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Battlestar Galactica: Season 2 Original Soundtracks
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Audio CD, Soundtrack, June 20, 2006
"Please retry" | $12.00 | — | $8.49 |
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- Most purchased | Highest rated | Lowest Pricein this set of productsBattlestar Galactica: Season 3Bear McCrearyAudio CD
Track Listings
1 | Escape from the Farm (3:09) |
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Acclaimed composer Bear McCreary builds on his impressive Season One accomplishments with this new original soundtrack from the second season of the Sci-Fi Channel's critically praised, top-rated television series starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff. Once again, composer McCreary delivers a sensational, emotionally rich score that ingeniously melds orchestra, vocals, percussion and synthesizer in a variety of exciting motifs. Simply put, it's an amazing compilation that trancends the genre and brings sci-fi television music to new heights! Former Oingo-Boingo member Steve Bartek plays featured guitar on "Black Market". CD Booklet contains exclusive liner notes from McCreary and executive producer Ronald D. Moore.
Amazon.com
In its own way, this soundtrack to the cult SciFi Channel series embodies all the trends of film and, to a certain extent, TV-scoring circa 2006. Alien universes and mysterious plots are suggested by exotic instruments like gamelans and taikos; an otherwordly woman comes in at regular intervals to vocalize esoterically ("Lords of Kobol"); and thundering percussions suggest action ("Scar"). It's as if cult band Dead Can Dance were on the required listening list for American screen composers ("Gina Escapes"). Composer Bear McCreary pulls off the mix better than some of his contemporaries because, this being TV, he probably doesn't have the budget of a big Hollywood composer and so he can't rely on a ginormous orchestra to do the work for him (i.e., he can't just pile on dozens of violins to suggest mood). Look for ex-Oingo Boingo member Steve Bartek (who's orchestrated many of Danny Hellman's finest scores) on guest guitar on the final track, "Black Market." --Elisabeth Vincentelli
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Language : English
- Product Dimensions : 5.59 x 0.39 x 5.02 inches; 3.04 Ounces
- Manufacturer : La-La Land Records
- Date First Available : July 26, 2006
- Label : La-La Land Records
- ASIN : B000FCUYKO
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #113,662 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #307 in TV Soundtracks
- #1,369 in Movie Scores (CDs & Vinyl)
- Customer Reviews:
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Bear McCreary took over as the composer for the hot new science fiction series Battlestar Gallactica when the series went it normal production in 2004. McCreary expanded upon some of the original mini-series (2003) composer Richard Gibbs's themes, but quickly developed a style of his own characterized by a mix of tribal beats, ethereal vocals, and electronics. His season 1 Battlestar Galactica soundtrack was very well received, and has been considered an instrumental part of the success of the series. McCreary is comfortable writing and making use of traditional orchestra ensembles, string quartets, electronic compositions, rock flavored guitar, and more traditional folk arrangements. I'd describe his style as actually being similar to European "fusion" music, which mixes electronics with a variety of music styles from around the globe.
About the Soundtrack:
This disk is packed with over an hour of some of my favorite musical tracks from BSG season 2. Though the series itself reused some of the music originally scored for season 1, with only a few exceptions this soundtrack actually focuses on highlighting the new music introduced in season 2. In season 1, McCreary established a few theme songs that we incorporate with specific characters and those themes are worked into new pieces for season 2. Starbuck's theme is masterfully mixed into "Escape from the Farm" and Baltar's theme is integral to "Baltar's Dream" (the track ties into "The Shape of Things to Come" from the season 1 disk). Aside from those two tracks and Richard Gibbs main title sequence (sort of a must for a television soundtrack disk), the rest of the material is not available on the previous disk.
Recommended Tracks:
* Pegasus
* Lords of Kobol
* Martial Law
* Black Market
* Prelude to War
* Something Dark is Coming
Though amazon allows you to sample the music, their choice of what part of the tracks to sample does not always highlight what I like about many of these tracks. For example, the sampled version of "Lords of Kobol" (sung by jazz singer Raya Yarbrough) doesn't feature her vocals ... which are amazing! Raya's lyrics, sung in Sengalese, are really one of the most moving pieces on this disk and it is a shame you will not be able to sample them before making your purchase! On the other hand, the amazon sample of "Martial Law" is very true to the track. Basically the disk is better than the samples.
What I liked most about this soundtrack was its diversity. "Black Market" is a dark fusion of industrial guitar riffs and a middle-eastern flute / drum rhythm (it sounds like a seedy restaurant). Yarbrough's heavenly vocals on "Lords of Kobol" add an emotional and uplifting human touch. "Martial Law" is a chilling styled cold war / eastern bloc styled piece that is completely unlike "The Cylon Prisoner" which has a mix of blues and southwestern American folk. All of these different styles work together as an audio exploration of the state of the human condition - which ultimately is what the series itself is about!
