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Well, now I'm moving on to this show. I've watched almost all of it when it originally aired. Good exercising material.
I'm having to skip season one, which was all scored by Elia Cmiral, and going straight to season two.
Reviews might be sporadic at best.
"Internal Affairs" (Eddie Jobson)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4mW39hpebs
Jobson sort of came out of nowhere, did some scoring -- mainly on this series -- and then promptly vanished again. He scored every episoede from season two to season five.
At this point the series hasn't lost the theme music Elia Cmiral composed.
Highlights:
2:59 in: the fast percussion piece with unusual electric guitar(?) sounds and odd wordless male vocals for the rooftop chase.
15:22 in. The fast percussion piece with congas when the car chase comes to an end.
37:42 in.
39:00 in. The piano chords and eerie electric guitar distant wails when Nash is being watched and the turn into fast-paced percussion as his life is trying to be taken.
You might as well get used to the quote, "fast percussion piece", and later on get used to the quote "didgeridoo rumblings". From this point on I won't bother to list his name after every episode since he'll be the sole composer for seasons on.
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Continuing SEASON 2:
"'Til Death Do Us Part"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzqP2s9nfA
Highlights:
13:02 in. the moderately paced percussion piece with congas, some kind of shaker, and drum kit during the rooftop hostage situation.
21:36 in. The unusual rhythms, tribal percussion, wordless male vocals, foreign percussion and some kind of sound played in reverse, during a tense exchange between bad guys.
36:40 in. The breif fast percussion piece that has a didgeridoo at the start and a dark close (maybe a low note on a mellotron), for the bookstore shoot-out.
39:53 in. The three minute long fairly intense drum percussion piece I guess I could say is a kind of aggressive modern jazz piece, which takes a quiet turn with low cymbal swells and sounds I can't identify (for the stand off at the end).
44:55 in. And the sparce peaceful piano chords piece with clarinet as Nash has a tender conversation with his father at the end of the episode.
Though no running theme, because of the fun pieces, I might say a good second tier effort.
"The Great Escape"
Not uploaded to Youtube.
"Wrecking Crew"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKGfDl0FDuA
Highlights:
0:00 in. the odd combination of fast ostinato strings with some spanish(?) guitar here and there and occassional beat stops for the bank robbery something akin to the shootout from "Heat", that opens with some kind of church-bell hits.
31:11 in. The forest of percussion rhythms with congas, what sounds like drim sticks delicately clicking away, and an electric guitar doing some moderate wails as Joe and Nash face off against the junk yard dog.
41:44 in. The moderately paced percussion piece that begins out with what sounds like some electric guitar effects and closed cymbal taps that soon lends way to more percussion including once again congas, as Nash is taken out to be executed; it becomes frantic as the Pinto is about to blow.
I should say a few words about the style of the scoring right now. Think a cross between Jan Hammer's percussion work on "Miami Vice" crossed between the African tribal percussion from J.N.H.'s score to "Dinosaur". I'm not sure why this approach was taken for a cop series that takes place in San Fran, but it works. There was nothing particularly wrong with Eli Cmiral's work on Velton Ray Bunch's work, but Jobson defined the sound that I consider synonymous with the series (same goes for his theme song).
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Continuing SEASON 2:
"Trackdown"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7us6KGx9gQ
Highlights:
0:00 in. the unsettling percussion piece that opens the episode. The rest really didn't do much for me.
"The Brothers McMillan"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX3zdeIO7Gs
Highlights:
2:51 in. the heavy percussion piece that includes what I think is a kalimba and some kind of odd wordless vocal wailing, for when Nash tails somebody in the open and follows him on foot with Joe.
20:36 in. The unusual and somewhat slow percussion piece with piano as Nash examines the painting and finds a key.
"Night Train"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkj-kfD_TjE
Highlights:
6:08 in. the tense piece with shaker, drum percussion of some sort, a breathy wind instrument (maybe a shakuhachi, played low), as the train is taken over.
10:03 in. A short dark piece as everybody is moved to another car of the train.
12:52 in. Another percussion piece with piano and synth strings; it goes on for a few minutes kind of forming a low uneasy rumble.
22:03 in. The short action piece as Eve struggles and is shot. As the mood gets tense on the train, a slow piece with synth tones, slow shakers and low percussion is heard as.
30:48 in. The fast-paced percussion piece when a passenger makes a break for it, with dark synth tones.
33:34 in. Another kind of fast-paced percussion piece as the train moves.
37:24 in. The low synth tone and steady percussion that builds up as Evan sneaks up and things comes to a head.*
If you enjoy the percussion work of the show, then this is for you. I'm going to go ahead and call it a top tier effort.
This is a good episode. I could seriously see this as a "Miami Vice" episode.
* = So, ahhh … when did Joe have a chance to zip up?
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Continuing SEASON 2:
I've finally finished up a backlog of reviews:
"Zodiac"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jkd0lXbkNk
Highlights:
14:29 in. the short cue as Nash pulls up to the crime scene.
18:17 in. The tambourine slapping and wooden(?) instrument taps with a didgeridoo rumble and what sounds like quick zither fingering as Nash and an old aquintance enter the dark home of a suspect.
21:39 in. The breif fast-paced percussion piece where A.J. kicks down a bad guy.
42:46 in. And the solo piano cue as Nash talks to his dad around the end of the episode.
For the guys here: 12:22 in. You're welcome. Whip.
