Labyrinth (1986 soundtrack)

Director Jim Henson approached Bowie to take part in the film in 1983 during Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour, when he showed Bowie early designs for the movie and a tape of The Dark Crystal (1982). Bowie had wanted to make music for a children's film and saw this as his chance.{{cite web | url=http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/labyrinth-movie-history/ | title=Labyrinth: The behind-the-scenes history | work=EmpireOnline.com | date=17 May 2016 | access-date=18 May 2016 | first=Williams | last=Owen}}

Bowie recorded five songs for the film: "Underground", "Magic Dance", "Chilly Down", "As the World Falls Down", and "Within You". The film's theme song, "Underground", features on the soundtrack twice, first in an edited version that was played over the film's opening sequence and secondly in full. The only song Bowie did not the perform lead vocals on is "Chilly Down", which was performed by Charles Augins, Richard Bodkin, Kevin Clash, and Danny John-Jules, the actors who voiced the 'Fire Gang' creatures in the film.{{cite AV media notes|title=Labyrinth|others=David Bowie|year=1986|chapter=Labyrinth Liner Notes|type=Liner Notes|publisher=EMI}}

The soundtrack album was released in July 1986 to coincide with the film's US premiere.{{harvp|Pegg|2016|loc="Labyrinth" in chapt. The Albums}} "Underground" was released in various territories as a single in June 1986,{{harvp|Pegg|2016|page=294|loc="Underground" in chapt. The Songs From A to Z}} and in certain markets was also released in an instrumental version and an extended dance mix. In January 1987 "Magic Dance" was released as a 12" single in limited markets, including the US.{{harvp|Pegg|2016|loc="Magic Dance" in chap. The Songs from A to Z.}} "As the World Falls Down" was initially slated for release as a follow-up single to "Underground" at Christmas in 1986, but this plan did not materialize.{{harvp|Pegg|2011|p=28}}

In 2017, the album was remastered and reissued on vinyl by Capitol Records, with a replication of the original jacket and artwork, including the original release's EMI America logo{{cite web |first=Anna |last=Gaca |date=26 April 2017 |title=David Bowie's Labyrinth Soundtrack Is Getting a Vinyl Reissue |website=Spin |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/04/david-bowie-labyrinth-soundtrack-vinyl-reissue/ |access-date=22 May 2021}}{{cite web |first=Matthew |last=Strauss |date=26 April 2017 |title=David Bowie's Labyrinth Soundtrack Gets First Vinyl Reissue |website=Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/71758-david-bowies-labyrinth-soundtrack-gets-first-vinyl-reissue/ |access-date=22 May 2021}} and inner sleeve featuring photos of Bowie from the film.{{cite web |first=Michael |last=Bonner |date=28 June 2017 |title=David Bowie's Labyrinth soundtrack set for vinyl reissue |website=Uncut |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/news/david-bowies-labyrinth-soundtrack-set-vinyl-reissue-100757/ |access-date=24 May 2021}} A second pressing the same year also included limited runs of green and lavender coloured vinyl.{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Draper |date=17 June 2017 |title=David Bowie's 'Labyrinth' Soundtrack Released On Coloured Vinyl |website=UDiscover Music |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/david-bowie-dance-magic-labyrinth-soundtrack-vinyl-reissue/ |access-date=22 May 2021}}

The soundtrack was advertised in music trade papers such as Billboard.{{cite magazine|last=McGowan|first=Chris|title=Soundtrack Fastlane Already Facing Congestion As Labels Strengthen Crossover Links In Marketing Chain|magazine=Billboard|date=21 June 1986|volume=99|issue=25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyQEAAAAMBAJ&q=bowie+labyrinth+soundtrack|access-date=4 February 2012}} Steve Barron produced promotional music videos for "Underground" and "As the World Falls Down".{{harvp|Pegg|2016|pages=27, 294}} The music video for "Underground" features Bowie as a nightclub singer who stumbles upon the world of the Labyrinth, encountering many of the creatures seen in the film. The clip for "As the World Falls Down" integrates clips from the film, using them alongside black-and-white shots of Bowie performing the song in an elegant room.

