Ah, those 80s synth pop soundtracks - which ones don't suck?

Exactly. Both Blade Runner and Antarctica (Nankyoku Monogatari) are very strong soundtrack albums.

 

Cat People?

 

I'd forgotten about those two tracks, which IIRC were the a- and b-side of the single, and they are fantastic indeed. My main gripe is that I feel the soundtrack doesn't suit the movie.

 

Nonsense. Ryuichi Sakamoto's soundtrack is perfectly apt fot the movie's subject matter.

And the title track is beautiful.

 

Yes, the soundtrack CD was released as "Furyo".

 

I just heard it. It's great!

 

The TRON soundtrack
Vangelis' Blade Runner, and Antarctica
Tangerine Dream: Thief, Near Dark, Risky Business
Brad Fiedel: The Terminator

 

Eddie and the Cruisers ................................. Does this one count?

 

Almost forgot this one:


1. Good Love - Prince
2. True Faith - New Order
3. Divine Emotions - Narada
4. Kiss And Tell - Bryan Ferry
5. Pleasure, Little Treasure - Depeche Mode
6. Century's End - Donald Fagen
7. Obsessed - The Noise Club
8. Love Attack - Konk
9. Ice Cream Days - Jennifer Hall
10. Pump Up The Volume - M/A/R/R/S

 

No need to get stroppy. I'm a huge Sakamoto fan and this is just my opinion. Obviously, this was Sakamoto's first soundtrack, composed and recorded in a month. The original idea was to use real instrumentation, which I reckon would have worked better. Either way, he's done more rewarding scores later on.

 

Nice..i forgot about those!

I have BP and RotN on LP...and both are really cool sountracks full of typical 80s synth pop.

And they DO NOT suck! YAY!

 

Awesome..'The Lost Boys' is one of my fave 80s flicks. Everything about it is great....( well, except maybe Corey Haim...). Love it love it LOVE IT! The music is fab.

'Fright Night' is another fave, and yes, i recall their being some nice synth work in the main film score. I don't have the LP, but i beleive it was issued mostly as a pop tune album. Would have to check..but it would be sweet if it had some score.

On a unrelated sidenote...

Dandridge, the main lead vampire in 'Fright' was fantastic, but Kiefer Sutherlands' 'David' from 'Lost Boys' was even moreso!

 

Here are a couple of gems :

Ridley Scott's 'Legend' -
Has a very nice synth score by Tangerine Dream, plus the stunning 'Loved By The Sun' end title track by them and Jon Anderson ( of YES fame). Worth the price of the album alone..that one.

Danny Elfman - 'Music For A Darkened Theatre' -
Though not technically a 'sountrack' it is a 1990 compilation album of most of Mr. Elfmans' scoring works up to that time, the most recent inclusion being a segment from 'Darkman'. I mention this album as it is all 80s works, and the earlier works contained on it ('Face Like a Frog', etc.) are pure synth work and damn good. Pure score...some really cool stuff....but no songs.

So it sort of qualifies.

 

For me. what makes me nostalgic is music found in 80's movies, completely synthesized, but its something that is hard to go out looking for. Maybe the kind of music i'm thinking of is slightly more on the serious side, but what I'm thinking about can be found in the opening credits of Hoosiers. I also liked "Bionic Boar" from Animalympics. I've listened to a bit of To Live and Die in L.A. and I've been liking some of that too, any other suggestions?

 

Retro '80s synth sounds are hugely hip now. People fawn over DX7s now that they're retro.
I love '80s synth soundtracks: Robocop, Big Trouble in Little China. Beverly Hills Cop, No Man's Land ... it's all good.

 

Maybe as it was at the start of the 80s so it wasn't too tarnished, but I loved Francis Monkman's: The Long Good Friday and from UK TV Clannad & Robin of Sherwood.

 

Rocky IV

Vince DiCola was pretty good at this.

 

Original Black Rain score/soundtrack is highly listenable with eclectic selection of pop tracks in the film.

The score itself is brilliant. I find all Zimmer's other work totally bland in comparison

 

Donnie Darko is not from the 80s but features great 80s synth pop

 

Liquid Sky.

 

This one is excellent and perfect for late night listening. I would love to own a copy, but I don't think it has ever been officially released.

 

Purple Rain...

 

Top Gun is good... Just for the "Top Gun Anthem" at the end by Steve Stevens and Harold Faltermeyer. Love 80s soundtracks in general, but not sure if some of my favourites would fit the bill for this thread, "Betty Blue" being a big personal favourite.

 

If you're talking a synth-pop soundtrack I don't think many from the '80s have held up better than the work Eurythmics did for 1984. It's very much of-the-time, but I also think it has timeless qualities and fit the film really well.

The director hated it, though - although approaching Eurythmics to do the soundtrack wasn't his idea, the studio went around him. He had most of the music cut from the film.

Supposedly there's a cut of the film somewhere (Japan?) with the full soundtrack Eurythmics produced, and reportedly it's a much better film as a result. Wouldn't surprise me, as I found the film dull and disjointed - the somewhat surreal, often tragic music Eurythmics recorded for the film would have at least given it a compelling mood.