Various – Scarface (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

There is a limited edition vinyl release of this currently for pre-order on La-La Land's website.

I need this cassette in my life, someone please, push it to the limit and sell it to me

Push it to the limit - Walk along the razor’s edge, but don’t look down, just keep your head, or you’ll be finished…

Brian de Palma's crime-drama SCARFACE from 1983, based on a screenplay by Oliver Stone, starred Al Pacino as Cuban refugee/gangster Tony Montana, who came to Miami to experience the crime version of the American Dream. He eventually becomes a powerful and extremely homicidal drug lord. The film became quite a big success at the time, but it's in more recent times that the cult status of the movie has been cemented.

Director de Palma went to Italian composer, songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder (born 1940) for the music for SCARFACE. In 1983 Moroder was extremely hot both in Hollywood and in the pop and disco music world, having won an Oscar for MIDNIGHT EXPRESS some years before and having also scored films like AMERICAN GIGOLO, CAT PEOPLE and FLASHDANCE. Moroder and his studio assistant/arranger Sylvester Levay sculpted a fitting score for the film, and they also churned out no less than 8 songs that would appear on the soundtrack album along with two selections from the instrumental score.

In 2018 La La Land Records started the work on getting all the music from the film out to collectors, and now, 4 years later, the job is done. A double-CD set with a 20-page booklet, with liner notes by Tim Grieving and a new interview with Sylvester Levay, limited to 5000 copies and running for 2 hours and 36 minutes is finally out, almost 40 years after the release of the film. High quality as usual from La La Land, but once more I can't help missing some photos by Moroder and the musicians in the booklet, working in the studio. Surely a thing like that must have been possible to track down? We have seen different pictures of the actors a thousand times, but this is a CD, not the film.

OK, now I have gotten that off my chest, let's concentrate on the music. Disc 1 of this set consists of the score, running for 77 minutes and 28 tracks. The three most important themes are those for Tony, Gina (Tony's sister) and Elvira (Tony's girlfriend). Those themes appear in different guises (maybe a little too much?) throughout the album, and they are of course also included on the original 1983 soundtrack. Tony's theme is a destiny-filled melody that has a peculiar feel of classical music in the arrangement and chords. It's mostly heard in the tracks "Just Paranoid" and "409 Citrus Drive". The tracks simply called "Elvira" and "Gina" showcase their themes splendidly, both of them being bittersweet and highly melodic pieces of electronic film music.

Personally, the piece of music that I most wanted was the "Main Title", a rhythmic and exciting theme that kind of reminds me of French disco-electro artist Cerrone. This theme hits the zeitgeist of 1983 right in the bulls-eye, and is a perfect opener both to the film and to the album. But other than these 4 themes, there really isn't too much in terms of new and exciting material on disc one. There are interesting snippets here and there though, like the AIRWOLF-like ending to "Tony Rescued", the haunting "Sosa/Talk To Frank", the MIAMI VICE-feel of the attack-parts of track 24 and the Harold Faltermeyer-like suspense of "Tony Escapes".

There is also "The Chase" which starts like Moroder has fallen asleep on his synthesizer, before it segues into a Sylvester Levay-like sequencer with Tony's theme incorporated. Clever. "Bolivia" is a short acoustic folk-music ditty, while tracks like "Bye Bernstein" and "Finale" are quite heavy-handed suspense cues that are not particularly easy on the ear. Disc 1 closes with the unused "Trailer Music", which is kind of an instrumental version of the song "Push It To The Limit."

Disc 2 contains the original 35-minute 1983 album, plus 43 minutes of additional music and source material. The original soundtrack included 10 tracks, all of them written by Moroder. Instrumentals "Tony's Theme" and "Gina And Elviras Theme" have already been discussed, while the 8 songs are of course mostly in the disco genre. Paul Engemann's "Push It To The Limit" is probably the most well-known song here, it's classic Moroder, including the sitar-like sound that should permeate 1984's "NeverEnding Story" by Limahl. Blondie's Deborah Harry sings "Rush, Rush" three years after having worked with Moroder on "Call Me" from AMERICAN GIGOLO, and actress Maria Conchita sings the all-Spanish "Vamos A Bailar". Singers Beth Andersen and Elizabeth Daily are also featured; they would continue to work at the Moroder-camp on movies like THIEF OF HEARTS, ELECTRIC DREAMS, NEVERENDING STORY, THE BREAKFAST CLUB and ANOTHER WAY. It must also be mentioned that Keith Forsey performs all the drums and percussion on this double-album.

