Published on Oct 27, 2000
Without a doubt, one of the more important aspects to any
project is the music. I’ve stated this before, but it bears
reminding: The right music can lift a mediocre product and make it
appear deeper and richer. And when the project is good, then the
music can often be the ribbon on the package. Now to honor the
start of the Sci-Fi Channel’s showing of this landmark TV series, I
decided to go back and review perhaps its most solid album.
Christopher Franke, a former member of Tangerine Dream, might
have seemed a weird choice to replace The Police’s Stuart Copeland
as the music composer for the science-fiction series
Babylon 5. (Copeland did the original music for the pilot,
but was replaced before the series started. Franke scored all of
the series and most of the TV-movies). After all, his most
acclaimed project before that had been the score to the 1980s weird
sci-fi-movie
Legend (best known for starring Tom Cruise and a deviled Tim
Curry). Still, Franke brought a new sound and a freshness to the
sonic landscape of
Babylon 5. By combining both the classic sound of the Berlin
Philarmonic Orchestra with his own experiments in electronic music,
he managed to create something that had yet to be heard before.
The fans of the show, eager for the music, went out and bought
the original soundtrack – which had music from seasons 1 and 2.
Still, their demand for more music resulted in the release of this
album –
Volume 2, subtitled
Messages From Earth.
The album could be split into two parts. On one half, you have
the opening themes to each season. It’s interesting to hear the
progression of these themes from “Season One (Extended) Theme” to
“Season Four Theme.” The first season’s theme is very open and
feels more adventurous – proper to a science-fiction show. However,
as the seasons move, this adventurous feeling dissapears and is
replaced by a more dramatic and desperate quality. “Season Three
Theme” exemplifies this and is also my favorite. It shows that the
music was not being stagnant as the show progressed, but rather
moved and joined the actions on screen to create a whole. Very
cool.
The majority of the disc, however, is cues taken from various
episodes throughout the series. However, rather than just putting
these cues by their lonesome, Franke does something that was
innovative. He combines the various small music pieces to create
music suites that go for some ten minutes each. Even more
interesting is that, rather than tie them according to season or
year, they are united by how they sound.
The first suite, the title track, is a ten-minute move through
some of the more adventurous and heroic music from the show. As it
sways and moves, it picks up steam. Then, from about the six-minute
mark till the end, the piece gains both a sense of urgency and
destiny. This is great stuff. The other suite that has as much
heroism in it is the closing–and original – “Voices of Authority.”
It constantly returns to this same sequence – or theme – which is
also great. (Some might recognize the main theme used here as the
first half of the Season Five theme).
The other two suites, “Z’ha’dum” and “Severed Dreams” feature
some of the more darker and action-oriented music from the show.
Clocking between twelve and fifteen minutes each, they both are
full of the mix of electronic and orchestral tones that Franke is
able to do so well. Perhaps my only complaint is that they are so
long. Couldn’t Franke have broken them down to six to ten minute
pieces? Minor, minor complaint, but I think that’s the only thing
detractors may have against this album.
Have you ever wondered what the future’s orchestras might sound
like? Pay close attention. This is what they should – and perhaps
will.