Prior to directing some ship called Titanic into an iceberg and then on into movie history, one of James Cameron's first ocean epics was a small movie called The Abyss. For those of you who didn't realize it, I was being sarcastic in my opening line, The Abyss was by no means a small accomplishment. With some of the first computer generated effects and one of the first movies to be filmed underwater, The Abyss was a stupendous movie even though most of the movie going public didn't think so. Indeed the edited cut that was played in the theaters and on television was not the way the movie was meant to be and I highly recommend watching the special edition available on video. Now then, to accompany the stunning movie in the music department is a decent score by Alan Silvestri.
Why is it decent and not fabulous? Well, really speaking, the music doesn't really come to life until the last few tracks. Sure there are the action tracks such as The Crane, The Fight and Sub Battle but they only make up a small part of the score as a whole, which is pretty small to begin with. However, portions of the action cues seem quite similar to some of his other popular scores such as the Back to the Future trilogy and Predator movies. As for the rest of score, it is mainly subdued and somber with occasional bursts of energy but not enough to get us going. But by the end of the CD we realize where all the energy has gone, it's been saving up for the last few tracks. This is when, through the use of orchestra and stunning choral segments Silvestri brings us face to face with the NTI's (Non-Terrestrial Intellgence) of the film. The only thing of note prior to that point besides the action cues would have to be the Main Titles which is a choral segment building to its maximum and then giving way to a military drum piece used in the movie to accompany the arrival of Lindsey and the goon squad...er... Navy SEALS. Overall, a decent score but to think of what could have been done to make the experience even more exciting.
Total time: 47:10
1: Main Title (1:30)
2: Search The Montana (1:53)
3: The Crane (1:59)
4: The Manta Ship (6:22)
5: The Pseudopod (5:36)
6: The Fight (1:42)
7: Sub Battle (3:17)
8: Lindsey Drowns (4:41)
9: Resurrection (1:57)
10: Bud's Big Dive (6:06)
11: Bud on the Ledge (3:12)
12: Back on the Air (1:35)
13: Finale (6:46)