Depending on who you talk to, James Horner's score to Aliens can be considered either the greatest horror score or one of the worst. I tend to find myself leaning towards the first category but I'm not all the way in their camp. While I profess that I am probably one of the most supportive James Horner listener out there, I wouldn't consider Aliens to be his greatest work, but I will consider it one of his better ones. Why is that you ask? Well, firstly I'm a fan of the film so having seen it so many times I can relate the music to the particular scene it is heard in. Second, it is among the first scores I ever bought that was composed by James Horner. And third, if it wasn't so suited to the suspense genre you wouldn't be hearing it in so many trailers even to this day.
Another fact that I take into consideration when listening to this score is the circumstances surrounding its creation. James Cameron, who was still trying become one of Hollywood's most popular directors. He was filming, cutting and recutting the film leaving James Horner to try and maintain some semblence of sanity as he desparately tried to score the film. In the end, only his opening and closing tracks remained true to his original score. Considering all of those factors, I think the score deserves some merit.
One of the underlying problems that many people appear to have with this score is the fact that it is very quiet one minute and then all of a sudden the music erupt into a screech to scare you half to death. When seen in the context of the film it heightens the tension. When listening to it in the car, you'll think your speakers are broken. The score that Horner has written here is more to create the mood than anything else. And it certainly does it well, but you must be ready to listen to this type of score in order to appreciate it to the fullest. There are tracks such as Sub-Level 3 and Atmosphere Station that are very much like this. If you leave the volume too low you'll think you're going deaf. One minute the music is like that and the next the music will be going full bore action such as in Ripley's Rescue, Going After Newt and Futile Escape. If you enjoy action tracks then take a listen to these tracks. They typify the style of scoring that would define Horner in many of his future projects.
One of the added bonuses to this release of the score is the fact that alternate takes and music cut from the film is also included. One of the more interesting cuts that I am sort of glad was cut from the film is the Combat Drop track. It's presented here in both it's original form and a percussion only version. While it is similar in style to the music eventually used for the scene in the final film, the track Horner originally composed makes the mood seem much lighter. It seems like one of those old World War II movies where the heroic marines are all going to battle and the flag is waving. Okay, maybe not that much but it isn't really in keeping with the style that the film is building up to this point. The simple military snares used in the film appropriately convey the military tone of the scene and is a bit more serious.
People may ask whether it is worth getting this CD since the original release is still widely and I would say that it depends. If you have a copy of the original release, you have all of the best music that was written for the film. If you're new to soundtrack collecting and are looking for something different then you may want to look into this CD. If you're a James Horner fan, you will more than likely get this CD. But overall, I would say see the movie first and then decide if you really want the music.
Bonus Tracks:
* Previously Unreleased