"Leo's Big Score"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9s-927KwD4
Highlights:
in. the percussion cue as Leo steals a car.
in. When Leo goes to talk to his cousin, there's a quick-paced hand-drum driven piece (also, when the scene begins, there's a groupd of like a dozen people sitting outside playing the drums for the score cue -- I wonder if those are the session players).
in. The slow beat with percussion (including what sounds like drum sticks clicking together) and a wailing male vocal as Joe impersonates a bad guy.
in. The brief percussion piece as hostage situation occurs at the station.
"Hit Parade"
Stand out cues: the steady percussion rhytym that builds and then eases out as we meet Angel for the first time. The breif cue as another assassin fire at them. The fast-paced percussion piece as Evan and Harvey, joined in by Nash and Joe, persue a suspect driving dangerously on a motorcycle to escape.
"Promised Land"
Stand out cues: the free-style Chinese percussion and cymbal piece during an argument that goes wrong in a restaurant in the opening. The fast-paced percussion piece in the ship yard with wordless male wailings. The unusual Chinese-percussion piece as a bad guy evacuates the slave labor from a building; and the following cue as Nash investigates the scene. The chinese-percussions cue with low rumble sound and a koto(?) playing over it when the show comes back from commercial. The sad acoustic guitar piece as Harvey confronts the mystery woman he had been trying to figure out the whole episode. The frantic standard percussion and Chinese percussion cue with an ehru (that blends out of Carson shouting "Freeze!") during the fire fight with Carson, her partner and some bad guys. The percussion piece that opens with some wooden instruments in a repeating pattern with some Chinese percussion in counterpoint pattern that breaks into some sparce percussion and electric guitar pluckings and shaker as Joe and Nash sneak into a secret hide out, and then enters a new rhythm that creates a sort of odd percussions ambience with a solo conga-like instrument playing over it.
The variety in sounds from different percussion certainly added to the score. There's somethign about it that clicks with me and I'm tempted to make it a top tier effort.
"25 Hours of Christmas"
Stand out cues: the short cue with fake choir and sleigh bells as angel tries to fly. The kind of jazzy piece with double bass plucking, percussion, and sleigh bells as Joe learns the hard way telling the truth would have been easier, as he makes calls to find tires. The slow instrumental of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with the jazz-like performance and sax playing the theme that closes out the episode. There not much score in the episode.
"Road Work"
Stand out cues: the odd piece with guitars, some kind of deep-sounding drum, cowbell, keeping a steady beat as thye bad guys track Nash, Joe and the witness, which turns into an odd tambourine action-scape as they bad guys are taken by surprise. The cue that opens with what I assume is a french horn and some cymbal rolls that leads way to a kind of tribal percussion rhythm with shaker, congas, as they are chased by police cars; the cue sort of fades out (maybe the scene was cut down, maybe the cue was a longer piece Jobson composed that was tracked in, who knows). And the warm and kind of charming acoustic guitar piece as Cassidy apologizes to J.J., which also closes out the episode.
There are some good cues in this episode, but there are also some not so good cues. The good ones make it a good score but the bad ones bring it down. I guess I'll have to toss it into a third tier effort.
I had to skip the following episodes since there were no loads on Youtube:
"Inside Out"
"The Counterfeiters"
"The Web"
Stand out cues: a piece as Carson walks into a convinience store that has some light taping on some kind of percussions instrument in quick successions and a low fretless guitar notes; a shaker and some other stuff join in during a robbery. A fast-paced percussion piece with that light tapping, breathy wind instrument puffs (maybe a shakuhachi), wordless male wailing, and other percussion as Nash and Joe watch a suspect make a pick up from a van. Another fast-paced percussion piece as Nash races the cuda to meet a deadline. A repeating beat with some kind of drum (maybe a log drum) and various ticking light percussions sounds as Nash and co. approach the place of a suspect, which turns into action when a loud harsh drum added. The short and very quick percussion piece as Harvey is ambushed.
A lot of enjoyable stuff if you are into percussion-heavy rhythm pieces. Might call it a top tier effort.
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"Knockout"
Stand out cues: the opening cue that begins with some harp plucks and violin strings and deep thud drum sound with some cello (or cello base) pizzicato work in the lower range which then leads from the mystery sound to some light drama with some synth(?) percussion and cymbol taps; the intensity builds as Joe gets closer and closer to being killed with some added percussion, cymbal swishes, sax', and final a cymbal crash as Joe avoids death; the cue then goes into a jazzy mode with cymbal taps and double bass pizzicato, finally ending in a slow pronounced cymbal ride -- a really stand out cue. The light tense piece with moderately paced percussion, sax', and tambourine with some synth(?) strings as Nash persues the rapists who have Carson.
"Gun Play"
Stand out cues: the opening fast-paced percussion cue with congas and other hand-beaten drums and synth strings; the cue picks up after leaving another scene that it was cut from. The web of various percussion with African male wordless vocals as one bad guy is testing weapons to purchase from another. Another cue with similar sounds as Nash and a police unit persue a vehicle which ends in a crash. A slow cue with low cello bass and what sounds like synth pizzicato cello bass as one bad guy meets with another in a restaurant; kind of a moody piece. The acoustic guitar piece with kind of pop-ish backing that closes the episode.
"Rampage"
Stand out cues: the opening cue that's over three minutes long with a steady shaker beat and various percussions including prodominently hand-beaten ones. The percussion piece during the chase out the night club, that ends with some dark low mellowtron(?) notes and some sparce guitar of some sort (more along the lines of something you'd expect to hear in "Miami Vice").
