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The X-Files
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2011 La-La Land (Volume 1)
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2013 La-La Land (Volume 2)
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2016 La-La Land (Vol. 1 Re-Issue)
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2016 La-La Land (Volume 3)
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2017 La-La Land (Event Series)
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2019 La-La Land (Season 11)
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2020 La-La Land (Volume 4)
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Composed and Co-Produced by:
Mark Snow
Additional Music and Co-Produced by:
Jeff Charbonneau
Co-Produced by:
Chris Carter
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LABELS & RELEASE DATES
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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The 1996 Warner album was a regular U.S. release, readily available for a
long time. The 2011 La-La Land set (Volume 1) was limited to 3,000 copies and was offered
for $50 at soundtrack specialty outlets before selling out, after which its value
increased by three times. The 2013 La-La Land set (Volume 2) is also limited to 3,000 copies
and sold initially for $50 at the same soundtrack specialty outlets.
The same contents of the 2011 Volume 1 set were re-issued in 2016 by La-La Land, with 2,000
copies selling for $40 in condensed packaging. The 2016 La-La Land set (Volume 3) is limited
to 3,000 copies and sold initially for $50 at the same soundtrack specialty outlets. The 2017
La-La Land Season Ten album ("The Event Series") is limited to 3,000 copies and sold
initially for $25 at those soundtrack specialty outlets.
Later pressings of the Volume 3 set were issued in condensed packaging. The 2019 Season
Eleven album is limited to 3,000 copies and debuted for $25. The 2020 La-La Land set (Volume 4)
is limited to 2,000 copies and sold initially for $50 at the soundtrack specialty outlets.
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AWARDS
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Nominated for six Emmy Awards (1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002).
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... on the comprehensive 4-CD sets from 2011 to 2020 spanning
all of the seasons of Mark Snow's impressive contributions to the
concept if you desire most of the noteworthy and prominent cues heard
within the context of the show.
Avoid it... on those pricey sets and instead seek the 1996
single-CD release if you have no interest in the more dynamic, humorous,
and strikingly beautiful music from the show's later seasons and instead
want the darker, atonal, and atmospheric music from the first three
seasons.
BUY IT
 | | Snow |
The X-Files: (Mark Snow) An enigma on television
due to its incredibly smart and imaginative science-fiction writing,
Chris Carter's cult classic series "The X-Files" flirted with the
mainstream while entertaining alien and conspiracy enthusiasts through
most of the 1990's. Its complicated narrative arc spanned decades and
dealt with the FBI's complicit relationship with an invading alien
species, a plan foiled in part by a small group of agents determined to
learn the truth of the matter. Although soiled by a pair of unfortunate
feature films, the concept's legacy on television is almost unvarnished,
only the departure of one of its two stars in two of its seasons
diminishing its lasting appeal. The series was resurrected to acclaim in
the late 2010's for shorter seasons extending the same narrative and
cast. Carter's regular composing collaborator for his several series on
television has been Mark Snow, a veteran of small screen music on tight
budgets. After the first nine seasons and countless hundreds of hours of
music written for "The X-Files," Snow's library of material for the
concept was eventually quite immense. As the composer for almost all of
the original music heard in the series, his contribution improved as the
series reached its pinnacle of quality in the late 1990's. He won the
ASCAP Award for "Top TV Series" for the four seasons spanning 1996
through 1999 and was nominated for an Emmy for his music in episodes
from five of the last six seasons (including the final episode itself).
Fans of the series continue to debate about which distinct half of
Snow's music for "The X-Files" is better matched for the series. His
initial four or five seasons of music established the edgy, often
dissonant low range tones that defined the "sound" of the series. In
later years, and most notably starting in season seven, Snow began to
branch out into music that was not only more easily tonal but also
increasingly extroverted and humorous. From the powerfully percussive
and somewhat lighthearted rhythms in the episodes "First Person Shooter"
and "Fight Club" to the heartbreaking female vocals mixed prominently in
the "Within" and "Without" episodes opening the eighth season, Snow
began providing music for the series that stood distinctly in the
forefront of the episodes' sound mix. Casual viewers of "The X-Files"
were drawn to the more emotionally accessible style that Snow applied to
the show with grace in later years, though the hardcore fans still
maintain a loyalty to the bleak atmospheres of the show's earlier
musical identity. Interestingly, the only full album of music from "The
X-Files" that was released during its initial nine-year run was called
"The Truth and the Light," a 1996 compilation of random cues heard in
episodes from the show's first three seasons. As such, avid fans of the
series seeking Snow's darker, ambient, and atonal music had for many
years a very representative compilation of those creepy sounds. But, in
the larger scheme of the "The X-Files" production, the releases of the
feature film scores by Snow for The X-Files: Fight the Future and
The X-Files: I Want to Believe did not compensate for the mass of
superior unreleased music from the later years of the series' run on
television. In 2011, La-La Land Records offered a long awaited
3,000-copy, 4-CD compilation of over 300 minutes of material from the
show. (After selling out, it was re-issued by the label in 2016 for
another 2,000 copies.) Between 2013 and 2020, another three very similar
volumes (also 4-CDs and 2,000 to 3,000 copies each) followed from La-La
Land as promised, filling in some of the gaps in the first product based
on feedback from fans. La-La Land also offered 2-CD sets of music from
the tenth season, originally known as the "Event Series," and eleventh
season as well. For the purposes of this review, all of the album
releases for the music of the television incarnation of the show will be
discussed in succession below. The 1996 single-CD compilation from
Warner Brothers is a somewhat odd collection of music from the first
three seasons; hardcore fans were immediately able to find significant
cues missing from within even this subset of the show's soundtrack.
Snow's choices for inclusion on the album cover many of the motifs that
would reoccur in several episodes, however, including the hopeful, but
restrained piano solo in "Lamenta" that was the earliest incarnation of
a caring relationship between agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The
title theme, of course, is the most recognizable piece, and its extended
performance here offers secondary sections of the theme's famous
electronically manipulated whistling that are far more enjoyable than
its primary statements. The more listenable portions of the Snow's music
for the show often accompany individual moments of reflection by Mulder
or Scully, and in these solo performances of woodwinds, strings, or
piano, Snow excels. The majority of the music on the compilation,
however, is representative of the synthetic atmospheres famous in their
gritty, unnerving contributions to "The X-Files." When compared to the
vast variety in tonal sounds later in the show, most of these early cues
are largely unlistenable apart from the shows, except, of course, for
the most ardent fans of the concept. Unless you considered yourself to be among the most avid
enthusiasts of "The X-Files," the 1996 compilation probably left you
wanting far more. The album's production is somewhat controversial as
well. Five minutes of music by sound editor Jeff Charbonneau open and
close the album, leaving only 43 minutes by Snow. The product is
littered with dialogue from the show, which is, in concept, a good move,
especially considering the relationship that Snow's music has with that
dialogue. The voices are layered with an eerie, wet mix, set back
slightly from the music. In some cases, these vocal mixes are brilliant,
including the "Adflatus" and "Progigno de Axis" tracks, but at other
times, they hinder the flow of one track to another. At times, a shout
or cry for help is used as a transition from one musical cue to another,
a nice touch given the unpredictability of the show. But the
inconsistent incorporation of dialogue hinders the album's continuity.
The use of Latin track titles, along with no information about which
episode each cue originally comes from, causes significant
dissatisfaction with the album. While it remained a very basically
adequate souvenir of sorts from the first three seasons of "The
X-Files," Snow's music from the later years of the show was always far
more deserving of release on CD, rendering this product frustrating.
Interestingly, the Warner album remained relevant even after the 4-CD
set from La-La Land, though, because the massive collection released in
2011 concentrated far more heavily on Snow's more palatable music. The
presentation on that large set is streamlined, too, leaving behind the
eccentric qualities of the previous album (including the dialogue) and
instead opting for a conservatively comprehensive presentation of Snow's
arguably best music from the entire duration of the show. Those seeking
an emphasis on the tense, edgy side of Snow's overall soundtrack will
still need to reference the 1996 album. While some of that material is
provided on the 2011 set, the product instead focuses on Snow's rhythmic
action material, quirky humorous sideshows, and gorgeous moments of
lament. The spread of material is mostly even across the life of the
show, emphasizing the most important episodes to a greater degree and
usually providing anywhere from two to four cues from them. On each of
the four CDs, a varying recording of the main theme opens and closes the
presentation, conveying the many different long and short main title
versions as well as the remixed suites that had been touched upon on
previous albums. The set closes out with the "I Made This" and "20th
Century Fox Fanfare" snippets that always concluded the end
credits. What follows in this review is an abridged track analysis
of the 2011 "Volume 1" set, and some of the references may not make much
sense to those who did not watch "The X-Files" with regularity. Some
general observations for casual listeners will be saved for the end of
the review. The music from the pilot that opens the first CD is very
sparse, slightly contemporary at its outset; it's interesting to hear
not because of its immediate prowess, but rather its display of how far
the music evolved through the years. Snow often conjured his most
interesting instrumental techniques for the villains of the individual
episodes, and the score for the episode "Squeeze" would be sadly generic
if not for the random plucking effect for its antagonist. More palatable
in an ambience sense is the light rhythmic movement for "Fallen Angel."
