Category: 2005

Categories
2005 8-Bit Weapon E Non-Soundtrack Music

8-Bit Weapon – The Vaporware Soundtracks

The Vaporware SoundtracksA completely different animal from 2003’s Confidential, Vaporware Soundtracks is the sound of a whole new, completely reloaded 8-Bit Weapon. Rather than remixing classic Commodore 64 game music, 8-Bit Weapon – now consisting of Seth Sternberger and drummer Stacey Superstix – is doing some infectiously catchy original numbers. The odd pairing of “micromusic,” using Commodore computers and a Game Boy Color, with live drumming gives some of this CD’s tracks a fresh surge of power – in fact, I found that on some of the tracks where there were no live drums, the pace almost seems to sag.

Unusual instrumental pairings alone don’t make a good album, though – a bunch of good songress do, and this album definitely has ’em. Seth does vocoder-processed vocals on “Arcade” and “One Last Mission”, the latter being the jewel of the whole collection. Played frequently on stage at Classic Gaming Expo 2005, “One Last Mission” is a masterful throwback to the sort of dirge-like electro-pop that nobody’s done this well since Gary Numan was still on the map. Its lyrics are also a perfect calling card for 8-Bit Weapon, a story of losing (and trying to redeem) love, described in terms of an epic gaming session. Stacey gets a moment in the spotlight as well, delivering breathless vocals with just a hint of Lene Lovich on the twitchy “Panty Raid”.

The rest of the album is largely instrumental, though again the percussion gives it a certain “oomph” – when it’s there. Some of the instrumentals come entirely out of the computer with no acoustic backup, and while many of them are lively and fast-paced, they just seem to lack the impact of those tracks with real stick work.

rating: 3 out of 4The new lineup of 8-Bit Weapon has a lot going for it – a great sound that’s not like anything else I’ve heard recently, and some great songs to go with it. If anything, they might want to concentrate on songs that utilize both of their talents, and, it must be said, they’re at their best when playing live. The moment they can capture that same energy in the studio, 8-Bit Weapon will officially be locked, loaded, and maybe just dangerous enough to take on the mainstream.

Order this CD

  1. GameBoy Rocker (2:53)
  2. Sk8 Bit (4:03)
  3. Arcade (4:13)
  4. Bombs Away! (3:26)
  5. Panty Raid (3:54)
  6. Bit ‘n Run (3:49)
  7. Samurai Princess (3:48)
  8. Breathe Sleep Dream (3:58)
  9. Action Kitty In Space (4:32)
  10. Nature Music (2:54)
  11. Funk Data (5:41)
  12. One Last Mission (6:59)
  13. Satellite (2:20)
  14. Bit Breaks (demo) (4:21)
  15. Sk8 Bit (demo) (3:59)
  16. Hidden Track (4:55)

Released by: 8-Bit Weapon
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 65:45

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Categories
2005 Neil Finn Non-Soundtrack Music Tim Finn

She Will Have Her Way: The Songs Of Tim & Neil Finn

She Will Have Her WayIt’s very simple, the premise of this tribute to the music of New Zealand’s premiere pop music exports, Tim and Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House, and respective solo careers and collaborations as the Finn Brothers). The basic idea is this: female or predominantly female acts from Australia and New Zealand reinterpret songs from various stages of the Finns’ careers in their own style. What emerges from that idea is an array of wildly different styles, voices and degrees of fidelity to the source material.

If you’re not from that part of the world, you may not know who virtually all of the performers are (I can relate – prior to this CD, I must confess that I had only heard of Boh Runga and Natalie Imbruglia). But like a lot of “various artists” projects heavy with smaller acts, you’ll probably walk away from the endeavour wanting to sample more of their work. Clare Bowditch’s rendition of “Fall At Your Feet” gets things rolling, and as much as I was faintly disappointed by the fact that the song that gave this album its name wasn’t actually covered, “Fall At Your Feet” serves as a good eye-opener when the unchanged lyric “I’m really close tonight, and I feel myself moving inside her” is sung by a female vocalist. This is an excellent cover too, stripping the song down to basics somewhat and yet retaining so much of its yearning feel.