The 13 tracks of additional music are a diverse mix of extended versions, unused songs and source material. Beth Andersen's "Right Combination" is better than a couple of songs on the original soundtrack, and that can also be said of Joe Esposito's "Success", which reminds me of a theme from CAT PEOPLE. An instrumental version of "Success" was used as the trailer music for SCARFACE. "Car Getaway Source" is an instrumental version of "Right Combination", while the three "Cuban" tracks are sleazy and simply annoying. The three "Muzak" cues are somewhat more interesting, with Moroder's style clearly coming through. And in the end, we have the two "Disco" cues, where one of them bears a weird similarity to Harold Faltermeyer's "Captain Freedom's Workout" from RUNNING MAN, no less.

156 minutes of music from SCARFACE is a real marathon, but this release shows just how right Giorgio Moroder was as composer for this film back in 1983. A cult classic has finally got the soundtrack release it deserves.

Jon Aanensen

I've been waiting for this score for many years... it was my dream release.
And I'm going to write a lot about release this here :)

Hearing this separately from the movie is a real treat! The guys from La La Land have done a fantastic job on the sound quality: the cues sound are crystal and clear. The synthesizer sounds fat, but it is not rough: it is pleasant for the ears.
It's hard to choose a favorite track(s) as all the tracks are very good, but still I really liked: 'Chainsaw / Tony Rescued', 'The World Is Yours', 'Gina Dead / Chi-Chi Wasted'. Lately I've been listening to these tracks. I would like to say that I really liked the way Moroder used the drums on the tracks "Tony Rescued" and "Tony Escapes". Very cool!! The track 'The World Is Yours' sounds powerful, conveying the character of Montana's. The track "Chainsaw" perfectly conveys suspense and strong tension. Damn cool!
In general, this score is quite varied and does not sound repetitive. Not only the main themes are great, but other themes as well. Those who love 80's synth soundtracks won't cry that it sounds cheesy and dated! :)

This soundtrack shows that the music in a film can sound very epic and powerful without the use of an orchestra. As for me, the synthesizer is able to create a powerful and catchy sound that will be remembered even after decades!
Giorgio Moroder created one of the best soundtracks of his time (I think this is his best work), with catchy themes that remain in memory for a long time. Although he was a gifted composer, it seems to me that without the help of Sylvester Levay (another underestimated talent) it would have been difficult for him to translate his musical ideas so beautifully into this score. Levay did an excellent job of arranged score. He made significant contributions to the soundtrack. We must give him credit.
I am very pleased with this release. I have no complaints or questions about this release! La-La Land is truly magical! This is a luxurious and high-quality edition from people who are fans of their craft.

Big thanks to the La-La Land Records team, and to Neil S. Bulk and Chris Malone!

This release is so good, it includes the score that was never released before, beautifully restored in hiqh quality from the original tapes, also comes with the 1983 soundtrack mix also restored and not the 2000's remix, to add even more LLL has put up on CD2 cues used in the movie like little songs that plays in the Babylon club or some cuban music, little tracks but that are very good on their own, Cuban II and Disco I are my favorites of those, as for the main CD with the score, the Main Title, Rebenga, Elvira, Bolivia,The World Is Yours, The Chase and the End Title are really great, the whole score is good.. I can't recommend it enough, this is a must have if you love this movie, the liner notes also gives incredible knowledge to how and by who the score was being brought to life back in '83

Everything about this release is perfect, except the booklet is very prone to bending/creasing on the spine (all La La-Land stuff tends to have paper issues; either too stiff or too thin) and also the ridiculous chain of track titles bundled together. I've had to individually split all of Disc 1 into 48 tracks with Audacity, as the file path length is far too long when copying to other devices, such as tracks 13 and 24 on Disc 1. Other than that annoyance, it's a bloody work of art this release is and the 40 years is worth the wait!

Just to let everyone know that all universal CD remasters of this album are remixed. Though not noted on this listing, there was definitely a MCA / Warner first issue of this sound track on CD back in 1984, if in any doubt, at least the original soundtrack was released in 1990 in it's original form. So like many others on here, very pissed and annoyed, if anyone has a copy of the original, I think many on here would be glad and appreciative to have access to a lossless copy of it.

Anyone know if this is the original or remixed version?

Images are of my own copy. Fantastic sounding pressing, regardless to it being South African.