4. Michael Kamen & QueenThe Highlander OST
My brother and I watched this film together a lot. He was into swords and guns, and as a kid, I was a Queen fan, so The Highlander was this perfect amalgamation of our two interests. The score itself – even aside from the Queen stuff – is a perfect fit for the physicality in the film, especially the parts set in the Scottish highlands, in this immense landscape bristling with energy and life. It channels this sense of freedom and immortality, making it completely believable when Christopher Lambert launches himself off a cliff and doesn’t die. The emotion behind is so exciting and uplifting, almost addictive. There’s a scene where Lambert runs along the beach and it seems as if he’s going about 100 miles an hour – the music is just absolutely there with that feeling. Towards the end, when the story moves to New York City in the modern-day, it becomes very 20th century, jarring, jaunty and angular. But, for me, it’s all about the soulful melodies, set against the Highlands. That’s what I remember loving. And I still do.
Your description of rolling scenes of the Scottish countryside reminds me of the way you have called The Entire City a “landscape album”. Were you attempting to channel a sense of vast scenery with this record?
I don’t know if I meant it that specifically. But in terms of painting a mood, then yes. Having been born in the South of England, my family moved to Yorkshire when I was six. We spent a lot of time walking through the Dales, through these rolling landscapes very similar to the ones in The Highlander. The experience of being in these ancient environments, discovering little fossils, was truly mindblowing. The awe and wonder I felt as a child is there thematically on The Entire City.
