The Last Unicorn (album)

The Last Unicorn
Film score by America
Released November 19, 1982
Recorded 1982
Genre Soundtrack
Length 38:19
Label Virgin Records
America chronology
View from the Ground
(1982)View from the Ground1982		 The Last Unicorn
(1982)		 Your Move
(1983)Your Move1983

The Last Unicorn is a 1982 soundtrack album composed and arranged by Jimmy Webb, and performed by America with the London Symphony Orchestra.[1] The album contains the film score for the 1982 film The Last Unicorn, which was based on novel by Peter S. Beagle.

Production

The Last Unicorn soundtrack was recorded at De Lane Lea Studios in Wimbley, England in 1982.[1] The album was released in Germany in 1983 by Virgin Records,[1] but has not been released in the United States; it includes the film score's symphonic pieces. Mia Farrow's vocals, which appeared in the film, were overdubbed for the soundtrack album by Katie Irving. The film's soundtrack also features a song (That's All I've Got To Say) written by acclaimed american singer/songwriter, Art Garfunkel. [2]

Composition

The title song is performed jointly by America and the London Symphony Orchestra, and plays in the film's opening credits while scenes based on The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries form a backdrop. It is referred to later as a leitmotif by the film score.

Critical reception

In his review for AllMusic, James Christopher Monger wrote:

The score itself, an appropriately somber and sentimental blend of fairy tale motifs and dark, Wagnerian cues, reflects the story's achingly beautiful tale of a unicorn who attempts to overthrow a maniacal king determined to rid the world of the magical creatures, while the songs are far more creative, daring, and eloquent than all of the cookie-cutter balladry that would eventually replace their type in future animated films. Like Watership Down, The Hobbit, and even Robert Altman's live action, Harry Nilsson-scored Popeye, this hard to find soundtrack is a gem from another age.[3]

Kyle Anderson of the website Nerdist wrote that Jimmy Webb and America were among the "many great people [who] were involved" with the 1982 film, and that the album's "songs work pretty well".[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Jimmy Webb.

  1. "The Last Unicorn" – 3:07
  2. "Man's Road" – 3:23
  3. "In the Sea" – 3:15
  4. "Now That I'm a Woman" – 2:36
  5. "That's All I've Got to Say" – 2:42
  6. "The Last Unicorn Part 2" – 3:07
  7. "Forest Awakens: The Unicorn Forest/ The Hunters" – 2:09
  8. "Red Soup" – 0:30
  9. "Red Bull Attacks" – 3:36
  10. "The Cat" – 1:39
  11. "The Tree" – 1:19
  12. "Haggard's Unicorns" – 2:10
  13. "Bull-Unicorn-Woman" – 2:46
  14. "Unicorns in the Sea" – 1:50
  15. "Unicorn and Lír" – 3:28[1]

Personnel

  • Jimmy Webb – producer, arranger, composer
  • London Symphony Orchestra – orchestra
  • Gerry Beckley – lead vocals (1, 3, 6, 15), piano, backing vocals
  • Dewey Bunnell – lead vocals (2), guitar, backing vocals
  • Michael Woods – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Brad Palmer – bass, backing vocals
  • Willie Leacox – drums, percussion
  • Katie Irving – vocals (4, 5)
  • Jeff Bridges – vocals (5)[1]
  • Art Garfunkel – songwriting ("That's All I've Got to Say" )

Covers

The song "The Last Unicorn" has been covered by Kenny Loggins on his Return to Pooh Corner album. In 2015, Ninja Sex Party covered the song to raise awareness of a US screening tour for the film hosted by the book's author Peter S. Beagle, and later released on their album Under the Covers. Singer Dan Avidan has stated on numerous occasions that the story was his favorite as a child.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Last Unicorn". Discogs. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Art Garfunkel Official Site". www.artgarfunkel.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  3. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "The Last Unicorn". AllMusic. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Kyle (9 June 2015). "Review: The Last Unicorn is Alive on Blu-ray". Nerdist. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Last Unicorn (Cover) - Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht". Retrieved June 11, 2015.
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