Tag: Bruce Broughton

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2019 Music Reviews O Orville Soundtracks Soundtracks by Title Television Year

The Orville: Season 1 – music by Bruce Broughton, Joel McNeely, John Debney, and Andrew Cottee

8 min read

Order this CDIt seems like it was not too long ago that I was gushing about Bruce Broughton having a good handle on how to make a space adventure series sound really epic, and even though I was talking about the doomed second season of Buck Rogers from 1981, I feel like the fact that he went on to craft the main theme and the pilot episode score for The Orville makes my point for me. Spoiler: he’s still got a good handle on how to make a space adventure series sound really epic.

Of course, it helps to have the right series to score, and it’s probably the worst-kept secret in Hollywood that, on the surface, The Orville might just be the most spectacular Star Trek: The Next Generation fan film series ever produced. Though Fox was quick to play up Seth MacFarlane’s involvement and tried to pitch it as a comedy, MacFarlane quickly showed his hand just a few episodes in: he wanted his own Trek spinoff, in every way but name, complete with complex moral issues and serious storytelling and character development. And to help sell that, MacFarlane insisted on enough of a music budget to hire some of the biggest orchestral ensembles that Hollywood TV scoring had seen in years, along with a mix of composers from legendary projects and some rising talent.

While only soundtrack nerds like myself might remember Broughton in the same breath with Buck Rogers, it’s no secret that his score for the 1998 big-screen revival Lost In Space was one of that film’s most redeeming qualities. And it’s really that sound that Broughton brings to the pilot episode, Old Wounds – soaring space adventure music building on his noble, nautical theme tune as a motif. While “Krill Attack / Shuttle Escape” kicks the amount of butt that you’d expect a Broughton action cue to kick, “Emergency Docking” is the real thrill ride from the pilot.

Joel McNeely arrived in the second episode as one of the show’s regular composers; with such projects as The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and the score-without-a-movie project Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire behind him, McNeely’s an ideal pick for this series. His score for If The Stars Should Appear is moody, mysterious, and a marvelous stylistic homage (if an obvious one) to Jerry Goldsmith’s “V’Ger music” from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That mention is a good time to point out that what differentiates The Orville from its inspiration is that, as a musician himself, Seth MacFarlane knows the value of a strong, memorable score, and of occasionally letting the music carry the picture. Music this distinctive and bold would never have made it to the screen in the Rick Berman era of Star Trek, a period that saw perfectly capable and talented composers having to try to sneak anything thematically strong under the radar of a producer who essentially wanted sonic wallpaper. The Orville’s music isn’t wallpaper; it isn’t more concerned with the rumble of the ship’s engines than it is with music that conveys emotions, and MacFarlane gives his composers a free hand to express that. About A Girl gets a rollicking start (and a rollicking interlude in “Arriving On Moclus”), but is more contemplative overall, befitting the story where the show really made clear what mix of drama-with-occasional-comedy it would be embracing in the future. His Krill score is considerably more active, with a John Williams flavor in both action and suspense scenes, and a deliciously unsettling, musically-unresolved ending in the “New Enemies” cue closing the first disc. Into The Fold, the first McNeely score on disc two, starts with a killer shuttle-crash opening and builds menace from there with horror-movie-ready action cues and quiter, but still menacing, passages. McNeely rounds things out on the second disc with the quieter score for Mad Idolatry, an episode more concerned with landing its concept and its message than attempting to be the season’s action showcase. Debney’s score supports that sets the mood without getting in the way.

John Debney comes out swinging with his first score, Command Performance, which again has stylistic nods to Goldsmith (complete with the Blaster Beam!) as well as Horner and Williams, and fireworks aplenty. Pria also opens with a bang, and a Williams-esque one at that, with some ominous passages as the crew – well, everyone except Captain Mercer, who’s smitten with her – begins to suspect that enigmatic visitor Captain Pria Levesque (played by very promotable guest star Charlize Theron) is not telling them the whole story of where she comes from. Things get overly synthesized for the first time with Majority Rule, sounding almost like Alan Silvestri’s work from the MacFarlane-produced Cosmos series. Though it’s a surreal romantic comedy episode, Cupid’s Dagger still gets a deceptively straightforward dramatic treatment from Debney (though only two tracks and seven minutes’ worth). Debney pulls double duty, also scoring the following episode, Firestorm, which he helps turn into an action blockbuster (and quite possibly my favorite score from the first season). Firestorm comes out swinging from the first second and doesn’t let up. I’m not of the opinion that a film composer should be judged only by their action music – quite the contrary, actually – but Debney drenches it with diverse action and horror stylings aplenty, making it his showpiece for The Orville’s first year. (And note: more Blaster Beam.)

Andrew Cottee, an internationally-known arranger who had already done some work on MacFarlane’s 2019 album Once In A While, gets to sink his teeth into a full-length episode score with New Dimensions, a late-season episode that was already conceptually challenging. Dealing with the three-dimensional ship and crew being pulled into a two-dimensional realm of space in which they can only hope to survive for a short time before they have to exit again, New Dimensions is one of those “how do you even express that musically?” exercises. The score Cottee delivered for this episode does not sounds like someone’s first effort for hour-long dramatic TV – it sounds like he’s been doing this for years. There’s a sense of awe and wonder to the “two-dimensional” scenes, and a restrained sense of menace elsewhere that reminds me of the original Star Trek with its economical and yet forceful arrangements. Delivering more “oomph” with fewer players is a real gift in film scoring, and it’s all down to careful arrangement. Cottee has that gift; I look forward to hearing more from him.

4 out of 4As musically inclined and adept as Seth MacFarlane is, whether he would be a composer’s greatest collaborator or greatest liability rests on a delicate tipping point. He obviously had a clear vision for what he wanted The Orville to sound like, picked the composers who could make that happen, and both encouraged them and was able to give them a detailed idea of what he wanted. The fact that all of the show’s composers returned to contribute to its later seasons would seem to be an indication of a good working atmosphere; it certainly produced eminently listenable results.

