Category: Babylon 5

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2023 B Babylon 5 Film Music Reviews Soundtracks Soundtracks by Title Year

Babylon 5: The Road Home – music by Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion & Lolita Ritmanis

5 min read

Order this CD“Hey, how did everybody like that Babylon 5 animated movie?” Now there’s a question that’s unlikely to bring about a casual discussion. You might as well ask for people’s opinions on the Star Wars sequel trilogy as a chaser. In both cases, you hear – often loudly – from those who hated it, or loved it, but very few saying “well, it was okay.” But for what it’s worth – nice to meet you. I’m the “well, it was okay” guy. I liked the funny bits. (If an entire hollow planet full of multiple instances of Zathras doesn’t make you laugh out loud, you clearly need to be reminded of the time Lennier quizzically repeated “woo…hoo?” to Sheridan, or the time Ivanova did the whole “boom-shaka-laka” dance.)

I think sci-fi fandom, whether it revolves around major franchises, cult classics, or things like Babylon 5 that teeter precariously between those two descriptions, tends to defend a little too vociferously the idea that My Show Means Something, And Don’t You Dare Make Fun Of It. And hey, yeah, I used to be that guy too, when I was younger and had fewer plates to keep spinning and thought that stuff was actually important. Now I can watching something like this, chuckle knowingly at the bits that I know will cause other people’s blood pressure to spike, and say “well, it was okay.” It entertained me. It was like a visit with old friends who brought along some new friends. It proved that – with all due apologies to his voice actor replacement – you can’t just go replacing the majestic, world-weary voice of Andreas Katsulas.

But can you go replacing the often-near-operatic sound of Christopher Franke? Should you even try? That’s the dance that The Road Home‘s score does for a little over an hour, positively drenching a 78-minute movie with 68-odd minutes of music. Sometimes it hits close enough for government work. Sometimes it’s pretty wide of the mark. And a lot of the time…well, it’s okay. I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that Franke was using a very distinctive, and very customized, set of orchestral samples. The composers here clearly know what they’re doing – we’re talking about the trio responsible for so much of the music of Batman: The Animated Series, the fantastic scores to the two direct-to-video Batman animated movies starring Adam West and Burt Ward, and countless other direct-to-video movies featuring DC Comics characters. I wouldn’t want to bet that the composers didn’t understand the assignment when they have clearly nailed so many other assignments. The folks working on this are some of the best, and most reliable, in the business.

But it puts me in mind of another animated project, Tron Uprising, whose score knocked it out of the park because Joseph Trapanese used the same sample library that Daft Punk developed for Tron Legacy. That makes all the difference. Franke’s samples were very distinctive: you instantly knew his blast of Wagner tubas, his apocalyptic choral samples, and his thundering drums. Melodically, the music fits very nicely within the Babylon 5 universe. But without those very specific samples used in endless combinations in the original live action series, it’s like a SpaceX rocket landing outside the painted circle on the deck of the recovery ship, but it still landed on the ship – the music lands in a bit of an uncanny valley, for lack of a better description. Despite that, it would be nice if fandom would go easier on these composers than the ridiculously xenophobic response that Evan Chen‘s music for Crusade drew.

3 out of 4And yet if you just close your eyes and listen and forget that this was a Babylon 5 project, it’s excellent space opera scoring, and really beautiful in a few places. Some fans will decide this is fitting, because they want to set The Road Home off to one side from what they consider “real Babylon 5“. Me, I’m kind of hoping there’s another animated feature in the works to give the music team a chance to stick the landing. They were so close this time, and it makes for a nice listen.

