Alien Nation (1988) - Soundtrack Collection

Goldsmith's unused score for Alien Nation was one of only three he composed and performed entirely on synthesizers. The other two were for Michael Crichton's 1984 science-fiction thriller Runaway and Martin Campbell's 1988 legal thriller Criminal Law. More on those later.

Alien Nation would be the second collaboration between director Graham Baker and Goldsmith, following 1981's The Final Conflict. While Goldsmith's score for Alien Nation might not be as robust as the one he wrote for The Final Conflict, it did not deserve to be rejected.

The big irony here is how the story behind Goldsmith's score, told in the liner notes of this limited release from Varèse Sarabande, is more interesting than the film it was written for.

A melody that is used throughout the score was first written by Goldsmith for the Oliver Stone film Wall Street. After Goldsmith quit Wall Street, he opted to use it for Alien Nation. When that score was rejected, he recycled his unused melody yet again, for The Russia House (1990). The third time was charm and the melody became one of Goldsmith's better known and admired love themes.