CD REVIEW - HEROES


Heroes
Music by Lisa Coleman & Wendy Melvoin
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1091 (US)
10 Tracks 54:49 mins

As another season of Heroes comes to a close in the States (there's a few episodes to go here yet), and after having some cuts on a song-dominated "original soundtrack," the show's composer's finally get a proper showcase for their work.
For those of you who are fans of the show, I am probably preaching to the converted here, and for those of you who are not, you probably won't read this review anyway, but the fact is that Lisa & Wendy's music is about as far removed from any other "superhero music" you are likely to hear. Their virtual wall-to-wall scoring of each episode adds another somewhat quirky dimension to proceedings, with an underlying "pulse," which strangely works, though doesn't result in memorable tunes you can hum throughout your daily grind. Instead, they have come up with musical signatures for characters and scenarios that are instantly recognisable, my favourite of which is probably the "ticking"music that always accompanies the journeys through space and time of Hiro and Ando.
With this style of scoring, it's pretty well impossible to come up with a conventional score album for the show, so instead what we have here are ten tracks which group together the signature themes and variations for each character so, after the familiar strange tones of "Heroes Title," we are treated to lengthy tracks for "Peter," "Claire," "Hiro," "HRG," "Mohinder," "Sylar," and "Jessica/Niki/Gina" (Ali Larter, lucky girl, got to play three characters!).
The final two tracks on the album firstly feature the lengthy final showdown at "Kirby Plaza" of season one, which brought all the main characters so memorably together for the first time; and fans favourite, the mystical "Fire and Regeneration."
Just a mention regarding the realisation of the music, which of course is largely studio-produced by the composers, but credit must go to Indian vocalist Shenkar for his mystical offerings (see "Fire and Regeneration"), as well as Jane Kuramato for Koto and Shoji Kameda for Taiko Drums and Voice, both on "Hiro."
The accompanying booklet is even that bit "different," not carrying pictures of the cast on the front, but multiple Lisa and Wendys in typical Heroes pose and setting. Instead, you'll find pictures of the cast inside, as well a guide to the music of Heroes by the show's Executive Producer and Director, Allan Arkush, and a brief note from the composers.
For further details, samples and to order your copy of the album, go to www.lalalandrecords.com/Heroes.html.