Joe LoDuca's Semi-Legendary Journeys Continue...
by Jeff Bond
Xena, Warrior Princess, Volume 2 ***
JOSEPH LoDUCA
Varese Sarabande VSD-5883. 30 tracks - 67:03
Thanks to the miracle of non-union recording (Joe LoDuca's "L.A.
East Studio" being located somewhere in Virginia), Varese can release
tons of Xena and Hercules music and pass the savings on to
you. You've gotta love that Xena... her sexuality is totally ambiguous,
she can kick anyone's ass, she enjoys her work... and how many other television
characters get to kiss a transvestite beauty contest winner AND get crucified
in the same season (not counting Jerry Springer)? Xena, Volume 2
has the same strengths as its predecessor: LoDuca feeds off the brazen
energy of the Xena character (personified by Lucy Lawless's fiery-eyed
and often hilarious performance) and gives these scores a drive and energy
his Hercules scores can never quite muster. All in all I'd put this
just a half a notch or so below Volume One, as LoDuca falls prey
just a bit more often to temp track fever than he did with the first album.
"Homeland" is another traditional melody with that great yowling
Celtic chant sound, but "You Really Believe That?" has some of
the echoing martial fanfares of Patton, and "Xena Kicks Bacchae
Butt" sounds an awful lot like Goldsmith's "Arthur's Farewell"
from First Knight. "The Ballad of Joxer the Mighty" is
a manly ode to the character played by Sam Raimi's brother on the show,
and it owes a little something to Goldsmith's ode to "Tod the Destroyer"
from Mom and Dad Save the World. Then there's the faux Christmas
carol "Solstice Night," with its ethereal children's choir. The
composer's occasional penchant for Hermmannesque textures comes into play
in "Restoration." The biggest disappointment is the "Crucifixion
of Xena" cue which is almost completely electronic; this really called
for some kind of giant, Alfred Newman moment, and LoDuca's transposition
of electronics for acoustic instruments is still unmotivated (except by
economics) and jarring. The overt comic moments grate a bit, too. But complaints
aside, this is still a nice romp and far more entertaining than your typical
television fare. By the way, the art directors at Varese have my personal
gratitude for their inclusion of the photo of Xena and Gabrielle soaping
each other up in a hot tub. -- Jeff Bond
Hercules - The Legendary Journeys, Volume 2 ** 1/2
JOSEPH LoDUCA
Varese Sarabande VSD-5884. 32 tracks - 67:54
That pensive look you see on Kevin Sorbo's face as he flexes on the
cover of this CD is probably the actor having second thoughts about his
future investments after the crash-and-burn of Kull the Conquerer
this fall. Having been almost completely overshadowed by its spinoff series,
Xena, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys seems to be having a little
trouble maintaining its devil-may-care, steroid-stoked atmosphere lately,
with dreary episodes featuring Tawny Kitaen and Sorbo's real-life main
squeeze dying on-screen while the legendary muscle-man waxes sensitive.
Hey, lighten up, Herc! With cues like "Barrel O'Monkeys" Hercules,
Volume 2 seems like an attempt to do just that, but like its preceding
Volume 1, this album often seems like an attempt to co-opt the old
Benny Herrmann/Harryhausen sensibility (check out the nearly actionable
"Summoning Skeletons"). While LoDuca's Xena scores can
call on that reliably angst-ridden Celtic tradition for its heavy-duty
emotional moments, Hercules's emotions often seem shallow and unfelt,
and the ethnic moments here seem more like an attempt to liven up the proceedings
with endless Hyborean keggers than Xena's pensive returns to her Amazonian
roots. Particularly egregious is "Tubular" with its attempt at
prehistoric surfer rock---what is this, It's About Time? And while
Xena's fight cues have some genuine brawn and velocity to them,
Hercules's often descend too easily into comic doggerel. This album
really gets bogged down in ethnic-flavored electronics, foregoing the swashbuckling
orchestral style for much of its prodigious length. Hulk reach for "skip"
button many times... -- Jeff Bond
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