Almost a decade before he collaborated with Paul Verhoven on Starship Troopers, Basil Poledouris worked with Verhoven on his sci-fi blockbuster, Robocop. The story deals with a cop who is burtally murdered and then reborn in the form of a cyborg...Robocop. Despite the fact that he's had his memory erased, Robocop still retains some of the memories of his human life. To capture the humanity behind the armor and mask, Verhoven wisely chose to use the orchestral skills of Basil Poledouris. As in his score for the Conan films, Poledouris writes a score that has a hard edge but allows human emotion to seep in when the time is right.
While the score is not a sweeping epic as was Conan the Barbarian, Robocop is still a solid effort. As a precursor to Starship Troopers this score does have a more modern sound. Using synthesizers in addition to a full orchestra, Poledouris does manage to give a more modern sound while not making it sound overly campy. Main Title is as brief on the CD as it is in the film. Just like in Starship Troopers the music that is heard in Main Title briefly introduces the main theme before feeding into the movie's news show anthem. The action takes off in the next track. Van Chase is the first time we hear the main Robocop theme, although it is not very apparent unless you know what the theme is supposed to sound like. Murphy's Death covers the scenes for which the track is titled. Racing along at a frenzied pace, Poledouris conveys the racing nature of Murphy's dying moments. The memories of his family, and of his murder.
Rock Shop covers the scene in the massive drug plant. Here, after a brief pounding series of notes representing Robocop's knocking on the door, we feel the full fury of the Robocop theme. Home returns to softer pieces covering the scenes where Robocop returns to his home. The Robocop theme enters here as well as the rage builds up in Robocop's mind. The rest of the score offers up more of the same. The battle of the robots is Robo vs. ED-209 and it is appropriately action packed. Across the Board covers the final scene of the film and ends with the start of the end titles but doesn't cover the entire end titles. This is most unfortunate since this would have been the perfect track to include on this score. Fortunately, Showdown is a great track dealing with the final confrontation between Robocop and his murderers. Overall, this score is probably on par with Starship Troopers so if you liked that one you'll probably like this one as well. It's becoming harder to find, but there are still places out there where the score is still available.
Total time: 41:28
1: Main Title (0:32)
2: Van Chase (4:50)
3: Murphy's Death (2:30)
4: Rock Shop (3:38)
5: Home (4:05)
6: Robo vs. ED-209 (2:00)
7: The Dream (3:00)
8: Across the Board (2:28)
9: Betrayal (2:12)
10: Clarance Frags Bob (1:40)
11: Drive to Jones' Office (1:40)
12: We Killed You (1:30)
13: Directive IV (1:00)
14: Robo Tips His Hat (2:00)
15: Showdown (5:00)