Alias: Season 2

Track Listing

01 - Main Title (:27)
02 - On the Train (2:59)
03 - Mother of a Mother (1:38)
04 - Rabat (2:22)
05 - Over the Edge (3:03)
06 - Emily’s Eulogy (3:06)
07 - Fond Memories (2:16)
08 - Post A-Mortem (1:32)
09 - Syd’s Best Alias Yet (3:44)
10 - Going Down? (:51)
11 - Sydney Implores Dixon (2:40)
12 - Aftermath Class (4:14)

13 - Sarkavator (:33)
14 - I’m So Promoted (2:28)
15 - I’m So Screwed (2:47)
16 - I’m So Demoted (1:39)
17 - Inferno (2:33)
18 - Do I Have To Do Another Eulogy? (6:16)
19 - Something Fishy (2:37)
20 - Sloane’s Revelation (2:48)
21 - Hitting the Fan (4:20)
22 - Balboa and Clubber (1:10)
23 - Almost Two Years (4:58)

Orchestrated by Michael Giacchino and Chris Tilton

Conducted by Tim Simonec

Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony

Produced by Michael Giacchino

Released by Varèse Sarabande Records on November 16, 2004

Total Running Time: 61:48

The second season of Alias was really when the show started to cook. The first season was fun enough, but it was filled primarily with “discovery”-type episodes and was hampered, like most first seasons, in setting up all the characters. It was in season two where the familiarity had settled to a point where cool things could be done with these characters that permeated J.J. Abrams exciting television series. But the characters were not the only ones cooking with this season. Michael Giacchino, having won his rightful place for scoring in the spy genre (and if you want to see how far he really can take it, check out the heavy John Barry influence on The Incredibles score). The second season found him taking more risks, and additionally, returning to more conventional means of scoring. In spite of all the action going on, the addition of new (yet familiar) faces in Sydney Bristow’s life meant more attention spent to the emotional involvement of his scores.

Where the album release of scores from the first season leaned more towards the action-side of the show, this album seems more balanced, yet less exciting. That isn’t to say that the action sequences are not in fine form here, because they are. The orchestra has even more “oomph” along with it in addition to the high-powered electronics. The only difference is that the action cues are more paced out with the emotional underscoring. Thankfully, for a television score, these moments work just as well because of Giacchino’s meticulous handing of the numerous themes he has running about, and that helps to bridge the gap across the episodes, making this disc a coherent listening experience.

Since the characters can be in so many numerous locales throughout the run of the 45-minute long show (that's without commercials), the music tended to jump around style-wise with the first album. Here, it is less of a problem as the focus is more on the setting-neutral character cues. However, there are still a smattering of these stylistic wanderings and they are all pleasant and usually manage to incorporate one of the many themes into that particular style. Rabat is probably the most interesting of these, as it takes a mystical, Middle-Eastern feel and turns it on its ear through Giacchino’s electronica stylings.

If you’re a fan of David Arnold’s James Bond scores, or you love Alias itself, Varèse has turned out another killer album that is sure to please fans that have enjoyed the music inside the show and now have an opportunity to experience it on its own merits.