B5 Music

[Jan]

I hadn't known that it had been available online. Part of it was on the 'Best of Babylon 5' CD that came with the Official Guide to Babylon 5. There was another version of the 'Best of' CD that was later made available through the Sonic Images website. I seem to recall that there was a slightly different track list but I'll have to try to check when I get home.

The one I wish had been made available on CD was the Season 4 DVD suite that was one of the extras on that seasons DVD along with a featurette on Franke.

Jan

 

[Springer]

The other version of the 'Best of' CD had the Sleeping in Light theme on it. I think that was the only difference.

I can't for the life of me find where I downloaded the Into the Fire computer game music. It was a fansite and they said Franke had released those tracks free to the fans when the game was cancelled. There are seven tracks, if you google Into the Fire Combat Simulator Battle Sequence A–F you can find them on YouTube and various other download sites.

 

[JonFrain]

Lots of stuff.

The Battle of the Line and the Centauri bombing Narn are probably my favs. I loved the first soundtrack with extended tracks. Born to the Purple had some good stuff as well.

The only music I hated was Evan Chens from Crusade (almost all of it) and parts of the River of Souls soundtrack.

 

[butlerd]

Hi butlerd, sorry I gave you the wrong impression, there was unfortunately no CD for Midnight on the Firing Line. But there was an episodic CD for Chrysalis, which featured a similar background song from the casino scene in that episode where Garibaldi takes Devereaux in for questioning. There are no other credits on the CD so I assume it is a song that Christopher Franke put together and likewise for the song in Midnight on the Firing Line and indeed the song in Face of the Enemy when Sheridan is taken down.

I don't know why the CDs were cancelled - they just stopped. Franke did score the music to the aborted B5 computer game too and he made it available online, although I can't find the link right now. He re-used some of that music in Legend of the Rangers. Maybe someone can help?

No problem. Thanks for all of the information!

 

[Ubik]

Anyone on here like Tangerine Dream, or any of Franke's other stuff?

Yes, I really enjoy Franke’s work in Tangerine Dream. Primarily the 70s - early 80s stuff. Like most ‘progressive’ bands, things all started to go a bit wrong when they ditched their analogue synths for the new wave of digital ones, or early samplers. For me, the best Tangerine Dream albums are ‘Zeit’, ‘Alpha Centauri’, ‘Electronic Meditation’, and ‘Atem’, to name a few. I’ve also got a lot of time for the work of Klaus Schulze and other German pioneers of Kosmiche music and Krautrock (Popol Vuh, Can, Neu, etc).

Personally, I find Franke’s music on B5 to be hit and miss. I vastly prefer his work with Tangerine Dream, and wish he could have brought more of that ‘vintage synth’ vibe to the show, instead of the faux orchestral synth palette he often opted for. For the most part I think his music is fitting, and interesting. The only thing that I really dislike are the very obvious / leading music cues that are so atypical of Hollywood scoring. By this I mean, music with all the subtlety of sledge hammer that’s meant to indicate ACTION, or PERIL or an EMOTIONAL MOMENT. I’m not really a fan of that style of composition, but appreciate it’s sometimes required.

There are some occasional moments of genius (Sleeping in Light always gets me). Like most things associated with B5, the music was ahead of the curve and far more creative than something like TNG or other serialised SF. So, in context, it’s of a good standard but not something I’d listen to in isolation. For that kind of thing I’ll take some John Carpenter or Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack any day.

Someone else mentioned the SGU soundtrack - that one really took me by surprise (both the show and the music). Had shades of minimal classical to it, and I loved the recurring piano based themes in Season 2.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

First of all, Ubik, let me say you have the Coolest. Screen. Name. Ever!

Personally, I find Franke’s music on B5 to be hit and miss. I vastly prefer his work with Tangerine Dream, and wish he could have brought more of that ‘vintage synth’ vibe to the show, instead of the faux orchestral synth palette he often opted for. For the most part I think his music is fitting, and interesting. The only thing that I really dislike are the very obvious / leading music cues that are so atypical of Hollywood scoring. By this I mean, music with all the subtlety of sledge hammer that’s meant to indicate ACTION, or PERIL or an EMOTIONAL MOMENT. I’m not really a fan of that style of composition, but appreciate it’s sometimes required.

