Toto Album: “Dune [Score]”

David Lynch's film adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel is still considered to be one of the biggest failures in cinema, and it's no surprise why. While the three-hour televised version was a poor attempt by the studio to live up to Lynch's original vision of making a three or four hour long movie, it did have some remarkable scenes that could have greatly improved the film if they had only allowed Lynch to make the film he wanted to make. In my mind, it is still the one of the best film adaptations of a sci-fi novel ever produced. That said, on to the review of the soundtrack...

To think that pop-rock band Toto are the composers of this soundtrack is almost impossible, but here it is. And it is perhaps one of the most brilliant scores ever composed for a film. The orchestration and arrangements are very well done, and the band integrate their own sounds in quite nicely (especially Steve Lukather's guitar which just adds a sense of depth and power to the songs...it certainly shows how rock and classical can co-exist in a single theme). The band really captured the mystical qualities of the story and provided an epic framework to augment the music. The music is so visual, you can picture the scenes in your head as you hear them. A previous reviewer said listening to this CD while reading the original novels helps the experience, and I will not disagree, for it does make it all the more enjoyable.

The best tracks to me are the original demo version of the main title (it would have been interesting to see the band performing the soundtrack by themselves, without an orchestra, but...still), "Take My Hand" (the end titles which is probably one of the best score compositions/pop songs ever), "Dune (Desert Theme)," "Riding the Sandworm," "The Trip to Arrakis" (this one is eerie, and it plays in the film during what I think was one of the best visuals in the whole film), and "Paul Meets Chani." There are some flaws with the remastering of this CD, but I don't think it hurts the music at all.

Aside from mastering flaws, the only other problem I have with this CD is the lack of Brian Eno's "Prophecy Theme," but it can be excused since this is Toto's score album, meaning all the music Toto wrote for the film. Therefore, it would not make sense to include a song they didn't write. Still...it would be nice to make it a complete score album, but I'm not complaining. All said and done, this is perhaps one of the greatest soundtrack albums ever produced for a film, and I think it deserves a great deal more appreciation than it receives. Fans of rock should like it, fans of classical should like it, EVERYONE should like it. Give it a listen! You won't be disappointed!

The film, Dune, was not at all popular with critics, and still is not. Although I do not agree with this, and it would seem that a very large number of people don't, but there we go. Generally, critics are not too great at judging films, especially Sci-Fi. This criticism should not, however, spill over into TOTO's amazing score. This is one of the first examples of Electric guitars, etc, being incoroporated with classical music. The result is sweeping, it stirs emotions of suspense, horror and joy (among many others- most being undescribeable). The impression given is akin to what one might have watching a film of the Second Coming Of Jesus Christ. Paul Atreides truly seems to be the Messia.

Such music comes about rarely these days. This is unlike any music you will have ever heard before. And this soundtrack has the added bonus of containing 13 previously unpublished tracks, many of which are the ones you would be buying the CD for anyway. The heavy theme music will be with you for a very long time, as will the lighter hearted Dune(Desert theme), as well as the powerful Big Battle. This is a sure winner, if you want something great.

I just received this CD this weekend & continue to be amazed by the versatility of Toto. I saw them in concert in 1978 & have been a fan ever since. This is some of their most unique work - a collection of classical works, composed by Toto & recorded with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. It it unlike anything you have, or probably will ever hear in the future. Jeff Porcaro is masterful as the creator & composer of the percussion score - it is a thing of beauty. My favorite pieces are the #28 Dune (Desert Theme) & #30 Take My Hand. They are songs which will stay with you long after the stereo has been turned off, as other reviewers have said also. If you are a fan of rock & roll only, you will probably not like this collection. If you like Toto & enjoy classical works & other unique musical endeavors, this one is for you - I highly recommend it.

"Dune: Original Motion Picture Score" is a good title for this album IF you are not looking for an EXACT movie score. There are several scenes in the movie that has music you simply will not find on this album. However, I rate this album very high on the soundtrack review. Most soundtracks are not always exactly like their movie's music anyway. One example: The scene where Paul asks Stilgar "Do we have wormsign?" Stilgar replies: "Usal, we have wormsign the likes of which even god has never seen." After this the scene cuts to the desert where the worms are gathering for the attack. The exact music that is played as the worms appear IS NOT found on this soundtrack.

ToTo and the Dune universe, a strange mix indeed, and if you have heard ToTo's other albums, you'll find that this soundtrack beats them all. This soundtrack (Score) is the extended version of the original soundtrack. It features 15! tracks not to be found on the original soundtrack. Including the demo version of the melody that made sure that ToTo got the job of making the soundtrack to Dune. The original soundtrack features speeches from the movie, those are not to be found on this soundtrack, but if you have the movie, you don't really need those speeches. Or you could offcourse like I have buy both of them. That way you'll never regret your purchase!