    Disc 1
  1. The Orville Main Title (01:04)

       

    Old Wounds – music by Bruce Broughton

  2. Shuttle to the Ship (01:54)
  3. She Requested It / Departing for Landing (01:09)
  4. Krill Attack / Shuttle Escape (04:14)
  5. Emergency Docking (02:27)
  6. Kelly Has a Plan / Asking Kelly to Stay (03:51)

       

    If The Stars Should Appear – music by Joel McNeely

  7. The Bio-Ship / Exploring the Hull (02:22)
  8. Exploring the Bio-Ship (02:45)
  9. Finding Alara / Space Battle (02:53)
  10. Dorahl / The Roof Opens (04:05)

       

    Command Performance – music by John Debney

  11. Distress Signal Received / Alara Freaks Out / Explosion (05:54)
  12. Alara Gets the Cold Shoulder / Approaching Calivon (03:52)
  13. Extermination Process Continues / Bortus Hatches His Egg (02:39)

       

    About A Girl – music by Joel McNeely

  14. Western Simulation (01:01)
  15. Asteroid Destroyed / Relieved Of Duty (01:07)
  16. Arriving On Moclus (01:43)
  17. Trip To The Mountains (02:16)
  18. Tribunal Adjourned / Epilogue (03:27)

       

    Pria – music by John Debney

  19. Rescuing Pria (03:51)
  20. Searching Pria’s Room / Dark Matter Storm / Navigating The Storm (04:06)
  21. Approaching The Coordinates / Isaac Saves The Crew (03:20)
  22. Pria’s Theme (01:41)

       

    Krill – music by Joel McNeely

  23. Distress Call (01:29)
  24. Krill Attack The Orville (02:49)
  25. Bomb Found (04:54)
  26. Intruder Alert / Preparing The Weapon (02:59)
  27. Turning On The Lights / New Enemies (02:29)
    Disc 2
    Majority Rule – music by John Debney
  1. Lysella Wakes Up / Looks Like Earth / Rescue Mission (01:39)
  2. John Gets Arrested / Alara Seems Suspicious (02:05)
  3. Ed Has A Plan (01:33)
  4. Bringing Lysella Aboard / Casting The Votes / Their World Can Do Better (06:06)

       

    Into The Fold – music by Joel McNeely

  5. Sucked In (02:44)
  6. Claire Breaks Out (01:26)
  7. The Fight (01:21)
  8. Claire Returns To The Wreck (02:11)
  9. The Attack (01:55)
  10. Claire Thanks Isaac (01:21)

       

    Cupid’s Dagger – music by John Debney

  11. Archaeologist Arrives / Claire Visits Yaphit / Claire Kisses Yaphit (03:12)
  12. Fleets Approach / War Before Peace / Cleared For Duty / Darulio Departs (04:38)

       

    Firestorm – music by John Debney

  13. Plasma Storm / It Was Late Evening (03:08)
  14. Alara Blows Off Steam / There Was A Clown (03:04)
  15. Alara Hallucinates / Deserted Ship (06:55)
  16. Cannot End Simulation / Back To Normal (04:03)

       

    New Dimensions – music by Andrew Cottee

  17. Damage Report / What Happened To The Plants? (02:00)
  18. Krill Ships Approaching (02:30)
  19. Within The Anomaly / Time To Reflect / Quantum Bubble Is Deteriorating (02:25)
  20. Engaging Tractor Beam (02:17)
  21. Mission Complete / Commander Lamarr (02:48)

       

    Mad Idolatry – music by Joel McNeely

  22. Investigating An Anomaly (01:09)
  23. Emergency Landing (03:41)
  24. Searching The Planet (02:38)
  25. Walking Through Town (02:21)
  26. Spread The Word (01:17)
  27. Isaac Steps Up / Civilization Restored (03:14)
  28. The Orville End Titles (00:35)

Released by: La-La Land Records
Release date: February 6, 2019
Disc one running time: 76:07
Disc two running time: 74:02
Total running time: 2:30:09

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Categories
1979 1980 2014 B Music Reviews Soundtracks Soundtracks by Title Television Year

Buck Rogers In The 25th Century: Season Two

8 min read

Order this CDMost music takes quite a while to seep into someone’s head, and it usually takes repeat listening. Music for television didn’t really get much of a chance to do that. Theme songs heard week to week, sure, and in the days when shows were able to reuse music from episode to episode, such as the original Star Trek did (or, to name another whose instantly recognizable themes come to mind, Gilligan’s Island), would ingrain themselves in the memory. And I’m here to report that Bruce Broughton’s music from the second season of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century did the same, at least for young me.

Each episode’s opening credits still unrolled to the tune of Johnny Harris’ brassy arrangement of the Stu Phillips/Glen A. Larson theme tune from season one, but Broughton brought something different to season two; cute synthesized robot music and “something kinda funky” were off the table as the series tried desperately to graduate from its decidedly disco-era first season. Under a new producer who was trying to lend the show a new layer of credibility, Buck Rogers’ second season was somewhat ironically patterned after its cancelled NBC predecessor, Star Trek, with Buck & company exploring deep space rather than staying on Earth. Most episodes opened with a slow tracking shot of the Earth ship Searcher, Buck’s new home base, with a noble, widescreen, and not-at-all-disco-fied theme for the ship and its mission provided by Broughton… and though I had long since lost track of what it was from, when the series resurfaced on DVD, it all came back to me. This four-disc set allows it all to be heard without all of that pesky dialogue and the sound effects mix.

Also in the irony department is the fact that the shorter second season – which ran only half as long as the first season – gets a four-disc soundtrack collection as opposed to season one’s three-disc box set. Chalk that one up to the recognition that, at least musically, the show was trying harder. There would be no goofy scenes of Buck trying to convince anyone to boogie down; the music is painted from a more epic palette for season two’s eleven episodes (two of which were feature-length specials each split into two-parters in syndication), and stands up to more repeat listening than, well, “something kinda funky”. (Not that there’s anything wrong with something kinda funky, it’s just that this wasn’t that show anymore.)

