Track Listing

1. Stargate Overture
2. Giza
3. Unstable
4. The Coverstones
5. Orion
6. The Stargate Opens
7. You're On The Team
8. Entering The Stargate
9. The Other Side
10. Mastadge Drag
11. The Mining Pit
12. King Of The Slaves
13. Caravan To Nagada
14. Daniel and Shauri
15. Symbol Discovery
16. Sarcophagus Opens
17. Daniel's Mastadge
18. Leaving Nagada
19. Ra - The Sun God
20. The Destruction of Nagada
21. Myth, Faith, Belief
22. Procession
23. Slave Rebellion
24. The Seventh Symbol
25. Quartz Shipment
26. Battle At The Pyramid
27. We Don't Want To Die
28. The Surrender
29. Kasuf Returns
30. Going Home

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44585 in Music
• Released on: 1994-11-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: English, Swedish

Customer Reviews

A must have for any collection
This stands as one of the great scores of the 1990s. Sweeping, majestic, haunting, and full of big themes. There's a "romantic" quality to this score that's virtually non-existent in film music these days. Just about every track on this CD transports you to another world - an accomplishment matched only by John William's scores for the Star Wars movie.

I own nearly 100 soundtracks, and this is the one I listen to the most. It's the reason people collect scores in the first place. (But sadly, Arnold never matched this in his later scores).

"Ben-Hur" meets "Star Wars"
One of the best parts of the sci-fi adventure film "Stargate" was David Arnold's superb musical score. Arnold's music is true to the film's concept, which blends science fiction gadgetry with motifs inspired by ancient Egypt; the music thus combines the flavor of classic space opera scores (like "Star Wars") with great biblical epic scores (like "Ben-Hur" or "The Ten Commandments").

The CD opens with the outstanding "Stargate Overture," a rich, romantic composition with ominous shadings. The CD as a whole is an excellent balance of militaristic, gentle, rousing, exotic, and just plain fun passages. Particularly impressive is "Ra -- The Sun God," which builds to a seductive yet horrific crescendo. Highly recommended for fans of great film scoring.

Give my regards to King Tut!
The tracks herein correspond exactly to those in the Special Edition DVD version of the film - none of that 're-recorded to get a musically superior version' nonsense. The tracks correspond to their order in the film, with one exception. A few isolated musical passages are omitted as separate tracks, usually because they're extracts from longer sequences elsewhere. I'll indicate which parts of the film correspond to each track, to help people decide for themselves what they'll be getting out of this CD.

"Stargate Overture" - The opening credits, complete with the 'growling' FX.

"Giza, 1928" - In the theatrical release, this immediately follows the overture, but with the volume so low that initially it's hard to hear. It ends with the cut from Giza to Daniel's lecture.

"Unstable" covers O'Neil's introduction, but begins in the preceding scene with the cheerful 5-note ripple as Catherine hands Daniel his travel plans.

"The Coverstones" skips the march as the camera first pans up to Creek Mountain, but begins as Daniel first enters the coverstones' room during the meet & greet, ending as he spots the chalkboard translation (omitting the little flourish accompanying his corrections).

"Orion" omits the short, isolated musical phrase covering the cut to Daniel's taped notes, beginning when Daniel marks up the 'borrowed' newspaper's star chart, ending as Catherine introduces West.

"The Stargate Opens" begins with West's "Show him", ending as the probe is sent through (not including the creepy passage as the robot approaches the gate).

"You're On the Team" begins as West adds Daniel to the team, ending as his travel allergies kick in again. :)

"Entering the Stargate" begins as the team enters the Stargate room on the Creek Mountain end, ending in the cacophony accompanying the actual ride through the gate.

"The Other Side" doesn't include the march cadence as the team members light their flares and spread out, but begins just before they step outside, ending with Daniel's...overview...of the pyramid. :)

"Mastadge Drag" - All the way from 'It's domesticated!' to...well, ick. But being slobbered over by a mastadge *does* beat being dead. (I can't listen to this without a smile, dramatic steeple-chasing format notwithstanding.)

"The Mining Pit" begins after the team catches up with Daniel, ending as they actually enter the mining complex. It's built around the basic Stargate theme, shifted to a minor key. This, after all, is the price of the glittering stargate technology.

"King of the Slaves" begins with O'Neil's handshake, ending with the arrival of Kasuf, the village chief.

"Caravan to Nagada" spans the trip from the pit to Nagada, ending upon their arrival, before the eye-of-Ra scene. (The 'live' music of the feast isn't included).

"Daniel and Shauri" - After the, er, initial misunderstanding, this picks up when the two exchange names, ends as he asks her to show him the Earth symbol. (Part of this track is also used during their second misunderstanding, after the Nagada kids' rescue of O'Neil's team.)

The Anubis ambush isn't a separate track.

"Symbol Discovery" begins as Shauri leads Daniel into the hidden caves of hieroglyphic records, but isn't played as one continuous passage in the film.

"Sarcophagus Opens" picks up as the prisoners are dragged before the sarcophagus, incorporating a brief extract from Ra's theme before the crescendo as Ra's hand emerges.

"Daniel's Mastadge" - 'I guess the word 'dweeb' doesn't mean anything to you guys, does it?'

Daniel's narration of the hieroglyphic record of the rebellion is accompanied by Ra's theme in the film, but that particular recording is not included as a separate track on the CD.

Beginning with the discovery of the cartouche lacking the seventh symbol, "Leaving Nagada" continues as the team leaves the village to return to base camp, ending with their transfer to Ra's ship.

"Ra - The Sun God" - The full-orchestra version of Ra's theme - the funereal march accompanying our first clear look at Ra as he enters his throne room.

"The Destruction of Nagada" corresponds to the air strike on the village. The music doesn't begin until the attack is nearly over, covers the devastation, and ends with the cut back to the pyramid.

"Myth, Faith, and Belief" accompanies Daniel's conversation with Ra on the special edition, and in a chopped-up version in the theatrical release version, although the dialogue that made the song title appropriate isn't in either version of the film. (It *is* in the novelization, though - Ra's fundamental tools for controlling a population that so greatly outnumbers his guards.)

"Procession" incorporates Ra's theme again, accompanying the public execution that doesn't follow his script, ending with the mirror. :) It's followed immediately by "Slave Rebellion" - a more serious version of "Mastadge Drag".

Daniel's confrontation with O'Neil, "We Don't Want to Die", is included, but isn't in order. Ra's torture of his guards is accompanied only by a standard extract from Ra's theme, so it isn't a separate track.

Daniel identifies "The Seventh Symbol" after watching the boy sketching the day of victory.

"Quartz Shipment" begins with Ra's order to send the bomb down to the Stargate, as he keeps an eye on the approaching caravan, ending with 'How ya doin'?" :) "Battle at the Pyramid" begins not as the shooting starts, but as Kawalsky realizes that the team's cover has been blown, ending with Nabeh's fall.

"The Surrender" - Kowalsky's attempt to save the lives of his people after their ammo runs out.

"Kasuf Returns" covers the village chief's final return to the pyramid, with all his friends.

"Going Home" covers the closing scene, from the final explosion to The End. :)