The soundtrack was released August 31, 1990 through Varèse Sarabande and features twelve tracks of score at a running time just under forty minutes.
(meta data) TITLE: Filmtracks: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (Jerry Goldsmith) MOBILE SITE SUPPORT FILMTRACKS! CLICK HERE FIRST: iTunes (U.S.) eBay (U.S.) NEWEST MAJOR REVIEWS: 1. Avengers: Endgame 2. Shazam! 3. Dumbo 4. Captain Marvel 5. HTTYD: The Hidden World 6. The Lego Movie 2 CURRENT BEST-SELLING SCORES: 1. LOTR: Fellowship/Ring (2018) 2. Beauty and the Beast (Legacy) 3. Predator 4. Solo: A Star Wars Story 5. LOTR: The Two Towers (2018) 6. Space Battleship Yamato 7. Shawshank Redemption (2CD) 8. The Mummy Returns (2CD) CURRENT MOST POPULAR REVIEWS: 1. Batman 2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi 3. Apollo 13 4. Edward Scissorhands 5. How to Train Your Dragon 6. Jurassic World: Kingdom 7. First Man 8. Solo: A Star Wars Story 9. Justice League 10. Ready Player One MOBILE SITE SITE STATUS ABOUT THE SITE CONTACT US Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) 1990 Varèse 2015 Varèse Composed, Conducted, and Produced by: Jerry Goldsmith Orchestrated by: Arthur Morton Additional Music by: Alexander CourageFred Steiner LABELS & RELEASE DATES Varèse Sarabande (August 31st, 1990) Varèse Sarabande(June 22nd, 2015) ALBUM AVAILABILITY The 1990 album was a regular U.S. release, but it became difficult to find in stores after a few years The expanded 2015 Varèse Club album is limited to 3,000 copies and available primarily through soundtrack specialty outlets for an initial price of $20. None. ALSO SEE •The 'Burbs•Dennis the Menace•Matinee•Mom and Dad Save the World PRINTER FRIENDLY VIEW (inverts site colors) Availability | Viewer Ratings | Comments | Audio & Track Listings | Notes Buy it... if you've always appreciated the first Gremlins score but seek that foundation of style and themes with more robust orchestral structures, a devious sense of suspense, and a matured application of synthetic effects. Avoid it... if you are deterred by Jerry Goldsmith's detours into the realm of pure silliness, for the personality of the sound effects and rhythmic mayhem in this sequel score, along with tons of source adaptations, is among the quirkiest of his career. EDITORIAL REVIEW FILMTRACKS TRAFFIC RANK: #326 3/15/97, REVISED 10/18/15 BUY IT 1990 Album 1990 Album 1990 Album Gremlins 2: The New Batch: (Jerry Goldsmith) It's been said before, but the lesson from the 1980's still remains; if you go to America and discover cute little creatures called Mogwais, you never do two things: feed them after midnight or get them wet. If you commit the first error, the cute little fuzzball grows into a big vicious "gremlin" that will act similarly to the monsters in the Alien series. If you commit the second error, you compound the problem by causing them to multiply like Star Trek's tribbles. Either way, expose them to sunshine and your problem is more or less solved. The original 1984 film Gremlins was a great black comedy success, and in the era of sequel exploitation, director Joe Dante took the opportunity to extend himself even further into the slapstick comedy genre with the somewhat belated 1990 sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Instead of taking over the small town of Kingston Falls, the little beasts cause their mayhem in New York City this time. The first film's two stars are back to witness the funny carnage, and a large corporation's skyscraper inspired by the blowhard Donald Trump, in this case the "Clamp Corporation," is the location invaded by those nasty gremlins. Once that little bit of story is set up for you, there really isn't much else to talk about in the plotline, because as in these Home Alone and Dennis the Menace kinds of films, the premise exists only to allow the series of gags to commence. The downfall of the Gremlins sequel was that those gags weren't really all that different from those already seen, though most would argue that the second film probably had more deserving victims, including the otherwise unstoppable Christopher Lee. While making a reasonable return for the investment, Gremlins 2: The New Batch wasn't the box office success of its predecessor, but at least the franchise allowed a short cameo acting role for composer Jerry Goldsmith, a regular Joe Dante collaborator. After a