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Guides - Releases - CD - Mayhem of the Music Meister

Street Date: 10/24/09
Label: New Line Records
Tracks
01. Brave and the Bold Theme
02. I'm the Music Meister
03. Drives Us Bats
04. If Only
05. Death Trap
06. The World is Mine
07. If Only (Reprise)
08. Drives Us Bats (End Credits)
Synopsis/Press Release: The Caped Crusader faces a new villain in the upcoming Batman: The Brave & The Bold episode, “Mayhem of the Music Meister!” The episode, from Warner Bros Animation, features the voice of Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) as the Music Meister, a menacing villain who is able to exert powerful mind-control through song. Producers and cast members received a standing ovation following a sneak-preview at Comic-Con this past July and, after much anticipation, the episode will finally air Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network.

On Saturday, October 24, New Line Records will release Batman: The Brave & The Bold: Mayhem of the Music Meister! – Soundtrack from the Animated Television Show digitally on iTunes and other digital music outlets. Amazon.com will offer fans the exclusive option of purchasing either a hard or digital copy of the soundtrack. The soundtrack will feature all five original songs from the episode as well as the highly sought Batman: The Brave & The Bold theme.

"Being approached by the producers to do a 'Batman Musical' was a complete surprise and total thrill," said composers Michael McCuistion, Lolita Ritmanis and Kristopher Carter. The phenomenal cast and musicians brought each song to life and we are so happy New Line Records has agreed to release a soundtrack so that this music can be enjoyed by Batman fans worldwide."

Review (Zach Demeter)
The Brave and the Bold is such an interesting and wildly different show that even when it decides to pull an all-musical episode, there are few who would even bat an eyelash. And there are those who even became quite excited for it once it was announced that the main villain of the show, the Music Meister, would be voiced by Neil Patrick Harris. The episode itself eventually aired and became one giant excuse just for Harris and Grey DeLisle to belt out song after song…and it will undoubtedly go down as one of the finest episodes from the series already diverse first season.

In fact I’m almost wary of the second season—this first initial run of twenty six episodes was so astonishingly good (there were some stinkers, sure, but for the most part it was a very tight first season) that I question whether they’d be able to do such a good job again…but, I have faith. This show really is capable of not only doing anything it wants to but also to do it remarkably well as “Mayhem of the Music Meister” has shown.

But Meister didn’t just stop at being an episode of the series. No, it marked the first time a single episode of any DC animated episode received its very own CD release. While it won’t be found at retail stores, fans can download it from iTunes, Amazon, or even purchase it on CD from Amazon via their “On Demand” store. Granted, the product won’t be a professionally pressed CD, but it will still pack the necessary goods to be considered for purchase. Considering both the MP3 and actual CD copy are available or $6.99 as of this writing on Amazon right now, I’d say you couldn’t go wrong either direction you choose.

Now that I’ve talked about how to get it, how is the actual product itself, you ask? Well the majority of the tracks are all fairly quick; the opening track (“I’m the Music Meister”) and the last track that Harris sings on (“The World is Mine”) are the only two fairly lengthy songs on the set; the others vary from thirty seconds to barely over two and a half minutes. Of course it’s a twenty-two minute episode so it’s wrong to expect much more than that, but even so there are only two real tracks that will stick with you.

Yet as short as this whole CD is…it’s still worth owning if you’re a fan of the series. The nice thing about this CD is it’s devoid of the sound effects; granted, they made the visual element of songs like “If Only” much more enjoyable for the viewer, but shaking off the excess SFX for the CD release helps the tracks stand out on their own a bit more. Which his great because they’re wonderfully written and performed from start to finish.

The whole cast performs wonderfully on the tracks, whether it’s Harris stealing the show (as he tends to do lately with everything he’s involved in), DeLisle providing a very surprising performance as Black Canary, or DiMaggio belting a few deep ones out as Aquaman, the entire episode (and likewise the CD) is a real delight to listen to. While Music Meister is a little less than impressive as a villain on the show, he more than makes up for it with his vocal qualities and I can only hope he returns to the show in the future.

As is this is a very short CD (a little bit shy of 18 minutes), but for as little as it costs it’s Recommended for fans of the show. Especially since it isn’t readily available on DVD yet (c’mon Warner Home Video, release a big ol’ season set!).

The CD
A few disclaimers first: I got a “For Promotional Use Only” copy so I can’t guarantee this is how the final product will look, but since this is a “burn on demand” title on Amazon, I’m willing to bet it’s pretty close. The set arrives in a standard clear jewel case with a set of credits behind the disc itself, which features a pretty standard (but well done) label that looks like a comfortable mix between professional and home-made. The disc itself is a standard CD-R, however, as you can see the burn line quite clearly on the back. Again, however, this disc is marked as a “promotional use only” copy, so it may not be completely the same as the copy from Amazon.

The booklet is a two page affair that again lists more credits, with individual artists for each song listed as well as the composer and lyricist.

Overall a solid set and about what you’d expect to get out of a $6.99 CD.

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