Sonic Images Prime Time

This compilation can best be described as "syndicated music" much of which comes from series that have no real "network" home, such as The Outer Limits, Pacific Blue, and Babylon 5. Most of the music reflects the "non-network" feel by being somewhat synth-based/influenced with the occasional acoustic/orchestral track, such as Basil Poledouris’ Lonesome Dove, popping up here and there. This is where this latest compilation from Sonic Images falters since the tracks have a tendency to run together, and nothing really stands out as fantastic. There are some re-mixes of current themes that make an special appearance on this CD from The Outer Limits and the cancelled Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman series which are nice variations on the originals.

Sonic Images, unlike the bigger labels, Hollywood Records, Universal, RCA, and Varese Sarabande, doesn’t have the same type of access (or may be willing to get it) to bigger blockbuster name "name" projects. This hampers the allowable selections from their library for a compilation, but they manage to get a reasonable one out anyhow. This is not to say that SI is a budget label, that’s reserved already for Laserlight, but SI has been willing to take chances with novel concept releases like the episodic Babylon 5 series, which have been a hit, and are represented by two tracks on this release. I would wish more series that have a following such as B5 would think to follow in the same vein. GNP made a small attempt with several Star Trek projects, but SI has been the best with follow through.

For the T.V. music fan, notably for the series represented, this compilation offers some items that were the highlights of previous albums. I found myself getting into the Lois and Clark Theme remix by Jay Gruska (I thought the original theme for the series was great, which appears three tracks later) and, being a fan of Lonesome Dove, found the theme’s appearance here worth a listen to again. Upon listening the Chicago Hope theme here again, I found that T.V. networks have a tendency for copying and "groupthink" and make note that it has a E.R.-ish quality or visa-versa (trust me, it’s actually quite funny upon a listen to both). For folks that aren’t as familiar with the series or the composers on the album, I wouldn’t expect this CD to be in your hands at the checkout. Syndicated T.V. is a good way for composers to get a good and solid start (and for some, back on their feet), and this CD offers a good sampling from that area of television work.