SkyNext Podcast

The very first Sarah Connor Chronicles soundtrack hits shelves December 23rd, and while I’ve had a copy in my possession for a little while now, I’ve failed to get out an early review for those wary on purchasing the album. Sufficed to say, don’t let my review sway you. BUY IT immediately!

But if you’re still interested to see what little old me has to say, check it out after the jump.

Packaging The first thing you’ll notice, as with any CD since the late 80’s, is the case it comes in. Featured on the front is a nice representation of the early promo poster for season one of the series, with Lena Headey’s Sarah on one knee, doing what she does best: protecting her son. John Connor (Thomas Dekker) stands in the background, almost as if he’s looking off into the future. One thing that’s been tripping a few folks up is the term ’soundtrack’ and not ’score’ located at the top of the case. This is indeed a soundtrack, not just an instrumental selection from the series. But we’ll get to that later.

The back cover features more promo work, this time featuring Lena, Thomas, and Summer Glau’s Cameron, all from season one photo shoots. Also shown is the full track list (over 20 selections) clocking in at just over an hour’s worth of hauntingly poetic music. The inside booklet is the real winner here, though. You open to a three page liner note from Executive Producer Josh Friedman himself. (I’d just like to interject that the more I hear this guy talk and the more I see him write stuff, the more I want to hang out with him. He truly loves his craft, and is as much a fan of the series as he is an overseer.) Josh talks about hiring Bear to score the show and goes into detail about many other things, including the title track from the second season premiere, Samson and Delilah. Moving on you’ll see a note from Thomas Dekker talking about his love of the music from the original Terminator films, and how crucial the musical pieces are to the show. Next up is a short, funny, meaningful note from Shirley Manson who plays Catherine Weaver on the show. Shirley explains how Josh tricked her into going to dinner to get her to do the series. Lastly, and most fittingly, belongs to composer Bear McCreary himself. Fans of Bear will not be disappointed by this set, in the least, and moreover by the words he shares with his fans, and ones of the series. I’ve never seen an episode of Battlestar Galactaca but I know that I always hear fans talk about how fitting the music is in that particular show. The same goes for The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Bear shares a lot of stories about scoring the set, which is a great insight into his own craft and how he devoted to it he is as well.

Josh and Bear work closely together on the music to the show, and it shines through on this album which fans have been waiting for since the pilot episode in January of 2008. Warner Bros (which distributes the series) published the CD with La-La-Land Records. A lot of SkyNext listeners have emailed in asking why this has been pushed off on it’s release date 3 or 4 times since it’s announcement. All we can tell you is it’s the normal red-tape that goes into things like this. But after 4 months of waiting around, it’s finally here.

The Music Here’s the track listing for the album:

1. Samson and Delilah - ‘Samson and Delilah’
     Performed by Shirley Manson
     Written by Reverend Gary Davis
     Arranged and Produced by Bear McCreary
2. “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” Opening Title
     Includes “The Terminator Theme” by Brad Fiedel
3. Sarah Connor’s Theme - ‘Pilot’
4. Cromartie in the Hospital - ‘The Turk’
5. Andy Goode’s Turk - ‘Queen’s Gambit’
6. Central America - ‘Queen’s Gambit’
7. John and Riley - ‘Automatic for the People’
8. Derek Reese - ‘Queen’s Gambit’ and ‘The Demon Hand’
9. Ain’t We Famous - ‘Automatic for the People’
     Performed by BrEndAn’s Band
     Written by Brendan McCreary
10. Motorcycle Robot Chase - ‘Gnothi Seuton’
     Featuring Captain Ahab
11. The Hand of God - ‘The Demon Hand’
12. Prisoners of War - ‘Dungeons & Dragons’
13. Miles Dyson’s Grave - ‘The Turk’
14. Atomic Al’s Merry Melody - ‘Automatic for the People’
15. The Reese Boys - ‘What He Beheld’
16. Removing Cameron’s Chip - ‘Vick’s Chip’
17. Ellison Spared - ‘What He Beheld’
18. I Love You - ‘Samson and Delilah’
19. Catherine Weaver - ‘Samson and Delilah’
20. Derek’s Mission - ‘Dungeons & Dragons’
21. There’s a Storm Coming - ‘Dungeons & Dragons’
22. Highway Battle - ‘Queen’s Gambit’
23. Perfect Creatures - ‘The Demon Hand’
24. “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” End Credits

I’ll spare you going track-by-track and telling you what I do and don’t like (you can see my iTunes ratings at the end of this review) sufficed to say this is a complete set. While listening you do not think to yourself, “hey where’s that track?” or “why isn’t this scene’s music here?”. It is. All of the greatest tracks from season one and some great pieces to season two as well. The highlight of the CD, for most fans, will be the official release of “Samson & Delilah” as performed by Shirley Manson. Since the opening moments of the second season, fans have been clamoring for this selection to be released, whether through iTunes or otherwise. In fact this was really the first rumbling we ever heard of a soundtrack release, when they said “Samson and Delilah” would be released ’soon’. Merry Christmas. 

The Review Well, I don’t think you’ll find a more perfect current television soundtrack available right now. Most all sets are incomplete, lacking, don’t have actual music from the show, or are just music label sell-outs. I think ‘Music Inspired By’ is a copout myself, and not having tracks that the viewers really want is just a huge letdown to the general fanbase. I applaud the efforts of Josh and Bear to make this set as complete as possible, even bringing in tracks from the first two episodes of the current season. While the latest episodes have had some phenomenal music tracks as well, that only makes me more excited for a second soundtrack release in the near future.

Everything from the selection, to the packaging and artwork are great and make this a must for any fan of the show, diehard or light watcher. I don’t really foresee a lot of products coming from this series (simply because it’s just not that kind of show) so I’m definitely interested in anything that comes along to purchase.

Steve and I have said from the beginning of the series that the music is just as good and important as the script is to this show. It’s not half-assed or over looked. The moments between John and Sarah or Derek and Cameron with these tracks in the background make it too important to ignore. This set is as much a part of the show as any of the season DVD releases, and should be treated as much. I feel like I’m talking it up a lot as I look back through my notes here, but it’s just so good and I’ve been so excited for it’s release. I definitely got my hopes up and was not disappointed.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles soundtrack hits shelves and Amazon.com tomorrow, December 23rd, so be sure to order yours right away and get it as soon as possible. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed the CD and I hope you feel the same. 10 out of 10.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 9:51 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.