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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Alias (Michael Giacchino)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you're a fan of the show, or if you're already impressed by
Michael Giacchino's music for other venues 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 finish.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Alias: (Michael Giacchino) One of the most popular
television series of the 2000's, "Alias" is the inevitable idea of a female James
Bond in disguise, running around the world undercover for the CIA and other
interests. Actress Jennifer Garner won a Golden Globe award for her role as the
sleek and tough Sydney Bristow, and the exposure of her rather silly and
unsophisticated real life personality only added to the mystique of her on screen
performances. Amid showers of critical praise, "Alias" was quickly spawned off
into a video game and followed not long after by a series of soundtrack albums
featuring underscore from the series. The first album, not missing the
opportunity to fill its packaging with pictures of Garner from front to back, was
originally released along with a previous season on DVD, the video game, and the
hyped opening of the show's third season. Strong sales led to a subsequent
product exactly one year later. It's a rare case when the popularity of an action
television series demands special treatment for its music, and yet, with the rate
at which composer Michael Giacchino was becoming known in the realms of video and
television music, it was probably no surprise that "Alias" music was a hot
commodity. When the first "Alias" album was released in 2003, most film music
collectors actually didn't know Giacchino for any film score at all; he was
mostly associated with high quality video games (and mainly for his association
with the "Medal of Honor" series in particular) over the previous five or so
years. Owners of his video game music might have been surprised to learn that
Giacchino was the primary composer for all of the original Alias episodic
scores and continued to work with the series for several years. Since the first
album's release, Giacchino had broken through into mainstream films with the
rousing music for The Incredibles in late 2004. Still more surprising for
the 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 reflected in 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 Abrams' 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 and methodology. 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 in others. On the whole, Giacchino maintains standard orchestral accompaniment to a foundation of electronically established rhythms, but from there, the music for "Alias" flies all over the map. Straight action cues of synthetic rhythms and basic orchestral assistance 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, with strong Latin character in its incorporation of acoustic guitars and vocals. Also of note are a handful of action pieces that are jazzy by nature, perhaps an unintentional nod to the modern style of James Bond music by 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 track) offer more of this Arnold-like 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 throughout the series and culminates in a ghostly vocal performance in "Home Movies" (which, ironically, sounds much like the later Dana 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 hard-nosed attitude and then suddenly gives away to the show's grandest orchestral crescendo (complete with a variant of Horner's four-note motif of evil, of all things). 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 listening experience. If you consider the collection of music from the first two albums together, though, a better overall picture can be painted. The second album (with music from season two) 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 by Giacchino and Abrams is logical, 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 cues resembling Bernard Herrmann complexity that leave no doubt that the series is losing some of its flashier, pop angles. Giacchino still does maintain a tad of that 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 them. Such 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 decent souvenirs from the show.
TRACK LISTINGS:
2003 Season 1 Album:
Total Time: 65:08
* composed by J.J. Abrams 2004 Season 2 Album: Total Time: 61:48
* composed by J.J. Abrams
NOTES & QUOTES:
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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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Alias are Copyright © 2003, 2004, Varèse Sarabande (Season 1), Varèse Sarabande (Season 2) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/22/03 and last updated 3/17/09. |