  1. The Road Home Main Title (McCuistion) (01:10)
  2. Interstellar Changes (Ritmanis) (02:54)
  3. Delenn Love Theme and Tachyon Disturbance (Carter) (01:32)
  4. Thank You (McCuistion) (00:31)
  5. Good for Humanity (Ritmanis) (02:06)
  6. Tachyon Overload (Carter) (02:34)
  7. In the Future (Ritmanis) (00:40)
  8. Consulting the Doctor (McCuistion) (02:04)
  9. Amber Waves of Memories (Carter) (01:31)
  10. Love Shows the Way (McCuistion) (02:36)
  11. Shadow Lair (Ritmanis) (01:56)
  12. Shadows Awaken (Carter) (00:41)
  13. B5 Under Attack (Carter) (02:41)
  14. Sinclair (Ritmanis) (01:18)
  15. This Is a Standoff (McCuistion) (02:09)
  16. Things Going Downhill Quickly (Carter) (02:06)
  17. There’s Another Way (McCuistion) (04:10)
  18. Activate (Ritmanis) (02:53)
  19. Funny Chat (Ritmanis) (00:20)
  20. Leaving Babylon 5 (Ritmanis) (01:18)
  21. Meet the Zathri (Carter) (01:00)
  22. The Big Silence (Carter) (00:52)
  23. It’s Getting Closer (McCuistion) (01:04)
  24. Someone Familiar (Ritmanis) (00:45)
  25. The Approaching End (Carter) (02:14)
  26. The End Arrives (Carter) (03:13)
  27. Time Tunnel Travel (McCuistion) (00:29)
  28. Consciousness and Love (Ritmanis) (04:57)
  29. Back to the Wormhole (Carter) (01:06)
  30. Sheridan Fever Dream (Carter) (00:33)
  31. Unexpected Meeting (McCuistion) (00:26)
  32. Dark Discovery (Ritmanis) (02:42)
  33. Zathras Arrives (McCuistion) (01:49)
  34. Love Is All (McCuistion) (01:59)
  35. Converging Paths (Carter) (02:08)
  36. Here to Stay (McCuistion) (03:12)
  37. Babylon 5: the Road Home End Credits (Carter) (03:13)

Released by: Watertower Music
Release date: October 27, 2023
Total running time: 1:08:31

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Categories
2007 B Babylon 5 Soundtracks Television

Babylon 5: The Lost Tales – music by Christopher Franke

Returning to the musical world of Babylon 5 for the first time since 2002’s one-off Legend Of The Rangers pilot, Christopher Franke makes it seem as though he never went away. The Lost Tales’ music is rife with sounds that I associate with late 80s and early 90s electronic music, which takes me right back to the beginnings of Babylon 5 itself, while his compositional style feels like season 5 is still running Wednesday nights on TNT.

As has already been noted in the DVD review, The Lost Tales is split into two segments on a single DVD, and as such the soundtrack follows suit. At just under 40 minutes, The Lost Tales may seem like a throwback to the days of the one-score-per-disc “episodic” CDs of the late ’90s, but as The Lost Tales itself is abbreviated, with both of its stories not quite racking up 80 minutes total, this isn’t a complete surprise. The music is presented in order, starting with the underscore for the incredibly effective intro sequence and going straight into Lochley’s side of the story, Over Here. Comprising the first 13 tracks, Over Here is largely a rumbling, menacing low drone, with a few moments of apocalyptic flavoring (the church organ in “Energy” and the heartbeat-as-rhythm in “Devil Threat”). While it all sounds authentically Babylon 5 just by virtue of being Christopher Franke music, it’s subtly different from his episode scores of the past.

As with the DVD itself, things really kick into gear starting with track 14 and Sheridan’s story, Over There. The music becomes quite a bit more active, with Franke bringing some of the industrial rhythms and pulsing strings into play that characterized the music from the first season of Babylon 5. In that way, the music from Over There almost goes back in time further than the story itself does, but it’s good stuff. But the end title music, which had no dialogue or effects to compete with, is where Franke finally cuts completely loose, hitting us with apocalyptic choir that surely would’ve spruced things up in Over Here. The Lost Tales on CD is a soundtrack where I got to the end and suddenly thought that the composer was holding back too much during the body of the show itself.

Curiously, while there are opportunities to quote material from the show’s past, Franke chooses only to return to the theme from the end of Sleeping In Light and the opening title theme from season five. Sheridan himself had quite a striking theme in season two, and the show itself had a more enduring theme early on than the season five variant.

3 out of 4The good news is that, as with the DVD itself, the music of the Lost Tales has room for improvement in the future, provided of course that this direct-to-DVD series drums up sales figures that merit its continuation (and if the same holds true for the soundtrack). While I didn’t think the DVD (or its musical score) was perfect, I’m enthusiastic enough about the potential of the Lost Tales to come along for another ride – and another listen.

