Battlestar Galactica
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Free Music Notes for Battlestar Galactica
Free Music Review: Good soundtrack
Hit: 5 Stars
If I was asked who has the best soundtrack,Galactica or Star Wars,it would be a tie.I especially like the track Red Nova on the Galactica soundtrack.I listen to samples of the new Galactica soundtrack and so far so good.There is a question being asked about the rivalry between the two sci-fi epics of Galactica and Star Wars.When it comes to the music,both are good.Now if George Lucas could come up with better material of what he used in the Phantom Menance and Attack of the Clones and The space battles between the Colinial Empire and the Cylons increases in the future episodes.Free Music Review: A little bit OVER-Remastered
Hit: 3 Stars
For the most part, this CD is a duplicate to the original released on vinyl in the 70's, but there are 3 exceptions.The first is trivial: two tracks have been switched from their original album playing order. This allows the majestic "Exploration" theme to be heard immediately following the opening title theme. This change relatively unimportant, since the album tracks are nowhere near the order that they appeared in the film, and by programming your CD player, you can hear them in any order you like. The second is the addition of the "Disco Version" of the main title, which I actually like ( yes, it's cheesy, but then again I liked Meco's arrangement of the "Star Wars" theme as well! ).The third change is not as welcome however: Whoever oversaw the remastering of this album felt it was necessary to splash way too much reverb on all of the tracks to give them all, I suppose, a 'concert hall' feel and sound. At first listen I thought it sounded pretty good, but the more I listened the less enchanted I became. While the extra boom is nice at some points, the effect becomes overwhelming in the the more bombastic pieces, and muddies up the sound so that you lose the ability to hear the fine playing of various individual instruments... an effect I find annoying. This becomes very obvious if you compare this disc to the German release of the original soundtrack, which is an exact duplicate of the original album ( and sounds just fine without the tweaking ). Some may disagree with me, but I think retro-engineering like this is just as abhorrent as the fad of colorizing of black and white movies that was so prevalent in the 80's. Remaster -Yes! Tamper with -NO!
Free Music Review: Memorable theme to top 70's TV show
Hit: 4 Stars
I recently ordered this disc from Amazon.com to replace my original cassette(!!) recording of the Original Battlestar Galactica soundtrack album , which I've misplaced sometime in the last few years. I think Stu Phillips's terrific title theme rates up there as one of the best orchestral TV/movie themes ever, and the dramatic music that forms the bulk of the tracks here is also very good. And for pop/disco fans who remember this show, who could forget the Space Angels' rendition of the cheesy but very enjoyable tune Casino On Carillon (It's Love Love Love)!!! Fans of Battlestar Galactica who remember waiting avidly for that pilot episode back in 1978-79 will no doubt enjoy this timely 25th Anniversary reissue, which features nice liner notes in the CD booklet by the show's original creator Glen A. Larson, composer Stu Phillips, and lead actor Richard Hatch (who played Captain Apollo). I recommend this album to film and TV orchestral music buffs and to fans of this show.Free Music Review: Kampfstern Galactica match
Hit: 5 Stars
It is great to see this re-released in CD format. Much better than the Scottish Philharmonic version, which is a bit too sluggish on the attack. For those who want an EXACT re-creation of the soundtrack, and do not want any more disco tracks, look for the import Kampfstern Galactica, from OST. This is an EXACT duplicate of the original tracks, artwork and so on. It is available from Amazon.de (Germany), and has been there for years.Free Music Review: Not a ragtag soundtrack...
Hit: 5 Stars
To a certain extent, I was surprised when I discovered this soundtrack on CD. Being a great fan of the television series back in the 1970s (when I was 12 years old, part of the key demographic Battlestar Galactica was aiming to attract), I bought the soundtrack on vinyl, and still have that copy. The vinyl and CD are duplicates, save that there is one more track on the CD that probably should have been left off -- that is the 'disco version' of the main theme. Sad...Otherwise, this is a great soundtrack CD. Battlestar Galactica tried in many ways to be the 'Star Wars' of television -- it was trying to capitalise on the success of Star Wars in the theatres the year before, and in so doing even used the same special effects teams and other devices developed out of that film. However, when it came to music, they did not go with John Williams (who did so much with films and science fiction), opting instead for Stu Phillips, and having the music performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
The original theme for the pilot (later released as a feature film) was modified for the rest of the television series; that theme is unfortunately missing from this collection. However, this original theme has the characteristics that Battlestar Galactica music was known for -- orchestral crashes at the introduction long before they became standard fare as a synthesizer sample, loud brassy sections that trumpet the main line of the theme, and full orchestra participation -- this is not a band or a synthesizer production, but a real composition.
The various pieces of music are moody and sombre, foreboding and dark as the backdrop of the destruction of twelve worlds of humanity; the music of the enemy, the Cylons, is ominous and imperious, in keeping with their 'Imperious leader' and forbidding presence. There is one song that perhaps the producers hoped might become a pop song -- the song that was sung by the singers on Carillon. One thinks of the jig performed by the band in the Star Wars bar as Luke and Obi-wan negotiate for a ride; this is a backdrop also to a casino/bar where people are trying to escape. This song was performed by the 'Space Angels', not a real group in a true sense of the word.
With one exception ('The End of the Atlantia') these pieces are presented in the same order as they would fall in the film. The music is fun and interesting, not a half-hearted attempt at filler sounds by any means.
The new miniseries on television has a very different look and feel, and that extends even to the music. However, for one brief moment, the brass-heavy and triumphant-sounding Stu Philips theme can be heard as the Vipers make a fly-by. A good tribute, but it reinforced how much I missed the music of the original, which is happily available here.
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