Category: 2005

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2005 A Film Soundtracks

Alien Nation – music by Jerry Goldsmith

2 min read

Order this CDThe differences between Alien Nation‘s movie and TV incarnations are so significant that they almost shouldn’t share the name. Both had shortcomings: the TV series delved into the concept more fully, but was often cutesy in an ’80s-family-drama kind of way; the movie was a bit edgier, but ultimately less successful in fleshing out the concept.

The soundtrack of Alien Nation (the movie) wasn’t one of the things that made it edgier. It was also the second soundtrack the film went through: Jerry Goldsmith had originally been hired to score Alien Nation, and created an all-synth score which was subsequently rejected and replaced by the Curt Sobel score that was ultimately heard in theaters. The liner notes of this release paint this as the movie’s loss, but it may be a toss-up as to which composer would have serviced the movie better.

Here’s the problem: frankly, the TV series had better music, because it dared to give its alien characters alien music. There seem to be a few hints that Goldsmith had thoughts about going in that direction, but most of those hints take the form of unearthly noise sweeps at the beginning of some tracks. But for the most part, as unlikely as it may seem to describe anything composer by Jerry Goldsmith this way, Alien Nation a la Goldsmith is unremarkable.

2 out of 4It’s no better and no worse than any other synthesized score, but the music itself seems remarkably tame for what was meant to be an adventurous, high-concept new take on a classic genre. It almost sounds like a demo rather than a finished score, which may or may not have been the intention. And in any case, Goldsmith would go on to create better music for better projects than Alien Nation. Maybe the material just didn’t inspire him.

  1. Alien Landing (3:47)
  2. Out Back (2:01)
  3. Are You Alright? (1:50)
  4. Take It Easy (2:53)
  5. The Vial (2:13)
  6. Jerry’s Jam (1:51)
  7. Alien Dance (1:57)
  8. Are You There? (2:01)
  9. The Beach (3:42)
  10. Tow Truck Getaway (1:52)
  11. 772 / I Shall Remember (4:08)
  12. Tell Them (1:29)
  13. A Game Of Chicken (2:36)
  14. Overdose (2:26)
  15. Got A Match? (2:53)
  16. A Nice view (2:34)
  17. Just Ugly (1:57)
  18. The Wedding (4:43)

Released by: Varese Sarabande
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 46:43

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1974 2005 P Planet Of The Apes Soundtracks Television

Planet Of The Apes: The Series

4 min read

Order this CDThe most unexpected Planet Of The Apes soundtrack of all is this compilation of music from the franchise’s brief extension in live-action TV. Though the series boasted some segments worthy of the Apes brand of storytelling, it’s often ignored by more serious afficionados of the original film series because it doesn’t try very hard to adhere to the movies’ timeline. What the TV series had going for it was lavish location filming, Roddy McDowall again donning the makeup of a sympathetic ape, and what was actually a fairly effective music library.

With the rules of television scoring being different in the ’70s, not every episode of the Apes TV series got its own score; many of its installments were “tracked” from this music written for early episodes. Lalo Schifrin also composed the oppressive, guttural main theme, so his scores tended to quote that theme frequently, providing some unity. The episodes scores by Schifrin were less adventurous than, say, the same composer’s globe-style-trotting music for Mission: Impossible, but he wisely leans in favor of “aping” the brutal, occasionally dissonant sound established by the first movie’s groundbreaking Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack. With a smaller ensemble at his disposal, Schifrin makes the best use of his orchestral resources: there’s more brass than strings here, and he can’t hope to match Goldsmith’s wall of violent unconventional percussion. What he manages to pull off with that smaller orchestra is impressive.

Some of the better cues are the wrap-everything-up-on-a-less-hopeless-note final scenes from Schifrin’s scores. “Your World”, from the series pilot, is the musical epitome of “cautiously optimistic,” while “A Beginning” (the final cue of the show’s second hour, The Gladiators) is less certain in its feel-good send-off (and was used to close out many of the series’ installments). The Gladiators score also provides a showcase for what Schifrin was able to do with his more modest percussion section.