A few of the covers are almost baffling, but at the same time I admire the reinvention of every single one of them. Renee Geyer transforms “Into Temptation” into a pop song with hip-hop influences, and “Persuasion” and “One Step Ahead” make a successful leap into bubblegum pop territory. Some of the covers don’t stray far from the source material at all – “Won’t Give In”, from the Finn Brothers’ 2004 album, becomes just a little bit country-fried, while the group Little Birdy turns the dense synth textures of “Six Months In A Leaky Boat” into dense guitar textures. “I Hope I Never”, while a bit stripped down from the synth-orchestral arrangement of the 1980 Split Enz version, retains its soaring, wistful vocals thanks to Lisa Miller. “Better Be Home Soon”, which was always written as a ballad reflecting the thoughts of a woman whose significant other is away from home far too often, finally gets to be sung by a woman here.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t crazy about Holly Throsby’s “Not The Girl You Think You Are” remake, but that’s just down to it being not my favorite style of singing; your mileage may vary. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” is a nice cover, but almost strips the song down too much, only to restore it to its full glory by recasting the famous organ solo as a choral piece.

For the most part, the lyrics are left unchanged; a few adjustments are made for gender here and there. I was a little dismayed that “like a Christian fearing vengeance from above” was completely excised from “Distant Sun”; Brooke Fraser’s cover of the song is very nice, but there’s a little voice in my head that says these artists are supposed to be reinterpreting the songs here, not rewriting them. I found this single omission more jarring than any of the more daring stylistic alterations, because it changed what was being said and not how it was being said. (Neil Finn’s recurring “lapsed Catholic” theme is an intriguing thread running through a great many of his songs, and part of the character of his work.) But then maybe I’m being a bit too defensive of the source material there.

There are other ways to drastically change the character of a song, though. Sophie Koh’s reading of the early Enz tune “Charlie” takes the song’s already dark narrative – involving someone waking up from a hangover and realizing that they killed their friend during an argument the night before – and puts a whole different spin on it by making the song fast and fun, leaving the story intact but generating a “crazy chick” vibe that makes it unnerving in a whole new way – as if the person doing the singing isn’t remorseful of what has happened, but is instead blissfully unaware. “Charlie” is almost punk rock in this incarnation, and it may well be the best thing on the CD. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for some of Sophie Koh’s originals. I was surprised by how much I liked Natalie Imbruglia’s take on the Crowded House number “Pineapple Head”, too.

rating: 4 out of 4So, the question is…will you enjoy She Will Have Her Way? I give it a strong recommendation – in particular, even though I didn’t get it (mainly because I’ve already got all of the original albums on which these songs appeared), the 2-CD version which allows you to compare the covers with the original recordings. You might find some of the differences jaw-dropping. In any case, these were great songs to begin with – lyrically and musically outstanding works – and they survive even the wildest changes and still emerge as great songs. Whether you’re a Finn fan daring to try out some different takes on your favorites, or someone just now sampling both these artists and the music of Tim and Neil Finn for the first time, this is a solid collection that’ll keep you coming back for more.

Order this CD

  1. Fall At Your Feet – Claire Bowditch (3:50)
  2. Stuff And Nonsense – Missy Higgins (3:31)
  3. I’ll Never Know – Goldenhorse (3:04)
  4. Into Temptation – Renee Geyer (4:56)
  5. Six Months In A Leaky Boat – Little Birdy (3:53)
  6. Better Be Home Soon – Kasey Chambers (3:19)
  7. Distant Sun – Brooke Fraser (3:56)
  8. Not The Girl You Think You Are – Holly Throsby (3:37)
  9. I Hope I Never – Lisa Miller (4:09)
  10. Don’t Dream It’s Over – Sarah Blasko (4:42)
  11. One Step Ahead – Amiel (3:01)
  12. Four Seasons In One Day – New Buffalo (4:00)
  13. Won’t Give In – Sara Storer (4:18)
  14. Pineapple Head – Natalie Imbruglia (3:23)
  15. Persuasion – Stellar* (3:41)
  16. Charlie – Sophie Koh (3:47)

Released by: EMI
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 61:07

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Categories
2005 Film Soundtracks W

War Of The Worlds – music by John Williams

War Of The Worlds soundtrackJohn Williams’ War Of The Worlds score is the latest in a long line of John Williams / Steven Spielberg collaborations. Whether one of Spielberg’s summer blockbusters (Jaws, E.T., the Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park trilogies, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind) or one of his more dramatic films (Artificial Intelligence: A.I., Minority Report, Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List), Williams’ compositions are an essential component to these films that have added to the emotional impact made by each one of them.