There are some occasional moments of genius (Sleeping in Light always gets me). Like most things associated with B5, the music was ahead of the curve and far more creative than something like TNG or other serialised SF. So, in context, it’s of a good standard but not something I’d listen to in isolation. For that kind of thing I’ll take some John Carpenter or Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack any day.

At risk of starting a flame war, I've frequently said that the weakest thing about B5 was the music. There are pieces I like: The Season 5 theme, the season 3 theme, that scene when the Gropos are boarding and the Narn are getting slaughtered attacking them, and a few other sequences like that. But as you say, I just didn't like the overall faux-orchestral style. (If you're gonna' go synthestra, Joel Goldsmith did some great work with that) It was overbearing a lot of the time, and muddy a lot of the rest of the time. I thought it worked well in the quieter moments, though. I also think the show could have benefitted from a little more leitmotif, you know? None of this is meant to be insulting, I just don't think the music was as good as the rest of the show.

Also, I agree that TD began to meander a bit in the '80s. I think the only album from that period I still have is "Tiger," which isn't very good, but has some definite direction to it. Conversely, I still have all my Vangelis and Mike Oldfield and other cool stuff from the period. (It's surprising to me how many people back then just hated electronic music)

Someone else mentioned the SGU soundtrack - that one really took me by surprise (both the show and the music). Had shades of minimal classical to it, and I loved the recurring piano based themes in Season 2.

Amen and amen. I pray for an official release of some of the music from that show. Actually pray. Realy.

On a completely different tac, how do you feel about Bear McReary's stuff for BSG and Eureka and Terminator and whatnot?

 

[Springer]

So, in context, it’s of a good standard but not something I’d listen to in isolation.

Ubik, have you tried listening to Franke's suites of music on the first two CD releases? Particularly the first volume, which is more nuanced. They may work better for you in isolation than the music presented in episodic format.

At risk of starting a flame war, I've frequently said that the weakest thing about B5 was the music. There are pieces I like: The Season 5 theme, the season 3 theme, that scene when the Gropos are boarding and the Narn are getting slaughtered attacking them, and a few other sequences like that. But as you say, I just didn't like the overall faux-orchestral style. (If you're gonna' go synthestra, Joel Goldsmith did some great work with that) It was overbearing a lot of the time, and muddy a lot of the rest of the time. I thought it worked well in the quieter moments, though. I also think the show could have benefitted from a little more leitmotif, you know? None of this is meant to be insulting, I just don't think the music was as good as the rest of the show.

I love Franke's B5 music, but I've always said that on the whole I prefer the synth sound from season 1 which sounds more spacey to me rather than the sampled orchestra that was most noticeable to me in season 5 and In the Beginning. Although one of the things that really bugs me about modern day film scores is the amount of big budget movies that feature sampled, fake orchestra (Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe and buddies, I'm looking at you) when they could easily afford the London Symphony Orchestra or something like that, on B5 they probably didn't have the budget for a big orchestra (no offense, Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra). Look at TNG – their music is so sparsely composed it sounds like they could only afford handful of players in their orchestras.

As for leitmotif - perhaps. I think the station kind of had its own theme, based on the season 1 main titles, that would crop up from time to time like a fanfare, but as far as themes and leitmotif go, would they have got a bit tiring across 110 episodes? John Williams does leitmotif to a tee, but I'm not sure leitmotif is necessarily a requirement of a good score.

In fact, genuine question, are there any TV scores that have used leitmotif? Have they been successful?

On a completely different tac, how do you feel about Bear McReary's stuff for BSG and Eureka and Terminator and whatnot?