Order this CD

  1. Intro 1 (0:51)
  2. Main Title (0:33)
  3. Opening (1:23)
  4. The Priest (1:24)
  5. Exorcism (1:13)
  6. The Stench (0:54)
  7. Your Name (4:07)
  8. Energy (1:24)
  9. Devil Threat (2:15)
  10. The Dream (0:57)
  11. Log Search (1:18)
  12. Send Back (3:15)
  13. Epilogue 1 (1:39)
  14. Intro 2 (1:36)
  15. Londo (0:44)
  16. G’Kar (1:57)
  17. Hyperspace (0:34)
  18. Destruction (1:05)
  19. Kill (1:58)
  20. I’m Save (1:00)
  21. Describe (1:16)
  22. The Station (1:08)
  23. Starfury (1:11)
  24. Prepare (2:28)
  25. Landing (0:36)
  26. Party (0:30)
  27. Epilogue 2 (0:36)
  28. End Credits (1:32)

Released by: Varese Sarabande
Release date: 2007
Total running time: 39:25

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Action Figures Babylon 5

Babylon 5 Shadow Sentient

Babylon 5 Shadow SentientThe most difficult Babylon 5 figure to locate – and the most expensive to find in the current collectors’ market – the Shadow Sentient is a strikingly intricate representation of Babylon 5’s ancient evil. It’s also possibly the best shot anyone has of figuring out the creatures’ shape, which was always kept rather indistinct on screen.

Technically, the Shadow Sentient figure belongs to the third wave of Babylon 5 figures, but it was seldom if ever distributed on its own; the Shadow Sentient was an exclusive pack-in figure with the first release run of the Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game. Still on its card, the Shadow Sentient commonly fetches prices of $100 or more. (I specifically sought a loose figure just because I wanted to be able to examine it outside of its blister bubble without devaluing it – and because it’d be cheaper, though I discovered not by much.)… Read more

Categories
Action Figures Babylon 5 Science Fiction

Babylon 5 Action Figures Wave 4 (1999)

Babylon 5 action figures - photo copyright 2002 Earl Green / theLogBook.comFollowing much later in 1999 than Exclusive Premiere’s third series of Babylon 5 action figures, the fourth wave was no longer standard toy store fare, or even standard comics chain fare. The fourth wave was into serious collectors’ territory – distributed primarily in England.

Reflecting the recent fifth season, the fourth wave puts Captain Lochley in plastic, as well as year five frequent flier Bester (though it’s not as good a likeness of Walter Koenig as, say, the Chekov figure from the Playmates Classic Star Trek collector’s set) and the previously unnamed Drazi and Gaim ambassadors. … Read more

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Action Figures Babylon 5 Science Fiction

Babylon 5 Action Figures Wave 3 (1999)

Babylon 5 action figures - photo copyright 1999 Earl Green / theLogBook.comIt was 1999 before the third wave of Exclusive Premiere’s Babylon 5 collection hit the shelves, and by that time, it was also obvious that this toy line was in trouble. With more than enough first and second wave figures still taking up shelf space, Toys R Us stores declined to carry the third wave, which now became a Diamond Comics exclusive. Diamond Comics carriers had been the only place to find the earlier waves’ variant figures; now they were the only place to find any of the new figures at all. … Read more

Categories
Action Figures Babylon 5 Science Fiction

Babylon 5 Action Figures Wave 2 (1998)

Babylon 5 action figures - photo copyright 2007 Earl Green / theLogBook.comVery late in 1998, Exclusive Premiere released a long-awaited second wave of Babylon 5 characters by popular demand. In many toy stores, the first wave of figures were still warming the shelves, and were discounted from their lofty $8.00 price tag to around $3.00 each. B5 fans were eagerly picking up the figures, but the cold consumer reality of it was that it seemed like they were the only ones doing so. … Read more

Categories
Action Figures Babylon 5 Science Fiction

Babylon 5 Action Figures Wave 1 (1998)