Likewise a first season highlight is the pretty piano theme for the
titular character in "Roland," an idea well adapted into dying
variations in the rest of the score. Snow's standard, percussively
slapping chase formulas are explored in "The Erlenmeyer Flask," yielding
here to creepy, tonal ambience for Scully's discovery of the aliens'
existence. Season Two's portion of the set opens with a rambling piano
line that sadly expresses Mulder's despondency in "Little Green Men," an
idea that would inform much of the later sad material stated by Snow
throughout the series. In "The Host," Snow opens with a synthetically
sharp suspense cue with a slight Russian choral hint that leads to harsh
stingers for the toxic villain. The highlight of Season Two is likely
"One Breath," an episode well represented on this CD. After the first
two tracks toil with troubled but inoffensive ambient chords, Snow
returns to the rambling piano loops for Mulder's concern about Scully
and his job. The final two tracks in this suite softly reprise the
earlier ambient chords, but this time with a sense of resolution; the
synthetic choir and tonal nature make these cues quite easy on the ears.
Slightly less impressive is the music from "Anasazi," soft plucking with
ambient synths in "The Mourn" stating the title theme softly but the two
following cues building from equivalent suspense to percussive action.
As the series progressed, Snow would reference the title theme more
frequently within the various emotional states of the underscore, the
fragmented hints finally producing full quotations in the last few
seasons' romantic music. The second CD in the 2011 set moves on to
Season Three, the piano material from "One Breath" in Season Two
returning in the first track from "Nisei." An ethnic woodwind phrase for
the Japanese scientists in this episode is joined by a tapped percussive
rhythm for the train on which their work is conducted.
The first really poignant, outward piano melody of the
2011 set comes for the mass grave sequence in Season Three's "731." The
long action cue that follows, "Derailed," is sufficient but doesn't
really cook until its rambunctious end. Swishing two-note phrases
accompany Sully's investigation tonally in "Piper Maru." It's hard to
take the music in "Jose Chiung's From Outer Space" completely seriously,
opening with an appropriately quiet abduction sequence that lacks
gravity. Still, that episode does feature a piano motif for Chung and
Mulder that represents their equivalent loneliness; this melody in
"Closure" is one of series' better, concluding with a main theme
statement. The element of beauty really takes off in Season Four's "The
Field Where I Died," a haunting choral cue to represent the idea of
reincarnation running through the episode's music on this set and
offsetting some striking percussive riffs in the second track. Standing
apart from the normal music for The X-Files is Snow's approach to
"Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man." More than most episodes, this one
is treated to a structure that necessarily follows that of a feature
film. The three consecutive cues provided on this set follow the
integral character through recent history's notable assassinations,
quietly tense piano phrases introducing a conspiracy tone in
"Extra-Ordinary Men" before the surprisingly cohesive narrative of the
martial "A Place in History" and a more yearning, sad piano environment
for the shooting in "Respect." The sorrow of Mulder's lonely material
for piano returns in the Emmy-nominated episodic score for "Paper
Hearts." The topic of Mulder's abducted sister first moves through an
alternately ominous, melancholy light choral tone in "El Camino" and
then develops Mulder's piano turbulence into a full crescendo of agony
in "Watergate Heart." Far less appealing is the comparatively formulaic
music from "Kaddish," a somewhat non-descript score except for hints of
Middle-Eastern woodwind lines and some unique percussive jabs to
represent the villain. At the end of the second CD comes perhaps the
best extended cut of the main theme; the interlude of tonally pleasing
shifts near the end has always been a curious favorite. The third CD
blasts through Season Five relatively quickly, but it does include music
from the popular Emmy-winning black and white episode "The Post-Modern
Prometheus." Known for its primary chime theme for the town (fashioned
after The Elephant Man), much of the music from this episode
reflects a nasty little waltz that reminds in many ways of Danny
Elfman's early sensibilities; in the second track, Snow bloats the
devious waltz into a full, synthetic carnival of horror.
Season Five's presentation on the third CD in the set
dives into Snow's wealth of melancholy material for the heartbreaking
elements that thrive in the latter seasons of "The X-Files." A touching
piano and celesta theme for Scully's discovery of a daughter in
"Christmas Carol" is translated into a choral conclusion to this cue
that is among the show's many brief musical highlights. An even lovelier
higher choral tone is afforded to that theme in the following "Emily."
The inclusion of the track from "The End" seems done because of the
episode's importance rather than the merits of the music alone. Aside
from a resounding conclusion to the track (with the importance of a
chime and a hint of the title theme to denote finality), the cue is a
bit generic in sum. The substantial Season Six portions of the 2011 set
open with the episode "Triangle," known for its long, single-shot scene
showing Scully's growing panic over Mulder's disappearance. Snow's
layering of activity and samples of orchestral sounds seems much
improved by this point in the show, smartly utilizing a tense rhythmic
series of main theme fragments as well. The comical "Dreamland"
body-switching pair of episodes has some of Snow's lightest comedy thus
far, represented best in "Home Sweet Home," but the score's oddly
effective glue is an oboe identity for the character of an Area 51 crony
in whose body Mulder finds himself trapped. The second part of that
story continues development of that identity and smarty uses the oboe
motif for actual Mulder at the end as a bit of a joke. The monumental
suite on CD3 in the set comes from the very memorable "How the Ghosts
Stole Christmas," another large, film-like score for a particularly
mind-bending episode. Amongst its obvious tongue-in-cheek suspense and
light-hearted comedy are dancing organ and harpsichord performances that
touch upon all the stereotypes of a haunted house score. The choral and
piano gravity in "Fair Warning" finally takes the suite darkly dramatic,
though the climax in "Star Crossed Bullets" is manic and entertaining.
As the episode closes out with long-overdue romantic gestures between
the leads, Snow unveils very pretty, touching piano and string
renditions of the main theme in almost unrecognizable beauty in "A
Gift," foreshadowing the inevitable closure of the series' music. In
"Two Fathers," Snow struggles through some generic ambient keyboarding
for an important scene before reprising Mulder's early piano motif for
the slowly unraveling panic in "A Mother's Abduction." Also adequate in
sum but saving the best for last is the track from "One Son," concluding
with appealing piano rhythms and brass figures.
The final CD on the 2011 set takes the score further into
the romantic realm while also wrapping up some loose ends for Snow and
Carter. Season Seven opens CD4 with a few strangely non-descript
choices, the light, slightly urban piano rhythms of "The Goldberg
Variation" and the suspense cue with chimes and a few stingers from "The
Sixth Extinction" failing to retain attention. From "The Sixth
Extinction II," however, the short but famous "kiss cue" of pretty
ethereal choir and piano solace is nice to hear and is reminiscent of
some of the fantasy-like ambience of Snow's 1997 television score for
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Carter devoted some time in Season
Seven to wrapping up his cancelled "Millennium" show, which Snow also
scored. The composer's music for the epilogic episode here isn't
spectacular in its droning suspense approach, but it does offer sampled
violin performance of a theme from the other show. The second track,
"The End of the Crusade" has additional closure to "Millennium" and then
returns to the previous, beautiful, piano-led main theme references for
another kiss at the end of the episode. An interesting, but not
particularly enjoyable sample of the source-like chime material for
Gillian Anderson's "All Things" follows. It's overshadowed by an immense
parody score for "Hollywood A.D." and its intentionally over-the-top
scoring techniques that directly (and appropriately) refute the actual
music of the series. "Sniper Zombies" is a feature-like brass and string
action cue with a romantic end that is a funny play on the previous kiss
scene music with the main theme. Meanwhile, "Dancing Bones" is an
amusing play on the "Skeleton Dance" for organ and xylophone and
"Hollywood" offers a silly 1950's-like showbiz motif for dreamy strings
and choir. Another lofty variation of previous romance material from the
episode in "The Kiss" again references the main theme at its end. The
amount of music from Season Eight on this compilation is frightfully
minimal, but what exists is both important and a highlight of the entire
show's duration. The duo of "Within" and "Without" follows Scully's
solemn search for clues about Mulder's whereabouts (after David Duchovny
skipped out on the series), and for the entirety of this season, Snow
provides "Scully's Serenade" as her lonely identity. This cue's 90
seconds is heard almost unimpeded at the start of the season, carrying
the full weight of the episodes' mix at times and serving as the voice
of a character lost without a partner. The female vocal version of this
theme remains the most famous because of this prominent position in
several places during these episodes, the performer singing "we are
near" in an unrecognizable but gorgeously appropriate incantation.
