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August 23, 2011 will see the debut of John Barry’s THE BLACK HOLE Soundtrack on CD!
I’ve been working to get this soundtrack out for quite some time, even alluding to it here on posts dating back to 2008 and earlier. You may remember a post I made back in 2006 explaining the reasons (as I understood them at the time) of why I was only releasing the original album master of The Black Hole – and then, only as a digital download. But sometimes, if you bang your head against a wall long enough, you can defeat that windmill! And now, the wait is over.
This is the complete soundtrack – remixed and mastered from the original 3M 32 track digital multi-tracks. I know information about these tapes has been confusing (believe me!) and many legends have sprung up about their condition, playability, or if they even still existed. But all is explained in my Producer Notes in the booklet.
The booklet itself is chock full of wonderful images combined with detailed Liner Notes by Jeff Bond ('Danse Macabre: 25 Years of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton' – from the Danny Elfman and Tim Burton Music Box). This is everything John Barry and The Black Hole fans could want. There’s even a really cool Bonus Track!
You may ask yourself – “Why all this for THE BLACK HOLE?”
Well, frankly, beyond what you may think of the score or the film itself, this is an important part of Disney history. You see, in 1928 Walt Disney released Steamboat Willie – the first cartoon with synchronized sound. In 1938, the RCA/Victor Record Company released the songs from Walt Disney’s first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on several 78rpm discs – the first soundtrack album. Their later release (the songs from Pinocchio) was the first to use the term Sound Track [sic] on the packaging – giving a name to this new genre of music. In 1940 Walt Disney’s Fantasia, debuted in Fantasound – the first multi-channel audio system. In 1959 came Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty – the studio’s first true stereo soundtrack. The Black Hole is very much a part of that history, as the first digitally recorded soundtrack.
Here’s the playlist –
1. Overture (2:28)
2. Main Title (1:49)
3. That’s It (1:43)*
4. Closer Look (2:02)*†
5. Zero Gravity (5:48)
6. Cygnus Floating (2:06)*
7. The Door Opens (4:09)†
8. Pretty Busy (:48)*
9. Six Robots (1:57)
10. Can You Speak? (1:19)*
11. Poor Creatures (1:41)*
12. Ready to Embark (:44)*
13. Start the Countdown (3:47)
14. Durant Is Dead (2:31)
15. Laser (1:01)*
16. Kate’s O.K. (2:49)
17. Hot and Heavy (2:43)*
18. Meteorites (1:31)*
19. Raging Inferno (:54)*
20. Hotter and Heavier (1:59)*
21. Bob and V.I.N.C.E.N.T. (:54)*
22. Into the Hole (4:56)†
23. End Title (2:34)
BONUS TRACK
24. In, Through... And Beyond! (2:46)
TOTAL PLAYING TIME 55:05
* Previously Unreleased † Includes additional material not used in the film.
Special Note: The ‘material not used in the film’ refers to several brief musical phrases here and there. There’s nothing too remarkable, but I felt it necessary to point out for the serious fan.
Then on September 6th, the third release in our co-branding partnership will debut on CD for the first time – a Classic Disney score.
It’s been an absolute joy working with the folks at Intrada, and we have a lot more work to do! I now get to assist Intrada with gathering the Disney assets for the titles they’ll be licensing and producing, and I have a long list of titles I’ll be producing here at Walt Disney Records for our Co-Brand line. I can hardly wait to get back to work!!!
Randy Thornton
Here’s the link to Intrada –
http://store.intrada.com/
