The World's Finest Presents

Releases - CD - Batman: The Animated Series, Volume 3
 


Original Release Date
: October 7th, 2014
Number of Discs: 4
Label: La-La Land Records
Music Composed by: Shirley Walker and Co.

Description:

BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES VOLUME 3 – 4 CD SET
MUSIC BY SHIRLEY WALKER, CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, PETER TOMASHEK, TODD HAYEN, HARVEY R. COHEN, MICHAEL MCCUISTION, LARS CLUTTERHAM, STUART BALCOMB, MARK KOVAL, LOLITA RITMANIS, RICHARD BRONSKILL, TAMARA KLINE, CARL JOHNSON, STEVE CHESNE AND JAMES STEMPLE
LLLCD 1322
LIMITED EDITION OF 3000 UNITS
RETAIL PRICE: $59.98

PRODUCED BY JOHN TAKIS AND NEIL S. BULK
MASTERED BY JAMES NELSON AT DIGITAL OUTLAND
LINER NOTES BY JOHN TAKIS
ART DIRECTION BY DAN GOLDWASSER

LA-LA LAND RECORDS, WARNER BROS, WARNER BROS ANIMATION AND DC COMICS travel back to Gotham City for a third time and unleash this massive 4 cd set of BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES. Episodes like ROBIN’S RECKONING, ETERNAL YOUTH, DAY OF THE SAMURAI, MUDSLIDE, THE UNDERDWELLERS and THE CLOCK KING are just a few incredible scores that have been included in this third volume of music. John Takis’ liner notes continue where he left off on Vol 2, digging deeper into the heart and soul of this classic tv series with exclusive interviews of the various composers and how their timeless scores changed the face of television.

The first 200 people who purchase the score through the La-La Land Records website (www.lalalandrecords.com) will receive a signed front tray card autographed by composers Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Carlos Rodriguez at no extra charge. Quantities are limited. You are NOT guaranteed a signed copy. Orders are based on a first come, first served basis.

Track Listing

Disc One
1. Main Title (Danny Elfman) 1:03
ROBIN’S RECKONING, PART I (Carlos Rodriguez)
2. Robin’s Reckoning/Yahoo!/Robin’s Catch/Interrogation 2:50
3. Boy Wonder 0:55
4. Extortion/The Flying Graysons 1:49
5. Goodbye/Master Dick 1:03
6. Crap Shoot*/Stromwell’s Mansion 0:59
7. The Bonding*/Never Again 1:00
ROBIN’S RECKONING, PART II (Peter Tomashek)
8. Circus Memory 1:24
9. Fencing Memory 0:53
10. Dick Eavesdrops/Stealthy Dick 0:59
11. Dick on the Street 2:44
12. Dick Finds Zucco/Into the River/Out of the River 1:56
13. Redial (William T. Stromberg)/Batman Drops In 0:56
14. Amusement Park Fight/Robin Gets Zucco/Robin Does Right 3:40
15. Sunrise 0:34
ROBIN’S RECKONING (BONUS TRACK) (Carlos Rodriguez)
16. Circus Fanfare/The Flying Graysons (alternate) 1:05
P.O.V. (Shirley Walker)
17. Gotham’s Finest/Bad Guys Escape 1:42
18. Bullock’s P.O.V. 3:37
19. Wilkes’ P.O.V. 1:35
20. Montoya’s P.O.V. 1:40
21. Suspended Cops 0:44
22. Renee Finds Batman/Batman Fights the Mob**/Montoya Cleans Up 5:07
23. Epilogue 0:27
THE CLOCK KING (Carlos Rodriguez)
24. The Clock King*/Gone With the Wind/Fugate Loses It 1:25
25. Political Graffiti*/Fugate Catches Train* 1:36
26. Back Alley Batman/Clock Creep Hits Bank/Adieu, Batman* 1:43
27. Time Is Running Out/Batman the Safe-Cracker 1:11
28. Timing Is Everything*Batman Saves the Mayor* 2:36
TYGER, TYGER (Todd Hayen)
29. Tyger, Tyger*/Introducing Tygrus 2:31
30. Tygrus Exercises 1:07
31. Dorian’s Island 1:23
32. The Catwoman/You Made Her a Monster 0:43
33. Tygrus Notices Catwoman/Her Fate Is in Your Hands 1:59
34. Run Thru the Jungle/Bat vs. Cat/Fight on the Bridge/Batman and Tygrus Fall 2:18
35. Selina Convinces Tygrus/Not His Enemy 2:24
36. Tyger Burning Bright 1:40
SEE NO EVIL (Shirley Walker)
37. See No Evil/Memoirs of an Invisible Con/Footprints 6:09
38. Kimberly’s School/Stay Away/Abandoned 2:59
39. Mojo’s Pearls/Hold On… Batman 5:03
40. Safe and Sound 0:37
TOTAL DISC TIME: 77:38

