| The Prisoner [File #1, #2, #3] | ||
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Produced by Reynold da Silva Release Date: November 12, 2002 The Prisoner was Patrick McGoohan's idea of a mini-series that would be chock full of symbolism in getting the message across about what he viewed was wrong with modern society. Well received by many, yet not fully understood even to this day, The Prisoner stands as one of those classic icons of 60s television that is appreciated by fans, but not generally well known among pop culture. I must admit that I was blown away by Silva Screen's decision to release the three disc set of music from the series. Not that the music isn't any good, just the opposite in fact. But I didn't expect any label to take the plunge in making the set available again (a three CD set was released a long time ago, but I'm not sure how it compares to these new ones). Put together, these three CDs cover just about every musical aspect of the series you could think of, as well as providing some memorable quotes from different episodes. This is definitely a case where those type of cues are not unwelcome, as the snappy dialogue from the series is wonderful and I found myself skipping the music sometimes during a listen just to hear those snippets. In hindsight, Silva should have compiled the three albums into one set, as anyone remotely interested in this music will have to have all three anyway. Each CD represents a set of music from selected episodes, since there was a lot of music that was reused throughout the series. The first album contains music from Arrival, The Chimes of Big Ben, and A, B, and C. As the first CD in the set, it does an adequate job of hitting the highlights of what the musical nature of the show was all about, though there are plenty of favorites that are spread out over all three CDs. The second album contains music from Free For All, The General, Many Happy Returns, Dance of the Dead, Checkmate, Hammer Into Anvil, and A Change of Mind. As the second CD in the set, it does an adequate job of hitting the highlights of what the musical nature of the show was all about, though by the start of the second album, repeats start to show up. The third disc handles the remaining episodes, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, The Girl Who Was Death, Once Upon a Time, and the climactic episode which succeeded in not only NOT answering any of the series' major questions, but additionally added plenty of its own, Fall Out. There are a few more repeats here, but the material is more fresh, with The Girl Who Was Death contributing quite a lot of quirky cues which are unique to that episode. As that quick little overview mentioned, while the set does a good job at keeping the material as original per CD as possible, some cues are repeated throughout the discs. Even more puzzling is that some of the music that has it's most memorable spotting can instead be found in other places. Take the music for Number 1's revelation in Fall Out. In case you're wondering, that music is here, but it's not in the Fall Out section on the third disc. Instead, it can be found on the second disc on track thirty-eight (Number 6 at café). Given how cues were re-used throughout the series, it's not that this is a mistake, however that cue is probably more famous in its context from Fall Out as opposed to A Change of Mind. All three volumes open with the title theme, but thankfully those in charge of producing the albums have allocated a different version of the main theme for each one. The first CD contains the main title as it appears in the show, including sound effects. The second disc treats fans with a re-recorded version that made its first appearance on the Cult Files compilation that Silva released quite a while ago. While at times quite a different take on the material, it's overly satisfying and a welcome inclusion to the set. The third disc is the best, with the full original theme sans sound effects. As for the music itself, well it takes on a wide variety of forms and genres, though I've always felt that the quirky cues that were composed specifically for the series (and not just plundered from a music library) that work the best within the show. Sound quality is not that great, but then again it's not like the music from the show received too much care way back when it was in production. The mastering job is the best that can be done, and while the music sometimes has a muffled quality to it, it's still not the worse I've ever heard. The liner notes are nice and informative with a more detailed track listing in the back giving the composer (when possible) for each different cue. |