Throughout the War Of The Worlds soundtrack, Williams takes his time building those emotions and delivers a slow ascension of impending disaster in much the same way the film does. Many of the tracks are as suspenseful and heart pounding as scenes from the film itself. You’ll find no catchy themes to whistle the day after here. War Of The Worlds is a horror film, and the soundtrack directly reflects that.

One unique feature of this soundtrack are the opening and closing monologues performed by Morgan Freeman, reprising his role as the narrator from the film. Pure soundtrack fans may find it annoying, but helps set the tone and mood of the story for those who haven’t seen the film.

Overall the soundtrack is eerie and suspenseful, with a bit of terror thrown in for fun. Some of the tracks (“Escape From The Basket”) take over five minutes to develop, building suspense the entire time. Other tracks, like “Escape From The City”, climax quickly and convey the terror and panic from the film’s action scenes.

rating: 3 out of 4Unfortunately the soundtrack, whiile technically impressive, isn’t very entertaining to listen to on its own. The lack of repeating themes or memorable catches will keep it off most people’s favorite lists. As a soundtrack it’s great, as a stand alone album it’s only good.

Order this CD

  1. Prologue (2:52)
  2. The Ferry Scene (5:49)
  3. Reaching The Country (3:24)
  4. The Intersection Scene (4:12)
  5. Ray And Rachel (2:41)
  6. Escape From The City (3:49)
  7. Probing The Basement (4:12)
  8. Refugee Status (3:51)
  9. The Attack On The Car (2:44)
  10. The Separation Of The Family (2:36)
  11. The Confrontation With Ogilvy (4:33)
  12. The Return To Boston (4:29)
  13. Escape From The Basket (9:24)
  14. The Reunion (3:16)
  15. Epilogue (3:11)

Released by: Decca
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 61:07

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Categories
2005 S Soundtracks Stargate Television

Stargate Atlantis – music by Joel Goldsmith

3 min read

Order this CDLaunched in 2004 to an audience eager for even more Stargate adventures, Stargate Atlantis chronicles the adventures of a multi-national team of explorers from Earth who take up residence in a remarkably well-preserved oceanic city left behind the stargate-building race known only as the Ancients, finding themselves under attack from the same villains who drove the Ancients from that city millennia ago. With a cast of brand new characters (and one or two holdovers from SG-1), and numerous holdovers on the behind-the-scenes side of things, Atlantis proved to be a ratings success for the Sci-Fi Channel.

One of the creative personnel doing double duty on both shows every week is Joel Goldsmith, who has been the primary composer for SG-1 since its premiere. With Stargate Atlantis, Goldsmith finally gets to spread his wings and fly – more specifically, fly away from the themes and tone established by David Arnold in the original theatrical version of Stargate ten years ago. The adventure and the bombast are still there, but Goldsmith is no longer beholden to using Arnold’s music as a motif. Nowhere is this as evident as it is with the Emmy-nominated main title, easily the most gorgeous orchestral theme tune to hit TV since Goldsmith’s father Jerry took the podium to conduct the Star Trek: Voyager theme. The Atlantis theme is absolutely thrilling, soaring and heroic stuff with a choral middle section to die for (despite the fact that it seems to be a slight musical homage to the main theme from Star Blazers / Space Battleship Yamato). Why this theme lost the Emmy to Danny Elfman’s Desperate Housewives theme is probably just down to the name “Danny Elfman” – Atlantis has one of the best TV themes of recent years, hands-down. (Sci-Fi Channel, naturally, showed their appreciation by cutting it down to ten seconds for the first half of season two, ostensibly to sell more commercial time.)

The rest of the CD – containing cues from the score to the two-hour pilot episode The Rising – has music in a similarly sumptuous vein. Not all of it is necessarily full orchestral treatment though – “Messages”, covering a montage in which the various crew members say their goodbyes to their loved ones, is low-key and piano-driven (and still sneaks the main theme in there as a motif). And you can even hear a nod to David Arnold as the Stargate/SG-1 theme plays briefly during “Atlantis Wakes”.

