Battlestar Galactica: Season Two [Soundtrack]

Bear McCreary (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Bear McCreary
• Audio CD (June 20, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: La-La Land Records
• ASIN: B000FCUYKO
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,359 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Colonial Anthem (Theme from Battlestar Galactica) (4:02)

2. Baltar's Dream (2:45)

3. Escape from the Farm (3:09)

4. A Promise to Return (3:03)

5. Allegro (4:59)

6. Martial Law (1:51)

7. Standing in the Mud (1:45)

8. Pegasus (2:46)

9. Lords of Kobol (2:50)

10. Something Dark is Coming (8:51)

11. Scar (2:26)

12. Epiphanies (2:43)

13. Roslin and Adama (2:49)

14. Gina Escapes (2:00)

15. Dark Unions (2:53)

16. The Cylon Prisoner (3:51)

17. Prelude to War (8:22)

18. Reuniting the Fleet (2:45)

19. Roslin Confesses (2:09)

20. One Year Later (1:43)

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In its own way, this soundtrack to the cult SciFi Channel series embodies all the trends of film and, to a certain extent, TV-scoring circa 2006. Alien universes and mysterious plots are suggested by exotic instruments like gamelans and taikos; an otherwordly woman comes in at regular intervals to vocalize esoterically ("Lords of Kobol"); and thundering percussions suggest action ("Scar"). It's as if cult band Dead Can Dance were on the required listening list for American screen composers ("Gina Escapes"). Composer Bear McCreary pulls off the mix better than some of his contemporaries because, this being TV, he probably doesn't have the budget of a big Hollywood composer and so he can't rely on a ginormous orchestra to do the work for him (i.e., he can't just pile on dozens of violins to suggest mood). Look for ex-Oingo Boingo member Steve Bartek (who's orchestrated many of Danny Hellman's finest scores) on guest guitar on the final track, "Black Market." --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description

Acclaimed composer Bear McCreary builds on his impressive Season One accomplishments with this new original soundtrack from the second season of the Sci-Fi Channel's critically praised, top-rated television series starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff. Once again, composer McCreary delivers a sensational, emotionally rich score that ingeniously melds orchestra, vocals, percussion and synthesizer in a variety of exciting motifs. Simply put, it's an amazing compilation that trancends the genre and brings sci-fi television music to new heights! Former Oingo-Boingo member Steve Bartek plays featured guitar on "Black Market". CD Booklet contains exclusive liner notes from McCreary and executive producer Ronald D. Moore.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring the Human Experience through a Fusion of Styles, July 31, 2006

By 

M. Mierzwa (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Battlestar Galactica: Season Two (Audio CD)

About the Composer:
Bear McCreary took over as the composer for the hot new science fiction series Battlestar Gallactica when the series went it normal production in 2004. McCreary expanded upon some of the original mini-series (2003) composer Richard Gibbs's themes, but quickly developed a style of his own characterized by a mix of tribal beats, ethereal vocals, and electronics. His season 1 Battlestar Galactica soundtrack was very well received, and has been considered an instrumental part of the success of the series. McCreary is comfortable writing and making use of traditional orchestra ensembles, string quartets, electronic compositions, rock flavored guitar, and more traditional folk arrangements. I'd describe his style as actually being similar to European "fusion" music, which mixes electronics with a variety of music styles from around the globe.

About the Soundtrack:
This disk is packed with over an hour of some of my favorite musical tracks from BSG season 2. Though the series itself reused some of the music originally scored for season 1, with only a few exceptions this soundtrack actually focuses on highlighting the new music introduced in season 2. In season 1, McCreary established a few theme songs that we incorporate with specific characters and those themes are worked into new pieces for season 2. Starbuck's theme is masterfully mixed into "Escape from the Farm" and Baltar's theme is integral to "Baltar's Dream" (the track ties into "The Shape of Things to Come" from the season 1 disk). Aside from those two tracks and Richard Gibbs main title sequence (sort of a must for a television soundtrack disk), the rest of the material is not available on the previous disk.

Recommended Tracks:
* Pegasus
* Lords of Kobol
* Martial Law
* Black Market
* Prelude to War
* Something Dark is Coming

Though amazon allows you to sample the music, their choice of what part of the tracks to sample does not always highlight what I like about many of these tracks. For example, the sampled version of "Lords of Kobol" (sung by jazz singer Raya Yarbrough) doesn't feature her vocals ... which are amazing! Raya's lyrics, sung in Sengalese, are really one of the most moving pieces on this disk and it is a shame you will not be able to sample them before making your purchase! On the other hand, the amazon sample of "Martial Law" is very true to the track. Basically the disk is better than the samples.

What I liked most about this soundtrack was its diversity. "Black Market" is a dark fusion of industrial guitar riffs and a middle-eastern flute / drum rhythm (it sounds like a seedy restaurant). Yarbrough's heavenly vocals on "Lords of Kobol" add an emotional and uplifting human touch. "Martial Law" is a chilling styled cold war / eastern bloc styled piece that is completely unlike "The Cylon Prisoner" which has a mix of blues and southwestern American folk. All of these different styles work together as an audio exploration of the state of the human condition - which ultimately is what the series itself is about!

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the two seasons, June 22, 2006

By 

Gorkon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Battlestar Galactica: Season Two (Audio CD)

Absolutely one of the best soundtrack CDs ever put together. I loved the season 1 CD and this one is even better! All the music is outstanding but my favorite two are "Something Dark is Coming" and "Prelude to War". These tracks alone are worth the price. As an FYI, if you are looking for the piano piece from "Valley of Darkness" you will find it on the Philip Glass Solo Piano album. The song is called Metamorphosis Five.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars near perfection, June 20, 2006

By 

Felix Schütz "Felix Schuetz" (Nuernberg, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Battlestar Galactica: Season Two (Audio CD)

This is it. If you enjoyed McCrearys Score for Season 1, then this is definitely your next must-buy.

McCreary is doing the impossible: he goes much further, beyond what he has created in Season 1 OST. This is especially for those who know the first soundtrack cd and are begging for more. There you got it. It does not repeat those drum-action-cues, does not drift away into those arabian-exotic-strings. It's fresh and it's new. There are some tunes on this cd that you would never have expected. Probably McCreary's best decision: Track 10 "Something Dark Is Coming" in its own full greatfull length of nearly nine minutes. This is a huge statement. How long has it been since you heard a track on a soundtrack album which has exactly the length it is needed to have? There you go. It's all here.
If you love the show, this is clearly a must-buy. If you like unusual, almost exotical music for movies and television, this is must-buy. If you have a good sense for music that does not sound like anything you have ever heard in this constelletion before, it is a freakin' must-buy.

Dear Bear McCreary, I am proud of you. You did everything I could hope for. This CD is almost near perfection. It is exactly what a Season 2 Score for a show like Battlestar Calactica is supposed to be. You did great. Thank you for this.

To all those of you who have been reading this: Don't hesitate. Buy it! Give the show and Mr McCreary a good chance of continuing their work.

Cheers,
Felix

By the way: Please forgive the language. I am German, so this is all improvised.

Greetings!