Also getting his own theme from the opening moments of season two is Hawk, the stoic warrior who becomes the show’s #2 star (which led to Erin Gray being somewhat sidelined for the remainder of the show); the music for season opener Time Of The Hawk drives Hawk’s theme through minor and major keys, starting with a threatening sound and ending on a redeemed note as he joins the show as a regular. Broughton continues refining these new themes in The Guardians, which aired later in the season, and gets some marvelously mysterious music into the mix as well, with just a hint of Holst’s “Neptune” creeping into the “Janovus” 27 cue. The second of the movie-length species, Journey To Oasis, opens the second disc, with sweeping but slightly old school music from returning season one composer John Cacavas – not to say that it’s steeped in musical cliche, but it’s pretty much exactly the kind of music you’d expect from a trudge through the desert. It’s interesting that Journey To Oasis also gets its own unique end credit suite – was this an approach being considered for the series going forward? Broughton is back for The Golden Man, iterating his Searcher theme through some moody variations appropriate to its predicament in this episode (being wedged into an asteroid). The music for what’s nominally the episode’s “A” story, involving a wayward father-son alien team where the older of the two is played by a child actor, gets a more interesting musical treatment than it really deserved, but that’s why Broughton quickly graduated from TV scoring to the movies: he didn’t phone in even the most ridiculous assignments.

That comes in handy on the third disc, with Broughton’s scores for The Satyr, a borderline-goofy space western episode, and the hasn’t-aged-well slapstick comedy of Shgoratchx! (whose original title, Derelict Equation, was ejected at the last minute for reasons unknown, according to the liner notes, despite the fact that one can at least conceivably pronounce it). Neither are the show’s finest hour; Bruce Broughton gives them decent scores anyway, and yes, that theme for the Searcher continues to evolve to the point that I now think if someone was really smart, they’d track a Star Trek fan series just with Broughton’s music from this box set, because at this point he’s Buck Rogers’ Fred Steiner. Also on the third disc is Herbert Don Woods’ score for The Crystals, which again brings a slightly more old-school sound compared to the more modern sound of the Broughton scores. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it has a somewhat late ’60s/early ’70s sound to it.

Disc four features the return of Stu Phillips, composer of the Buck Rogers theme and one of season one’s house composers, for The Hand Of Goral, and it’s very much in line with season one’s better dramatic scores, with some real weight and menace to it. Herbert Don Woods’ old-school sound is back for The Dorian Secret (the last episode to air); the album closes out with another Broughton score, Testimony Of A Traitor, which has a heavier, darker sound than most of Broughton’s prior material, and doesn’t allow much development of the Searcher theme since the episode is, atypically for season two, Earth-bound, dealing with Buck’s actions prior to his fateful space flight.

4 out of 4In the end, what makes Broughton’s scores stand out on this set is that he was consciously developing themes that recurred whenever he got a scoring assignment. Naturally, the other composers contracted for different episodes were under no obligation to refer to his material. But Broughton’s work brings this sometimes silliest of sci-fi series the weight and heft of an ongoing saga – the almost-nautical recurring theme Broughton employs makes the show sound, frankly, more important and epic than it ever actually was. It might just be that the music of season two of Buck Rogers was the best thing we got out of the show’s renewal. Well, that and some Crichton one-liners. Sadly, this set is now out of print, with no apparent digital distribution afterlife for the material; an unfortunate fate for music that was better than the show it was meant to accompany.

    Disc One

    Time Of The Hawk

  1. The Massacre (2:40)
  2. Main Title (Version 2) (1:14)
  3. The Searcher (1:44)
  4. So Far Away (2:30)
  5. You’re Changing (0:36)
  6. Thordis (1:48)
  7. Gassed (1:16)
  8. War Against the Humans (2:05)
  9. Flight to Hawk’s Lair (3:15)
  10. Buck Looks for Wilma (2:34)
  11. Birdfight (3:22)
  12. Crash Landing (1:50)
  13. Koori Injured (2:10)
  14. The Trek (3:38)
  15. We Meet Again (1:56)
  16. Let My Spirit Go (6:06)
  17. Forget the Past (2:48)
  18. Bumper (0:08)

    The Guardians

  19. Janovus 26 (1:34)
  20. The Prophecy (0:46)
  21. The Messenger (2:53)
  22. Frozen Mission (1:51)
  23. I Wasn’t Dreaming (0:29)
  24. Hawk’s Vision (4:08)
  25. Vision in the Corridor (1:05)
  26. I’m Scared (3:32)
  27. Shuttle to Surface (1:47)
  28. Janovus 27 (3:41)
  29. End Credits (long) (0:51)

    Disc Two

    Journey To Oasis

  1. Main Title (Version 1) (1:14)
  2. Head and Body (2:49)
  3. Episode Titles (1:05)
  4. Wilma and the Ambassador (4:00)
  5. Abandon Ship (1:32)
  6. This Way, Doctor (2:34)
  7. The Doctor Trapped (1:31)
  8. You’ll Never Get There (3:43)
  9. Romantic Dreams (5:09)
  10. Moaning Wind (4:25)
  11. Unconscious Thoughts (1:38)
  12. Ezarhaaden (4:41)
  13. The Spires of Oasis (6:10)
  14. Journey to Oasis End Credits (0:54)

    The Golden Man

  15. Intercepting Lifepod (1:27)
  16. Wedged In (2:29)
  17. Caged (2:23)
  18. Too Much Weight (3:48)
  19. Certain Precautions (1:22)
  20. The Bait (1:23)
  21. Man in the Cape (4:37)
  22. Searcher Freed (5:04)
  23. Straight to Bed (0:50)
  24. End Credits (0:31)

    Disc Three

    The Crystals

  1. The Mummy (3:54)
  2. The Crystals Credits (1:03)
  3. Mummy Havoc (3:34)
  4. Meeting Laura (1:20)
  5. Mummy Hunt (0:48)
  6. Mummy Takes Crystals and Laura (3:23)
  7. The Mummy Is Your Mommy (4:23)
  8. I’m Frightened (1:55)
  9. Buck and Mummy Fight (1:54)
  10. Goodbye Laura (0:52)

    The Satyr

  11. The Satyr Attacks (1:25)
  12. New Corinth (3:40)
  13. Just the Wind (4:11)
  14. He’s Out There (0:47)
  15. Moon Wine (2:04)
  16. Pangor and Buck Fight (4:27)
  17. Buck Transforms (4:17)
  18. Woman and Wine (4:06)
  19. Buck Recovers (2:02)

    Shgoratchx!

