Battlestar Galactica: Season 4

Comment: I wondered after listening to the second season soundtrack and several magnificent tracks from the third season if Bear could possibly better his previous works. He did. When I saw the Fourth Season of BSG I didn't pick up on all the music. It was much like watching Star Wars in that one doesn't separate the music from the images initially. The music is as much the show as the characters are. That being said Bear McCreary has composed some of the most moving tracks I have ever heard. Most evoke emotions as well as those works from Williams, Horner and Zimmer. His music takes you on an emotional roller coaster of fear, hope, despair, pain, triumph, reflection, etc. Some personal standouts I particulary love:

Please excuse my poor descriptions for I lack a proper knowledge of musical terms.

1. Track 1 Disc 2: "Caprica City, Before The Fall". This one almost pulled tears from me at times. (There is a seven note theme that is the centerpiece of this track played on a duduk)It perfectly evokes hope and foreboding. A fitting harbinger of things to come in the "Daybreak" episodes. It is easily my favorite track of the two discs. It is serious and solemn and underscores the tone of the series final episode. Bear uses leitmotif as well as John Williams through much of his work blending two other themes including the ominous 10 note theme from " All Along The Watchtowers". This piece evoked fear and hope. Fear in that this is the end, but hope that the characters will preservere till the end. A magnificent piece that captivates me like no other!!!

2. Track 20 Disc 1: "Diaspora Oratorio". A triumph.

3. Track 11 Disc 1: "Roslin and Adama Reunited"

4. Track 9 Disc 2: "Goodbye Sam"

5. Track 10 Disc 2: "Heart Of The Sun"

6. Track 13 Disc 2: "An Easterly View"

As incomparable as the series is, it's still hard to believe some of these tracks were written for a television series. Fittingly enough though, they were written for Battlestar Galactica.

Bravo and encore!

Comment: This is a must if you're a BSG fan! I would highly recommend this sountrack.

Comment: Just "An Easterly View" alone makes this soundtrack worth buying, and there are so many more memorable pieces in it! But yeah, An Easterly View is the one that sticks out the most for me, especially the last couple minutes of it. The combination of this powerful piece and the ending scene of the final episode of BSG, where Bill Adama is sitting on that hill looking at the sun as the camera rises and the scene ends ... well, that combination darn near made me cry, and that's not an easy feat! As someone else here said, as brilliant as BSG was as a show, without this score it wouldn't have been anywhere near as great. Five stars from me, and I'd give it six if I could.

Comment: With the Season 3 soundtrack, the extraordinary Bear McCreary busted the door wide open on what could be achieved on a television soundtrack. For Season 4, he walks right through it.

To keep this review brief, I'll simply say that this is an amazing album, both the season soundtrack and the Daybreak disc, that builds upon the themes and motifs that he had established over the course of the series.

This isn't just a great soundtrack, it's a brilliant album.

Comment: This two disc set lives up to the superb scoring McCreary did for the first thee seasons.
The addition of a separate disc for the final episodes score was beautiful.

Track 5 on disc one carried that beautiful sound that became the Adama family theme.
And track 17, Kara Remembers is AWESOME, truly capturing the energy and the intensity of the whole show.
The final tracks on disc two rest quietly on the promising ending of the crew on 'Earth'.

Excellent score that McCreary hit with again!