"Back" Tracks - The Music of "Back to the Future"

First time I was aware of movie soundtracks was the summer of 1985. I went into a record store at Hickory Hollow Mall in Tennessee with my mother and my cousin Ginger and saw the LP album for "Back to the Future" on the feature wall.

That Christmas, my stocking stuffer gift was a Toshiba cassette player and the cassette soundtrack for "Back to the Future." That very cassette now takes up permanent residence in 6239's glove compartment.

Since then, I have hunted down every CD containing music from the series.

Here's a breakdown of each one ever made available:

Back to the Future: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (MCA) - This is the mainstay. This album, whether it be LP, cassette or CD, has never changed. It contains the Huey Lewis singles "Power of Love" and "Back In Time" as well as the famous rendition of "Johnny B. Goode" and the "Back to the Future Overture" by Alan Silvestri in addition to a number of other background songs from the original film.

Back to the Future: The Score - This is arguably the rarest "Back to the Future" CD. It contains much of the Alan Silvestri score that was missing off the MCA release. The best information I have found suggests this CD is a bootleg of an ever more rare promotional release, however I have not been able to prove this, although my CD does say "DeLorean 85.5591" on the spine, which might mean something. I found mine at Footlight Records in New York City in 2000. This CD contains some of the best lost music from the series, including the Twin Pines Mall Chase track. Up until recently, this was the only way to get this music.

Back to the Future: Intrada Special Collection (Intrada) - A 2-disc godsend CD set for "Back to the Future" fans released in 2009 and comprised of remastered tracks of the entirety of Alan Silvestri's score for the original film, as well as a second disc comprised of early rehearsal tracks and concepts. Although officially limited to 3,000, through an arrangement with BTTF.com, Intrada is extending this printing to meet demand.

Back to the Future: Part II - Original Motion Picture Sountrack (MCA) - After the bootleg "Score" CD, this is the hardest official CD score to find. Now sadly out of circulation, this CD highlights the rollicking and more adventurous takes on the themes of Alan Silvestri's "Back to the Future" in "Part II," making it a sought after CD by fans and collectors.

Back to the Future: Part III - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Varese Sarabande) - Still available, this is Silvestri's slower and most sentimental jaunt into the scoring of "Back to the Future," including an instrumental version of ZZ Top's end credits song, "Doubleback." Alas, the actual ZZ Top song is omitted from this release, likely due to music label conflicts.

The Back to the Future Trilogy (Varese Sarabande) - Released in the late 1990s, this CD was a re-orchestration by John Debney of the series' major musical cues. It was a nice stopgap for fans looking for music missing from the original film soundtrack that could not acquire the score, but unfortunately most of the tracks chosen by Debney were already reflected in the original soundtracks. Of note however is Debney's inclusion of music from "Back to the Future: The Ride." This is the only official CD to include material from The Ride, albeit re-orchestrated, but many times throughout the CD if you close your eyes, you'd swear it was the original music.