Another early episode score, The Legacy, was composed by guest musician Earle Hagen, and it’s distinctly different from Schifrin’s music. Less in-your-face pessimistic than Schifrin’s scores, Hagen’s music is more typical of mid 1970s drama scoring for American TV. Cues like The Soldiers demonstrate an attempt to mesh with the Schifrin scores, but most of the music is subtler and more mysterious, befitting the episode’s race to preserve a hologram which promises to be a storehouse of human scientific knowledge. Hagen went on to compose other scores for the series, ultimately providing almost a third of the show’s scores versus the two-thirds either scored by Schifrin or tracked from episodes previously scored by Schifrin.

The last score – incidentally closing out the first four episodes of the show – sees Schifrin return with a more robust percussion ensemble, and resuming the use of music that complements his main theme nicely. A few cues (the opening moments of “Riding For Urko” in particular) see Schifrin confidently stepping right up to the territory mapped out by Goldsmith’s score for the first Apes movie. 4 out of 4This score truly belongs in the Apes musical pantheon.

And so does the TV soundtrack as a whole. More obscure than even the later film sequels, the TV series suffered from a malady common to early ’70s TV science fiction – namely having well-worn plots from westerns or The Fugitive grafted onto the Planet Of The Apes backstory – but the music is one of the better things about the show, consistently reminding the audience of the stakes in play, even if the scripts didn’t make this quite so clear.

  1. Main Title (1:15)

    Escape From Tomorrow by Lalo Schifrin

  2. The Spaceship (2:38)
  3. Apes (2:48)
  4. The Warp (2:03)
  5. Urko and Galen (4:05)
  6. Prison Guard (1:58)
  7. Jail Break (3:32)
  8. Your World (1:58)

    The Gladiators by Lalo Schifrin

  9. Jason (1:11)
  10. Fighting (2:14)
  11. Barlow (1:50)
  12. Trouble (2:25)
  13. Into the Arena (2:47)
  14. There Will Be Death (0:53)
  15. Humans versus Apes (2:34)
  16. A Beginning (2:32)

    The Legacy by Earle Hagen

  17. Into the Ruined City (2:28)
  18. The Machine (0:50)
  19. The Soldiers (2:30)
  20. The Key (1:25)
  21. Verdon and the Kid (1:10)
  22. The Family (1:56)
  23. The Reward (2:25)
  24. Knowledge Hunts (3:13)
  25. Farewell (0:38)

    The Good Seed by Lalo Schifrin

  26. Riding for Urko (1:48)
  27. Travel Without Stars (3:18)
  28. Attack (3:18)
  29. Bonded Humans (2:26)
  30. Next String (2:27)
  31. End Credits (1:59)

Released by: Intrada
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 68:34

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2005 Artists (by group or surname) Non-Soundtrack Music P P. Hux

Homemade Spaceship: The Music Of ELO Performed By P. Hux

Homemade SpaceshipThere’s gonna be a throwdown! At least that was what I thought when I first heard of this release: Parthenon Huxley, the songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist behind the excellent No Rewind album from The Orchestra (formerly ELO Part II), tries on some bona fide Jeff Lynne classics for size. Given ELO Part II/The Orchestra’s storied legal history with Lynne, surely Huxley had some massive brass balls. Not only had he become one of the inheritors of the ELO sound, but he was taking on classic ELO songs written by one of the group’s founders. A gutsy move, to say the very least.

Huxley is, like many modern power pop practitioners, an admirer of Jeff Lynne’s songwriting and production acumen, and so perhaps it was wise for him to do something really unexpected with Homemade Spaceship: in many cases, he almost rewrites the music. Same words, but completely different takes on some of the familiar melodies. There are plenty of hints of the familiar melody of “Mr. Blue Sky”, for instance, but the timing has changed, and Huxley completely changes the trajectory of the main vocal melody. The lush harmonies are gone for the most part too, further confusing the ear that’s accustomed to Lynne’s wall of sound.

Some songs stick very close to their source material: “10538 Overture” is a folkier take on the very first ELO song, and has the added benefit of making the lyrics easier to understand than the original does. The closest any of the tracks here comes to their inspiration is “The Diary Of Horace Wimp”, which is presented in a laid-back way but, unlike many of the songs covered on Homemade Spaceship, preserves much of the harmonies in the chorus. “Showdown” stays close to the original, but trades in the original recording’s layers of foreboding strings for a pared-down, folky western dirge.

