Black Rain (soundtrack)

Black Rain marked Zimmer's maiden collaboration with Ridley Scott, who would collaborate with the director on several films including Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000), Hannibal, Black Hawk Down (both 2001) and Matchstick Men (2003).^[1] It was also Zimmer's first score for an action film where he used drums, percussions and sequencers for the soundscape.^[2] The score was conducted and orchestrated by Shirley Walker.^[1][3]

According to Zimmer, the soundscape for Black Rain was different from other Hollywood films released during that time. However, post the film's release, he recalled that his music was temped by music editors which resulted in every other action film sounding similar to his score. This prompted Zimmer to change the composition and style for Crimson Tide (1995).^[4][5]

Besides Zimmer's score, the album features the chart hits "The Way You Do the Things You Do" by UB40 and "Back to Life" by Soul II Soul, plus the original songs "Livin' on the Edge of the Night" by Iggy Pop and "I'll Be Holding On" by Gregg Allman. Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto contributed the song "Laserman" to the soundtrack.^[6]

The soundtrack was originally released as a 7-track album in 1989 by Virgin Movie Music on cassette, vinyl and compact disc.^[7][8][9] It was re-released in 2012 by La-La Land Records as a two-disc set, with the complete score as Disc 1 and an extended version of the 1989 soundtrack as Disc 2.^[10]

Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK wrote "Black Rain is a truly groundbreaking score, representing the genesis of the Zimmer sound which would come to dominate the Hollywood film music scene over the course of the next decade, and shows no sign of abating thirty years later. However, Black Rain is not just a museum piece – it's an exciting, energetic, enjoyable score in its own right; the three inter-weaving themes, the bold and uncompromising rhythmic and percussive ideas, and the fusion between western and eastern instruments are all things that Zimmer does with great confidence and talent, and anyone who has an affinity for the ‘power anthem years’ as I do will find this score to be firmly aligned with their taste."^[11]

Tom Demalon of AllMusic wrote "The first half of the soundtrack to Ridley Scott's Black Rain is a cobbled-together collection of songs that really have little to do with the movie (something that had become the norm during the latter half of the '80s) [...] The second half is a four-part "Black Rain Suite" which fits the taut, suspenseful plot well as composer Hans Zimmer merges electronics with Japanese instrumentation to good effect."^[12] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks wrote "Zimmer has often commented that it's somewhat amazing (and even baffling) to see his music for Black Rain become so influential, and to an extent, some head-scratching is merited. It's a good score, but not particularly refined or impressive in its sum. No matter your opinion, it's an important work in the history of Digital Age film music, and it deserves appreciation and even study at the very least."^[13]

Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com called it an "amazing, hard-edged score".^[14] Em Casalena of American Songwriter noted it as one of Zimmer's underrated scores, saying "The Black Rain soundtrack is an excellent example of Zimmer's earlier, rougher work. The score blends synth, electronica, and traditional orchestral elements in a way that just works. The sound is recognizable in many late 1980s and early 1990s cyberpunk/neo-noir films. Did Zimmer set the trend? Who knows. But, it's a great soundtrack with an iconic ending song."^[15] Jacob Dunstan of Collider noted that Zimmer "weaves a beautiful musical tapestry throughout the picture that truly reaches its zenith at the film's conclusion"^[16]

Songs not included in the soundtrack, but featured in the film include the following:

• "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin
• "Kasa Odori" by Mary Evans
• "Ogi no Mato (The Folding Fan as a Target)" by Ensemble Nipponia
• "That's Amore" by Harry Warren and Jack Brooks
• "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles, performed by Andy Garcia and Ken Takakura