One doesn’t listen to music by Depeche Mode to get happy.

That said, there’s something about Playing The Angel that almost makes me break out in a grin. Depeche Mode is back and in fine form on this album marking the band’s 25th anniversary. Unusually, there’s a mix of songs written by Martin Gore (who’s been the dominant songwriter for much of the band’s career) and lead singer David Gahan, but Gahan’s tunes aren’t filler material begrudgingly added to boost the songwriter’s ego. At least one of them, “Suffer Well”, is as good as many of the songs that most longtime fans now consider to be classics. To be fair, though, Gore turns out some of his best songs since Violator here, with the rollicking “John The Revelator”, “Precious” and the slow-boiling “Sinner In Me” standing out from the crowd. (It’s worth nothing, however, that “Macro” is quite possibly the weakest song Martin Gore has ever unleashed on a Depeche Mode album, combining an uninspired melody with jaw-droppingly trite lyrics – I wouldn’t make such a stink about one song normally, but it’s just so shocking since I’m used to his work being both more musical and more eloquent than this.)

The whole thing thunders along with a combination of modern rhythms and very analog synthesizers, and more assured vocals from David Gahan than I’ve heard in ages. The decision to lean so heavily on analog synths prevents a lot of the sound from being obviously dated, though there are enough modern elements that no one will be mistaking this album for Some Great Reward anytime soon. The distorted, crunchy guitar work is front and center on several songs – in fact, “Sinner In Me” doesn’t really properly kick in until the guitar appears. All in all, it adds up to a very satisfying listen and a fitting celebration of a quarter-century on the musical map for Depeche Mode.

1. A Pain That I’m Used To (3:57)
2. John The Revelator (3:41)
3. Suffer Well (3:49)
4. The Sinner In Me (4:55)
5. Precious (4:10)
6. Macro (4:02)
7. I Want It All (6:09)
8. Nothing’s Impossible (4:21)
9. Introspectre (1:42)
10. Damaged People (3:27)
11. Lilian (4:44)
12. The Darkest Star (6:38)

Released by: Mute
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 51:35

Many times, an album has been sparked by an artist’s discovery/rediscovery of a new or unusual instrument, and sometimes it’s worked (Todd Rundgren’s A Capella experiment of the human voice as every instrument) and just as many times it hasn’t. This is one of those times where it really works. New Zealand-based indie rocker Daniel Gannaway constructed this somewhere-between-EP-and-LP-length collection on a simple premise: every song would feature the ukelele in some fashion. (Yes, you read right, the ukelele.) Recorded in NZ and Hawaii, Summer Storm takes that premise, and the instrument itself, through several permutations, and it all manages to work, largely thanks to Gannaway’s reliable gifts in the songwriting department. Oddly enough, and this isn’t a crack about originality or the lack thereof, the ukelele’s role here reminded me of the shock value of the mandolin as a lead instrument in R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”. It’s front and center on every song, though the tone of the songs shifts from light and breezy (“Across The Sea”, which reminded me curiously of early, pre-electric Split Enz) to more straight-ahead rock (“Talking Story”, which was the song that made me think of the “Losing My Religion” comparison in the first place), with stops at several stylistic destinations in between. Someone’s clearly having fun putting the ukelele through its paces, though again, the songs are the key – they’re all good enough on their own, unusual arrangements or not, to stand up. But any preconceptions you have about the ukelele in terms of strumming away at old tropical island tunes may not stand up after you hear this one – in a few places, it’s some real rock ‘n’ roll. If you’re in the mood for something different, this is some good stuff.

1. Across The Sea (2:28)
2. In Heaven (2:56)
3. Doug’s Little Love Shack (2:35)
4. No Mall At Sharks Cove (2:49)
5. Talking Story (2:24)
6. Silver Lining (3:01)
7. A Just Senator (2:53)
8. Summer Storm (3:19)

Released by: Daniel Gannaway
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 22:25

It’s hard to follow Jerry Goldsmith. Take Star Trek: Voyager, for example – each week, Goldsmith’s sweeping theme would often be followed by something that, despite the valiant efforts of the composers who scored each episode (and due to the restraints imposed on them by the show’s producers), simply couldn’t be in the same league. When MGM decided to continue the story of Logan’s Run on the small screen in the late 1970s, the decision was made to “reboot” the story – to essentially retell the movie in a different context that would lead seamlessly into an ongoing series of adventures. The main roles were recast, and so too was the music; gone were the futuristic city setting and Jerry Goldsmith’s avant-garde electronics, replaced by something much more traditional and, perhaps, not a million miles away from Fantasy Island (a thought that I had before opening the liner notes booklet and seeing that composer Bruce Broughton, who scored other episodes represented on this CD, said the same thing). This CD from Film Score Monthly presents the highlights from the entire series, written by several different composers.

