Battlestar Galactica: Plan / Razor

Bear McCreary's original soundtrack for the two Battlestar Galactica "events" Razor and The Plan is the final Galactica album - and it might just be the best. I thought the season 3 soundtrack broke the boundaries of what a soundtrack could achieve. Not just a collection of music that supports the show, it exists as a beautiful piece of art all on its own. Season 4 expanded on that, giving us an even richer experience. It all culminates here in the soundtrack for The Plan, in particular. The familiar Galactica motifs are back in full force: taiko drums, ethnic soloists, duduks, and chunky hard rock guitars. All the musicians involved should be commended for their tremendous, emotionally charged music. I'm continually amazed that such fully realized music could come about as the result of made-to-order music, created to support characters and events in a television series. It is to BSG's credit that they made music a significant plot-point in the final two seasons, bringing deserved attention to McCreary and the musicians. If you've enjoyed the seasons 3 and 4 soundtracks, this is a must-have. Even if you've never seen Battlestar Galactica (a brilliant show I recommend wholeheartedly), you can enjoy this album. It's some of the most exciting, wonderful music I've ever heard, and I simply couldn't praise it enough or recommend it more highly.

Bear McCreary is a musical genius when it comes to scoring anything for the science fiction genre, blending in Middle-Eastern themes with electronics, percussion and your classical orchestral sounds. With Razor and The Plan, he goes even further in the Battlestar Galactica universe with the amazing theme, Apocalypse, with lyrics by Raya Yarbrough. Bear McCreary's scores are unparalleled, and he can be called "The John Williams of Sci-fi", for as John Williams shaped an entire universe of music to his liking, Bear McCreary does the same with one genre in particular. But Bear McCreary's music isn't just for those who like and appreciate sci-fi; anyone who loves or listens to classical/instrumental should have Bear's music in their collections. I also recommend his score for the video game, Dark Void, and the upcoming release of the Defiance TV series, while you can purchase the music for the video game companion to the TV show on mp3

If you are looking for the long version of the pretty Indian singing with some hard rock music mixed in that plays at the beginning of the episodes, you have found it. That is the reason I bought this CD. I'll leave the discussion of the music to others. I came late to the new Battlestar Galactica series, just purchasing the entire set on Blu-ray about a month ago--it is now April 2017. If you watched the shows, you know the music. I happen to love the show and the music,especially this song.

I'm sure it's no secret by now (if you have followed my reviews) that I am a huge fan of Bear McCreary. His work on the Galactica soundtracks has been, by and large, the best that TV has to offer. In addition, I greatly enjoyed the feature Razor, and while there were some heavy weaknesses in The Plan, I enjoyed that one as well. But the problems is that this soundtrack, like the feature films, requires a pretty solid understanding of the Galactica universe in order for them to be enjoyed properly. What I mean is this: without the intimate knowledge of the musical themes of Galactica and without having seen the context of the music on this particular album, you may find it a little repetitive at times. One reason why I love the regular season Galactica albums is that one can enjoy them without having seen any of the series, because the music works on so many levels and can be enjoyed for the amazing pieces of music they are regardless. Here, the Kendra Shaw theme basically dominates the Razor tracks, and the Apocalypse theme dominates a good portion of the Plan tracks. Not that I think this is bad music by any means...but it IS a weaker collection than his previous album releases because there is far less range that can be demonstrated with these two movies (understandably). So my advice is this: if you want to be introduced to the world of Galactica soundtracks, start yourself off with season 3 or 4, the best of the bunch (particularly 4). If you like what you hear, then you might consider either checking this album out or, better yet, watching the show yourself. Now, to those of you who are Galactica fans (like me) and appreciate the movies and their scores on all levels, then this is of course a must-own album just like all the rest. The way he takes his fully developed compositional ability (and arsenal of numerous character/concept themes) and applies them to old events in The Plan tracks is fantastic. His use of the Kendra Shaw theme as almost the sole musical idea in the Razor tracks is genius given the nature of her character and her role in the narrative. There is some great material here, but you may only appreciate it if you are immersed in the exceptional saga that is the music of Battlestar Galactica.

I've been a fan of Bear McCreary's work for a long time and even seen him in concert. His various soundtracks for Battlestar Galactica have shown an incredible range. This soundtrack covers two of the BSG movies, so he is not drawing from as much work. Still, it's a very enjoyable album. Of course, the main theme, "Apocalypse" gets the most play. It's actually based on the opening riff from Bear's version of "All Along the Watchtower" and it works really well. If you've enjoyed his previous work, you won't be disappointed.

