The Protectors soundtrack CDs

[Silent Bob]

I purchased this 5 disc set recently of the Protectors soundtrack and is well worth tracking down. Or if you dont fancy 5 discs of The Protectors, there is a compilation album of ITC music (including some The Protectors) due on 2 Nov 2009.
These are all original tracks not cover versions.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu278/arthur2shedsjackson_photos/7959013med.jpg
http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=932

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu278/arthur2shedsjackson_photos/7959016med.jpg
http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=989

[TonyB]

With the Protectors CD being 5 discs it rather put me off a bit, however the other CD is looking rather good, thanks for pointing it out.

[ufokev]

I too, have the 5 CD set. It's a fine set, but, unlike the Fanderson releases, the tracks are all very short, and, in my mind, could do with the editing that the Fanderson team did, making each episode's music into longer suites. Apart from that minor quibble, along with the other Network CD soundtracks such as "The Champions" and "Department S", for all fans of classic UK TV music, they are a must have!

[Simon Morris]

The Protectors is easily the most 'listenable' of all the releases that Network have so far done, in my opinion. There are a number of lengthy tracks too - they are not all 'very short'. And even the short tracks seem to blend together quite well, which is more than can be said for several of the tracks in the other Network releases.

That said, there were still cues which could have been omitted without hurting the release too much. I don't think I've listened to any of the other releases again since I first bought them (and The Protectors is the only one I've listened to from start to finish).

The abridged soundtracks will make a far more pleasant listening experience overall and I hope they do well.

[Dougurasu]

The Protectors is easily the most 'listenable' of all the releases that Network have so far done, in my opinion. There are a number of lengthy tracks too - they are not all 'very short'. And even the short tracks seem to blend together quite well, which is more than can be said for several of the tracks in the other Network releases.

That said, there were still cues which could have been omitted without hurting the release too much. I don't think I've listened to any of the other releases again since I first bought them (and The Protectors is the only one I've listened to from start to finish).

The abridged soundtracks will make a far more pleasant listening experience overall and I hope they do well.

Well... rip it and delete the tracks you don't like and then burn it again :S Really if they included every cue, won't they please everyone? If they miss cues that some people might consider really nice to listen to then that would be a shame. Seriously, incomplete soundtracks are not completely satisfactory. (But when you stuff CDs to their ABSOLUTE maximum you're doing absolutely great :D)

[Simon Morris]

Well... rip it and delete the tracks you don't like and then burn it again :S Really if they included every cue, won't they please everyone? If they miss cues that some people might consider really nice to listen to then that would be a shame. Seriously, incomplete soundtracks are not completely satisfactory. (But when you stuff CDs to their ABSOLUTE maximum you're doing absolutely great :D)


I think it's an issue to which there is no right answer - everyone has their opinion and no one is wrong. In my case, I just love complete soundtracks when they're scores that I really like (eg The Protectors, and - for that matter - Space:1999 Year Two) but I'm less keen on that completeness when I don't care so much for the music (eg some of the Edwin Astley scores, which boast fantastic themes but some very 'samey' scoring across the various series). A bit selfish really, but there we go - human nature!

It's just a matter of personal taste :D

[Nick Haysom]

Well... rip it and delete the tracks you don't like and then burn it again :S

You'd have to listen carefully 3 or 4 times to the 5 discs to make this judgement - and life is too short. That's what record producers are for. Imagine having every cue ever recorded for every ITC programme, you'd be drowning in the stuff, having to slog your way thru it to find the nuggets. Which is why this highlights disc is so welcome. Right now we are getting the best of both worlds but if I had to choose I'd go for the highlights over the exhaustive releases.

[Simon Morris]

I agree with Nick - it's not my job to edit down discs and discs of music to make one listenable one. I've neither the time nor the patience.

The problem with the early Network releases certainly is that it was pretty much all Edwin Astley music. And outside of his superb themes, a lot of his ITC scoring sounded pretty much identical for whatever series he was writing it for. You could listen to a fight or chase scene cue in Department S and it would sound very similar to a similar cue in Randall and Hopkirk! To get discs and discs of it from various series in a relatively short space of time....well, it's just overkill, and pretty much ruined my appreciation of Edwin Astley, I'm sorry to say.