Babylon 5 action figuresIn 1998, Exclusive Premiere, the makers of numerous nostalgic pop culture figures and dolls, finally put in a bid to make Babylon 5 action figures. Though the cerebral nature of the series didn’t lend itself to a huge, exciting, Star Wars-scale line of toys – after all, how much action can an action figure of Ambassador Kosh really have? – it was nice to have, at long last, some fun little reminders of the B5 universe. In one of his Usenet postings, even series creator J. Michael Straczynski admitted to being a fan of the toys. … Read more

Categories
1999 Babylon 5 C Soundtracks Television

Crusade – music by Evan H. Chen

4 min read

Order this CDI already liked the music, and the musical style, of Crusade before the CD arrived. But as with most good film and TV soundtracks, hearing the music away from the clutter of dialogue and sound effects revealed hidden depths that are hard to explore even with the best of TV speakers. The music of Crusade has numerous fascinating and challenging layers that quickly distinguish it from the body of music established for Babylon 5.

One thing that surprised me was the variety of vocal effects incorporated into the music. To be fair, Chris Franke’s B5 music utilized vocal effects, including two or three straightforward rock/blues songs, and much more frequently a very good sample of operatic female vocals. But Evan Chen’s vocal effects range from chanting (on the “Shanghai Tan” track, one of my favorites) to baby talk and Art of Noise-esque processed vocal samples (“My Way”), to something that almost sounds like doo-wop backing vocals, along with more vocal percussion effects (“Rainbow”). Whether in instrumental music or popular music, vocals are one area where many artists forget to experiment. Soundtracks particularly fall victim to this – they either have no vocals, or they become banal “songtracks” mined from the current Top 40. I was pleasantly surprised whenever I heard human voices, or even inventive uses of sampled human voices.

If I could single out any one element of Chen’s music that is responsible for getting me hooked on his sound very early on, it’s the percussion. Put simply, the music from Crusade rocks. In places, it begs for extended mixes. Now, it’s not all percussion all the time, but when a beat does kick in, it kicks the door down. But when a solid rhythm appears, it has a reason to do so – it’s not like some UPN sitcom with a burst of generic hip-hop for scene transitions. Some of the better cues on the Crusade CD feature an almost industrial groove which impresses me more than a lot of what’s on the radio these days. I wouldn’t hesitate to add “Shanghai Tan” or “Mars Dome” to a party mix tape – and I have no doubt that someone would probably ask “Who played that?”

To be fair, it’s not all dance beats. There are synth-orchestral passages which rival the grandeur achieved on Crusade’s TV predecessor (including Alwyn’s Story and Battlestation). If there’s a problem with the Crusade CD, it is that – barring the release of Chen’s music from A Call To Arms (and I sincerely hope Sonic Images still has that title in the works!) – there will be no more music released from this series unless someone rescues the show itself.

Lest I forget, the wistfully hopeful main title theme and end credits are worth repeat listening as well. There’s more going on in the main title sequence than Gary Cole and Peter Woodward exchanging cryptic questions and answers.

And to give a rare pat on the back to the label, I was enormously pleased to see the Crusade CD given some very colorful packaging, a far cry from the almost generic presentation that the Babylon 5 CDs have fallen into (though I’m sure that’s likely a side effect of the fact that the B5 soundtracks seem to be released by the half-dozen anymore).

My advice for Hollywood, or perhaps for Sonic Images’ A&R department, whichever comes first, is to pick Evan Chen up and give him carte blanche. It doesn’t have to be a science fiction project – in fact, probably better if it isn’t SF, so as not to stereotype Chen or his sound into a particular genre.

4 out of 4
The resulting music would probably be eclectic, and yes, like Crusade, it might challenge some common soundtrack conventions and sensibilities. But that makes it all the more interesting and involving to hear. My first reaction to A Call To Arms, the B5 movie which secured the Crusade gig for Evan Chen, was “I have no idea what I’m hearing…but I like it.” I think fans of Crusade, or even skeptics who balked at the thought that Chris Franke wouldn’t be scoring the new series, may have the same reaction. I can only do so much analyzing of the music – you really have to hear it for yourself.

