The Fog



Varèses Release

Silva Release
 Composer: John Carpenter
Availability: **/****
Rating: **1/2

When I obtained this new expanded release of The Fog, I was not very excited due to 2 simple reasons: 1. I am not a fan of John Carpenter. 2. I have the original Varèse release of it and I did not quite like it. In fact, I don't remember when was the last time I listen to it. Probably years ago. Of course, my taste has changed much since then. There are scores that I did not like years ago but I like them now. I was hoping The Fog is one of them. Unfortunately, my impression of it has not changed much since.

The release contains identical material from the original release plus 6 new tracks and about 13 minutes of previously unreleased music. The disc starts off with a spooky story narration by John Houseman. It sets the tone of the music very well. The general atmosphere of the score is ominous and creepy, but yet it is not that scary. It's like Halloween without the famous fast paced main theme. The main theme for The Fog is a quiet and low key piano theme. Sounds quite stereotypical. The arrangement of the score is quite simple also. You can't hear more than the sound of three or four instruments at the same time. Piano accompanied by synthesizer sound is the core of it. The score virtually has no fast, or even slightly fast, passage. It is no doubt a very effective horror score. A great CD to play in your haunted house or as background music for spooky story telling, as there is no big crescendo throughout the score.

As for the bonus score tracks, they offer almost nothing new compare to the regular tracks. In the interview track, Jamie Lee Curtis talks about acting in general more than The Fog. If you are a John Carpenter fan and don't have the original release, of course you should be very happy about this release since the Varèse release is very hard to find these days. In general, you can pick up this CD later if you have the original release. Otherwise, get it only if you are a John Carpenter fan or like "lay-back" spooky music.



    Varèse Sarabande Release Track Listing:
  1. Matthew Ghost Story (2:48)
  2. Main Title Theme (5:09)
  3. Way To The Lighthouse (2:40)
  4. Rocks At Drake's Day (2:28)
  5. The Fog (3:15)
  6. Antonio Bay (4:27)
  7. Tommy Tells of Ghost Ships (2:16)
  8. Reel 9 (10:58)
    Total Time: 34:01


    Silva Screen Release Track Listing:
  1. Prologue (Narrated by John Houseman) (2:37)
  2. Theme from "The Fog" (5:10)
  3. Matthew Ghost Story (2:49)
  4. Walk To The Lighthouse (2:41)
  5. Rocks At Drake's Bay (2:25)
  6. The Fog (3:16)
  7. Antonio Bay (4:28)
  8. Tommy Tells of Ghost Ships (2:15)
  9. Reel 9 (11:01)
    Bonus Tracks
  10. Main Theme - Reprise (1:46)
  11. The Fog Rolls In (2:50)
  12. Blake In The Sanctuary (7:16)
  13. Finale (1:22)
  14. Radio Interview with Jamie Lee Curtis about The Fog (6:08)
    Total Time: 56:34
Review Date: 12/29/00

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