Thursday 15 August 2013

Airwolf Extended Themes CD1 FINAL TEASERS

Here they are. Twenty two teasers for Airwolf Extended Themes "Main Themes CD1" - your first chance to sample the entire "main theme" material.

While some of the tracks were already previewed on this blog, almost everything has been updated since then, so make sure to check each and every one of them. Highlights:


  • Track 01: a first taste of the ambient intro
  • Track 19: a first ever reveal of the mystery intro part. This is the original opening for the Pilot created by Sylvester Levay which was turned down by Donald P. Bellisario
  • Track 17: showcasing post-Descending Bridge parts that were NOT part of the original on-air version. The Ascending Bridge is one of my proudest moments of the entire CD (Sylvester Levay praised my execution of the horn/trombone staccatos).
  • Track 06: received the heaviest upgrade of all reengineered Airwolf Main Themes EP tracks
  • Track 22: reinterpretation of my first Airwolf Theme cover release dating back to 1997
  • Track 14: waited the longest to be showcased (first "final" version completed mid-2011)

I'll appreciate any comments and questions you might have, so feel free to leave them either in the comments section of this post or on our facebook profile. In particular I'd be interested to know

  • which track you like best so far (and why)
  • what surprised you the most

Enjoy!


01 08 [04:25.00] Pilot - Journey to Red Star (TV) (extended) Sly [preview]
02 16 [03:25.00] Pilot - Kafir palace raid + Red Star Test Run Sly [preview]
03 18 [00:34.60] Season 1 - Teaser Sly [preview]
04 12 [04:41.20] Season 1 - Opening/Closing (extended) Sly [preview]
05 23 [00:58.40] Season 1 - Slow main theme Sly [preview]
06 04 [06:35.40] Pilot, Season 1 - Synth theme (extended) Sly [preview]
07 20 [00:33.00] Season 2 - 'SWEET BRITCHES' teaser Ian [preview]
08 02 [00:42.20] Season 2 - 'SWEET BRITCHES'/'FIRESTORM' Intro Ian [preview]
09 02 [04:11.40] Season 2 - 'SWEET BRITCHES'/'FIRESTORM' (extended) - Tribute to Lance LeGault Ian [preview]
10 21 [00:32.00] Season 2 - 'SWEET BRITCHES' epilogue - Tribute to Ernest Borgnine Ian [preview]
11 19 [00:27.60] Season 1 - Closing Sly [preview]
12 17 [00:35.00] Season 2 - 'FIRESTORM' teaser Ian [preview]
13 03 [05:00.00] Season 2 - 'FALLEN ANGEL'/'HX-1' Sly [preview]
14 10 [06:05.00] Season 2 - Aerial (extended) Udi [preview]
15 11 [04:12.60] Season 3 - Opening/Aerial (extended) Sly [preview]
16 01 [06:00.00] Season 2/3 - Generic Closing (extended) Sly [preview]
17 05 [03:40.00] Pilot, Season 3 - Journey to Red Star (Movie)/'EAGLES' aerial (extended) Sly [preview]
18 06 [06:10.40] Pilot, Season 1, Season 2 - Minimalist (extended) Sly [preview]
19 14 [05:16.60] Pilot - Orchestral suite Sly [preview]
20 22 [00:51.00] Pilot - Closing (Movie) Sly [preview]
21 15 [03:25.60] [*BONUS TRACK*] Season 2/3 - Generic Closing (regular length) Sly [preview]
22 13 [04:41.00] [*BONUS TRACK*] Season 1, Season 3 - Special JMS Mix Sly [preview]
Total: [73:03.00]

Tracks 16, 13, 06, 18 featured on Airwolf Main Themes EP (as tracks 01, 02, 03, 04 respectively) have been partially re-recorded, remixed and remastered for this release.

For teasers of CD2 head on to Mark's blog: FINAL TEASERS for CD2 of Airwolf Extended Themes

19 comments:

  1. Jan, all I can say is THANK YOU!!! Thank you so much for all this! I honestly can't wait for this to release. Please make it happen this year! Sadly, I know the ball's in Universal's court, I only hope they pick up the pace.

    You know I've that lost intro, I found it floating around the net a while back along with other gems, though sound quality is abysmal in most of them. Thank you for including it in.

    My favorite track, at least going by teasers happen to be track 14 at the moment, I simply adore the way it starts...I love that about Airwolf melody; that tense slow start and then boom! Right into action!.

    Next I like the Pilot/Movie version both equally yes. Then its the slow main theme, since it was one of my requests too :)

    I like how you've managed to recreate the Sweet Britches themes, overall, perfectly! Again, from what I heard in the teasers ;)

    Alright, I don't think I can rank any single theme anymore...I like them all! It's truly amazing what you and Mark have done here, remarkable really. I only wish now to have a full copy playing in my car or PC and simply enjoy the themes! :)

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    1. Jaff, as for track 14 you're in for a surprise. What you hear in the teaser (from "Dambreakers") is not the absolute beginning of the track. There's about 15 extra seconds preceding it.