Some of the songs that do stray further from the source material are real treats: Huxley makes “Evil Woman” his own via some melodic twists and turns that differ significantly from the original, but it still has a driving beat and a bluesy feel at its heart. “Ma-Ma-Ma Belle” is a much softer song than the hard-rocking original, but the changes give the same set of lyrics a compeltely different emotional angle.

3 out of 4My one complaint about Homemade Spaceship is that, like L.E.O., Huxley chooses to parody “Don’t Bring Me Down” instead of doing a more straightforward cover of it. With a faux British accent, he turns it into a song that’s spoken instead of sung, and occasionally reduces it to a Pythonesque farce. After the rest of the album’s thoughtful deconstructions of numerous ELO favorites, this approach struck me as cheap and cheesy, but your mileage may vary. Overall, a very interesting collection – ELO ultra-purists need not apply.

Order a download

  1. 10538 Overture (3:09)
  2. Mr. Blue Sky (4:08)
  3. Showdown (4:03)
  4. Can’t Get It Out Of My Head (4:22)
  5. Telephone Line (6:26)
  6. Sweet Talkin’ Woman (5:05)
  7. Evil Woman (4:54)
  8. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (3:43)
  9. Strange Magic (3:41)
  10. The Diary Of Horace Wimp (5:13)
  11. Do Ya (4:08)
  12. Don’t Bring Me Down (3:34)

Released by: Reverberations
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 52:26

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2005 Compilation Film R Soundtracks

Rediscovering Lost Scores, Volume 2 – music by Wendy Carlos

Film composer and synth innovator Wendy Carlos’ second disc of restored original score recordings focuses on her attempts to meld synthesizers and orchestral music in the 1970s and early 80s.

The second in a series of releases of “recovered” movie scores from Wendy/Walter Carlos’ library, this disc focuses on collaborations (and sometimes, collisions) between synthesizer and orchestra. Carlos provides her own liner notes both on the music itself and on the painstaking process of recovering it from the damaged master tapes upon which it had originally been recorded, which involved literally baking each reel of tape (quite literally in an oven) at a precise temperature for a precise amount of time; it wasn’t a process where you could put something back in the oven, either – there was one shot at getitng it right and preserving the original material. That same procedure allowed the composer to recover her original master tapes in time for the 20th anniversary release of the Tron score, and so it’s somehow appropriate that more music from Tron – both previously released and previously unreleased – can be heard here, along with music from equally iconic films.

Feel free to call me predictable, but of course what drew me to this volume (not having bought the first CD) was, naturally, the promise of new music from Tron. Fair warning: if that’s the only reason you’re thinking about getting this disc, maybe you should think twice. There isn’t a huge amount of new material presented here for the Tron fanatic, and a goodly chunk of it has been heard before: “Lightcycle Battle” was made available on the 20th anniversary edition DVD, and “Trinitron” – a.k.a. that part of the end credits that was covered up by Journey’s “Only Solutions” – has always been available as part of the end credit suite on the soundtrack releases, going all the way back to the 1982 LP release. (In the liner notes, Carlos makes it sound like this is the first time anyone’s ever heard it. Nope. It’s been my favorite piece of Tron music for 28 years running now!) The various other short tracks, which didn’t even make it into the movie, are interesting to hear…but they’re so short. It’s nice to have track-by-track liner notes for them though.

The material from The Shining, I barely remember, having seen that movie very few times (as opposed to having seen Tron about a zillion times); what I can tell you is that it sounds as sharp as the remastered Tron material, apparently baked to perfection. There’s also a healthy sampling of material from Carlos’ soundtrack to a movie I’ve never heard of, called Woundings.

Included as a couple of bonus tracks are two test tracks Carlos assembled for Dolby Laboratories, and they’re vintage Carlos material – 3 out of 4making use of very Bach-like counterpoint in the synth realm, and throwing in just one or two small musical in-jokes (i.e. “That’s all folks!”).