A strong orchestral action cue with a quote of the main
theme from horns represents "Without" on this set's presentation of
Season Eight, but the serenade theme returns for another phenomenal
rendition in the cue "Starspeak" from the frustrating episode "This is
Not Happening." In this stunningly clear version, Snow replaces the
vocalist with a solo trumpet for an even longer performance of the idea.
The instrument returns in the important "Hidden Truths/Big Happening"
cue, joined by chorus as Mulder is discovered and then lost again. The
anguish heard in the trumpet part at end has a strange touch of Mark
Knopfler's The Princess Bride but is nonetheless very appealing.
Like "Millennium," Carter sought to wrap up his work on the "Lone
Gunmen" spin-off involving three supporting characters in the arc of
"The X-Files." The episode "Jump the Shark" accomplishes that task,
opening with the "Lone Gunmen" theme on hard electric guitar and
segueing to a humorous reference to the oboe theme for the Area 51
operative from the "Dreamland" episodes. The "Lone Gunmen" theme returns
playfully on piano in "Weird Organs" and "Requiem" follows some light
action with a trumpet tribute to their theme as well. The sudden burst
of guitar attitude at the outset of "Triangle" will definitely wake a
person out of a slumber; most of Snow's cues for this show don't explode
with such volume at the outset. From the episode "Release," Snow writes
one of his most accomplished rolling piano rhythms in the cue "The Tip,"
his elegant neo-classical performances over plucked strings a highlight
of the final season. This theme returns in "A Synopsis & Release,"
ending with pretty, solemn closure on synthesizers. For his work on the
finale, "The Truth," Snow earned his sixth Emmy nomination for the
series, and it's somewhat surprising that a wider assortment of music
from this pair of episodes is not presented on this product. The first
part of that two-episode finale is represented solely by "Mount
Weather," an ambitious action cue with pulsating militaristic rhythms
and slight statements of the main theme. From "The Truth Part 2," Snow's
important climactic cue of action, "Scary Story/For Whom the Smoke
Blows," isn't particularly notable until its ominous choral conclusion
over powerful percussive hits. Far more palatable is "The Truth is
Inside," Snow's tribute to the show's main theme in the form of a softly
dramatic but finally resolved series of keyboarded performances. The
bittersweet harmony of this cue concludes with the whistling from the
titles in unison with the ensemble sound, the progressions of the theme
allowed an opportunity to say goodbye in rare, satisfyingly tonal
partnership.
Overall, the 2011 set, re-issued in 2016, is an
outstanding summary of the show's music. Some memorable cues, like the
punchy rhythms from "Fight Club" (a.k.a. the Kathy Griffin episode),
were absent, but similar material eventually graced the second volume
set from La-La Land in 2013. Enthusiasts of "The X-Files" will need
little introduction to any of the music existing on the first volume.
For casual observers looking to dabble their toes in the muddy waters of
this expansive and expensive set, it's difficult to say if it will offer
enough unique highlights to justify the cost. Aside from the occasional
episodes requiring crazy, unique music, most of Snow's output can be
classified in one of three categories: ambient suspense, sparse action,
or sorrowful beauty. The first two are somewhat betrayed by the limited
electronic setup employed by Snow; no matter how much the sampling of
orchestral sounds improved over time, the action music especially
continued to lack gravity (or balls, if you wish) in the final seasons.
The suspense music, most often represented by shifty synthetic chords in
an unnerving environment of dissonance, all begins to sound alike after
a while. Thus, the only common portion of Snow's music to accompany the
outwardly unique episodic scores is the material he wrote from the
melancholy aspect of "The X-Files." Fortunately, a person could take all
of these cues on the 2011 set and assemble them into twenty to thirty
minutes of outstanding music, putting a stamp of approval on the product
simply for these assembled tracks. Sound quality on the product is
fitting for the ambience sought, but there are moments when the mix
sounds less resounding than in the episodes themselves. The "Scully's
Serenade" cue is perhaps the easiest benchmark by which to make this
comparison. Since it existed in its debut episodes in a mix by itself,
the cue was easy to transfer to hard drive for lossless appreciation
over the ten years to follow. Interestingly, even after boiled down to
its standard stereo mix, the version heard in the episode is
significantly clearer in its presentation of the vocals than what you
hear on the CD track. That said, such quibbles are only for extreme fans
of the show, and despite its initial $50 price tag, the 2011 set was a
long overdue and highly recommended reminder of that fact. Not
surprisingly, at only 3,000 copies in its initial run, the set sold out
rather quickly and eventually fetched $250 on the secondary market
within a year. While the 2013 "Volume 2" set of equal length, price, and
similar physical packaging did not sell out quite as quickly, it
eventually became the rarest of the sets, meeting expectations of the
show's fanbase and serving as an excellent compliment to the prior
product.
The "Volume 2" set of 2013 isn't as remarkable a
collection of highlights as its predecessor, and it thus won't receive
the same depth of analysis here, but any enthusiast of the show will be
well served by it. A concerted effort was made by the album's producers
to select more mystery and thriller music from the show to balance the
melodic tilt of the first set. That said, the resulting 300 minutes on
the second volume still contain plenty of melodic portions, often
existing amongst the mysterious sequences and thus inseparable. While
the attractiveness of the 2013 product isn't quite as consistent, there
are still plenty of highlights, enough to recommend it to even those not
interested in the thrashing thriller portions. For the most part, the
presentation is still in order (only a couple of tracks are switched
around for listening continuity purposes), and, as you might expect,
given the emphasis on the darker conspiracy and monster-related
selections, most of the music on this set comes from the first half of
the show's run, when the melodic inclinations for the concept were still
underdeveloped by Snow. This review will touch upon some highlights from
each of the four CDs. From the Season One episode "Young at Heart," the
pair of "Youth" and "Shot in the Crowd" offer slight Omen-like chorus
over piano. The latter is represented well as it meanders over tonal
atmosphere in "Swimming With Sharks" and "Here We Go" from the episode
"E.B.E." The chorus returns in the Season Two episode "Die Hand Die
Verletzt" with a more combative and exotic touch. Two long suites from
the pivotal "End Game" episode from Season Two are varied in emotional
reach but not as memorable as hoped. Also from that season, "Eaten by
Light" in "Soft Light" offers one of Snow's most relaxing rhythmic
sustains in lighter shades and makes for easy listening. The action
material on the set may not really be plentiful, but it is highlighted
by the punchy, highly reverberating "Outmined" in the "Paper Clip"
episode from Season Three. The two cues from the popular "Clyde
Bruckman's Final Repose" episode (a.k.a. the Peter Boyle episode) in
that season feature some of this set's more soothingly pensively
accessible material. Among Snow's better episodic scores is the one for
Season Three's finale, "Talitha Cumi," lending enhanced gravity to
Mulder's personal dilemma though choral eeriness, piano rhythms, and
powerful drones on key. While that combination sounds pretty typical to
these scores in general, the execution in these cues is better than
usual. Enthusiasts of Snow's clanging percussion mode will appreciate
the dynamic "Needle Neck" cue from the opening Season Four episode
"Herrenvolk."
On the second half of the 2013 set, the Season Four
episodes of "Terma" and "Tempus Fugit" enjoy multiple cues each and
exemplify Snow's more poignant and melodramatic string-flavored mystery
element. That sound stretches into distinctly more urgent territory in
the Season Four finale, "Gethsemane," which receives significant
treatment (over 20 minutes!) on this set even though some of it could
have been trimmed in favor of other episodic music. The "Remission"
track from "Redux II" in the two-part opener for Season Five exhibits
more instrumental colors for Snow, finishing with pleasant woodwind
tones. The composer's palette of sounds can definitely be heard
improving over the course of the show (and thus both CD sets). Snow's
melodic tendencies shine in the Season Five episode "The Red and the
Black," the generous presentation of its ideas including both the pretty
and evocative material and one harrowing action cue. The two cues from
"All Souls" in Season Five are attractive exercises in Snow's handling
of vocal sampling in a redemptive 11-minute representation here.
