THE ORVILLE - Music Discussion (Bruce Broughton, Joel McNeely, John Debney, Andrew Cottee, Kevin Kaska)

[1977 1,743]

Dry Your Tears, Afrika

[KittBash 282]

4 hours ago, ricsim88 said:

I’m not exactly sure why, but 7digital Canada seems to sell it quite a bit cheaper 

https://ca.7digital.com/artist/various-artists/release/the-orville-new-horizons-original-television-soundtrack-28067276?origin=us

 $17 Canadian seems quite cheap. Glad I picked it up before they realize their mistake.

 

 

It is so rare that we get this kind of deal! When Jay quoted $33 USD I assumed the CAD would be $50+

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

Those trumpets at the 5:50 mark of "Breaking In" are insane!!! This cue is truly one of the best things ever. It's just 20 minutes of awesomenes!!

 

The only thing is that I believe the statement of the main theme, when they're jumping out the shuttle, is not in the album

[Jay 37,364]

11 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

The only thing is that I believe the statement of the main theme, when they're jumping out the shuttle, is not in the album

 

Producer Dan Goldwasser says:

 

There was a lot of music editing done in "Breaking In" for the show, including using material from previous seasons(!) so the album was edited in a way to present the material as the composer originally intended.

 

https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=119661&forumID=1&archive=0&pageID=7&r=452#bottom

[Jay 37,364]

Wowwee zowwee!

I had a very busy day and was unable to check this out until a little bit ago.

 

Kevin Kaska's score to Episode 1 alone was an utterly fantastic album in its own right, one of the most pleasing film music related things I've listened to in a while.

 

What inspiration this show created for its talented composers to work with and deliver these goods to us!  Wow.  Can't wait to check out more episode scores throughout the weekend! 

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

The Training Course from episode 1 is truly one of the most fun cues I've heard in a long time. It made me laugh out loud. Incredible!!

[Nemesis 245]

4 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

The Training Course from episode 1 is truly one of the most fun cues I've heard in a long time. It made me laugh out loud. Incredible!!

That's a fun track and total in the spirit of "The Adventures of Mutt"

2 hours ago, KittBash said:

 

 

It is so rare that we get this kind of deal! When Jay quoted $33 USD I assumed the CAD would be $50+

In Switzerland we have to pay about $200 and only get mp3! 

https://de-ch.7digital.com/artist/various-artists/release/the-orville-new-horizons-original-television-soundtrack-28067276?f=20%2C19%2C12%2C16%2C17%2C9%2C2

[leeallen01 2,136]

1 hour ago, Nemesis said:

That's a fun track and total in the spirit of "The Adventures of Mutt"

 

 

Yeah I can't help but hum Mutt's theme as I'm listening to it. Also some Williams Home Alone inspired by Tchaikovsky music in Kaska's Ep.1 Score.

[Aini 4]

Is it just me or "Breaking in" is full of Star Wars? I can't even process

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

Indeed, there are parts that almost sound like they're going to play "The Asteroid Field" theme

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

17 hours ago, JTWfan77 said:

Dry Your Tears, Afrika

 

I'm pretty sure they sing Paprika. 

 

9 hours ago, Aini said:

Is it just me or "Breaking in" is full of Star Wars? I can't even process

 

Well, Kaska is a SW copycat. 

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

Most important parts missing

 

- Episode 1: Isaac's monologue & death
- Episode 5: Extended version of "Emergency Arrival" and Teleya's second monologue
- Episode 8: Instrumental version (party scene) of Jolene by Dolly Parton
- Episode 8: The search for Topa (just under 1 minute) before "Rushing Back"

And all throughout every episode there are these short transition cues of 5 to 40 seconds.

But besides these few cues, this is truly an outstanding release!

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

 

[1977 1,743]

As matter of interest, how much does the US iTunes release go for?

[Dr. Know 326]

24 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

As matter of interest, how much does the US iTunes release go for?

$24.99

[Andy 4,129]

Me: This is so much temp track love. 
 

Also Me: Shut up and enjoy the splendor, you idiot!

[1977 1,743]

1 hour ago, Dr. Know said:

$24.99

Wow! It's around $10 (equivalent) where I'm from.

[Jay 37,364]

iTunes price added to my earlier post

[pete 907]

I had confused Kevin Kaska with Kevin Kiner. Surprised to realize two of Kevin Kaska's concert works were included on the CD that featured the first recording of Williams trumpet concerto.

 

I bought the CD when it was released and it's back home in Australia - I only ripped the Williams concerto, and I don't think I ever listened to Kaska's own pieces on that CD. Definitely curious to explore his music further. 

