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Posted: |
Dec 15, 2008 - 10:39 PM
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By: |
Tom Servo
(Member)
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I wanted to start a thread for this specific LaLaLand release, just so those who want to discuss the music itself don't have to slog through all the pages in the initial announcement thread. Plus, as with the Indy box set, there is a great deal of music to talk about it, all heard on disc for the first time, aspects of which could not always be discerned from just the episode viewings. And in the midst of fans speculating what scores another volume might offer, it is a good idea to heap praise on LLL for this collection and enjoy it as if it will be the only volume ever released.
First off, the recording itself sounds marvelous. Distinct, clear and dynamic, all the detail discernible. The overture is such a great way to open this set, even if someday the full scores sampled within receive full releases. It's a rare thing for any television series to display such a wealth of distinct and memorable themes and there are even more yet to preserve on disc. The episode "Fire from Olympus" does not really show up on any fans' Best Of list, but like so many great Goldsmith scores to mediocre pictures, the thundering music was its best asset and it rightly occupies a fair chunk of the 14 minute suite. Overall, the Joker's material dominates the set, as his character was the dominant villain in the series, filtered through the drum&bass backbeat of "The Last Laugh", twisted into kitschy, swinging game show and Xmas tunes un "Christmas with the Joker" and then set against Charlie Collins' hilarious, purposefully insipid theme in "Joker's Favor". What's funny is that in the liner notes and in past interviews, Bruce Timm and others have commented on "The Last Laugh" as having a "hip hop" score, but when my ex-wife first heard it (she has had years of film score and BTAS exposure!) she felt it most resembled Roy Budd scores such as "The Black Windmill", with its funky backbeat and syncopated strings. I think I tend to agree on this one!
It's still somewhat surreal that I am here listening to these scores after so many years of hoping for an album release. "Mask of the Phantasm" is absolutely a highlight of Walker's career with the series, but it could not hope to wholly represent the immense variety and high quality of music featured through all episodes of BTAS. I remember not seeing my first episode until Dec '92, when I was on Xmas break from college and visiting family. It was "Christmas with the Joker", which is certainly fun, but has never really approached my Top 10. I tuned because I loved Elfman's "Batman" film scores and was hoping the animated series might be graced with something just as bracing and orchestral. Frankly, I was never a big follower of the Batman in comics or in general, but I was absolutely sold on this series by the time Batman & Robin chase down the runaway train and the orchestra races right along with it. From then on watched when I could, always awestruck at the crucial role played by the music, its unabashed display of kinetic brass and percussion, delicate woodwind sonorities and staccato strings and how instead of overwhelming the images and characters, it breathed life into all of it.
"It's Never Too Late" has always been a favorite of mine, due to its story, animation, character and Ritmanis's score, with its melancholy main theme and charging action cues. I never realized how much the Mad Hatter's theme dominates the "Perchance to Dream" score, especially strong in the "My Life Is A Dream" and "Belltower Fight" cues. Also, I sorely underappreciated the Penguin's theme and its air of elegance and fine tastes. The music for the "Two-Face" two-parter (the best of the series, in my opinion) is just brilliant all-around, with its creepy yet mournful tone throughout, great little Batcycle motif and more winning action material. Any one of these, if applied to certain live-action motion pictures, would be lauded and awarded on a grand scale and the motion pictures itself could be made that much more timeless. I guess I should be grateful that this music ended up gracing this series instead, ensuring its timeless appeal.
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Posted: |
Dec 16, 2008 - 12:00 AM
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By: |
Wedge
(Member)
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What's funny is that in the liner notes and in past interviews, Bruce Timm and others have commented on "The Last Laugh" as having a "hip hop" score, but when my ex-wife first heard it (she has had years of film score and BTAS exposure!) she felt it most resembled Roy Budd scores such as "The Black Windmill", with its funky backbeat and syncopated strings. I think I tend to agree on this one!
Yes, I think it's more rock/funk than hip-hop. I certainly wouldn't identify it as "jazz," as Mr. Schweiger does. But any way you slice it, it's a heap of fun!
Your observation regarding "Perchance to Dream" is correct. Essentially the entire score is a struggle between the Batman theme and elements of the Mad Hatter theme -- sometimes distorted or broken down into its component parts.
In fact, Walker had an incredible talent for building themes in "layers," then breaking them down/rebuilding them for dramatic applications. The beginning strains of "Dent's Soap Box" from TWO-FACE PART I, for example (Disc 2, Track 2, 1:08-1:40), are a cunning, major-moded elaboration on the basic architecture of Two-Face's theme. Likewise, "Harley's Party Source" from JOKER'S FAVOR (described by Dini as a "graduation-like march") is actually the Joker's theme in masquerade! Just try humming said theme in tandem with 0:17-0:33 of Disc 2, Track 15.
I will have many more thoughts on this extraordinary and essential release, but I'll try to save them for my review. 
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In fact, Walker had an incredible talent for building themes in "layers," then breaking them down/rebuilding them for dramatic applications.
Mmm-hmm. Walker could write themes with such versatility. The Charlie Collins theme, for example, was able to go from goofy to dead serious in just a matter of moments -- with the help of those eerie woodwinds. She had such a knack for writing woodwinds so creepy -- which is a rarity these days.
Also, I love it in the Two-Face Part Two recap where Walker plays her Batman theme real slowly (with Bassoons, was it?), and there's this strong (almost corky) rhythmic figure underneath it. I love it when she does that with her themes.
It's funny how much the music sounds like something out of the golden age.
