Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... on the 1999 re-recording released by Varèse Sarabande if you only casually seek the highlights of the 1978 pilot episode, conducted by the composer himself and featuring vibrant sound quality. Avoid it... on the 2011/2012 Intrada series or 1996 4-CD promotional set unless you truly consider yourself a devoted fan of the original show and its music, because these presentations can be both redundant and overwhelming when considered in sum. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Battlestar Galactica: (Stu Phillips) Until the concept was resurrected on television with resounding success in the 2000's, the original version of "Battlestar Galactica" was somewhat forgotten by the mainstream public. Still, it remained enough of a cult favorite that its second life has proven much more successful than the first. Coming at a time when epic science fiction with blazing new special effects was experiencing its renaissance in the late 1970's, the short-lived original series employed the efforts of many who had worked on Star Wars and other feats of technical wizardry at the time. The plot of "Battlestar Galactica" featured a compelling balance between personal character drama and good old-fashioned space battles. Like most products of its era, however, it has suffered through time given the saturation of 1970's style in its costumes, hair styles, and other renderings. The safe choice to score the concept's pilot and abbreviated series was composer Stu Phillips, who was already a veteran of producing scores both large and small for other television shows and films at the time. When the concept was adapted into a weekly series shortly before its debut, Phillips was forced to work a nearly impossible schedule to meet studio demands, though he proudly hit his deadlines. Even though the original series and the secondary "Galactica 1980" follow-up were considered costly failures by the studios and therefore suffered extremely short lifespans, the large mass of music composed by Phillips for these series continues to be enormously popular beyond even the loyal "Cult Galactica" followers that helped bring the series back 25 years later. Because of the show's historical timing, it was assumed that a sci-fi television epic would not be complete without an orchestral score to accompany it (no small feat, since orchestral scores for television series were already scarce by that time). In a way, Phillips' music achieved that which the show's budget could not in other production elements: the awe of space. By compensating for some of the shortcomings of the cheesier sets, costumes, and special effects, the heroic and occasionally melodramatic score provided the necessary element of fantastic, space-journeying marvel. A larger-than-life attitude and enthusiastic sense of optimism contributed to the show's attempts at sincerity as well. The title theme for "Battlestar Galactica" became an instant mainstream favorite, inspiring many of the cheap knock-offs to follow in early 1980's fantasy genre films. A series of sensitive secondary identities include "Adama's Theme," which is a precursor of James Horner's Vulcan theme in his two Star Trek scores. Overarching motifs for characters and situations exist in Phillips' music, and the composer carefully developed many of these ideas starting immediately when the pilot was translated into episodic scores. The addition of a choral element in "Lost Planet of the Gods," for instance, was particularly important to the evolution of the concept's music. Phillips' devotion to themes, however, was not as complexly developed as in the heralded 2000's equivalent by Bear McCreary. Nor is the instrumental palette as creative in the 1970's version, a product of the era's notions of orchestral space opera conventions. McCreary did eventually pay significant tribute to Phillips' main theme in the later seasons of the 2000's series, resulting in some of that show's most powerful orchestral statements. The consistent quality of Phillips' music is rooted in its harmonic appeal, however, never yielding for long to the despair of dissonance, and some listeners may prefer this stylistically consolidated approach to the franchise. Amongst the plethora of music that it inspired, "Battlestar Galactica" can be a little anonymous, though, especially given its extended lengths. Because Phillips became completely swamped with the writing of "Battlestar Galactica," composing several hours of music during the first year of the show alone, some overlap is to be expected. Near the end of the show's existence, with sure termination from the network awaiting, many of the cues were recycled to the point where an entire episode could be mixed with music copied from previous episodes. What new symphonic music needed was allocated the funds for only a few dozen musicians. In the end, though, Phillips' achievement in quantity alone has been appreciated by many, and has ultimately led to a plethora of different versions on album. For a long time, the only music from the show available to the public was on the original vinyl LP record, released in the blitz of promotion surrounding the concept's debut. Phillips re-recorded album-specific arrangements of his material for this product (as was still customary in the 1970's), and it has generally been greeted warmly by concept enthusiasts through the years. On CD, a little-known Edel import from Germany containing the pilot episode's music became a collector's item in 1993, eventually experiencing demand similar to the LP. A 25th anniversary remastered version of this album (with minimal extra material) came from Geffen in 2003. Among others, John Williams and the Boston Pops recorded a stunningly crisp rendition of the title theme on one of their Philips label space-related compilations. Other sets often paid tribute to the title theme as well. But in 1996, Phillips assisted in the assembly what was then considered