s fans of motion pictures like Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey can readily attest, encountering the sights and sounds of an exciting science fiction adventure for the first time can be an unforgettable experience. Videos, laserdiscs and DVDs have helped many folks recapture the visual magic of notable movies and TV programs, but obtaining crisp recordings of the music that accompanied these tales--especially for vintage films and shows--has often been virtually impossible.
Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits is a four-CD set that presents themes and soundtrack cues from more than 125 different SF productions. The first disc, subtitled "Final Frontiers," features 33 tracks devoted to projects such as Star Trek, Space: 1999, Blade Runner, Tron, Alien and Welcome to Paradox. Thirty-six horrific themes dominate the second volume, dubbed "The Dark Side," including The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Dark Shadows, The Omen and Edward Scissorhands.
Meanwhile, "The Uninvited" spotlights 24 alien-oriented efforts like The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, UFO and V: The Series, along with five excerpts from Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast. The collection also concludes with "Defenders of Justice," a 37-tune CD devoted to compositions from movies and TV programs such as Astro Boy, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, X-Men and Escape From New York. Each album is sold separately, and all four volumes have extensive liner notes written by television expert and USA Network executive Tim Brooks.
"I wish I was a spaceman..."
Over the years, TVT Records has issued myriad recordings of famous television themes. Unfortunately, prior to this release, the SF selections were often intermingled with other tunes, so listeners would have to wade through non-genre ditties from shows like Gentle Ben and Big Valley in order to hear speculative gems such as The Invaders or Gigantor.
By bundling the futuristic songs together on Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, the company, in cooperation with The Sci-Fi Channel, offers a fascinating historical perspective on the music of science fiction television and, to a somewhat lesser extent, SF cinema. Whether hearing the stirring theme to Space Patrol ("High adventure in the wild, vast reaches of space...Missions of daring in the name of interplanetary justice.") or the lounge-lizard lyrics of Fireball XL-5 ("I wish I was a spaceman, the fastest guy alive. I'd fly you 'round the universe, in Fireball XL-5."), each melody provides a bit of insight into the cultural and speculative mindset of the era in which it was written.
The various film cues are worthwhile too, especially those selections from 1950s classics such as It Came from Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Incredible Shrinking Man. Purists might object to the fact that some of the cuts are re-recordings, and a few ersatz numbers, like the Batman TV theme, are admittedly awful, but for anyone with even the slightest interest in science fiction sound, all four volumes of Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits are undoubtedly must-have items.
