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Music/AudioTV

UFO: Original Television Soundtrack by Barry Gray (CD soundtrack review).

The release of the ‘UFO: Original Television Soundtrack’ by Barry Gray is something that’s been long over-due. For those who’ve watched the 1970 series will know, it’s also has iconic as music in its own right and as catchy s anything else he has written.

Once you’re past the opening theme, the second and longest track, ‘S.H.A.D.O’, has all the musical cues associated with the organisation, including the rapid beat used on Moonbase for the Interceptors launch. The order of the tracks aren’t in episode order with ‘Identified’ not until tracks 9-10. There music in their order is ‘E.S.P.’, ‘Confetti Check A-O.-K.’, ‘Conflict’, ‘Identified’, ‘Ordeal’, ‘The Long Sleep’, ‘Ordeal’ (for a second time suggesting the order is for musical tone), ‘Survival’, ‘The Square Triangle’ and ‘A Question Of Priorities’. Finally, another bonus track from ‘Ordeal’ with the Stevie Winwood instrumental composition from the Spencer Davis Group, ‘Trampoline’. That’s the music Foster hears in his head when he first visits the health farm and being asked if he gets enough sleep.

With 9 episodes covered in more detail, it still leaves 18 episodes and unless they repeated the music from these, it does make me wonder if there is a possibility of another CD down the line. After all, ‘The Cat With Ten Lives’ and the space walk from ‘Close Up’ should have been included.

The music is strong enough to distinguish the instruments and how the play across each other showing Barry Gray’s orchestration to perfection.

The booklet has a couple stills I haven’t seen before. I do disagree about the lack of military march music as certain parts of ‘Confetti Check A-O.-K.’ and ‘Identified’ contains that kind of beat. You also have a list of who played all the musical instruments when recorded and a variety of photos.

On my second listen, the music is still powerful after nearly 50 years and works just as well without the visuals which shows just how strong a composer Barry Gray was and is going to get many replays which should speak for itself. This has quickly become one of my most favourite albums.

GF Willmetts

September 2019

(pub: Silva Screen Records. 72 minutes 21 CD tracks with 16 page booklet. Price: £11.99 (UK). ASIN: SILCD 1597)

check out website: www.silvascreenmusic.com

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

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