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| There are 528 Reviews Done |
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James Newton Howard - I Am Legend
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| Amazing score that makes you dream and cry |
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I have only listened to samples of this music, but it is amazing. All the emotion is transmitted beautifully.
-Padme Skywalker
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2 of 2 found this review helpful |
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Greg Edmonson - Firefly
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| great show |
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it's to bad they canceled firefly it was one of the best sci-fi shows iv'e seen to date
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2 of 4 found this review helpful |
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Dennis McCarthy - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (The Emissary)
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| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine soundtrack |
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This is a fabulous soundtrack . The music is not all traditionally "Trek" sounding. There are other themes going on, too. DS9 was ahead of it's time. The station was a place with many different beings from all over the universe. This album really gets in to the heart of the story.
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2 of 2 found this review helpful |
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Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion (...) - Batman Beyond
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| Lots of electronic noise, but there are some great tracks |
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The music for the original Batman: The Animated Series, written by Shirley Walker, is the best Batman music, written for the best Batman, in my opinion. Batman Beyond, a sort of futuristic updating of the Batman concept from the 90s, is a very different show with an entirely different sound, produced by the same composers. According to his liner notes for this album, producer Bruce Timm was hesitant about hiring Shirley Walker and her team to score this show, because he was afraid they wouldn’t be able to pull off the grungier, electronic sound he wanted. How wrong he was. “Never has crow tasted so sweet!” he writes.
This album contains cues from about 8 episodes from the first season of the show. I like it more than it deserves, because I adored the show, and those kinds of associations are very strong for me. But I’m sure the casual listener won’t like many of the tracks. Mostly they are crunchy, loud, rock-driven pieces that will probably give you a headache. However, there are some standouts. The “Main Theme” will give you a more than satisfactory sample of the sound. “Terrific Trio vs. The Rocketeers” and “Joker Chase,” for example, feature some nice rhythm. Some tracks are plain weird, like “Willie Defeated,” which worked very well in the show, but maybe not on its own. “Move to the Groove” is a Middle-Eastern-inspired dance track. You may like it.
There are two tracks on here that are my favorites, and I recommend them. “Farewells” is actually a suite of music from two different episodes, smooshed together probably because the scenes that feature the music are softer and more emotional. It begins with a piano solo but becomes almost entirely synthesizer (instrument and voice) and electric guitar, which may annoy some people. But I think you should give it a listen, just because it’s so different.
The standout track is “The Legacy Continues,” which is from the last scene of the first episode, when the new Batman is officially welcomed by the old. I just love the scene, and the track is great because, while it could have been kinda cloying, it isn’t. It’s subtle. It features a solo acoustic guitar and manages to be sad and hopeful at the same time. There’s a reason why it gets requested so often.
Request: “Main Theme” “Terrific Trio vs The Rocketeers” “Farewells” “The Legacy Continues”
Avoid: “Bat-slapped in Store” “Batman Defeats Chappell” (too much electronic distortion effects garbage) and “Trouble in the Museum”
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4 of 4 found this review helpful |
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Joss Whedon, Christophe Beck, Nerf Herder - Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling
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| Why read the review? |
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Most listeners at SST have already decided that they love or hate this album. Since you’re reading my review, I have to assume that either you are one of the two who haven’t made up their minds, or you are truly interested in my opinion. Either, way, here it is. I like this album, but I am also a fan of the show, and I think that’s what divides people.
If you like Buffy, then you probably remember this episode, and fondly. It was a brilliant bit of television. You probably liked seeing your favorite character sing a song about his or her feelings.
If you don’t like the show or aren’t familiar with it, then the simple fact is, you are not in on the joke, as it were, or invited to the party. You don’t know who these characters are or why they’re singing, and it’s unlikely that you’ll care. All you can hear are mostly untrained voices doing songs by someone you’ve never heard of, and I can understand how that grates on some listeners. I can’t say I approve of the Buffy-bashing that happens in chat every time this plays, but that’s just because I think it’s tacky.
I like this album not just because I liked the show, but because I was raised on musicals, and to me they are natural. And what I especially like about this musical is that the songs are not generic. They are specific to the plot, and the characters, which means that if you don’t know about either, they might not work for you. No, not all the voices are good. But contrary to what the haters will tell you, some of them are quite good. Amber Benson is very good (“Under Your Spell”) and Anthony Steward Head is exceptional (“Standing”). The one ringer in the cast, so to speak, is Hinton Battle, who has won a Tony (“What you Feel”). So this is not a case of a total lack of talent. But as I said above, if you don’t get the songs, then it won’t matter who sings them for you.
Tracks 9 and 18-22 are pure score, no vocals. There is an instrumental version of the Main Title, and the others are suites from their respective episodes. Aside from “Sacrifice,” I don’t really care for them. But if you want to keep the haters off your back, request away.
My recommendations below show off the best singers and my favorite instrumentals. Have fun.
Request: “Standing” “What you Feel” “Broom Dance” “Sacrifice”
Avoid: “Dawn’s Lament” “The Parking Ticket” “Something to Sing About (Demo)”
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4 of 4 found this review helpful |
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Elliot Goldenthal - Titus
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| The only Eliot Goldenthal score you’ll ever need! |
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Okay, wow. The movie, Titus, was one of the weirdest pictures I’d ever seen. It was an adaptation of a somewhat obscure Shakespeare play by Julie Taymor (Goldenthal’s wife). It’s a bloody, anachronistic, fascinating mess. The score is everything you’ve come to expect from Goldenthal: it’s loud, brash, crazy, quiet, jazzy… it’s as weird as the picture, and there is certainly no attempt to match the music to the period of the story (though the direction doesn’t do that, either). This score has received some more attention recently, because some of the tracks were ripped off by Tyler Bates for 300. Accept no imitations.