I know you asked this of Ubik, but just to throw my own two-penneth in, personally I really like his theme for Defiance, and his score to Europa Report is just great, but aside from All Along the Watchtower, nothing stands out from his BSG scores for me except for what seemed like lots of militaristic percussion and not a lot of melody or powerful themes. There certainly wasn't anything to me that really tugged on the heart strings like Franke's music could.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

I love Franke's B5 music, but I've always said that on the whole I prefer the synth sound from season 1 which sounds more spacey to me rather than the sampled orchestra that was most noticeable to me in season 5 and In the Beginning. Although one of the things that really bugs me about modern day film scores is the amount of big budget movies that feature sampled, fake orchestra (Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe and buddies, I'm looking at you) when they could easily afford the London Symphony Orchestra or something like that, on B5 they probably didn't have the budget for a big orchestra (no offense, Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra).

Actually, it was like the Dresden orchestra, or something like that, wasn't it? Eastern Europe had lots of orchestras that played for tips practically right after the Cold War ended.

But yeah, I don't get the synthestra thing for major movies and stuff. TV, sure. Budget. Films? No. I'm no fan of Zimmer. I like Elfman quite a bit, though.

Look at TNG – their music is so sparsely composed it sounds like they could only afford handful of players in their orchestras.

Now that's a weird thing. I remember back in the day thinking "Why the heck aren't they using any incidental music?" and wondering why it was so bland when they did. It turns out that Berman and Pillar just basically didn't want big lush scores. Dunno why, maybe they thought it was corny, or whatever. In any event, there was a standing order to UNDERscore the show. In the 5th and 6th seasons, there were evidently some pretty heated arguments over this. This is all per conversations I've had on the Larry Niven List. There's a bunch of people over there that know a lot of BTS stuff about TNG.

As for leitmotif - perhaps. I think the station kind of had its own theme, based on the season 1 main titles, that would crop up from time to time like a fanfare, but as far as themes and leitmotif go, would they have got a bit tiring across 110 episodes? John Williams does leitmotif to a tee, but I'm not sure leitmotif is necessarily a requirement of a good score.

Oh, it's not. I agree. It doesn't fit all situations. But in the case of B5, with the music being so....ehm....standard for most of the run, it would have been nice to have at least a few more recognizable themes to hang the action on, you know? And I do trust Franke to have been able to evolve the themes over the run of the show the same way he evolved the main theme over the years. In any event, I feel the soundtrack needed more variation than it ended up having. Where do you stand?

In fact, genuine question, are there any TV scores that have used leitmotif? Have they been successful?

TOS did a simplified version. You had the fanfare, the ascending cliffhanger, the "I'm gonna' kick your ass" fight music, and the spock theme, all in a number of variations. The new Dr. Who has a full orchestra, and a number of dedicated themes, including a different personal theme for each doctor, one for each companion, etc. That works really well, and it's pretty successful. The new Galactica seemingly only had one piece of music during most of its first season, but then starting around "The Hand of God" they introduced a pretty little celtic piece called "A good lighter." That eventually became the Adama Family Theme, and there were a couple others. Most notably, though, there was the Adama theme, that damn Cylon music box piece, and the "Final Five" theme (including "All along the watchtower.")

I know you asked this of Ubik, but just to throw my own two-penneth in, personally I really like his theme for Defiance, and his score to Europa Report is just great, but aside from All Along the Watchtower, nothing stands out from his BSG scores for me except for what seemed like lots of militaristic percussion and not a lot of melody or powerful themes. There certainly wasn't anything to me that really tugged on the heart strings like Franke's music could.

The initial music was, I think, done by Richard Gibbs (Of Oingo Boingo), who basically only had one piece of music. He got fired for that. (He also got fired from The Simpsons for pretty much the same thing) Bear came in towards the end of season 1 (As I understand it) and introduced a much more elaborate fusion of different elements (Japanese drums, celtic strings, twangy electric guitars, etc) I thought it grew as it went along, and by the end it was quite literally the only thing I still liked about the show.

If you get a chance to listen to the soundtrack for the final season (2 CDs), give it a shot. It's lovely. In fact...[time passes]...nuts. I was trying to find the whole soundtrack on youtube or something. I couldn't. Ah well.