Laurence Rosenthal was tapped for the extended-length pilot, several early episodes, and the theme music that would open every subsequent episode. The difference between all of the music on this CD and the score to the movie that inspired the series is stark – where the movie score achieves a little bit of timelessness through unusual instrumentation and unconventional musical thinking, the TV scores are clearly rooted in the pre-Star Wars 1970s. To a greater or lesser extent, depending on who composed it, virtually every track references Rosenthal’s main theme, but instead of being used as an adaptable leitmotif, the theme is quoted almost in its entirety every time it appears.

The theme itself is a snapshot out of time, with a Yamaha organ providing an electronic “siren” effect that, to put it lightly, hasn’t exactly aged gracefully. (It almost sounds like someone had a hot game of Asteroids going during the recording session.) And that’s about as electronic as this iteration of Logan’s Run gets.

The episode score suites do occasionally bear a certain similarity to some of the movie’s action cues, however, particularly those by Rosenthal himself. Bruce Broughton contributes a couple of decent tracks from two of his episodes, two more tracks are from Jerrold Immel’s score, and another track features score music by Jeff Alexander. The rest of the music is by Rosenthal, including a brief selection of “commercial break bumpers” that heralded a commercial interruption.

Now, I’m not judging this music solely on its similarity or lack thereof to a movie score by Jerry Goldsmith; the TV series was aimed squarely at family viewing time, and as such it’s pitched as a whole different animal. But it’s hard not to have the comparison in the back of one’s mind – how much more different could two projects bearing the same name and underlying premise be? The music itself is pleasant enough, though occasionally the age of the source material shows where audio fidelity is concerned. But in the end, there’s a phrase in a paragraph in the booklet describing one of the tracks, explaining that the track is comprised of brief excerpts of a score that wouldn’t have stood up to extended CD listening. To a certain degree, that applies to this CD as a whole. It’s neat to have another vintage SF series musically unearthed and lavished with packaging that’s as informative as it is attractive (Film Score Monthly is the best in the business at that), but as a listening experience, it’s an exercise in how well some music dates…and how well some doesn’t.

I can really only recommend this one to fans of the show – a show which, I’ll admit, I barely remember myself. Though the liner notes booklet, whose extensive episode guide reveals that such luminaries as D.C. Fontana, David Gerrold, Shimon Wincelberg and even Harlan Ellison worked on the series, makes me hope that a DVD release is in the planning stages somewhere; maybe then I’ll have a better appreciation of this version of Logan’s Run, and its music.

1. Main Title (1:11)
2. Pilot Suite, Part 1 (8:43)
3. Pilot Suite, Part 2 (6:18)
4. Pilot Suite, Part 3 (7:47)
5. Bumpers (0:10)
6. The Collectors (4:10)
7. Capture (music by Jeff Alexander) (5:56)
8. The Innocent (music by Jerrold Immel) (6:29)
9. Man Out Of Time (9:06)
10. Half Life (music by Jerrold Immel) (8:46)
11. Fear Factor (music by Bruce Broughton) (11:39)
12. Futurepast (6:40)
13. Night Visitors (music by Bruce Broughton) (1:55)
14. End Title (0:38)

Released by: Film Score Monthly
Release date: 2004
Total running time: 79:55

Regarded with fondness perhaps only by one core group of fans, the low-budget 1978 sci-fi-horror flick Laserblast offered the first “real gig” for two names who have become frequent flyers in the music credits of many a TV series and movie today: Richard Band and Joel (Stargate SG-1) Goldsmith. Both young, brimming with ideas, and enthusiastic about their first swipe at the big screen, Goldsmith and Band poured themselves into their work. The bad news is that the movie they were scoring is now generally remembered only as the cinematic victim of the final episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Comedy Central.

Trying to split the different between 70s funk/rock sensibilities and a more traditional underscore, the music from Laserblast might come across as a bit schizophrenic upon the first listen. But in the end, it could be that, aside from one of MST3K’s finest (two) hours, this movie’s greatest contribution was its music. Heard independently of the film itself, Laserblast’s score shows a lot of inventiveness on the part of its composers. Despite working with limited, pre-MIDI synthesizers (and trying to use them to approximate a larger ensemble), Band and Goldsmith, at least, aren’t going through the motions. (With the benefit of hindsight, one can imagine a scene where the two might look at each other with a “what the hell?” shrug and phone the rest of the music in, but that doesn’t seem to have happened.)

Even the source music and rock cues are intersting enough to merit a repeat listen. Be ready for a trip back to the 70s, though – these pieces ooze 70s.