If you’re looking for action cues, you’re in luck – “Rogue Drone” and “Dart Battle” should keep you very happy. And those with leanings toward horror movie music, just about any track with the word “Wraith” in the title is your ticket. In the end, I really find myself skipping only one track – “Tayla’s Village”, which gives the rating: 4 out of 4relatively primitive setting of that locale a very typical mixture of light tribal percussion and Celtic instrumentation that just doesn’t seem to fit what’s supposed to be an alien culture.

Overall, the Stargate Atlantis soundtrack will be a big hit with fans of the show, though I can give it a hearty thumbs-up for anyone who’s missing a bit of the old orchestral bombast in their SF TV scoring.

  1. Main Title (1:04)
  2. Atlantis Takes Flight (1:41)
  3. Rogue Drone (2:29)
  4. Messages (2:29)
  5. Weir Speaks (2:28)
  6. Gate To Atlantis (2:28)
  7. Atlantis Wakes (3:32)
  8. Tayla’s Village (1:13)
  9. Wraith Abductions (3:19)
  10. The Hologram (2:15)
  11. The Rising (3:41)
  12. Wraith Lair (5:20)
  13. Dart Battle (3:29)
  14. The Rescue (2:35)
  15. O’Neill Inbound (1:24)
  16. Our New Home, Atlantis (2:01)

Released by: Varese Sarabande
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 42:11

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Categories
2005 Film H Soundtracks

Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy – music by Joby Talbot

4 min read

A quintessentially British film of a quintessentially British story, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy gets – for the most part – a surprisingly traditional orchestral treatment from a composer who has been involved with other quintessentially British projects. Joby Talbot, who provided the music for the TV series The League Of Gentlemen (as well as for the League’s big-screen debut), had a lot of masters to serve when creating the music for Hitchhiker’s Guide, and did his best to please them all.

Hitchhiker’s Guide actually has quite a rich musical history, from the use of existing works in the original BBC Radio series to the completely original, largely electronic music composed by Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop for the short-lived TV series. Talbot manage to strike a balance between these and a more traditional SF-a-la-Hollywood approach nicely; the long legacy of Hitchhiker’s Guide is acknowledged by a nice new rendition of the Eagles’ “Journey Of The Sorcerer”, which has been the de facto theme song of the Guide since its first radio performance in 1978. For those segments of the movie which show entries from the Guide itself, Talbot is ably assisted by Nigel Godrich (who produced Radiohead’s OK Computer and worked on Jason Falkner’s Can You Still Feel?) in creating almost-retro synthesized cues that emphasize the animation and inject a bit of “Don’t Panic” levity into the proceedings.

One of the things that struck me so vividly upon first seeing the movie was the big, boisterous, movie-musical-style opening song “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish”. Even without the dolphin visuals, it’s a striking way to open the movie, and quite frankly, it does an incredible job of straddling the line between what one would usually expect from a musical showpiece and offering a musical prelude to the end of the Earth. Its opening measures are jaunty and deceptively cheerful in doom-laden minor keys, a brilliant piece of musical storytelling (and misdirection). That tune recurs throughout the score.

One of the hardest things to judge about a movie score is whether or not it works away from the movie. It can still be great music, and film music isn’t always necessarily designed to be heard away from its accompanying visuals, but sometimes a score comes along that doesn’t make for the most satisfying stand-alone listening material. Hitchhiker’s, ultimately, falls into that latter category. There are several cues that make one sit up and take notice, but they’re the punctuation at the end of what sometimes amounts to fairly long musical sentences. I don’t ask that every soundtrack album out there should be wall-to-wall action cues, either. But some stretches of Hitchhiker’s Guide mean that this isn’t a soundtrack that stands up to all-in-one-sitting listening.

rating: 3 out of 4That said, there is some good stuff on here. Bringing up the rear as the last track is a real surprise, a remake of the original “Marvin” single “Reasons To Be Miserable”. Written by Douglas Adams himself (and originally performed circa 1980 by Stephen Moore), this is a more modern remake told in the third person by the new voice of the Guide, Stephen Fry. While I still prefer the original to this version, the fact that the song is even here is just another indication that the folks behind Hitchhiker’s Guide really did look back on the story’s origins with reverence. This soundtrack is a worthy addition to the canon.