  20. The Derelict (1:36)
  21. Lifeforms (1:33)
  22. Chaos Aboard (3:13)
  23. Power Plant Havoc (3:23)
  24. Poor Wilma (0:22)
  25. Locked In (0:31)
  26. Wilma Trapped (2:53)
  27. Last and Best Hope (0:59)
  28. Twiki’s Solution (4:31)
  29. Dog of a Ship (0:24)
  30. End Credits (vocal version) (0:31)

    Disc Four

    The Hand Of Goral

  1. Strange Flashing (2:37)
  2. Goral City (2:47)
  3. Cursed Planet (3:02)
  4. Suspicious (3:45)
  5. Searcher Calling (1:14)
  6. Snare-Beam (0:56)
  7. Gone Like the Others (5:18)
  8. Wrong Hawk (2:49)
  9. Laughter (0:15)

    The Dorian Secret

  10. Pursuit & Escape (1:56)
  11. Asteria (6:11)
  12. Unrest (3:16)
  13. Dorian Justice (3:54)
  14. Revelation (6:01)
  15. Look to the Future (1:08)

    Testimony Of A Traitor

  16. High Treason (1:10)
  17. Traitors and Mad Men (7:40)
  18. My Best Friend (2:12)
  19. Clandestine Meeting (1:51)
  20. Strategic Air Command (1:03)
  21. Escape to Earth (4:11)
  22. Mount Rushmore (0:56)
  23. President’s Bunker (3:50)
  24. A New Course (0:34)
  25. End Credits (long vocal version) (0:51)

Released by: Intrada Records
Release date: August 11, 2014
Disc one total running time: 1:04:45
Disc two total running time: 1:05:41
Disc three total running time: 1:10:23
Disc four total running time: 1:09:42

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Categories
Artists (by group or surname) D Daft Punk Film Soundtracks T

Tron Legacy (North American edition)

Tron LegacyOne of the things announced fairly early on about Tron Legacy was that its music would be composed by Daft Punk. Now, I like “Robot Rock” as much as the next guy, but was this French techno/DJ duo up to composing the score for an entire film from a franchise whose fan base was very much attached to the synth-orchestral sound of the original movie?

As it turns out, Daft Punk was more than up to the challenge, and more than a few moviegoers are likely to snap up the soundtrack while quietly asking themselves “Who did the music to the original Tron? Carlos somebody?” Just as Wendy Carlos‘ expansive, at times almost abstract electronic music was a perfect fit for the original Tron, Daft Punk nails the sound that accompanies the new movie. It’s a giddy mix of synth and orchestral textures, with only a couple of tracks that hint at Daft Punk’s more typical sound. It’s a much more foreboding sound than Carlos’ music, which did a great job of establishing Tron‘s computer world as a wondrous, almost magical setting. The new movie’s setting is darker and more dangerous, and Daft Punk’s music is a perfect fit for that.

But you don’t just hear Daft Punk on the soundtrack – there’s also an orchestra of over 100 players here, and the CD credits make a note of an orchestration assist by veteran Hollywood composer Bruce Broughton – normally a name you see headlining his own soundtracks. There are also “special thanks” for advice on the art of film scoring listing names like Harry Gregson-Williams and Hans Zimmer (again, not exactly B-list names). Daft Punk chased after this assignment, admitting along the way to being fans of classic Tron, and they obviously also sought some help from some of the most prolific film composers in the business.

The result is a soundtrack with plenty of motifs for specific characters and situations, and an album that, while it isn’t necessarily in the chronological order of scenes in the movie, makes for a very satisfying listen. Helping things considerably is that the movie’s rookie director (at least as far as directing for the big screen goes) trusted his rookie composers enough to dial the film’s atmospheric sound mix back and let the music carry key moments. One of the best musical moments in the score – a piece that’s been getting rapt attention as far back as the movie’s trailers – is “The Game Has Changed”, but its quiet, moody intro lands on an unusually quiet moment at the beginning of the showy (and otherwise noisy) light cycle competition. It’s a surprising combination of scene and music, and it’s incredibly effective.

The closest Daft Punk gets to sounding like Wendy Carlos may be the mostly-electronic “Son Of Flynn”, which somewhat surprisingly accompanies scenes that take place in the “real” world rather than the electronic realm. Other highlights include “Nocturne” (a much more sedate take on the same basic melody as “Son Of Flynn”), the techno anthem “Derezzed”, “Rinzler” and another moment where the music dominates the movie’s sound mix, “Adagio For Tron”. Those pieces that are mostly orchestral are surprisingly good – not a bad film scoring debut for a couple of guys whose primary output is electronic dance music.

There is one big bone to pick, but it isn’t with Daft Punk. Listeners in the UK and Europe got a two-disc version of the Tron Legacy soundtrack with several extra tracks, and even more extra tracks were spread out among online music stores ranging from iTunes and Amazon.com to Wal-Mart and Nokia (!). The scavenger hunt approach might have been neat for the “Flynn Lives” alternate reality game that helped to build buzz leading up to the movie’s release, but don’t make it such a chore for us to get a complete soundtrack for the movie. The additional tracks will be covered in another review.

As a single-CD experience, however, the Tron Legacy soundtrack delivers most of the movie’s key scenes in musical form. I really don’t know if this score hails the beginning of a whole new career for Daft Punk, or just a brilliant way to get a new audience interested in their back catalogue and future works, but I would bet money on one thing: 4 out of 4Tron Legacy‘s soundtrack will become a frequent flyer in movie trailers for the next decade. Its dark ambience and rhythmic sense make for some pretty catchy music, either with or away from the movie for which the music was originally constructed. And that, naturally, makes it a pretty good soundtrack listen too.

