Scream (1996 soundtrack)
The music to the 1996 slasher film Scream directed by Wes Craven featured two albums released in order to promote the film. An original soundtrack to the film featuring several songs as heard in the film, released on December 17, 1996, by TVT Records. Marco Beltrami's score for the film was released along with Scream 2, in a double-disc album in July 1998.[1] The soundtrack and score received acclaim from critics.
Soundtrack[edit]
| Scream: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||||
| Released | December 17, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1993-1996 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 46:30 | |||
| Label | TVT | |||
| Producer |
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| Scream soundtrack chronology | ||||
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Scream: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture is the original soundtrack to the film released on December 17, 1996, by TVT Records. It featured 11 songs—most of which appeared in various scenes in the film—in addition to a cue from Beltrami film's score. The soundtrack was not as successful, failing to chart on the US Billboard 200.[3]
Background[edit]
"School's Out" by Alice Cooper appeared in the film following the closure of Woodsboro high school, but in the album, the original song was replaced by its cover performed by The Last Hard Men. The acoustic cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper", performed by Gus Black, is plays softly in the background while Sidney and Billy discuss their relationship. The original song was featured in the soundtrack to John Carpenter's Halloween, a film to which Scream makes repeated homage.[4][1] Analyst Jeff Smith describes the musical choice as:
An ironic comment on the brutality we have just seen in the opening sequence. More importantly, however, the allusion to the Blue Öyster Cult classic recasts the song's title by literalizing its meaning. While the title itself invokes the Reaper as a popular symbol for death, the film presents us with an actual person, who not only dresses as the Grim Reaper but also unleashes homicidal vengeance on the other characters of the film. The irony here, of course, is that Billy himself proves to be one of the film's dual slashers and is, in fact, the "Reaper" to be feared.[5]
The song "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, heard in the first film, is also used in the forthcoming instalments (excluding Scream 4). Nick Cave performs a version of the track written specifically for Scream 3 in that film. An alternate version of the music video "Drop Dead Gorgeous" by Republica, featuring clips from the film, was shown on music networks such as MTV. Although the song can be heard in the film, it is only included on the European edition of the soundtrack album. The song was also used in one of the film's television commercials.[4]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Youth of America" | Joey Ammo | Birdbrain | 3:03 |
| 2. | "Whisper" | Mark Rew, Keith Brown, Kerry Brown | Catherine | 3:12 |
| 3. | "Red Right Hand" | Mick Harvey, Nick Cave and Thomas Wydler | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | 6:11 |
| 4. | "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" | Donald Roeser | Gus Black | 4:47 |
| 5. | "Artificial World (Interdimensional Mix)" | Julee Cruise, Louis Tucci, Supa D.J. Dmittry, D.J. Silver | Julee Cruise with the Flow | 5:08 |
| 6. | "Better Than Me" | Chris Randall | Sister Machine Gun | 4:01 |
| 7. | "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" | Ian McNabb | Soho | 5:26 |
| 8. | "First Cool Hive" | Richard Hall | Moby | 5:16 |
| 9. | "Bitter Pill" | Peele Wimberley | The Connells | 3:41 |
| 10. | "School's Out" | Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith | The Last Hard Men | 2:17 |
| 11. | "Trouble in Woodsboro" / "Sidney's Lament" | Marco Beltrami | Marco Beltrami | 3:28 |
| Total length: | 46:30 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Drop Dead Gorgeous" | Republica | Republica | 4:30 |
| Total length: | 51:00 | |||
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1997–98) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[6] | 29 |
Score[edit]
Marco Beltrami's score for Scream was released along with the score for Scream 2 on July 14, 1998, in a double CD edition.[7] It consisted of only six tracks with a runtime of only 12 minutes, compared to over an hour of music made for the film.[7][8] Some reviewers felt the restricted runtime was a result of the high cost of releasing a composer's music commercially, combined with Varèse Sarabande's unwillingness to pay.[9] However, on June 6, 2011, the complete score—consisting of 25 tracks, with a runtime of 63 minutes—was released as a part of the score's "deluxe edition" pressed to 2,000 copies.[10]
Release history[edit]
Scream and Scream 2's score were released in vinyl in September 2016 in bone white and splatter-colored editions, and was again re-issued on a red-colored vinyl disc in July 2019.[11] Beltrami's score for the first four films of the franchise has been issued in a box set on January 7, 2022,[12] coinciding the fifth instalment's release and in vinyl box set on June 10, 2022.[13][14]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sidneys Lament" | 1:37 |
