|
|
The Best of Mission: Impossible |
|
Music Composed by Lalo Schifrin and Don E. Davis Release Date: 1992
Purchase At
|
Mission: Impossible was the sister show of another pop culture icon, Star Trek. It has been a long time since I’ve seen this series (both the original and the revival series in the late eighties). Lalo Schifrin’s main theme, which was just a sub-theme until producer Bruce Geller did some rearranging, has achieved a prominent place alongside other popularly recognized themes such as James Bond, Star Wars, and Star Trek. Though the CD starts off with the main theme, I really would have preferred to have it come after the prologue music, as all the M:I suites that I’ve heard in the past arranged it this way. Still, it’s not as big of a gripe as the fact that the original theme sounds really dry compared to some of the more recent performances, especially Danny Elfman’s arrangement of it which I believe to be the best arrangement of it to date. The suites that comprise the music from five different episodes seesaw back and forth between being somewhat interesting and ho-hum. “The Plot” theme drops in a lot (it is a major presence in during the different suites) and the M:I theme is introduced every now and then as well. Schifrin's music does the job well, but John E. Davis’ music from the eighties series is where this album really starts to go bad. Starting off with the worst rendition of the main title I’ve ever heard, the suites for his episodes consist of synth, synth, and more synth. As with most synth scores from eighties television shows (mostly ambiance filler), it really does not appeal to me at all. The interview with Peter Graves track follows that segment. I didn't find it all that interesting, and it takes up a full fourteen minutes! The CD finishes off with a performance of the standard M:I theme suite by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. While the performance is almost completely overdone, and various background noises are somewhat prominent, I found it to be one of the best tracks on the whole thing. Mission: Impossible fans might be pleased with this one, and Schifrin fans may find something to rejoice about (but remember that his music only exists in the first half of the CD). If you find it cheap you might want to check it out, but it’s probably better to continue looking around for more complete suites of the original series' music as Davis' contribution really isn't all that great. ***
|
|
Track Listing 1 - Mission: Impossible Main Title (0:49) Suite from "The Contender" 2 - The Plot (0:51) 3 - Ready (3:12) 4 - Rollin (0:44) 5 - Time (0:46) 6 - Sleeping Phelps (1:11) Suite from "Submarine" 7 - More Plot (2:39) 8 - Mission: Impossible Theme (1:10) Suite from "The Killer" 9 - Bower Hotel (1:55) 10 - Check Out Time (2:45) 11 - The Trick (2:16) Suite from "Takeover" 12 - Signal Light (0:42) 13 - Kate Thomas (1:28) Suite from "Underground" 14 - Tape Machine (3:17) 15 - Good Job (0:47) 16 - Mission: Impossible End Credit (0:29) 17 - Mission: Impossible '88 Main Title (1:03) Suite from "The Plague" 18 - Tricky Ears (0:38) 19 - This is the Chase (2:40) Suite from "The Bayou" 20 - Croc Bait (1:46) 21 - Not Worth It (3:38) Suite from "The Cattle King" 22 - Nice Boat (0:59) 23 - Bait the Hook (1:48) 24 - Hot Time (0:44) 25 - I Guess It Is (1:17) 26 - Freak Time (1:34) 27 - Whacko Time (1:42) Suite from "Deadly Harvest" 28 - Melt Down (2:00) 29 - Framed (2:05) Suite from "Church Bells In Bogota" 30 - Coffee (1:16) 31 - Ring Around the Finger (1:17) 32 - Mission Impossible '88 End Credit 33 - An Interview with Peter Graves (14:55) 34 - Mission: Impossible Theme (6:07) Total Running Time: 71:15 |