Order this CD

  1. The Dolphins (1:00)
  2. So Long And Thanks For All The Fish (2:26)
  3. Arthur Wakes Up (2:53)
  4. Shoo-Rah! Shoo-Rah! performed by Betty Wright (2:51)
  5. Here I Am (Come And Take Me) performed by Al Green (4:13)
  6. Destruction Of Earth (1:31)
  7. Journey Of The Sorcerer (1:15)
  8. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (1:14)
  9. Inside The Vogon Ship (2:46)
  10. Vogon Poetry (0:48)
  11. Space (1:00)
  12. Vogon Command Centre (1:00)
  13. Trillian & Arthur Reunited (1:45)
  14. Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (1:40)
  15. Tea In Space (1:08)
  16. Deep Thought (2:06)
  17. Infinite Improbability Drive (0:55)
  18. Viltvodle Street Music (0:45)
  19. Huma’s Hymn performed by Gabriel Crouch (1:02)
  20. Capture Of Trillian (4:27)
  21. Vogcity (1:02)
  22. Love (1:44)
  23. The Whale (1:53)
  24. Planet Factory Tour (2:29)
  25. Earth Mark II (6:29)
  26. Magic Moments performed by Perry Como (2:37)
  27. Shootout (3:23)
  28. Finale (1:50)
  29. Blast Off (0:16)
  30. So Long And Thanks For All The Fish (Reprise) (2:54)
  31. Careless Talk (1:42)
  32. Vote Beeblebrox (3:27)
  33. Reasons To Be Miserable performed by Stephen Fry (3:37)

Released by: Hollywood Records
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 70:08

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Categories
2005 F Soundtracks Television

Firefly – music by Greg Edmonson

  • By Dave
  • November 14, 2005
3 min read

Order this CDAnyone seeking to understand how much music contributes to the tone and identity of a show need look no further than Greg Edmonson’s scores for Firefly. It may be hard to find words that express “Western in space with a society that’s a fusion of America and China, but Edmonson’s music mixes those elements together into an organic whole.

The album is made up of relatively short tracks many of which appear to have been formed by connecting shorter cues from different episodes. The editing works surprisingly well, although I can’t help but wish that some of these pieces could have been reworked into extended suites of some kind. The opening minute of “Big Bar Fight” a wonderfully energetic bluegrass tune, and I would love to hear how Edmonson would have developed the theme over a longer period of time. The acoustic instrumentation is something I can’t recall being used so heavily in a science fiction show. Some of the most emotionally-stirring music on the album heavily features Edmonson and Alan Steinberger on piano. “The Funeral”, which I am reasonably sure was composed for the final episode produced for the series, is as heartbreaking as the title suggests. Cues from Out Of Gas, which featured an almost-abandoned Serenity, are just as strong. The latter half of the album’s closing track, “Dying Ship/Naked Mal”, shows off how the music contributed to the show’s occasional sense of whimsy.

The Eastern feel comes through very strongly in the darker, tension-building cues. I especially like how these elements are combined with traditional Western genre elements in the “Heart of Gold Montage” to give a unique feel to traditional waiting-for-the-big-shootout music. I admit that this sort of reaction raises the possibility that I’m treating the Eastern elements as a piece of alien-ness thrown onto familiar sounds, which rating: 3 out of 4has certain unpleasant implications for how I view a culture that, while foreign to me, is clearly human. But I think that what’s important is that the combination produces something that is unique and distinctive. Someone with more expertise in Eastern music could tell you how well Edmonson truly integrated these disparate influences, but to my ears it sounds good.