decade of several classic scores, Goldsmith was just stepping into the job of slapstick comedy writer, with the first Gremlins and The 'Burbs leading a trend that would see Goldsmith venture far into that and the light drama realms during the first half of the 1990's. Read More... Being no stranger to sequel scores, Goldsmith tackled Gremlins 2 as he did his other sequels, with an entirely different approach than he had with the first film. When Goldsmith wrote the original entry in the franchise, he was nearing the height of his experimentation with synthesizers in an orchestral setting, and the electronically-dominated Gremlins score remains one of the composer's more abrasive, less organic blends. By 1990, however, his techniques at combining those two elements had matured fully, arguably yielding a far more interesting result In terms of its recording quality, the sequel is thus infinitely superior in its fullness and comparability to later digital-era scores. Those listeners partial towards composer's quirky and memorable main theme for Gremlins who lamented the lack of a fully orchestral performance of that idea are treated to a shift in focus for Gremlins 2. Still employing an excess of synthetic instrumental samples and outright sound effects, the successor features a more robust orchestral presence that is often called upon to balance Goldsmith's Rambo style with Fred Steiner's selection of Warner Brothers cartoon music adapted specifically for this picture. The title and Gizmo themes don't prevail in the sequel as often you might expect, but Goldsmith does provide a collection of complimentary themes along the same stylistic lines and references pieces from the first score when necessary. The highly entertaining "Gremlins Credits" suite was certain to be concert bait, and it has come to often represent both scores in symphonic performances in the years since. Of all of Goldsmith's arguably ridiculous scores (ranging from The 'Burbs to I.Q., with half a dozen in between), it could easily be argued that Gremlins 2 is the wackiest of them all. The malicious nature of the gremlins, along with their funny antics, allows Goldsmith to write comedy in both the major and minor key and at break-neck speeds that are difficult to maintain in most other slapstick films. A certain amount of smirking malevolence, such as in the organ-performed "Gizmo Escapes" (introducing the primary new theme for the sequel, its sneaky progressions repeated again in "Cute") is awfully devious, and Goldsmith wastes no opportunity to use the orchestra to glorify someone's untimely death with an appropriate fanfare Structurally, Gremlins 2 doesn't differ much from Mom and Dad Save the World and equivalents, though the 1980's drum pads, the quirky sound effects, and the dark intent in most of the cues easily distinguishes Gremlins 2. The sound effects will annoy some listeners, with a cue like "Leaky Faucet" and all of its bells, train whistles, car horns, and other effects sometimes interrupting the music Likewise, the "Pot Luck" cue lets rip with an ambitious brass motif over broadly swooshing sound effects (similar to those heard in Total Recall the same year), as well as the basketball beat from Hoosiers and Extreme Prejudice. In "Keep It Quiet," a fair amount of First Blood Part II is resurrected (there is, after all, some Rambo worshipping in the film), and in "New Trends," Goldsmith previews the noble optimism of First Knight to finally present the Clamp Corporation fanfare, one of the score's unheralded highlights, in a positive light. On the whole, the score's only major detraction on album for a long time was a severely muted sound quality and short duration due to frustratingly restrictive union rules at the era. Given the crystal clear quality of Goldsmith's concurrent efforts that had been remastered , it was easy to say that Gremlins 2 was a score in dire need of similar treatment, and Varèse Sarabande finally obliged fans in 2015 with not only a fantastic-sounding expanded product, but one that nearly doubled the quantity of material offered. This "Deluxe" product reveals several more original, entertaining cues of mayhem and mystery, though most notable on that product is just how much adapted source material was actually recorded for the film. Even if these silly pop-culture and Warner Brothers references are not