| Thunderbirds |
| Composed by Barry Gray |
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Conducted by Barry Gray Produced by Tim Mallett and Ralph Titterton Release Date: March 25, 2003 |
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I've seen just enough of Thunderbirds to know that it is a quirky British television show from the 60s. And that's all that comes to mind when the title is mentioned. But apparently it has its fans and such has received a CD release of music from the marionette-driven show. The story behind the album is one that has always captured the imaginations of score collectors since the dawn of the filmmaking. A box, stuffed away in a dusty old place somewhere, discovered years later and then painstakingly digitized, re-mastered, and then slapped on CD for the masses to enjoy. Ok, maybe the masses only think of Thunderbirds as being a line of automobiles, but for those looking for the release of Barry Gray's music to the series, this title will not disappoint. For all the tender care that went into handling the music, it pays off as the sound quality, while not mind-blowing, is quite nice for the quality (or lack thereof) found in the original archiving materials coupled with the addition of time. The sequencing of the music is a bit odd, with suites taking up individual tracks and then sequences of tracks making up suites from the episode's already allotted material (which is a bit confusing, but take a look at the track listing to see what I mean). At the same time, the production is nicely balanced so it's merely something I noticed, and not a gripe about the album as a whole. The liner notes are very impressive, including biographical and behind-the-scenes info, along with a track-by-track analysis. The score itself is quite recognizable as a typical 60s television score. While it lacks a bit of complexity, it's straightforward and gets the job done, along with being a lot more enjoyable than the synth scores of today. Over-the-top and cheesy at certain moments (sometimes hitting a style that sounds more like Carl Stalling), there are plenty of trumpet blaring heroics to give the music an edge, and Gray even hints at Edwin Astley's theme from Secret Agent (the liner notes say it's a rip on the Bond theme, but it is clearly a rip on the that other ITC show). Not one I can recommend for mainstream audiences in general, but Thunderbirds fans will surely be pleased. Overall, Silva Screen's handling of this material is quite nice and if you're interested at all in Barry Gray or his work on the series, definitely give this disc a spin. *** |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 61:23 |
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