Conversely, the two cues from "S.R. 819" in Season Six are exhibits of
Snow's celeste-like tones in rhythmic movement. Darkness returns with
force in Season Six's "Biogenesis," the one cue from that episode more
forcefully deep in the bass than most in the series. The drama is strong
but not as resonating as remembered in the vital Season Seven "Requiem"
episode, though there are several nice fragments of the main theme from
the show in the soft conversational underscore. After a quick diversion
to Season Nine (a varied, long suite from "4-D" that ends with a lovely
piano theme in "Pulling the Plug"), the Season Eight episode "Existence"
is offered 13 minutes that serves as an excellent survey of Snow's harsh
horror, militaristic force, and trumpet-led heroism. The serenade theme
of lament for Scully returns for Mulder's funeral service in Season
Eight's "Deep Six," albeit with trumpet again instead of female vocals.
The following track, "AliveAlive," closes out the episodes on this album
with one of the show's more emotionally impactful and lovely tonal
moments, including a memorable performance of the main theme. Whereas,
generally speaking, the second La-La Land set concentrates on the darker
shades of the show's music, the label's third set, released in 2016,
explores a completely different scheme. It concentrates on supplying
more complete scores from individual episodes of importance, either in
the overarching mythological narrative or in the music. The set heavily
favors episodic scores from the first, second, and fifth seasons,
leaving less for enthusiasts of the music from the show's later
years.
This review will address the 2016 "Volume 3" set by
episode, noting individual cues of significance where merited. In Season
One, the "Deep Throat" episode receives easy, tonal, rhythmic suspense
that flows well into the light, fragmented, vaguely melodic ramblings of
"Conduit." In "Space," Snow offers engaging keyboarding throughout with
a somber trumpet solo at end. Likewise, "Gender Bender" concludes with a
compelling finale after a continuation of light keyboarding and breathy
woodwind tones. In the selections from Season Two, the nebulous
combination of common ideas in "Sleepless" yields to nicely noir-like
keyboarding in "3." The episode "Fearful Symmetry" is alluring for its
consistent, slightly exotic suspense rhythm throughout. No music from
Season Three is presented, but Season Four has some of its highlights
included here. Strong, lyrical expressions coexist with lightly punchy
rhythms in "Small Potatoes," and the memorable Chupacabra episode, "El
Mundo Gira," conveys Spanish guitar and other Latin elements with great
ethnic ambience; this was Snow's only full replacement score in the
series after his original music for the episode was rejected. The music
from Season Five starts on CD2 and encompasses all of CD3. The weak
point on the former is the generic, rhythmic pace setting of "The Pine
Bluff Variant," but CD3 starts well with the humorous, Baroque-style
score for "Bad Blood" dominated by woodwind highlights and laced with
some source-like carnival atmosphere. The Lone Gunmen origins episode,
"Unusual Suspects," includes some rather average material with a nicely
dramatic ending, a mundane score compared to "Detour," for which Snow
recorded striking percussion rhythms for jungle creatures. A mystery
motif for piano, harp, and woods highlights this episode in the cue
"Forest Fridge." In the episode "Patient X," listeners are treated with
Snow's use of choral tones representing the concept of abduction. The
music from Season Six on this set is split between CD2 and CD4, the
former being for the episode "Field Trip," which features arguably the
most complete and varied emotional range within a score on the set.
Attractive piano alterations to the main theme can be heard in the cue
"Still Underground" from this episode. The other Season Six score is
from "Drive," remembered most for a decently suspenseful travel motif in
multiple cues. No music from Season Seven is included, unfortunately,
but a highlight of Season Eight is the lone representative from that
year. The episodic score for "Essence" is another very well rounded
musical narrative with, interestingly, clearly superior sound quality.
Muscular action rhythms with wet metallic effects are highlighted by the
"Compacted" cue.
The 2016 "Volume 3" set concludes with one rather bland
score; while most of "Trust No 1" isn't memorable, it does end with
another vocal performance of "Scully's Serenade," and this mournful idea
remains the most impactful identity outside of the main theme in the
entire series. The opening and closing credits from Season One bracket
the entire product. Overall, "Volume 3" is once again an easy
recommendation for those who appreciate Snow's music from the show,
offering additional, long-sought highlights. Like "Volume 2," though, it
likely remains a step behind "Volume 1" in its usefulness for more
casual fans. The same can be said about La-La Land's reportedly final
4-CD set from "The X-Files," reduced in quantity to only 2,000 copies
though retaining the same price point upon its release in 2020. The
label again took suggestions from show enthusiasts for "Volume 4," the
ultimate selection of tracks again concentrating attention on episodes
during the first half of the show's run. The first CD of the set
prominently highlights lightly suspenseful but largely tonal
atmospherics from the Snow's Synclavier, horror passages interrupting
with bursts of percussion. While this CD includes additional music from
the show's pilot episode, its moments of intrigue come in the
challenging, slurred tones of "Darkness Falls" and the emotional
variability of "Ascension," the latter featuring more of the composer's
melodically-inclined keyboarding. Rambling synthetic rhythms in the
"Base Camp" cue from "Firewalker" are also a highlight. Hints of the
title theme are touched upon in "Wolf at the Door" from the "DØd
Kalm," an episode that applies watery percussion effects. The second CD
of the "Volume 4" set highlights five episodes from the third and fourth
seasons, with 24 minutes from the "Apocrypha" representing a substantial
survey of Snow's full range, including the main title sequence for good
measure. From tonal keyboarding to wet percussive slapping, this final
episodic score offers much of Snow's best style of music from the early
seasons. The duo of "Pusher" and "Avatar" are subdued, though the latter
contains some attractive keyboarded moments. A cue written by music
editor Jeff Charbonneau for the Scully tattoo scene in "Never Again" is
distinct in its own synthetic style but an important moment on screen.
The generic chase tones of "Momento Mori" yield to oboe and piano
effects of moderate resolution. The third CD in "Volume 4" jumps all
over the place, from the percussive stingers of "Oubliette" to notable
crescendos in "Anasazi" and "Talitha Cumi," the latter dancing around
the main theme over creative vocal effects. The representation from
"Gethsemane" offers another swell of deeper emotion, following troubled
fragments of the main melody with plucked harp exploration of
sadness.
The "Volume 4" set's third CD also includes the yearning
and soft piano lyricism heard in the episodes "Redux II" and "Mind's
Eye," both tinged with deep cynicism in the clunking bass of their cues.
These deep thumps also inform the chopping, in-your-face tone of
"Chinga," which explodes with some of the set's most harrowing horror
material despite opening with easily accessible mysticism in "Red Eye
Super Saver" for light choral tones. Also struggling with bouts of
all-out horror is the lone cue from the "Kill Switch" episode. The set
then takes a detour with a fairly decent cue, "Smoking Telegram," from
The X-Files: Fight the Future on its third CD as a bonus, an
early swell of revelation for the ensemble a highlight here. This
previously unreleased cue is especially important for fans of the film
as it represents the finale of the score in the narrative. The third CD
then tackles three Season Six episodes, including the highly palatable
"Triangle" and "The Rain King," neither offering anything spectacular
but the latter especially digestible. The more mundane "Tithonus" offers
some vague oboe tones in an otherwise boring suspense atmosphere. The
final CD in that set surveys mostly later seasons and opens with the
humorous "The Chase of Love" from "Three of a Kind," a moment of
tremendous string and woodwind levity with a lighter attitude. Menacing
militaristic chopping follows in "MAX," lighter metallic percussion of
interest. The next tracks offer a pointless interlude of clicking
rhythms from "Rush," anonymous haziness from "Orison," and romanticism
from "En Ami," the last of which laying on a sense of mystery better
enunciated than the typical episodic score. The child-like and eerie
mysticism from "Invocation" is summarized by the creepy but lovely "All
the Pretty Horses," its melody reprised in "Bones." The outright horror
from "Empedocles" is followed by abrasive dissonance from the two
"Nothing Important Happened Today" episodes. A somber sampled trumpet
from "This is Not Happening" highlights the outstandingly emotional and
graceful cue, "The Drop Zone," the tone of that recording nicely setting
up one final variant of "Scully's Serenade" from "Per Manum."