"Out of Chicago"
Stand out cues: the cue with quiet percussion (some kind of hollow wood drum maybe) beat and a shaker, which takes a quick dramatic turn, then picks up the pace and ends in a quiet cymbal swish. The quick-paced percussion piece with that drum sound again, synth strings, as Nash and Karen chase a suspect out of a massage parlor. Part of the long cue that takes place in a hotle as Nash persues Karen, who is being persued herself; there's a low heart beat sound, dissonant piano chords and synth strings.
"Moving Target"
Stand out cues: nothing stood out for me.
"Wild Card"
Stand out cues: the Chinese percussion and flute (Chinese, too?) as Nash and Joe enter Chinatown and the aggressive material as a man is gunned down. The jazzy little dinner party source cue with double bass plucks and sax'. The fast-paced hard hitting percussion piece with solo male wordless vocal wailing as Nash and Joe come across the kidnapping of Barry. The cue with a steady hand-beaten drums as they come close to the cruiseliner and witness a deal go bad, which picks up as a boat pulls away; as that happens, that drum machine cynbal taps like from the "Miami Vice" theme, comes in underlining the cue and is joined by what I think is a clavinet; some electric guitar comes in as they continue to puersue the boat which is just off shore, reminiscent of an episode of MV. The the ending cue which is quite similar to something out of MV, with it's '80's backing and guitar, which ends on very similar sounding tone like at the end of the theme from MV.
Philip Michael Thomas guest stars as an ex partner/friend of Nash's. As he makes his appearance, the score does an impression of the opening seconds of the "Miami Vice" theme with the drum machine cymbal taps, which fades out and gives way to dark synth tones very much like [h]Hammer's scoring. All taking place on the deck of HQ, so it's set against the bay -- a familiar looking setting for MV fans. And no, there's no possibility of Nash maybe being Sonny as too much information given in just season two alone, leaves that to be impossible. And Cheech's (Joe) old partner Chong, makes a guest apparance as a character, too, but it's not too far from their old days. I feel Thomas was wasted here, however.
And so concludes season two. EDIT: My mistake, one more episode left for the season.
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SEASON 3:
"Lost and Found"
Stand out cues: just two cues: the repeating fast percussion piece with a shaker and occasioanlly something playing over as Nash follows the jeep carrying Michelle and the F.B.I. agent that ends with didgeridoo. And the upbeat piano piece with a slight southern flare that closes the episode.
"Payback"
Stand out cues: the cue that opens the episode, with fast-paced percussion. The long steady rhythmic percussion cue during the climax around the end. The breif kind of sad piece with strings and piano as the empty hospital bed is seen; another rendition occurs a few minutes later that closes out the episode.
Special note for actor Tobin Bell, who once again plays a threatening creepy bad guy. He played a good one in another TV series.
"Shake, Rattle & Roll"
Stand out cues: the opening cue with acoustic guitar, quick-paced pronounced shaker that builds to a fast intensity and releases on an unesy synth sound with I think it a trombone adding to it, then picking up again and closing out to the end credits. The nice soft jazz source piece playing in the restaurant, assuming it's an original composition. The mystery cue lead by piano and some didgeridoo as they all try to catch the ex assassin.
"One Flew Over the Cuda's Nest"
Stand out cues: the weird cue with processed wordless male vocals and generally a strange feel, as the bad guy steals some cloths. Another odd cue with processed male wordless vocals and a solo piano for a mystery feel as the villain dresses. The fast-paced percussion piece with some breif snare drums as they prepare to raid a place they suspect the bad guy is at. The odd cue with some tense feel and what sounds like recorded strings played in reverse, for the gun shop response team. The cue with various percussion including hand-beaten ones and some kind of wooden one tapped that picks up in pace and sounds with kalimba and synth strings as Nash chases the bad guy in the climax (almost a minute of it has nearly SFX free).
There was definitively some wing spreading and experimenting on Jobson's part in this episode. Despite the kind of cheesy cue in the oepning, I might put this in the top tier works.
"Payback" was the last episode for the character Bryn Carson. She wasn't in the season opener, or even in the opening credits, and she's barely even in this episode. She just disappears with no on-screen explination. She wasn't a bad character and certainly didn't need to go. I assume there were some behind-the-scenes issues and ultimately brining in actress Kelly Hu for a new female inspector, probably sealed her fate.
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Continuing SEASON 3:
"Blackout"
Stand out cues: the opening cue with strings and piano which adds a sense of mystery to the cue with some added clarinet; the cue becomes tense and then goes out with a cymbal swell and some kind of weird sound. The very next cue, seconds after the other, as Joe comes over, with some percussion. The whimsicle cue for woodwinds and pizzcato strings as Harvey and Evan start going over things on Michelle's desk after she walks away (her first episode as a team member; Nash hired her inbetween episodes); another similar in style cue as Nash and his dad try to find something to eat; and yet another cue as Evan tries to break into Michelle's desk. Another mystery noir-ish cue with piano, strings and pizzcato strings as Nash investigates the hotel room he rented under his secret cover. The mystery cell base cue with some light piano as Nash takes a call from the mystery girl. The light piano dining source cue, if it's an original composition. Yet another mystery piano cue with pizzcato strings as Nash, Joe and Michelle break into the mystery girl's place. One again some playful woodwinds and pizzcato strings and Harvey and Evan visit Michelle's place and it picks back up a scene later when they leave. And the climax cue repraising the series of ideas from earlier in the episode, around the end of the episode. The short acoustic guitar piece as Nash talks to his daughter.
A top tier effort and a plesant surprise from Jobson.
Also, for those who care, Lisa is gone from the show, too, now cooking in a restaurant in Paris.
"Ripcord"
Stand out cues: the cue as Joe sneaks in to test fascility.