The second volume of Rediscovering Lost Scores is a nice cross-section of Carlos’ movie material, but it’s really not an entry-level album – this one is definitely for listeners who are either already fans of Carlos’ work, or of the movies whose music is included.

Order this CD

    The Shining
  1. Shining Title Music (3:54)
  2. Paraphrase For ‘Cello (3:26)
  3. Where’s Jack? (5:24)
  4. The Overlook (3:57)
  5. Psychic Scream (1:29)
  6. Day Of Wrath (1:07)
  7. Paraphrase For Brass (1:37)
  8. Title Music ‘Dies’ (3:46)
  9. Clockworks ‘Dies’ (2:23)

    10. Tron

  10. Creation Of Tron Vol. I (0:36)
  11. Creation Of Tron Vol. II (0:36)
  12. Lightcycle Games (2:06)
  13. Anthem (Studio Version) (1:24)
  14. Little Interludes (0:56)
  15. Trinitron (2:19)

    16. Split Second

  16. Visit To A Morgue (1:24)
  17. Return To The Morgue (2:50)

    18. Woundings

  18. Woundings Title Music (3:12)
  19. Angela’s Walk (1:05)
  20. Jimmy (1:38)
  21. Louise (0:56)
  22. Doug Does Angela (1:37)
  23. Scattering Ashes (1:33)
  24. Angela’s Aftermath (3:47)
  25. Jimmy Kills Louise (2:33)
  26. In A Cemetery (0:57)
  27. Fly Away And End (1:40)

    28. Two Dolby Demos

  28. Jiffy Test: Bee Dee Bei Mir (1:25)
  29. Listen: Tannhauser (2:18)

Released by: East Side Digital
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 61:55

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2005 Film S Soundtracks

Serenity – music by David Newman

3 min read

Order this CDIf there’s one giant mystery about Serenity, it’s not the plot, nor even the decision to diminish the Firefly cast by two beloved characters on their first big-screen outing. There’s not even a big mystery as to how the movie came about – to put it simply, enough people loved Joss Whedon’s short-lived Fox TV show, especially its characters and its wild-west-of-the-future setting, that Universal was sold on the idea of doing Firefly for the big screen. If there’s one mystery I’m left with, it’s this: whatever happened to Greg Edmonson? The TV series’ music didn’t beat around the bush in establishing the western-in-space theme, and with its ethnic instrumentation, helped to remind viewers that there was more to it than that. Naturally, the last thing I expected from the movie Serenity was a score steeped in conventional, Star Wars-style orchestral leitmotif.

The Serenity score was composed by David Newman, who was responsible for the simply amazing music of Galaxy Quest. I’m hesitant to say that his assignment to this movie was a trade up or a trade down, but it was certainly a bizarre step sideways. Listening to the soundtrack alone, you’re three tracks in before you even get a hint of the western-inspired music of the series, and even then, it’s not even as authentically western as, say, Copland’s “Rodeo”. There’s almost hope for “Trading Station Robbery”, but then it seems like nobody can decide if the guitar should sound country-twangy or Duane-Eddy-spy-movie-music twangy.

Now, if you don’t care about whether or not it sounds like a musical continuation of Firefly, this is some fine classic David Newman SF action music – again, if you liked Newman’s score for Galaxy Quest, you’ll almost certainly like this. And I can sort of see an argument that Serenity is not just an episode of Firefly projected onto a big screen, but a larger adventure demanding the trappings of a larger canvas, including bigger, more theatrical music (call this the Star Trek: The Motion Picture defense). If that’s your bag, the music doesn’t get much bigger than “Crash Landing” or “Jayne & Zoe / Final Battle”.

3 out of 4This is a hard one to rate – it’s great music, but it just doesn’t mesh with the movie and the sonic universe that had already been established. And in the end credits of the movie, Newman even quotes the original Firefly theme, and that didn’t even make it to the CD. If you just pull the booklet out of the jewel case and pretend this is the soundtrack to a movie that has nothing to do with Firefly, you’re in good shape.

