If any of you can remember the Hans Zimmer of the late 80s, early 90s, then you will surely recognise his score for the Tony Scott racing action masterpiece from 1990.
Starring Tom Cruise, and from the Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson team, this was a great movie with those distinctive visuals that only Tony Scott could deliver.
Apparently, Days Of Thunder was most likely going to be a third team up between Tony Scott and Harold Faltermeyer (having already done Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop 2), but by this time, Faltermeyer was moving out of Hollywood and back to Germany.
It would have been interesting to have seen what Faltermeyer would have done with the score, with most likely a similar type to the Top Gun music he created, along with some memorable theme songs.
Nevertheless, Hans Zimmer, fresh from Rain Main and Black Rain was the man given the task of scoring the visuals on this movie, and he delivered everything perfectly.
Frenetic, energetic, and plenty of action cues, this is a worthy score from the early Zimmer period of scoring.
This was when Zimmer was at his best, pulsating synthesizers, orchestra hits, wild guitars and the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure.
This score is one of the blueprints for the next decade or so of scores during the 1990s, although some may argue Mark Mancina is the one who did just as much (Bad Boys, Speed).
The title track "Last Note Of Freedom" is a great song, written by Hans Zimmer and Billy Idol of all people and performed by David Coverdale (Whitesnaker lead singer). This is a great track, starting off slow, and eventually ending in a fast guitar driven finish, much like the movie itself, mirroring the frenetic action of the Daytona racing.
The entire score has been available as an unreleased bootleg for a number of years now, but La La Land have finally released it in official format which is better late than never.
Most of the score is present apart from maybe 1 or 2 cues which if I recall correctly are during the racing scenes. The bootleg score usually has 24 or 26 tracks if I recall correctly.
http://www.hans-zimmer.com/index.php?rub=disco&id=22
This release does include however, some alternate takes and some extra tracks which fill up the CD.
Here is the full release information from La La Land Records.
La-La Land Records and Paramount Pictures present the world premiere release of acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer's (BLACK RAIN, THELMA & LOUISE, THE DARK KNIGHT, MAN OF STEEL) full-throttle original score to the 1990 racing drama feature DAYS OF THUNDER, starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Robert Duvall, and directed by Tony Scott. After waiting decades, film music enthusiasts have finally been rewarded with a worthy release of this Zimmer classic. Clocking in at over 70 minutes, this CD absolutely roars with the kind of blistering dramatic action scoring that vividly demonstrates how Zimmer became one of filmdom's most important contemporary composers. Rounding out the music presentation are some notable bonus tracks and the song "The Last Note of Freedom," performed by David Cloverdale. Produced by Dan Goldwasser and mastered by Doug Schwartz, this special limited release of 3000 Units was supervised by the film's producer, Jerry Bruckheimer and star Tom Cruise. The sleek art design is by Dan Goldwasser, with exclusive, in-depth liner notes by film music writer Tim Greiving, which include feature comments from Bruckheimer and Cruise. This release is dedicated to the late Tony Scott.
TRACK LISTING:
- Days of Thunder (Main Title) 3:08
- Rowdy Drives/Who Is This Driver? 2:06
- Let Me Drive/Cole Drives Rowdy's Car 2:26
- Car Building 2:05
- Darlington - Cole Wins 4:47
- You're Home/Daytona Race/The Crash 3:29
- The Hospital 2:20
- Wheelchair Race 0:37
- Rental Car Race* 3:50
- Claire Arrives at Her Apartment 1:55
- Physical Kiss 1:05
- Cole Blows His Engine 1:10
- Wheeler/Cole Smashes 2:25
- Cole at the Laundry/Cole Agrees to Drive Rowdy's Car 2:11
- Cole and Harry Fight/Harry Talks to Car 2:52
- Cole in Truck/Pre-Race 3:52
- The Last Race 10:20
- "The Last Note of Freedom" 4:57 performed by David Coverdale
BONUS TRACKS
- The Hospital (alternate) 2:21
- Wheelchair Race (alternate) 0:38
- Claire Arrives at Her Apartment (alternate ending) 1:53
- Cole Blows His Engine (alternate) 1:12
- Pre-Race (alternate mix) 2:25
- Days of Thunder (Main Title) (rock arrangement) 4:59
TOTAL ALBUM TIME 71:14
This release is limited to 3000, and you can get your copy direct here:
http://lalalandrecords.com/DaysOfThunder.html
You can also get this release from a number of other online stores also.
