Human Target Soundtrack Album
(The Human Target 3 CD set, click image to embiggen!)
This week, my “Human Target” soundtrack is finally released! More than two hours of score are available for download from iTunes, courtesy of WaterTower Music. La La Land Records has released a limited edition 3 CD deluxe set, featuring 62 tracks totaling nearly 4 hours of music. In addition to an hour of exclusive bonus tracks, the CD set also includes unreleased demos and sketches that chronicle my creative journey as I wrote the Emmy-Award-nominated Main Title Theme. This album marks the first time I’ve ever released my sketches to the public. The CD packaging also includes a unique booklet.
The CD set is available for order directly from La La Land Records’ website, beginning tomorrow (Tuesday 10/19 at 1pm Pacific). I’m autographing booklets for the first 150 orders, so move fast to get a signed one. However, if you want to be guaranteed a signed CD, order them from Dark Delicacies’ website (click on “Signings / Events” in the top left corner). CDs ordered through Dark Delicacies can have personalized autographs. However, the absolute best place to get the album is come to the signing taking place this Sunday, October 24th, 2pm, at Dark Delicacies in Burbank (3512 W. Magnolia, Burbank, CA 91505).
What makes “Human Target” so special? I have written several scores that have resonated with soundtrack fans. But, take it from me as a fellow film score geek: the 3 CD set of “Human Target” was written just for you. Because in writing it, I returned to the style of music that made me first love music, and I believe my reckless creative joy can be heard in every note of this album.When I was a kid, I loved throwing my favorite soundtrack album into the stereo, blasting it at full volume, and letting the sound wash over me as my imagination soared. I grew up devouring the swashbuckling adventure scores of Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, John Williams, Alan Silvestri, Basil Poledouris, Danny Elfman and Bernard Herrmann, among others. A couple decades later, when setting out to score “Human Target,” I found, at last, an opportunity to compose the kind of music that made me want to be a composer in the first place: a dynamic adventure score in the language of classic cinema, a score I hoped would make my heroes proud.
(working with Elmer Bernstein in 2001)
This record is every bit as epic as “Battlestar Galactica: Season 4,” as swashbuckling as “Dark Void” and as introspective and lyrical as “Caprica.”
As you may know from my various blog entries about these episodes, I scored “Human Target” with the largest orchestra ever assembled in the history of series television. Working with writer / creator / producer Jonathan E. Steinberg, we set out to deliver a full-fledged action movie every week. These “mini-movies” required the kind of sweeping, thematic and operatic score largely absent from both the small and large screen in recent years.
During my time on “Human Target,” I also discovered many collaborative relationships. I was fortunate to work with the most dedicated music team, talented musicians and supportive producers in the business. These artists and technicians brought my musical vision to life.
“This score occupies special real estate in my heart,” Steinberg explains in his liner notes. “Partly because I’m proud of what we accomplished in making this show. Partly because I know how hard Bear and his guys worked to take it from a crazy idea into something real. But partly, simply, because it’s been a long time since I’ve heard a new score that refused to apologize; a score that had the courage to shoot for the stars; a score that made me feel inspired.”
Of all the scores I’ve written, “Human Target” is the one I would have liked the most as a kid. Listening to this album makes me feel like I’m ten years old again, closing my eyes and letting my imagination run wild. I hope it can do the same for you.
Check out the full track list below with excerpts from some of my favorite moments:
DISC 1:
1. Theme from Human Target (Long Version)
[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ht106c.mp3|titles=Skydive]2. Skydive
From “Lockdown”
3. No Threats
From “Pilot”
4. Military Camp Rescue
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
5. Motorcycle Escape
From “Embassy Row”
6. Monastery in the Mountains
From “Sanctuary”
7. Paint a Bullseye
From “Run”
8. The Katherine Walters File
From “Sanctuary”
9. Switching Sides
From “Christopher Chance”
10. This is Awkward
From “Run”
11. The Russian Embassy
From “Embassy Row”
12. The Devil’s Mouth
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
13. Ice Cubes
From “Pilot”
14. Allyson’s Past
From “Run”
[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/HT104-Airplane-Theme.mp3|titles=Flipping the Plane]
15. Flipping the Plane
From “Rewind”
16. Driving Away
From “Rewind”
17. Airborne and Lethal
From “Embassy Row”
18. Chance’s Old Boss
From “Lockdown”
19. Old Chance
From “Christopher Chance”
20. Skyhook Rescue
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
21. Into the West
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
DISC 2:
[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/HT110d.mp3|titles=New York City Arrival]
1. New York City Arrival
From “Victoria”
2. Train Fight
From “Pilot”
3. Baptiste
From “Baptiste”
[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ht102c.mp3|titles=Tango Fight]
4. Tango Fight
From “Embassy Row”
5. Maria and Chance
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
6. Katherine’s Killer
From “Baptiste”
7. Confronting Baptiste
From “Baptiste”
8. Courthouse Brawl
From “Run”
9. Stop Running
From “Run”
10. Not a Pacifist
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
11. Bullet Train
From “Pilot”
12. Gondola
From “Sanctuary”
13. An Old Life
From “Baptiste”
14. Lockdown
From “Lockdown”
15. A Bottle of Japanese Whiskey
From “Pilot”
16. Victoria
From “Victoria”
17. The New Champion
From “Corner Man”
18. Emma Barnes
From “Embassy Row”
[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/HT100-Stephanies-Ring.mp3|titles=Stephanies Ring]
19. Stephanie’s Ring
From “Pilot”
20. Port Yard Deaths
From “Christopher Chance”
21. The New Christopher Chance
From “Christopher Chance”
22. Theme from Human Target (Short Version)
DISC 3 (CD Version Exclusive Bonus Tracks):
[audio:https://www.bearmccreary.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ht100-ostinato.mp3|titles=Flight Attendant Wilson]1. Flight Attendant Wilson
From “Rewind”
2. Round One
From “Corner Man”
3. Emma’s Bra
From “Baptiste”
4. Maria Gallego
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
5. Afraid in Alaska
From “Tanarak”
6. Guerero and Sergei
From “Rewind”
7. Chance Takes the Job
From “Pilot”
8. Tracking Device
From “Run”
10. Fighting Kendrick Taylor
From “Corner Man”
11. Bertram
From “Salvage and Reclamation”
12. Sparing Guerrero
From “Christopher Chance”
13. Scar Stories
From “Tanarak”
14. Danny’s Killer
From “Embassy Row”
15. Chaos in the Cockpit
From “Rewind”
16. A Mistake
From “Embassy Row”
17. Chance’s Theme (Sketch Version 1)
18. Chance’s Theme (Sketch Version 2)
19. Katherine’s Theme (Solo Piano Version)
20. Theme from Human Target (Alternate Short Version)
I’m eager to hear what you guys think of this record. Which tracks are your favorites? What do you think of the extended version of the Main Title? If you enjoy the album, be sure to review it on iTunes as well. And please help me spread the word: if you know orchestral score fans who don’t watch this series, encourage them to at least give the album a listen.
With this record, my remarkable experience scoring “Human Target” is now complete. Check back here starting on Halloween for weekly blog updates chronicling my next adventure: “The Walking Dead.”
-Bear