Disc Two
CAT SCRATCH FEVER (Harvey R. Cohen)
1. Cat Scratch Fever/Cat Catchers/Animal Testing 3:08
2. Dagget Labs*/Selina Is Bitten* 0:57
3. The Toxin Takes Effect* 2:13
4. Let the Hunt Begin/The Chase Continues*/Toboggan Run 1:39
5. On the Ice*/Under the Ice 1:43
6. Bad Guys Take a Dip* 0:34
7. Isis’ Return 0:47
THE FORGOTTEN (Shirley Walker)
8. Down into the City 0:37
9. Bruce Becomes Homeless/Bruce Is Blackjacked 2:42
10. The Oven 0:47
11. The Dream Sequence/Dan Protects Salvo/Alfred Finds Bruce’s Car 2:27
12. Bruce’s Family Flashback 0:34
13. Sweatbox Breakout/Trapped in the Canyon 1:21
14. Mining for Batman 2:52
15. Master Bruce 0:29
BE A CLOWN (Michael McCuistion)
16. Gotham Acres/Crooks Interrupt Mayor’s Speech/Joker the Costume Freak* 1:59
17. Jekko the Magnificent/You, You, You 1:15
18. Pure Dynamite/Dynamite Birthday Cake* 1:51
19. Jordan the Stowaway 0:39
20. It’s Not a Game, Jordan/The Old Ace up the Sleeve/The Crystal Ball 1:43
21. Batman in Straightjacket/The Show Continues* 2:20
22. Rollercoaster Fight 1:01
23. Jordan & Mayor Reunited 0:16
BE A CLOWN (BONUS TRACKS) (Michael McCuistion)
24. Organ Source 1:24
25. Water Tank Source 1:02
26. Carousel Source 1:48
27. Circus Source (unused) 1:45
DREAMS IN DARKNESS (Todd Hayen)
28. Dreams in Darkness/Batman Guesses Wrong/Batman Cracks Up 2:55
29. Batman’s Fate*/Threshold of Fear 2:18
30. Batman Tries to Escape/Mass Madness* 0:32
31. Batman’s Delusions* 3:46
32. Batman Conquers Fear*/Safe at Home 2:09
THE UNDERDWELLERS (Lars Clutterham & Stuart Balcomb)
33. Let’s Play Chicken (L. Clutterham) 1:10
34. It Was a Leprechaun (L. Clutterham) 0:48
35. The Underdwellers (S. Balcomb) 1:42
36. Blinded by the Light*/Batman Saves Frog* (S. Balcomb) 3:18
37. The Sewer King (S. Balcomb) 1:14
38. Batman Sounds Alarm (L. Clutterham) 1:27
39. Be Our Guest/Endangered Species? Not/Hanging Out to Dry/Batman Dethrones King (L. Clutterham) 2:14
40. The Light, The Light (S. Balcomb) 0:34
TERROR IN THE SKY (Shirley Walker)
41. Terror in the Sky/The Man-Bat 1:44
42. Carpet Inspection/Batman Operates/Francine Is in the Trash 1:01
43. Man-Bat out of the Sky/Man-Bat Chases Batman 2:34
44. Batman Looks Thru Files/March Confesses 1:18
45. Francine, Come Home 0:49
46. Woman-Bat Wrecks the Plane/Langstrom out the Door 2:59
47.Detransformation 2:21
TOTAL DISC TIME: 78:32

