Music For All Mankind

I've been compulsively listening to Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks these past few days, and this morning I've put together for our listening pleasure, the suite of music that comprises the ambient portion of the For All Mankind soundtrack, - the 7 Apollo tracks heard in Al Reinert's film, plus the 9 additional tracks which appear on the Music For Films III compilation.

For All Mankind has had a complicated history which I’m not sure I’ve fully untangled. An early draft of the film, then called Apollo, first appeared in 1983 and differed significantly from the version seen today. This early version was presented without the astronaut voice-overs and apparently utilized the entire Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks album with the sequence of music in the film mirroring the album. After a few initial screenings, the film was withdrawn until it re-appeared in 1989 re-cut, re-titled, and re-scored, with some of the original Apollo album tracks (Matta, Understars II, Deep Blue Day, and Weightless) replaced by some previously unheard solo and collaborative tracks by Enos Brian and Roger, and Daniel Lanois, plus a Terry Riley-esque track by John Paul Jones (4-Minute Warning), and a track by the mysterious Misha Malin (For Her Atoms) which I suspect might be an Eno pseudonym. I must stress that is not the definitive For All Mankind soundtrack - I've chosen not to include the songs by Frank Sinatra, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens (although Santo & Johnny Farina's otherworldly Sleep Walk almost made the cut).

The following track listing is based on the order the tracks appear in the film. The imdb's soundtrack listing scrambles the order (and omits track 14, White Mustang). Grab a copy of Music For All Mankind here

1. For Her Atoms (taken from More Music For Films III)
2. Theme for Opera (from More Music For Films III)
3. Always Returning (from Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks)
4. Silver Morning (from Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks)
5. Drift (from Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks)
6. Fleeting Smile (from More Music For Films III)
7. 4 Minute Warning (from More Music For Films III)
8. The Secret Place (from Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks)
9. Quixote (from More Music For Films III)
10. Understars (from Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks)
11. Stars (from Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks)
12. An Ending (Ascent) (from Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks)
13. Sirens (from More Music For Films III)
14. White Mustang (from More Music For Films III)
15. Tension Block (from More Music For Films III)
16. Asian River (from More Music For Films III)