Silva Screen Records release a second volume of music from Thunderbirds Are Go, a modern remake of the classic 1960s adventure series. With the stories focused around the Tracy brothers it's fitting that another team of brothers, Ben and Nick Foster have taken on the job of providing new music for this seminal series. Facing the daunting task of following in the footsteps of the original and prolific Thunderbirds composer Barry Gray the duo have followed the same route employing a full symphony orchestra, adding modern touches to bring the sound completely up to date but retaining reverence for the original...

I was a fan of the first volume of music from this series, and was very much looking forward to seeing what Ben and Nick Foster would deliver for the second volume. If anything, the duo seem to have improved on their output from the first volume. Once again we get a diverse and lovingly crafted score that original '60s Thunderbirds composer Barry Gray would have approved of. It's very much in keeping with Gray's original style, but brought a little up to date.

In the last volume I noted that John Barry's '80s James Bond soundtracks seemed to provide the main inspiration. For this latest volume, David Arnold's Bond scores seem to act as the driving force. You can't fail to listen to tracks like 'Thunderbird 3 Launch / Kayo On Board'; and '41 Afterburners On!' without smiling. It's probably the use of horns that gives it this feel. 'Thunderbird 3 Launch / Kayo On Board' also reminded me of Michael Kamen's music for Licence to Kill.

This release contains 52 tracks (1 hr, 17 min, 43 sec) and if there's a wasted, bland moment I've yet to find it - and I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop for over two weeks now. I also have to admit that the main theme is growing on me. I wasn't such a big fan originally, but to be fair it does work rather well and is in keeping with the rest of the music.

If you don't already own it, I strongly advise you to pick up volume 1 as well as this release. They really should be on everyone's essential soundtracks list.

10

Darren Rea