"Sniper"
Stand out cues: the percussion piece with dijariddo playing over it as Nash and Joe heads to the roof of a building to find a sniper.
"Revelations"
Stand out cues: the odd cue with some kind of metal tapping/shaking sound, an instrument that sounds like a weird combination of a ehru and some kind of woodwind, and some wordless male vocals as Michelle is breifly kidnapped; the piece slows down and some ethnic percussion sounds set an uneasy mood while she's being talked to by a bad guy; it picks back up when she makes a stupid move. The cue with the same ehru/woodwind instrument and some synth sounds, as Nash gets a print out on his brother -- the cue sounds very much like something out of "Miami Vice".
Special mention to the acting of James Gannon (Nash's father Nick) when Nash comes home and Nick's mind has wadered away temporarily.
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"Most Wanted"
Stand out cues: the cue as Nash, Joe and Michelle carefully enter a boxing gym unexpectedly closed, with what sounds like some wooden instruments being tapped, some kind of percussion piece manipulated by computer, wordless female vocals and what I'm pretty certain is a dudak. The low didgeridoo growls and low heart-beat sounds as Nash does something his character hasn't done before.
"Bombshell"
Not loaded.
"Found Money"
Stand out cues: the short percussion piece with synth drone and didgeridoo as Nash comes to an office to make an arrest. The synth '80's keyboard sound with synth piano as Bettina finds his desk gone, closing out the episode.
"Dirty Tricks"
Stand out cues: the opening rhytmic percussion cue. The cue as there's a muder on the street. The percussion cue as Nash and team arm up for the British after the consulant stop.
"Crossfire"
Stand out cues: the opening fast-paced percussion cue and Nash and Joe in the cuda try to avoid a monster truck.
"Live Shot"
Stand out cues: the low cello bass9?) as Nash is taken by accident with the other criminals and the subsequent cue after the commercial break with the acoustic guitar sounding string instrument with some kind of synth beat underneath as they try to figure out where he may be.
There's barely any score in the episode as it's mostly not scored and when there is score, it's from flashbacks to previous episodes, with existing score.
"Downtime"
Stand out cues: the heavy-percussion cue with cello bass(?) hard staccato during the grocery store robbery and crossfire. The percussion cue with some kind of flute over it as Nash pulls off the street to get a suspect. The slow percussion cue with bongos, a low continuous muted acoustic guitar plucking with some acoustic guitar here and there as Birdsong and Joe questions a suspect. The solo piano piece and Nick and Nash talk about life. The percussion peice with a driving beat, cymbal taping, and cello bass(?) hard staccato as Nick's horse races another.
"Skin Deep"
Stand out cues: the strumming acoustic guitar cue with a snare drum beat that closes out the episode, though short.
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Yes, it was a demo theme, I think for season six, on his website. But his website has been let go and all demos are gone. It's a bare page patch work.
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"Patriots"
Stand out cues: the quick percussion cue as Nash saves Kelly from two attackers. The odd cue with what I gues are some Irish instruments as a bomb maker works away. The cue as Kelly's wife warns her to leave to the airport. The odd uneasy cue with choir, church bells and bagpipes, which is joined by some weird grating string sound and repeating synth beat (I'm pretty sure there's a traditional Irish tune in there); the cue veers into repeating percussion rhythms as Nash and Joe have a quick shoot out and drive a car away with a bomb in it. The kind of upbeat pop-ish cue that closes out the episode.
The beginning of that cue with choir and bagpipes was a real stand out, almost film-ish in a way.
"Cuda Grace"
Stand out cues: nothing particularly stood out. there was one long actyion chase cue, but it was mostly obscured by SFX, so I couldn't judge it properly.
"Lady Killer"
Stand out cues: the cue with shaker as Rick escapes prisoner transport. And the solo romanitic piano piece that ends the episode.
Special mention made to a cue as Rick and Nash talk that uses part of Jobson's theme song. The only cue those far from any episode (except about a handful I couldn't view) that uses it.
"Danger Zone"
Stand out cues: the short playful woodwind cue as Joe sneaks out candy he's hidden in his house. The percussion cue with cell bass(?) as Nash and team find an undercover officer in a robbery. The long paced percussion piece as Nash and team wait at a park for the bad guy to show; aside from the woodwind useage, it's very reminiscent of a "Miami Vice" cue.
"Special Delivery"
Stand out cues: the airport stalking scenes, with percussion and a string instrument (maybe a cimbalon), that is kind of remeniscent to me of some of the "The Jackal" scoring. The fast-paced percussion cue with cello bass and didgeridoo rumbles during the attempted muder at Lynette's place. The cue with Chinese percussion and a shakuhachi playing over it, which is remeniscent of a cue from "The X-Files" score CD The Truth and the Light, as Nash pulls up to a business in Chinatown; the cue veers into a different steady rhythm and closes with some kind of woodwind playing in a melancholy way (closing the episode).
"Touchdown"
Stand out cues: the stand off with the helicopter shooter, with steady percussion. That fast-paced percussion cue during the false granade alarm. The long antsy percussion piece as the undercover van tracks a planted truck.
"Sacraments"
Stand out cues: the reflective acoustic guitar cue and Nash talks to Cassidy.
The episode was dedicated "In Loving Memory" of John Nicolella. He was a producer on the show, as well as "Miami Vice".
Special mention to the old lady trimming the trees; it sounds like her voice was dubbed over by a guy pretending to be a worried old lady. It's awful.
And so ends season three.
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Here I am trying to catch up on a back log of reviews:
"High Fall"
NO LOAD.