Compositionally co-credited to performer Nicci Sill, this version
contains an extended and more dramatically abrupt ending for her vocals,
and the dominant Season Eight and Season Nine idea remains a pleasure to
hear on every album. The final CD of the set closes out with the
standard end credits arrangement and the Alfred Newman Fox fanfare.
Overall, "Volume 4" is a solid product aimed squarely at completists,
with a more consistent flow of tone and fewer disruptive cues of horror.
It effectively ties up a few loose ends with the music, especially on
the more lyrical end of the spectrum.
In 2017, as the 4-CD sets from the original run of the
series continued to drive demand, La-La Land started releasing
standalone albums aimed at representing the two awkward and
underdeveloped later seasons of "The X-Files," the Season Ten product
(originally termed "The Event Series" when nobody knew if subsequent
seasons would exist) containing music from all six episodes but only
offering one short suite from the comedic "Mulder and Scully Meet the
Were-Monster" episode, easily the most varied and memorable material
from the season, albeit existing in short, spastic cues. The production
values of the Season Ten music are noticeably improved in Snow's
electronics, his vintage Synclavier tones augmented with newer synthetic
samples to satisfy evolving listener expectations and the characters'
more current existence. That said, many of these atmospheric tools are
not all that attractive, and most of the Season Ten episodes rely on
predictable dissonance and stingers. The conclusive cliffhanger, "My
Struggle II," is wholly unpleasant and, as necessary, sends the season
off with terrifyingly abrasive music. Gone from much of the season are
Snow's better rhythmic devices, the propulsion element yielding to
general ambience. The melodic portions are sadly underplayed, the
narrative elements of Mulder and Scully's relatives, including their
son, inspiring the season's only major melodic motif of interest. This
material is concentrated in the episodes "Founder's Mutation" and "Home
Again," and it yields some intermittent cello solos of merit to soften
the environment. To his credit, Snow does continue to work the concept's
main theme into subtle interpolations throughout, though not always as
satisfyingly as in the show's previous run. The Season Nine main title
arrangement persists, but a new end credits recording is of moderate
intrigue; the remix's harsher edge will bother some devoted listeners.
In the end, the Season Ten album is a nice addition for a hardcore fan
of the concept, but it is sadly underwhelming compared to the highlights
from prior seasons. The exact same could be said of Snow's music for the
longer and equally bittersweet Season Eleven, for which La-La Land
released a 2-CD set in 2019. For this season, Snow had to rely on his
assistants, most notably Louis Febre, to carry more of the arranging and
programming load because of the show's hectic production schedule. The
opening and closing credits music carries over intact from Season Ten (a
new arrangement would have been welcomed by this point), with three of
the season's ten episodes (the two "My Struggle" follow-ups and
"Ghouli") supplying the series' primary story arc. Snow maintains
loyalty to his previous styles in these instances, the execution of this
atmosphere and action material following Season Ten's lead.
In the early episodes of Season Eleven, and especially
"This," Snow does unleash a more coordinated rhythmic technique for the
constant chasing. Later in the season, he strays into the realm of the
bizarre more frequently, from the extremely minimal textures of the
hilarious robot revenge episode, "Rm9sbG93ZXJz," to the demented
children's show jingle of "Mr. Chuckleteeth" in the episode "Familiar."
Listeners seeking Snow's lyrical passages will be somewhat pleased but
not overwhelmed, the main title theme appearing rather frequently in
about half the episodes but no other significant interpolations carrying
over. The closing of the "Kitten" episode ("The Seeds of Mistrust")
offers the main theme in a cyclical, rhythmic mode before an austere
trumpet motif closes the Skinner episode's military connections. The
piano, bass, and string waltz for the villain late in "Loved You on
Dragnet" from the episode "Nothing Lasts Forever" is nice diversion from
the horror surrounding it. There are a handful of subdued cues of
romantic inclination for Mulder and Scully's relationship, and these
remain highlights. The main theme occupies one of these sequences in "In
the Realm of Possibilities" to close out the episode "Plus One," and
Snow extends lovely, melodic piano and cello figures to the cue, "To
Find Each Other," in "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat." The composer does
bring back the solo female voice for Sully's lamentation, though without
the full serenade theme, unfortunately. A brief performance of this
style closes out the "Ghouli" episode in "Stand For Something," but the
highlight of the scores for Season Eleven is the end of the conclusive
episode, "My Struggle IV." In the cue, "He Shot Him and He Shot Me,"
Snow revisits "The Surgery" from The X-Files: I Want to Believe
after its use as the temp track for the heartbreaking final embrace
between Mulder and Scully proved impactful. That said, the arrangement
of this style for the cue here is understated, and some listeners may
not even make the musical connection. While certainly pretty and vaguely
hopeful, the cue seems underplayed in the scene, whereas a straight
reprise of "The Surgery" would have better represented the tender and
redemptive moment. Ultimately, the Eleventh Season set offers about ten
minutes of memorable highlights from that season, but the more highly
recommended 4-CD sets speak volumes about the quality of Snow's output
for the series. His work for "The X-Files" cannot rival the instrumental
complexity of music forthcoming on the small screen for "Lost" or
"Battlestar Galactica," nor does it really maintain the motific
coordination that those later shows would enjoy. But as a largely
one-man compositional and performance result, Snow's music remains an
impressive body of work that evolved greatly in conjunction with the
show. @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Show: ****
- Music as Heard on the 1996 Album: **
- Music as Heard on the 4-CD "Volume 1-4" Sets: ****
- Music as Heard on the 2017 and 2019 Late Season Sets: ***
- Overall: ****
Mark Snow
Agent Shadow - December 22, 2012, at 7:21 p.m. |
1 comment (1199 views) |
| 1996 Warner Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 48:36 |
