Yet Another Opinion on the UFO Soundtrack

I know that Anthony D is looking for opinions on the UFO soundtrack
CD before he decides to buy it. Therefore, I'll pass along an
opinion of someone who've I've e-mailed regularly over the last
decade concerning all things Barry Gray. This person is a somewhat
of a purist, and frankly his opinion of Fanderson's previous
Space:1999 CD's was pretty negative due to the stereo remixes. I
think he was appalled at the Year Two CD in fact, and probably didn't
listen to it more than once. However, he e-mailed me this morning to
say that he'd listened to the new UFO CD and thought it was great!

Marc

> This person is a somewhat of a purist, and frankly
> his opinion of Fanderson's previous Space:1999 CD's
> was pretty negative due to the stereo remixes. [snip]
> However, he e-mailed me this morning to say that
> he'd listened to the new UFO CD and thought
> it was great!
>
> Marc

That's very fair from you, Marc, to deliver a statement which doesn't
agree with your opinion! I admire this.

Christian

>That's very fair from you, Marc, to deliver a statement which doesn't
>agree with your opinion! I admire this.

Well, I haven't had enough time to listen to the whole CD as of yet,
so I really can't say what my opinion is at this point!

It's true that there a few tracks that I think they botched in terms
of remixing. But if it's only a few, then that means that there's
still 140 minutes of great stuff on it, which means that it's still
a great CD!

And although I haven't listened to the whole soundtrack yet, I am
rather concerned about the track selection. On the Space:1999 CDs,
I really felt that 100% of all the music I liked in the show was
included on the CD. That's appearing not to be the case for the
UFO CD, as a lot of the memorable music from the show was "recycled"
from previous Anderson series, and they didn't include any of it.
As such, the overall "tone" of this CD doesn't really reflect the
overall tone of the original series. Instead, this CD seems to have a
real emphasis on the slow, melancholy pieces that were recorded
specifically for the show. I think a more "balanced" approach would
have included fewer of these tracks and more of the memorable
pieces that were taken from previous series.

But again, I really need to listen to the CD for a few times before
coming to any final conclusions...

Marc

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Martin" <[hidden email]>
To: "SHADO Discussion Group" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2003 7:13 PM
Subject: [SHADO] Yet Another Opinion on the UFO Soundtrack


> I know that Anthony D is looking for opinions on the UFO soundtrack
> CD before he decides to buy it. Therefore, I'll pass along an
> opinion of someone who've I've e-mailed regularly over the last
> decade concerning all things Barry Gray. This person is a somewhat
> of a purist, and frankly his opinion of Fanderson's previous
> Space:1999 CD's was pretty negative due to the stereo remixes. I
> think he was appalled at the Year Two CD in fact, and probably didn't
> listen to it more than once. However, he e-mailed me this morning to
> say that he'd listened to the new UFO CD and thought it was great!


I was fairly active in discussing the Space 1999 Y2 CD set on the Space 1999
mailing lists (being as I am a big fan of Derek Wadsworth's work). The Space
1999 Y2 set was far more complete than the mono Wadsworth promo and
therefore a 'must have' if only because of that. Personally I thought it was
EXTREMELY well done remixed into stereo, even though some of the remixes
sounded different to how they sounded either on the television or on the
promo disc. But I collect a lot of soundtracks as a fan of film and tv music
and many remixed albums of scores get flak for not sounding the same as the
"original"! My only reservation with that set was that one or two of the
action cues from SPACE WARP sounded a tad less punchy that they did on the
(mono)promo. I'm thinking of the central action theme for that episode where
the drums in particular had less presence than either in the finished tv
soundtrack or the promo disc. At the same time some of the electronic
effects seem to have been increased in presence and I felt that the
fantastic drumming was spoilt and the tune slightly spoiled overall...less
punchy, as I said.

If I recall, Space 1999 Y2 was originally recorded on 24 track? Maybe this
leave the remixers with a lot of decisions to make as to what instruments to
emphasise and what to de-emphasise and perhaps makes it a more difficult job
than if there were less tracks to manipulate. As Wadsworth was not involved
in all the remixing its unlikely it would sound the same as the promo or as
televised. It wouldn't have sounded the same even if he had done all there
remixing in person without any help because he has gone on record in the
past as saying that he would love one day to get the masters back and remix
the music!!

And I'm sure that Barry Gray - if he was alive today - would love what
Fanderson have done with his music. I think he would have wanted a CD to be
produced in 'stereo' as most of this album is. As others have pointed out,
you can really appreciate all the fine orchestral nuances and arranging
touches (of course I speak here as a film music afficiando more than as a
UFO fan -although I am one of those too!- but of course the UFO fan may want
more in the way of an exact duplication of the original sound) which Gray
employed and which I think have come out well on the album. Lets be honest,
if Gray himself was doing the remixing its unlikely to sound EXACTLY the way
it did on screen. Yes, some of the mixes do not sound as we are accustomed
to hearing them (Marc has mentioned the 'thug' scene from EXPOSED which
certainly is a good example). But you know what? I still love what they have
done! Also clearly there is music left off that has been heard in various
bootlegs. Personally I question the quality (relative to this new CD) of
that material as to my way of thinking -again speaking as a film music fan-
the Fanderson produced scores are far superior. They may well sound
different but they still sound GREAT and that is the whole point of the CD.
I'm confident that Gray would approve of what has been done.

