Recently reissued by Voiceprint, Rick Wakeman's soundtrack to the 1981 horror film The Burning, is kind of unique in that it not only contains Wakeman's electronic score from the movie, but also full band progressive rock arrangements of many of the music cues. Dubbed "The Wakeman Variations" on what would have been side one of the original vinyl, the Yes keyboardist is accompanied by three session men for four solid pieces of grandiose prog rock that mine relatively similar territory to Wakeman's then recent (and underrated) 1984 concept album, although there's also a strong Goblin feel to some of the tracks as well, particularly "Theme From the Burning".
The second half of the CD, or side two if you have the vinyl, contains the actual film soundtrack. From a listening standpoint, this is where things become a little problematic. "Campfire Story" is a sound bite from the film and is exactly what it says it is: somebody telling a horror story around a campfire. It may be effective in the film, but taken out of context for the soundtrack album, it doesn't hold up to repeat sessions. "Doin It" (wonder what's happening in that scene!) sounds like an Eagles b-side while "Devil's Creek Breakdown" is a country hoedown with banjo and pedal steel guitar. I don't think Rick Wakeman is even present on this track. The rest of the soundtrack is mainly sound effects emanating from Wakeman's stack of synthesizers.
While the soundtrack itself is somewhat mediocre, Rick Wakeman's full band arrangements for the first half is quite good and definitely recommended to fans of his work. The CD reissue contains no bonus tracks and the running time is a scant 36 minutes so overall a marginal recommendation for what is essentially an EP's worth of solid material.
Track Listing
The Wakeman Variations
- Theme From The Burning
- The Chase Continues (PO's Plane)
- Variations on the Fire
- Shear Terror and More
The Music From the Film
- The Burning (End Title Theme)
- Campfire Story
- The Fire
- Doin' It
- Devil's Creek Breakdown
- The Chase
- Shear Terror
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