The Black Hole (1979) - Soundtrack

While the original soundtrack album was a suitable digital download for me, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to upgrade to this CD of the complete score.

Jeff Bond's liner notes describe John Barry's music for The Black Hole as one of the storied composer's "most unusual and audacious" scores. 

One example given is the film's main title, "a strange, dizzying piece," Bond writes, "half-waltz, half death-march, driven by a swirling ostinato for synthesizer." It was that particular ostinato (a repeated musical phrase or rhythm) that compelled me to add the score to my collection.

Something The Black Hole shares with other science fiction soundtracks of the time period is its utilization of a device known as The Blaster Beam. The Beam's distinct, ominous rattle punctuates the ending of the film's overture, which audiences may or may not have heard prior to the film's start. It is put to effective and evocative use in the film itself during the track That's It.

Another choice example of a great score for a less than great, but not that bad, movie.