UFO Soundtrack Gets a 10 from TV Zone Magazine

The UK magazine TV ZONE has a review - by Andrew Pixley - of the Fanderson
album, and here it is in full. I hope its of interest!




Fanderson has done it again. The music recordings which legendary composer
Barry Gray devised for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 'UFO' have been dusted
down, cleaned up, mixed into living stereo (in many cases) and superbly
packaged as a double CD containing 145 minutes of powerful tunes from the
days when TV shows had proper music scores.

The wonderfully catchy opening theme tune is made available here in both
mono and stereo, along with the closing theme and even the commercial break
stings. Only 10 episodes of the run were given original scores and these are
presented here in as complete a form as possible, covering the episodes
IDENTIFIED, SURVIVAL, EXPOSED, CONFLICT, ESP, A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES,
ORDEAL,THE SQUARE TRIANGLE, CONFETTI CHECK A-OK and THE LONG SLEEP - plus a
fascinating 10 minute slice of previously unheard tracks for IDENTIFIED.

Unlike the grandiose scope of SPACE:1999, Gray's work on UFO is far more
melancholy and the most emotive of his scores. Much of it is variations on
the basic military theme for Straker and the SHADO team, which does get a
tad repetitive. There are, however, some nice jazz-style riffs and some
other lighter pieces dotted throughout the discs.

As usual, the packaging is immaculate. A 24-page colour booklet is crammed
with beautiful photos, a description of each music cue, intricate detail of
how each item was edited, a biography of Gray himself, a list of the
musicians involved and a run-down of all the recording sessions. Yes, its
expensive.....but the care, attention and love that has gone into it once
again demonstrates why the expertise of devotees will always outshine the
cash of a commercial concern. (Rating: 10 out of 10)

"Simon Morris" wrote:
> The UK magazine TV ZONE has a review - by Andrew Pixley - of the Fanderson
> album, and here it is in full. I hope its of interest!
>

Speaking of which, while strolling along Bond Street on Saturday
afternoon, I switched on my FM walkman to listen to Jazz FM -
and they were playing an extended section of UFO music - kind of
like a different version of the theme music, with incidental
music added on - from the new CD, I assume. Sounded really good!

Hey, is there anyway a person could get the CD without
going through the hassle of joining Fanderson? I live
in the states and it would be way too expensive to
join and then buy the album, what with the currency
conversion and all.

Scott

> Hey, is there anyway a person could get the CD without
> going through the hassle of joining Fanderson? I live
> in the states and it would be way too expensive to
> join and then buy the album, what with the currency
> conversion and all.

I guess it's all relative... I live in the US, and
have been a Fanderson member for over a decade, and
have purchased all of their Barry Gray soundtrack
CDs...

The cost to join the club and buy the CD is about
US$95. I saw that an eBay auction for the soundtrack
alone just went for US$130!

Marc

See, the thing is, I have the 1999 years 1 & 2 CDs and
UFO is the last Anderson show score I need to get. I
never did get into the puppets and I doubt Space
Precinct will be getting a score release.

I may just go ahead and join, if I have no choice. I'm
sure there are benefits to being a member of the club.
I figger something out. :)

Scott

At 12:49 PM 7/7/03 -0700, you wrote:
>See, the thing is, I have the 1999 years 1 & 2 CDs and
>UFO is the last Anderson show score I need to get. I
>never did get into the puppets and I doubt Space
>Precinct will be getting a score release.
>
>I may just go ahead and join, if I have no choice. I'm
>sure there are benefits to being a member of the club.
>I figger something out. :)

I really like the club magazine FAB and whatever you buy, hang onto a
couple of years. It will eventually go out of print and become a great
collectable.

btw since the Fanderson Year One Soundtrack is sold out I read that Silva
Screen is now releasing a 1999 soundtrack at some point.

http://www.space1999.net/~catacombs/main/merc/vmnow.html

scroll down to read a blurb about the Silva Screen CD

I was lucky eough to find someone who had a second
copy of the Year One soundtrack and sold it to me at
cost. I got year 2 through a Fanderson member who
ordered it for me. Still, I am curious as to when the
Silva release is due and how much content it will
have. I don't expect it to have the amount of stuff as
the Fanderson release, but just releasing the complete
original music made specifically for the series will
cover a complete CD.

I wonder if UFO will eventually get the same treatment
by Silva?

Oh, and just so I know, is the title of the series
pronounced You-Ef-Oh or You-Foe?

Scott