your cup of tea, there is plenty added, devious Goldsmith material to warrant your interest. To hear the end credits' irresistible presentation of themes from both scores in superior sound will alone merit your money. Because of the 1990 CD's sound issues, a problem that severely hindered a score that relies so heavily on funky effects, the original Varèse album, despite containing Goldsmith's own preferred arrangement, remains at a three-star rating, but the 2015 successor returns the score to the four stars it deserves. The music may not have the unique compositional quality of The 'Burbs, but it is very entertaining and easily rivals its predecessor. @Amazon.com: CD or Music as Written for the Film: **** Music as Heard on the 1990 Album: *** Music as Heard on the 2015 Album: **** Overall: **** Bias Check: For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.28 (in 113 reviews)and the average viewer rating is 3.3 (in 142,404 votes) The maximum rating is 5 stars. VIEWER RATINGS 349 TOTAL VOTES Average: 3.39 Stars ***** **** *** ** (View results for all titles) 4 TOTAL COMMENTS Read All Start New Thread Search Comments Newly Released AlbumKalvin Koskela - June 22, 2015, at 12:16 p.m. 1 comment (675 views) Sound quality.hewhomustnotbenamed - June 25, 2012, at 4:44 p.m. 1 comment (1124 views) The Greatest Movie Ever Made Expand >>Eric - October 15, 2005, at 5:49 p.m. 2 comments (3161 views)Newest: July 2, 2012, at 6:20 a.m. by James Bradley More... TRACK LISTINGS AND AUDIO Audio Samples • 1990 Album: 3. Leaky Faucet (0:28) MP3 (228K) WMA (184K) Real Audio (141K) 5. Pot Luck (0:30) MP3 (242K) WMA (195K) Real Audio (150K) 8. Keep It Quiet (0:30) MP3 (242K) WMA (195K) Real Audio (150K) 12. Gremlin Credits (0:36) MP3 (290K) WMA (234K) Real Audio (181K) 1990 Varèse Album Tracks ▼Total Time: 39:25 • 1. Just You Wait (2:11) • 2. Gizmo Escapes (3:43) • 3. Leaky Faucet (3:45) • 4. Cute... (1:58) • 5. Pot Luck (3:00) • 6. The Visitors (3:31) • 7. Teenage Mutant Gremlins (3:23) • 8. Keep It Quiet (3:10) • 9. No Rats (2:23) • 10. Gremlin Pudding (2:13) • 11. New Trends (3:39) • 12. Gremlin Credits (4:52) 2015 Varèse Album Tracks ▼Total Time: 76:42 • 1. Merrily We Roll Along/Prologue/Just You Wait** (5:09) • 2. Future Thoughts* (0:34) • 3. Gizmo's Capture/A Disaster/Fatal Prognosis* (2:32) • 4. Cute...* (2:04) • 5. Gizmo Escapes (3:53) • 6. Instructions* (1:50) • 7. Leaky Faucet (3:49) • 8. The Impostor* (1:14) • 9. The Visitors (3:34) • 10. No Rats (2:28) • 11. The Long Fall/Hot Wire/The Time Zone* (2:36) • 12. Pot Luck (3:08) • 13. Pacing/Fast Rise* (1:18) • 14. A Better Mouse Trap* (1:47) • 15. Gremlins at Work/The Brain Hormones/Gremlins Wings* (4:59) • 16. Gremlin Mayhem* (3:59) • 17. Teenage Mutant Gremlins (3:31) • 18. On The Track/Workout/Something New/The Bag* (1:04) • 19. No Cavities/Climate Control* (2:09) • 20. Keep It Quiet (3:18) • 21. New York, New York/Rhapsody in Blue* (2:05) • 22. Congo Corta/Gremlinition* (0:41) • 23. Broadway to Bowery/New York, New York/A Big Chance* (1:48) • 24. Gremlin Pudding (2:22) • 25. New Trends (3:51) • 26. Bridal Chorus* (1:11) • 27. Gremlin Credits (5:01) Additional Music: • 28. Cute... (Album Version) (2:04) • 29. Movie Police* (0:48) • 30. Nearer My God to Thee* (1:23) • 31. Clamp Logos* (0:22) • 32. Postlude* (0:25) * Previously unreleased ** Contains previously unreleased material NOTES AND QUOTES The insert of the 1990 album includes no extra information about the score or film. That of the 2015 album contains extensive notation about both. Reviews by Title / Year | Scoreboard Forum | Viewer Ratings | Filmtracks Awards | Archives | About the Site | Contact | RSS | Mobile Site
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Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Production.:Music.
As with the first film, the music in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith, who also has a cameo in the film alongside his wife. In the latter half of the film, Gizmo, inspired by the "Rambo" films and tired of the abuse he has suffered at the hands of the gremlins, takes revenge on Mohawk. Gizmo shoots the Mohawk spider-gremlin with a makeshift bow and flaming arrow. For the scene in which Gizmo prepares for this move, Goldsmith – who had also authored the music in the "Rambo" films – employed a variant of Gizmo's theme in the style of the "Rambo" theme.