• 1. Introitus: Praeceps Transito Spatium (1:51) (Introduction: On the Edge of Travel through Space)
• 2. Materia Primoris: The X-Files Theme (3:22) (Main Title)
• 3. Raptus (3:16) (Abduction)
• 4. Adflatus (3:36) (Inspired Breath)
• 5. Deverbero (1:28) (A Sound Thrashing)
• 6. Cantus Excio (4:42) (Chant of Exorcism)
• 7. Mercutura (3:23) (The Merchandise)
• 8. Lamenta (1:48) (Song of Sorrow)
• 9. Insequi (1:37) (Hot Pursuit)
• 10. Otium (1:43) (Peace)
• 11. Dubitatio (2:49) (In Doubt)
• 12. Iter (1:20) (Journey)
• 13. Progigno de Axis (1:35) (The Offspring of Axis)
• 14. Carmen Amatorium Ex Arcanum (2:39) (Love Song of Mystery)
• 15. Facetus Malum (2:42) (Comic Misfortune)
• 16. Memoria (2:02) (Remembrance)
• 17. Mitis Lumen (2:41) (Soft Light)
• 18. Fides Fragilis (1:35) (Fragile Faith)
• 19. Exoptare Ex Veritas (1:30) (Desire for Truth)
• 20. Kyrie (2:57) (Mass)
| |
(English translation included after each track) |
| 2011 La-La Land Volume 1/2016 Re-Issue Albums Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 311:27 |
CD 1: (72:58)
• 1. The X Files Main Title (Season 1) (0:48)
Season One: Pilot
• 2. Scully to DC/Scully Meets Mulder (1:21)
• 3. The Close Encounter (2:16)
• 4. Scully & FBI Goon (0:35)
• 5. FBI Secret Vaults (1:14)
Season One: Squeeze
• 6. Hidden Away (1:38)
• 7. Slimed (0:41)
• 8. Cuffed and Tubbed (2:16)
Season One: Fallen Angel
• 9. On the Waterfront/Suspended Max (6:11)
Season One: Roland
• 10. Sweeper (1:47)
• 11. Out the Window (1:29)
• 12. Ramblin' Roland (2:05)
Season One: The Erlenmeyer Flask
• 13. Green Goo Chase (2:12)
• 14. The Wells Brain (5:17)
Season Two: Little Green Men
• 15. Dead Man's Thoughts (2:00)
• 16. Fish Food (3:15)
Season Two: The Host
• 17. Two Miles Off Jersey (2:45)
• 18. Honey Wagon (2:03)
• 19. Guillotined (3:54)
Season Two: One Breath
• 20. The Return (1:59)
• 21. Uniforms (3:18)
• 22. Players (3:33)
• 23. Trust Your Pistol (0:58)
• 24. Reanimation (1:32)
• 25. Guardian Angel (1:13)
Season Two: Anasazi
• 26. The Mourn (3:20)
• 27. Mercy Wound (4:08)
• 28. Anasazi (8:35)
• 29. The X Files End Credit (Extended #1) (0:35)
CD 2: (79:00)
• 1. The X Files Main Title (Short) (0:37)
Season Three: Nisei
• 2. Choo Choo Sushi (4:09)
• 3. Rail Song (6:42)
Season Three: 731
• 4. Graves (2:55)
• 5. Derailed (11:53)
Season Three: Piper Maru
• 6. Back in the Hood (4:51)
Season Three: Jose Chung's From Outer Space
• 7. Harold & Chrissy (2:27)
• 8. Closure (4:45)
Season Four: The Field Where I Died
• 9. Dim Memories (1:05)
• 10. Jonestown Cocktail (6:23)
Season Four: Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
• 11. Extra-Ordinary Men (2:09)
• 12. A Place in History (6:04)
• 13. Respect (1:37)
Season Four: Paper Hearts
• 14. El Camino (6:39)
• 15. Watergate Heart (2:28)
Season Four: Kaddish
• 16. Hanging Boy (2:47)
• 17. Spirit Wedding (9:15)
• 18. The X Files End Credit (Extended Remix) (2:11)
|
CD 3: (79:51)
• 1. The X Files Main Title (Remix - Short) (0:37)
Season Five: The Post-Modern Prometheus
• 2. JJ's Diner (1:50)
• 3. Post-Modern Posse (9:20)
Season Five: Christmas Carol
• 4. MoTher Genes (3:53)
Season Five: Emily
• 5. Little Box of Sand (7:37)
Season Five: The End
• 6. Closure (8:08)
Season Six: Triangle
• 7. Quest for Swath (8:50)
Season Six: Dreamland
• 8. Roadblock (1:05)
• 9. Home Sweet Home (2:14)
• 10. The Imposter (6:31)
Season Six: Dreamland II
• 11. A Brief History of Fox (1:27)
• 12. Number 42 (1:56)
Season Six: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas
• 13. House Organ/Irrational Fear (4:40)
• 14. Bricks (0:39)
• 15. Piano on the Tack (1:28)
• 16. Fair Warning (3:03)
• 17. Star Crossed Bullets (3:05)
• 18. A Gift (1:45)
Season Six: Two Fathers
• 19. The Patriarch (2:23)
• 20. A MoTher's Abduction (3:02)
Season Six: One Son
• 21. Train Tune (4:47)
• 22. The X Files End Credit (Extended #2) (1:31)
CD 4: (79:38)
• 1. The X Files Main Title (7th Season) (0:48)
Season Seven: The Goldberg Variation
• 2. Five Cards (3:09)
Season Seven: The Sixth Extinction
• 3. Sea of Blood (5:57)
Season Seven: The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
• 4. The Martyr (1:28)
Season Seven: Millennium
• 5. The Smell of Zombies (4:58)
• 6. The End of the Crusade (2:15)
Season Seven: All Things
• 7. Waterson (3:13)
Season Seven: Hollywood A.D.
• 8. Sniper Zombies (3:41)
• 9. Dancing Bones (2:18)
• 10. Hollywood (1:04)
• 11. The Kiss (1:04)
Season Eight: Within
• 12. Scully's Serenade (1:37)
Season Eight: Without
• 13. Hide & Seek (2:03)
Season Eight: This is Not Happening
• 14. Starspeak (2:57)
• 15. Hidden Truths/Big Happening (3:21)
Season Nine: Jump the Shark
• 16. Triangle (0:41)
• 17. Weird Organs (2:01)
• 18. Lone Gunmen Requiem (8:13)
Season Nine: Release
• 19. The Tip (2:33)
• 20. A Synopsis & Release (5:38)
Season Nine: The Truth Part 1
• 21. Mount WeaTher (6:32)
Season Nine: The Truth Part 2
• 22. Scary Story/For Whom the Smoke Blows (7:26)
• 23. The Truth is Inside (3:01)
• 24. The X Files Main Title (remix) (3:25)
• 25. I Made This/20th Century Fox Fanfare* (0:09)
|
* composed by Alfred Newman |
| 2013 La-La Land Volume 2 Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 298:27 |
CD 1: (74:49)
• 1. Main Title (Season 1) (0:47)
Season One: Eve
• 2. Swinging Dead Daddy (1:26)
• 3. Meet Your Clone (1:19)
• 4. Attached (0:53)
Season One: Young at Heart
• 5. The Eyes Don't Lie (1:46)
• 6. Ain't Dead Yet (4:03)
• 7. Youth (3:37)
• 8. Shot in the Crowd (2:29)
Season One: E.B.E.
• 9. Swimming With Sharks (5:14)
• 10. Here We Go (2:42)
Season One: Tooms
• 11. Druid Hill (2:42)
• 12. Rats & Babes (1:59)
• 13. Toilet Tooms (5:49)
Season One: Born Again
• 14. Psycho-Electric Attack (6:27)
Season Two: Blood
• 15. Drive for Blood (3:26)
Season Two: Die Hand Die Verletzt
• 16. Prayer (0:45)
• 17. Suicide Exam (2:34)
• 18. Snake Hold (1:22)
Season Two: Colony
• 19. Hypothermia (2:43)
• 20. Alta (2:35)
Season Two: End Game
• 21. Scully's Discovery/Mulder's E-Mail Message/
Skinner Helps Scully (8:19)
• 22. Showdown/Saving Mulder/
Faith to Keep Looking (11:18)
CD 2: (74:23)
• 1. Main Title (2nd Season) (0:49)
Season Two: Soft Light
• 2. Eaten by Light (2:44)
• 3. Spontaneous Combustion (4:39)
• 4. Shadow on the Wall (2:21)
Season Two: F. Emasculata
• 5. Flesh on Bone (4:31)
• 6. Pustule Package (3:21)
Season Three: The Blessing Way
• 7. Blown Up and Beaten (2:50)
Season Three: Paper Clip
• 8. Smoky Gets in Your Eyes (2:52)
• 9. Outmined (2:23)
• 10. Sacrifice/Skinner Gets Skinned (4:04)
Season Three: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
• 11. Yappi (2:18)
• 12. Dumpster (3:00)
Season Three: Grotesque
• 13. Disarmed (1:28)
Season Three: Talitha Cumi
