The January Edition of CSI Music
By Chris FullmanPosted at January 22, 2005 - 9:07 PM GMT
The trend continues, except for a few remote pieces, with muted guitars and gentle ambience. While the composer's are definitely improving, they are pretty much kept to the bumpers and transitions. The one scene that stood out for me was when Ryan was taking apart the car, carefully, due to Horatio's careful/stern instruction. As with CSI's Greg during his final proficiency test, both seem to have taken a very cautious route, and the music reflects that.
Now, what to do about this trend?
Bill Brown's been busy with probably my favorite score of New York's to date. In a seemingly Jeff Beal-"Monk"-like theme, the episode was filled with playful instrumentals that not only helped the comedic value, but also showed how odd people can be with a CSI's eyes. From the initial investigation of the grooming room to the ending scene (which was very well scored), it provided a new light for NY which we haven't seen before.
I was particularly impressed with the final scene, which I would liken along with John M. Keane's Grissom's Overture (available on "CSI: The Soundtrack") as seen at the end of "Friend's and Lovers" as he is riding the roller coaster. It was uplifting and hopeful, upbeat and moving, that not only kept the scene going at a strong pace, but helped us connect with the character(s) even more.
If this scene and its included music didn't help convey the friendship Stella and Mac has, I'm not sure what will.
If you liked this score, you may like: Jeff Beal's "Monk: The Soundtrack", "CSI: The Soundtrack"
While this episode provided a lot of licensed music or non-score tracks, the score it did have was pretty interesting. It was a mix between Southwestern (Tex-Mex), and a latin flavor. It also had its ambient moments, especially during the flashback/reconstruction scenes. In general, the score and licensed music came together to give us a creepy episode.
And who wasn't a bit disturbed by the final song, sung entirely in spanish, without a translation, during the flashbacks? Perhaps its good they didn't translate it for the non-Spanish-speaking viewers. But then, I could imagine the Spanish-speaking viewers may have been much more disturbed by this scene than anyone else.
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Chris Fullman is a regular contributor.