  1. Into The River (3:11)
  2. Escape (1:33)
  3. Serenity (0:51)
  4. Going For A Ride (2:24)
  5. Trading Station Robbery (3:21)
  6. River Goes Wild (1:28)
  7. River And Simon In Locker (1:00)
  8. Population: Dead (3:56)
  9. Haven Destroyed (0:56)
  10. Shepherd Book’s Last Words (1:00)
  11. You’re Not A Reaver (0:57)
  12. Mal Decides (3:09)
  13. Truth / Mal’s Speech (3:27)
  14. Space Battle (3:21)
  15. Crash Landing (2:00)
  16. Run To Black (2:58)
  17. Generator Room (3:06)
  18. Mal & Op Fight (2:10)
  19. Jayne & Zoe / Final Battle (2:49)
  20. Funeral / Rebuilding Serenity (2:01)
  21. Prep For A Flight (1:33)
  22. Love (1:06)
  23. End Credits (1:37)

Released by: Varese Sarabande
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 49:54

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Categories
2005 K Katamari Damacy Soundtracks Video Game / Computer Game

The Complete Sounds Of Katamari

The Complete Sounds Of KatamariThe final release in a trilogy of soundtracks accompanying the trilogy of Katamari games (Katamari Damacy, We Love Katamari and the PSP title Me And My Katamari), The Complete Sounds Of Katamari is an unusual combination of material, ranging from the music of Me & My Katamari to previously unreleased tracks from We Love Katamari to tunes from other Namco video games with no Katamari connection at all. But as with the previous two soundtracks in the series, Complete Sounds has enough gems of pure musical cheerfulness to offer that it’s easy to overlook any lack of cohesiveness.

As one might expect, the first disc – featuring only music from the Katamari games – has moments of pure gold, as well as moments that really work better as in-game music than stand-alone listening material. “Shine! Mr. Sunshine” is a highlight of the tracks from Me & My Katamari, with a soulful, southern gospel feel that’s almost unexpected after its opening, which is a short, NES-style rendition of the Katamari theme. That theme is reinterpreted and experimented with endlessly, in such tracks as “Katamari On The Moog” and “Katamari On The Funk” (to name just two of the better tracks). From track 10 onward, the first disc presents music from We Love Katamari that didn’t make it onto that game’s soundtrack CD; a favorite among these is the quirky “One Tip March.”

Disc two’s tracks are more symphonic in nature, and hail from such games as Splatterhouse and Tales Of Eternia Online – an interesting mix to be sure. There are also a few tracks of ambient Rating: 3 out of 4outdoor sound effects. It’s almost like a Namco “best of” collection, but given how expensive this 2-CD set can be (depending on where one gets it), one wonders why Namco didn’t just divide this package into two separate releases and save some of us who are really after more Katamari music the money.

It’s all a nice package of music, but certainly a strange collision of styles and sources.

    Order this CD in the StoreDisc One
  1. Overture III (2:35)
  2. Katamari On The Funk (10:22)
  3. Katamaresort (3:04)
  4. Shabadoobie (3:01)
  5. Jesus Island (4:47)
  6. Family Damacy (4:41)
  7. Katamari On The Moog (0:32)
  8. Shine! Mr. Sunshine (5:36)
  9. Katamarhythm Box (1:41)
  10. Dan Don Fuga (2:14)
  11. Tron The Grasslands (4:27)
  12. One Tip March (2:43)
  13. Do Re Mi Katamari Do (3:13)
  14. Starlight Jamboree (2:56)
  15. Everyone Dancing Katamari Damacy (1:00)
  16. Love & Peace & Katamari Damacy (0:43)
  17. Big Cosmos Salon (3:03)
    Disc Two
  1. In A Muddle (7:05)
  2. Kanewood Edge – Morning (0:40)
  3. None But the Lonely Heart (Op. 6-6) (2:51)
  4. Presto Scherzando (1:35)
  5. Appassionate, Allegro Moderato (2:15)
  6. Super Taiko Damacy (0:59)
  7. None But the Lonely Heart (Op. 6-6) (2:58)
  8. Super Taiko Damacy (Refrain) (0:26)
  9. Sadness (1:42)
  10. Stizzoso (1:08)
  11. Kanewood Edge – Day (0:33)
  12. Con Energico (5:49)
  13. Sento Nel Core (Arrange Version from Splatterhouse (4:24)
  14. Kuttsuki Taro (2:43)
  15. Misterioso (3:03)
  16. Chaotic Ambience (0:54)
  17. Andante, Con Moto, Grandioso (1:41)
  18. Big Fire (1:55)
  19. Night Moo Moo (0:41)
  20. Kanewood Edge – Star (9:55)

Released by: Columbia Japan
Release date: 2005
Disc one total running time: 56:38
Disc two total running time: 53:17

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2005 2006 M Non-Soundtrack Music Roger Joseph Manning Jr.

