"Jerry Goldsmith reached his apex in scoring with the music for First Blood, the first of the Rambo films. Goldsmith uses a very large orchestra to capture the ever-chaning moods of the film, and does so with a superb mix of bombast and tenderness.The main theme is rendered in the opening and closing numbers, Homecoming and It's A Long Road. The open captures Rambo's sense of hope at meeting a long-lost comrade. The close summarizes the final purge of bitterness from Rambo.In between are many stellar numbers. Goldsmith exacts tremendous virtuoso playing, at times mixing glissandi, multinote intervals, and every other classification of music one can think off to extract the maximum power. It can be breathtaking listening to such cues as the musical chaos of The Tunnel, the savagery of The Razor, and the sheer terror of Hanging On and Over The Cliff.And then there is tenderness, drawn from the opening half of Mountain Hunt, and from My Town - capturing the sense of failure of Rambo having found that his close friend has died.Soundtracks don't get better than First Blood. It is a true musical classic."
Goldsmith is a God!
Inspector Gadget | On the trail of Doctor Claw | 10/16/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This soundtrack (although too short) is too cool for words. I was so much in love with this when I first bought it that I never thot about buying the score to the sequel because I was too busy listening to this over and over. The main theme is empathic and patriotic and makes us feel what Rambo is feeling, which is sadness and despair. The action tracks are red hot. "The Razor" is amazing and builds up to a powerful and pressurized explosion of fury as Rambo lays waste to the cops. Other notable tracks are "Over the Cliff" and "Hanging On". This is a CD filled (but not full enough) of action and adventure that will surely excite you. This is very much deserving of 5 stars."
Jerry Goldsmith is da Man!!!!
Inspector Gadget | 09/30/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jerry Goldsmith is argueibly the best movie composer there is!He made First Blood perfect!The movie was very good but Jerry Goldsmith made it even better with this outstanding score!Every single song is amazingly beautiful and the Long Road song by Dan Hill is a true classic!In MY opinion this is one of Goldsmith`s best of all time soundtracks!This cd is pricesless!There is nothing else like this!"
One Of My Personal Sedimental Favorites
Jason Scherer | Melbourne, Australia | 07/26/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this soundtrack on cassette from a second hand records store quite a few years ago now, the music makes me feel i am watching the movie when i am listening to it. I have the Australian version on cassette, but the listing is different, "It's A Long Road" is the opening song, while some of the other instrumental tracks are not in order, but that's not taking anything away from the sheer power & sweeping, beautiful sounds of Jerry Goldsmith's unforgettable score."
The Best Of Its Kind
Jason Scherer | 11/25/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The early 1980s were pretty much the birthing zone of the high-octane action-adventure films that Hollywood and audiences across the world so dearly love; you know, the ones where ultra-violence and senseless brutality tend to reign over character and story. Not so with FIRST BLOOD; as the initial entry of the RAMBO series of films, Jerry Goldsmith's score is the essential hallmark of adventure movies. In this score, you'll find the mandatory action cues--and who does these better than Goldsmith, anyway?--accompanied by some rather soulful, almost mourning touches. Goldsmith makes good use of synthesizers here, but doesn't neglect what sounds like a 100-piece orchestra. Violins soar, basses thrum, and brass trumpets atop a storm of percussion. Best utilized is the fluting trumpets that give Rambo his musical soul. If you're a Goldsmith fan in particular or just a soundtrack buff in general, this is one score you should add to your collection, because man, it's a keeper"