Legend - Tangerine Dream

Legend is the eighth soundtrack album by the German band Tangerine Dream and their twenty-eighth overall. It was released in 1986 for the North American theatrical version of the film Legend. It was issued a year earlier in Europe. The film was written by William Hjortsberg, produced by Arnon Milchan, directed by Ridley Scott and released domestically by Universal Studios. The album was released on compact disc on 15 August 1995 through Varese Sarabande.

After a disappointing test screening with Jerry Goldsmith's original orchestral score, Scott decided to make changes to the film. Sidney Sheinberg, president of MCA (the parent company of Universal at the time), felt that the Goldsmith score would not appeal to the youth and pressed Scott for a new score. Tangerine Dream was contracted to complete a new, more contemporary score—-a job they completed in three weeks. Until 2002, only European audiences could see Legend with Goldsmith's score.

"Loved by the Sun" is a vocal version of "Unicorn Theme" with lyrics written and sung by Jon Anderson of Yes. The vocals were added after Tangerine Dream had composed the instrumental music. It was originally recorded with vocals by Susanne Pawlitzki based on William Blake's poem "The Angel," but was rejected in favor of the Jon Anderson version. "Unicorn Theme" has been played live at several concerts in various versions. "Is Your Love Strong Enough?"—the song played over the end credits—has lyrics written and sung by Bryan Ferry with guitar by David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd fame) and bass by Guy Pratt. It is a former outtake of the recording sessions for Avalon, the eighth and last Roxy Music album. All of the other tracks are Tangerine Dream instrumentals. "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" was also released as a 12" single which included an extended version of the same song as well as an instrumental; neither of these last two versions were included on the Avalon album.

Tangerine Dream had recorded another piece that did not appear on the official soundtrack, but did appear in the film. It has only been found in bootlegs, in MP3 form at some P2P sites, and also on some streaming services, particularly Rdio. Within both mediums, the song was given either the title "Prologue" or "Once Long Ago". This music can be heard in the intro to the American film release and is also heard in one of the early scenes between Jack and Lilly. It is recognized for its distinct and memorable flute melody. Additionally, some of this melody can be heard at the end of the song, "Loved by the Sun," as it fades out. It can be theorized that the band originally intended that outro to be the "epilogue," reprising the opening melody as a means of continuity - to end the story in the place where it began.

Label / Publishing

Sources

Editions / Reissues

Synthesizers Used

Album Locator