BY DARREN ALLISON
Fireball XL5
It’s always a gratifying feeling when Silva
screen produces another title in their successful Gerry Anderson collection.
This time around, they have focused on the 1962-63 series, Fireball XL5
(SILLP1595).
The black & white puppet television
series followed the missions of Fireball XL5, a vessel of the World Space
Patrol in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, XL5 travels the
universe encountering alien civilisations and defending planet Earth from
interstellar threats. It was produced, like most other Anderson productions, in
Supermarionation, using puppetry techniques that captured the imagination of a
generation.
The Fireball XL5 soundtrack has been newly
compiled, mastered and designed by the creative and committed team at Fanderson
– The Official Gerry And Sylvia Anderson Appreciation Society.
The album features 24 tracks from 16 episodes,
including the Fireball XL5 main theme and single version. In the opening theme,
Barry Gray employs, for the first time, the Ondes Martenot, bringing an eerie
and other-worldly sound to the series. The contrast of detached electronic
music with the jazzy musical language served as a perfect juxtaposition of the
alien and human Worlds. Each episode would finish with the pop song “Fireballâ€,
bringing the viewer back to the warmth of their 60s lounge. The song was
performed by Don Spencer and was a minor hit in the UK, spending 12 weeks in
the UK charts and peaking at number 32.
Barry Gray was a classically trained composer
and a versatile musician and was amongst the first composers to use electronic
instruments in music for television. Best known for creating the music for most
of the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson television series in the 1960s and 70s
(Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, UFO, Space:1999), Barry Gray’s complete musical
opus is still not commercially available in its entirety. Fanderson, dedicated
to the productions of Gerry Anderson, has gained access to all Barry Gray’s
original studio tapes and have undertaken a major re-issue project. Together
with Fanderson, Silva Screen Records is championing Barry Gray’s incredible
musical opus and is releasing the material in a series of physical and digital
albums and vinyl records.
Given
the age of this early soundtrack, the music is crisp, clean and has a wide
dynamic range. One has to applaud the production team who have really exceeded
expectations. As with the rest of the series of albums, the packaging is
superb, presented in a thick, sturdy gatefold sleeve and with both platters
pressed in a transparent orange vinyl, it really is a thing of beauty and
nothing less of what is deserved.
The
album is also available on CD format (SILCD1595) and as a digital download.
Rawhead Rex
Released in 1986, horror film Rawhead Rex
(SILLP1606) was based on a short story by Clive (Hellraiser) Barker. The tale
is set in 1980s rural Ireland. The Demon, alive for millennia and trapped in
the depths of Hell, is unleashed on the sleepy local farming community.
Remembered faintly through pre-Christian myth, the only one that can stop
Rawhead’s bloody rampage is the historian, desperately racing against the time.
Composer Colin Towns is not only one of
Europe’s most prolific film, television and theatre composers, but also a
pianist, songwriter, arranger, producer and collaborator. His name has graced
the credits of many prestigious and popular features. "The first film I scored
was Full Circle which starred Mia Farrow and is still in the BFI top ten for
best score for horror films. I felt that film was more of a dark scary mystery.
Rawhead Rex on the other hand was clearly a horror film 100%. I visited the
film set in Ireland during the filming to take in the atmosphere and meet the
actors after which I decided to record the music at CTS in London with a sixty
piece orchestra plus electronics. I have always orchestrated my own work and
had a wild time with Rawhead which is what I really love doing". Colin
Towns
Towns, known for The Puppet Masters, Space
Truckers, Maybe Baby, Foyle’s War, Doc Martin and Pie in The Sky, created a
hugely enjoyable and diverse score for Rawhead Rex. It’s main theme especially
conveys plenty of power, tension and full-on threatening brass. However, on the
flip side of that, tracks such as ‘Welcome to Ireland’ or ‘The Family is
Leaving’ are open and lush with some beautiful use of the string section - all
of which makes for a nicely balanced and entirely rewarding mix.
This long-awaited score album is packaged in
an attractive gatefold sleeve with both of the LPs pressed in an appropriate
blood red vinyl. The soundtrack is also available on CD format (SILCD1606) and
as a digital download from Silva screen’s website.
Both the Gerry Anderson and Rawhead Rex
releases can be ordered from:
https://www.silvascreen.com/