Lost In Space (A Netflix Original Series Soundtrack) by Christopher Lennertz (soundtrack review).

There’s not many people who don’t remember ‘Lost In Space’, be it the original TV series in the 1960s or the film from 1998 or perhaps the film ‘The Robinsons: Lost In Space’ from 2004. To ensure a generation of new kids get their fill of ‘Lost In Space’. Netflix has commissioned a new series and will be releasing the soundtrack to this marvellous new venture.

Christopher Lennertz was brought in to create the soundtrack. There’s a quote from the Executive Producer Zack Estrin in the PR material accompanying the release in which he says, ‘It is full of triumphant brass and soaring strings, where orchestral melody and percussion dance seamlessly from edge of your seat thrills to simple moments of raw emotion.’ Well, that’s one way of putting it.

Before we get to speaking about the music, lets look at what you get. In the CD release there are 22 tracks providing you with 73 minutes of audio entertainment. Providing you like lots of ‘triumphant brass and soaring strings’ that is. If you were to buy the iTunes exclusive edition you will get an additional 7 bonus tracks. I don’t have the track times for these and they weren’t included in the review copy of the soundtrack. It’s very likely that they are going to include more ‘triumphant brass and soaring strings’.

A quick word about the composer Christopher Lennertz, who has an enviable reputation for putting together soundtracks for a whole host of big and little screen productions. He has even worked on video games and performance albums. There’s a note in the PR material that says Lennertz favourite sequence is featured in track 5, ‘Will And The Robot’, which is nice to know.

Kicking off the soundtrack with track 1, ‘Main Titles’, I couldn’t help but be reminded of ‘Jurassic Park’. I’ve not seen ‘Jurassic Park’ for ages so might have this completely wrong. Anyway, it is indeed an opening filled with triumphant brass which when combined with track 2 provide a rather bombastic opening sequence. There are quieter moments where the other bits of the orchestra get a turn and track 5, ‘Will And The Robot’, is a good example of this.

It would seem that there’s a lot of action in ‘Lost In Space’ as the tempo and volume would indicate excitement and danger are never far away. Track 3, ‘Will Exploring’, is a good example of this. It starts quietly before the strings start to pick up the pace. A slight lull at the 2 minute mark but by the 4 minute mark its all go with that ‘triumphant brass and soaring strings’ bit. So, with track 3 we had a quiet introduction before things kicked off and the same can be said for track 4, ‘Moby Dick’. I can’t wait to see how they fit a whale into the TV series.

Track 5, ‘Will And The Robot’ follows the same format with the strings starting slowly. I must admit this is a very nice opening sequence to the track. The brass section takes its time to get involved with this one and there’s a fabulous piece at 2 minutes in, which just keeps you waiting in suspense. I know I said track 5 was the composer’s favourite, well, it’s mine, too. The strings and brass really do complement one another in this piece which at 7 minutes and 28 seconds is easily the longest piece.

In common with many soundtracks to fully appreciate this you are going to either need headphones or a very quiet space and understanding neighbours to listen to this. In some of the quieter moments, there is actually quite a bit going on which would be easy to miss in a noisy environment. Turning it up to catch these moments may be problematical when the brass section shows up and they always do.

The only thing I can think of with track 14, ‘Maureen At Work’, is that poor old Maureen is attempting to clean a teenager’s bedroom. That would explain the frantic tempo with elements of serious danger thrown in. Track 15 is called ‘Maureen Flies’, so perhaps something exploded in the teenager’s bedroom. Despite the track’s title, it is in fact quite a soft number with a hint of choir singing. Is Maureen now an angel? I shall have to watch the series to find out.

What we have here in the soundtrack to ‘Lost In Space ‘are indeed ‘triumphant brass and soaring strings’ which, in the most part, are perfect complements to each other. The only criticism I have is that there’s not much variation. It’s all strings and brass with just hints of other things every now and then. After an 73 minutes of this, I had had enough. This is a shame as, if you listen to the tracks individually, they are really very good. All of them all in one go is a bit of an overdose.

Lost In Space (A Netflix Original Series Soundtrack) Christopher Lennertz

1. Main Titles 1:11
2. Crash Landing 1:12
3. Will Exploring 5:05
4. Moby Dick 2:49
5. Will And The Robot 7:28
6. Danger Will Robinson 3:33
7. Family Chores Fugue 4:16
8. To The Chariot 3:38
9. Smith / The Forest 3:16
10. Dump The Fuel 3:12
11. Flowers / Father and Son 3:33
12. Waterfall 4:18
13. Illumination 4:40
14. Maureen at Work 1:28
15. Maureen Flies (feat. Lisbeth Scott) 1:13
16. Race The Minefield 3:51
17. Ultimate Sacrifice 3:55
18. Here We Go 2:49
19. Saying Goodbye 2:45
20. Alien Ship 3:34
21. The Resolute 3:18
22. End Credits 1:13

iTunes Bonus tracks (no track times given):-01. Back To The Ship
02. Great Job

3. Disconnecting
4. Cheering Up Will
5. Melting Judy Out
6. Launch
7. Backwards

Andy Whitaker

April 2018

MP3 download release: 13 April 2018

(pub: Lakeshore Records. 29 tracks. Price: $ 9.49 (US), £ 7.99 (UK))

 

CD release: 01 June 2018

(pub: Lakeshore Records. 1 CD 22 tracks 73 minutes. Price; $14.99 (US). ASIN: B07BZ93DXM)

check out websites: www.lakeshorerecords.com and http://smarturl.it/LostInSpaceTV