silentrunanimIntrada Special Collection Volume 369, out now

Music for an adventure that journeys beyond imagination…

Intrada’s CD release of Peter Schickele’s score to Silent Running will satisfy the many collectors who to date have been relying on the vinyl or cassette versions that have been available since the movie’s release in 1972. Unfortunately, the master tapes no longer exist and instead a freshly-pressed copy of the vinyl has been used as a new master, with various post-production tweaking to produce a sound that is both authentic to the original and aesthetically acceptable as a digital product. It’s a great archive release and clearly a labour of love for all involved.

Douglas Trumbull’s sci-fi cult classic was a mainstay of late-night viewing in my youth and I have no idea how many times I watched as Bruce Dern and his faithful drones fought to keep Earth’s last forest alive on their travelling Eden, the Valley Forge. While the beautifully-realised special effects impressed young me, the score itself lodged in my memory due in no small part to the two songs by folk singer Joan Baez – Rejoice in the Sun and Silent Running. At a time before John Williams re-defined the genre with his huge orchestral sweep, director Trumbull chose Schickele based on his producer status on some of Baez’ records, not realising that he was already composing mock classical parodies under the pseudonym of P D Q Bach.

The 30-minute running time has not been expanded in any way – there are no alternate or expanded cues – and if truth be told, once you strip away the instrumentals and reprises there’s no great range across the half hour. But Intrada are releasing this for a very specific audience – there’s no need to try to sell this disc on its length, rather than as a way to plug a gap in the sci-fi aficionado’s soundtrack collection.

As you’d expect, there’s a detailed booklet, including call-backs to a previous interview that Jeff Bond carried out with the composer in 2002. There’s also a piece written by Douglass Fake about the restoration of the score and a plethora of production still and movie posters (I hadn’t realised that the movie was cheekily known in some territories as 2002: La Seconda Odissea!)

Verdict: A product of its time, this is a neat and economic release that doesn’t outstay its welcome, taking you back to a time when it was acceptable for an eco-themed sci-fi movie to feature a gentle song over the closing credits. Erm, Passengers anyone? 7/10

Nick Joy