: (Compilation) In the late 1990's,
the Sonic Images label tested the waters in the growing soundtrack
compilation market, typically licensing orchestral performances from the
same catalogs as other, more readily known labels and combining that
material with original cover versions of a few items per CD. For the
"Watch the Skies" compilation of 1999, among the later Sonic Images
entries, fans would hear a science-fiction and fantasy compilation of
film, television, and ride music that is constructed in much the same
way the Sonic Images' "Heart of the Ocean" release was presented the
previous year. The same eclectic approach of including previously
existing recordings from sources like Silva Screen, Telarc, and
Intersound (always previously released on other CD albums) with fresh
single-artist performances and a few original recordings is utilized.
Not unexpectedly, what results is an album that contains some old
favorites and introduces some new surprises, depending on how deep your
soundtrack compilation collection already is. Despite the common thread
that binds all of this music together, the tracks vary greatly in mood
and scope, ultimately causing an inconsistency in flow that keeps "Watch
the Skies" from achieving as high a rating as other compilations
available from competing labels. Most tracks, in and of themselves, have
their virtues. Bernard Herrmann's prelude to
is a classic, and the Cincinnati Pops, although underestimated
by many as a group talented only in jazz, performs it with excellence.
This recording had been around for more than a decade on one of Telarc's
old compilations, though, and the significantly older age of the piece
sets it as an awkward distance from the remainder of the album's
selections.
The following two tracks shift to the immensely huge City
of Prague Philharmonic and Crouch End Festival Chorus, as heard many
times on the Silva Screen label. This version of Danny Elfman's
Mars
Attacks! features a fuller chorus than the original. Even better is
the icy, haunting performance of Christopher Young's
Species,
available in original form only on a promotional release. These two
selections, as well as those from Alan Silvestri's
Contact and
David Arnold's
Independence Day, can also be found on the "Space
& Beyond" and "Alien Invasion" products released by Silva in just the
prior two years. Thankfully, Sonic Images decided to use the Cincinnati
Pops/Telarc version of
The Day the Earth Stood Still instead of
that which appears on Silva's "Alien Invasion" release; Kunzel's
recording has far more personality. The album takes a curious turn at
this point; instead of more robust, traditionally orchestral selections,
John Williams'
E.T. and Silvestri's
Contact slow the
album's pace and mellow the mood considerably. The piano performance of
E.T. takes two minutes to get kicking, finally reaching the
memorable end credit arrangement and reaching for some extra gusto.
Contact is also a lightweight, and while pretty, doesn't sit well
with some of the larger and more horrifying tracks on the CD. The album
then turns to original performances by artists associated with Sonic
Images, and for those who have heard the previous, well-known
performances before, these new tracks are the treasures of the CD. John
Carpenter and Alan Howarth's
They Live has a swinging country
attitude perhaps too fun in this context, though the following two
performances by John Beal are as intriguing as his highly acclaimed work
typically is.
Beal's rendition of
Men in Black is remarkably
enjoyable, and his talent for accurately recreating even the snazziest
and strangest Elfman theme is amazing. His performance of Silvestri's
Predator theme is put at a disadvantage, however, because the cue
has received such fantastic acoustic treatment through the years from
large ensembles that anything less than ripping, live percussion just
doesn't sound right. The suite from the
Aliens amusement park
ride, composed by Richard Band, combines a snippet of Horner's
Aliens theme with a few Goldsmith-like orchestrations. Jerry
Goldsmith's reflective finale cue from
Alien follows, and is
performed well by the Orchestra of the Americas. The original recording
of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, although similar in theme to
the other selections, is strikingly different; its sound quality is
considerably muddier than the others, and Zeitlin's poorly electronic
remake music is one of the few regrettable inclusions on the CD. Elliot
Goldenthal fans are treated to the original recording of his electronic
score for the cable show
Roswell, and it is a spooky cue that
probably would have worked wonders in
Sphere, strangely enough.
The Tommyknockers had been composed recently by Sonic Images
founder Christopher Franke; his lengthy suite here isn't too much
different in style from his
Babylon 5 works, with a theme at its
heart that is a cross between progressions heard in Mark Snow's
The
X-Files and Williams'
JFK. The superb stereo sound on this
track is particularly unnerving. Michael Hoenig's performance of the
Dark Skies TV series epilogue sounds remarkably similar in style
to Christopher Franke, easing the transition. It features an
impressively rumbling electronic timpani sequence in its
midsection.
The Hollywood Chamber Orchestra's performance of the
heavily rearranged theme from
The X-Files doesn't do Mark Snow's
composition any justice. Its withdrawn, lightly orchestral feel doesn't
produce much frightening or creepy emotion at all, and the theme seems
to be better served by going into further electronic depth, as it did in
the motion picture. The elevator music treatment, even with an elegant
solo trumpet performing the theme, is simply too awkward to enjoy. The
CD ends appropriately with David Arnold's rousing end titles suite from
Independence Day. Both the City of Prague Philharmonic and
Cincinnati Pops have performed this piece from
ID4, the former
with a real chorus and the latter with a synthesized one. They're equal
in quality, though fans will likely prefer the City of Prague
Philharmonic version that appears here because the real choral ensemble
at the end makes for an excellent finale to the album. Overall, the
worth of this album, as per usual with most compilations, comes down to
your interest in the individual selections included on it. The
performances of
E.T. of
Contact aren't indicative of the
whole album, nor should anyone purchasing it solely for the track
representing
The X-Files. However, it you're an Elfman fan,
Alien enthusiast, or generally enjoy the electronic atmosphere
traditionally created by Christopher Young, John Carpenter, or John
Beal, then it'll likely do. For hardened listeners, the Goldenthal title
cue to
Roswell is probably the hidden gem. "Watch the Skies" may
lack the consistency of "Heart of the Ocean," simply because the tracks
so wildly vary in style and quality. But Sonic Images' technique of
combining previously established performances of big name titles with
those of their more obscure, featured artists and original recordings
was an avenue of production that has gone missed in the years since the
label ceased these endeavors.
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