Order this CD

  1. Overture (2:28)
  2. The Grid (1:36)
  3. The Son of Flynn (1:35)
  4. Recognizer (2:37)
  5. Armory (2:03)
  6. Arena (1:33)
  7. Rinzler (2:17)
  8. The Game Has Changed (3:25)
  9. Outlands (2:42)
  10. Adagio for TRON (4:11)
  11. Nocturne (1:41)
  12. End of Line (2:36)
  13. Derezzed (1:44)
  14. Fall (1:22)
  15. Solar Sailer (2:42)
  16. Rectifier (2:14)
  17. Disc Wars (4:11)
  18. C.L.U. (4:39)
  19. Arrival (2:00)
  20. Flynn Lives (3:22)
  21. TRON Legacy (End Titles) (3:17)
  22. Finale (4:22)

Released by: Disney Music
Release date: 2010
Total running time:

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2006 C Soundtracks Television

CHiPS: Season Two – music by Alan Silvestri

CHiPS: Season Two - music by Alan SilvestriYes. You read that right. We’re talking CHiPS. Ponch and Jon. Erik Estrada and…that other guy. On motorcycles. Set to the sounds of unashamedly disco-fied music. And this is that music.

For those needing a justification, remember that Michael “Worf” Dorn guest starred in numerous episodes as a recurring fellow cop back at the precinct, and that this is a CD of music from the second season, mostly composed by Alan Silvestri, later of The Abyss, Contact and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? fame. Needless to say, CHiPS represents a very early entry in Silvestri’s career, but as far as disco goes, this CD – an unlikely entry from the guys at Film Score Monthly – certainly makes it sound like he swaggered into that career with confidence.

Things open up with the main theme, which Silvestri didn’t compose, but did rearrange for his first year in residence on the series. I’d actually forgotten how brassy and fun the CHiPS theme is, and Silvestri poured on extra layers of synthesizers, drenched with a flanging effect, for his arrangement. If that’s the packaging on the outside of the box, then Silvestri’s library of score cues is exactly what’s advertised on the box: definitely ’70s, with in-your-face brass and strings backed up by a cheerful rhythm section of flanged guitar, drums, bass and synths.

Silvestri has always been on the bleeding edge of bringing synthesizers into film scoring, earning a lot of attention for being one of the first relatively big-name mainstream composers to make heavy use of the Synclavier in the late 1980s. He’s not shy about putting synthesizers front-and-center here, either. There’s also a track of music composed by Bruce Broughton, another big name these days, created for a Halloween-specific episode, which uses synths to good effect, as well as some familiar string section horror effects – all with that ’70s beat underneath it. You almost expect it to break into “Other Galactic Funk” at any second.

3 out of 4Is it cheesy? Yes, it is – but when you’ve got a big CHiPS publicity photo on the front cover of the CD’s booklet, you really shouldn’t be prepared for anything but. If you grew up with CHiPS on television, this’ll probably bring back memories of sitting in front of your grandmother’s tiny color TV, wolfing down Cheetos and Dr. Pepper. (Actually, no, that’s my childhood – get your own.)

Order this CD

  1. CHiPS Main Title composed by John Parker / arranged by Alan Silvestri (1:19)
  2. Peaks And Valleys (3:55)
  3. Family Crisis (5:44)
  4. Disaster Squad (6:22)
  5. Neighborhood Watch (3:36)
  6. High Flyer (6:18)
  7. Trick Or Treat composed by Bruce Broughton (5:59)
  8. The Grudge (5:15)
  9. The Sheik (5:48)
  10. Return Of The Turks (5:40)
  11. Supercycle (2:48)
  12. High Explosive (4:49)
  13. Down Time (2:51)
  14. Repo Man (2:15)
  15. Mait Team (4:07)
  16. Pressure Point (2:46)
  17. Rally ‘Round The Bank (2:28)
  18. Matchmakers (2:42)
  19. Ponch’s Disco (4:00)
  20. CHiPS End Credits composed by John Parker / arranged by Alan Silvestri (0:29)

Released by: Film Score Monthly
Release date: 2006
Total running time: 79:11

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Categories
2006 A Soundtracks Television

Amazing Stories: Anthology Two

6 min read

Order this CDThe second volume of music from Steven Spielberg’s short-lived TV anthology series Amazing Stories presents the complete scores from another dozen episodes, boasting the most diverse musical talent gathered on any of Intrada’s three volumes of music from the show.

After one of John Williams’ alternate takes on the show’s main theme, the late Jerry Goldsmith’s single contribution to the show – at the behest of director (and Gremlins collaborator) Joe Dante – kicks things off. Boo! starred Robert Picardo in one of his most obnoxious roles (and that’s saying something), and it seems like whenever I happen to catch a rerun of Amazing Stories, this is the episode I’m most likely to see for some reason. Goldsmith’s music here isn’t quite up to Gremlins standards, though – it’s very much a novelty piece, and – at least in this listener (and Goldsmith fan)’s opinion – not one of his better ones.

Billy Goldenberg’s score for What If…? is a bit more serious, but lovely, pleasant stuff – though it’s associated with an episode that I always felt was more heartbreaking than anything else. Dorothy And Ben, an episode I don’t recall ever having seen, certainly sounds heartbreaking; Georges Delerue was one of Amazing Stories’ most prolific composers and certainly seemed to be the go-to guy for those installments that wore their hearts on their sleeves. The Main Attraction embraces its setting by combining marching band music with occasional moments of tension and synthesizer musical effects-as-sound effects. David Newman (Galaxy Quest, Serenity) contributes the music for Such Interesting Neighbors (which stands next only to Boo! as the episode of which I’m most likely to see a rerun), and as one his earlier works it succumbs to a film scoring cliche or two, but he uses his orchestra well and comes up with what I’d describe as a fond homage to the John Williams style.