"Imposters"
Stand out cues: the fast-paced percussion cue during the salon attempted assasination. The steady percussion piece with I think a bongo and some kind of foreigh percussion instrument, creating an uneasy rhythm as Harvey and Evan enter a house.
"Hot Prowler"
Stand out cues: the tense percussion piece with the prowler at the end where he's reached his peak with the muder of a target.
This is Michelle's last episode. The character was just never used properly. It was hinted at in one episode she had a problematic passed that could be used to blackmail her, but it was never again visited. She was under developed and as the previous season went on, she slowly vanished from it. A light air a couple tiems was suggesting she might get romantically involved with Nash, but that never materialized. Like other female characters before her, it seems the writers simply didn't know what to do with her. I think he fate was sealed, by my guess, when she probably asked for more money and that the incoming female lead soon, was obviously more super-model type material and more in league with Nash's interests. I think they got rid of her for the "hotter" girl, though the actress that played Michelle was better looking in my opinion.
"Overdrive"
Stand out cues: the somewhat quickly paced percussion piece with shaker and jaw harp as Nash and Joe chase a vehicle in a junk yard in the opening. The cue as the brothers talk. And the kind of jazzy cue as Joe goes to use the bathroom in a suspects place (broken into two pieces), which goes int oa different direction with tapped bells, hand percussion, and jaw harp.
"Apocolypse Nash"
Stand out cues: the short mellowdrama cue with percussion as Nash takes the stand. The percussion peice as Nash recalls the shootout that lead to the trial.
"The Tourist"
Stand out cues: the opening chase cue, similar to the last cue mentioned in the episode above. The uncommon percussion sounds with shaker with a unctuated repeating rhythm as Harvey and Evan approach a suspects house. The cue with double bass licks, various percussion as Joe and Harvey try help the F.B.I. agent from screwing things up and maybe get killed. The cue with some kind of wooden instrument, an acoustic guitar and something playing a line underneat all it as Nash and Lisa say good-bye at the airport.
Special note: a new S.I.U. HQ, another floating boat.
"Swingers"
Stand out cues: the low-key percussion piece with shaker during the opening, which later in the cue sounds like low octave piano strings are being rubbed up their length for dramatic effect. There's another short cue in a similar vein though faster, as Caitlin wrestles a fighting couple. The slow piece with little percussion, a sparce wooden block and a cello bass as Nash meets a kidnapper at night. The odd cue with synth lines and echoing percussion sound as Caitlin escapes, which ends with some didgeridoo, cell bass and piano chords. The melloncholly cues with a synth line underneath, wooden block, and some kind of instrument (wind, maybe) as Nick scatters the ashes of a dead friend at sea, with some light drum kit work at the end.
There isn't necessarily anythign striking or complicated about this episode score, but I just like it and want to say it's a second tier effort.
"Warplay"
Stand out cues: the fast-paced action cue in the opening with breathy didgeridoo riffs; the cue becomes light and de-escaltes to the end. The cue at night as Nash's place is broken into. The percussion piece for the SWAT raid.
"Firestorm"
Stand out cues: nothing particularly stood out for me.
"Hardball"
Stand out cues: the fretless guitar and tamborine montage cue as Harvey and Evan talk to various people from the radio station. The short organ and sax' cue doing a version of "America".
"Mystery Dance"
Stand out cues: the opening percussion cue as Nash and Caitlin talk while mystery events go on around them.
"Shoot the Moon"
Stand out cues: the short cue with didgeridoo and '80's sounding drums after Caitlin shoots Nash in the ass. The percussion piece as late at night in a the closed campus library, Cassidy has to defend her life from a psycho.
I'm a little unsure of the closing cue with piano and solo acoustic guitar.
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"Gimme Shelter"
Stand out cues: the fast-paced percussion cue with what sounds like ambient guitar effects
scattered over it, as Harvey and Evan chase a suspect firing on them. The kind of playful piece with fretless electric guitar and cymbol claps and I think I hear pizzcato violin over it but it's kind of obscured too much by SFX to be certain (for a scene where Harvey catches a young kid in his car trying to steal the radio). The percussion piece as Harvey and Evan bust some squarters. The whimsicle piece for woodwinds and pizzcato cello as Joe busts the store personnel.
Once again, nothing particularly striking or complex, but it's good fun and I'd toss it into a second tier effort land.
"Superstition"
Stand out cues: nothing particularly stood out. There was little scoring in the episode.
"Resurrection"
Stand out cues: the sad piano cues are Nash is in the hospital.
"Pump Action"
No [English] load.
"Hide and Seek"
Stand out cues: the jazzy double bass plucks and cymbol taps as Nash and Joe go investigating with Caitlin tailing them. The light percussion piece as Nash arrests the Lt. governor.
"Boomtown"
Stand out cues: the various wooden and hollow percussion sounds as Nash and Joe pull up to a crime seen in the opening minutes. I know it's lazy, but there were a couple cues after that that were nice.
"Angel of Mercy"
Stand out cues: the soft cymbol taps in the opening with some kind of instrument as a man is murdered, which transitions into hand percussion with synth sounds at the scene of a crime. The jaw harp and contrabass clarinet(?) cue as Joe snoops at Caitlin's desk. The cue with slow strumming guitars and double bass as Harvey gets bad news and calls Evan.
There was so little focus on the killer in this episode, being used more as a way to tell the story of Angel's past, but I felt he was worth a special mention: probably one of the more creepy of disturbed killers the show ever had. Played by somebody named Edward Albert.
"Power Play"
Stand out cues: the pizzacato strings and woodwinds as Joe goes to medical fascility. The "Miami Vice"-ish cue as Caitlin escapes and the suspects are percused.