Though Bowie was not heavily involved in promoting Labyrinth, Jim Henson was nonetheless grateful that he had made the promotional music videos, saying, "I think it's the best thing he could have done for the film."{{cite news |date=4 July 1986 |title='Labyrinth' Music Video Applauded |newspaper=Sun-Sentinel |location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida |page=23 }} {{ProQuest|389704937}} Barron's videos for "As the World Falls Down" and "Underground" so impressed Henson that he recruited Barron to direct his television series The StoryTeller.{{harvp|Pegg|2016|page=294}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web |last1=McDonald |first1=Steven |title=Labyrinth [From the Original Soundtrack of the Jim Henson Film] – Trevor Jones |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/labyrinth-from-the-original-soundtrack-of-the-jim-henson-film-mw0000190602 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=26 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215238/https://www.allmusic.com/album/labyrinth-from-the-original-soundtrack-of-the-jim-henson-film-mw0000190602 |archive-date=2 June 2021}}

}}

Upon release in 1986, Labyrinth reached #68 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States{{cite magazine |title=Billboard 200 |magazine=Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1986-08-08/ |access-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506074821/https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1986-08-08/ |archive-date=6 May 2022 |url-status=live}} and #38 on the United Kingdom's Official Albums Chart.{{cite web |title=Labyrinth (OST) |website=Official Charts |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/labyrinth-(ost)/ |access-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201001638/https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/labyrinth-(ost)/ |archive-date=1 February 2022 |url-status=live}} The album re-entered the Official Albums Chart in 2017, peaking at #58.{{cite web |title=Labyrinth |website=Official Charts |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/labyrinth/ |access-date=2 October 2022 }} According to biographer David Buckley in 2015, the Labyrinth soundtrack was Bowie's third-best selling iTunes album in the United Kingdom.{{harvp|Buckley|2015|p=70}}

Adam Trainer in Senses of Cinema described Bowie's five songs as "spirited and imaginative ... presenting satisfying melodies and singalong choruses" such as that of "Magic Dance". However, while writing that the songs work well within the context of the film, "echoing its plotline and themes such as imagination, fun and fantasy", Trainer considered the songs to be over-produced and too "self-consciously pop".{{cite magazine |first=Adam |last=Trainer |date=October 2003 |title="Well, I Wouldn't Buy the Merchandise": David Bowie as Postmodern Auteur |issue=28 |magazine=Senses of Cinema |issn=1443-4059 |url=https://sensesofcinema.com/2003/cinema-and-music/bowie_postmodern_auteur/ |access-date=8 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018135330/http://sensesofcinema.com/2003/cinema-and-music/bowie_postmodern_auteur/ |archive-date=18 October 2015 |url-status=live}} Sean Stangland of the Daily Herald wrote "The five songs [Bowie] wrote for the film are as confoundingly diverse as the rest of his career."{{cite news |first=Sean |last=Stangland |date=15 January 2016 |title=For kids of the '80s, Bowie will always be the Goblin King |newspaper=Daily Herald |location=Arlington Heights, Illinois |page=A31 }} Calling the soundtrack "absolutely stellar",{{cite web |first=Jessica |last=Jalali |date=22 August 2021 |title=10 Best '80s Movie Soundtracks |website=Screen Rant |url=https://screenrant.com/ten-best-eighties-movie-soundtracks/ |access-date=20 February 2023 }} Screen Rant described Bowie's Labyrinth songs as "absolute earworms that contribute to his legacy just as much as Ziggy Stardust and all the rest."{{cite web |first=Derek |last=Biederstadt |date=15 May 2022 |title=10 Best Standalone Fantasy Films |website=Screen Rant |url=https://screenrant.com/best-standalone-fantasy-films/ |access-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516061701/https://screenrant.com/best-standalone-fantasy-films/ |archive-date=16 May 2022 |url-status=live}}

