Zanobard Reviews

Nearly forty years after the film released, Harold Faltermeyer’s legendary Top Gun score finally sees the light of day thanks to a spectacularly soaring release by La-La Land Records, and that combined with all the wonderfully ’80s songs you could possibly hope for and more than a few incredible renditions of the iconic Anthem makes this soundtrack an absolute holy grail.

A holy grail, that’s what this is. In the world of film music, Harold Faltermeyer’s score for the original Top Gun was one of the most highly coveted – if not the most – unreleased works, as aside from the iconic Anthem and a couple of tracks here and there, a full release has never seen the light of day. No score album was dropped thirty eight years ago in 1986 when the film released and nothing has been since – that is, until now anyway. So to say my jaw dropped when La-La Land Records announced the official release of Top Gun‘s score a few weeks ago would be an understatement to say the least; I don’t think I’ve ever ordered an album from their website so fast, and for me that is saying something. The subsequent wait for my highly anticipated copy was long and every second the anticipation grew, but at last now it’s here and so finally I happily present to you an extensive review of the 2-CD expansion, which contains Faltermeyer’s fantastic score in full… as well as a few welcome extras.

Top Gun begins with its “Main Title”, and Faltermeyer wastes absolutely no time at all in debuting those now iconic opening synth notes for the Top Gun Anthem. The full guitar riff doesn’t play here – that’s saved for a little later on in the album – but the aforementioned instrumentation accompanied by upbeat electronic beats and echoing bells altogether do an exquisite job of firmly establishing the score in its wondrous ’80s synth tone, with the increasing volume and intensity then only serving to further bathe this main title piece in that impeccably enjoyable ambience. It isn’t long though before the pace is kicked up a notch, as subsequent cue “Carrier Takeoffs And Landings” thunders into fray with a loud electric guitar and emphatic drums accompanied by backing synth all playing the frenetic backing rhythm for Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone”. One of my favourite things about Faltermeyer’s work here – and also probably one of the reasons why it took so long to get released – is that the composer works the instrumentation, style and rhythms of the iconic songs featured across the film into the score itself, and it sounds so wonderfully and brilliantly ’80s as a result. It dates it for sure, but I just love it.

With “Danger Zone” fading out, tension then flares in “Two MiGs, Not One/Cougar Chased By MiG/Mav Flips The Bird/Cougar’s Troubled Landing” (one hell of a track title), as ominous stabs of worrisome electronics open the seven minute synth setpiece. At 01:50 the action then kicks up considerably as some rather Commando-esque percussion marches moodily through for a minute or so until that iconic electric guitar then enters the fray at three minutes in – as the Anthem makes a wonderfully dashing appearance. This doesn’t last for long though as tension then leaps back in for the track’s second half, with low-pitched pulsing electronics building to a particularly nail-biting crescendo to then end the cue. A lighter instrumental rendition of “Danger Zone” then rocks into centre stage for the two minute “Mav Goes To Fightertown” before the unreleased score moment I’d been looking forward to the most proudly arrives in “Jester Flying”. It’s the instrumental version of Cheap Trick’s “Mighty Wings” that plays as Goose and Maverick engage Jester in a tense practice dogfight in the film, and its fist-pumping upbeatness combined with that exquisite electric guitar makes for a thoroughly entertaining three minute action cue, and more than worth the wait as a result. And as if it couldn’t get any better, “Tower Flyby” then ends this action section with a happily heroic rendition of the iconic Anthem.

Moody ambience occupies much of “Viper Comes Down On Mav”, with “Mav And Goose In Room” then doubling down on the serenity with a quietly downtrodden rendition of the Anthem on a solemn guitar. “Dinner At Charlie’s” however then slows the pace considerably, fading warmly into much more romantic territory as a gentle instrumental reprisal of “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin, which also acts as the love theme for the film, plays. The theme then gets a much more thorough fleshing out in the subsequent “Mav Says Goodbye To Charlie” and “Love Scene” cues, with the three tracks altogether making for an eight minute and highly enjoyable suite of the motif. Thunderous action then leaps into the fray with “Mav Vs Viper” as frantically propulsive percussion, electronics and an electric guitar crash emphatically along for two decidedly tense minutes. The solemn guitar from “Mav And Goose In Room” then reprises in the short “End Locker Room And Photo” before “Aerial Sequence” brings the instrumental “Danger Zone” back for another gloriously epic guitar-and-drum runthrough. Disaster however then strikes in “Goose’s Death/Memories” with worrisomely frenetic electronics opening the track and continuing in tense action form for the first two minutes. In the back half though things then slow dramatically down as downtrodden synth takes over alongside the now typically sorrowful guitar from earlier.