the "compilation to end all compilations" of "Battlestar Galactica" music, strictly for promotional purposes but inevitably serving the fanbase as well. Limited to only a few several hundred units in its pressing, this 4-CD set includes original recording from the pilot episode of the show recorded in 1978, a few of the episodes in the first year, and the opening episode of the "Galactica 1980" show and some of its better episodes. All in all, it provides over 250 minutes (4+ hours) of "Battlestar Galactica" music that will satisfy even the most hardcore fans of the show and Phillips' work. In 1998, Robert Townson and Varèse Sarabande introduced Phillips to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to re-record the "Saga of a Star World" pilot episode from the original show. Most, though not all of the original score was re-recorded and subsequently released on a 48-minute album in 1999. The performance by the RSNO, conducted by Phillips and obviously resulting in superior sound quality, is magnificent. Even Phillips, who had been most satisfied with the original performance of the pilot by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, enjoyed the results of the 1998 collaboration. The music from the pilot is arguably the best for the entire series, and the mass of important material from that entry was re-recorded by the RSNO. Left off the 1999 release, however, are a few of the cues that include heroic performances of the main title theme. That title theme is by far the heart and soul of all the music for Battlestar Galactica, and on the Varèse release, it only makes a bold statement in the "Red Nova" sequence outside of the opening and closing titles. The original composition has always been deceptive in size, an important factor when exploring any of the albums of Phillips' earlier recordings. The performances by the Universal Studio Symphony Orchestra lack the energy and personality of the recordings by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the RSNO, however they are certainly functional. At times, and especially when the money-stricken "Galactica 1980" series rolled along, the orchestra for "Battlestar Galactica" was sometimes reduced to the size of 30 to 35 players. Additionally, much of it was reduced to mono format immediately because that was its method of presentation over the airwaves. Although you can easily notice a muting in ambience and power as the 4-CD promotional set progresses, the music never loses its basic effectiveness. That promo takes selections from the most noteworthy episodes and presents about 15 minutes of music from each, including some of the source cues and sound effects from the "Galactica 1980" series. Each CD features a performance of the main and end title theme, which act as good bookends for all of the listening experiences. Between the two releases, there was usually a perfect match to be found for all potential listeners in the 1990's and 2000's. If you are unfamiliar with the series, or have heard and enjoyed only the main theme before, then the Varèse re-recording offers the very best that Phillips wrote for the show, conducted by the composer himself. Also, the re-recording will likely please audiophiles who value superior sound quality above all. The original 4-CD set makes the German import completely worthless, but only the most serious "Battlestar Galactica" enthusiasts should seek it. At a hefty initial price of $75 for the set, it includes an incredible wealth of music for devoted fans of the show. For the average person, though, the music can easily become overwhelming after the first few hours. In 2011, Intrada Records resurrected Phillips' music once again, obtaining optimum sources and utilizing better remastering technologies to breathe new life into the recordings. The label debuted a series of four limited albums, the first volume featuring the most complete presentation of music from "Saga of a Star World" to ever exist. An impressive improvement in sound quality is a highlight as well. Later in the same year, the first pair of two-part episodic scores was released as an even more limited (and eventually rare) 2-CD second volume, including the aforementioned choral addition to the premier episode, presented in mono due to the source. Intrada's technically unlimited and pricier third and fourth volumes followed in 2012. Volume #3 contains seven episodic scores (highlighted by "The Hand of God") and 1980's "The Return of Starbuck," while Volume #4 wraps up the series with major episodes "The Living Legend" and "War of the Gods." Although this series of CDs is specifically targeting the core of concept collectors (those with casual interest should still seek the Varèse re-recording first), it's difficult to find fault with any aspect of such superior treatment of an iconic science fiction favorite.
1996 4-CD Promo Album: **** 1999 Varèse Album: **** 2003 Geffen Album: *** 2011/2012 Intrada Albums: ***** Overall: **** Track Listings (1993 Edel Album):
Total Time: 39:29
* composed by John Tartaglia, Sue Collins, and Glen A. Larson; performed by The Space Angels Track Listings (1996 Promotional Set):
Total Time: 256:07
Track Listings (1999 Varèse Album):
Total Time: 48:31
* main theme co-composed by Glen A. Larson Track Listings (2003 Geffen Album):
Total Time: 45:59
* composed by John Tartaglia, Sue Collins, and Glen A. Larson; performed by The Space Angels Track Listings (2011 Intrada Volume 1):
Total Time: 76:06
Track Listings (2011 Intrada Volume 2):
Total Time: 97:30
All artwork and sound clips from Battlestar Galactica are Copyright © 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2012, Edel (Germany), Promotional, Varèse Sarabande, Geffen Records, Intrada Records (Volume 1), Intrada Records (Volume 2). 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 9/10/99, updated 11/18/12. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1999-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
1993 Edel
