Dune (1984)

Composer(s):
Toto

Released in:
1984

Reviews

A Pleasant Surprise
by Luis M. Ramos (September 28, 2003)
When I first heard knew about Toto composing the score for "Dune", my heart felt with dread since the last Dino De Laurentiis sci-fi production "Flash Gordon" used rock music by Queen -not a very good soundtrack, by the way. And somehow I felt like Toto was going to do something bad. How glad to know that I was proven wrong.
Toto's music for David Lynch's vision of Frank Herbert's legendary saga came as a very pleasant surprise. Not only did they write a symphonic score -performed by the members of the rock band, along with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra -but they did it in a very great way. In fact, this score is the only good thing this failed movie has.
The theme is fantastic. The music for Paul Atreides is filled with epic and romantic moments. The love theme is quite touching, and the music for the Fremen is mysterious. The action music on tracks like 'The Floating Fat Man (The Baron)', 'First Attack', 'Big Battle',etc. is definitely exhilarating. Everything here is fantastic, and I'm glad Toto made me look bad regarding my initial opinion.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Toto album without a couple of pop tracks. 'Dune (Desert Theme)' is fantastic and 'Take My Hand' is really beautiful. I'd like to mention one very interesting treat, and that's the demo version of the Dune main title played on synthesizers, which is very intriguing, yet quite interesting.
In a negative note, however, I'm displeased with the expanded edition from Pendulum Records. Even though I am always in favor of expanded editions, P.E.G. failed to include Brian Eno's 'Prophecy Theme', and the mix of Toto's own 'Robot Fight' didn't have the percussion as heard on the Polydor release. I've always wondered why.
In the end, Toto's music for "Dune" is a masterpiece of its own, and I'm glad this one doesn't sound so campy.

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