About the Soundtrack: Bear McCreary's work with the Sci-Fi Channel continues with his music for the series, "Eureka." Presented by La-La Land Records, the soundtrack release offers 28 tracks and over 75 minutes of music from the television show's second season, capturing highlights and themes from individual episodes and characters. For the amount of music this release offers, it's a rather comprehensive representation of music from the series' 2nd season, thus it should satisfy any serious fan of the show and/or of the composer himself.
What You Need to Know: The Sci-Fi Channel is becoming a good home for excellent television scoring. First, there is Joel Goldsmith, who is doing stellar work on the "Stargate" franchise and has also branched off into scoring DVD one-offs from the series. Goldsmith's work is easily a cut above the norm. Then there is the works of Murray Gold and his scores from"Dr. Who." Though I know "Dr. Who" is a U.K. production, it does air on the Sci-Fi Channel and its weekly presence on the network is always a nice pull both for its music and storylines. And lastly, there is Bear McCreary, who established himself on the scene through his work on the Battlestar Galactica series and became noted for providing a stark, dramatic contrast to the musical style of the original series. With "Eureka," we get to see another side of the composer's talents.
How could you not like the music of "Eureka?" The score is a toe-tapping, explorative hoot. In a complete reversal in style from his Galactica works, McCreary shows us his lighter side by writing music that is experimental, catchy and full of colorful personality. "Eureka" offers a brand of music that is specific to its own universe and it is quite lighthearted.
McCreary employs the use of a small ensemble to perform the music. The instrument selections are interesting as he also uses an accordion as part of the ensemble, further adding a unique distinction to the flavor of the score. While "Eureka" is not meant to output a large orchestral sound, the eccentric melodies and original electronic notes are heard pristinely through an impressively sharp sound mix. Much like the way McCreary's 'Battlestar' music was presented, the audio quality with "Eureka" is top-notch.
As you dig into the 75+ minutes of music from the series, each of you will no doubt come away with differing favorite tracks since the score is quite varied (yet consistent). It becomes a listening experience that becomes difficult to turn away from since it is so entirely interesting and original! From the unpredictable percussion rhythms to the warm notes of the accordion, the quirky sci-fi elements to the blend of styles, "Eureka" is an indulgence that will soon become a not-so guilty pleasure of mine. There is something to be said about interesting, off-beat and original works of music.
Perhaps my only complaint, and its one I often have with albums offering a longer than usual running time, is that there was room to trim around the edges a bit. There are moments during the soundtrack that come across as pure episodic underscore, thus detracting away from the album's more original presence. Overall, though, that shouldn't get in the way of any general music fan, score lover or not, having a good time with this material. After a listen or two, you'll be able to dodge the cues that don't work for you anyway and you'll be left with a truly unique score to enjoy.
Ultimately "Eureka" represents all that I could ask for in a television score -- it has personality. While it would have been easy for McCreary to get lost in the vast expanse of unique sounds that he conjured up for this, he was able to maintain a sense of consistency that propels the album forward.
Final Score: Far too often, television music is crippled by bland and generic underscores...this isn't one of those times. Bear McCreary impresses again with a highly original style of music for Sci-Fi Channel's, "Eureka." Employing an innovative approach and creative instrumentation, this soundtrack has an appeal that even non-soundtrack fans will appreciate. Quirky and fun, this is a solid buy and is another example of McCreary's diverse range of talents and is a testament to his commitment for writing original music. In fact, when people speak of film composers of the future, he is definitely someone to keep an eye on; his voice is too original to keep in television for too much longer.
