Krull

Super Track Music Group

Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner

Orchestrations by James Horner and Grieg McRitchie

Produced by John J. Alcantar III, Thomas C. Stewart, James Horner, and Ford A. Thaxton

Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Singers

Release Date: 1997

     For many soundtrack fans, James Horner was at the pinnacle of his career in the early 1980s, the success of Titanic notwithstanding. It was in this time period that many of Horner’s best-known works were created. Scores for movies such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Willow, and Krull. Among these works, Krull is often cited as Horner’s best overall. Krull is a B rated movie at best, containing a lot of interesting concepts, but labored about with cheesy dialogue and situations, laughable effects, and a similarity to earlier films of this type, including one called Star Wars: A New Hope. So what makes the score to this movie stand out? Well, for one thing, Horner utilizes the much-beloved London Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Horner seems to take the things we like best about his music and tweak it to perfection with this score. Of course, it also seems to me that there is a lot of spirit and enthusiasm in this music, which makes it very enjoyable.

     With any great score there is almost always going to be an abundance of themes, and this holds true for Krull. While many of the different themes bare a resemblance to themes from Horner’s two Star Trek scores, they’re dissimilar enough to not be too grating. At first you’ll probably feel like this is just a self rip-off of Star Trek II, but as you listen to it more and more, I’m sure you’ll get over the similarities that are there. As mentioned above, it seems like Horner just tweaked his previous music to perfection for this one. One gripe I do have is that the love theme starts off way too close to Goldsmith’s Ilia theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It gives a really eerie feeling when that theme pops up. Fortunately, it conforms to something more original as the piece progresses. The action music really stands out, especially since Horner seems to really be on the ball with incorporating his themes. There are some atmospheric tracks located about, but Horner keeps them interesting by tossing in different variations and themes every now and then.

     This score has gone through a lot in its different releases. However, unless you are content with the older release, or the bootleg copy, I really recommend you pick up the complete score re-release by Super Tracks. It may be a bit pricey, but this is one of Horner’s best after all, and no self-appreciating fan of film score should be without it. *****

Track Listing - CD 1

1 - Krull Main Title and Colwyn's Arrival (7:35)

2 - The Slayer's Attack (9:20)

3 - Quest for the Glaive (7:24)

4 - Ride to the Waterfall (0:54)

5 - Lyssa in the Fortress (1:29)

6 - The Walk to the Seer's Cave (4:11)

7 - The Seer's Vision (2:19)

8 - Battle in the Swamp (2:41)

9 - Quicksand (3:39)

10 - The Changeling (4:05)

11 - Colwyn and Lyssa Love Theme (2:35)

Total Running Time: 46:07

Track Listing - CD 2

1 - Leaving the Swamp (2:01)

2 - The Widow's Web (6:20)

3 - The Widow's Lullaby (5:03)

4 - Vella (3:47)

5 - Ynyr's Death (1:42)

6 - Ride of the Firemares (5:23)

7 - Battle of the Parapets (2:53)

8 - Inside the Black Fortress (6:16)

9 - The Death of the Beast and The Destruction of the Black Forest (8:32)

10 - Epilogue and End Title (4:50)

Total Running Time: 46:44