And cues of just a few seconds duration don't on their own make very good listening - if they can be incorporated into suites then so much the better. But a lot of people who like the 'complete/every cue' approach don't like the 'suite' approach! Well, that's the Fanderson way of doing soundtracks and I must say I think they generally play extremely well, and not an awful lot left off either. There were some isolated cues of 'cymbals' and also 'timpani' in The Protectors (my favourite Network score so far) but all they did was give me a headache.

No matter what the release, I honestly don't think you need everything in.....

[Dougurasu]

Well, you make good points and there is no way to please everyone I guess. But for the sake of being a completist I really wouldn't mind having everything. Maybe that's because I do take the time to edit stuff if I feel the need to. But yeah, it is very much best of both worlds having a compilation CD.

I have no real problem with suites I guess. Suites could also be made to include every cue and still make for a good listen, but in some cases it probably won't, yeah. I'm not really complaining I guess, but for me it makes more sense to make a CD that has everything than a CD that doesn't quite have everything and misses a few nuggets :p

And yeah, defenitely this is a matter of taste issue :)

[Silent Bob]

Personally i really enjoy the suites of music that accompany the stills galleries on the DVDs such as The Champions and Strange Report. Even better was the suite of music with the special effects footage on Space 1999 year 1.

[Nick Haysom]

The Music of ITC is now available at Play (http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/11803237/The-Best-Of-ITC-Original-Soundtrack/Product.html) for an incredible £7.99. Bargain!

[TonyB]

Definitely a good price, thanks for making us aware of it. :)

[Simon Morris]

Whilst I am looking forward to The Music of ITC, I have to say that if that's the final cover design, it's bloody awful in my opinion...!

[Silent Bob]

Considering how many shows they had to highlight, i think they did a very good job with the design. It has the look of an ITC promotional brochure and it has a gorgeous photo of Alexandra Bastedo. Whats not to like!?! :)

[Nick Haysom]

My copy's been dispatched. :D

[Simon Morris]

Considering how many shows they had to highlight, i think they did a very good job with the design. It has the look of an ITC promotional brochure and it has a gorgeous photo of Alexandra Bastedo. Whats not to like!?! :)

OK, I'll grant you it has Alexandra on the cover :D

Other than that, it's a rather thrown-together 'design' (if you can call it that). Also, I don't think slightly resembling ITC promo literature is any recommendation. Most of those were crap too.

[Silent Bob]

'I'll get my coat!' :p

[Colonel Foster]

Just ordered the best of ITC cd...thanks for the heads up!

[Simon Morris]

On the subject of The Music of ITC.....

Received my copy today - a very nice tribute to the ITC music I think, but rather depressing to be informed in the booklet that much of the music from various series are missing: ie Gideon's Way, The Baron, the b+w episodes of The Saint, and - unfortunately - much of The Persuaders! apparently.

The booklet also notes that nothing is left of the incidental music for The Adventurer, and "...what remains of the music to The Zoo Gang is an assortment of unlabelled and mainly unidentifiable cues" (though the short suite here has been remixed into stereo, which is rather nice.....)

The Return of The Saint cues are, as I expected, solely Dee/Martin compositions which aren't really that good (apart from the theme) and the not-very-good theme by the De Angelis brothers. Nothing of John Scott's superlative work - and interestingly the booklet doesn't even mention his name, or his library music which after all formed the bulk of the incidentals in the series, certainly more so than anything Dee and Martin contributed to the score...!

While disappointing in the scale of material which has been lost over the years (and the CD inevitably does suffer a little because of this), this is still an excellent compilation and a very nice booklet too.

[Simon Morris]

For anyone that wanted the soundtrack to THE PROTECTORS but found nearly 40
quid a bit expensive, you may like to know that it features in a Network
'50% off' sale which lasts for one week from today (limited range of products
only).

So for one week it's only £17.50 in the UK - and for 5 discs of excellent music,
that's splendid value I think:

http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?cPath=89&products_id=932&osCsid=b57756c4f5c3ec98ce3d07f4ec728ca8