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – The Land Of Pure Imagination

3 min read

Order this CD in the StoreFormerly of early 90s power pop powerhouse Jellyfish, Roger Manning is reinventing the 1970s with this solo project, on which he plays and sings everything (except for a trumpet on one song). Fans of 70s music will probably find at several gems to love here, though those expecting to hear the second coming of Jellyfish may be left scratching their heads in places.

In its brief, two-album heyday, Jellyfish mined almost the entire gamut of well-produced, well-written 70s pop music, with stylistic nods to Queen, Supertramp, ELO and numberous other 70s supergroups, and with Manning in the driver’s seat, Jellyfish still managed to make all of those elements the band’s own unique sound. Manning’s chief inspiration is still the 1970s, though here he seems to be absorbing influences from everyone from Mac Davis to Carole King. Fan of Jellyfish’s decidedly rocked-out sound may find it hard to square these elements with what they were expecting. That doesn’t make Imagination a bad album; but for folks like me who were going “Ooh! Roger Manning! Jellyfish!” like I was may require a little bit of an adjustment period while their expectations hash it out with the reality of what’s on the CD.

What’s on the CD is good stuff, though. The title track and especially “Too Late For Us Now,” which I count as my favorite song on the whole album, wouldn’t have been at all out of place in the Jellyfish set list. “Creeple People” and “The Loser” come close to this category as well. “Sandman” hearkens back to the gorgeous a cappella vocal harmonies of Jellyfish’s “Hush,” and “You Were Right” recalls some of that group’s more low-key numbers (i.e. “Calling Sarah”). Manning’s production and vocals are impeccable – even if you don’t care for a given song, it’s almost impossible not to admire his one-man-band abilities here.

But all of that’s pretty cautious praise. There are a couple of songs that I tend to skip – “Wish It Would Rain” resurrects a particularly vapid flavor of 70s pop that was already overused 30 years ago. And while on a conceptual level I like the ornate intricacy of “Appleby,” I just can’t bring myself to really like the song, and I can’t even put a finger on why. The odd thing is that “Appleby” is one of three tracks that were added to the album, to replace three tracks deleted from its Japanese release under the title of Solid State Warrior. The three deleted tracks were made available as a very-limited-edition bonus CD (~200 copies) during 3 out of 4the album’s launch, and all three of the omitted songs are stunners – why anyone thought they didn’t make the cut for consumption in the English-speaking world is a mystery. (“In The Name Of Romance” and “Pray For The Many” are the other two add-on tracks, the latter being the best of the three.)

Overall, it’s a good album, though it’d be an even better album without the tinkering that went on as it crossed the Pacific.

  1. The Land Of Pure Imagination (6:01)
  2. Too Late For Us Now (3:23)
  3. Wish It Would Rain (5:42)
  4. The Loser (3:36)
  5. Sandman (3:37)
  6. Pray For The Many (3:02)
  7. Dragonfly (5:19)
  8. Creeple People (5:31)
  9. In The Name Of Romance (5:26)
  10. You Were Right (5:43)
  11. Appleby (5:30)
    Not Lame bonus disc (Solid State Warrior songs omitted in U.S. release):
  1. What You Don’t Know About The Girl (2:49)
  2. Sleep Children (2:47)
  3. ‘Til We Meet Again (3:44)

Released by: Cordless Recordings
Release date: 2006 (originally released in Japan as Solid State Warrior in 2005)
Total running time: 52:55

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2005 A Non-Soundtrack Music

Afro Celt Sound System – Anatomic

Afro Celt Sound System - AnatomicIt took me an unusually long time to warm up to Anatomic, the latest from the re-renamed Afro Celt Sound System (who had dropped the “Sound System” from their name on their previous album, to the dismay of some longtime fans). It’s not that it’s not good music – it most certainly is – but this group is renowned for knocking down so many boundaries of style and genre and categories in music that, by comparison, bits of Anatomic seem tame – particularly after the rousing entry that was Seed. This may be a case where the band’s long term fans, the folks who get to hear and appreciate the album tracks and not just the singles, will love it, but listers who sample the group more casually may not get it.

