Conquest of/Battle for the Planet of the Apes CD

With special added bonus -- the theme by Lalo Schifrin for the 1974 Apes TV show!

News flash by Lukas Kendall

I suppose it was a foregone conclusion that we had this CD up our sleeves -- but it was still a lot of hard work and we're thrilled to be able to release it finally. It's the last missing link (no pun intended) to the Apes evolution, the previously unreleased scores to the final two sequels.

Early last year we released Leonard Rosenman's masterpiece sci-fi score to Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), complete with the LP re-recording issued at the time of the film. (Jerry Goldsmith's scores to 1968's Planet of the Apes and 1971's Escape from the Planet of the Apes are available on CD from Varèse Sarabande.) Now, get the scores to the fourth and fifth films by Tom Scott and Leonard Rosenman, respectively.

Conquest for the Planet of the Apes (1972) is the darkest film in the series, set in futuristic and fascist 1991 where humans have forced apes into slavery. Cornelius' son Caesar (also played by Roddy MacDowall) rallies the apes into a fighting force that takes over the society in a violent allegory of the then-recent Watts riots. Jazz musician and film composer Tom Scott -- then only 24 years old -- updated the Apes sound into a harsh and slightly more contemporary feel, writing a memorably rhythmic main title and aggressive brass licks for the climactic ape riots. This CD features his complete Conquest score as heard in the picture plus numerous cues which were dropped from the film and have never before been heard -- including his original seven-minute finale, eliminated when a revised ending was concocted in the editing room. The Conquest tracks on this CD are a combination of stereo and mono.

Leonard Rosenman returned to the series for Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), reprising his atonal, challenging symphonic sound from the second film but writing new themes and motifs. The main title is a long, powerful and uptempo march for gorilla general Aldo's horseback ride into the camp where apes and humans have made a tentative peace. The score also includes numerous action cues, deranged acoustic and electronic effects for the mutant human enemies, and -- a rarity for the Apes series -- moments of genuine melody and warmth, including the optimistic end title. The complete score is presented here, in stereo.

As a final bonus, the CD includes Lalo Schifrin's main title to the short-lived Planet of the Apes TV show from 1974 -- an aggressive 70-second piece (in mono) firmly in the atonal Apes mold but shot through with the composer's own style.

The CD is beautifully packaged with a reversible cover -- Conquest on one side, Battle on the other -- and an illustrated 16-page booklet with liner notes by Apes authority Guy Mariner Tucker.

$19.95 plus shipping

Conquest of/Battle for the Planet of the Apes

Click on links for RealAudio sound clips!

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Music by Tom Scott

1. Main Title 4:00
2. Ape Servitude 2:35
3. 1991 Restaurant 1:14
4. Caesar Sneaks Off 1:21
5. Caesar's Plan 1:14
6. Subjugation Soul 1:20
7. Simian Servant School 3:19
8. Ape Auction/Armando Dies 3:30
9. Civil Disobedience 2:25
10. Caesar Speaks 1:49
11. Electrocution 1:40
12. The King Is Dead 1:34
13. Ape Revolt Begins 5:07
14. Revolution 7:11.

Total Conquest time: 38:47

Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Music Composed and Conducted by Leonard Rosenman

15. Main Title 3:45
16. Teacher Teacher 1:37
17. Caesar Departs 0:54
18. March to the Dead City 4:08
19. Discovery 1:13
20. Mutants Move Out 3:49
21. Through the Binoculars 1:25
22. Ricky's Theme 2:17
23. Ape Harms Ape 1:41
24. Mutants March 0:42
25. Vigil to Mutants 3:04
26. Not a Tree Standing 2:18
27. The Battle 2:34
28. Fight Like Apes 0:58
29. Kolp Gets It 0:45
30. Ape Has Killed Ape 1:58
31. Only the Dead 1:04

Total Battle time: 34:43

Planet of the Apes (Television Series)
32. Main Title (Lalo Schifrin) 1:13

Total Disc Time: 74:44

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