Thanksgiving, scored by Bruce Broughton (another musical frequent flyer on this series), goes down as my favorite episode of Amazing Stories, simply because it’s the one installment that reminded me, more than any other episode, of the great anthologies that started it all – The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits – complete with a macabre but poetically just sting in its tail. It’s probably my favorite suite on this anthology as well, with Broughton pouring on bravado (for David Carradine’s belligerently macho character) and wonder in just the right places.

David Shire is back for Hell Toupee on the second CD, a big, brassy homage to the way movies used to be scored, while Johnny Mandel (M*A*S*H, Being There) gives us almost cartoon-esque music for One For The Road. Arthur B. Rubenstein (Blue Thunder, WarGames) tackles the all-star Remote Control Man, an episode – predating the John Ritter movie Stay Tuned – about a guy whose new remote has some magical properties, and in this case it seems to bring characters to life who hail almost exclusively from the Universal Studios/NBC stable circa 1985/86. Rubenstein thus gets to hint at a number of theme tunes from that era, after an opening act of decent mysterioso music.

John Addison is up next with The Greibble, which darts madly between mystery and comedy every time the titular critter makes an appearance. Leonard Rosenman (Star Trek IV) cranks up the tension with the WWII-themed No Day At The Beach, which combines typical war movie action sequences with more somber passages. Another member of the Newman family gets in on the Amazing Stories action, with Thomas Newman lending a humorous, Christmas-carol-inspired score to Santa ’85.

4 out of 4Again, the packaging and liner notes detailing each episode and its music are almost worth the price of admission alone. Though there are plenty of familiar faces here, this second 2-CD set is also packed with composers who only did a single score for Amazing Stories, making it a completely different experience from the first volume, but still very worthwhile.

    Disc one
  1. Amazing Stories Main Title, Alternate #1 (1:03)

    Boo! – music by Jerry Goldsmith

  2. The House / Sheena (0:36)
  3. Those People / Practice / Strange Feelings (2:57)
  4. Sharp Teeth / Let’s Scare ‘Em (1:50)
  5. What Fun / It’s OK / Jungle Zombie (1:57)
  6. Zombie Attack / Each Other (1:21)
  7. The Bike (0:26)
  8. The Jewelry (1:12)
  9. Catch Us / No Fall (1:35)

    What If…? – music by Billy Goldenberg

  10. Bubbles / Nails / Kitchen Odyssey (4:34)
  11. Obnoxious (1:47)
  12. Pregnant Lady (0:57)
  13. Crossing Guard / Steve / Born (5:04)

    Dorothy And Ben – music by Georges Delerue

  14. Twenty Three Thousand Dollars (0:47)
  15. Wrinkles (0:38)
  16. Be Quiet / Ben Leaves (2:45)
  17. Face Changes (0:59)
  18. Dorothy (4:49)

    The Main Attraction – music by Craig Safan

  19. Brad’s March / Brad’s Parking Space (1:58)
  20. Shirley (1:42)
  21. Meteor / Brad’s Fear / Attracting / Attractions (4:10)
  22. Brad Runs / Locker Room / Brad’s Honor (2:07)
  23. Magnetic Love (2:01)

    Such Interesting Neighbors – music by David Newman

  24. Al Driving Home (1:30)
  25. Water Vibrates (0:51)
  26. Through The Window / Off To Meet The Neighbors / Glad To Know You / Rose Eater (5:20)
  27. May Have Something (0:41)
  28. Microwave And Meatloaf / Off Kilter (2:54)
  29. Heat Seeker On Al (0:43)
  30. Emotional (2:31)
  31. Wide-Eyed Reaction (2:23)

    Thanksgiving – music by Bruce Broughton

  32. Momma’s Breath / The Package (2:39)
  33. Dora’s Message (2:12)
  34. Dora’s Gifts / Calvin Returns (2:33)
  35. Chicken Preferred / Turkey (4:42)
    Disc Two
  1. Amazing Stories Bumper #2 (0:04)

    Hell Toupee – music by David Shire

  2. I’m Harry Valentine (0:30)
  3. Can’t Remember / …As A Woman (2:47)
  4. Hell Toupee (0:17)
  5. Scratched Head / The Escape (2:00)
  6. Toupee Shop / Change Your Life (1:49)
  7. What Is It? / The Chase (5:10)
  8. Finale (0:53)

    One For The Road – music by Johnny Mandel

  9. Brainstorm (0:42)
  10. Free Drinks All Around (0:30)
  11. The Cupboard Was Bare / Pass The Oil (1:58)
  12. To Your Health (2:06)
  13. The Banquet (1:36)
  14. The Bridge (1:02)
  15. Reincarnation (0:30)

    Remote Control Man – music by Arthur B. Rubenstein

  16. Walter (1:47)
  17. From The Forties (0:34)
  18. Right Away (0:51)
  19. Super Over Source (0:50)
  20. Neon Signs And Fog (1:15)
  21. Something Just For You / Queen And Mrs. Cleaver (4:00)
  22. Simmons (0:45)
  23. Enjoying Yourself? (0:24)
  24. No Mice (0:35)
  25. To Bed (0:58)
  26. Pop Off (0:28)

    The Greibble – music by John Addison

  27. Off To Work / Tidying Up (1:40)
  28. Daily Soap (1:00)
  29. First Encounter / Is It Dangerous? (3:44)
  30. Lamp Eater (1:08)
  31. Nummy, Nummy (1:36)
  32. Hardware Dump (2:10)
  33. Gun Threat (0:58)
  34. Friends (1:10)
  35. Revelation (1:54)

    No Day At The Beach – music by Leonard Rosenman

  36. No Day At The Beach / Picking Up Cards / Turkey In The Face (2:06)
  37. Hey Casey / Get Some Sleep (1:32)
  38. Battle Stations (0:25)
  39. Gun Fire (0:22)
  40. Charging Pill Box (1:54)
  41. Dead Arnold (0:16)
  42. He Never Got Off The Boat (4:11)

