Conducted by Basil Poledouris

Orchestrated by Greg McRitchie

Produced by Basil Poledouris, John Milius, and Jason E. Squire

Release Date: November 10, 1992

 Varese Sarabande Records
 

     Conan the Barbarian represents the bar for fantasy-action scoring that Basil Poledouris set almost ridiculously high. Only matched in popularity by James Horner's ever-favorite, Krull, Poledouris' score seems more akin to the "adult" sensibilities that the movie itself also played to. The serious epic quality that Poledouris massaged into his work far outweighed the self-conscious tongue-in-cheek feel that has hindered fantasy scores both before and after the mark that this film left on popular culture. Such is the longevity that Poledouris, who was probably not even aware of it, has given to the music.

     As soon as the album opens, we are treated with nothing less than a full orchestral bombast, heralding the Anvil of Crom. The powerful opening theme, underscoring the images of the construction of a might sword (along with the opening credits), simply set the stage for the world that Milius created visually, along with the musical world that Poledouris is pulling the listener into. and regardless of whether you've seen the film or not, the music definitely sets itself into a world all its own. Crashing down upon us from the Riddle of Steel comes the fury of the Riders of Doom. As thrilling and as dangerous, the heavy percussion and brass sections speak ominously of these new arrivals who set about ransacking the wonderful sounds of what has come before. Degenerating into the mournful sounds of the chorus upon the bestowing of the Gift of Fury, the music has already taken three different major turns and it's only the third track! And we still haven't gotten to the lush sounds of Theology / Civilization or Wifeing. The score is constructed in such a way that anyone who has any familiarity with it at all cannot simply listen to portions because the memory of what's to come keeps the finger paused above the stop button. Such is the mark of a well-crafted work and such is the case with this score.

     Of course, given the images the Milius provides in the film, a listening of this score is ten-times more appreciated with a knowledge of the film (though the music is wonderful even if you've never seen the movie). For this score, Poledouris was really into milking the orchestra and chorus for all they were worth and the level of inspiration is one that is rarely heard from. Though had the score consisted of a bunch of powerful cues without any connecting threads, it would have been impressive, but hardly the masterpiece it is. Instead, as with most classic scores, the thematic usage is excellent and the list of primary and secondary themes meets all the usual requirements for scores of this type.

     The album from Varese Sarabande has been in print for a long time (though thankfully it's still quite available). Even so, the sound quality is very acceptable though the liner notes are quite lacking on information. One thing I'm surprised about is that I've never seen any re-recordings of any material from this score. I'm sure there are some out there, but I'm not aware of any (though given how wonderful my memory is concerning compilation albums, I wouldn't be surprised if I've come across some material in the past). It would be interesting to hear some re-interpreted material from this score, but given that there is nothing wrong with the sound-quality or presentation of this album on CD, it's not that big of a deal at all.

1 - Anvil of Crom (2:34)

2 - Riddle of Steel / Riders of Doom (5:36)

3 - Gift of Fury (3:50)

4 - Wheel of Pain (4:09)

5 - Atlantean Sword (3:50)

6 - Theology / Civilization (3:13)

7 - Wifeing (Theme of Love from "Conan The Barbarian") (2:10)

8 - The Leaving / The Search (5:59)

9 - Mountain of Power Procession (3:21)

10 - The Tree of Woe (3:31)

11 - Recovery (2:11)

12 - The Kitchen / The Orgy (6:30)

13 - Funeral Pyre (4:29)

14 - Battle of the Mounds (4:52)

15 - Death of Rexor (5:34)

16 - Orphans of Doom / The Awakening (5:31)