  1. Firefly – Main Title (written by Joss Whedon, performed by Sonny Rhodes) (0:51)
  2. Big Bar Fight (1:54)
  3. Heart of Gold Montage (2:09)
  4. Whitefall/Book (2:16)
  5. Early Takes Serenity (2:34)
  6. The Funeral (2:33)
  7. River’s Perception/Saffron (2:14)
  8. Mal Fights Niska/Back Home (1:52)
  9. River Tricks Early (3:28)
  10. River Understands Simon (2:03)
  11. Leaving/Caper/Spaceball (2:37)
  12. River’s Afriad/Niska/Torture (3:19)
  13. In My Bunk/Jayne’s Statue/Boom (2:26)
  14. Inara’s Suite (3:27)
  15. Out of Gas/Empty Derelict (1:48)
  16. Book’s Hair/Ready for Battle (1:57)
  17. Tears/River’s Eyes (1:56)
  18. Cows/New Dress/My Crew (2:10)
  19. Boarding the Serenity/Derelict (2:00)
  20. Burgess Kills/Captain & Ship (comp. by G. Edmonson & Alan Steinberger) (3:24)
  21. Saved/Isn’t Home/Reavers (2:53)
  22. Reavers Chase Serenity (3:20)
  23. River’s Dance (1:48)
  24. Inside the Tam House (composed by G. Edmonson & Alan Steinberger) (2:19)
  25. Dying Ship/Naked Mal (2:10)

Released by: Varese Sarabande
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 60:28

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Categories
2005 M Meco Non-Soundtrack Music Star Wars

Meco – Star Wars Party

Meco - Star Wars PartyTwenty-seven years after his first Star Wars-themed album, Music Inspired By Star Wars And Other Galactic Funk, Meco Monardo returns in time for the release of the final Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith. This album of (mostly) new material, Star Wars Party, has a very different feel to Meco’s Star Wars work of old.

Rather than go the direct disco route, the covers on Star Wars Party see Meco stretching into wildly differing directions. “I Am Your Father” is a trance-like dance track. “Star Wars Love Themes” melds cues from both trilogies into an odd march-like affair. “New Star Wars” is basically Meco’s modern take on a dance version of the main Star Wars theme, with lots of samples. “The Empire Strikes Back” is not really a new track, but a remix of the 1980 original that basically adds new sound effects to the mix. (I question the wisdom of including this track, since it basically outclasses the new covers completely.) “You Are Reckless” is a rambling hodge-podge of Star Wars music overdubbed with Yoda dialogue. “Lapti Nek” is certainly the best of the new crop; a decent rendition of the now redundant Max Rebo track, with solid use of dialogue sampling that doesn’t distract from the song.

The original tracks “Star Wars Party”, “Jedi Knight” and “Live Your Life” are lightweight fluff pieces that can’t stand up alongside even the questionable quality of the covers. The lyrics are absolutely atrocious (and not in a good way) and while the music is not horrible, neither is it memorable.

But the biggest problem with Star Wars Party isn’t Meco’s unusual musical choices or his lousy lyrics and simplistic original music, it’s his reliance on dialogue clips. While his choice of dialogue is fine and how he chooses to use it within a song is usually spot on, the problem is that only about a third of the clips are authentic (or at least close enough not to matter). It’s jarring hearing unknown voices speaking such classic lines (and then to hear them sampled over and over again). The worst are the people speaking Han and Leia’s lines in “Star Wars Love Themes” and the grating fake Yoda sprinkled throughout the CD. To make matters worse, there will often be authentic dialogue right next to these poor imitations, making the failure more glaring than it otherwise might be. If Meco wanted all these voice samples, he should have gotten clearance to use only original dialogue or given up on the idea.

But just when it seems that Star Wars Party will inevitably wind up filed somewhere between useless and unnecessary, we come to the final track on the disc, “Boogie Wookie”. Silly as its title may sound, it’s a lush disco dance track that is as close to the perfection Meco achieved on the original Galactic Funk album as Star Wars Party gets. With a generous sprinkling of Wookie dialogue throughout and no real lyrics to speak of, Meco falls into none of the traps that damage the other tracks. I won’t go so far as to say that “Boogie Wookie” is good enough to make me recommend this disc, but I found it good enough to justify the purchase to myself, at least.

Star Wars Party doesn’t live up to the legacy of Meco’s classic work from the golden age of Star Wars, but it isn’t a complete disaster. The remix of “Empire” is pretty good (but expendable) and “Boogie Wookie” and the “Lapti Nek” cover deserve attention. The other tracks have little value (and what value they have is mostly destroyed by the awful voice sampling). Ultimately, your enjoyment of Star Wars Party will likely be determined by how far three good tracks can take you.

rating: 2 out of 4

Note: Star Wars Party was simultaneously released under the alternate title Music Inspired By Star Wars. Both are available for purchase, but Star Wars Party is only available from Amazon.com and CDbaby.com. All other online retailers and brick and mortar stores sell only Music Inspired by Star Wars.

