruary – November 1980
VenueBerlin
StudioChris Franke's studio
Genre Electronic music
Length39:07 or 40:11
Label Virgin
Tangerine Dream chronology
Quichotte
(1981)
Thief
(1981)
Exit
(1981)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Thief (1981) is the fifteenth major release and second soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream. It is the soundtrack for the 1981 American neo-noir crime film Thief , directed by Michael Mann. [2] It reached No. 43 on the UK Albums Chart in a 3-week run.

Contents

"Beach Theme" and "Beach Scene" are two different mixes of the same piece. The album version of "Dr. Destructo" is quite different from the film version. [3] An extended version of "Dr. Destructo" was available only on a promo single. "Igneous" is a remix of "Thru Metamorphic Rocks" from the 1979 album Force Majeure . Neither "Beach Theme" nor "Trap Feeling" appear in the film.

After Tangerine Dream completed the soundtrack, Mann needed another sequence. As Tangerine Dream was on tour, Craig Safan composed and performed "Confrontation". The original 1981 Elektra LP released in the U.S. featured "Confrontation", but subsequent releases featured "Beach Scene" instead.[ citation needed ]

During the 1980s, Toronto television station CITY-DT used "Scrap Yard" as their background music when inserting technical difficulties slide cards. Scrap Yard was also used as theme for local television newscasts on KFTY (now KEMO-TV) in Santa Rosa, California and WNDU in South Bend, Indiana.

The soundtrack was also nominated for Worst Musical Score at the 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards.

Versions

There are currently two versions of the soundtrack available with different track listings and album covers. Version A has the text 'Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' above the title followed by the text 'James Caan' just below. The text 'Composed and Performed by Tangerine Dream', appears at the bottom. Version B just has "Tangerine Dream" above the title. [4] [5]

In 2004, Wounded Bird Records re-released version B with "Confrontation"; there were however two mispressings, one with the version A track list, and one with "Igneous" removed instead of "Beach Scene". All had the listing for version B on the CD and cover. [6]

In 2013, Perseverance Records released a re-mastered, nine track version that included both "Beach Scene" and "Confrontation", thus correcting the errors on previous releases where both tracks were never on the same disc. [7]

Track listings

No.TitleLength
1."Beach Theme"3:44
2."Dr. Destructo"3:18
3."Diamond Diary"10:48
4."Burning Bar"3:11
5."Beach Scene" (Version B only)6:48
6."Scrap Yard"4:40
7."Trap Feeling"2:57
8."Igneous"4:45
9."Confrontation" (Version A only)5:37

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tangerine Dream</span> German electronic music group

Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the group was its mid-1970s trio of Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann. In 1979, Johannes Schmoelling replaced Baumann until his own departure in 1985. This lineup was notable for composing many movie soundtracks. Since Froese's death in 2015, the group has been under the leadership of Thorsten Quaeschning. Quaeschning is Froese's chosen successor and is currently the longest-serving band member, having joined in 2005. Quaeschning is currently joined by violinist Hoshiko Yamane who joined in 2011 and Paul Frick who joined in 2020. Prior to this Quaeschning and Yamane performed with Ulrich Schnauss from 2014 to 2020. Schnauss only played two shows with Froese in November 2014 before Froese's passing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soundtrack</span> Recorded sound accompanying a production such as a film

A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film, video, or television presentation; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronised recorded sound.

<i>Thief</i> (film) 1981 film by Michael Mann

Thief is a 1981 American neo-noir heist film written and directed by Michael Mann in his feature film debut. It stars James Caan as a professional safecracker trying to escape his life of crime, and Tuesday Weld as his wife. The supporting cast includes Jim Belushi, Robert Prosky, Dennis Farina, and Willie Nelson. The screenplay is inspired by the memoir The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar, by former cat burglar Frank Hohimer. The original musical score was composed and performed by Tangerine Dream.

<i>The Keep</i> (film) 1983 film by Michael Mann

The Keep is a 1983 supernatural horror film written and directed by Michael Mann and starring Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne, Jürgen Prochnow, Alberta Watson, and Ian McKellen. Set in Romania during World War II, it follows a group of Nazi soldiers who unleash a malevolent supernatural force after setting up camp in an ancient stone fortress in the Carpathian Mountains. It is an adaptation of the 1981 novel of the same title by American writer F. Paul Wilson. The musical score was composed by Tangerine Dream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Faltermeyer</span> German musician

Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, composer and record producer.

<i>Blade Runner</i> (soundtrack) Soundtrack album by Vangelis

Blade Runner: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for Ridley Scott's 1982 science-fiction noir film Blade Runner, composed by Greek electronic musician Vangelis. It has received acclaim as an influential work in the history of electronic music and one of Vangelis's best works. It was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and Golden Globe for best original score. The score evokes the film's bleak futurism with an emotive synthesizer-based sound, drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as Middle Eastern texture and neo-classical elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugo Montenegro</span> American orchestra leader and film composer (1925–1981)

Hugo Mario Montenegro was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio Morricone's main theme from the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He composed the score for the 1969 Western Charro!, which starred Elvis Presley. He also wrote for various television series, most notably the theme to "I Dream of Jeannie"

<i>Legend</i> (soundtrack) 1986 soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream

Legend is the twenty-eighth major release and the eighth soundtrack album by the German band Tangerine Dream. It was released in 1986 for the North American theatrical version of the film Legend. It was released in the USA and Canada only. The film was written by William Hjortsberg, starred Tom Cruise, Mia Sara and Tim Curry, was produced by Arnon Milchan, directed by Ridley Scott and released domestically by Universal Studios. The album was released on compact disc on 15 August 1995 through Varese Sarabande.