This is the first CD I’ve bought from BuySoundtrax.com, yet another small boutique label catering to movie music fans, and I have to compliment them on this release; the booklet is well-researched and informative, the music itself is sharp and clear, and when it came to the limited autographed edition (100 of the 1,000 copies released were signed), a separate copy of the booklet was signed. If you frame your autographs, this means that you didn’t just lose your CD booklet to a frame on the wall. Overall, a nice package, and if you can overlook the movie’s dubious pedigree (and try not to hear the voice of Tom Servo singing “There’s a place in France…” over that one track), there’s some decent music in there too.

1. Laserblast Main Title (1:55)
2. Mom’s Leaving (0:21)
3. Billy’s Radio #1 (2:06)
4. Grandpa and Kathy (0:47)
5. Billy’s Radio #2 (3:14)
6. Deputy Chase (1:16)
7. Chuck’s Radio #1 (2:21)
8. Alien Blaster / Billy Finds Gun / First Laserblasting (1:46)
9. Billy and Kathy (1:14)
10. Aliens In Ship / Alien Boss On Screen (0:47)
11. Tony Discovers Black Spot (1:02)
12. Party Music (4:25)
13. Love Theme After Fight (0:46)
14. Billy In Mirror / Chuck Goes To Car (1:04)
15. Chuck’s Car Gets Blasted (1:06)
16. Tony Arrives At Police Station (0:34)
17. Operation Montage / Dr. Mellon Examines Billy (1:07)
18. Lab Montage (1:11)
19. Billy At Gas Station (1:39)
20. Billy and Kathy Make Love (0:45)
21. More Laserblasting (0:59)
22. Chuck’s Radio #2 (3:59)
23. Billy Battles Plane (2:54)
24. Billy Blows Town Up (5:22)
25. Laserblast End Title (2:29)

Released by: BSX Records
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 46:14

Picking up deftly where the first “season” left off (in more ways than one), Marty Simon’s selection of music from the second and third years of the series gives both something new, and more of the same.

On the “more of the same” front, there’s the fact that the various iterations of the theme music leaned entirely on elements from that first season. It’s interesting to hear two or three pieces of the first season’s music stuck into a blender, set on pureè, and compressed into a minute or so, but the elements are still distinctive and recognizable.

While there are comedy cues here (and, every soundtrack fan’s favorite thing in the world, dialogue from the show), this CD’s focus is on the more dramatic and introspective moments of the second and third seasons. This means some very distinctive and enjoyable material (“Prince To Lexx” and the eerie Lyekka theme, to name just two) as well as some music that, without its visual accompaniment, doesn’t make the most satisfying stand-alone listening experience. On the humorous side, we get “Wild Wild Lexx” and “All He Wants Is Sex”, though I was a bit less enamoured of Xev’s song from Lafftrak. Very, very conspicuous by its absence is anything from the musical episode Brigadoom, an omission that left me slack-jawed in surprise. One wonders if a whole CD devoted to that episode was perhaps planned and scrapped.

Also heard here are all of the opening title medleys from the second and third season (I say “all” because the title music changed in the second season after the change of lead actress).

It’ll all be a treat for devoted Lexx fans, though the stand-alone listening experience varies from track to track (depending on how much you like songs with vocals in your soundtracks, or show dialogue dropped into the music, though it’s worth noting that the original Tales From A Parallel Universe soundtrack was also guilty of the latter). For those wanting to sample the music of Lexx without the dedicated fan’s knowledge of the show, however, I’d recommend that earlier release over this one.

1. Opening Theme – Season 3 (1:02)
2. 790 Quote (0:18)
3. Prince To Lexx (2:20)
4. All He Wants Is Sex (2:38)
5. Angel Song (1:38)
6. A Walk In The Desert (4:15)
7. Seduction (0:58)
8. Wild, Wild Lexx (3:42)
9. Galley (2:41)
10. Opening Theme – Season 2, Version 1 (1:03)
11. Holograms (2:54)
12. The Search (3:10)
13. Xev’s Dream (4:13)
14. Garden (6:33)
15. Lexx Hungry (0:17)
16. Into The Garden (1:36)
17. Lyekka / Potato Hoe (4:58)
18. Gondola Ride (4:47)
19. Mantrid Medley (3:49)
20. Prince Theme (2:01)
21. Medieval Dance (1:38)
22. Girl Awakes / Norb Launch (1:48)
23. The Xev Show (0:32)
24. Demented Chase (2:29)
25. Yo-A-O / I’m Leaving (1:06)
26. Zev Dies (2:23)
27. Final Scene (1:42)
28. Opening Theme – Season 2, Version 2 (1:27)

Released by: GNP Crescendo
Release date: 2001
Total running time: 77:58