Soundtrack? Yes, I Know: La-La Land Preps “Naked Gun” Reissue

You’ve read the ad, you’ve seen the movies – now for the first time, La-La Land Records will release the complete scores to all three of the hilarious films in The Naked Gun trilogy, as composed by Ira Newborn.

Detective Lieutenant Frank Drebin of Police Squad made a small but dedicated group of people laugh in Police Squad, the short-lived (six brilliant episodes!) ABC television series created by Airplane! masterminds Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrams and David Zucker. Leslie Nielsen’s unflappable member of the force would be resurrected by ZAZ and Paramount in 1988 with the film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! The combination of accessible slapstick and rapid-fire wordplay, plus great performances by Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy and O.J. Simpson, made the film considerably more successful than the show from which it came, and two sequels followed in 1991 and 1994.

Ira Newborn, musical director for The Blues Brothers and composer for several John Hughes productions (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), had made a splash on the original Police Squad with his brassy, throwback theme song, and was called to reprise his work on each subsequent film, which packed memorable themes alongside humorous cues, snazzy source music and even a few popular tunes used for great effect: Peter Noone re-recorded Herman’s Hermits “I’m Into Something Good” for the first film, Nielsen sings to varying effect on the first two films (“The Star-Spangled Banner,” “Besame Mucho”) and Pia Zadora covered Steve Allen’s “This Could Be the Start of Something” for the third film.

Varese Sarabande released a compilation featuring music from the first two films in 1992, but this triple-disc set features just about all of the three scores, including the premiere of any music from The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, all beautifully restored (check out this amazing in-depth article about said restoration). Limited to 2,000 copies, there’s a 50/50 chance that it might still be available by the time you click the link after the jump. But there’s only a 10 percent chance of that.

(Special thanks to Charlie Brigden of Films on Wax for the headline inspiration!)

Ira Newborn, The Naked Gun Trilogy: Music from the Motion Pictures (La-La Land LLLCD 1303, 2014 – original films released 1988, 1991 and 1994)

Disc 1: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

1. Beirut Vacation *
2. Drebin the Hero
3. Main Title *
4. Dock of the Nordberg/Murder by Cake
5. Drebin Takes a Snoop/To Ludwig’s
6. Our Miss Spencer */Air Bag Drebin
7. Sting/Beeper Mom/Anyone Can Be an Assassin
8. Beeper Doc/The Exciting Chase *
9. A Lonely Drebin
10. Drebin Acrobat */Meat Miss Spencer *
11. The Seduction
12. Frank Goes Bump-Bump/Somebody Killed My Scene
13. Out on the Ledge *
14. Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder/The Slaughterhouse
15. Drebin’s Haze/I’m a Lucky Woman/Sting (Alternate)
16. The Third Out Beep/Frank, Frank, Frank
17. I Must Kill Frank *
18. I’m Into Something Good (End Credits Version) – Peter Noone
19. Cocktails for Five (Source)
20. The Star-Spangled Banner (Studio Pre-Record) – Leslie Nielsen
21. God Save the Queen (Organ)
22. Blooper Vision (Source)
23. Baseball Medley (Organ)
24. Las Chapanecas (Organ)
25. La Raspa (Organ)
26. The Seduction (LP Version) *
27. Out on the Ledge (LP Version) *
28. I Must Kill Frank (Alternate)/Main Title (with Alternate Ending)
29. Main Title (with Second Alternate Ending)

Disc 2: The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear

1. Drebin – Hero! */Main Title
2. Thinking of… Him! */There’s Been a Bombing*
3. Hey Look at These */We Don’t Have Any Kids/Transition to Blue Note Bar
4. Transition to Wharf/Bad Boys & Meinheimers *
5. We Got Work to Do/Nordberg Plants the Bug
6. Frank Tank/Trumpet Fanfare
7. The Date */Ba Ba Ba Again
8. Jane Stalker
9. His Water Broke
10. A Raisin Nutbread/Hexagon Oil Sting/Frank Swims in Sewage
11. Frank Moves In/Frank’s Bust is Busted
12. Hotel Sting/Hapsburg Moves on Jane
13. Introducing Dr. Meinheimer/He Can Walk/I’m Tired of Being the Sting King/We’ll See About This
14. Roof, Roof! *
15. Staying Here with You/A Real Bomb
16. Intro to Ozone Layer/I Want a World */End Credits *
17. Celebrated Minuet (Source)
18. Hail to the Chief (Source)
19. I Guess I’m Just Screwed – Colleen Fitzpatrick
20. I Should Have Been An Accountant (Piano Version)
21. Endzone Layer (Source)
22. Ye Olde Sex Shoppe (Source)
23. I Should Have Been An Accountant (Dance Band Version)
24. Tangerine (Source)
25. Satin Doll (Source)
26. Lifespan (Source)
27. Tommy Two Tails (Source)
28. Besame Mucho – Leslie Nielsen

Disc 3: The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult!

1. Drebin the Hero/The Touchable Untouchables
2. Midnight Romance/Main Title
3. Mom Visits Rocco/Visit from Dr. Papshmir
4. Purse Snatcher/Tearful Goodbyes/Transition to Shrink’s Office/Make Tonight Something Special
5. Undercover Sperm Bank
6. You’ll Be Called/Searching Through File/Back to Work/Rosenblatt Sting/Transition to Frank’s House
7. Thelma & Louise Jane
8. Deciding to Go Undercover/Denver Jock Strap/The Bighouse Yard/Entering the Bighouse/Letter to Jane
9. Shower Intro/The Shower Song/Shower Scene
10. Prison Fight
11. Jane Cries/Trucker Tries/Jane in Phone Booth
12. Frank’s Escape/Trucker Jane/Frank’s Escape Part 2
13. Frank Meets Mom
14. Tanya/Do I Know You?
15. Semi Truck/Pigeon/Your Bishop is Exposed
16. Who’s the Skirt?/Let’s Bump Her Off/Rocco’s Crowning Achievement
17. Very Impressive/Copter Schmear/Gang to the Shrine
18. Rocco & Tanya Backstage/Tanya’s Sexy Leg/Ma in Sunroof/Tanya’s Tassels
19. Foreign Taxi Drivers/Tanya Bubble Wrap/Stupid Copper Punk
20. Code Red Alert/Frank Fights Raquel/Police Squad Arrival
21. Tanya, Tanya, Tanya
22. Best Picture Award/It’s the Bomb/The Final Straw/Give Up Rocco/Happy Ending to Awards
23. The Delivery Room/End Credits
24. This Could Be the Start of Something – Pia Zadora
25. Deciding to Go Undercover (Alternate)
26. Trucker Jane (Alternate)
27. Ma in Sunroof (Alternate)
28. The Delivery Room (Alternate)
29. Soap Opera Source
30. Lotto Music (Source)
31. Hooray for L.A./Ext. Awards Show/Lifetime Achievement Award/Heart Attack Awards Music/Margaret Standswithafistupherbazooky/Mariel and Elliot
32. Timpani Roll/Fatal Affair/Raquel Intro Theme Music
33. The Food Song (No Vocals)
34. Geriatric Park
35. Best Picture Presenters
36. This Could Be the Start of Something (Instrumental)

* released on Varese Sarabande CD VSD-5331, 1991