The Man Who Fell To Earth soundtrack will be released for the first time next month
Nicolas Roeg’s highly respected 1976 sci-fi film The Man Who Fell To Earth is notable for a number of reasons. Nobody has ever made it through its full 138-minute running time without looking at their watch at least twice; it features a cameo from David Bowie’s penis; and the gorgeous music composed for the film has inexplicably never been released. One of those things will change this fall, though. To correspond with the cult classic’s 40-year anniversary re-release on September 9, Universal Music Catalogue will be releasing the soundtrack, which features original pieces by Japanese prog rock composer Stomu Yamashta and The Mamas & The Papas lead John Phillips.
The two-CD set will also include songs by musicians such as The Kingston Trio and Louis Armstrong (not Bowie, alas, as his only contribution was his eminent weirdness), which were used in the film. On November 18, UMC will also be releasing just the Yamashta and Phillips tracks on vinyl as part of a deluxe box set, along with the CD versions, the poster art, and a 48-page book on the making of the film.
These songs were never officially released, supposedly because the master tapes were misplaced (or stolen by space aliens). However, those tapes recently turned up (or fell to earth) somewhere, so they can finally be released. And, really, what’s four decades in relation to the strange eons of limitless space? A mere blip.