Disc 3
1. Main Title Demo (Two Pianos) (Shirley Walker & Danny Elfman) 1:01
NIGHT OF THE NINJA (Mark Koval)
2. Night of the Ninja 2:10
3. Karate School/Flashback/Ninja Assault* 3:36
4. Just in Time 0:56
5. Bruce Catches Kyodai 1:13
6. Kidnapped/Watertower 0:39
7. Master Crime Fighter 1:39
8. Ninja Meets His Match*/Thanks for Your Help 3:18
DAY OF THE SAMURAI (Carlos Rodriguez)
9. Day of the Samurai/Ninja’s Arrival 1:54
10. Kyodai Ken Is Revealed/Bruce’s Sketch 0:42
11. Bruce Meditates/Once Upon a Time, Alfred/Uramachi District/Batman Gives Chase 3:48
12. Kyodai Ken Finds Scroll/The Big Sleep/Kyodai Studies Scroll 1:37
13. Alfred’s All Tied Up/Batman Does as He Will/Batman Examines Dummy 2:02
14. Batman Confronts Kyodai* 2:32
15. Most Ingenious, Sir/The Essence of Samurai 0:54
PROPHECY OF DOOM (Shirley Walker)
16. Prophecy of Doom 1:19
17. Abandon Ship/Grave Danger 1:34
18. Elevator Cliffhanger/Elevator Escape 1:47
19. The Great Fall/Spiritual Crisis 2:33
20. Nostromos Sees the Light/Guilty as Charged 4:24
PROPHECY OF DOOM (BONUS TRACK) (Shirley Walker)
21. Nostromos Source 1:01
ETERNAL YOUTH (Lolita Ritmanis)
22. Eternal Youth 1:47
23. Wild Weekend/Detective Batman/Batcave Greenery 1:19
24. Alfred and Maggie Go Back/Batman’s Chemistry/Behind the Curtain 1:40
25. Bat Gliding*/Petrified People 1:47
26. Ivy the Eco-Terrorist 1:54
27. What’s It All About…? 0:48
ETERNAL YOUTH (BONUS TRACKS) (Lolita Ritmanis)
28. Video Source 2:03
29. Spa Source 1:51
WHAT IS REALITY? (Richard Bronskill)
30. What Is Reality?/Police Station 1:18
31. The Riddler’s File/Robin Opens the Box 0:58
32. Hard Copy* 1:16
33. Riddler and the Commissioner*/Batman’s Fire Out*/Batman in Computer Land* 1:27
34. Batman’s Riddler* 0:56
35. Batman and Pegasus*/And So On, And So On 3:07
36. Trapped* 0:38
MUDSLIDE (Shirley Walker)
37. Mudslide/Clayface Slips By 1:17
38. Your Goose Is Cooked/You Used to be Neater 3:44
39. Movie Source 1:15
40. MP-40/Clayface Escapes 1:26
41. He’s Melting/Breaking Up Is Hard to Do 1:27
42. Inside Addition 4:14
TOTAL DISC TIME: 78:26

Disc 4 I AM THE NIGHT (Michael McCuistion)
1. I Am the Night 0:37
2. Roses/Stakeout/Roses on the Pavement/Brass Knuckles 1:56
3. Battering Ram/The Jazzman Was Ready*/Catching the Jazzman/Commissioner Is Shot 2:23
4. Emergency 0:27
5. Batman Pays a Visit 0:38
6. Batman’s Rage/Jazzman in Prison 1:25
7. Robin Sees Batman/Jazzman in the Laundry/Jazzman’s Escape 0:58
8. Batman Unmasks/This Is My Hunt*/Batman Saves Gordon* 2:25
9. Batman Talks with Kid* 1:15
HEART OF STEEL, PART I (Richard Bronskill & Tamara Kline)
10. Sub-Main Title/The Briefcase (R. Bronskill) 1:03
11. Briefcase on the Prowl (T. Kline) 1:53
12. The Escape* (R. Bronskill) 3:15
13. Cybertron Industries/HARDAC/Next Duplicant/Another Gordon (T. Kline) 1:52
14. Teddy Bear/Randa’s Compact/Compact Goes to Work (R. Bronskill) 1:18
15. Randa Finds the Batcave/HARDAC Has Control (T. Kline) 1:22
HEART OF STEEL, PART II (Carl Johnson)
16. Heart of Steel, Part II* 0:58
17. Another Mayor/Another Bullock 2:41
18. A Very Exclusive Club* 1:49
19. Trash Can Robot 1:36
20. A Watchful Eye/Flying Over Cybertron*/Robots Run Amok*/Randa Is Terminated 3:24
21. Let’s Go Home* 0:39
HEART OF STEEL (BONUS TRACKS) (Tamara Kline, Richard Bronskill & Carl Johnson)
22. Futuristic Muzak (T. Kline) 0:45
23. Sub-Main Title/The Briefcase (alternate)/Randa’s Compact (alternate) (R. Bronskill) 1:31
24. Let’s Go Home (alternate)* (C. Johnson) 0:40
BLIND AS A BAT (Steve Chesne & James Stemple)
25. The Raven (S. Chesne) 1:34
26. Raven Runs Amok* (J. Stemple) 0:52
27. The Vision Thing (S. Chesne) 0:52
28. Sight, Or No Sight/Tooling Up*/Quoth the Batman, “Nevermore”*/** (J. Stemple) 4:29
29. Batwing Disabled/Disabled Batman (S. Chesne) 4:05
30. Cornered*/Good News* (J. Stemple) 1:01
PAGING THE CRIME DOCTOR (Shirley Walker)
31. Paging the Crime Doctor 3:44
32. Leslie Remembers/Matt Finds Leslie/Old Friends/Abducted 2:00
33. Signs of a Struggle/The Disorderly Orderly/Playing with Sharp
Objects/Laser Blazer 4:08
34. Rooftop Escape/About My Father 3:28
THE MAN WHO KILLED BATMAN (Shirley Walker)
35. The Man Who Killed Batman 1:23
36. Sid Wanted In/Sid the Squid 2:27
37. Squid, Squid, Squid/Locked Up 1:46
38. Sid Meets the Joker/The Diamond Exchange/No Punchline 2:13
39. Batman’s Funeral (includes “Amazing Grace,” trad.) 3:33
40. Pine Box/A Lot of Respect 1:43
41. End Credits (Danny Elfman) 0:45
TOTAL DISC TIME: 78:28