First off, I absolutely love Bear's scores for Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Battlestar Galactica; Season 3 being my favorite. That being said, however, there are a lot of elements that make those soundtracks great that are missing from his soundtrack for Razor/The Plan. The best thing about the music of The Plan is the Apocalypse theme. It's one of the best themes Bear has written for the show, right up there with the Roslin & Adama theme, the Worthy of Survival theme, and the Watchtower theme. Typically these themes pop up once or twice in a sountrack release but, because of the nature of this soundtrack, the Apocalypse theme dominates five entire tracks. It's a bit of an overkill especially considering that the most definitive rendition of the theme is the final live performance track, which combines both Raya Yarbrough's brilliant vocal performance of the Gayatri Mantra from "Apocalypse (Theme from The Plan)" with the beautiful melodic line from "Apocalypse, Pt. I". It's unfortunate that this powerful arrangement wasn't considered in the studio and is only available as a live performance. The second best thing about the music of The Plan is the new arrangements of some of BSG's most memorable musical moments such as "Flesh & Bone" and "Something Dark is Coming". Sadly, these are not available on this release. Sure these themes appear on other releases, but it's not like new versions of other themes aren't repeated time and again on subsequent soundtracks. I really would have liked to have heard these reworkings on this release. The problem with Razor is that there doesn't seem to be a standout theme. There is a Kendra Shaw theme, but to my ears it sounds like a truncated piece of "Gaeta's Lament". I know that's probably getting too nit-picky, but I find it really annoying to listen to because it always feels incomplete. After the first 7 tracks, which all accompany the destruction of the colonies, the soundtrack starts to feel unfocused and tired. Perhaps by no small coincidence, the same can be said for the plots of Razor and The Plan. Bear's music is pretty much subject to the amount of quality drama being presented on the screen and both movies start strong but finish flat. This soundtrack also lack variety. There are no solo piano pieces, no string quartets, no opera, no bagpipes, no folk songs. It may sound crazy that I'm actually looking for all those things in a single soundtrack, but it's a high bar that McCreary has set for himself. The last thing that I don't care for in this soundtrack is the reworking of Stu Philips' original BSG theme on the track "Husker in Combat". Unlike Daybreak's "The Heart of the Sun", this arrangement feels too straight forward and not very lyrical. I get why it was arranged this way, it made sense for the movie, but as a stand alone track I find it uninspired. So, if you want to get into Bear McCreary, I recommend you start elsewhere. Seasons 3 and 4 of BSG are probably his greatest works yet. I'm also highly anticipating his soundtrack for Season 1 of Caprica. I don't know if that show deserves a second season, but the music sure does!

Bear McCreary said that songs on this album are a tribute to the fans as a way to end the series. This album truly represents just that. While there's not much here that you haven't heard before throughout the series ("Apocalypse" being the welcome and surprising exception), McCreary somehow manages to take everything you've heard before to the next level. In short, enjoying this music is bitter sweet in that it is simply delightful in spite of the fact that these may be the last notes by McCreary for a series that is no more.

Bear McCreary is one of my favorite composers. EVER. I think that the music is as much a part of the Battlestar Galactica mythos as the characters, and the selections here offer a few unexpected developments on familiar themes abandoned by the second season of the reimagined series. New themes are introduced with as much emotional intensity as the themes we may already know. For those not familiar with Bear McCreary's soundtracks for Battlestar Galactica, this may be a reasonable introduction.

Excelente Bear Mcreary dando rienda suelta a las temáticas de la segunda mitad de la serie! Este disco es de mis preferidos junto con el de las temporadas tercera y cuarta!

Als ich mir das erste Mal Battlestar Galactica anschaute war ich sofort von der Musik begeistert. Ich war so begeistert, sodass ich mir danach den Soundtrack aller Seasons und Filme kaufen musste. Bear McCreary hat einen sehr guten Job gemacht. Super Filmmusik. Leider gab es weder auf iTunes (Schweiz) noch sonst wo diese CDs zu kaufen, also war die Alternative eben eine CD (zum Angreifen) über Amazon zu kaufen, obwohl ich grundsätzlich keine CDs mehr in Hardwareform kaufe. Einen Punkt Abzug gebe ich für den hohen Preis (Importware) und dafür, dass die Hülle durch den Transport zerbrochen ist, was mich an sich nicht weiter stört, da ich Sie sowieso ins iTunes eingelesen habe. Musik ist jedem BG Fan zu empfehlen.

Superb! I love the BSG sound tracks. Really good.