The first track, "Colonial Anthem," has an interesting treatment. I've heard it in my car and on several different PC speakers and it starts out the same, distant like a memory. If you were listening to some "too stuck on themselves producer" on a DVD commentary track they would use the gods awful word "homage." This beginning treatment isn't like that, it isn't oh we have to have this theme. It's distant, like waking from a dream or remembering days when you were a kid. (And yes I am old enough to have watched the original BSG when it originally aired.) But then the percussion comes in, the subtleties of timing--the drum beats staggered just a bit--and when the horns return you are awake and you are in the present.
As for the rest they all have their merit and they don't fit a mold. Themes are adjusted as they need to for the characters or the plot which makes for a richer listening experience. Whether it's the loving strings on "Rosalin and Adama," the frantic nature of "Escape from the Farm," the mid-eastern feel of "Baltar's Dream," the haunting Civil War feel of "Reuniting the Fleet," or the `Deliverance' and up s*** creek wail of "The Cylon Prisoner."
Among my favorites though are "Martial Law" even now it reminds me of decision we make but don't want do and the builds and recesses of "Prelude to War" and "Worthy of Survival." I find it interesting that something so beautiful would be titled "Something Dark is Coming." Crap now I have to dig out the DVD to find out when this was playing...
Knowing this, and hearing what Bear was able to create from that chaotic miasma, is nothing short of miraculous. To Ron Moore I say, "let the boy on set!" so he can partake of some of that camraderie -- the totally unexpected goofiness of Mary McDonnell, the sly humor of Jamie Bamber, the crusty stoicism of Eddie Olmos. Imagine what a Bear fueled with this input could do? Get Bear to the set!
Rant finished.
It's no doubt wonderful to hear Bear's work stripped of the visuals and the competing dialogue and sfx tracks. There was a lot of stuff going on in Season 2 and, while watching the episodes, I felt we weren't allowed to hear as much of Bear's thematic underpinnings as we did in Season 1. Now you can hear every note played and sung.
"Roslin/Adama" is stunningly lyrical, poignant. Can't you just see the two of them, waltzing slowly around a room in that 3/4 time? Some room somewhere? Some time in the future?
"Reuniting the Fleet" -- yea! Always great to hear that taste of Home.
"A Promise to Return" -- sweet and synchronistic when you read of the tragedy that befell the violinist who performed on the track.
Bottom line -- Bear is the perfect foil for the dramatic gravitas of this series. He "gets it." And, because he does, we do, too.
To all those creators and advocates and people seeking to make the world better, pick up this CD and make it one of your "soundtracks of life." Play it while you're tackling the tough, dramatic stuff we have to tackle, because Bear's music says "yes we can" and "we'll be better off for the tackling."
Top reviews from other countries
Dieser Soundtrack ist keine Musik von der Stange. Hier wurden wie in großen Kinofilmen üblich Stücke zu den einzelnen Szenen geschrieben und eben jene Szenen erwachen auch wieder zum Leben, wenn man die Tracks hört. Aber auch jedem, der das Serien-Remake nicht kennt, kann ich dieses Album nur ans Herz legen.
Da sind Stücke moderner Klassik, die mit ihrem teils warmen, teils melancholischen Klang einfach nur schön sind und das Herz berühren (z.B. "Epiphanies", "Allegro"). Da rufen arabisch klingende Stücke Sehnsucht nach Wüste und Minaretten in mir wach (z.B. "Baltar's Dream"). An anderer Stelle treiben Taikotrommeln die Stücke martialisch vor sich her (z.B. "Scar", "Gina Escapes"). Die Krönung des Albums sind aber jene Werke, in denen Bear McCreary all diese Elemente zu einem harmonischen, stimmungsvollen Ganzen verwebt ("Worthy of Survival" oder das Meisterstück: "Prelude to War") oder mit modernen Einflüssen auffrischt ("Black Market", "Lords of Kobol").
Trotz dieser unterschiedlichen Elemente ist der ganze Soundtrack wie aus einem Guss. Für mich heißt das 78 Minuten lang eintauchen, abtauchen und erfrischt wieder auftauchen.
Das einzige "Kontra" - und das ist sicher meinem Geschmack geschuldet - ist das erste Stück auf der Scheibe. Das "Colonial Anthem" ist ein Remake des Themas der alten Serie "Kampfstern Galactica" und trieft vor Patriotismus. Aber das soll es ja auch. Fürs erste Reinhören gilt aber: skippen. Das Stück ist nicht representativ.
Bear McCreary is a name to watch in the world of TV and film composing, his scoring lithe yet muscular, visceral yet emtionally thrilling, dark yet yearning and hopeful - he is indeed a young master of extraordinary talent.