The Basil Poledouris Collection - Vol. 1

BSX Records presents a Basil Poledouris compilation. For this special 2 CD collection of rarities, BSX Records showcases a blend of extended original soundtrack presentations of some of the composer's lesser-available works along with a selection of newly-recorded interpretations of his more popular scores. These include never-before-released music from the IMAX films Behold Hawaii, and Flyers, a complete presentation of the score to A Whale for the Killing, along with new recordings of music from Conan the Barbarian, Big Wednesday, The Blue Lagoon and It's My Party and, finally, a rare demo produced by the composer for the television show Misfits of Science. Released in 1983, Behold Hawaii's score was performed with a small acoustic ensemble sweetened with synth overlays, the film's visual splendors evoke a particularly compelling score rich in elegant recurring melodies and exotic instrumental textures.

Composed the same year as Behold Hawaii, Flyers is a 35-minute IMAX short film. It allowed Basil to compose some thrilling aerobatic music, from soaring crescendos to tense, perilous action riffs, and even a bit of old fashioned carnival music. A poignant romantic theme underscores the family relationship at the heart of the stunt pilot team. Flyers is presented on this release newly remastered.

Released previously by BSX Records as a presentation of eleven tracks chosen by the composer for promotional purposes, A Whale for the Killing is presented on this release in its entirety for the first time, including the song featured in the film. When it came time to assemble the music for this album, only the orchestral backing track was located—the vocal track was missing. Rather than pull the original vocal from the movie track, in order to gain a better sound quality we've elected to record a new vocal, produced by our frequent collaborator Dominik Hauser, and overlay that on top of Basil's orchestral underscore, thus recreating the song in the manner it was heard in the film.

For Misfits of Science's theme, the producers were looking for a pop-rock song in what was then Madonna's style; this track is the first demo that Basil produced and submitted, with lyrics by Steve Schiff, sung by Karen Lawrence. This is the first time the original demo recording has been released.

This release features unreleased music mastered from the composer's own elements, along with remastered presentations of Flyers and A Whale for the Killing. These elements have been remastered by James Nelson of Digital Outland. It is presented on 2 CDs, featuring liner notes by author Randall Larson and limited to 2,000 units.