UFO Soundtrack

I'm still scratching my head about this expensive release. Yes,
I
like the show. Yes, the quality of the CDs is fine. However I now
realize it was a wrong move to release a double CD version. It's
not noticeable when watching the show how terribly limited the score
is. It works perfectly well in conjunction to what's on screen
–
which is in essence what it was written for – however, it is a
monotonous bore when standing on its own, hearing the same damn few
notes over, and, and over, and over. It is without a doubt the
weakest bit of work ever written by Mr. Gray. Truly great scores can
stand alone. Indeed he wrote more in-depth and sonically layered
compositions for puppet shows! Thank God he got his act in gear for
Space: 1999. To think that people put down Mr. Wadsworth's
compositions for Space Year 2! The real head-scratcher is that
Fanderson may have more material from UFO which has yet to be
released?! What did they leave out the kazoo version?! At least
with their (Fanderson) Space 1999 releases there were alternate main
titles and such, not to mention the add classical pieces for Yr 1.  
In the end, I wasn't so disappointed with the quality of this
release, like some have stated, as much as the material. It was a
rude awakening. It saddened me, or simply opened my eyes, exposing
the reality in the lack of quality of this music written by Mr.
Gray. Also, I was a bit pissed off when I heard that Fanderson was
selling copies at a recent public event – wasn't this, like
all
releases, meant for club members? Oh, well.

I know what you mean. When I first heard one of the UFO bootlegs, I too
thought that the material was somewhat limited and repetitive. To some
extent there is less variety in the UFO score than in Gray's other Anderson
work. But I still feel the right decision was made to release a 2 CD set.
Listening to music is a very personal and subjective thing and while I think
there is some truth in what you are saying, there are always going to be
those who disagree.

Personally I think that the more emotive work is on the second CD, and the
music there stands out more on the whole - at least for me. Consequently
that is the CD I listen to most. I find the darker suspense music of
SURVIVAL, for example, rather harder to listen to. In contrast, I love the
scores for CONFETTI CHECK AOK (funnily an episode that I always found rather
weak) and THE SQUARE TRIANGLE, though if you listen carefully they tend to
consist of one main theme for each episode. The enjoyment then comes in the
different ways that the theme for that particular episode is arranged. This
is how a lot of music - not just film and tv music - works. I think Gray
wrote in a similar way for most of the Gerry Anderson shows, its just that
the puppet shows perhaps gave the opportunity for more colourful scores and
more variety. As a complete contrast, Derek Wadsworth's scores for Space
1999 Year 2 were very varied in styles and themes and arguably more fun to
listen to in the 2-CD format. That's certainly my opinion.... but at the
same time I have listened a number of times now to my UFO CDs as well and
they're still hugely enjoyable.

You don't make clear what CDs Fanderson were selling at a recent public
event. The only comment I can make here is that I once attended a
MEMORABILIA event at the National Exhibition Centre here in England a few
years back where they were displaying their merchandise. I think IIRC at
that point they were selling the video of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW to
non-members as they had received permission from Carlton. There were also
copies of soundtracks (Space 1999 Y2 for sure - can't recall if there were
others, eg Y1 or FIREBALL XL5/SUPERCAR) but these were definitely for sale
to members only (presumably those joining at the event were able to avail
themselves of the soundtracks after paying their dues). They have
legal/licensing reasons for selling to members only, and I don't think
they'd break that rule.

Simon

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 12:35 PM
Subject: [SHADO] UFO Soundtrack


I'm still scratching my head about this expensive release. Yes,
I
like the show. Yes, the quality of the CDs is fine. However I now
realize it was a wrong move to release a double CD version. It's
not noticeable when watching the show how terribly limited the score
is. It works perfectly well in conjunction to what's on screen
-
which is in essence what it was written for - however, it is a
monotonous bore when standing on its own, hearing the same damn few
notes over, and, and over, and over. It is without a doubt the
weakest bit of work ever written by Mr. Gray. Truly great scores can
stand alone. Indeed he wrote more in-depth and sonically layered
compositions for puppet shows! Thank God he got his act in gear for
Space: 1999. To think that people put down Mr. Wadsworth's
compositions for Space Year 2! The real head-scratcher is that
Fanderson may have more material from UFO which has yet to be
released?! What did they leave out the kazoo version?! At least
with their (Fanderson) Space 1999 releases there were alternate main
titles and such, not to mention the add classical pieces for Yr 1.
In the end, I wasn't so disappointed with the quality of this
release, like some have stated, as much as the material. It was a
rude awakening. It saddened me, or simply opened my eyes, exposing
the reality in the lack of quality of this music written by Mr.
Gray. Also, I was a bit pissed off when I heard that Fanderson was
selling copies at a recent public event - wasn't this, like
all
releases, meant for club members? Oh, well.





Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Just an afterthought....but the UFO scores did sort of show how Gray often
succumbed to 'musical cliches' in his scores. In the 10 minutes selection of
unused score for IDENTIFIED, there are a series of short cues written in
different national styles (eg English,French,Chinese or Japanese etc). I can
only guess at what sequence of the episode this multi national music was to
accompany, but - how awfully cliched!

Gray gave in to cliches in his Supermarionation scores as well, but I have
to say that I am glad that the ' alternative' score was unused in the final
print. I mean, I liked the music, but I couldn't really visualise it in the
episode....

Simon

If anyone hates their UFO soundtrack enough to sell
it, please keep me in mind.

:)

Thanks!

Scott

>However I now realize it was a wrong move to release a double CD version.

I don't think a double CD release is inherently a bad thing -- I think what
was bad is that they limited themselves to only the music composed
for the series. In doing so, a lot of good music from the series
isn't on the release, and like you say, the music composed for the
series is rather repetitive and may indeed be more suitable for a
single CD release than a double CD.

What I would have preferred to see was a double CD that treated all
music heard in UFO equally. To me, it's a real crime that memorable
music from PSYCHOBOMBS, REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER, and THE SOUND OF
SILENCE, and THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES was purposely excluded from this
release.

Certainly if a third disc is eventually released from Fanderson
containing this music, that will solve that problem, but it's not
clear at this point if such a CD is actually being planned, or how
many years it will be before it's released.

Marc

>If anyone hates their UFO soundtrack enough to sell
it, please keep me in mind.

Well there is one on eBay for $99 US ;-)

Not very helpful I know.

Jess

Hi All :)

I say that I disagree with Tom on just about all counts. Sorry Tom, but
that's democracy ;)

I would say it is fair to assume that everyone on this list has seen all the
episodes, and hence has heard the majority of the soundtracks already. So,
what did everyone expect? Something other than the UFO music we all know and
love? Well, we also got some of that!

I think Fanderson got it exactly right. There was specify music written for
specific episodes, and as much as possible of that has been included (that
alone is more than one CD capacity), and someone was right when they said
that Barry Gray themed many episodes, and so by default those theme flavour
those episodes, and hence provide an emotional spectrum that perfectly
matches the tone or subject matter of that episode.

Fanderson have also included much of the other music that was heard
throughout all 26 episodes, and bring the bulk up to the full 2 CD quota
with not much room (if any) to spare.

These after all, are sound track CD's. The title and ending music stands on
their own merits, and I think it would be a brave person that stated they
did not identify and symbolise the UFO series (I think of UFO, I hear the
title music). The incidental music however, has been composed to emphasise,
highlight, titillate, quote, infer, augment, and sympathise with the visual
action taking place, and not to dominate, drown-out or otherwise the UFO
audio/video experience, so of course, there will be times when the music
when heard out of context (without the video) will sound rather bare, but
this is to be expected.

I am just happy that after waiting for 30 years, I now have in my possession
fairly comprehensive UFO music archive... well worth the wait I'd say! AND,
I also have UFO music that didn't make it in the series, and in many cases
(a subjective area) I can sometimes see/hear why. I call that a balanced and
objective mix.

No, FULL MARKS to Fanderson. A well-rounded, beautifully produced and
balanced set, and a fantastic addition to my UFO collection.

Best to all,

Griff

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 12:36 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [SHADO] UFO Soundtrack


I'm still scratching my head about this expensive release. Yes,
I
like the show. Yes, the quality of the CDs is fine. However I now
realize it was a wrong move to release a double CD version. It's
not noticeable when watching the show how terribly limited the score
is. It works perfectly well in conjunction to what's on screen
–
which is in essence what it was written for – however, it is a
monotonous bore when standing on its own, hearing the same damn few
notes over, and, and over, and over. It is without a doubt the
weakest bit of work ever written by Mr. Gray. Truly great scores can
stand alone. Indeed he wrote more in-depth and sonically layered
compositions for puppet shows! Thank God he got his act in gear for
Space: 1999. To think that people put down Mr. Wadsworth's
compositions for Space Year 2! The real head-scratcher is that
Fanderson may have more material from UFO which has yet to be
released?! What did they leave out the kazoo version?! At least
with their (Fanderson) Space 1999 releases there were alternate main
titles and such, not to mention the add classical pieces for Yr 1.
In the end, I wasn't so disappointed with the quality of this
release, like some have stated, as much as the material. It was a
rude awakening. It saddened me, or simply opened my eyes, exposing
the reality in the lack of quality of this music written by Mr.
Gray. Also, I was a bit pissed off when I heard that Fanderson was
selling copies at a recent public event – wasn't this, like
all
releases, meant for club members? Oh, well.





Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Yeah, but the price is sure to skyrocket. It would
just be cheaper to join the club. Or break the law and
try to get a CD-R copy. I like the inserts, though.

Scott


--- J Ramage <[hidden email]> wrote:
> >If anyone hates their UFO soundtrack enough to sell
> it, please keep me in mind.
>
> Well there is one on eBay for $99 US ;-)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Martin" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 4:45 PM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] UFO Soundtrack


> I don't think a double CD release is inherently a bad thing -- I think
what
> was bad is that they limited themselves to only the music composed
> for the series. In doing so, a lot of good music from the series
> isn't on the release, and like you say, the music composed for the
> series is rather repetitive and may indeed be more suitable for a
> single CD release than a double CD.

The trouble is : they can't win can they? If they'd released more of the
stuff that came from other Anderson series, there would be moans of "this
isn't from UFO....its from Stingray!" etc. I'm sure its only in recent times
that we have all come to see how much music was re-used and re-edited
between series. If they'd left much of the score off and gone for a single
disc...that would be wrong too. For what its worth I think Fanderson got it
right - especially if there is another CD somewhere down the line with the
bits that were left off. Everyone has their own ideas of what should and
shouldn't be included. When I read some of the comments coming off this
list, I think its a wonder anyone actually bothered to produce a soundtrack
in the first place.

> What I would have preferred to see was a double CD that treated all
> music heard in UFO equally. To me, it's a real crime that memorable
> music from PSYCHOBOMBS, REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER, and THE SOUND OF
> SILENCE, and THE CAT WITH TEN LIVES was purposely excluded from this
> release.

That's an easy suggestion to make on paper - to "treat all the music heard
in UFO equally". I'm not sure I know what you mean by that phrase Marc, but
if its what I think you mean then surely it would need to be a 3 or 4 disc
set, which no doubt would then be criticised for being too expensive. I'd
like to see the music you mention released too but I'm satisfied with what
I've got so far...so much so that I'd rather praise the efforts that they
did make... instead of rather spitefully accusing them of a "real crime" in
leaving music off. Like I said: you can't please people all of the time.

> Certainly if a third disc is eventually released from Fanderson
> containing this music, that will solve that problem, but it's not
> clear at this point if such a CD is actually being planned, or how
> many years it will be before it's released.

No indeed. Plus I think we need to remember Fanderson exists to serve the
needs of fans from all kinds of Gerry Anderson series, not just UFO fans....

I am a Fanderson member but I'm not and never have been in any way related
to any of the committee or served on it myself. But I find some of the
attitudes of people (on this Group at any rate) towards this disc rather
puzzling to say the least.

Simon

> When I read some of the comments coming off this
> list, I think its a wonder anyone actually bothered
> to produce a soundtrack in the first place.

That's a problem I've run into on my own website as well.
Sometimes I spent hours and hours on something, then put
it on the website, and get absolutely no positive feedback
about it at all. And often, I get an email from someone
requesting that I do it all again in a different file format.
It is indeed a frustrating part of doing stuff for fandom,
and I think you really have to learn to ignore what anyone
else thinks -- otherwise you WOULD stop doing it.

> That's an easy suggestion to make on paper - to "treat all the
> music heard in UFO equally". I'm not sure I know what you mean
> by that phrase Marc, but if its what I think you mean then surely
> it would need to be a 3 or 4 disc

Rumor has it that the amount of music from UFO that was sitting in Barry
Gray's garage totalled about 6 hours. That doesn't even include the
multi-track stuff that most of this CD was made from. Fanderson already
left off hours and hours of music from the series, and made their
choices of what to put on this CD. All I'm saying is that I would have
chosen differently, and left off some of the stuff they did include in
favor of something else.

> I am a Fanderson member but I'm not and never have been in any way
> related to any of the committee or served on it myself. But I find
> some of the attitudes of people (on this Group at any rate) towards
> this disc rather puzzling to say the least.

I've seen the value of all the comments made about the soundtrack, both
good and bad. I'm not at all puzzled by any of the comments I've seen
here. And besides, it's a discussion group -- it'd be a bit boring if
everyone here had exactly the same opinion... :-)

Marc

<snip>
> I am a Fanderson member but I'm not and never have been in any way related
> to any of the committee or served on it myself. But I find some of the
> attitudes of people (on this Group at any rate) towards this disc rather
> puzzling to say the least.
>
> Simon

Simon:

I think it's more that this will be the only "official" release of the music -
people are going to be harsher towards one official release than if there were
several. For example, Marc has several fan made CDs -- he can compare/contrast
all of them -- some he may like more than others,etc. The same with the
various DVD releases (Region 1, 2, etc). Comparing and contrasting the good
with the bad.

Since this is the only official CD, people put it on a pedestal and throw
tomatoes at it if it fails to live up to their expectations.

My 2 pence.

Anthony