    Santa ’85 – music by Thomas Newman

  43. From The Sky Above The House / From The House To The Within / From The Chimney And In Through The Window (5:42)
  44. Caught By The Law (1:42)
  45. The Reindeer / No Fingerprints / From The Jail To The Chase To Left Off (5:18)
  46. The Ray Gun (0:50)
  47. By Candlelight (0:28)
  48. Amazing Stories End Credits (0:29)
  49. Amblin Logo – Christmas Version (0:15)

Released by: Intrada
Release date: 2006
Disc one total running time: 78:03
Disc two total running time: 76:28

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Categories
2006 A Soundtracks Television

Amazing Stories: Anthology One

6 min read

Order this CDProduced and overseen by Steven Spielberg from 1985 through ’87, Amazing Stories was a lighthearted take on the anthology/playhouse series format that hadn’t been seen on television in two decades. There was no recurring cast of characters, and no connected stories – but unlike The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents or The Outer Limits, Amazing Stories was built on one prerequisite set by Spielberg – a sense of wonder and the fantastic, not the fatalistic. To this end, Spielberg – largely on the power of his own name – drew A-list Hollywood writing, acting and directing talent into his orbit for the show’s first season, and an absolutely stellar, unprecedented A-list of composers, a gathering of genius the likes of which – in all honesty, and not intended as hyperbole – we may never see again on one project.

We’re talking about composers who weren’t even “doing” TV anymore at this stage in their careers. We’re talking Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams and James Horner. We’re also talking composers who were on the brink of making it big – Danny Elfman, Bruce Broughton, and others. How the show looked and felt was up to the individual directors and cast members of each story, but Spielberg put the money up front from the word go to make sure that Amazing Stores would sound amazing.

Although a single-disc compilation of two Amazing Stories scores was released by Varese Sarabande a while back, it was obvious that there was room for more music from this series. Intrada stepped up to the plate with a trio of 2-CD collections, covering several episodes per set and presenting the widest variety of composers’ works possible. Though several episodes were still left out by the time the third and final volume was rolled out, the result is a much more comprehensive collection, sure to please fans of many of the major film composers of the 1980s and ’90s.

John Williams’ music from the first episode, Ghost Train, sits nicely alongside his movie scores from the same era (E.T., etc.), and for a relatively short suite of music (though it’s also every note he recorded for the episode), it all develops beautifully. Two scores with period flavorings follow, James Horner’s Alamo Jobe – which, whenever it breaks out of its western feel into something more traditionally contemporary, sounds like a lot of Horner’s other output from the ’80s – and Bruce Broughton’s more whimsical, century-spanning (and Mark Hamill-starring) Gather Ye Acorns. Georges Delerue’s wistful, low-key The Doll follows, but the next suite – a jarring selection from early Spielberg collaborator Billy Goldenberg’s score from The Amazing Falsworth – is an unsettling wake-up call after Delerue’s calm music.

The second disc opens with a 4-second “station ID bumper” version of John Williams’ main theme, and dives into the music from Moving Day, scored by David Shire, who, fresh from scoring 2010: The Year We Make Contact, brings synth collaborator Craig Huxley with him for some music that sounds remarkably similar to that movie at times. Delerue returns for Without Diana, a heartfelt score that oozes tragedy even without the accompanying visuals. Contrast is once more the name of the game as this is followed up by an early Danny Elfman score, Mummy, Daddy, dripping with the kind of wackiness and whimsy that would become his hallmarks. Hollywood pastiche is the name of the game for another Bruce Broughton score, Welcome To My Nightmare, which brings things to a close (well, technically the Amazing Stories end credit music does that).

4 out of 4Where sound quality is concerned, there are a few quirks that stem mainly from the material being recorded at the twilight of mono sound mixes for television: some of the recordings are in stereo, while others aren’t. But the quality of the recordings is rich and crisp, like the sessions were recorded just last week. The shortest episode suite on this volume is just under nine minutes in length, so the double CD set is more than justified, and the packaging and liner notes are top-notch and informative. Overall, the Amazing Stories collections may be the best thing indie soundtrack label Intrada has ever done, and they’re a treat for fans of the composers whose work appears here.

    Disc one
  1. Amazing Stories Main Title (1:02)

    Ghost Train – music by John Williams

  2. Ohpa’s Arrival (0:30)
  3. Grieving Ohpa (1:17)
  4. Ohpa’s Tales (3:44)
  5. Ohpa Remembers (2:25)
  6. The Ticket (3:05)
  7. The Train Arrives (4:17)

    Alamo Jobe – music by James Horner

  8. The Battle / Jobe Runs (3:01)
  9. Travis Dies (0:51)
  10. First Chase (3:43)
  11. Antique Shop (2:16)

    Gather Ye Acorns – music by Bruce Broughton

  12. The Boy / The Gnome (4:34)
  13. 1938 Radio Source (1:42)
  14. Jonathan’s Room / The Car (0:48)
  15. Nothin’ But A Bum / 1955 / Tumbleweed Connection (2:50)
  16. Regrets (1:27)
  17. 1985 (0:51)
  18. Gas Station Source (2:58)
  19. Holy Moly! / Sow Ye Wild Oats (3:06)

    The Doll – music by Georges Delerue

  20. Doll Shop Sign (1:08)
  21. The Carousel / Doll On Floor / Well, Miss… (3:12)
  22. A School Teacher (0:46)
  23. An Occasional Model (0:36)
  24. She’s Not Married / An O.S. Clunk / Door Opens (1:54)
  25. John Walks To Mantle (2:17)

    The Amazing Falsworth – music by Billy Goldenberg

  26. Falsworth / Strangling / Retrospect (3:30)
  27. Leering / Frigity-Feet (0:30)
  28. Top Floor / Lights (0:53)
  29. All In The Fingers / Lunge (3:07)
  30. Falsworth (E.T.) (0:36)
    Disc two
  1. Amazing Stories Bumper #1 (0:04)

    Moving Day – music by David Shire

  2. Alan’s Dream (1:20)
  3. It’s Not The Same / Discovering The Room (1:37)
  4. My God! (2:40)
  5. Tonight / That’s Alturis (2:30)
  6. Your Ring (2:14)
  7. Departure (2:01)
  8. Finale (0:57)