[Andy 4,129]

Finished listening while painting the house.
I enjoyed Kaska’s stuff the most and probably Debney’s the least.  The 20 minute Breaking In is itself a feat that all involved should be proud of. 
 

The fact that this type of music is being recorded for a TV show is remarkable. It really is a joy to listen to. 
 

That said, there is room for growth.  Why isn’t there a leitmotif approach?  Other than a villain theme which sounded a lot like the Alien theme from ID4, the scores could really benefit from characters themes or recurring motifs. Why don’t they use Broughton’s main theme more?  Are they not allowed?  The pastiche form of scoring and orchestration is a treat, but it does seem a bit disconnected without recurring themes to thread it together. 
 

The scoring is at its best when it is in joyful optimism mode, but can (like most scores) get pedestrian when it’s time for suspense writing.  The action music is temp track city, but it somehow works. It helps me that this is all attached to a show I adore with my heart. 
 

Has anyone seriously thought about making a spreadsheet or document for the temp track pieces?  Here’s some of the ones I identified:

 

The Mission (Amazing Stories)

Adventures of Mutt

Jurassic Park T. Rex Rescue

Asteroid field

March of the Resistance 

Minority Report?

Raiders (in the jungle)

Episode I the Droid Battle 

Lost World San Francisco 

Leaving Drydock (Original Alternate)

Young Sherlock Holmes (solving the crime)

Close encounters (climbing the mountain)

 

I do hope this gets a physical release. I would enjoy liner notes and discrete breaks in the program to portion out the listening. 
 

GREAT score to my favorite show. 

[pete 907]

Just curious is the show temp tracked with those pieces? Could well be, but I think not necessarily. I thought it more part of the goals of the show to pay homage to Star Trek as well as iconic film scores/composers. I think it's less composers trying to sound like the temp score and more paying homage to the scores mentioned. Could be both, but just it's obviously more than trying to sound like a temp score.

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

3 hours ago, Andy said:

That said, there is room for growth.  Why isn’t there a leitmotif approach?  Other than a villain theme which sounded a lot like the Alien theme from ID4, the scores could really benefit from characters themes or recurring motifs. Why don’t they use Broughton’s main theme more?  Are they not allowed?  The pastiche form of scoring and orchestration is a treat, but it does seem a bit disconnected without recurring themes to thread it together.

I'm with you on this.

Especially the use of Broughton's theme. And what I find interesting is that only times it's heard on this album it's used by Kaska.

 

But besides this one little thing this is just phenomenal music!

[Jay 37,364]

More posts by Dan Goldwasser in the FSM thread:

 

Just in case you guys have to "redeliver" it at some point (or *IF* there's ever a physical release) I did notice one tiny error; track 36 starts a tad late, and cuts right into the middle of the opening note.

Thank you for catching that - I just shot off an email to look into this!

 

I wonder though, the music seems slightly muted in this recording. Not sure it's the orchestra's size, or recording environment, or mixing decisions (there's a definite difference between the "sound" of season 1 versus that of seasons 2 and 3) or whether it's a dynamic range thing (some of it blasts while song of it virtually disappears).

As for the mixes - these are mixes made for the album by Shawn Murphy; the episode mixes ARE different in places, but the album represents the composer's preferred vision of the music.

[Andy 4,129]

I did notice a section or two where there was a very quiet part, but I was listening on air pods, nothing too distracting.
 

I really hope this gets a physical release. 

[Jay 37,364]

I know I shoudl go deeper in the album, but I keep returning to Kaska's score to episode 1 - it's SOO good!

 

The "Training Exercises" cue is just astonishingly good.  I keep returning to it.  I want to make an edit that drops off the "Claire Visits Isaac" part so I can listen to just this cue when I want to.

Frankly.... I enjoy this cue more than I ever enjoyed Adventures of Mutt!

[Dr. Know 326]

9 minutes ago, Jay said:

I know I shoudl go deeper in the album, but I keep returning to Kaska's score to episode 1 - it's SOO good!

 

The "Training Exercises" cue is just astonishingly good.  I keep returning to it.  I want to make an edit that drops off the "Claire Visits Isaac" part so I can listen to just this cue when I want to.

Frankly.... I enjoy this cue more than I ever enjoyed Adventures of Mutt!

I feel exactly the same way.  It is just an extraordinary cue.

[Jay 37,364]

Just when I already love it so much and it could end any way and I'd still love it, the ending kicks it up a notch with that cool timpani part.  Amazing!

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

25 minutes ago, Jay said:

I want to make an edit that drops off the "Claire Visits Isaac" part so I can listen to just this cue when I want to.

