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EUREKA
Entertaining, lighthearted music from tv series
 A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Music composed by
BEAR MCCREARY

Rating
* * *



Performed by
UNNAMED ENSEMBLE

Additional music
AARON A. ROETHE
MARK MOTHERSBAUGH
JOHN ENROTH
Orchestration
BEAR MCCREARY

Engineer
STEVE KAPLAN
Music Editor
MICHAEL BABER
Produced by
BEAR MCCREARY
STEVE KAPLAN
FORD A. THAXTON

Album running time
76:54

Released by
LA-LA LAND RECORDS
Catalog number
LLLCD 1076

Album cover copyright (c) 2008 Universal Network Television LLC; review copyright (c) 2008 James Southall.

A quirky science fiction show set in a small town full of America's brightest inventors, Eureka has attracted a devoted cult following and has now gone through two seasons on US tv.  Its first season didn't have much of a unified musical feel, so for the second the show's producers decided to bring Bear McCreary on board, who has of course enjoyed (and indeed continues to enjoy) popular success with his music for Battlestar Galactica and The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  His brief here was completely different from those shows - none of the dark music associated with them being required, instead a much lighter style.

This album, from La-La Land Records - who have forged a decent relationship with this composer - opens with the show's main title (which is actually by Mark Mothersbaugh and John Enroth) which is enjoyable, if brief.  Then along comes McCreary, with the delightful "Sheriff Carter's Theme", which sets the tone for the rest of the album.  The "quirky" sound - guitars, pizzicato strings, percussion - has become so common that it doesn't really pass for quirky any more, but when it's nice and melodic as here, that doesn't particularly matter.

I guess what does matter is that there isn't really a whole lot of variation.  A couple of songs break the score up quite nicely, but aside from the flamenco "The Mask of Fargo" and a couple of straighter romantic tracks, the rest of the tracks do slightly blend in with one another.  However, it's all very enjoyable and makes an album which is very easy to enjoy even for someone who doesn't watch the show, which isn't particularly common in television music.  There's nothing earth-shattering, but a nice, deft balance between music that needs to be slightly offbeat and at the same time wants to be very easy to like.  

Tracks

  1. Eureka On My Mind (:30)
  2. Sheriff Carter's Theme (3:27)
  3. Prehistoric Love Spores (2:38)
  4. Allison's Theme (2:52)
  5. Through the Vortex (5:02)
  6. Fargo's Theme (2:49)
  7. The Mask of Fargo (2:27)
  8. The SARAH Mobile (1:16)
  9. Let's Get Hitched Brendan McCreary (3:54)
  10. When You Wish Upon Falling Debris (3:10)
  11. Little Big Bang (2:33)
  12. Henry's Theme (5:21)
  13. Taggart's Theme (2:02)
  14. The Laser Cannon (1:54)
  15. Noche De Suenos (3:23)
  16. A Nuke for Fargo (5:41)
  17. EurekAerobics Captain Ahab (2:31)
  18. Victor's Getaway (:34)
  19. Henry and Beverly (4:24)
  20. Jack and Callie (2:31)
  21. Everyone's Dumb (1:48)
  22. The Heathers (:37)
  23. Zane on the Lam (2:42)
  24. Erotomania! (2:26)
  25. A Night at Global Dynamics (3:52)
  26. Threat of Nuclear Cleaning (2:19)
  27. A Town Called Eureka (2:10)
  28. Eureka On My Mind Reprise (:51)
    29.