Total Recall
Deluxe Edition

Since the death of Franklin J Schaffner (Patton, Boys from Brazil and so on), Jerry Goldsmith hasn't managed to form any strong director-composer relationships. Well, maybe Joe Dante for whom he's produced some very enjoyable and wacky scores, but nothing to quite compare to Planet of the Apes. Goldsmith and Verhoven have only worked together a couple of times, Basic Instinct, the recent Hollow Man and Total Recall and while not the most prolific relationship, a very fruitful one. Goldsmith has often said that Verhoven has a very good understanding of film music and pushes the composer to achieve exactly what he wants; the theme for Basic Instinct was one of Goldsmith's toughest assignments.

Total Recall is one of the vastly superior action films that Arnold Schwarzenegger used to star in before he became bogged down in naff comedy and even more naff action. Much is owed to Paul Verhoven who I often feel is most unappreciated at times, with his films being intentionally absurd and with extravagant, almost comedic levels of violence. The original Varese release did, in fairness, feature all the best cues of the film with just the right blend of the best and brilliantly sustained action music and some of the almost surreal synth scoring. This expanded edition neatly fleshes out Goldsmith's ideas so the whole thing flows more happily from beginning to end. A new high for sci-fi action scoring was set with Total Recall that even Goldsmith hasn't really topped. The detail, vibrancy and sheer bravura of every energetic burst is a marvel. This style of very rhythmic writing can end up just sawing away with little attention to detail, but Verhoven (I would guess) pushed Goldsmith to a greater level of complexity than most composers would bother with.

I'm not always that bothered with Jerry Goldsmith's choice of synths, but here, he's right on the money. Most of synth percussion in the action music is fairly low key and simply plugs in alongside the orchestra. However, the synth bank is broken out in force during the breathing spaces. My previous description of them being surreal is the best one I can think of. They aren't quite atmospheric synth pads, but neither are they aimless or tuneless - this is of course aided by being reasonably short. Having said that, one of the most inspiring 47 seconds occurs in The Space Station where Goldsmith builds his sci-fi awe and wonder into something truly monumental.

I probably wouldn't go so far as to say that Total Recall is one of Jerry Goldsmith's finest scores; probably ranking just outside the top ten, but very close depending on what phase of Goldsmith's career you enjoy the most (gritty 70's, synth and orchestra bravura 80's or variable, but entertaining 90's). Having said that, it is one, if not his very best action score. It is that apotheosis of his action writing into the one that stands out just that bit above the rest, which for Jerry Goldsmith is saying something. No Goldsmith fan should be without it and even if you do have the original album, Varese's generous and useful liner notes coupled with what seems to be improved sound quality makes it a more than worthy addition to anyone's collection.