A tweet by Goldwasser I posted above, he posts the Training Excercise cue without Claire Visits Ivan attached to it

[Jay 37,364]

That's great he did that, but I want lossless quality not twitter quality lol

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

When you get futher into the album I'd like to recommend "Common Ground".

 

This cue actually made me cry the first time I heard it. It's one of the most beautiful melodies I've heard in a really long time. The piano is played so elegantly. It's just amazing!

[Dr. Know 326]

47 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

When you get futher into the album I'd like to recommend "Common Ground".

 

This cue actually made me cry the first time I heard it. It's one of the most beautiful melodies I've heard in a really long time. The piano is played so elegantly. It's just amazing!

Lovely cue; a nod to Grusin's ON GOLDEN POND.

58 minutes ago, Jay said:

That's great he did that, but I want lossless quality not twitter quality lol

A very easy edit, as the opening is essentially clean in the released track.

 

I have to say, this is one of those cues that would typically get cut off just when it gained steam, but not in this case -- it just keeps going and builds.  The longer running times of these episodes really allowed for sequences like this to be extended beyond what would have been possible in the earlier seasons.  That is especially true of some of the incredible "arrival" cues.

[Andy 4,129]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

I know I shoudl go deeper in the album, but I keep returning to Kaska's score to episode 1 - it's SOO good!

 

The "Training Exercises" cue is just astonishingly good.  I keep returning to it.  I want to make an edit that drops off the "Claire Visits Isaac" part so I can listen to just this cue when I want to.

Frankly.... I enjoy this cue more than I ever enjoyed Adventures of Mutt!

They knew precisely what they wanted to do with that entire sequence, from start to finish. Begin New Horizons with a joyous adrenaline ride, just for fun.  Utilize the longer episode format to world build in the giddiest way possible.  The music is perfect. I want to live in that Universe. 

 

58 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

When you get futher into the album I'd like to recommend "Common Ground".

 

This cue actually made me cry the first time I heard it. It's one of the most beautiful melodies I've heard in a really long time. The piano is played so elegantly. It's just amazing!

 
YES! A standout for sure. The emotional beats are very strong with this score. 
 

I hope we get a Season 4, a feature film, more physical releases, and more leitmotivic writing.  Too much to ask?

[leeallen01 2,136]

I understand the desire for more themes, but there are some lovely thematic ideas throughout. The obvious being the main theme, then the villain themes for the Moclan material, the Kaylon, and the Krill. But there are also gorgeous themes like the love theme for Claire and Isaac and Haveena's theme.

[Andy 4,129]

And maybe I just need more familiarity, but it didn’t strike me upon my first listen. I still think Broughton’s theme at the very least should be used for heroic flourishes, but it’s being wasted. 

[leeallen01 2,136]

I love how 6:15-6:30 in 'Leaving the Dockyard/Under Fire' is basically Poe's Theme haha.

 

 

15 minutes ago, Andy said:

I still think Broughton’s theme at the very least should be used for heroic flourishes, but it’s being wasted. 

 

I swear I remember it being used relatively frequently in the episodes themselves for that very purpose, and of course some of the ship going in and out of Quantum/establishing shots of the ship.

 

 

Maybe I'm remembering wrong, or maybe they just aren't on the album for fear of repetitiveness.

[Andy 4,129]

You’re probably correct. They mentioned that a lot of edits were made for the show, but these are the originally intended scores.  So likely within the show, they probably do bring in Broughton’s theme as needed. 
 

But I’d love to hear some scene specific permutations of it woven in an organic way. 

[Manakin Skywalker 4,894]

14 hours ago, pete said:

Just curious is the show temp tracked with those pieces? Could well be, but I think not necessarily. I thought it more part of the goals of the show to pay homage to Star Trek as well as iconic film scores/composers. I think it's less composers trying to sound like the temp score and more paying homage to the scores mentioned. Could be both, but just it's obviously more than trying to sound like a temp score.

 

It is temp scored. There are also some very obscure pieces from other shows (like TNG-era Star Trek shows) that pop up from time to time, that I can pretty much guarantee none of the composers heard prior, at least not outside of watching the shows themselves back in the 90's.

 

Random example from a baseball episode of Deep Space Nine:

 

 

[Dr. Know 326]

Joel McNeely's "Dalakos Arrival" is another of my favorite cues.  It was high on my most wanted list from the series.

[Andy 4,129]

2 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

It is temp scored. There are also some very obscure pieces from other shows (like TNG-era Star Trek shows) that pop up from time to time, that I can pretty much guarantee none of the composers heard prior, at least not outside of watching the shows themselves back in the 90's.

 

Random example from a baseball episode of Deep Space Nine:

That’s a really good catch!  Wow, very obscure indeed. 

