This version of the soundtrack is the official release, and also one of the most incomplete at the same time.
There is so much written about this subject of Vangelis' Blade Runner Soundtrack, I don't think I will really do it the full scope of justice that it deserves, so I'll give my summary on the subject, some hot takes, and my takeaways. In 2002, Bently Ousley wrote a pretty good, but not definitive article on the matter with some great reviews and explanation. Since his article was written, loads more tracks, versions and history has been discovered so there is no real whole source we can reference. Vangelis Rarities has lots of pictures and track information with some details, and seems to update every so often. After reading some threads on Reddit recently, I think there could be dozens more bootlegs and missing tracks out there waiting to be discovered.
The Esper Edition, considered one of the best
So what do we know about the Soundtrack.. actually?
- Vangelis recorded the soundtrack at Nemo Studios in 1982
- He scored the movie by feeling and emotion while watching images on a screen, and clips of video on a TV, full Improved in the moment, sometimes reusing cues from other tracks he has designed.
- The instruments used were so varied and different, we don't really have an actual list, but the wikipedia page has some limited information about things we can confirm about Synth used.
- We don't know how many tracks he actually recorded, but it's assumed in the 100's, with several hundred total recording hours.
- We don't know how many versions of the tracks that we have heard currently that could be considered alternate versions- with and without additions and/or subtractions of speech or instruments.
- We have no idea how many bootleg versions are out there, more are discovered each year.
- There were three releases that are official: First released 12 years after the movie was released in 1994 with 12 tracks, a 2007 release with 3 discs of 12 tracks each, and a Orchestral Release in 1982 that has nothing to do with Vangelis, but is considered official in some capacity.
I have no idea what version this is.
After the movie was released in 1982, people wanted the soundtrack, and there was no way to get your hands on a copy, until a Studio tape was leaked. It made its way around conventions and concerts for some time, being re-recorded several times.. and the audio was terrible. It was taken from a sound engineer's master that worked with Vangelis on the original recording, and was pretty popular all things considered. This by no means was every track in the movie, but it was some of them, and all fans had. At this point in the story, it gets really fucking wild. In 1990, a strange and VERY rare private release by FIC was leaked in Asia, which contained the entire movie underscore and sound effects with no speech. This version came from sound samples sent overseas to make a dubbed version where they needed clean audio, and was considered haunting and of higher quality. Several different versions of these studio tapes materialized in the 80's, to include tracks and audio taken from the Betamax and Laserdisc releases of the movies, trailers, and interviews recorded off TV both domestically and internationally.
Surprisingly quality bootleg & example differences
In 1993, before the actual release of the soundtrack by Vangelis himself, "Off World Music" released an 18 track, very high quality bootleg in small quantities, sourced from an unknown origin, but thought to be a Vinyl inside release from the movie studio that was unreleased, because you can hear the pops and crackles of the record faintly in the background. It even had tracks from the Blade Runner workprint that was rarely ever seen or known about, and had extended length versions of previously known tracks. From this point, almost every six months to a year, another bootleg release would come out somewhere in the world with new tracks, very high quality, and with polished packaging and inserts. The Gongo version added "Blimpvert" track, which was not known on any other releases. The Deck edition took this up to 27 tracks, again with insane new high quality material. The Esper edition, known as one of the best, took this to two discs, and included a ton of the full versions of the background music from individual scenes that was not thought to exist outside the movie. It was getting to the point where bootlegs would include tracks with isolated instrumental tracks recorded by Vangelis, expanding previous tracks, or different versions of those tracks altogether in varying different lengths. Some of the discovered tracks only had a few seconds of length difference in the known official version, and it's hard to find or spot the difference on the surface. An interesting version, "Themes 2", had a recording of the audio from the movie where Rachel is playing piano, and Deckard wakes up to join her, with the dialog intact.. except it's not the same. The underscore in the background was taken from an unreleased early cut from the movie. The sex scene has the Saxophone removed. Really erie when you hear it if you are familiar with the movie. Special Japan 99 Deck Music edition has alternate piano music cuts in minor key, taken from sound tests of early versions of the movie. The 2001 Edition has previous thought to be Vinyl only tracks from other versions, now in perfect clarity obvious copied from a new fresh source of unknown origin. Memoirs 12 has uncut audio and underscore cues and never before heard music sent to radio stations so they could make advertisements, has alternate dialog from trailers not known to exist, and sound effects heard for the first time. The list goes on, and on, and on.
You may be asking yourself: "How many versions and tracks are there?" From my count, and I know it's wrong, I see
43 different bootleg versions of the soundtrack released. Not just mixtapes, actual versions of the soundtrack that added tracks or has unique content to contribute with printed cover, inserts, and track information with a verified print run. The number of known tracks is in the
100's at this point that have some kind of original material that is known as Vangelis' own work. Where did all this music come from? Studio tapes, masters from recording sessions, audio engineer leaks, Vangelis' own friends or employees were confirmed to have taken some of his recordings and sold them overseas. Will there ever be one edition to rule them all? Who knows, but I'm so far down this rabbit hole, I want to see how far it goes.
