London Music Works

Silva Screen, out now

They’ll be back…

Compilations of cover versions of movie or TV music and themes have been a popular subgenre of the soundtrack world for decades, be it the old Geoff Love And His Orchestra vinyl records, or Neil Norman’s Cosmic Orchestra output on CD 9n the 90s, to any number of collected covers of music from franchises like Star Trek, Star Wars, James Bond, to Game Of Thrones. Most tend to be released by small imprints, or even the artists’ own, but this time Silva Screen are the ones bringing us a collection of music from one of their regular groups of performers; in fact probably the second most prolific set of performers on Silva Screen’s roster of in-house releases, after the City Of Prague Philharmonic.

With this album they travel back in time from the 2020s to 1984 to begin the Terminator’s hunt for Sarah Connor. Music from all the Terminator films is present, though it’s a little said to not at least include Bear McCreary’s theme tune from the Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series as well. As you might imagine, the iconic main franchise theme is here, in multiple versions from all of the movies, as well a small selection of other tracks from each film.

The album opens with six tracks from the original franchise theme composer, Brad Feidel. The three from the original film are quite faithful, with the synths of the main theme, and a lovely arrangement of the love theme from The Terminator. The three tracks from the second film, however, are little lacking in something; though they retain that spot-on electronic element of Feidel’s music, it’s a shame they don’t particularly fit in the musique concrete elements that Feidel did, and so we don’t get to hear Terminator 2’s distinctive ticking clock mechanisms that were blended into the score. The choice of tracks from the second film is also somewhat disappointing, concentrating on cues heavier with the same electronic elements as those in the first film, and not delving into the musical expansion and tone that other cues could have done.

With Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, the series got a new composer, in the shape of Marco Beltrami, and so we get three tracks from that film, blending a more orchestral sound with the electronics, but still focussing on variation on the franchise’s main theme. More orchestral style comes to us in the three tracks from Terminator Salvation, which brought Danny Elfman to the franchise, and it’s nice to hear some expansion beyond the theme too. That said, as with T2 and Rise Of The Machines, we’re still basically being given the opening and ending themes plus one decisive cue from a highpoint of the movie – and, with the exception of Lorne Balfe’s Genisys compositions, which is only represented by two cues from within the film – in the form of three tracks per movie. It’s a solid format, but does limit the opportunity to really explore the variety of music in a series that has had five different composers, with styles ranging from synth and musique concrete through electric guitar, and full orchestral sweep.

Most of the tracks have appeared in other Silva Screen albums – Tom Holkenborg’s “Dark Fate Theme,” for example, was on their The Definitive Movie Themes Collection a couple of years ago. This collection brings them together into one themed album, and if you’re a fan of the Terminator theme tune, it’s the album for you. If you’re a fan of the franchise’s music more generally, then its selection of tracks is disappointingly limited, but enjoyable as it progresses.

Verdict: Good as cover versions go, which is important, but not an essential listen. 6/10

David A McIntee