[Andy 4,129]

9 hours ago, Jay said:

The "Training Exercises" cue is …..

Frankly.... I enjoy this cue more than I ever enjoyed Adventures of Mutt!

While I can’t go that far and agree with your blasphemy  …

 

I will say after a second listen of Breaking In, I felt like it could’ve been a surrogate for John Powell’s Kessel Run sequence of Solo.  But this is more lively, more fun, better orchestrated, and generally more enjoyable than Powell’s effort in this instance. 

[SilasGupta 9]

Am I wrong or is this one from Kaska's 1st Episode missing? I was looking forward to it.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CT5gmtdjhLN/

[Nemesis 245]

On 05/03/2023 at 6:12 AM, Andy said:

Finished listening while painting the house.
I enjoyed Kaska’s stuff the most and probably Debney’s the least.  The 20 minute Breaking In is itself a feat that all involved should be proud of. 
 

The fact that this type of music is being recorded for a TV show is remarkable. It really is a joy to listen to. 
 

That said, there is room for growth.  Why isn’t there a leitmotif approach?  Other than a villain theme which sounded a lot like the Alien theme from ID4, the scores could really benefit from characters themes or recurring motifs. Why don’t they use Broughton’s main theme more?  Are they not allowed?  The pastiche form of scoring and orchestration is a treat, but it does seem a bit disconnected without recurring themes to thread it together. 
 

The scoring is at its best when it is in joyful optimism mode, but can (like most scores) get pedestrian when it’s time for suspense writing.  The action music is temp track city, but it somehow works. It helps me that this is all attached to a show I adore with my heart. 
 

Has anyone seriously thought about making a spreadsheet or document for the temp track pieces?  Here’s some of the ones I identified:

 

The Mission (Amazing Stories)

Adventures of Mutt

Jurassic Park T. Rex Rescue

Asteroid field

March of the Resistance 

Minority Report?

Raiders (in the jungle)

Episode I the Droid Battle 

Lost World San Francisco 

Leaving Drydock (Original Alternate)

Young Sherlock Holmes (solving the crime)

Close encounters (climbing the mountain)

 

I do hope this gets a physical release. I would enjoy liner notes and discrete breaks in the program to portion out the listening. 
 

GREAT score to my favorite show. 

 

A spreadsheet would be nice! I also heard some Seven Years in Tibet and E.T. references in track 19 More Near-Death Experiences and track 20 Destroying the Generator.

In track 3 Gordon Flies In there are some references of The Perfect Storm by Horner. At the end of tracks 26 Detention Facility and 28 Working Toward Peace is Superman.

Star Trek 2 in 29 Archaeological Ruins / Inside the Ruins and Silvetri's Contact in 45 Isaac's Proposal / Isaac and Charly.

 

[Dr. Know 326]

3 hours ago, SilasGupta said:

Am I wrong or is this one from Kaska's 1st Episode missing? I was looking forward to it.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CT5gmtdjhLN/

You’re right — it isn’t there.

[Manakin Skywalker 4,894]

9 hours ago, SilasGupta said:

Am I wrong or is this one from Kaska's 1st Episode missing? I was looking forward to it.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CT5gmtdjhLN/

 

Which scene is this from exactly? Because that's Joel McNeely conducting, so I assumed it was from one of his episodes.

 

EDIT: Ah, nevermind. It was from the scene directly after the titles. Interesting omission, considering it's not that short.

[SilasGupta 9]

15 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

Which scene is this from exactly? Because that's Joel McNeely conducting, so I assumed it was from one of his episodes.

 

EDIT: Ah, nevermind. It was from the scene directly after the titles. Interesting omission, considering it's not that short.

 

And it's actually not McNeely conducting - believe it or not, that's Mike Valerio  

[Jay 37,364]

Just listened to McNeely's Mortality Paradox score.  WOW!  That's a good one!

[leeallen01 2,136]

I've decided to take a different approach with this. Instead of listening all the way through all the time, I'm taking it episode by episode, and re-listening to each episode over and over, in order to really seperate them as complete mini-scores of their own. It's interesting going from composer to composer and also from genre to genre. Like an adventure score to a horror score to a mystery score to an action score to a drama score. Of course each episode has all those elements on their own, but still, there's a heavy obvious tone difference between them, and it's fascinating to really immerse myself into each score on its own. It's like having 10 score releases. 

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

 

[Manakin Skywalker 4,894]

Somehow I only just now realized that a section of "Preparing to Land/Bonding Ceremony" is a reworking on "Arriving on Moclus". I'm sure this has already been mentioned before and I just missed it. 

[leeallen01 2,136]

'All Is Well' by Kaska is like Williams and Horner had a child. Gorgeously melancholic.