Here's an individual piece I like, though: it's a variation on the "Final Five" stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_IsptRrIak
(ANd just to bring this conversation full-circle, that's Steve Bartek of Oingo Boingo on guitar)

 

[Ubik]

First of all, Ubik, let me say you have the Coolest. Screen. Name. Ever!

Thanks! I’m a massive PKD fan. I’m even having a crack at reading his recently published Exergesis. Daunting stuff for sure!

At risk of starting a flame war, I've frequently said that the weakest thing about B5 was the music. There are pieces I like: The Season 5 theme, the season 3 theme, that scene when the Gropos are boarding and the Narn are getting slaughtered attacking them, and a few other sequences like that. But as you say, I just didn't like the overall faux-orchestral style. (If you're gonna' go synthestra, Joel Goldsmith did some great work with that) It was overbearing a lot of the time, and muddy a lot of the rest of the time. I thought it worked well in the quieter moments, though. I also think the show could have benefitted from a little more leitmotif, you know? None of this is meant to be insulting, I just don't think the music was as good as the rest of the show.

Hopefully, this is a flame war free zone! But I understand your sentiment - music is the most subjective of all the arts. It either moves you, or it doesn’t. Add into that equation things like ‘learned listening’, different tonal systems for different parts of the world, and you have a recipe for very strong opinions. There’s nothing wrong with having a strong opinion, and I’m loving the amount of discussion it’s prompting!
Personally, I think that late 80s/early 90s synths have a lot to answer for! They lack the character of their 70s counterparts, and in the 80s/90s no one had yet come close the kind of orchestral plug-ins that are available now to composers. Keyboard players are often guilty of thinking they can create a whole orchestra with synths, and generally that approach fails miserably.

Modern orchestral plug-ins can can sound good really good if used with some tact, but there’s no replacing real strings. I don’t actively dislike Franke’s work on B5, but I do find much of it too brash and laden with orchetral synth pads that do nothing for me. I think I’d like it even less if it were to be removed from the context of the show.

Also, I agree that TD began to meander a bit in the '80s. I think the only album from that period I still have is "Tiger," which isn't very good, but has some definite direction to it. Conversely, I still have all my Vangelis and Mike Oldfield and other cool stuff from the period. (It's surprising to me how many people back then just hated electronic music).

Arguably, the 80s was when electronic music really established itself in the mainstream consciousness. The advent of drum machines and affordable synths that didn’t need an entire room to accommodate them made it more accessible to you average musician. The same goes for a lot of TV and film composers.

I have to agree that a lot of TD’s late 80s output is sometimes a bit shaky. I think the TD material I really like may have more to do with Edgar Froese than Franke. That said, they did deliver some absolute gems in the 80s. The soundtrack for ‘Legend’ is great, as is their soundtrack for ‘Sorcerer’.

A brief digression – but I can’t say enough good things about ‘Sorcerer’, what a stunning film that is! I believe it was released around the same time as Star Wars, and got burried under the runaway success of that film. I suppose a film that focuses on a perilous truck convoy through South American jungle may not have captured the imagination like Star Wars did. Regardless, it’s now widely considered to be a classic. Worth a watch if you haven’t seen.

Someone else mentioned the SGU soundtrack - that one really took me by surprise (both the show and the music). Had shades of minimal classical to it, and I loved the recurring piano based themes in Season 2.

Amen and amen.I pray for an official release of some of the music from that show. Actually pray. Realy.

Yes, I’d definitly pick that up if they did release it. I think it was specifically the season 2 music that grabbed me.

On a completely different tac, how do you feel about Bear McReary's stuff for BSG and Eureka and Terminator and whatnot?

I quite enjoyed the BSG score, it had a style of its own and was very polished. It fitted the show. Again, unsure if I’d listen to it in isolation, but it was good. The other shows you mention, I’m not familiar enough with to pass comment on, but McReary is very dependable when it comes to TV scoring.