<i>The Keep</i> (Tangerine Dream album) 1997 studio album by Tangerine Dream

The Keep (1997) is the twenty-third soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream and their fifty-eighth overall. It is the soundtrack to the movie The Keep (1983). A limited run of 150 CDs were sold at a concert by the group in the UK in 1997. Virgin soon announced that the album would be available for general release in early 1998, but legal issues with the film studio stopped the release. In 1999, Tangerine Dream's own record label sold 300 copies of the Millennium Booster album set that included The Keep with a different cover.

<i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> (soundtrack) Film score to the 1981 Steven Spielberg film

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 1981 Steven Spielberg film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The orchestrations were provided by Herbert W. Spencer and Al Woodbury. The score was released by Columbia Records in June 1981. The soundtrack received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score but lost out to Vangelis' score for Chariots of Fire.

<i>The Little Mermaid</i> (1989 soundtrack) 1989 soundtrack album by Various Artists

The Little Mermaid: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid. It contains the songs from the film written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as the film's score composed by Alan Menken. The score was orchestrated by Thomas Pasatieri. The album has achieved multi-platinum sales and won the Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. The album includes recordings of the music that won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

<i>Batman Forever</i> (score) 1995 film score by Elliot Goldenthal

Batman Forever: Original Motion Picture Score Album is the score album for the 1995 film Batman Forever, composed by Elliot Goldenthal. It was released in conjunction with its soundtrack counterpart. Despite Goldenthal having recorded over 2 hours of music, the soundtrack only had 45 minutes before La-La Land Records released an expanded version in 2012. The score features big brass, strings and discordant noises while maintaining an anthemic sound. Regarding the villainous leitmotifs, Goldenthal said Two-Face features paired notes and doubled beats while being inspired by Russian composers such as Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, and Riddler has a sound reminiscent of old science fiction B-movies with a theremin. On the U2 single "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", there is a track titled "Themes from Batman Forever" composed by Goldenthal; this can also be found on the expanded release issued in 2012.

<i>A.I. Artificial Intelligence</i> (soundtrack) 2001 soundtrack album by John Williams

A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Music from the Motion Picture is the film score of the 2001 film of the same name, composed and conducted by John Williams. The original score was composed by Williams and featured singers Lara Fabian on two songs and Josh Groban on one. Soprano Barbara Bonney provided the vocal solos in several tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Schmoelling</span> Musical artist

Johannes Schmoelling is a German musician and keyboard artist. He was a member of the prolific electronic music group Tangerine Dream from 1979 to 1985.

<i>Risky Business</i> (soundtrack) 1984 soundtrack album by Various Artists / Tangerine Dream

Risky Business is the twenty-first major release and fourth soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream. It is the soundtrack to the 1983 film Risky Business, starring Tom Cruise, and also includes songs by Bob Seger, Muddy Waters, Jeff Beck, Prince, Journey and Phil Collins. The Tangerine Dream selections consisted of two new compositions and three reworkings of previously released material, retitled to correspond to scenes in the movie. AllMusic noted that the soundtrack is a mix of electronic music from Tangerine Dream, plus rock, blues and funk songs from other music artists.

<i>Escape from New York</i> (soundtrack) 1981 film score by John Carpenter

Escape from New York: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack album composed and performed by John Carpenter, featuring the score to the 1981 film Escape from New York.

<i>Canyon Dreams</i> 1991 soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream

Canyon Dreams is the fortieth major release and it was released as the fourteenth soundtrack album by German band Tangerine Dream. It was recorded in 1986 and released in 1991 on compact disc and compact cassette formats. The music was written as a sound accompaniment for an eponymous scenic video film about the Grand Canyon by Jan Nickman, released by the record label Miramar in 1987 on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc. The album's tracks are divided into various episodes and related to the titles of the cuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Saad and the Next</span> American new wave band

Sue Saad and the Next was an American new wave band from Los Angeles, California. Their self-titled first album reached No. 131 in the US Billboard 200 in 1980. Sue Saad and the Next also provided part of the soundtracks for several films during the 1980s such as Roadie (1980), Looker (1981) and Radioactive Dreams (1985). Saad performed in Radioactive Dreams and voiced the main theme for Looker.

Tangerine Dream bootleg recordings are performances by Tangerine Dream that have attained some level of public circulation without being available as a legal release. The term most often refers to audio recordings, but also includes video performances. Bootleg recordings arise from a multitude of sources, including covertly copied live concerts, studio outtakes, broadcast performances. Some bootlegs have included material from official releases.

<i>Close Encounters of the Third Kind</i> (soundtrack) 1977 film score by John Williams

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 1977 film of the same name, composed and conducted by John Williams. The soundtrack album was released on vinyl album (with a gatefold sleeve), 8-track tape and audio cassette by Arista Records in 1977, with a total running time of 41 minutes (it was later released on compact disc in 1990). The soundtrack album was a commercial success, peaking at #17 on the US Billboard album chart in February 1978 and was certified Gold by the RIAA for 500,000 copies shipped. It also peaked at #40 in the UK album charts.

References

  1. Connolly, Dave. Tangerine Dream - Thief (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1981) album review, credits & releases at AllMusic
  2. Berling, Michael (29 September 2016). "Thief". Voices in the Net.
  3. "Thief (1981)". What Dreams Are Made Of. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
  4. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Thief (Compact Disc). Wounded Bird Records. 2004 [1981].
  5. Tangerine Dream Thief (Definitive Edition) (Compact Disc). Virgin Records. 1995 [1981].
  6. "None".
  7. "None".