The Labyrinth soundtrack has been included on lists of the top 50 movie soundtracks by Paste magazine{{cite web |first=Hillary |last=Saunders |date=11 April 2016 |title=The 50 Best Movie Soundtracks |website=Paste |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/soundtracks/the-50-best-movie-soundtracks/ |access-date=30 September 2020}} and Gigwise.{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Gregory |date=2 April 2010 |title=The Top-50 Movie Soundtracks of All Time |website=Gigwise |url=https://www.gigwise.com/photos/57175/ |access-date=30 September 2020}} MovieWeb ranked Labyrinth number one on its list of the best film soundtracks of the 1980s.{{cite web |first=Sarah |last=Kepins |date=7 January 2022 |title=Best Film Scores of the '80s |website=MovieWeb |url=https://movieweb.com/best-80s-film-scores/ |access-date=19 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107191129/https://movieweb.com/best-80s-film-scores/ |archive-date=7 January 2022 |url-status=live }}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Opening Titles Including Underground

| writer1 = music by Trevor Jones; lyrics by Bowie

| length1 = 3:21

| title2 = Into the Labyrinth

| writer2 = Jones

| length2 = 2:12

| title3 = Magic Dance

| writer3 = Bowie

| length3 = 5:13{{efn|On the 2017 vinyl reissue, "Magic Dance" has been edited down to 4:13}}

| title4 = Sarah

| writer4 = Jones

| length4 = 3:12

| title5 = Chilly Down

| writer5 = Bowie

| length5 = 3:44

| title6 = Hallucination

| writer6 = Jones

| length6 = 3:02

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title1 = As the World Falls Down

| writer1 = Bowie

| length1 = 4:51

| title2 = The Goblin Battle

| writer2 = Jones

| length2 = 3:31

| title3 = Within You

| writer3 = Bowie

| length3 = 3:30

| title4 = Thirteen O'Clock

| writer4 = Jones

| length4 = 3:06

| title5 = Home at Last

| writer5 = Jones

| length5 = 1:49

| title6 = Underground

| writer6 = Bowie

| length6 = 5:57

| total_length = 43:33

}}

Credits per biographer Nicholas Pegg.{{sfn|Pegg|2011|p=426}}

Musicians

{{div col}}

• David Bowie – vocals, backing vocals, producer
• Arif Mardin – producer
• Trevor Jones – keyboards, producer
• Ray Russell – lead guitar
• Albert Collins – guitar
• Dann Huff – guitar
• Paul Westwood – bass guitar
• Will Lee – bass guitar
• Matthew Seligman – bass guitar
• Neil Conti – drums
• Steve Ferrone – drums
• Harold Fisher - drums
• Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, synthesizer
• Brian Gascoigne – keyboards
• David Lawson – keyboards
• Ray Warleigh – saxophone
• Bob Gay - saxophone
• Maurice Murphy – trumpet
• Robin Beck – backing vocals
• Chaka Khan – backing vocals
• Cissy Houston – backing vocals
• Danny John-Jules – backing vocals
• Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals
• Luther Vandross – backing vocals

{{div col end}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Buckley | first=David | date=2015 | title=David Bowie: The Music and The Changes |location=London |isbn=978-1-78323-617-6 |publisher=Omnibus Press }}
• {{cite book |last=Pegg |first=Nicholas |title=The Complete David Bowie |year=2011 |publisher=Titan Books |location=London |isbn=9780857682901 |edition=6th|author-link=Nicholas Pegg}}
• {{cite book |last=Pegg |first=Nicholas |title=The Complete David Bowie |date=2016 |publisher=Titan Books Ltd |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-78565-365-0 |edition=7th }}

{{refend}}

• {{discogs master|49334}}

{{Labyrinth (franchise)}}

{{David Bowie}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labyrinth (Album)}}

Category:Labyrinth (1986 film)

Category:Albums produced by David Bowie

Category:Albums produced by Arif Mardin

Category:David Bowie soundtracks

Category:Trevor Jones soundtracks

Category:1986 soundtrack albums

Category:Fantasy film soundtracks

Category:EMI Records soundtracks

Category:New wave soundtracks

Category:Pop rock soundtracks

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