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| Track Listing | ||
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File #1 Arrival 1 - Main Titles (2:20) 2 - "What's the name of this place?" (1:00) 3 - The Cottage maid is seen (2:17) 4 - The Band appears (Radetski March) (1:45) 5 - "I suppose you're wondering..." (0:41) 6 - Number 6 in the cottage (3:20) 7 - The Band concert (2:42) 8 - Afternoon concert (2:20) 9 - "I will not make any deals with you." (0:12) 10 - Helicopter escape bid (1:57) 11 - "Subject shows great enthusiasm." (0:34)
The Chimes of Big Ben 14 - Number 6 hates the tune (3:03) 15 - Night-time drink (2:26) 16 - "Do you still think you can escape, Number 6?" (0:14) 17 - Number 8 swims off (3:08) 18 - Number 6 chops down the tree (2:33) 19 - Village curfew (1:57) 20 - "There are some people who talk." (0:53) 21 - Exhibition hall (2:25) 22 - The Dinghy casts off (1:20) 23 - "The Village is a place where people turn up." (0:40) 24 - Crate journey (3:01) 25 - Back to the cottage (2:39)
A, B, and C 26 - Engadine's party (2:47) 27 - Number 6 dances with 'B' (1:23) 28 - Number 6 is drugged (1:53) 29 - Dreamy party (2:06) 30 - End titles (1:09)
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File #2 1 - "Transmission begins..." (0:10) 2 - The Prisoner - Main Title Theme (3:21)
Free for All 3 - Breakfast (1:18) 4 - "Elections? In this place?" (0:13) 5 - Speedboat dash (2:53) 6 - Nightclub (1:36) 7 - "What happens if I run against you?" (0:16) 8 - Number 6 wins the election (1:24) 9 - "I call this meeting to order." (0:48) 10 - Number 6 gets beaten (1:36) 11 - "Will you never learn?" (0:11)
The General 14 - The Board meet (0:48) 15 - "Knowledgeable cabbages." (0:07) 16 - Exam results (2:02) 17 - The General (0:38) 18 - Final report (2:31)
Many Happy Returns 19 - Adrift at sea (2:55) 20 - "We have a problem." (0:32) 21 - Gunrunners (1:56)
Dance of the Dead 22 - Early morning (2:07) 23 - "You're a wicked man."(0:11) 24 - Carnival (2:20) 25 - Nocturnal escape (3:44) 26 - Number 6 takes the life-belt (1:41) 27 - Number 6 leaves the dance (1:32) 28 - "I like my dream." (0:16) 29 - Angry mob (0:48)
Checkmate 30 - Human chess (2:42) 31 - Tower attack (1:52) 32 - MS Polotska (1:17)
Hammer Into Anvil 33 - Following Number 6 (2:28) 34 - Village Band (Farandelle) (0:44) 35 -Kosho (1:31) 36 - Number 6 fights Number 14 (3:59)
A Change of Mind 37 - "You are merely citizen Number 6." 38 - Number 6 at café (2:17) 39 - End Titles (1:13) |
File #3 1 - "The one and only Number 6" (0:05) 2 - Main Titles - Full version (3:33)
Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling 3 - Janet's party (1:18) 4 - "Tomorrow, you will wake up a new man." (0:14) 5 - European drive (1:08) 6 - Kandersfelt (1:30)
The Girl Who Was Death 7 - Cricket (1:55) 8 - Exploding ball (2:19) 9 - "My name is Death." (0:24) 10 - Record store (1:59) 11 - Poisoned beer (2:33) 12 - Turkish bath (2:30) 13 - "You're a born survivor. I am a born killer." (0:14) 14 - Boxing booth (1:58) 15 - Big Dipper (3:42) 16 - Fashion shoot (1:25) 17 - Car chase (2:25) 18 - Spinning car (2:26) 19 - Attack on the bulldozer (1:30) 20 - Lighthouse fort (2:24)
Once Upon A Time 21 - Regression (2:08) 22 - "Till death do us part" (0:16) 23 - Schooldays (0:39) 24 - "You must conform" (0:20)
Fall Out 25 - Opening theme (0:44) 26 - "Number 6 is presented to you" (0:33) 27 - Return of Number 2 (1:45) 28 - President speech (2:38) 29 - "I take it you are prepared to meet Number 1?" (0:19) 30 - Number 6 throned (2:14) 31 - Rocket fires up (3:08) 32 - End Titles (1:20)
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| Total Running Time: 55:51 | Total Running Time: 57:39 | Total Running Time: 51:59 |
True connoisseurs of The
Prisoner series will find that they will not be satisfied with anything
less than all three CDs. The hardest part to be sure is picking and
choosing, but the first album does a nice job. Bravo to Silva Screen for
taking the time to release these CDs in a way that makes them more
accessible to the masses.
