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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you're a fan of the show, or if you're already impressed by Michael Giacchino's previous music and are interested in hearing another side of his talents. Avoid it... if you prefer your albums to feature one consistent sound or mood from start to end. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Since the first album's release, Giacchino has broken through into mainstream films with the rousing music for The Incredibles in late 2004. Still more surprising for those old-time fans of the composer could be the entirely different side of Giacchino at work in Alias, with his strong orchestral writing accompanied by electronic rhythms, guitars, sound effect samples, and other more contemporary elements. Series creator J.J. Abrams claims great affection for Giacchino who, as he states, writes music that is perfectly suited for the character and stories of the show. Abrams wrote the short title cue himself, clocking in at less than 30 seconds and offering no theme or consistent rhythm from the rest of the score. Aside from a few cues of expected, throw-away underscore, Giacchino's work, thankfully, is far more sophisticated, thematic, and interesting than this title theme. As with any television series, the music often suffers from a lack of overall consistency due to the specific needs of differing settings in the individual episodes. Every once in a while, you get a series like The X-Files, for which Mark Snow had a very consistent (and some would say droning) style. The movements in Alias would require a much more flashy approach to some sequences than others, with higher-intensity rhythms during action sequences offset by solemn moments of contemplation for the Bristow character. On the whole, Giacchino maintains a standard orchestral accompaniment to a base of electronically established rhythms, but from there, the music for Alias flies all over the map. Straight action cues of synth rhythms and basic orchestral accompaniment begin the score and occupy several cues within. These cues are standard for the show, and they are upstaged by episodes in which Giacchino can spice up the mix with some extra flavor. On the first Alias album, the "Spanish Heist" cue is the highlight, a cue with strong Hispanic character in its incorporation of guitars and vocals. Also of note are a handful of action pieces that are jazzy by nature, an unintentional (perhaps) nod to the modern James Bond music of David Arnold. The sixteenth and seventeenth cues in particular are rich with Bond-like rhythms, electric guitars, orchestral hits, and a wailing trumpet over the top for good measure. The final two cues of the first album (including the bonus cue) offer more of this Arnoldesque sound for high pace espionage. By contrast, Giacchino offers a sentimental theme for Bristow in several episodes. This consistent theme seems like a page ripped right from the finale of James Horner's Glory, even down to the same performances by celli and solo woodwinds. Whether Glory pops immediately into your head or not, the theme does establish a heart through the series and culminates in a ghostly vocal performance in "Home Movies" (which, ironically, sounds much like the later Scully theme by Snow in the final years of The X-Files). Musically, the only detrimental element in the score is the inclusion of spoken sound effects during harder cues of action. The "Ball Buster" cue begins with such hard-nosed attitude and then suddenly gives away to the show's grandest orchestral crescendo (complete with a variant of Horner's four-note evil motif!). Therein lies perhaps the first album's weakness; for the show, Giacchino's work is much better than average, but on album, it changes mood and direction too many times for a consistent listen. If you were take the ensemble of music from the first two albums together, though, a better overall picture could be painted. The second album (with music from Season 2) does partially solve the weakness of stylistic wandering, however, because, as Giacchino explains, the dramatic stakes in the show are always increasing and the more consistent use of live players, therefore, is necessary. This move is logical by Giacchino and Abrams, and it is even more refreshing to hear a continued loyalty to live musicians in the television genre. Consisting of mostly a string section and a handful of brass, you occasionally hear the shriek of a flute, but most of the orchestral underscore is straight-forward string writing with brass counterpoint over the top. In its dramatic intensity, the music does build up the steam that finally blows in "Hitting the Fan" and "Balboa and Clubber," a pair of Bernard Herrmannesque cues that leave no doubt that the series is losing some of its flashier pop angles. Giacchino still does maintain a tad of that James Bond/David Arnold flash of high style jazz (in "On the Train" and "Going Down?"), and there is a touch of new, emotionally charged dramatic writing on a personal level in "Mother of a Mother," "Emily's Euology," "I'm so Demoted," and the final cue, "Almost Two Years." Much of the wilder rock-influenced material is absent in the second album, but then again, keep in mind that these albums are still only a small taste of the mass of work that Giacchino has written for this series. Without even more released material, we would probably never know about all of the subtle uses of each character's theme or motif... an interesting aspect of these Alias scores that you'd have to be a regular viewer of the series to be able to recognize. If the series continues its popularity, then don't be surprised if the Varèse Sarabande label continues to produce new Alias albums until the profitability dries up. They did, after all, put out nearly a dozen Xena and Hercules albums in the 1990's and early 2000's. Fans of Alias should probably begin with the first album from the series and go on from there. Regardless of order, the first two albums are about equal in musical quality, and devoted fans shouldn't wait to get a hold of either of these excellent souvenirs from the show.
Season 2 Album: ***
* composed by J.J. Abrams
* composed by J.J. Abrams
The insert of the first (2003) album includes a list of performers and a note from series creator J.J. Abrams about Giacchino and the music for the series. The second (2004) album insert includes a list of performers and a note from Giacchino about becoming involved with the project. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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