| 2. | "Altered Ego" | 2:47 |
| 3. | "Trouble In Woodsboro" | 1:49 |
| 4. | "A Cruel World" | 1:53 |
| 5. | "Chasing Sidney" | 1:27 |
| 6. | "NC-17" | 3:03 |
| Total length: | 12:36 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dimension Logo" | 0:18 |
| 2. | "The Cue From Hell" | 10:33 |
| 3. | "Trouble In Woodsboro" | 1:51 |
| 4. | "Sid's House" | 1:12 |
| 5. | "Red Herring" | 2:13 |
| 6. | "Killer Calls Sidney" | 2:52 |
| 7. | "Chasing Sidney" | 1:29 |
| 8. | "Cell Phone" | 1:00 |
| 9. | "Backdoor Gail" | 0:48 |
| 10. | "Schoolyard 2" | 1:17 |
| 11. | "Sid's Doubt" | 1:23 |
| 12. | "Bathroom" | 2:57 |
| 13. | "Mr. Himbry Gets It" | 2:11 |
| 14. | "Sheriff And Dewey" | 1:21 |
| 15. | "Tatum's Torture" | 2:46 |
| 16. | "Sidney Wants It" | 3:07 |
| 17. | "Dewey And Gail" | 1:57 |
| 18. | "Off To See Himbry" | 0:41 |
| 19. | "Killer Stabs Billy" | 2:49 |
| 20. | "Randy Almost Gets It" | 2:33 |
| 21. | "Gail Crashes The Van" | 1:33 |
| 22. | "They're Crazy" | 9:42 |
| 23. | "Sid Stabs Billy" | 4:24 |
| 24. | "Billy's Back" | 0:52 |
| 25. | "End Credits" | 1:39 |
| Total length: | 63:28 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sid's Window" | 0:26 |
| 2. | "Gut Someone" | 0:13 |
| 3. | "Sid Looks" | 0:16 |
| 4. | "Billy Looks" | 0:24 |
| 5. | "Billy to Cell" | 0:34 |
| 6. | "Killer Calls Again" | 0:35 |
| 7. | "Bang Into Billy" | 0:12 |
| 8. | "Girl Talk" | 0:54 |
| 9. | "Video Store" | 0:45 |
| 10. | "Why She's Here" | 0:16 |
| 11. | "Billy Sting" | 0:13 |
| 12. | "Prescott's Car" | 0:29 |
| 13. | "Hairbrush" | 0:38 |
| 14. | "The Cue from Hell (Orchestra Only)" | 6:18 |
| Total length: | 12:13 | |
Reception[edit]
The score to Scream received generally positive reviews, with Mikael Carlsson labeling it as "some of the most intriguing horror scores composed in years".[7] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com claimed the scores had "cult status", awarding it 3 stars out of 5.[8] He also called the "haunting" vocals of "Sidney's Lament" as the "voice of the franchise", which had been used in the forthcoming sequels.[8] AllMusic said that the score "perfectly captured the post-modern, hip scare-ride of the Scream movies", also giving it 3 stars out of 5.[15] James Southall of Movie Wave commented that the score is "less likely to become one of Beltrami's finest scores" but "one of his most important, considering the impact it had on his career", writing "There are certainly some wonderful aspects to it, it’s fascinating to hear the early development of ideas which would become trademarks of the composer, and indeed it’s impressive to hear the scale of music he was able to write on such a small budget."[16]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Wes Craven (Director) (December 20, 1996). Scream (film) – Commentary by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson (DVD). United States: Dimension Films. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ "Scream Original Soundtrack". Allrovi. All Media Guide. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
- ^ "Scream – Original Soundtrack". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Roser, Jane. "Scream Soundtrack (1996)". That Music Magazine. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Jeff (2001). "Popular Songs and Comic Allusion in Contemporary Cinema". In Robertson Wojcik, Pamela; Knight, Arthur (eds.). Soundtrack available: essays on film and popular music. Duke University Press. p. 422. ISBN 0-8223-2800-3.
- ^ Soundtrack / Scream. charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved on May 23, 2023
- ^ a b c Carlsson, Mikael. "Scream/Scream 2". Music from the Movies. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c Clemmensen, Christian (July 21, 1998). "Scream/Scream 2". filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ^ Goldwasser, Dan (August 9, 1998). "Interview". Soundtrack. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ^ "Scream: The Deluxe Edition". Marco Beltrami. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ "Scream, Scream 2 Soundtrack Is Getting a Red Vinyl Re-Release". MovieWeb. June 24, 2019. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ "Scream Franchise Getting 4-LP Vinyl Score Release". Comicbook.com. Paramount Global. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ Konrad, Jeremy (January 7, 2022). "Scream 2022 Score Is Coming In June On Vinyl, First Four As Well". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ Schube, Will (January 7, 2022). "Soundtrack To The New 'Scream' Film Arrives Along With Franchise-Spanning Box Set". uDiscover Music. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Scream 2 Original Soundtrack Review". Allmusic. All Media Guide. Archived from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ^ "Scream soundtrack review". Movie Wave. July 2, 2011. Archived from the original on June 8, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
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