MovieScore Media releases the orginal score for the 1995 cult sci-fi movie Space Truckers, with music by Colin Towns. The film tells the story of independent space trucker John Canyon, his reluctant waitress-turned-bride Cindy and up-and-coming company trucker Mike who carry a shipment of sex dolls which turn out to be quite deadly, especially in the hands of space pirate Captain Macanudo...

Think what you will of box office disaster Space Truckers, one aspect of the production is irrefutable: Colin Towns score is incredible. It's big and bold and brings to mind box office hits of the era.

Talking about the project, Towns recalls: "Discussing the score with Stuart Gordon, it was clear that for his movie he wanted a big orchestral sound plus sound design. As he said at that time, no-one had made a comedy space movie. But this film is full of fun and country & western music seeps in and out of it. Madness prevails in some parts of the score and the romanic love scene with Charles Dance needed class with the great Phil Todd playing the saxophone. Recording with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, I put on my best ‘country and western’ head and added the piano / keyboards and sound design in my studio back in the UK. I’d always wanted to write a score for a space movie and Stuart Gordon made my wish come true."

The score is epic where it needs to be and fun and cheesy when it's essential to the plot. The western backdrop also adds an additional flavour. While it's obvious these are western themes they never feel cliched, which would have been an easy trap to fall into.

For me, having never heard the score before, it brought back memories of Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner when they were at the peak of their output. This is a wonderful soundtrack with so many interesting themes buried away within its 13 tracks (53 min, 45 sec). There's even a track ('Passenger Liner') that is straight out of the John Williams playbook.

MovieScore Media has produced the album and will release it via download and streaming, and has sub-licensed rights to release on CD via Quartet Records and on vinyl via Svart Records.

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Darren Rea