''The Last Unicorn'' is a 1982

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

composed and arranged by

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

and performed by America with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. The album contains the

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

for the 1982 film ''

The Last Unicorn ''The Last Unicorn'' is a fantasy novel by American author Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968, by Viking Press in the U.S. and The Bodley Head in the U.K. It follows the tale of a unicorn, who believes she is the last of her kind in the wor ...

'', based on the novel of the same name by Peter S. Beagle. The title track got some airplay in Germany, where it was in the Top 100 hit for seven weeks, peaking at number 38.

Production

''The Last Unicorn'' soundtrack was recorded at De Lane Lea Studios in Wimbley, England in 1982. It was released in Germany in 1982 by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

, but has not been released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; it includes the

's symphonic pieces. Studio singer Katie Irving is the singing voice in the film for Mia Farrow, though

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

does his own singing.

Composition

The title song is performed jointly by America and the London Symphony Orchestra, and plays in the film's opening credits while scenes based on ''

The Hunt of the Unicorn ''The Hunt of the Unicorn'' or the ''Unicorn Tapestries'' (french: La Chasse à la licorne) is a series of seven tapestries made in the South Netherlands around 1495–1505, and now in The Cloisters in New York. They were possibly designed in ...

'' tapestries form a backdrop. It is referred to later as a leitmotif by the film score.

Critical reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, James Christopher Monger wrote: Kyle Anderson of the website

Nerdist Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...

wrote that Jimmy Webb and America were among the "many great people howere involved" with the 1982 film, and that the album's "songs work pretty well". Singer Dan Avidan has stated on numerous occasions that the story was his favorite as a child.

Track listing

Personnel

– producer, arranger, composer
Skip Mosher
- arranger, composer (Credited as Skip Moser) *

– orchestra *

Dewey Bunnell Lee Merton "Dewey" Bunnell (born 19 January 1952) is a British-American musician, singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a member of the folk rock band America. Biography Bunnell was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, to an Americ ...

– lead vocals , guitar, backing vocals *

Gerry Beckley Gerald Linford Beckley (born September 12, 1952), better known as Gerry Beckley, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, and a founding member of the band America. Early life Beckley was born to an American father and an English moth ...

– lead vocals , piano, backing vocals * Michael Woods – lead guitar, backing vocals * Brad Palmer – bass, backing vocals * Willie Leacox – drums, percussion * Katie Irving – vocals *

– vocals

Covers

* "That's All I've Got To Say" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

in 1981 on Art Garfunkel's fifth solo studio album, ''

Scissors Cut ''Scissors Cut'' is the fifth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel released in August 1981 on Columbia Records. It was his second album to miss the US '' Billboard'' top 40 (charting at 113) and his second album containing no US top 40 singles. T ...

''. * "The Last Unicorn" was covered in 1994 by

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

on his album ''

Return to Pooh Corner ''Return to Pooh Corner'' is the eighth studio and first children's album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. The title is a reference to A.A. Milne's 1928 book '' The House at Pooh Corner''. Released in 1994, it features songs written b ...

''. * The band

Groove Coverage Groove Coverage is a German dance band which consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch, better known as Mell (lead singer), and Verena Rehm (former stage performer, backing singer, occasional lead singer). Producers of the band are Ole ...

released a dance version of "The Last Unicorn" on their album ''

Covergirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989 and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics li ...

'' in 2002. * In 2015,

Ninja Sex Party Ninja Sex Party (often abbreviated as NSP) is an American musical comedy duo consisting of singer Dan Avidan and keyboardist Brian Wecht. They formed in 2009 in New York City and are currently based in Los Angeles. They are also known as two th ...

covered "The Last Unicorn" to promote a U.S. screening tour for the film hosted by the book's author Peter S. Beagle, later releasing it on their album '' Under the Covers''. * Leighton Meester and Scott Grimes covered "That's All I've Got To Say" in an episode of ''

The Orville ''The Orville'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as series protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century. ...

''. ** Grimes covered the song again in a later episode.

References

External links

Audio only video on America's official YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Unicorn 1982 soundtrack albums America (band) albums Animated film soundtracks Jimmy Webb albums Albums arranged by Jimmy Webb Albums produced by Jimmy Webb Virgin Records soundtracks Fantasy film soundtracks