In 1999 I came across an incredible little record entitled (Remember...) The Alamo by the Grandma Gershwin Band. Instead of a normal review, I wrote liner notes that claimed it was a soundtrack recording. I still want to make this pretend movie a reality.
(Remember...) The Alamo
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Recorded by the Grandma Gershwin Band
Movie Synopsis by Chris Combs
The film begins with the song Lunar Landscape as we see a slow pan over the surface of the Earth's moon. The credits appear during this sequence, each fading in and out slowly, to further enhance the serene quality of the piece. At two minutes into the song, we begin to see traces of outposts scattered here and there, obviously not associated with one another too closely. By the end of the song, we see a large complex space station, known as The Alamo.
The screen fades to black and Your Majesty snaps the picture back into view with a small ship hurriedly racing across space. In the cockpit we meet our hero, a rogue pilot named Captain John Bancroft. We immediately get the sense that he is not a typical, conservative pilot. He has the space-age equivalent of fuzzy dice and other personal decorations on his control panel.
As he approaches his destination, instead of radioing in his arrival to any authorities, he instead transmits Going To The Fair to the docking channels. In the station, we meet his senior officer, Admiral Michael Dunlap. He recognizes the music as Bancroft's calling card, and authorizes his landing. His dislike for Bancroft's refusal to follow procedure is quite apparent.
Somewhere else in the solar system, with Synthetic Poem #1 filling the mood, a woman by the name of Angeline Barber is speaking to a crowd of revolutionaries. She speaks of the wrongs of a government which imposes societal differences among its people. The scene ends with the congregation slowly filing out of the hall and headed toward their warships.
Back at the Alamo, Mandarine plays as Captain Bancroft is briefed of new developments in the fight against the revolutionaries known only under the collective name of Niafra. We learn that an attack is planned, but the target is unknown. It is therefore imperative that everyone keep alert, because the Alamo is among the likeliest of all stations to be attacked. Captain Bancroft, in his usual jovial tone, professes that there is nothing to worry about; he is certain that any attack can be easily taken care of. It's all a question of applicable firepower.
Bancroft returns to his cabin to begin preparations for the defense of the Alamo. There, he picks up a framed photograph from his desk. It is of Angeline Barber, the same woman who was speaking to the group of revolutionaries. Niafra plays in the background as he enters a flashback of times he has spent with her. Among his memories: dancing, laughing, dodging asteroids, swimming at a beach, attending weddings, New Year's Eve, and proposing to her as the song ends.
Crystaline Rapids reintroduces the warship fleet sent out by Angeline. They have come from one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter, and are now just passing Mars. We see Angeline herself directing the fleet from the mothership, her eyes burning with determination. She is given reports of their descent on the Earth's moon; they will arrive in under 6 hours.
I See The Stars keeps time as Bancroft and other officers peer out at the skies, both with their eyes and through the aid of radar surveillance. It is a slow and unexciting wait, which builds the tension.
And then, suddenly, with the first notes of Slimey Weeds, incoming ships are spotted. The Alamo base goes into yellow alert as a communications link is attempted. When the incoming ships refuse to respond, shields are raised and the base enters into red alert.
Undisciplined introduces the first laser blast from the incoming fleet. Captain Bancroft leads a team to the first counter-attack. A ferocious space battle ensues, and Bancroft is one of three survivors of his unit, but has managed to successfully fight off the first wave.
The Alamo expects another attack, but there is nothing. We hear Procession as Admiral Dunlap debates whether to attack or not. Now with backup artillery, there is no fear of a takeover. It is decided to await the next move of the invaders.
Come Home Sunday Afternoon And Find Your Cat's Eaten The Furniture takes us back to Angeline Barber's perspective. Her first mate informs her that they are currently holding position and awaiting her order. She says to continue in the current orbit while she retires to her chamber. We follow her, and find that like Captain Bancroft, she has not forgotten their past relationship`. She has a similar series of flashbacks, but the proposal differs. Whereas Bancroft's memory showed him proposing to Angeline, and she smiling as the memory faded into reality again, her memory shows her smile was actually the beginnings of a grimace and a terrible argument breaking out.
Angeline charges back to the deck as I Haven't Yet narrates her moves. She orders the attack to commence. Back on the Alamo, the sensors pick up another fleet rushing in with full force from the other side. With all of their ships poised for an attack against the small stagnant fleet, the alarms begin blaring and small-scale evacuations are begun.
Unable to tie his fighters together, Captain Bancroft heads out by himself to face the new attackers in what is almost certainly a suicide mission. Bancroft's craft is hit, and as he sees who is responsible for his untimely death, the slower section of I Haven't Yet is cued. As the realization of his true past confronts him, we hear Angeline laughing and the screen fades to black.
The bonus tracks on the disc were recorded for the soundtrack, but ultimately not used in the film. The first, Poppycock, was intended to be the music which played over the closing credits. Instead, a reprise of Lunar Landscape was used, since the producers felt that the juxtaposition of an upbeat song and a solemn ending didn't work.
The original ending of the film did not see Bancroft dying when his ship was shot down by Angeline's forces. The production script called for his rescue by Angeline herself, so that she could confront him personally, and then kill him by her own hand. Morning Moon narrated the scene which did not fare well with test audiences and therefore was cut.
SAE was the actual name of Angeline's revolutionary forces. The original script stated that Angeline used her knowledge of the invasion from the Niafra to stage her own attack. Given to confusion as to who was who, the final version suggested that Angeline had led a clever double attack. The name Niafra was used because it sounded better. Although the SAE forces were cut out before Grandma Gershwin was given the soundtrack assignments, this song was recorded anyway as a requiem for the lost revolutionaries.
You can download this, and other fine albums, from http://www.grandma-gershwin.com/