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Babylon 5: Messages from Earth
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Composed, Performed, and Produced by:
Christopher Franke
Performed by:
Berlin Symphony Film Orchestra
Conducted by:
Alan Franklin
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release.
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AWARDS
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None.
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ALSO SEE
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 Volume 2: Messages from Earth
Buy it... if you're looking for your first taste of Christopher
Franke's music from "Babylon 5," for this compilation has long been
regarded as the best representation in existence.
Avoid it... only if you never intend, based on samples of Franke's
consistent style for the concept that you've heard in various places, to
ever explore this show's music.
BUY IT
Babylon 5: Volume 2: Messages from Earth:
(Christopher Franke) A ground-breaking science fiction series on TNT in
the late 1990's, the 5-year saga of "Babylon 5" made itself known
worldwide through trademark innovations in special effects, make-up, and
music. The unconventional music of "Babylon 5" worked so well in context
because the show's production was also somewhat unconventional. Instead
of building models for space sequences and contracting a full orchestra
to perform for each episode, J. Michael Straczynski created a concept
that became more of a political space fantasy than a typical,
technically interpersonal sci-fi production. Tackling the duties of
scoring "Babylon 5" was former Tangerine Dream member and Sonic Images
Records founder Christopher Franke, whose electronically creative music
for each and every episode (as well as the majority of television films)
added another dimension of mystery, suspense, and excitement to the
show, with an easily distinguishable character that separates "Babylon
5" from other sci-fi television entries of the era. In these regards,
Franke's contribution was a perfect match for the style of special
effects that may now look simplistic in retrospect, but were, at the
very least, another extremely identifiable aspect of the show. On album,
however, some of Franke's episodic scores for "Babylon 5" remain more
enjoyable than others. The music, interestingly, sometimes lacks
three-dimensional character when heard without those distinct visuals, a
problem complicated by the fact that Franke's own label released so many
of the episodic scores on albums that generally ranged from 25 to 36
minutes in length. These episodic CDs often cost the same as a full
retail product featuring 75 minutes of orchestral soundtrack music,
complicating their "hit and miss" tendencies. With this dilemma in mind,
Sonic Images released two compilations between 1995 and 1997 that
remained (even years later) the best representation of music from the
production's run. The episodic scores were definitely products that
required an appreciation of the individual episode represented, and thus
appealed to a more narrow audience. If you're looking for just a taste
of what the "Babylon 5" universe sounded like, then the second
compilation, "Messages from Earth," is clearly the best starting
point.
The "Messages from Earth" volume contains highlights
from the first four seasons of the show, combining extensive re-workings
of the music from a few of the original episodic CD's (from the
September, 1997 batch) with each of the first four title themes. One of
the more refreshing aspects of the music is the fact that the title
music, although consistent in style, deviates in theme from year to
year. It is a welcome change when compared to the "Star Trek" shows that
continue to push their original themes and orchestration year after
year. Instead, Franke uses the consistency of his synthetic style to
define the universe, making the incorporation of the themes into the
episodic scores unnecessary as well. The theme from season five, which
doesn't appear in its own form here, was inspired by the theme of the
4th season episode "Voices of Authority," one of the best in the history
of the series. The brass (real or faux, it doesn't really matter with
all the sound effects and electronic percussion mixed in) performance of
this theme at the start and end of the suite is fantastic. The
arrangement of the first season's theme, as well as the latter half of
"Messages from Earth," are extended versions of those that appear in the
show; both are well worth the price of the album. The "Messages from
Earth" suite shifts from a scene of battle at about 6:30 to a scene
between the lead couple, Delenn and Sheridan, and the minutes that
follow are pure new age/light rock magic. While the episodic releases of
"Severed Dreams" and "Z'Ha'Dum" are regarded highly by fans of the show,
they're not really among Franke's best, and the suites available here
should suffice. The third season's title theme performance on this
compilation is important because the later episodic releases from that
season include Claudia Christian's dialogue over the music. The only
season's theme that really should include the dialogue is the fifth,
which uses a collection of famous quotes from the first four seasons to
set the mood for each episode. Overall, there is no doubt that at the
time of the release of this compilation, the best fifteen minutes of
music from the show existed in its contents. Franke would continue to
add strong material to the show in the last season, but absent that
material, "Messages from Earth" is still as good of a compilation of
"Babylon 5" material as was offered during the show's height of
popularity.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Excellent music
Sheridan - July 4, 2006, at 2:30 a.m. |
1 comment (2420 views) |
Total Time: 58:00
• 1. Main Title, 1st Season (Extended) (3:17)
• 2. Messages from Earth (10:05)
• 3. Main Title, 2nd Season (1:30)
• 4. Z'Ha'Dum (12:20)
• 5. Main Title, 3rd Season (1:31)
• 6. Severed Dreams (15:37)
• 7. Main Title, 4th Season (1:29)
• 8. Voices of Authority (11:26)
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The insert contains extensive imagery from the show and notes about both Franke
and the show. There's also a picture of Franke looking rather demonic.
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