The list is focused on the music by composers who write music for films. Critically dismissed as
music for
hire, it is being discovered as a source of colorful, emotionally engaging, well-crafted music which occupies
the territory between easy listening and formal concert music. A "soundtrack" might be the actual music
recordings used in a film or a re-recording for album release. Albums by film music specialists are listed,
but run-of-the-mill cover versions and easy listening arrangements are not. The list is not updated very
often, and you will find recent albums on sale months before they show up here.
The goal here is to tell you whether or not a film score has been released as an album, and provide enough
information to obtain the most recent edition. Unfortunately, a most important piece of information,
whether or not a title in still in print, is difficult to ascertain. Most LPs and many early CDs are now
collector's items. Most soundtracks, especially ones on major labels, don't stay in print for more than a
year. Though this list does not generally include non-U.S. recordings when a U.S. recording is available, it
includes far more European and Japanese recordings than the usual U.S. centered collector guides.
The list is focused on instrumental film scores. Pop/rock/jazz needle drops, storybook albums, film
musicals, Broadway musicals, and scores attributed to mainstream pop/rock groups are not listed. Film
musicals, Broadway musicials, and the film work of songwriters and pop musicians gets plenty of attention
elsewhere. Some argue that the work of synthesists and electronic music groups is strictly pop, but those
who have a body of film work have been included.
Within these selection criteria, I have tried to be all-inclusive toward those who work primarily in film,
rather than the pop chart. There is no doubt that I have missed recordings and people who should have
been included. Getting complete information on European and Japanese releases is difficult. Advice and
corrections are welcome. A list of soundtrack specialty shops, the best sources of new, old, used and
obscure soundtracks, can be found elsewhere on www.filmscoremonthly.com.
The list has over 7700 records. A record is usually an album from a single film, but some albums contain long
suites from several different films, so there may be a record for each film title on the album. Film music is
seldom re-recorded after the initial release, but the recording may be re-issued multiple times, and many
recorded for LP have been issued as CDs. Only the collector is looking for anything other than the easiest-
to-get, most recent issue of a recording, so only those are listed here. Recordings from the LP era are not
listed once they have re-appeared on CD. There is sufficient confusion here without listing every previous
release.
Information about recordings has been culled from record collections, magazines (Film Score Monthly,
Soundtrack!, Music from the Movies), books (Osborne's Movie/TV Soundtracks, Smolian's Handbook),
and catalogs from the specialty shops, and is subject to all manner of misunderstandings and typographical
errors. Be sure you know what you getting before you buy. Reports of errors of commission and omission
are appreciated, but please don't ask how to obtain these albums -- I just list them.
--Tom DeMary