Los Angeles, CA — July 15, 2026 — Varèse Sarabande celebrates the 40th anniversary of David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” with a reissue of its iconic soundtrack. Composed and conducted by Angelo Badalamenti, the atmospheric score not only marked the beginning of the artist’s influential creative partnership with Lynch but also served as his career breakthrough. Set for release on September 4th and available for pre-order today, this special reissue presents the 14-track album in a rainbow foil jacket, while fans can find the LP in a variety of limited-edition pressings: Yellow vinyl (exclusively at Amoeba Records), Blue (Barnes & Noble), Sandy Pink (Books-A-Million), Blue Sky Blend (Urban Outfitters), Silver & Blue Velvet (Brooklyn Vegan) and Silver at participating indie retailers. The album will also be reissued on CD and a 48-track digital deluxe edition.
GRAMMY-winning composer Angelo Badalamenti (1937 – 2022) was one of modern cinema’s most celebrated composers, whose six-decade career found him working with many of the industry’s biggest names. A native of Brooklyn, Badalamenti honed his skills as a teenager playing piano for vacationers in the Catskills. After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Manhattan School of Music, he taught music before signing with a music publisher, where—under a pseudonym—he penned songs for stars like Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson, and Shirley Bassey, and worked closely with French electronic music pioneer Jean-Jacques Perrey, co-writing the heavily sampled “E.V.A.” (1970), among others.
The 1970s found Badalamenti dipping his toes into Hollywood, scoring such films as “Gordon’s War” (1973) and “Law and Disorder” (1974), but it would be an unlikely call a decade later—to serve as a voice coach to Isabella Rossellini for an upcoming David Lynch project—that would transform his career. The film was “Blue Velvet.” After plans to use This Mortal Coil’s rendition of ‘Song to the Siren’ fell through for the theme, Badalamenti was given a project that would become a defining turning point in his career.
Impressed by his work with Rossellini, the director asked Badalamenti to compose “a song that floats on the sea of time.” The result was “Mysteries of Love,” an ethereal piece performed by Julee Cruise with lyrics by Lynch. “She made that song float and David went absolutely nuts,” Badalamenti told The Believer in 2019. “And then he asked me to do the score for the film.”
Subversive and voyeuristic, the neo-noir mystery stars Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern, and explores the seedy underbelly of a seemingly idyllic American suburb. The film’s surrealist score reflects this duality—balancing the camp of midcentury lounge music with unnerving orchestral melodies. Among the few reference points Lynch gave Badalamenti was Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15—the Russian composer’s final symphony, written as he contemplated his own mortality, blending playful, childlike motifs with mournful, eerie arrangements.
Those influences can be heard throughout the score, particularly in the haunting “Main Title” and “Night Streets/Sandy and Jeffrey,” which swings from foreboding to lighthearted. Also notable is the menacing “Frank,” inspired by the film’s psychopathic villain (Hopper), and the moody “Akron Meets the Blues,” which adds a touch of classic jazz noir. Interspersed among Badalamenti’s instrumentals are a handful of ’60s pop tunes, including Roy Orbison’s dramatic ballad “In Dreams,” Ketty Lester’s rendition of “Love Letters,” and, of course, “Blue Velvet,” performed by Rossellini.
“Blue Velvet” hit theaters in the fall of 1986 as a cultural phenomenon, immediately counted among the best films of the year—and decade—by many. It earned a variety of accolades, including an Academy Award®️ nomination for Best Director, an Independent Spirit Award®️ for Best Female Lead (Rossellini), and Golden Globe®️ nominations for Best Screenplay (Lynch) and Best Supporting Actor (Hopper). Critics, meanwhile, have long considered the film a masterpiece.
The score has been equally celebrated. In 2001, Entertainment Weekly included it in its 100 Greatest Film Soundtracks roundup, while, in a more recent retrospective, Pitchfork gave it an 8.0 score, noting that “Badalamenti’s compositions invite the audience to process what they are witnessing not by logic but instinct, even as the mood shifts between terror and ecstasy.” ScreenRant praised the score as “one of the finest ever composed,” while AllMusic hailed, “Badalamenti manages to construct a piece of such simplicity, of such beauty, that you wonder why a composer didn’t create it before in the first place. Brutally compelling…this is an extraordinary experience filled with both fear and love.”
