About the Soundtrack: La-La Land Records strikes again! This time, the label does an impeccable with the release of
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4, by
Bear McCreary. This is an ultimate soundtrack release to commemorate the conclusion of the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy) show. There are 2 discs jam packed with music from Season 4 and an outstanding booklet that accompanies it. The booklet contains commentary from the many of the actors and behind-the-scenes talent that were involved with Battlestar. There is even an entry from the great Stu Phillips, the composer of the original series. In all, this is a soundtrack release with plenty of material both on and off the disc to make it a fair purchase.
What You Need to Know: Up front, I'm ready to proclaim the music from Battlestar Galactica's Season 4 (BG4) is a triumph of the highest order. That after I heard Disc 1 (of 2) from this release. Before I get into any disappointment I had with the second disc. I'd like to first say that disc 1, which runs for nearly 80 minutes, is on par with the music of the television greats. But strip away television from the equation -- BG4 has a great musical story to tell and it's one filled with great ingenuity and heart. Indeed, this is the type of music that can stand atop any medium and thrive as gorgeous, interesting and exciting material.
The album kicks off with a rather haunting song entitled,
Gaeta's Lament. The deep vocals lend a sharp edge to the bittersweet melody of the song and it made for quite an unpredictable but welcome opening that sets the tone for the overall experience one can expect. The sheer depth that you will discover on this first disc alone would be enough to fulfill any type of soundtrack release from any film or show. McCreary delivered the knockout punch early on this one.
There is such a bevy of material to grasp hold of on Disc One that it would take some time for me to go through a blow by blow account. Suffice it to say, there are highlight tracks galore, including the Irish inspired
Farewell Apollo, the reprise of
Gaeta's Lament (instrumental), the heroic notes from "Someone to Watch Over Me", and so much more. I loved nearly every second of this disc's running time and I especially appreciated the vast number of unique instruments that McCreary continued to incorporate into his score. I suppose the only problem that exists on a soundtrack like this is that if you begin at the pinnacle, where can one be expected to go to next? That is answered a bit predictably on Disc Two.
The second CD did not prove to be as captivating as the first for me. Part of this can be attributed to the sheer amount of time spent listening to both CDs (the process started to wear me down) while the other factor is that simply the highlight tracks landed on Disc One. Thus, I highly suggest you take a nice intervals when you go from one disc to the next because this is one listening experience where a timeout is certainly needed to enjoy the music to its full potential.
An additional note on Disc 2: Bear gave fans of the original series quite a treat when he incorporated the original Battlestar theme onto track 10, The Heart of the Sun. While I am fully on board with the approach taken for the "new" series, I couldn't help but be swept up when I heard the classic theme played by Bear and his musicians. Though brief, it rekindled some fond memories and made me wonder if perhaps the show could have used just a touch more of the classic show influence in its music. Though I am sure the talents involved with the show would disagree with that claim, I
urge you to take one listen of that clip and if you feel the same as I do. Just a minor, slight critique for an overall grand experience!