The guitar-based downtroddenness continues into the subsequent eleven minute “Mav Reflects In Goose’s Room/Board Of Inquiry/Charlie And Mav In Airport Bar” (again, these long track titles). Solemn synth accompanies the lone guitar for much of the track’s first half, until a rapid pace then kicks off at the four minute mark with frantic additional synth playing until the music then settles once again into quiet guitar solemnity until its end. “Viper’s House Pt.1” and its sequel then reprise the main Anthem in unusually quiet and withdrawn form but with a glimmer of hope still about it, with “Carrier Ready Room And Takeoffs” then taking this newly formed hope and running with it as those exquisite opening notes of the theme return. As the track continues hope then surges into heroism with a reprisal of the “Main Title” playing. Final action setpiece “Mav Is Launched/Mav Bugs Out/Mav Returns To Battle/Return To Carrier” then launches into dramatic action for eleven happily enjoyable minutes, with the first half crashing and twisting with tense synth and electronics and the second then soaring with heroism as the Anthem gets a lasting and powerfully thunderous playthrough. To end the score we’re then treated to several demo variants of the iconic Anthem – each sounding more fist-pumpingly epic than the last – but while the score then finishes here, this 2-CD experience is only getting started.

La-La Land Records has some proper treats in store for the second disc here, as all the iconic songs from the original film appear in exquisitely remastered form along with a few further Faltermeyer crowd pleasers. “Danger Zone”, “Mighty Wings”, “Take My Breath Away” – all the icons are here together with so many more enjoyably ’80s and happily synth-heavy songs. See the link below to La-La Land’s website for the full tracklist, but certainly “Through The Fire” by Larry Greene has caught my ear the most so far. But honestly they’re all fantastic, and each and every one of the songs sounds crisp and gloriously vibrant. Then as if this incredible Top Gun experience couldn’t get any better, as mentioned there are several further Faltermeyer cues with the very last being the cherry on top of the already impeccable cake here; an extended variant of the Anthem, entitled “Top Gun Theme (Extended Mix)”. Where the original version of this cue fades heroically away this one happily continues for another gloriously heroic half minute, and while it still sadly fades away the additional brilliantly epic renditions of the Anthem at its end made me grin from ear to ear, serving as a pretty perfect conclusion to this spectacularly soaring soundtrack.

Overall, Harold Faltermeyer’s score for Top Gun has always been highly revered and for good reason, and so to see it finally get the incredible score release it deserves thanks to La-La Land Records here… I’m practically speechless. I really am. It’s genuinely, absolutely incredible. To say the team have done a wonderful job here is putting it very mildly indeed; from all those spectacular unreleased setpieces you’ve been hoping for (including the absolute grail for me “Jester Flying”, that long-awaited “Mighty Wings” instrumental) and remastered inclusions of all the incredible songs for the film (including all your favourites, and my new obsession “Through The Fire”) all the way thunderously up to the numerous impeccable renditions of the iconic Top Gun Anthem lovingly arranged all across this two-disc experience (with the “Extended Mix” at the end being the absolute masterpiece of them all) it’s all just absolutely spellbinding. The vibrantly remastered sound and the just wonderfully ’80s synth-and-guitar aesthetic of the entire experience is then just the crown on top of its head, because make no mistake; of all the La-La Land Records releases I’ve reviewed so far, as much as I love them all – Top Gun is king.

Buy it below, before it sells out. Because it probably will.

Score: 10/10

Standout Cues: 5. Jester Flying/12. Mav Vs Viper/44. Top Gun Theme (Extended Mix)

Buy the 2-CD expansion for Harold Faltermeyer’s score right here, published by La-La Land Records.

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