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Bear McCreary's
work with the Sci-Fi Channel continues with his music for the series, "Eureka."
Presented by
La-La
Land Records, the soundtrack release offers 28 tracks and over 75
minutes of music from the television show's second season, capturing
highlights and themes from individual episodes and characters. For the
amount of music this release offers, it's a rather comprehensive
representation of music from the series' 2nd season, thus it should satisfy
any serious fan of the show and/or of the composer himself.
The Sci-Fi Channel
is becoming a good home for excellent television scoring. First, there is
Joel Goldsmith, who is doing stellar work on the Stargate franchise and
has also branched off into scoring DVD one-offs from the series. Goldsmith's
work is easily a cut above the norm. Then there is the works of Murray
Gold and his scores from Dr. Who.
Though I know Dr. Who is a U.K.
production, it does air on the Sci-Fi Channel and its weekly presence on the
network is always a nice pull both for its music and storylines. And lastly,
there is Bear McCreary, who established himself on the scene through his
work on the Battlestar Galactica
series and became noted for providing a stark, dramatic contrast to the
musical style of the original series. With Eureka,
we get to see another side of the composer's talents.
How could you not
like the music of "Eureka?" The score is a toe-tapping, explorative hoot.
In a complete reversal in style from his Galactica works, McCreary shows us
his lighter side by writing music that is experimental, catchy and full of
colorful personality. Eureka offers a
brand of music that is specific to its own universe and it is quite
lighthearted.
McCreary employs the use of a small ensemble
to perform the music. The instrument selections are interesting as he also
uses an accordion as part of the ensemble, further adding a unique
distinction to the flavor of the score. While Eureka
is not meant to output a large orchestral sound, the eccentric melodies and
original electronic notes are heard pristinely through an impressively sharp sound
mix. Much like the way McCreary's 'Battlestar' music was presented, the
audio quality with Eureka is
top-notch.
As you dig into the
75+ minutes of music from the series, each of you will no doubt come away
with differing favorite tracks since the score is quite varied (yet
consistent). It becomes a listening experience that becomes difficult to
turn away from since it is so entirely interesting and original! From the unpredictable
percussion rhythms to the warm notes of the accordion, the quirky sci-fi
elements to the blend of styles, Eureka
is an indulgence that will soon become a not-so guilty pleasure of mine. There
is something to be said about interesting, off-beat and original works of
music.
Perhaps my only
complaint, and its one I often have with albums offering a longer than usual
running time, is that there was room to trim around the edges a bit. There
are moments during the soundtrack that come across as pure episodic
underscore, thus detracting away from the album's more original presence. Overall,
though, that shouldn't get in the way of any general music fan, score lover
or not, having a good time with this material. After a listen or two,
you'll be able to dodge the cues that don't work for you anyway and you'll
be left with a truly unique score to enjoy.
Ultimately Eureka represents all that
I could ask for in a television score -- it has personality. While it would
have been easy for McCreary to get lost in the vast expanse of unique sounds
that he conjured up for this, he was able to maintain a sense of consistency
that propels the album forward.
Employing an innovative approach and creative
instrumentation, this soundtrack has an appeal that even non-soundtrack fans will
appreciate. Quirky and fun, this is a solid buy and is another example of
McCreary's diverse range of talents and is a testament to his commitment for
writing original music. In fact, when people speak of film composers of the
future, he is definitely someone to keep an eye on; his voice is too
original to keep in television for too much longer. |