• 14. Fries and Faith (2:38)
• 15. Discreet Distance (3:04)
Season Four: Herrenvolk
• 16. Needle Neck (6:54)
Season Four: Home
• 17. Newborn (2:11)
Season Four: Tunguska
• 18. Worm Rock (12:48)
• 19. Chicken Wire Wrap (7:57)
• 20. End Credits (Extended #1) (0:35)
|
CD 3: (76:35)
• 1. Main Title (7th Season) (0:35)
Season Four: Terma
• 2. Black Vermiform (6:03)
• 3. Fire of Terma (8:47)
Season Four: Tempus Fugit
• 4. Pieces (6:28)
• 5. Nine Minutes (3:24)
Season Four: Gethsemane
• 6. Trails (5:37)
• 7. Thawed (11:30)
• 8. Deep Dupe (4:17)
Season Five: Redux
• 9. Little Vials of Proof (8:23)
Season Five: Redux II
• 10. Remission (5:42)
Season Five: The Red and the Black
• 11. Red Letter (2:46)
• 12. Resist or Serve (3:45)
• 13. Lil' Cabin in Quebec (8:42)
CD 4: (76:04)
• 1. Main Title (9th Season) (0:36)
Season Five: All Souls
• 2. Baptism (3:45)
• 3. Four Faces (7:28)
Season Six: S.R. 819
• 4. Orgell (2:26)
• 5. Bill of Health (4:29)
Season Six: Biogenesis
• 6. Map of the Genome (4:00)
Season Seven: Theef
• 7. Voodoo Doll (7:19)
Season Seven: Requiem
• 8. Deja vu (3:55)
• 9. Ray (5:09)
Season Nine: 4-D
• 10. Pulling the Plug (9:00)
Season Eight: Existence
• 11. Something Feels Off (3:03)
• 12. Replicant Revolution (6:21)
• 13. Under Investigation (3:14)
Season Eight: DeadAlive
• 14. Deep Six (2:53)
• 15. AliveAlive (11:03)
• 16. End Credits (1st Season) (0:30)
• 17. I Made This/20th Century Fox Fanfare* (0:08)
|
* composed by Alfred Newman |
| 2016 La-La Land Volume 3 Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 310:28 |
CD 1: (77:54)
• 1. Main Title (Season 1) (0:47)
Season One: Deep Throat
• 2. UFO Kids (2:15)
• 3. UFO Technology (2:15)
• 4. Confrontation (2:09)
• 5. Trek to Yellow Base (2:53)
• 6. Eye Poke (1:06)
• 7. Transfer and Release (3:26)
Season One: Conduit
• 8. Shaky Ground (2:13)
• 9. Weather Balloons (1:00)
• 10. Kevin, the NSA Menace (1:59)
• 11. Switching Channels/Deciphering (1:11)
• 12. Shallow Grave (2:03)
• 13. Another X-File (1:48)
Season One: Space
• 14. The Young Col. Belt (1:23)
• 15. Lift Off (4:00)
• 16. Car Crash (0:57)
• 17. Digital Data Banks (2:09)
• 18. Aerial Burial (1:17)
Season One: Gender Bender
• 19. Sex Kills (1:32)
• 20. Arrival in Town (1:18)
• 21. Intro to Kindred, Part 2 (3:19)
• 22. Finding Kindred (3:24)
• 23. I Called Him Marty (2:12)
• 24. Indian Prince-(ss) (2:02)
Season Two: Sleepless
• 25. Fire in the Mind (2:51)
• 26. A Call to Autopsy (1:21)
• 27. Meet the New Throat (4:02)
• 28. Top Secret Eyes (2:22)
• 29. Spy Boy (1:25)
Season Two: "3"
• 30. Bloody Jacuzzi (2:46)
• 31. Old Files (3:06)
• 32. Blood in the Loaf (4:26)
• 33. Protector (5:22)
• 34. Just Ashes and Bones (0:25)
CD 2: (77:06)
Season Four: Small Potatoes
• 1. Alieness (1:14)
• 2. Light Sabre (1:08)
• 3. Obie Gyn (1:13)
• 4. Sugar Patootie (4:21)
• 5. Identity Crisis (3:47)
• 6. Potato Vault (0:40)
• 7. Perk Prisoner (0:44)
• 8. Mugging (4:00)
• 9. Ain't No Eddie (0:55)
Season Four: El Mundo Gira
• 10. Sulphur Water (3:47)
• 11. Killer Enzyme (3:02)
• 12. Fungi Man (6:32)
• 13. El Quasicabra! (7:05)
Season Two: Fearful Symmetry
• 14. Pachyderm (2:32)
• 15. Cat Food (3:41)
• 16. Tiger Walk (3:26)
• 17. Crushed (2:40)
Season Five: The Pine Bluff Variant
• 18. Jog (4:21)
Season Six: Field Trip
• 19. Fungus Among Us (2:24)
• 20. Swamp Ooze (3:08)
• 21. Dream Time (9:55)
• 22. Still Underground (1:52)
• 23. Migraine Mushroom (4:04)
|
CD 3: (77:45)
Season Five: Bad Blood
• 1. Stake In The Heart/Main Title (2:18)
• 2. Can Kickin'/Ticket/Exuberant (1:55)
• 3. Mushrooms (3:05)
• 4. Fangs (1:30)
• 5. Rolling Acres (2:40)
• 6. Vibro-Pizza (4:04)
• 7. Living Dead (4:40)
Season Five: Unusual Suspects
• 8. Fell's Point (2:37)
• 9. Hackland (1:49)
• 10. Holly Sugar (3:04)
• 11. Molar Wire (3:29)
• 12. Cleaners (4:13)
• 13. The Truth Is (4:09)
Season Five: Detour
• 14. Bush Monster (2:14)
• 15. Trail of Stolen Pebbles (4:26)
• 16. Forest Fridge (5:28)
Season Five: Patient X
• 17. Barbecue Ludi (3:04)
• 18. Malchik (2:51)
• 19. The Krycek Diet (3:13)
• 20. Skyland Barbecue (4:38)
• 21. Les Saboteurs (6:05)
• 22. Bridge of Sighs (5:33)
CD 4: (77:50)
Season Six: Drive
• 1. Special Report (0:09)
• 2. Road Rage (1:58)
• 3. Head Blow (4:22)
• 4. Hijack (4:07)
• 5. Westward Ho (3:54)
• 6. Inner Ear (10:00)
• 7. ELF Wave (7:19)
• 8. Manure Piles (1:20)
Season Eight: Essence
• 9. Recap (0:52)
• 10. Parenti's Showroom (4:18)
• 11. Billy the Terminator (5:12)
• 12. Head Bag (2:17)
• 13. Vitamins (3:14)
• 14. Lizzy's Labours (6:10)
• 15. Compacted (4:17)
Season Nine: Trust No 1
• 16. Computer Lab (1:42)
• 17. Spies Like Us (2:32)
• 18. uppet Master (9:11)
• 19. Jumper/Scully's Serenade (5:10)
• 20. End Credits (1st Season) (0:28)
• 21. I Made This/20th Century Fox Fanfare* (0:09)
|
* composed by Alfred Newman |
| 2017 La-La Land Event Series Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 154:69 |
CD 1: (75:55)
Season Ten: My Struggle
• 1. Prologue (2:59)
• 2. The X-Files Main Title (Season 9) (0:36)
• 3. Ride to Roswell (2:09)
• 4. Call to Mulder (1:49)
• 5. Sveta (4:31)
• 6. Sveta Exam (1:47)
• 7. Alien Replica Vehicle/Element 115 (3:09)
• 8. Lab Labors (2:16)
• 9. Sveta's Story (3:17)
• 10. Mulder's Office (1:58)
• 11. Deep Throat (2:35)
• 12. Home Fire (1:55)
• 13. Conspiracy Montage (5:14)
• 14. Sveta Confesses (1:48)
• 15. Parking Garage (2:26)
• 16. Sveta Gets Zapped (1:18)
• 17. Smoking Man (0:44)
Season Ten: Founder's Mutation
• 18. Insecure Insecurity (2:30)
• 19. Hand Message (3:33)
• 20. Pull the Thread/Semi-Alien Boy (10:04)
• 21. Capsules (5:01)
• 22. Aquaiescent (1:46)
• 23. A Mother Never Forgets (2:23)
• 24. The Farm House/Catching Kyle (3:32)
• 25. The Real Molly (2:46)
• 26. Mulder's Memories (2:47)
|
CD 2: (79:14)
Season Ten: Home Again
• 1. City Shower Services (1:15)
• 2. No Prints/The Call (2:17)
• 3. Extubation (0:37)
• 4. Remorse (1:41)
• 5. Sub-Urban (3:05)
• 6. Tulku (3:33)
• 7. More Remorse (2:20)
Season Ten: Babylon
• 8. Prayer (1:13)
• 9. Einstein/Miller (2:01)
• 10. Mugwump (5:02)
• 11. Evacuation (3:25)
• 12. Ummu (2:48)
• 13. Motel (1:35)
• 14. Walk With Me (1:24)
Season Ten: My Struggle II
• 15. Recap (1:31)
• 16. Scully's Story (2:27)
• 17. Fed Ford/Alien American DNA (4:35)
• 18. Vaccine Alienation/One-Class Infection (7:55)
• 19. Smokin' God (6:58)
• 20. The Spartan Virus (7:48)
• 21. Crispr Cas9 (6:33)
• 22. William is Out There (4:32)
• 23. The X-Files End Credits (New Orbit) (0:35)
• 24. I Made This/20th Century Fox Fanfare* (0:08)
Season Ten: Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster
• 25. Bonus Track: Suite (4:32)
|
* composed by Alfred Newman |