Order this CD

  1. I Am Your Father (3:07)
  2. Star Wars Party (3:10)
  3. Star Wars Love Themes (4:00)
  4. New Star Wars (3:07)
  5. The Empire Strikes Back (3:30)
  6. You Are Reckless (3:05)
  7. Jedi Knight (4:03)
  8. Lapti Nek (3:23)
  9. Live Your Life (3:18)
  10. Boogie Wookie (6:24)

Released by: Mecoman Productions
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 37:43

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Categories
2005 D Depeche Mode Non-Soundtrack Music

Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel

Depeche Mode - Playing The AngelOne doesn’t listen to music by Depeche Mode to get happy.

That said, there’s something about Playing The Angel that almost makes me break out in a grin. Depeche Mode is back and in fine form on this album marking the band’s 25th anniversary. Unusually, there’s a mix of songs written by Martin Gore (who’s been the dominant songwriter for much of the band’s career) and lead singer David Gahan, but Gahan’s tunes aren’t filler material begrudgingly added to boost the songwriter’s ego. At least one of them, “Suffer Well”, is as good as many of the songs that most longtime fans now consider to be classics. To be fair, though, Gore turns out some of his best songs since Violator here, with the rollicking “John The Revelator”, “Precious” and the slow-boiling “Sinner In Me” standing out from the crowd. (It’s worth nothing, however, that “Macro” is quite possibly the weakest song Martin Gore has ever unleashed on a Depeche Mode album, combining an uninspired melody with jaw-droppingly trite lyrics – I wouldn’t make such a stink about one song normally, but it’s just so shocking since I’m used to his work being both more musical and more eloquent than this.)

rating: 3 out of 4The whole thing thunders along with a combination of modern rhythms and very analog synthesizers, and more assured vocals from David Gahan than I’ve heard in ages. The decision to lean so heavily on analog synths prevents a lot of the sound from being obviously dated, though there are enough modern elements that no one will be mistaking this album for Some Great Reward anytime soon. The distorted, crunchy guitar work is front and center on several songs – in fact, “Sinner In Me” doesn’t really properly kick in until the guitar appears. All in all, it adds up to a very satisfying listen and a fitting celebration of a quarter-century on the musical map for Depeche Mode.

Order this CD

  1. A Pain That I’m Used To (3:57)
  2. John The Revelator (3:41)
  3. Suffer Well (3:49)
  4. The Sinner In Me (4:55)
  5. Precious (4:10)
  6. Macro (4:02)
  7. I Want It All (6:09)
  8. Nothing’s Impossible (4:21)
  9. Introspectre (1:42)
  10. Damaged People (3:27)
  11. Lilian (4:44)
  12. The Darkest Star (6:38)

Released by: Mute
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 51:35

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Categories
2005 Daniel Gannaway G Non-Soundtrack Music

Daniel Gannaway – Summer Storm

Daniel Gannaway - Summer StormMany times, an album has been sparked by an artist’s discovery/rediscovery of a new or unusual instrument, and sometimes it’s worked (Todd Rundgren’s A Capella experiment of the human voice as every instrument) and just as many times it hasn’t. This is one of those times where it really works. New Zealand-based indie rocker Daniel Gannaway constructed this somewhere-between-EP-and-LP-length collection on a simple premise: every song would feature the ukelele in some fashion. (Yes, you read right, the ukelele.) Recorded in NZ and Hawaii, Summer Storm takes that premise, and the instrument itself, through several permutations, and it all manages to work, largely thanks to Gannaway’s reliable gifts in the songwriting department. Oddly enough, and this isn’t a crack about originality or the lack thereof, the ukelele’s role here reminded me of the shock value of the mandolin as a lead instrument in R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”. It’s front and center on every song, though the tone of the songs shifts from light and breezy (“Across The Sea”, which reminded me curiously of early, pre-electric Split Enz) to more straight-ahead rock (“Talking Story”, which was the song that made me think of the “Losing My Religion” comparison in the first place), with stops at several stylistic destinations in between. Someone’s clearly having fun putting rating: 4 out of 4the ukelele through its paces, though again, the songs are the key – they’re all good enough on their own, unusual arrangements or not, to stand up. But any preconceptions you have about the ukelele in terms of strumming away at old tropical island tunes may not stand up after you hear this one – in a few places, it’s some real rock ‘n’ roll. If you’re in the mood for something different, this is some good stuff.

