October 11, 2013

  • The Truth is Out There! La-La Land Releases 2nd Volume of X-Files Scores

    When the Fox Network appeared on the scene there were essentially 3 networks, and PBS.  Somehow the network managed to find an interesting balance between comedy and drama and even a bit of crassness to help catapult them into being a serious part of network television.  The Simpsons is one of the sole remaining shows from those early years still perched on the network’s schedule.  Another main stay for Fox was the appearance of The X Files whose tag, “The Truth is Out There” seems almost like an ironic tag for the network today.  Over nine seasons (1993-2002), Chris Carter’s alien cover-up and exploration of the unexplained gained quick critical attention and won a dedicated audience who followed closely the unfolding saga of FBI agents Scully and Mulder.  The show would go on to win and be nominated for numerous awards from many outlets and received important wins and nominations for Primetime Emmys.  Composer Mark Snow had worked on a variety of television series, TV movies, and a few feature films (Jake Speed, The In Crowd) in the two decades prior to his work on The X Files, but this would be the series whose signature theme entered his name in the pantheon of television music history.

    This is the second volume of music from the series from La La Land.  The first volume included music from some 39 episodes over the course of the series intending to explore the diversity of Snow’s approaches.  The focus tended toward music regarding some of the conspiracy aspects of the general storyline with some of the music for the adventure being experienced by the show’s protagonists.  Now a sought after collector’s item, that four-disc set certainly set a high standard that La-La Land is following in the present release as well.  Producer Mike Joffe explains in the booklet notes that the current volume is a shift to some of the action and suspense cues from a variety of episodes selected by trying to honor suggestions from fans, the present set will be an overwhelming amount of music to explore in this five-plus hours of music.

    Nicely, each disc uses a different version of the serie’s theme from seasons 1, 2, 7, and 9 respectively.  The final disc wraps up with the end credits from season 1 and the “I Made This” sign-off with Alfred Newman’s “Fox Fanfare” to finish the set.  The present set covers music from all nine seasons of the series with 33 episodes presented over the 65 tracks.  Two of these were recognized for Primetime Emmy Nominations (“S.R. 819” and “Theef”).  The selections are not in broadcast order, instead being organized within a given episode and then overall to provide a better listening series.  The choices here feature music from a 19-episode story arc that supported the alien mythology of the series.  Other episodes are more of the “this week’s monster” variety.

    Each of the tracks is given a brief synopsis of story placement coupled with a brief comment on the music used at that point.  This makes it rather easy to follow through the variety of examples from the series.  Equally helpful are headings that identify the season and episode number.  This will allow fans to listen to everything by episode if they wish.  The whole process has been remastered to allow for better sound overall.  As explained in the booklet, early seasons tended to bury the score under sound effects or drop it out altogether.  Some of these issues have been corrected for the current presentation.

    While some may balk at so much electronic-produced synth and sample work, it is worth noting that there is still plenty of standout music.  The first of these moments is the choral chanting underneath the ambient atmospheres and insistent single-note piano ostinato in “Youth” (from the episode “Young At Heart”).  This first season music already indicates just how Snow’s music had found just the right tone for the series already and had begun adding in creepier musical sounds.  The selections from this episode are all quite interesting.  As things progress through disc one (and carry over into those that follow), it is also interesting to hear how Snow incorporates subtle musical connections to the primary thematic material.  Often this will be part of mesmerizing piano arpeggios against slithery string sounds, design, and effects.  In fact, what often happens is that the sequencing of selections between the more seemingly amorphous designs sets up the sections where more string ideas, or melodic material end up catching attention.  This constant pull and pull of tensions actually demonstrates just how well put together this set is overall.  Disc two seems to take a darker tone with the music tending to shift occasionally to more horror-genre gestures.  Disc three finds many beautiful lyrical moments (especially in the music from “Tempus Fugit”, “Gethsemane,” and “Redux”) thus providing some balance.  Disc four begins with the somewhat ethereal music from “All Souls” which gradually becomes slightly creepy as the music from this episode proceeds.  A more subdued quality tends to be the primary style in many of these selections.  Even a nice melancholy Americana trumpet solo appears in the final selection from “Existence”.  Occasionally, as in “Biogenesis” or “Deadalive” there is some action material often integrated, or alternating with ambient design effects as well.  But more moody and creepy backdrops will continue to dominate this final disc.

    There is a wealth of fascinating music to explore in this massive set from La-La Land Records (www.lalalandrecords.com) such that a whole book could be written.  Suffice it to say, that this is a release that fans of The X Files will not want to miss.  The production allows the music to shine as it shifts some of the colors and textures Snow uses to make the overall listening experience quite good.  There is a great variety of musical material, an excellent accompanying booklet, and everything is wonderfully packaged to boot.