 

[Springer]

Gah, I spent about half an hour writing a long reply and then was timed out and lost it.

Oh, it's not. I agree. It doesn't fit all situations. But in the case of B5, with the music being so....ehm....standard for most of the run, it would have been nice to have at least a few more recognizable themes to hang the action on, you know? And I do trust Franke to have been able to evolve the themes over the run of the show the same way he evolved the main theme over the years. In any event, I feel the soundtrack needed more variation than it ended up having. Where do you stand?

The gist of what I wrote in my lost reply was that Franke's music works really well for me without leitmotif. It is able to complement the scenes it plays over, capturing the essence of the story and the characters and the emotion without dominating but at the same time having its own strong identity which it shares with the show. To me the music bottles the essence of B5, all the wonder and action and scheming and adventure and heroics and dark moments is all in there for me. To compare to McCreary's BSG score, the you tube link reminds me what I didn't like about it. Technically it is brilliant, in isolation it's really interesting music and I love what he did to All Along the Watchtower, but to me the music feels like it is trying to steal the limelight. There's no need for celtic strings and bagpipes, they just feel out of place, incongruous in the context of the show. It is like the music is saying, "Look at me, I sound different!" Everyone likes the Final Five/All Along the Watchtower music because it is All Along the Watchtower, not because of the scenes it accompanies. It is over-egged to the point of becoming too heavy-handed*. For me the power of Franke's music is that it brings to mind the scenes it is scored for, but it can still be listened to in isolation.

But music is subjective, to a point (I think the technical level and skill in composition can still be objectively looked at). I don't like The Beatles but I would never say they were rubbish - they were brilliant musicians, just not my taste of music. So I think it is okay to have different views on Franke's music. At least it is interesting enough to spark a debate, unlike TNG's music!

*I don't hold this criticism against everything McCreary has done. While I didn't like his Sarah Connor Chronicles score for the same reason, his score for Europa Report is really good, really nuanced and restrained. Then again, I've not seen the film so I don't know how it plays in that context.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

Thanks! I’m a massive PKD fan. I’m even having a crack at reading his recently published Exergesis. Daunting stuff for sure!

Word salad!

As it happens, I'm friends with one of his ex-wives.

Hopefully, this is a flame war free zone!

No such animal, alas.

But I understand your sentiment - music is the most subjective of all the arts. It either moves you, or it doesn’t. Add into that equation things like ‘learned listening’, different tonal systems for different parts of the world, and you have a recipe for very strong opinions. There’s nothing wrong with having a strong opinion, and I’m loving the amount of discussion it’s prompting! Personally, I think that late 80s/early 90s synths have a lot to answer for! They lack the character of their 70s counterparts, and in the 80s/90s no one had yet come close the kind of orchestral plug-ins that are available now to composers. Keyboard players are often guilty of thinking they can create a whole orchestra with synths, and generally that approach fails miserably.

A lot of that I think has to do with the fact that a lot of the early New Wave synth guys BUILT those synths themselves, or had friends who did. There were a lot of unique and interesting sounds, and just big slabs of noise that you can't reproduce digitally because they're based on analog feedback or improperly-heated tubes or whatever. I'm also quite fond of theramins.

(Go visit my website: http://www.kevin-long.com and send me an email through the site, and I'll send you a song I recorded with a theramin)

When things got more standardized, the random "Wow, how'd he get it to make that 'bloop' noise?" aspect of it were gone. [

Modern orchestral plug-ins can can sound good really good if used with some tact, but there’s no replacing real strings.

Yeah, my wife's a professional viola player. I totally agree. You can spot real strings from synth any time. There's some randomness in a real string section (X's instrument is sweeter than Y's, but Y has more temolo than Z, etc) that you just can't fake.

I don’t actively dislike Franke’s work on B5, but I do find much of it too brash and laden with orchetral synth pads that do nothing for me. I think I’d like it even less if it were to be removed from the context of the show.

Yeah, agreed. I had several CDs, but ended up giving them away as they meant nothing without the images. I had the same problem with Evan Chen's soundtrack, which I loved in Crusade, but listening to it by itself it became less than the sum of its parts.