| 2019 La-La Land Season 11 Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 155:40 |
CD1: (77:05)
Season Eleven: My Struggle III
• 1. Recap (0:55)
• 2. THE X-FILES Main Title (Season 9) (0:36)
• 3. Carl Gerhard Busch (2:47)
• 4. The Brain Code Says Find Him/Where's the Boy (7:32)
• 5. Super Human Experimental Casualties (2:04)
• 6. Wheels and Squeals (3:04)
• 7. Broken Promise (3:44)
• 8. My Enemies are Legion/All You Had to Do Was Knock (5:23)
• 9. Heavy Wheeling (8:34)
Season Eleven: This
• 10. Russian Dressing (4:40)
• 11. Fatal Error (6:44)
• 12. Vacated (0:49)
• 13. Destroy the Backup (0:21)
Season Eleven: Plus One
• 14. House of Chucky P (1:46)
• 15. Still Got Scoot in Your Boot (2:12)
• 16. Unraveling (1:05)
• 17. Scully Sees Scully (1:30)
• 18. It's Spreading (1:39)
• 19. Hanging the Hangman (4:54)
• 20. In the Realm of Possibilities (0:37)
Season Eleven: The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat
• 21. My Name is Not Buddy (1:43)
• 22. Rod Serling Appears (0:30)
• 23. A True Fan (0:25)
• 24. Dr. Wuzzle (1:02)
• 25. Dr. Thaddeous They (1:30)
• 26. The Grenada UFO Stamp (2:26)
• 27. The Untold History of The X-Files (1:27)
• 28. Henchmen (0:33)
• 29. Fox Freakin' Mulder (0:48)
• 30. Jumpin' (0:13)
• 31. Reginald Murgatroid (1:25)
• 32. Straight Jacket (0:18)
• 33. The Truth From Outside the Galaxy/Answers to Anything (1:08)
• 34. To Find Each Other (0:58)
• 35. Remember How It Was (0:31)
CD2: (78:35)
Season Eleven: "Ghouli"
• 1. Ship-Shapes (2:44)
• 2. Jackson Van De Camp (1:50)
• 3. No Browsing History/The Bigger Picture (3:13)
• 4. Jackson is William (2:00)
• 5. Jackson's Escape (5:45)
• 6. Stand for Something (0:51)
Season Eleven: Kitten
• 7. Davey's Big Knife (0:58)
• 8. The Boy That Hates Kittens (3:44)
• 9. The Seeds of Mistrust (4:19)
Season Eleven: Rm9sbG93ZXJz
• 10. Silver Moon/Drone Fever/Batting Practice/Package/Drone Rescue/Vacuum (3:15)
Season Eleven: Nothing Lasts Forever
• 11. A Tasty Pancreas/I Will Repay (4:01)
• 12. Loved You on Dragnet (3:06)
• 13. Olivia Shows Her Love to Barbara (1:06)
• 14. I Will Deliver (3:58)
Season Eleven: Familiar
• 15. Mr. Chuckleteeth #1 (0:19)
• 16. Almost Knocked Me Over (3:40)
• 17. Mr. Chuckleteeth #2 (0:20)
• 18. The Ritual Burn/Mr. Chuckleteeth (7:18)
Season Eleven: My Struggle IV
• 19. Recap/My Name is Jackson Van De Camp (5:11)
• 20. Mr. Y Go Bye (2:51)
• 21. Jackson's Action (1:44)
• 22. Arriving at the Docks (4:04)
• 23. Floating Away (5:30)
• 24. He Shot Him and He Shot Me (3:56)
• 25. The X-Files End Credits (New Orbit) (0:35)
• 26. I Made This/20th Century Fox Fanfare* (0:08)
• 27. The X-Files Theme (A Cappella)** (1:07)
| |
* composed by Alfred Newman
** performed by The Warp Zone |
| 2020 La-La Land Volume 4 Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 314:30 |
CD1: (78:37)
Season One: Pilot
• 1. Night Forest (1:32)
• 2. Forest Search (1:58)
Season One: Deep Throat
• 3. Mr. Deep Throat (3:56)
Season One: The Jersey Devil
• 4. The Search (2:32)
• 5. Pursued and Destroyed (2:57)
• 6. Detective Schmuck (1:12)
Season One: Shadows
• 7. Quotes From Ben/ATM (2:34)
• 8. Red Light Montage (4:22)
Season One: Ice
• 9. Suicide (3:25)
• 10. Nancy Gets Wormed (2:24)
Season One: Darkness Falls
• 11. Woke Up Hungry (3:07)
• 12. Bug Tales (2:15)
• 13. Buttoning Up (2:13)
• 14. Not an Option (0:36)
Season Two: Duane Barry
• 15. They're Coming (2:48)
• 16. Catalogued (4:41)
Season Two: Ascension
• 17. Blue Ridge Parkway (1:25)
• 18. Cable Car (8:59)
• 19. Deny Everything (3:17)
• 20. Blood on Paper/Ascension (6:08)
Season Two: Firewalker
• 21. Origins (0:58)
• 22. Base Camp (2:06)
Season Two: DØd Kalm
• 23. Lifeboat (2:59)
• 24. Ghost Ship (2:32)
• 25. Sardine Juice (5:13)
• 26. Wolf at the Door (2:31)
• 27. Kalm (0:25)
CD2: (79:22)
Season Three: Apocrypha
• 1. Tar Tissue (4:35)
• 2. The X-Files Main Title (0:50)
• 3. Sparklers (2:23)
• 4. Trapped Assassin (6:19)
• 5. Silo (8:53)
• 6. Buried Alive (1:03)
Season Three: Pusher
• 7. Fairfax Mercy (3:00)
• 8. Little Man (10:04)
Season Three: Avatar
• 9. Hags of the Night (4:49)
• 10. The Inquisition (7:23)
• 11. Room 1413 (7:23)
• 12. Sharon Forever (1:40)
Season Four: Never Again
• 13. Raga Shave/Scully's Tattoo (3:46)
Season Four: Memento Mori
• 14. Time Like a Heartbeat (1:31)
• 15. Lots of Kurts (7:13)
• 16. Another Way (8:47)
| CD3: (78:26)
Season Three: Oubliette
• 1. West of Easton (3:52)
• 2. Only Way to Escape (1:56)
Season Two: Anasazi
• 3. The Merchandise (5:27)
Season Three: Talitha Cumi
• 4. Lamp (3:44)
Season Four: Gethsemane
• 5. Chimera Man (4:49)
Season Five: Redux II
• 6. Fix It For Good (2:29)
Season Five: Chinga
• 7. Red Eye Super Saver (2:54)
• 8. Dolly Bake (7:10)
Season Five: Kill Switch
• 9. Metro Diner (4:50)
Season Five: Mind's Eye
• 10. Shackles (3:16)
• 11. Dark Visions (5:52)
The X-Files: Fight The Future
• 12. Smoking Telegram (3:17)
Season Six: Triangle
• 13. Thor's Hammer (6:22)
• 14. Ghost Dance (2:39)
• 15. No Place Like Home (1:09)
Season Six: The Rain King
• 16. Dream Valentine (1:12)
• 17. Red Chariot (1:41)
• 18. Holman (1:42)
Season Six: Tithonus
• 19. Elevator (3:35)
• 20. He (6:08)
• 21. Death at the Door (4:43)
CD4: (78:05)
Season Six: Three of a Kind
• 1. The Chase of Love (1:54)
Season Four: Max
• 2. Submarinara (2:29)
• 3. Second Site (1:45)
• 4. Blisters (5:56)
Season Seven: Rush
• 5. Honor Students (3:33)
Season Seven: Orison
• 6. Glory Amen (2:04)
• 7. Donny's Dream Date (4:06)
Season Seven: En Ami
• 8. Penitence (1:33)
• 9. Lonely Man (2:49)
• 10. Lil' Gold Disc (8:19)
Season Eight: Invocation
• 11. All The Pretty Horses (2:06)
• 12. Pony Prison (6:04)
• 13. Bones (0:50)
Season Eight: Empedocles
• 14. Jeb Gets Fired (3:14)
Season Nine: Nothing Important Happened Today: Part 1
• 15. Tape & Tank (3:12)
• 16. Waterworld (4:27)
Season Nine: Nothing Important Happened Today: Part 2
• 17. Navy Message (2:57)
• 18. Recap/Mouth to Mouth (2:18)
• 19. Super Soldiers (3:50)
• 20. Ovahull (5:42)
• 21. King Kersh (3:24)
Season Eight: This is Not Happening
• 22. The Drop Zone (3:08)
Season Nine: Per Manum
• 23. Scully's Serenade (2:14)
• 24. The X-Files End Credits (1st Season) (0:28)
• 25. I Made This/20th Century Fox Fanfare* (0:10)
|
* composed by Alfred Newman |
The insert of the 1996 Warner album includes notes by the show's creator,
Chris Carter, with extensive credits (including vocal appearances in the dialogue).
All of the La-La Land sets include extremely detailed analysis about the show,
the composer, and each of the tracks and episodes represented on the sets. With
later pressings of Volume 3 and all pressings of Volume 4, the label switched to
4-CD jewel cases instead of a slipcase box to contain the CDs.
|