"Vendetta"
Stand out cues: the opening cue, though iot's a bit of a mixed bag; with the steady slow percussion rhytym, piano, and airy woodwind (reminiscent of the breathy sax' Cmiral used in the original series theme music). The fast-paced albeit short, percussion cue with didgeridoo as Harvey sets up two stalkers. The breif percussion piece as we see another officer at work frisky a line of baddies, with some drama work after including some somber cello work (the cue soudns different is a way from his previous work). The steady pronounced percussion with some drumkit, didgeridoo and some synth work as Grissom walks into a police station dressed as a police officer. The percussion and synth stab heavy cue during the climax (which includes what sounds like odd didgeridoo huffs).
"Crash and Burn"
Stand out cues: the opening cue as Nash tries to get to a robbery scene. The unusual cue with some kind of kick-drum and cowbell medium-sized ringing, that quickly turns into a face-paced percussion piece.
"Frisco Blues"
Stand out cues: the short percussion piece and Harvey and his temp partner bust into an apartment. Nothing else particularly stood out and there was very little scoring in the episode.
"Goodbye Kiss"
Stand out cues: the fast-paced percussion cue for the instigated crash into the police prison van. The fast-paced wooden percussion cue for the short van kidnapping and robbery scene. The solo piano and woodwind piece as Nick talks to Cassidy who has tried on her wedding dress. And the closing solo piano cue which goes into a synth guitar (that sounds something akin to Hammer's work on "Miami Vice").
And so concludes season four.
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SEASON 5:
"Truth and Consequences"
Stand out cues: the pizzacato double bass with some woodwinds, jaw harp, and didgeridoo as Joe gets the cold shoulder from his wife. The fast-paced percussion vehicle chase cue. The some what tense steadily-paced percussion piece as Nash heads toward the hostage taker.
"Trade Off"
Stand out cues: the light percussion patter with a harsh drum and cello base. The percussion piece as Harvey and Evan approach a suspect and Evan ends of beating the crap out of him. A cue in a similar style, though more action-y, as Nash races in the cuda to follow the kidnapper's instructions. And every cue from catching the kidnapper to the end of the episode.
"Smash and Grab"
Stand out cues: the short little jazzy piece with cymbol taps, double bass plucks and free-style sax' as Joe is spying on a suspect with binoculors, then gets caught by a woman in a towel who he looks at after seeing where the suspect is looking; and another kind of similar cue, with some woodwind use and xylaphone later in the episode when the suspect is peeping again (this one is about 90% or so SFX free).
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Edwin Jobson of 'Roxy Music' and 'Curved Air'?
Hardly 'out of nowhere'!
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Edwin Jobson of 'Roxy Music' and 'Curved Air'?
Hardly 'out of nowhere'!
Film music fans tend to use blinkers.
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"Girl Trouble"
Stand out cues: the light percussion cue in the opening as Cassidy is almost kidnapped. The cue as a delivery is made to Cassidy's place (it's nothing remarkable -- I just happen to like it). The kind of light jazzy lounge piece as Joe is chatting online with a woman he has met online; it's also got some playful colors to it. The long cue during hte climax that starts as Cassidy is abducted at a park to Nash coming to save her; stylistically there's some difference here and some experimenting in new sounds that kind of sets it apart. The little piano piece at the end as Nash interrupts Joe and Pepe at the peir; specifically mentioned since it's only the second time I recall a cue during Jobson's work on the show, that contains part of the opening credits theme; the cue closes out the episode and sort of ends like the theme song does, with the pronounced descending notes.
"High Society"
Stand out cues: the plucky double bass, triangle and wooden block taps as Joe sneaks around in Boz's place. The electric fretless bass lines with some kind of shaker, wooden block, and percussion as Boz tries to break into a suspects vehicle, and the playful end with toy piano. And the closing cue with acoustic guitar and some kind of beat.
"Curveball"
Stand out cues: possibly the acoustic guitar piece ans Nash describes how the signed baseball was important to him, to Caitlin (I hear somethingelse in there but I'm not sure it it's a guitar playing effect or a kalimba). The entire cue as Joe tracks and tries to get back Nash's baseball. The unusual-sounding piece as Harveyand Evan race to catch a suspect at a bank. the fast-paced percussion cue as Nash goes to make the bust but finds the bad guy already tied up. And the kind of tropical piece with steelpan that closes out the episode.
"Split Decision"
Stand out cues: the cue with some hard drumming sounds as Harvey and police enter a suspect's place. The sad acoustic guitar piece as Nick tells Joe where he is in life. The very breif acoustic guitar piece with a catchy rhythm as Nick gets off a bus. The percussion piece with some kind of airy woodwind as the bad guy sees a bank clerk. The jazzy source piece as Nash and the therapist meet over dinner.
"Get Bananas"
Stand out cues: the short fast-paced percussion cue as Jake tries to get Bananas, which transitions into a brief peice with wooden zylaphone and claves(?). The cue the second time Jakes tries and does get Bananas. The entire fast-paced percussion cue during the climax scenes on the cargo ship. And the closing cue as Nash suspends Evan.
"Crosstalk"
Stand out cues: the percussion piece in the opening as Nash and Joe find themselves at a robbery. The percussion cue with some tense sounds as the cellphone killer strikes. The music in Joe's dream about Caitlin; later in the episode he has the dream again. The percussion cue with what sounds like some kind harsh metalic sound over it, as they break into the cellphone killer's place.