    Without Diana – music by Georges Delerue

  9. Park (1946) (1:44)
  10. Only Eight / Forest Walk (2:30)
  11. Sorry Policeman / Not By George Alone (2:33)
  12. George In Doorway / Diana’s Story (2:20)
  13. George Will Be (3:22)

    Mummy, Day – music by Danny Elfman & Steve Bartek

  14. Mummy Movie / Baby Chase / Gas Station (3:21)
  15. Country Source (0:26)
  16. Gun Shot / Stinger / Swamp / Old Man / Real Mummy (3:35)
  17. Kung-Fu Mummy (1:00)
  18. Motorcycle / Caught (1:23)
  19. Lynching / Horse Ride (1:25)
  20. Corridors / Caught Again (0:27)
  21. Baby / Finale (1:30)

    Vanessa In The Garden – music by Leonard Niehaus

  22. It’s Lovely / Whoa, Rock, Whoa / I Hurt Vanessa (1:47)
  23. Beautiful Portrait / Humming From The Garden (4:09)
  24. Vanessa’s Laughter / A Summer’s Day / Do It Together / Create A Life (4:07)
  25. Vanessa (piano with orchestra coda) (3:19)

    Welcome To My Nightmare – music by Bruce Broughton

  26. Harry Wakes Up (2:00)
  27. Harry Takes A Shower / Horro Movie / Kate (1:57)
  28. Fraternity Of The Undead / Bad Milk (1:41)
  29. Harry & Kate (0:39)
  30. Harry’s Prayer / The Comet Theatre / Harry At The Movies (7:24)
  31. Back Home (2:13)
  32. Amazing Stories End Credits (0:29)
  33. Amblin Logo (0:15)

Released by: Intrada
Release date: 2006
Disc one total running time: 64:31
Disc two total running time: 70:33

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Categories
2004 L Soundtracks Television

Logan’s Run: The Series

4 min read

It’s hard to follow Jerry Goldsmith. Take Star Trek: Voyager, for example – each week, Goldsmith’s sweeping theme would often be followed by something that, despite the valiant efforts of the composers who scored each episode (and due to the restraints imposed on them by the show’s producers), simply couldn’t be in the same league. When MGM decided to continue the story of Logan’s Run on the small screen in the late 1970s, the decision was made to “reboot” the story – to essentially retell the movie in a different context that would lead seamlessly into an ongoing series of adventures. The main roles were recast, and so too was the music; gone were the futuristic city setting and Jerry Goldsmith’s avant-garde electronics, replaced by something much more traditional and, perhaps, not a million miles away from Fantasy Island (a thought that I had before opening the liner notes booklet and seeing that composer Bruce Broughton, who scored other episodes represented on this CD, said the same thing). This CD from Film Score Monthly presents the highlights from the entire series, written by several different composers.

Laurence Rosenthal was tapped for the extended-length pilot, several early episodes, and the theme music that would open every subsequent episode. The difference between all of the music on this CD and the score to the movie that inspired the series is stark – where the movie score achieves a little bit of timelessness through unusual instrumentation and unconventional musical thinking, the TV scores are clearly rooted in the pre-Star Wars 1970s. To a greater or lesser extent, depending on who composed it, virtually every track references Rosenthal’s main theme, but instead of being used as an adaptable leitmotif, the theme is quoted almost in its entirety every time it appears.

The theme itself is a snapshot out of time, with a Yamaha organ providing an electronic “siren” effect that, to put it lightly, hasn’t exactly aged gracefully. (It almost sounds like someone had a hot game of Asteroids going during the recording session.) And that’s about as electronic as this iteration of Logan’s Run gets.

The episode score suites do occasionally bear a certain similarity to some of the movie’s action cues, however, particularly those by Rosenthal himself. Bruce Broughton contributes a couple of decent tracks from two of his episodes, two more tracks are from Jerrold Immel’s score, and another track features score music by Jeff Alexander. The rest of the music is by Rosenthal, including a brief selection of “commercial break bumpers” that heralded a commercial interruption.

Now, I’m not judging this music solely on its similarity or lack thereof to a movie score by Jerry Goldsmith; the TV series was aimed squarely at family viewing time, and as such it’s pitched as a whole different animal. But it’s hard not to have the comparison in the back of one’s mind – how much more different could two projects bearing the same name and underlying premise be? The music itself is pleasant enough, though occasionally the age of the source material shows where audio fidelity is concerned. But in the end, there’s a phrase in a paragraph in the booklet describing one of the tracks, explaining that the track is comprised of brief excerpts of a score that wouldn’t have stood up to extended CD listening. To a certain degree, that applies to this CD as a whole. It’s neat to have another vintage SF series musically unearthed and lavished with packaging that’s as informative as it is attractive (Film Score Monthly is the best in the business at that), but as a listening experience, it’s an exercise in how well some music dates…and how well some doesn’t.

rating: 4 out of 4I can really only recommend this one to fans of the show – a show which, I’ll admit, I barely remember myself. Though the liner notes booklet, whose extensive episode guide reveals that such luminaries as D.C. Fontana, David Gerrold, Shimon Wincelberg and even Harlan Ellison worked on the series, makes me hope that a DVD release is in the planning stages somewhere; maybe then I’ll have a better appreciation of this version of Logan’s Run, and its music.

Order this CD

  1. Main Title (1:11)
  2. Pilot Suite, Part 1 (8:43)
  3. Pilot Suite, Part 2 (6:18)
  4. Pilot Suite, Part 3 (7:47)
  5. Bumpers (0:10)
  6. The Collectors (4:10)
  7. Capture (music by Jeff Alexander) (5:56)
  8. The Innocent (music by Jerrold Immel) (6:29)
  9. Man Out Of Time (9:06)
  10. Half Life (music by Jerrold Immel) (8:46)
  11. Fear Factor (music by Bruce Broughton) (11:39)
  12. Futurepast (6:40)
  13. Night Visitors (music by Bruce Broughton) (1:55)
  14. End Title (0:38)

Released by: Film Score Monthly
Release date: 2004
Total running time: 79:55

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