  1. Main Title (1:30)
  2. Hyperspace (5:45)
  3. Future Pleasure (2:46)
  4. Elizabeth (3:39)
  5. Galen’s Wrath (4:42)
  6. Sorrow (6:57)
  7. Shanghai Tan (2:58)
  8. Patterns of Soul (6:41)
  9. Alwyn’s Story (6:13)
  10. Mars Dome (5:03)
  11. Battlestation (3:15)
  12. Rainbow (2:22)
  13. Visitors (6:24)
  14. Invasion (5:37)
  15. My Way (2:09)
  16. End Credits (0:36)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1999
Total running time: 68:14

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Categories
1998 B Babylon 5 Soundtracks Television

Babylon 5: And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place

Babylon 5: And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place soundtrackOriginally offered as a bonus CD available only to readers of Babylon 5 Magazine who buy two other titles from Sonic Images (yeah, I’m just enough of a hardcore fan to have actually broken down and done this), this third season gem is probably best remembered – at least in a musical sense – because of the nearly-creepy scene in which Refa, Londo’s murderous political adversary, dies at the hands of a pack of Narns while the strains of an old-fashioned gospel song (being sung simultaneously in a church service aboard Babylon 5) joyously extolls the horrible fate awaiting sinners who don’t repent. Much 4 out of 4of the music from the episode itself is just a wee bit forgettable (though there are some unique cues that didn’t appear before or after this episode), and I imagine most people who, like myself, go through the convoluted process of getting this title are probably biting just for the catchy gospel tune.

Order this CD

  1. Teaser (3:17)
    • The Status Quo (1:34)
    • Londo’s Plan (0:13)
  2. Act One (4:52)
    • Arrival of the Delegations (1:44)
    • Dinner Plans (0:56)
    • Londo Threatens Vir (0:49)
    • Taking Meetings (1:30)
  3. Act Two (3:25)
    • Londo’s Promise (1:23)
    • G’Kar’s Request / Vir Kidnapped (2:13)
  4. Act Three (4:21)
    • Church Meeting Plan (0:20)
    • Vir Gets Scanned (1:30)
    • Dexter’s Story / Narn Homeworld (1:54)
    • Refa Prepares The Attack (0:38)
  5. Act Four (9:32)
    • Refa Is Trapped (7:35)
    • No Hiding Place (1:32)
    • Refa’s End (0:23)
  6. Act Five (2:30)
    • The New Fleet (1:53)
    • End Title (0:37)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 27:59

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Categories
1998 Babylon 5 F Non-Soundtrack Music

Mira Furlan – Songs From Movies That Have Never…

Mira Furlan - Songs From Movies That Have Never Been MadeThis surprising entry from another member of the cast of Babylon 5 is impossible to pin down. One moment, the backing tracks are thumping club music, and a few minutes later, the music takes on an austere, hymnal tone. And on the next song, we’re treated to a dreamy heavy-music, light-voice tune along the lines of Julee Cruise’s style. No two songs are alike. Highlights include the exotic-sounding Izawe, the aforementioned Julee Cruise-esque “Two Tickets To Anywhere”, the amusing rap “Not Your Way”, and the unique multilingual “Children’s Song”. My one complaint: “Dreaming”, which opens and closes the album, is far too long and repetitive, though if I had to listen to one version or the other, it would be the closing version, over which Mira delivers a rapid-fire succession of her “favorite thingz” (the track’s subtitle). The songs jump in and out of several languages, including English and Mira’s native Yugoslavian, and many of the tunes have a distinctly exotic feel. I’ll say this: Claudia Christian can sing about 3 out of 4threesomes all she likes, but Mira Furlan’s voice is much sexier, and she’s singing about mice and squirrels.

The album also has a PC-compatible multimedia component, in which we supposedly get to look at the “movies that have never been made” in the form of short music videos.

Order this CD

  1. Dreaming (5:20)
  2. Izawe (3:09)
  3. Feo Bajondo (5:29)
  4. Travelling (3:28)
  5. Not Your Way (3:28)
  6. The Sea More (1:17)
  7. 17 Names of Marduk (5:08)
  8. The Children’s Song (3:43)
  9. Ugom (2:36)
  10. Fear of Love (3:25)
  11. Dreaming (My Favorite Thingz) (5:15)

Released by: Infinite Visions
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 40:01

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