Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you seek one of the best compilations of science fiction film music ever to be recorded for album. Avoid it... if this set contains too few of the common mainstream favorites, in which case you should seek the previous album in the series. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II: (Compilation) This second installment in Silva Screen's massive compilations of sci-fi and alien themes from motion pictures is just as impressive as the first. The original "Space and Beyond" CD was voted by Filmtracks visitors as one of the five best CD albums of 1997, falling behind only Titanic and the special edition releases of each of the original Star Wars scores. Unlike the original, though, this CD pays more of a tribute to classic sci-fi themes. The mix of modern and classic themes is sometimes jarring, lending some merit to thoughts that the album would be better if the selections were chronologically arranged. Those inclusions range from War of the Worlds through Starship Troopers, which was still popular at the time of the compilation's release, and present a variety of composers in the ranks of Jerry Goldsmith, David Arnold, Dimitri Tiomkin, Leith Stevens, and Alan Silvestri. The performances by The City of Prague Philharmonic are equal to the group's strength in Silva's other offerings of the late 1990's, having shed some of the awkward performances that the Czech players had contributed just five years earlier. One of the more superior performances on this album is Mars Attacks!, for which the ensemble very successfully recreates Danny Elfman's style (including theremin and choir). Contrasting that silliness is Bernard Herrmann's classic theme for The Day the Earth Stood Still, with a performance creepy to the point of perfection. The cult Toto score for Dune was popular at the time due to a significantly expanded album release, and a lengthy suite of the score's primary themes is arranged by Toto member David Paich. The choral accompaniment, not unexpectedly, is much richer here than in the original, though the title theme is performed with a bit too much haste (and some seemingly odd orchestrations). Two of the subsequent three selections from the Star Trek films and television shows are tired inclusions. As with other compilation performances, the Klingon theme from the first film and the First Contact theme lack the full power and majesty of the originals. The Klingon theme specifically has been recorded with a far better sense of style by Erich Kunzel. The track from Deep Space Nine by Dennis McCarthy is the good find, though, with the cue not available elsewhere at the time. Following the Star Trek realm is a suite from Steven's When Worlds Collide, a fabulous 50's sci-fi flick with overly dramatic brass fanfares and timpani rolls. Fresh choral accompaniment makes this recording unique. James Horner's Battle Beyond the Stars was unreleased at the time as well, making it a selling point of the album, but its performance here is lacking compared to the original (likely due to poor orchestration). The tracks from The Thing from Another World, Twilight Zone, and Battlestar Galactica fail to muster much interest, with the suite from Battlestar Galactica oddly arranged. Ending the first CD is a combination of two tracks from David Arnold's Stargate. The opening cue from Giza cuts to the "Going Home" track at an peculiar junction, but touches well on the broad scope of the score. The second CD begins with perhaps the worst track on the entire collection. The badly dated electronic garbage that appears here from Forbidden Planet sounds like it came directly out of Disneyland's old Tomorrowland Peoplemover in the 1950's. Truly wretched synthesized noise, to say the least. By contrast, Gustav Holst's "Mars" theme from The Planets is a blast of Hans Zimmer's shamelessly emulating Gladiator, though the original inspiration is easily superior in its performance here. As always, Alan Silvestri's "End Titles" from Contact is beautiful in a philosophical sense, with this lengthy recording capturing the appropriate religious and moral undertones of the original. The two tracks from Starship Troopers open with the frenetic "Bugs!" action cue, a difficult pill to swallow in any performance. The performance of the score's title theme, though, is much better than the original, using the full force of Prague's enormous sound to better accentuate the masculinity of Basil Poledouris' score. A difficult prospect to find at the time was Silvestri's Predator, and its title theme is provided here with all the sharply ripping percussion required by its distinctive rhythms. There have been better performances of War of the Worlds, particularly from the Erich Kunzel compilations, but this suite contains considerably more music from score. The most unnecessary inclusion on this set is John Williams' "The Imperial March" from The Empire Strikes Back, a piece that Prague had not performed for the first set and must have felt compelled to throw it on this one to help sell units. With so little variation in its performances, the piece has become a tired inclusion on many compilations, and its rendering here is bass-heavy and lacking in resonance. Christopher Young's track from Invaders from Mars is the equivalent for this compilation to what Species was for the last: a reflective, quiet, well-mannered melody to close out its film. Shirley Walker's highly anticipated Space: Above and Beyond accompanied the television series that suffered a dismal death due to lack of network enthusiasm, but a heroic suite lives on here. Joe Harnell's theme from the mini-series V will be forgotten just a minute into the symphonic version of Jack Nitzsche's Starman that follows. With sentimental, sweeping strings and choir, this could be the highlight of the set. The suite from Arnold's Independence Day is superior to those recorded on other compilations, with a full chorus to add vital patriotic depth to the finale of the suite. The solo cello in its mid-section is outstanding. The final "bonus" track on the compilation is a return to The Thing from Another World. Dimitri Tiomkin's unconventional instrumentation for the score yields an overbearingly powerful solo theremin effect that'll be sure to make your neighbors think that the world is coming to an end. Remarkably irritating, but delightful in any sound effect library. Overall, even with a few duds mingling in "Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II," it's a highly enjoyable set. With its continued success, Silva would continue to release similar compilations in the future. ***** Track Listings:
Total Time: 149:56
All artwork and sound clips from Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II are Copyright © 1998, Silva Screen Records America. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 2/15/98, updated 8/5/07. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1998-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