I have to agree that a lot of TD’s late 80s output is sometimes a bit shaky. I think the TD material I really like may have more to do with Edgar Froese than Franke. That said, they did deliver some absolute gems in the 80s. The soundtrack for ‘Legend’ is great, as is their soundtrack for ‘Sorcerer’.

Legend is pretty awesome. I'm not familiar with Sorceror, but I'll look it up.

Do you think some of that might simply have to do with them getting older and losing a bit of the fire?

Yes, I’d definitly pick that up if they did release it. I think it was specifically the season 2 music that grabbed me.

There are several unofficial cuts on Youtube, where someone's removed dialog and sound effects but the quality is really low.

Again, unsure if I’d listen to it in isolation, but it was good. The other shows you mention, I’m not familiar enough with to pass comment on, but McReary is very dependable when it comes to TV scoring.

Oh, I listen to it in the car a lot. Well, I made myself a 'greatest hits' mix, and I listen to that in the car a lot, but I've got all the CDs and listen to them individually from time to time.

 

[Ubik]

Kevin, my apologies for taking so long to respond. So without further ado…

Word salad! As it happens, I'm friends with one of his ex-wives.

No way! That’s amazing. Which wife? (If you don’t mind me asking) I had a crazy, bordering on obsessive period for about a year where I only read PKD novels. I absolutely devoured Emmanuel Carrère’s PKD biography ‘I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey into the Mind of Philip K. Dick’. I really must track down a few more of the autobiographical books, as I found that one fascinating.

I’m still working my way through a lot of classic SF literature (mostly culled from the SF Masterworks series). Am currently reading ‘A Canticle for Leibowitz’, and am constantly reminded of the monks on B5. I know that JMS said he only realised the connection later, having scripted ‘The Deconstruction of Falling Stars’, but I expect he was subconsciously influenced by Miller’s work. In any case, it’s a nice nod.

A lot of that I think has to do with the fact that a lot of the early New Wave synth guys BUILT those synths themselves, or had friends who did. There were a lot of unique and interesting sounds, and just big slabs of noise that you can't reproduce digitally because they're based on analog feedback or improperly-heated tubes or whatever. I'm also quite fond of theramins.

Totally agree! There was a real sense of discovery and DIY culture with early synths. The mid-late 80s saw the dawn of unimaginative pre-sets and bad synth pads.

(Go visit my website: http://www.kevin-long.com and send me an email through the site, and I'll send you a song I recorded with a theramin).

Would love to hear that. PM me and we can exchange email addresses.

Legend is pretty awesome. I'm not familiar with Sorceror, but I'll look it up.

Do so, it’s a great film. A forgotten classic that deserves more attention than it gets!

 

[Republibot 3.0]

No way! That’s amazing. Which wife? (If you don’t mind me asking)

Tessa. His final wife. I wrote and recorded and sing the theme song for her internet radio show.

I had a crazy, bordering on obsessive period for about a year where I only read PKD novels. I absolutely devoured Emmanuel Carrère’s PKD biography ‘I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey into the Mind of Philip K. Dick’. I really must track down a few more of the autobiographical books, as I found that one fascinating.

I discovered him my freshman year in college, and pretty much absorbed everything he wrote in one long several-months-long epic feeding frenzy. Check out "Divine Invasions: A life of Philip K. Dick" by Lawrence Sutin. It's easily the best-reading PKD bio (Though Tessa comes across rather poorly in it, and she's pointed out to me several points where it's wrong).

I’m still working my way through a lot of classic SF literature (mostly culled from the SF Masterworks series). Am currently reading ‘A Canticle for Leibowitz’, and am constantly reminded of the monks on B5. I know that JMS said he only realised the connection later, having scripted ‘The Deconstruction of Falling Stars’, but I expect he was subconsciously influenced by Miller’s work. In any case, it’s a nice nod.