"Razor" et surtout "The Plan" étaient des suppléments pas indispensables, pas forcément géniaux en globalité, mais intéressants (pour les amateurs, les fans, et le public général de la série) avec certaines scènes, certains personnages (et interprétations) mémorables. L'un des avantages de ces deux téléfilms a été... de pouvoir entendre de nouvelles compositions de l'excellent Bear McCreary, qui, pour rappel, s'est révélé au fur et à mesure que la nouvelle série Battlestar Galactica progressait (depuis, il a composé pour des films, de nombreuses autres séries, et même des jeux vidéo, apportant à chaque fois sa singularité). A quoi reconnaît-on un très bon compositeur éclectique ? A ce qu'il peut parvenir à vous faire aimer des morceaux relevant de genres ou de sous-genres musicaux par rapport auxquels vous restez d'habitude indifférents ou même que vous n'aimez pas (mais quand c'est lui qui compose, c'est différent !). C'est un peu comme ça avec McCreary dans mon cas : le metal, ce n'est pas mon affaire, mais lorsque McCreary apporte sa touche originale, ajoute des instruments "exotiques" et quand en plus la merveilleuse Raya y ajoute sa voix si reconnaissable... Difficile de résister ! D'où mon goût pour les deux versions chantées de "Apocalypse" qui ouvrent et concluent respectivement l'album (la dernière étant un enregistrement de concert endiablé !). "Razor" se distingue par un beau thème principal mélodieux autour duquel McCreary propose diverses variations (lentes, enjouées, tristes, martiales, contemplative, etc.) liées par des éléments faisant penser aux trouvailles des BO des troisième et quatrième saisons : les amateurs de Bear McCreary et les auditeurs aimant les variations subtiles y trouveront leur plaisir. Le dernier acte du film était un bon prétexte pour créer un nouveau thème autour du Premier hybride et reprendre des éléments du thème de la destinée de Starbuck, par exemple dans le bien rythmé "The Hybrid Awaits". J'aime bien la belle progression de "Attack on the Scorpion Shipyards", qui accompagne très bien les deux "Apocalypse" instrumentaux. Notez bien entendu l'immanquable "Husker in combat", hommage martial endiablé à l'air de la série originale (qui accompagnerait d'ailleurs excellemment la dernière grande apparition, épique, de ce thème, dans "The Galactica" de la BO de "Blood and Chrome"). J'en reviens à "The Plan". Comme dit plus haut, le thème "Apocalypse" est décliné dans deux morceaux accompagnant la destruction des Douze colonies par les félons Cylons et le panorama des conséquences de leur attaque. Le premier morceau, ressemblant à une sorte de métal martial à l'instrumentation typiquement McCreary (c'est-à-dire sortant de nos habitudes !) témoigne de la capacité du compositeur à manier une progression sur une pièce assez longue, en suivant l'action et le développement de la tension croissante des scènes du film (qui reposent finalement, en fait, beaucoup sur cet accompagnement musical). Le second morceau est une reprise du thème apocalyptique, sur le mode de la déploration. J'ai envie de dire que cette musique traduit bien l'idée répétée dans la série, à savoir que "Omnia illa et ante fiebant / Omnia illa et rursus fient", notamment grâce au violon électrique. L'autre thème essentiel de "The Plan" concerne l'histoire des deux Cavil (l'aspect le plus intéressant, pour moi, du film). On note l'inspiré "Cavil Kills and Cavil Spares" dominé par la belle voix de Raya Yarbrough et bien entendu le très réussi "Princes of the Universe". Bref, il s'agit d'un ajout recommandé à la cdthèque des amateurs de McCreary et de BO en général ; l'album s'apprécie davantage, bien sûr, au regard du reste des BO de BSG.

Battlestar Galactica; so much better than the vast majority of sci-fi series, now or in the past. The music to BSG, again, better than most of what's avaiable and one of the things I was going to miss with BSG ending was Bear's soundtrack CDs. Yet here's one I hadn't heard of, and I'm thinking most other BSG fans in the UK haven't either. Granted, The Plan was shown later here than in the US, and the CD is on Amazon UK as an import, but still, I was greatly pleased to see this available. So, how good is it? Outstanding. Bear is a true artist and it's a joy to listen to his genius. Like all his work, the more you listen to it, the more you'll enjoy it. It's natural that with any film soundtrack, it's going to relate more to that specific story rather than the collected music from an entire series, but as with other great film music, that's just a given. Having heard the music from Stargate Universe, vainly trying to ape BSG, you realise just how good Bear is. I have to say that I'm not yet as impressed by Caprica, but then that just shows that a composer for television series needs good material to work with, and Caprica is no BSG. Now, if only they'd make more BSG films, and need more music, I'd be a happy bunny