Let’s begin with the bombast. The opening track, “Victorious Titus” starts with a booming choir and adds some clanging. “Crossroads” features the blaring horns you might remember from Goldenthal scores like Interview with the Vampire and Alien 3. “Finale” is another good track for this sort of thing, though it’s more majestic than, well, bellicose.
It’s not all like that. There is some quiet, ethereal woodwind work on “Tamora’s Pastorale.” Jazzy tracks like “Swing Rave” and “Apian Stomp” may make you want to dance.
And then there’s the crazy. “Mad Ole Titus” begins with the kind of psycho circus music we love from early Danny Elfman scores, and then turns into a harder, driving song complete with electric guitars. “Pickled Heads” is probably the most divisive track on the album. It starts with crazy sound beds, moves to hard rock, and ends with psycho circus. Even with my warning, the beginning of the track, after whatever precedes it in the queue, will probably scare you.
The album ends with “Vivere,” by Italian songwriter C. Bixio. It’s become something of a standard, but I don’t know which recording is used here. I like it.
Request: “Pickled Heads” “Tribute and Suffrage” “Tamora’s Pastorale”
Avoid: “Pickled Heads”
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1 of 2 found this review helpful |
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Bear McCreary - Battlestar Galactica: Season 2
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| Good, but on the whole less than the sum of its tracks |
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To be honest, TV soundtracks are seldom my favorites. There is simply too much music, even in a single season, for a single album to be satisfying the same way a film album can be. That may be because it’s harder for me to put the music in context, which is something that greatly affects my enjoyment of it. The show itself is one I watch and like, but not one I love passionately enough to rewatch. I guess I can say the same about the score. It’s a popular album, and it’s a good one. I listen to it; I just don’t know that I love it.
There is plenty of Bear McCreary’s trademark sound to be heard here. Much of this involves the eclectic use of ethnic instruments like the duduk and taiko drums. It’s interesting, but since these instruments have gained popularity since scores like Zimmer’s Gladiator, they seem to have lost some of their effect. And then there’s the ever-present female vocal in an exotic language, which you can listen to on tracks like “Lords of Kobol.” This track sounds like something Azam Ali would record. If you like that kind of thing, then have at it. After “Inama Nushif” on Children of Dune, this type of thing doesn’t impress me as easily.
Overall, I guess my main complaint about the album is that is sounds a little homogenous to me, despite the strong use of themes and theme instruments. Taiko drums mean space battle for “Scar” and “Prelude to War.” Eerie strings mean something mystical in “Baltar’s Dream.” Hard rocking electric guitars on “Black Market.” The rest of the tracks simply don’t stand out to me.
I do have some favorites, mostly among the quieter tracks. “Reuniting the Fleet” is a lovely performance of the Celtic-flavored theme for Adama and his son. “Roslin and Adama” is slow and sad, and for some reason has always made a deep impression on me. And I love, love, love “Something Dark is Coming.” I couldn’t tell you why, because it’s not the kind of thing I should like. It’s long — strike one. It’s doesn’t really develop, but remains mellow throughout — strike two. And yet, it makes me feel good to listen to. Go figure.
Request: “Roslin and Adama” “Something Dark is Coming” “Reuniting the Fleet”
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4 of 4 found this review helpful |
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Michael Giacchino - Speed Racer
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| Lots of fun - give it a spin! |
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I never saw the original animated Speed Racer. When I saw the movie I had a great time, but also vowed never to watch it again, because then I would realize how stupid it was. (Trust me. That’s what happened with Transformers.) However, I fell in love with the score over the end credits, discussed below, and decided to investigate the rest of the album. It may just be another pastiche album from Giacchino, complete with the funny track titles we’ve come to expect, but it’s enjoyable. There are some soundtrack critics out there who LOVE this score. I’m not sure I’m one of them. For example, I find the middle of the album, with the various racing music, drags a little. And Giacchino sometimes uses the wailing female vocal on tracks like “Casa Christo.” There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s just a scoring trick I have long gotten tired of.
In some instances the music is a little cheesy and cartoony. That’s just fine; the movie is basically a live-action cartoon (or is it an animated movie with live actors — even the directors may not know for sure). A perfect example of this is “Vroom and Board.” The track begins with an awesome horn section, and then turns into a cute tune I would associate with an orientation video, or one of Homer Simpson’s fever dreams. I mean that in a good way. The track is a favorite of mine.
Don’t let the cartoony vibe fool you into thinking that there isn’t some great action music on this album. “The True Heart of Racing” is an example, or “Reboot.” On the other hand, there is a little emotional tenderness in a track like “He Ain’t Heavy.” This is more exception than rule, though.
A word about the last track, the title track, “Speed Racer.” Why this hasn’t become the next “Tank!” here at SST escapes me. Here Giacchino gives us a complete instrumental version of the old Nobuyoshi Koshibe theme song from the TV show. The arrangement manages to evoke both Mexican horns (great trumpet solo!) and 60s surfer music, while including clips from both the American and Japanese vocals. It’s exciting and lots of fun.
Request: “Thunderhead” “Let us Drink Milk” “Speed Racer”
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2 of 2 found this review helpful |
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