TOTAL ALBUM TIME: 312:53

* not written by Shirley Walker, but contains theme/themes by Shirley Walker
** includes Danny Elfman's Batman theme.





Review by James Harvey:

Usually for these releases I tend to skip around at first, listening to a few specific episodes before, afterwards, listening to the whole thing in order, from the first track to the very last, but I couldn't do that this time. The set opens up with the score to the two-part "Robin's Reckoning" episode - one of my all-time favorites - and it just had me. Every time I thought I was going to skip ahead, I couldn't. The music here, even for some of the weaker episodes, is just so, so good. The line-up of tracks included here is impressive, and nearly each one an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Quite honestly, I could touch upon every track here and the type of emotions they evoke. How about the haunting and tragic "Mudslide?" The off-kilter "The Forgotten?" The high-adventure stylings of "Night of the Ninja" and "Day of the Samurai?" The variety that's on display for this collection is staggering. Even "P.O.V.," which starts with this great, tense opening track, has me gripping the seat for the entire listen (I never understood why this episode tends to fall into the unpopular spectrum with most fans - it's one of my favorites). Plus, the first disc ends with "See No Evil," which has this creepy undercurrent to it that will send chills down your spine. And, like the previous two releases, this set is a steadfast reminder of just how much work went into the scores and, in effect, how much they enhanced and boosted the episodes themselves. And they never feel overplayed. Even after I've played them through multiple times, it never gets tired. Even when the creators here revisit character themes, they always tend to add a little twist to it. Check out "Be A Clown" and "The Man Who Killed Batman" for an idea of what I mean. We get to hear some of the usual creepy Joker themes, but some minor things are changed, or some different context is added, that really adds a whole new depth to it.

We even get some great bonus tracks that give an idea of how some episodes could have gone, musically. We're treated to some alternate cues and renditions that show just how ongoing the creative process was for creating these scores episodes to episode was, and how some could have been startling different. But still, at the end, the right choice was always made when it came to including the proper score to the episodes. Listening to the tracks now, and envisioning how they play out within the episodes, it's hard to imagine the playing out any other way. For example, there is no other way the score to "The Forgotten." It just wouldn't work like how it does now, to the brim with harmonicas and organs, and it's brilliant. It's obvious these episodes weren't treated as just another job, but instead, wee treated as something special, and rightfully so.

Naturally, the package that La-La Land Records has wrapped these impressive scores in is...well...impressive. The booklet, featuring production notes and behind-the-scenes information, courtesy of album producer John Takis, is a joy to read. The linear notes even manage to uncover some new tidbits of information about the work put into these scores. The label has, again, outdone itself in presentation and quality. The disc, the packaging, all of it is top-notch. The tracks sound full, crisp, and clear. You've never heard the music sound this good, and likely won't ever again (given the direction the music industry is heading in). As fantastic as these scores are in the contest of the episodes, they are all the more powerful on their own, too. These scores deserve to be heard.

I understand the hesitance of some to pick up these set, especially given the price tag, but fans shouldn't worry about that. The expense is worth it, absolutely. This is a quality product through and through, handled with expert hands from inception to completion. It's amazing that, over twenty years later, these scores are finally available to enjoy on their own. And the variety is staggering. The flexibility on display here by the composers, all spearheaded by the infallible Shirley Walker, is mind-boggling. The talent on display is just amazing here, and fans owe it to themselves to experience it. Like the previous releases that have some before it, La-La Land Records has created another Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack release that is a total Must-Own. Pick it up now, folks ... these might not be around in another twenty years...


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