Track Listing

1. Distant Sadness
2. Precipice
3. Admiral And Commander
4. Storming New Caprica
5. Refugees Return
6. Wayward Soldier
7. Violence And Variations
8. Dance
9. Adama Falls
10. Under the Wing
11. Battlestar Sonatica
12. Fight Night
13. Kat's Sacrifice
14. Someone To Trust
15. Temple Of Five
16. Dirty Hands
17. Gentle Execution
18. Mandala In the Clouds
19. Deathbed And Maelstrom
20. Heeding the Call
21. All Along the Watchtower

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7286 in Music
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Running time: 79 minutes

Customer Reviews

One of the best...
As soundtracks go, this has to be one of my favourites, and I would go as far to say that it is up among the ranks of Hans Zimmer and co. What makes this soundtrack so wonderful is the variety of music genres incorporated within the album. From celtic bagpipes to eastern flutes with beautiful vocals.

Some soundtracks lose their emotive power when played without the support of the film/program to which they were made, however the BSG album manages to provide the same emotive and adrenalin sensations you feel when watching it.

Overall the tracks are beautifully composed, each one drawing you in until the very end, and the variety of styles within the album are enough to keep you interested all the way through the album.

From strength to strength
I've been following the show since its beginnings and have always, when gushing about it to friends, cited the music as one of the key selling points. Now we are into the third album, and its pleasing to be able to say that McCreary has continued to go from strength to strength - building on the strong foundations of the first two scores.

This album has more of a concept theme to it than either of the other two which I find lends it an extra level of depth; weaving the strains of "All Along the Watchtower" (the final track) into the opening few seconds of "Distant Sadness" (the opener) works wonderfully and is a lovely touch. McCreary also developes themes present on the previous albums occasionally, reminding us of characters and times past and giving the music a history. "Admiral & Commander" for me personally is the standout in terms of leitmotif with its emotionally charged string harmonies, followed the understated but brilliant acoustic guitar (closely followed by "Violence & Variations", the hints of "Passacaglia" from S1 in the outro sending shivers down the spine). "Storming New Caprica" is a bombastic tour de force which, while not matching the epic grandeur of S2's "Prelude to War", has an almost brutal quality to it (I find it strange that the producers used different music for the Pegasus-to-the-rescue section of the battle in the end - McCreary's original score for the moment Lee arrives all guns blazing is pitch-perfect); similarly, "Temple of Five" and "Mandala in the Clouds" are great atmosphere and action cues respectively.

The album is not without flaws though - "The Dance" is lifted straight from the Titanic soundtrack and "Fight Night" is about as bland a piece as McCreary has managed so far in my opinion - and I can't help but think that surely there were more memorable compositions that could have taken their place in the track listing. These are minor gripes however, and are more than made up for by the staggering quality of the rest of the collection.

Speaking of staggering quality, every season so far has had a stand-out track ("Passacaglia", "Prelude to War"), and S3 is no different. The re-imagining of "All Along the Watchtower" is quite simply astonishing, from the quiet and calm beginnings through to the turn-it-up-to-11 solo that smashes the end of the track through the speakers. BT4's soaring voice and the crescendo of menacing guitars all combine with McCreary's percussive expertise to produce a track that stands right up there with Hendrix's interpretation (which sounds like hyperbole but I genuinely believe it does). Its all so spectacular and at the same time, weirdly curious - its a bloody masterpiece.

All in all this is a fantastic addition to the canon that will one day, surely, see McCreary become one of the great cinematic composers of our time. At times serene & melancholy, others joyous and frenzied, but always (bar the moment of James Horner thievery) original and innovative. A must have for any fan of classical music.

Fantastic - Buy it Now
For some unknown reason I have been hesitant in buying any of the soundtracks - but having noticed some outstanding scores on series 3 I thought I would invest in this CD. My only regret is that I never bought it sooner, I loved this right from the first play (which is very rare as I am a feckle listener!). The whole CD takes you on a journey of feeling the solitude, beauty and anxieties of life. I will be investing in the other albums and I urge anyone still uncertain to invest in this soundtrack.