Now available from Intrada on 180-gram premium vinyl, The Transformers: The Movie (1986) presented keyboardist-turned-composer Vince DiCola with the challenge of taking the rhythmic genre he loved into a new, futuristic dimension, using the same daring synergy that the makers of The Transformers’ TV show were using to broaden their brand name. DiCola truly fused progressive “arena rock” with alien technology to make The Transformers a stylistic whole, capturing the movie’s 2005 setting with its brightly futuristic synth sound. While Rocky IV had afforded him an orchestra, the budget of The Transformers necessitated an electronic approach. With the aid of co-producer Ed Fruge, programmer Casey Young, percussionist Michael Fisher and other first-call session musicians, DiCola stuffed the Scotti Brothers recording studio with Moog, Oberheim, Yamaha and EMU synthesizers and samplers. Initially working from storyboards and a plot synopsis, DiCola won the filmmakers over with a six-minute demo cue called “Legacy” that laid the seeds for his score, included here as a bonus.
The Transformers: The Movie has remained as rhythmically vibrant as ever for the franchise’s numerous fans. Previously available on CD from Intrada, this marks its premiere release on vinyl.
In 1986, it was decided that the best way to go into both a third season and a new product line was by giving the action figures a major cinematic upgrade with The Transformers: The Movie. The film’s sizable ambitions were embodied by Unicron, a machine-eating planet whose attack on the Transformer home world of Cybertron posed a singular threat to both Autobots and Decepticons. The movie noticeably went far beyond the TV show in its robot-shattering scale of destruction, “brutally” trashing numerous old characters to make way for a shinier new toy line that included Insectoids, Dinobots, Constructicons and jingle-spouting Junkticons.
Vince DiCola, fresh off dynamic score for Rocky IV, brings sizzling modern up-tempo sensibilities to his electronic score for Transformers, melds driving energy with striking fully-composed quasi-orchestral themes, motifs. Exciting compositions result, with plethora of rhythms infused with composer’s unique harmonic vernacular on display. DiCola, who gets start as session keyboardist, then moves into scoring with Staying Alive, sequel toSaturday Night Fever, connects well with with director Sylvester Stallone, lands mega-hit Rocky IV and captures attention of TV producers transforming Hasbro’s small-screen robots into big-screen monoliths. Intrada presented first widely available release of score on CD in 2013, courtesy Sony Music, which initially appeared only as very limited “BotCon” editions in 1997 & 2001. Intrada release also features composer’s “Legacy”, originally written as six-minute powerhouse demo for producers during early stages of project. Now for 2016, Intrada premieres their complete 2013 version in a special 2-LP set on premium 180 gram vinyl, including deluxe UV-coated full-color gatefold jacket with artwork title on spine, contained in heavy polywrap bag. Vince DiCola composes, performs.
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