Order this CD

  1. Across The Sea (2:28)
  2. In Heaven (2:56)
  3. Doug’s Little Love Shack (2:35)
  4. No Mall At Sharks Cove (2:49)
  5. Talking Story (2:24)
  6. Silver Lining (3:01)
  7. A Just Senator (2:53)
  8. Summer Storm (3:19)

Released by: Daniel Gannaway
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 22:25

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Categories
2005 Film L Soundtracks

Laserblast – music by Richard Band & Joel Goldsmith

3 min read

Regarded with fondness perhaps only by one core group of fans, the low-budget 1978 sci-fi-horror flick Laserblast offered the first “real gig” for two names who have become frequent flyers in the music credits of many a TV series and movie today: Richard Band and Joel (Stargate SG-1) Goldsmith. Both young, brimming with ideas, and enthusiastic about their first swipe at the big screen, Goldsmith and Band poured themselves into their work. The bad news is that the movie they were scoring is now generally remembered only as the cinematic victim of the final episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Comedy Central.

Trying to split the different between 70s funk/rock sensibilities and a more traditional underscore, the music from Laserblast might come across as a bit schizophrenic upon the first listen. But in the end, it could be that, aside from one of MST3K’s finest (two) hours, this movie’s greatest contribution was its music. Heard independently of the film itself, Laserblast’s score shows a lot of inventiveness on the part of its composers. Despite working with limited, pre-MIDI synthesizers (and trying to use them to approximate a larger ensemble), Band and Goldsmith, at least, aren’t going through the motions. (With the benefit of hindsight, one can imagine a scene where the two might look at each other with a “what the hell?” shrug and phone the rest of the music in, but that doesn’t seem to have happened.)

Even the source music and rock cues are intersting enough to merit a repeat listen. Be ready for a trip back to the 70s, though – these pieces ooze 70s.

This is the first CD I’ve bought from BuySoundtrax.com, yet another small boutique label catering to movie music fans, and I have to compliment them on this release; the booklet is well-researched and informative, the music itself is sharp and clear, and when it came to the limited autographed edition (100 of the 1,000 copies released were signed), a separate copy of the booklet was rating: 3 out of 4signed. If you frame your autographs, this means that you didn’t just lose your CD booklet to a frame on the wall. Overall, a nice package, and if you can overlook the movie’s dubious pedigree (and try not to hear the voice of Tom Servo singing “There’s a place in France…” over that one track), there’s some decent music in there too.

Order this CD

  1. Laserblast Main Title (1:55)
  2. Mom’s Leaving (0:21)
  3. Billy’s Radio #1 (2:06)
  4. Grandpa and Kathy (0:47)
  5. Billy’s Radio #2 (3:14)
  6. Deputy Chase (1:16)
  7. Chuck’s Radio #1 (2:21)
  8. Alien Blaster / Billy Finds Gun / First Laserblasting (1:46)
  9. Billy and Kathy (1:14)
  10. Aliens In Ship / Alien Boss On Screen (0:47)
  11. Tony Discovers Black Spot (1:02)
  12. Party Music (4:25)
  13. Love Theme After Fight (0:46)
  14. Billy In Mirror / Chuck Goes To Car (1:04)
  15. Chuck’s Car Gets Blasted (1:06)
  16. Tony Arrives At Police Station (0:34)
  17. Operation Montage / Dr. Mellon Examines Billy (1:07)
  18. Lab Montage (1:11)
  19. Billy At Gas Station (1:39)
  20. Billy and Kathy Make Love (0:45)
  21. More Laserblasting (0:59)
  22. Chuck’s Radio #2 (3:59)
  23. Billy Battles Plane (2:54)
  24. Billy Blows Town Up (5:22)
  25. Laserblast End Title (2:29)

Released by: BSX Records
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 46:14

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