Mad Max 2 (soundtrack)

Overview

In 1981, composer Brian May reteamed with director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy to write the music for Mad Max 2. Unlike the score for the previous film, May approached the music with a more legato and grandeur frame of reference. "It was an optimistic picture, and it was really like a modern revival of an old Western," said May. "Whereas in Mad Max I had a jagged brass, very atonal and difficult to play, in Mad Max 2 I had deep basses, cellos, and lots of short motifs that were not totally melodic but were just enough to be unified."

The score also bears resemblance to the Western genre, featuring a refined orchestra that differs from the first film. It is also often compared to "Mars, the Bringer of War" from Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets.

The manuscripts of the orchestrated cues were later damaged in a flash flood, though some pages were saved by restoration experts. The music has since been released multiple times through various labels.

The original Varèse Sarabande album release from 1982 is presented with May's cues out of order and sometimes retitled; part of the track titled "Finale and Largo" is actually the main title, "Montage" was written for the truck chase scene (and as such would fit between "Break Out" and "Largo") and "Main Title" is actually the heard during the post-title montage. The sound effects suite that concludes the disc has two cues, "Boomerang Attack" and "Gyro Flight", that do not appear elsewhere on the album (the former is actually presented without any overlaying effects).

The soundtrack begins with the music for the "Montage/Main Title" sequence, which gives the back-story to the descent into war and chaos. The next selections accompany the action-packed sequences as Max and the settlers battle with the gang ("Confrontation"; "Marauder's Massacre", "Max Enters Compound"; "Gyro Saves Max"; and "Break Out"). The final tracks include the "Finale and Largo" and the "End Title" music, which is used while the narrator describes the settlers' escape to the coast to start a new life. The recording also includes a suite of special effects sounds, such as the Feral Kid's "Boomerang Attack"; "Gyro Flight"; "The Big Rig Starts"; "Breakout"; and the climactic effects for "The Refinery Explodes", when the booby-trapped oil refinery turns into a fireball.

Reception

The musical score received generally positive reviews. Chaz Kangas of City Pages wrote, "Seemingly with a much bigger orchestra and undoubtedly more resources to play with, one can't help but marvel at Mad Max 2's music. You could put it over stock footage of children's education films from the '50s and it would still make whatever you're watching feel legendary."

Track listing

All music composed by Brian May.

Expanded edition

Mad Max 2 (Expanded Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a bootleg featuring extended and alternate cues previously unreleased. Album cues from the original album are bolded in the following track listing.

* - Contains material that was present on the original soundtrack as "Montage/Main Title"
** - Contains material that was present on the original soundtrack as "SFX Suite"

Personnel

Additional music

Additional music featured in Mad Max 2: