Conan the Destroyer (1984) Soundtrack [2xCD]

"Finally! The original Basil Poledouris masterpiece expanded on CD! 1984. Richard Fleischer directs, Raffaella De Laurentiis produces, Stanley Mann scripts, Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway fashion the story from Robert E. Howard’s literary creation, Basil Poledouris scores and incomparable Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role from the 1982 box office hit! Surrounding him in this second adventure are stars Mako, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Tracey Walter, Olivia d’Abo, Sarah Douglas. Queen Taramis offers Conan a quest, he is uninterested, she vows to resurrect Conan’s beloved from the first film, Valeria, in return for his cooperation. He embarks on the journey, encountering virgin princess Jehnna, a search for the horn of Dagoth, fights with Bombaata, encounters his old wizard friend Akiro, befriends warrior Zula, finds the castle of Thoth-Amon, and film is only part way through! Incredibly rich and colorful material for Poledouris to write music for… and incredibly rich and colorful music he supplies! World premiere expanded release of his score took years of complicated licensing negotiation but patience and discussions finally bore fruit. Original 1984 MCA album offered 33 minutes of highlights but new remastered release brings running time to nearly an hour, plus an additional 16 minutes of alternates. The crispness and clarity of this original performance by the Union Musicisti di Roma under Poledouris has unrivaled vibrancy, just what one wants from vivid action music. Percussion are detailed, low brass are especially punchy! Thematic ideas from first film make necessary appearance but Conan himself gets all-new, syncopated theme usually played on trumpets and heard throughout. Highlights are plentiful but “Chamber Of Mirrors” stands out, as does “Dagoth Ceremony/Impaling The Grand Vizier”, "Net Fight" and “Cutlery Interruptus”. Also on board are both original and revised versions of the “Main Title”. Entire score is presented from stunning 3-channel stereo session mixes vaulted by Universal. Complex license also brings original MCA album program on second disc. Gorgeous cover art by Stéphane Coëdel graces front of flipper-style booklet with original MCA cover art on back, richly designed package design by Kay Marshall is filled with color stills from the film plus informative notes from John Takis. Nice package! Powerful music! Antonio Rampotti records and mixes, Greig McRitchie, Jack & Scott Smalley orchestrate, Union Musicisti di Roma perform, Basil Poledouris composes, conducts. Intrada Special Collection 2-CD set available while quantities and interest remain!..."