There’s no one common thread that ties the strongest Anatomic songs together – “Beautiful Rain” is an almost hypnotic song with gentle male vocals, “Dohl Dogs” is a rousing instrumental number with a solid wall of polyrhythmic percussion, and the title track, also an instrumental, hearkens back to the System’s best Celtic-heavy fusion dance numbers. The album opens strong with “When I Still Needed You”, and though it’s a 3 out of 4slower track, I like “Mother” as well. But some of the other tracks just couldn’t hold my attention – again, they’re not bad music, but they’re strong candidates for background music.

Which may actually be what devotees of this band are looking for, for all I know. At any rate, there’s good stuff on here, but it’s an uneven listen to plow all the way through the whole album.

Order this CD

  1. When I Still Needed You (8:16)
  2. My Secret Bliss (7:04)
  3. Mojave (10:35)
  4. Senè (Working The Land) (5:59)
  5. Beautiful Rain (4:59)
  6. Anatomic (5:24)
  7. Mother (6:29)
  8. Dohl Dogs (6:25)
  9. Drake (6:04)

Released by: RealWorld
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 61:15

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2005 Film L Soundtracks

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe soundtrackI’ve been ambivalent about the new film version of C.S. Lewis’ classic tale on many levels; for one, despite enjoying some of the past attempts that have been, to put it charitably, steeped in cheese, I’m just not sure this is something that can be accurately committed to the big screen. (Oddly enough, I have the same feeling about Dune – I’ve enjoyed various attempts to put it on film, but I’ve also been more than ready to say “okay, enough” at the next attempt.) This big-budget, big-screen, CGI-filled, Disney-backed version looks like it may actually convey the story satisfyingly. And if the soundtrack, released before the movie’s opening, is any indication, we may actually luck out this time.

Harry Gregson-Williams’ score, the main component of the soundtrack release, is gorgeous stuff. From its opening cue, The Blitz, 1940, it’s clear that much of the music will be in a traditional leitmotif mode, but Gregson-Williams still finds plenty of room for originality within that context. “The Blitz, 1940” cleverly uses rumbling, downward portamentos of brass to accompany the bombing of London, sounding almost like diving airplanes (who needs sound effects?). Things get decidedly more modern with “Evacuating London”, which almost sounds like it’s taking a few Enya-inspired pointers from Titanic in places.

Things settle down a bit until we actually step through the wardrobe, at which point the music conveys a great sense of the fantastic and the epic. There are numerous cues which – at least judging by their track titles – are lush, flowing travelogues, making for a very relaxing listen without quite fading into the blandness of background music. Having completely missed a few guesses in past “heard the music before I saw the movie” soundtrack reviews, I’m not even going to try to guess at how well the music fits the film, but it’s great stuff; out of the entire score, I will admit to having kept “The Blitz, 1940” and “The Battle” on repeat play quite a bit.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe deluxe soundtrackThere are four songs included on the tail end of the CD; Alanis Morissette fans will enjoy her track, “Wunderkind”, and I was stunned beyond belief to see Tim Finn turn in a new tune, “Winter Dream” (especially since I’m a fan of his work and hadn’t heard a peep about his participation). (I don’t know who worked the deal to get Tim on this soundtrack or how they did it, but hopefully he benefits from the exposure.) Imogen Heap contributes “Can’t Take It In”, while Lisbeth Scott, the vocalist who can be heard at several points in the score itself, gets a song to herself (“Where”). There’s also a nicely packaged two-disc “special edition” release; the contents of the soundtrack CD are identical, but the package also includes a DVD with interviews with composer Gregson-Williams, concept art galleries and trailers from the movie, and a few other promotional pieces.

rating: 4 out of 4All in all, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe gets a very nice orchestral score with some modern touches (though not overpoweringly modern). If you’re looking for a good film score with a balance between action scenes and more contemplative cues, and something that’s not John Williams (nothing against Mr. Williams, but 2005 at the theater has been jam-packed with his music – Revenge Of The Sith, War Of The Worlds, Munich, Memoirs Of A Geisha…), this will do nicely.