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Posted: |
Dec 18, 2008 - 2:55 AM
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By: |
Wedge
(Member)
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Yeah, TWO-FACE PARTS I & II in particular has that Golden Age vibe at times ... especially the "romantic" version of his theme that plays in connection with Grace. It's a potent transformation accomplished ENTIRELY in the harmonization and setting -- the actual melodic line, with its tritone-spanning stacked minor thirds, is unchanged.
Two-Face's theme in general is such a very fine example of Walker's ability to capture the psychology of her characters in musical form. Here you have a character trapped by his personal demon, reflected by a theme whose center is the heart of a tritone interval -- the "devil in music." From that center, the theme turns over two equally spaced intervals -- one up, one down; like Harvey Dent considering the two sides of a coin. And like a flipped coin that bounces or spins as it settles, the theme wavers slightly on a half-step before resolving. That it does resolve up rather than down seems an indication of the good man trapped within, struggling to be free. That the melody is often set within a framework of descending movements suggests the inexorable tragedy of the character. As has been observed, the singsong nature of the theme reflects childhood anxiety, and even seems to call the name "Har-vey ... Har-vey." Even the instrumentation is instructive -- the "pennywhistle" quality reinforcing the schoolyard-style taunting of "Big Bad Harv," then giving way to the stronger, more piercing clarity of brass during the climax as Two-Face's mad logic is fully articulated. The incorporation of twinkling chimes that mirror the glint and spin of airborn coins becomes the icing on the cake. All in all, a masterpiece of musical construction.
The recap music, incidentally, was reused in several more [AMENDED: one other] of the series' two-part episodes.
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Posted: |
Dec 18, 2008 - 8:26 AM
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By: |
Merkel
(Member)
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Yeah, TWO-FACE PARTS I & II in particular has that Golden Age vibe at times ... especially the "romantic" version of his theme that plays in connection with Grace. It's a potent transformation accomplished ENTIRELY in the harmonization and setting -- the actual melodic line, with its tritone-spanning stacked minor thirds, is unchanged.
Two-Face's theme in general is such a very fine example of Walker's ability to capture the psychology of her characters in musical form. Here you have a character trapped by his personal demon, reflected by a theme whose center is the heart of a tritone interval -- the "devil in music." From that center, the theme turns over two equally spaced intervals -- one up, one down; like Harvey Dent considering the two sides of a coin. And like a flipped coin that bounces or spins as it settles, the theme wavers slightly on a half-step before resolving. That it does resolve up rather than down seems an indication of the good man trapped within, struggling to be free. That the melody is often set within a framework of descending movements suggests the inexorable tragedy of the character. As has been observed, the singsong nature of the theme reflects childhood anxiety, and even seems to call the name "Har-vey ... Har-vey." Even the instrumentation is instructive -- the "pennywhistle" quality reinforcing the schoolyard-style taunting of "Big Bad Harv," then giving way to the stronger, more piercing clarity of brass during the climax as Two-Face's mad logic is fully articulated. The incorporation of twinkling chimes that mirror the glint and spin of airborn coins becomes the icing on the cake. All in all, a masterpiece of musical construction.
The recap music, incidentally, was reused in several more (if not all) of the series' two-part episodes.
Really great post, Wedge. I lack musical knowledge, but I agree 100% about your thoughts on how the theme ascends and descends and it's child-like taunt instrumental quality. Really great analysis.
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Hopefully Mr. Postman will deliver Batman today or tomorrow... I just wanted to thank all of you who were so passionate about this release. I actually wasn't excited until so many of you posted with such joy. Your enthusiasm caused me to go back and watch a couple of the episodes -- refreshing my memory of the music (I had forgotten how wonderful the scores were!). Then I struggled through on Black Tuesday and managed to snag a signed edition. I am looking forward with huge anticipation to this set -- and really must thank the board.
So thank you!
--syn
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Posted: |
Dec 18, 2008 - 12:23 PM
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By: |
Tom Servo
(Member)
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Yeah, TWO-FACE PARTS I & II in particular has that Golden Age vibe at times ... especially the "romantic" version of his theme that plays in connection with Grace. It's a potent transformation accomplished ENTIRELY in the harmonization and setting -- the actual melodic line, with its tritone-spanning stacked minor thirds, is unchanged.
Two-Face's theme in general is such a very fine example of Walker's ability to capture the psychology of her characters in musical form. Here you have a character trapped by his personal demon, reflected by a theme whose center is the heart of a tritone interval -- the "devil in music." From that center, the theme turns over two equally spaced intervals -- one up, one down; like Harvey Dent considering the two sides of a coin. And like a flipped coin that bounces or spins as it settles, the theme wavers slightly on a half-step before resolving. That it does resolve up rather than down seems an indication of the good man trapped within, struggling to be free. That the melody is often set within a framework of descending movements suggests the inexorable tragedy of the character. As has been observed, the singsong nature of the theme reflects childhood anxiety, and even seems to call the name "Har-vey ... Har-vey." Even the instrumentation is instructive -- the "pennywhistle" quality reinforcing the schoolyard-style taunting of "Big Bad Harv," then giving way to the stronger, more piercing clarity of brass during the climax as Two-Face's mad logic is fully articulated. The incorporation of twinkling chimes that mirror the glint and spin of airborn coins becomes the icing on the cake. All in all, a masterpiece of musical construction.
The recap music, incidentally, was reused in several more (if not all) of the series' two-part episodes.
Great analysis, thanks for this!
Do you think this recap music was tracked into other episodes or re-orchestrated and performed anew?
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