"Kill Switch"
Stand out cues: the playful cue with wooden xylaphone, tamborine and fretless electric guitar licks as once again the series Joe finds himself in street traffic almost getting run over. The fast-paced action cue and Harvey and back up break into a suspect's place. The sad low synth cue as Evan repeatedly calls Cassidy, having hit new lows in his life. The piano and acoutic guitar cue and Nash talks to Cassidy about what to do. The kind of tense piece with wooden sounds, piano on the lower and higher octaves (included is, of course, a didgeridoo), as the lawyer finds herself in the killer's house; it takes a more dramatic and frantic turn as it nears the end. The sad low-key piano piece with synth as Evan finds he's finally alienated Cassidy.
"Rip Off"
Stand out cues: the opening car chase cue. The kind of off repeated echo percussion hits as Harvey and Joe spy on a suspect; I think I breifly hear a dudak. The odd cue with ticking wood block, some kind of woodwind-like sound as the theif is tricked by Nash late at night. The rhythmic hand-percussion cue as Boz chases a suspectd tagger (for like the third or fourth time in the series, we see musicians playing instruments in line with the score; I'm assuming again these are the session players getting yet another cameo).
"Skin Trade"
Stand out cues: the chase in Chinatown in the opening with some Chinese instruments added to the mix. The source cue -- assuming it's an original peice by Jobson -- in the restaurant as Caitlin meets Frankie, with a spanish flare featuring a spanish guitar. The action percussion cue during the climax near the end. And the closing cue.
There almost no score in the episode. What I mentioned above is pretty much all of it.
"Liar's Poker"
NO LOAD.
"El Diablo"
Stand out cues: the low moody percussion as Nash and Joe investigate the balcony the woman fell from. The low moody slow percussion cue as a violent pimp Evan had crossed paths with, comes back with backup, which turns into fast-paced percussion work during the scuffle (sounding more like an action piece fro ma karate film). And thw acoustic guitar piece with a beat that closes out the episode.
"Hit and Run"
Stand out cues: the fast-paced percussion cue as Nash and Joe are almost murdered. The short percussion cue as Harvey and team try to take down Eldon. The short acoustic guitar and synth piece with a beat as Evan gets baptised. And the cue that closes out the episode (I'm not sure how to describe the style of music). The percussion piece as Harvey and cops bust into the fake cop's place. The vehicle chase cue. And the solo acoustic guitar cue that closes out the episode.
"Cop Out"
Stand out cues: the cue with a repeating percussion beat and wailing wordless male vocal ans Harvey and team bust into the cop impersonatore's place. The three plus mintue percussion vehicle chase piece that ends with the stand off on a multi-story parking garage top. Not much stood out for me in this episode.
This would make an excellent episode to re-write as a "Miami Vice" episode.
"Line of Sight"
Stand out cues: the
shot percussion cue as Harvey arrests a suspect named Lenny; nothing remarkable, just fun to listen to.
"Heist"
Stand out cues: the kind of downbeat whistful acoustic guitar piece as Harvey talks to a young boy he's trying to get in a better situation in life.
"Hard Cell"
Stand out cues: the whistful and positive acoutic guitar and piano piece as Harvey reminisces in his shot-up car.
"Missing Key"
Stand out cues: Just one, the steadily building pace of the percussion and fretless guitar
note repetition
leading to a storage fascility explosion. There wasn't much score in the episode.
"Jackpot: Part 1"
NO LOAD
"Jackpot: Part 2"
Stand out cues: the light percussion cue as Jake handcuffs Nash and tries to drag him out of the casino. The cue, which I can't pin the style of down, as Nash and the D.E.A. agent are parting ways for the night. The percussion chase cue with wordless male vocals and various instrument riffs and Evan and Harvey chase down a dangerous suspect, that takes a quick dark turn. The long percussion piece during the clamax at night on the air strip. And the low-key kind of sad cue as Cassidy tells dad she's been accepted to the police academy.
And so concludes not only season five, but Eddie Jobson's work on the show. He did not return for the finale season. I can only speculate, but I suspect he was getting burned out and wanted to work on other projects. His scoring career ended shortly after that (not that it was long-lived); he scored one movie and a TV movie and then did some choral arranging for Mancina in 2003, but disappeared after that. Eventually his personal website was updated and promised sound clips from his scoring work, but after about eight years those clips never materialized so I gave up on that.
There was of course no score released (and no promotional CD that I know of) for his efforts and the theme song, long requested by fans of the series, was never released either.
In an interview, Jobson stated this about his scoring for this series:
A lot of the basis of what I did was set by Don Johnson himself, he immediately put all those limitations on what the music could be. You know, he banned strings, he didn’t really want harmony, he didn’t really want melody: he was taking away all of the tools for composition, essentially. He wanted something hip, something more ‘world’ music and that’s why he chose me for the job: I’d been working with the Bulgarian Women’s Choir and other ethnic musicians and he liked that side of what I did.
The score was based on African percussion rhythms and then all the instruments on top, like didgeridoos, harmonicas, Asian nose flutes, all kinds of strange instruments. They were all there to give the show a different sound, just as in my commercials, but this was harder edged, trying to give it a hipper kind of tone that other TV-shows didn’t have and I think I succeeded in that. But trying to do new things almost every week was very difficult; you know I actually did an entire show with a Dick Dale type of surf guitar, and I did another show with just bagpipes and pennywhistles. Real challenges for myself to come up with a whole new tone for the show and keeping it within the parameters of what that particular episode was supposed to be about. Adding to the demands, Don was always late on the set and the shows were delayed over and over again and sometimes as late as 3 to 4 days before they were supposed to air… then I’d have three day to come up with 45 minutes of music and that led to very great pressures.