Order this CD

  1. The Blitz, 1940 (2:32)
  2. Evacuating London (3:38)
  3. The Wardrobe (2:54)
  4. Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus (4:10)
  5. A Narnia Lullaby (1:12)
  6. The White Witch (5:30)
  7. From Western Woods To Beaversham (3:34)
  8. Father Christmas (3:20)
  9. To Aslan’s Camp (3:12)
  10. Knighting Peter (3:48)
  11. The Stone Table (8:06)
  12. The Battle (7:08)
  13. Only The Beginning Of The Adventure (5:32)
  14. Can’t Take It In performed by Imogen Heap (4:42)
  15. Wunderkind performed by Alanis Morissette (5:19)
  16. Winter Light performed by Tim Finn (4:13)
  17. Where performed by Lisbeth Scott (1:54)

Released by: Walt Disney Records
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 70:44

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Categories
2005 D Non-Soundtrack Music

Digital Retro Revolution – Save The Humanoids

2 min read

Bringing back the remixing mastery of Tony Fox NYC, Digital Retro Revolution picks up where Fox’s I Am Humanoid left off – slammin’ beats, video game samples galore, and frequently-hilarious out-of-left-field samples from other sources punctuating the proceedings.

Save The Humanoids goes further afield than the arcade for its source sounds, however, and hits a whole new level of musicality. “Final Fantasy Laguna Battle Remix” is a great example – it’s a simple enough tune from a classic game, but with added layers of rhythms and other elements, it only enhances the original. Similar treatments built around the simple tunes from games such as Galaga, Crazy Climber and Tron are just as effective. Also included are remixed versions of Buckner & Garcia’s 1982 singles “Pac-Man Fever” and “Do The Donkey Kong”. Man, the fun that could’ve been had with “Froggy’s Lament”…

“Adagio For Humanoids” takes things in the opposite direction, taking non-musical sounds and trying to make rating: 4 out of 4them musical, building Barber’s “Adagio For Strings” out of game samples. And once again, there’s a dandy hidden track straight out of the brassy, Sound of Philadelphia 70s to close things out.

How much you get out of Save The Humanoids will depend a lot on how much you enjoy hearing these samples, but for those who remember these games by heart, this is your soundtrack.

Order this CD

  1. It’s Wacked Man (Ms. Pac-Man Remix) (3:02)
  2. BLIP-NOT-TICK (3:12)
  3. Adagio For Humanoids (5:01)
  4. CentiMillipede (1:38)
  5. Save The Humanoids (2:35)
  6. Go For It! Crazy Climber Remix (1:45)
  7. Triple Punch Bop (2:15)
  8. Humanoids & Asteroids (The Buck Out Edit) (3:39)
  9. GaLaGaLaXiaN (1:32)
  10. Carnival 2005 (2:18)
  11. Zelda Vs. The Humanoids (4:05)
  12. Humanoid Master (Underground Edit) (2:01)
  13. Stop, Judge (Karate Champ Remix) (2:30)
  14. Tetris On The Runway (2:47)
  15. The Lair Of Tron (2:04)
  16. Pac-Man Fever Remix (4:56)
  17. Do The Donkey Kong Remix (3:35)
  18. Robotron: 2005 (3:00)
  19. Star Humanoid (2:56)
  20. Final Fantasy Laguna Battle Remix (4:48)
  21. Hey Porcupine! (Sonic Remix) (1:55)
  22. Ghouls, Ghosts & Goblins (2:01)
  23. Knock Him Out! (Hardcore Humanoid Edit) (1:37)
  24. Humanoids Reprise (3:04)
  25. ? Hidden Track (3:35)

Released by: Digital Press Records
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 72:01

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