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I grew up in the
60s and 70s, so I was contemporary of the so called "Golden
Age" of television. It was an era that left to us a legacy
of great, classic TV shows with memorable main title themes.
Since then, however, things changed. Most of the
contemporary TV series, even when benefited by very good
underscores (and there's plenty of them), didn't feature
remarkable, immediately recognizable main themes. That's the
case with Heroes,
one of those modern
TV shows that generates passionate discussions and
reactions of love and hatred among their fans.
In the series' first
season, we were introduced to
ordinary people with extraordinary powers. Their mission was
to "save the cheerleader and save the world", fighting
against a conspiracy to control their powers and a villain
who wants to kill one by one to steal their super-powers. A
plot, you may think, that demands a large scale, epic
musical theme. Wrong! The "Heroes Title" consists of
a very short set of chords and samplers that hardly can be
considered a song. But it is consistent with the show and
don't be fooled, there's a lot of things to enjoy in the
electronic
music that Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman (Dangerous
Minds, Soul Food, TV’s Crossing Jordan,
TV’s Bionic Woman) composed for the show's first
season, featured in this new album.
In 2008 another label had released a song compilation with
only a few score tracks, and since
then an score only album was something that fans have wanted.
Maybe there was the concern that a CD containing just the
incidental music from the series wouldn't sell enough, but
at last we have it thanks to La-La Land and I have to say,
it deserves to be listened and even purchased. Heroes
has one of the most unique "sounds" on television, and it is
the score that helps to further establish the show's
identity.
Turn on your CD player and be prepared to
listen some captivating and atmospheric tunes,
six of them featuring the vocalist/musician Shenkar (The
Passion
Of The Christ, Jacob's Ladder) that provides a
well known indian flavor being "Mohinder" a remarkable
example. They are
built around each one of the heroes, and carries the
instrumentals and rhythms that are particular to that
character – such as the heroic, strong cellos samplers for "Peter
Petrelli" (one of my personal highlights) and the dreamy
instrumentals and vocals of the fire and regeneration cue
for "Claire Bennet". I just love the sounds of "Hiro", one
of my preferred characters that received an adequate, gentle
japanese musical portrait. His most recognizable
musical signature is heard at all episodes end credits.
The last two tracks on the album, "Kirby
Plaza" and "Fire & Regeneration," are sure to evoke familiar
scenes for the listener. "Kirby Plaza" underscores the
final, fiery conclusion to the first season, when Peter
explodes over New York City. And "Fire and Regeneration",
according to Wendy and Lisa, is "…hands down the very
favorite among fans." They consider it to be "the sound of
Heroes – the cue that gave us the direction for the series."
Granted, that's the words of the composers and I have no
authority to disagree...
The artwork and packaging look
great, as per usual when it comes to the label's releases.
The booklet contains insightful liner notes from the
composers and
Executive Producer/Director Allan Arkush, describing the
musical essence of the show.
The sound quality is also great, and La-La Land deserves to
be congratulated for another highly recommended release. |
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