Indeed, at the end of the day there wasn't much in the way of themes, but the odd use of African percussion and rhythms (something of an off cross at times between Silvestri's occassional percussion rhythms and J.N.H.'s ethnic-flavored ones) and sounds, meshed unusually well with the series.
The loss of Jobson was a big deal. After years of his unusual sound, which defined the show, the disappearance was noticable.
But also noticable, the show was changing and it was clear behind-the-scenes clashes were having their toll on the show. This is further backed up by Jobson stating last-minute changes mere hours before air and people indulging themselves and causing everything to get delayed. This became sort of evident as when the first episode of season six opened, there were some changes in producers credited in the opening.
The hay day of the show was clearly season two to season four and as the show progressed after that, all kinds of changes here and there were creeping in and as things behind the scenes obviously got worse, the level of quality kind of went down and in season five there was even bad editing (but with sometimes four to five hours before air and things were still being tinkered with, who can blame the poor bastards who dealt with it).
I have my own theories: once it was clear Don has more than a helping hand than executive producing on the show and that he was trying to define it and make it his own beast, things hit their mark. But I think various people who saw this as a second coming of Johnson after "Miami vice", thought they could establish themselves and make a name for themselves off the show, started trying to get their own way with how the series went. As the old phrase goes: too many cooks in the kitchen. Fortunately, somebody pulled a Gordon Ramsay and told some people to seriously fuck off, but the damage was done and the show even lost a main cast member. That's not to say Johnson was innocent, he was clearly a strong force and may have made some poor choices himself.
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Enter: Velton Ray Bunch
When this season started, Bunch (occasionally credited as "Ray Bunch") was already an accomplished television composer with famous series under his belt and at least one award for the two-part Lee Harvey Oswald episode of "Quantum Leap".
Jobson's theme song was dropped and (uncredited), Bunch did a new theme, an instrumental piece with a wordless female vocal. This and something else I bring up in a review further down, makes me think there was more than possible burn out behind his departure from the show.
When I saw his name, I was expecting good things.
SEASON 6:
"Rock and a Hard Place"
Stand out cues: the cue leading and going into the climax where Nash boats to Alcatraz and saves Cassidy, with some light percussion, some manipulated female wordless vocal al la the main title theme, and electronic sounds. And the closing cue with soft synthy sound and acoustic and electric guitar playing a sort of whistful decending-line theme, something of a distant relative to cues Jobson would do around the closing of some episodes.
"Jump Start"
Stand out cues: the lightly aggressive percussion cue as Cassidy arrests a suspect on a basket ball court; a similar cue is heard when the S.I.U. is unexpectedly fired on. And a closing cue similar to one the one from the previous episode as Nash and Cassidy talk outside about working together.
"Land Pirates"
Just one cue: the cue as Nash and Angel part ways for the episode.
"Manhunt"
Just one cue: the short cue ending the episode, with some jazzy sounds and double sax's.
"End Game"
Special mention to this episode score, the worst in the whole series, with terrible techno beats and manipulated electronic sounds.
"The Messenger"
Stand out cues: the closing cue with a sort of slow country feel, aided by some Hammond B3 organ.
"blow out" (lower case in the episode)
Stand out cues: the kind of grungy slow rock guitar peice as Rick goes back to a female friend's place. The fun cue that begins slowly with a weird kind of slide guitar sound and picks up a slow beat with some electronic elements as Rick escapes in the nude. And the jazzy slow cue with sax' as Inger finds Joe asleep with an old love letter.
This episode score makes me wonder if there was a bad break with Jobson, 'cause all the flashback scenes from episodes he scored, have been rescored.
One of my favorite quotes from the series is in this episode:
Rick Bettina's girlfriend from the last time we saw him, comes home to find him naked waiting for her. Harvey and Antwon race to her door to catch her. She let's them in and Harvey asks where he is. So replies:
"He's in there! And wa-watch out!"
The score stops and Harvey and Antwon turn to look at her.
"He's nude!"
And the score picks back up.
Yes, you may have noticed (well, a small, small fraction of you) that a number of episodes were skipped. There was nothing worth mentioning in the scores.
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"Grave Robbers"
Stand out cues: The cue with the song beat*, organ, double saxophones and a little '70's electric guitar chicka chicka sound as Tony B. runs away from his own funeral. The same ideas come back with an added conga as Ton B. tries to run away from Nash. There's some more kind of '70's sound with an organ as Cassidy and Antwon find Tony B. and chase him and he's kidnapped. Then a playful one with organ, conga and the beat when Tony B. and the girl are rescued. And the wistful guitar and airy synth piece as Nash, Nick and Cassidy go threw an old time capsule buried when Nick was a little boy.
This is the first top notch effort of Bunch's and over all a fun retro/modern combo score. I left out some lower key stuff, but even then that stuff wasn't really bad.
EDIT: I forgot to clarify:
* = the underlining beat with an fretless electric guitar from a song I don't know the name of, that has what sounds like the guitar saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa" as a reframe over the beat.
EDIT (December, 2016)
The song I couldn't figure out, was "Living on a Prayer" (Bon Jovi).
"Bear Trap"
Stand out cues: the unusual-sounding opening cue, that then goes int oa weird kind of clock ticking sound with processed tamborine and some "Miami Vice" like synths underneath. The odd percussion and synth piece with some light oriental flavor as a trade deal is made between all the bad guys, ending with a murder. The cue as Harvey and group go to take down a bad guy and the lights are cut. The cue with electronic sounds and some synthy percussion as Fong is taken down.
As there are no loads for the remainder of the season, I'll be back-tracking -- where possible -- to episodes I missed earlier.
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