The score should be listened to several times - preferably through
headphones - to appreciate the fine orchestral arrangements and superb
playing of the session musicians. I had forgotten how much of the score is
based on jazz styled music and rhythms and its a sound that I have enjoyed
revisiting.Granted,some of the mixes sound different but I still feel that
this is a truly superlative CD. How about more discussion about the music
itself than some of this rather repetitive technical stereo versus mono
stuff? I'm sure that Gray would want his music appreciated for what it was
rather than just how it was recorded and presented.

Its a great CD, a fine tribute to the series and to its composer and a
credit to those who made it happen. The whole package oozes quality. If the
UFO score ever sees the light of day through a full commercial release (as
Silva Screen are reportedly planning) it will be neither as fullsome of
complete as this one.

So my opinion - taking all the above into account - is : excellent CD and
well done to all concerned.

Simon

> And I'm sure that Barry Gray - if he was alive today - would love
what
> Fanderson have done with his music. I think he would have wanted a
CD to be
> produced in 'stereo' as most of this album is.


I'm sure he would, but the point is, he is sadly no longer with us.
But, had he still been around I hope that the producers of the CD
would have involved him in the production to give his opinions and
views on how it was mixed. Had that been the case I'm sure this debate
would not be happening. There is a lot artisrty and nuances in the
mono's as well, perhaps more than in the stereo remixes. This is were
Barry Grays skill as producer and arranger really lies and we are
missing that a lot of his vision on this CD and that should not be
forgotten. Gray put a lot of time in getting the music right to fit
the action that takes place on the screen, For me it is not a mono
stereo debate it is simply I for one would like to hear full greatness
of the mans workt transfered to CD, it just happens to be in mono.

----- Original Message -----
From: "lunadude2001" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2003 11:01 PM
Subject: [SHADO] Re: Yet Another Opinion on the UFO Soundtrack




I think this whole issue is entirely subjective. There are going to be fans
that fall into each camp, I suppose. I'd repeat again my hope that people
discuss the *music itself* a little more, rather than just this 'technical
stuff'. Beyond noting your opinion above I have nothing really to add to my
previous post. I respect your opinion just as I hope you respect mine!

Cheers

Simon

Marc:

Thanks for the info below.

In regards to a later post in which you question the selections, perhaps the
more common themes (library music??) will find their way onto a generic
Fanderson Barry Gray CD in the near future? I haven't pulled my 1999 Y1 CD to
check how many common themes there are, but if there aren't many and the UFO
CD doesn't have many, then my guess is that at some point these will make it
onto another CD compilation.

Also - if they release some of the earlier work like Stingray, I would guess
that the music would appear on those earlier works as they were "new" then???
Does that make sense?

Simon - you're right - discussing Gray's music itself is better, but if each
time you listen to the CD you remember that what you are listening to is not
exactly what you heard on the DVD it gets slightly irritating (IMO).

I'm reminded of those "sci fi theme CDs" that you find in stores where some
philharmonic orchestra reproduces the theme -- in some cases it works, in
others, it doesn't. I'm not saying that this Fanderson CD is anything near
those kinds of CDs (ie, the Fanderson stuff is much better), but the reaction
you get (the music starts off correctly then moves off in a tangent) when
listening to one of those compilations may be similar to the one you get when
you listen to a stereo remix.

Anthony
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Martin" <[hidden email]>
To: "SHADO Discussion Group" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2003 2:13 PM
Subject: [SHADO] Yet Another Opinion on the UFO Soundtrack

>Also - if they release some of the earlier work like Stingray, I would guess
>that the music would appear on those earlier works as they were "new" then???
>Does that make sense?

Yes, I'm sure that's what Fanderson is planning on doing, but I'm
sure that there are people who are fans of UFO who would be willing
to purchase a UFO soundtrack CD, but not necessarily willing to
purchase a Stingray, Joe 90, and Secret Service CD just to get the
one or two tracks on each that showed up on UFO. Is it really too
much to ask to have put a few of the more memorable themes on the UFO
CD itself? I mean, it seems like the DALOTEK AFFAIR restaurant music
should definitely be on this CD, but it's not. Also the ominous
theme repeated throughout THE PSYCHOBOMBS. And the horse-chase-hippy
music from SOUND OF SILENCE. And perhaps some underwater music from
REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER. It wouldn't have taken up much space on
the CD, and arguably it would have been more appropriate than having
10 minutes of music which *didn't* make it into IDENTIFIED...

Marc (playing devil's advocate)

> I respect your opinion just as I hope you respect
mine!


Of course !!

The Lunadude.