“Blue Velvet” launched Badalamenti’s long-running creative partnership with Lynch—one that encompassed nearly all of the director’s future projects, including “Wild at Heart” (1990), “Mulholland Drive” (2001), and the legendary TV series “Twin Peaks”—the theme for which earned the composer a GRAMMY Award and three Emmy®️ nominations. Beyond Lynch, Badalamenti scored films for such esteemed directors as Danny Boyle, Jane Campion, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Paul Schrader, and collaborated with artists across the musical spectrum—from Orbital and Anthrax to the Pet Shop Boys, David Bowie, and Marianne Faithfull. But it is his relationship with Lynch—and his ability to channel the director’s singular vision through music—that remains a cornerstone of his career. “I have a very special way of working with David,” he told Vulture in 2017. “I always feel so guilty because composing all of his projects throughout all of these years has been so easy.”
“Blue Velvet” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Tracklist (Vinyl):
Side A:
1. Main Title
2. Night Streets / Sandy And Jeffrey
3. Frank
4. Jeffrey’s Dark Side
5. Mysteries Of Love (French Horn solo)
6. Frank Returns
7. Mysteries Of Love (Instrumental)
Side B
1. Blue Velvet / Blue Star Montage
2. Lumberton U.S.A. / Going Down To Lincoln (Sound Effects Suite)
3. Akron Meets The Blues – Angelo Badalamenti
4. Honky Tonk Part 1 (Performed by Bill Doggett)
5. In Dreams (Performed by Roy Orbison)
6. Love Letters (Performed by Ketty Lester)
7. Mysteries Of Love (Vocal by Julee Cruise)
“Blue Velvet” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Tracklist (CD):
1. Main Title
2. Night Streets / Sandy And Jeffrey
3. Frank
4. Jeffrey’s Dark Side
5. Mysteries Of Love (French Horn solo)
6. Frank Returns
7. Mysteries Of Love (Instrumental)
8. Blue Velvet / Blue Star Montage
9. Lumberton U.S.A. / Going Down To Lincoln (Sound Effects Suite)
10. Akron Meets The Blues
11. Honky Tonk Part 1 (Performed by Bill Doggett)
12. In Dreams (Performed by Roy Orbison)
13. Love Letters (Performed by Ketty Lester)
14. Mysteries Of Love (Vocal by Julee Cruise)
“Blue Velvet” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Tracklist (Deluxe Digital Edition):
1. Main Titles
2. Night Streets / Sandy And Jeffrey
3. Frank
4. Jeffrey’s Dark Side
5. Mysteries Of Love
6. Frank Returns
7. Mysteries Of Love (Instrumental)
8. Blue Velvet / Blue Star Montage
9. Lumberton U.S.A. / Going Down To Lincoln (Sound Effects Suite)
10. Akron Meets The Blues
11. Honky Tonk Part 1 (Performed by Bill Doggett)
12. In Dreams (Performed by Roy Orbison)
13. Love Letters (Performed by Ketty Lester)
14. Mysteries Of Love (Vocal by Julee Cruise)
15. Alcron Meets The Blues
16. Lumberton, U.S.A. Radio Ad
17. Timpo
18. Ribbon Scissor
19. Going Down To Lincoln
20. Organs And Sirens
21. Sandy And Jeffrey
22. Dorothy Alone
23. Mount Frank’s Eruption aka Frank (Film Version Without Clarinet)
24. Sloe Club Boys
25. High Gentle Memories
26. Stalking Out
27. Yellow Man
28. Sandy And Jeffrey
29. Ominously Yours II
30. Ominously Yours IV
31. Organ (Version 3) / Mysteries Of Love
32. Organ Toots And Sirens
33. Cue 61A
34. Cue 05
35. Cue 09
36. Cue 09A
37. Cue 13
38. Cue 16
39. Cue 21 & 24
40. Cue 27
41. Cue 36
42. Cue 46
43. Cue 48
44. Cue 50
45. Cue 56
46. Cue 65 Pt 1
47. Cue D
48. Cue 65
Available on Vinyl and CD September 4th
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