My brother bought this score for himself a few months ago. We had seen this film together on tape and both agreed that it wasn't as great a movie that we had hoped. I had watched it paying closer attention to the action and plot more than anything else. My brother saw it a few more times after that and declared that he had to get the soundtrack. When he told me that it was by John Barry I was intrigued. I never listened to it until the day I had to write the review for it here. And once I listened to it, I knew that I should have listened to it so much sooner. I guess the best way to describe it is 'vintage John Barry'. Listening to this score brought memories of James Bond to mind. In fact it wouldn't seem out of place in a Bond film either.
For the most part the soundtrack is dark and sinister, I mean after all, it deals with a hit man, a woman scorned seeking revenge and gangsters. It wouldn't seem appropriate to have dance music going on in the background. For the more romantic pieces heard on several tracks, Barry has used both a piano solo played by Michael Lang and backing him up with the seductive sounds of an alto saxaphone is Ronny Lang. This combination is what makes it so great. While being soft and seductive, it still maintains that hard edge that both Stallone and Stone bring to their characters. Listen to Let's See That Beautiful Face - "Did you call me" to see what I mean.
The action sequences in the film deal mostly with things blowing up. Although there are fights, the large part of the action is basically bombs blowing the Hell out of something or someone. But Barry keeps the action moving and like in his Bond soundtracks, the action portions have coherence and structure, it's not all over the place like some composers. I hadn't heard much about this score when it came out and I didn't even think to look at who composed it when I saw the movie, but, this soundtrack is definitely one of Barry's best. If you enjoy Barry's work on the James Bond films, definitely give this one a try.
Total time: 57:52
1: Main Title (1:41)
2: Bogota 1984 (2:49)
3: The Specialist in Miami (2:33)
4: May and Ray at the Cemetary (1:51)
5: May Dances with Tomas - "Did you call me" (2:34)
6: Ray Covers May - "Did you call me" (2:37)
7: After Tomas (2:56)
8: The First Bomb - Ray's Place (2:57)
9: Explosive Trent (1:56)
10: The Parking Lot Bomb (2:31)
11: Don't Touch Me Ned - Bomb for Tomas (3:17)
12: The Death of Tomas (2:07)
13: May's Room - "Did you call me" (1:26)
14: Ray Meets May at Her Funeral (2:33)
15: Let's See That Beautiful Face - "Did you call me" (2:43)
16: Closing in on Ray (2:56)
17: There Goes the Hotel Room - The Fight (2:20)
18: May Meets Joe - I'm Not a Woman You Can Trust (2:58)
19: You Go In and Get Him - "Did you call me" (4:04)
20: The Whole Place is Wired - She's Hot Ray (3:25)
21: Get the Hell Out of Here (2:15)
22: You Bastard - How Do You Feel? - Better! - "Did you call me" (3:09)