Took me years to finish that book. First time I read it, I fought to get half way through, and finally just gave up. Started re-reading it a decade later when effectively trapped for several hours in the middle of nowhere, and literally could not put it down. My tastes had changed a lot. It's a great book, but I was not a great audience.

Totally agree! There was a real sense of discovery and DIY culture with early synths. The mid-late 80s saw the dawn of unimaginative pre-sets and bad synth pads.

Agreed. Still some great stuff (AON) but it was the exception and no longer the norm.

Would love to hear that. PM me and we can exchange email addresses.

Ok, I'll try, but I'm not very good at things like 'personal messaging.' If you don't hear from me, it means I couldn't get it to work. Go and visit my website at http://www.kevin-long.com and you can easily email me from there.

 

[butlerd]

So many good pieces of music to discuss. I own the Episodic CDs for Interludes & Examinations, Z'ha'Dum, "Falling Towards Apotheosis", and "No Surrender, No Retreat", as well as the Messages From Earth Vol. 2 complilation. The most re-listened to is currently the Interludes & Examinations soundtrack from start to finish, particularly the Adira theme (BTW I have heard the opening "music sting" on several TV shows- is this a stock piece or something?) and the final closing piece as Kosh's ship sails into the Sun. *sniff* I also love the "Into The Abyss" track from Z'Ha'Dum (as Sheridan confronts the Shadows and then leaps off the building). Just.pure.awesomeness. I have to agree with everybody else that the piece that accompanies the destruction of B5 is beautiful and sad.

 

[Springer]

The most re-listened to is currently the Interludes & Examinations soundtrack from start to finish, particularly the Adira theme (BTW I have heard the opening "music sting" on several TV shows- is this a stock piece or something?)

It's probably a stock piece in the off-the-shelf music library that Franke was using and which other composers have also used. That's one of the things about composing on the computer using samples – it fits to a television budget but sometimes those samples can get re-used too often.

 

[JoeD80]

Franke is still a television composer and does plenty of music for other shows. Like Amazing Race.

 

[dreamer]

Been a while since I've been here. Few years prolly. EDIT: Hhehe, says here 2011.

I suppose you guys have heard the soundtrack Franke supposedly did for a B5 game? I'm not sure if this is Franke or not, but bloody hell... This is one of the most amazing piece of music I've heard. Ever.

Absolutely amazing stuff. I love to crank up my amp and shoot this out so loud that my neighbours hear it - here is a piece:

http://youtu.be/kXOSFCAjOQo

Close your eyes and use headphones set on LOUD!

It's hard to compare this to anything on the series. It's so different, but clearly shares familiar tones. I remember hearing these for the first time and the feeling was epic - to put in one word. Kinda like when I discovered that in all the years I've loved the show, I've somehow skipped one of the "movies". Then, finding it... hooboy.

Another longer piece:

http://youtu.be/yR8fgMPKMXM

 

[Springer]

Yes, that is music from the game. I'd not heard the first suite you link to before, so thanks for linking to that. The second you tube suite is all the battle themes edited together. There was a B5 site that had them available to download up until a year or so ago but I can't find the link anymore; however, if you do an Internet search for 'Into The Fire Combat Simulator: Battle Sequence' you should be able to find the various tracks, labelled A to F, for download as mp3s.

I guess the game music must have been produced around 1999? Franke recycled a lot of it into Legend of the Rangers. The first music suite you link to does sound a little more modern and I'd be interested to find out where it comes from, if anyone knows. I assume it is Franke, as it utilises some of the music from the game that I had heard previously.

Edit: just listening to the second you tube suite and there is some music in there that I've not heard before too. I assume it is all from the game and there was more music than just the 'Battle Sequences A-F' that had been made available before. The You Tube description describes it as a 'promo CD' - does anybody have any information on this CD? I'd love to have it in my collection if it exists.

 

[dreamer]

The second you tube suite is all the battle themes edited together.

The album had a running time close to an hour, and all the tracks are like that - sequenced pieces. They were all something like 10+ minutes a piece.

 

[RW7427]

Pretty cool!