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    2. O wow, that's sounds titillating! Your sure know how to tease bud! :D

      Jan, I wanted to offer a constructive feedback to two of your tracks. Track 04, first season opening-closing: could you possibly make that string bit less prominent? It's a little detracting, I know it is in original production as you mentioned and even heard in closing credits...but I actually never noticed it til I heard it in that 59 second opening theme on the net and your teasers. It's sort of in the background in originals. Can you possibly even it out?

      Second, you know for the Pilot teaser, just after Moffet's bit the music starts to build up, right in that transitory bit the original piece seems to have a reverberating almost grinding sound to it (heavy), could you look into it and apply it to yours? I'm going by the full Pilot Teaser track you released a while back. And there's one other minor thing, I think its the keyboard piece, you know the one that fades out over Moffet's dialogue (right before it builds up again). In original it seems to have more keys played in quick succession before fading (right when the officer's dialogue ends), can you check this out too please?

      I hope you don't mind, Jan. Just trying to be helpful and offer honest feedback. :)

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    3. Jaff, thanks for your feedback, but I assume you understand the meaning of the word "final"? ;)

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    4. Aww is it too late? No matter, overall it's still a definitive experience I know for sure! By the way, I know Mark has said this is it for Airwolf for him, but do you plan to do more on your own? Personally I like your work, and would very much welcome a track now and then via online releases, you know how others do it via Youtube & what not.

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    5. Yes, it's a bit late. At this point I don't even dare to listen to the originals, because I don't want to force myself to start "fixing" the tracks (to prevent breaking them in the process).

      I wanted the slap bass in 04 to be prominent as this is the only variation of the theme that has it and therefore the prominence is well-deserved.

      As for the Pilot teaser, you made me curious about the "more keys" - can you be more specific, i.e. give a more precise location (either time, or word of the dialogue)?

      Regarding future - not sure. I pretty much covered (sic!) everything, and except for "Gabrielle's Theme" and "Echos from the Past" I was never really interested in the episodic themes.

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    6. Following up on the "lost intro" of track 19: It was great (and RELIEVING) to confirm at "the source" what it is exactly and why it is "lost".

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    7. Yeah I wondered why the leaked version said its Pilot track when its not even in there. By the way I read on the forums that Levay was not fond of first season opening, which is surprising to me since I think it's the best of all. Did he say anything regarding not doing any more orchestral battle music? That's one thing that still bothers me, why were they dropped :/

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    8. Sylvester was not fond of Season 1 opening simply because it was not his original vision. As he told me he wanted the theme to be very mechanical, but I guess Linndrum drum machine (which he co-developed by the way!) was not finished by then and he had to use a live drummer instead. I'm however a big fan of this version as those non-perfect bass/drum sequences give me a more convincing illusion of a "spinning rotor" (same for Red Star/Pilot Teaser music).

      Regarding withdrawal from orchestra - I think it was producer's (or maybe Levay's? not sure) decision to go all-synth and make the show more "hi-tech" this way.

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  2. Fair enough. As for the more keys part, okay so I'm gonna refer to NTSC Pilot teaser which is 36 second in length. It occurs right at 21 second mark (whole keys played within that second). Let me try to write out the melody. This is over the Libyan officer's dialogue (In a desert...):

    Yours seem to have seven keys: dun dun dun dee dun [dun dunnnn..(fade)]
    Original seem to go: dun dun dun dee dun [tee ree dun dunnn....(fade)]

    Those brackets signify where it seems to differ. Perhaps you can deduce the pitch or keys more accurately as opposed to what I wrote. Have a listen and let me know if does sound like it.

    As for Echoes From The Past, I would highly Highly recommend you do pursue it! It's my favorite piece too. That battle theme just sounds intense, especially with those violins making it all tense! :D
    And yeah, Sinjin's and Gabriells' themes need a shot too, they are some of the best!

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    1. Ok, this is pretty much what I suspected. I assure you I played those notes - if you listen closely you'll fish them out (if you can try listening at 50% speed). They might just not be as audible because of slightly different mixing and perhaps I used too long release on the lead sound and the notes "melt" into each other.

      My favorite incarnation of "Echos from the Past" theme would be the one when Hawke crashes the helicopter, as it features a rapid high-pitched sequence similar to the "Hawke pondering" from "One Way Express".

      (and obviously I'm talking about synth versions only of both EFTP and Gabrielle's Theme)

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    2. I think I do hear it, but it's kind of in the background and sounds just as you described it.

      By the way, that happens to be my favorite version of Sinjin's theme too. I actually have a fan produced version of that theme, is it yours? It doesn't have a name to it, I found it randomly somewhere long ago. I really do encourage you to tackle Echoes From The Past, especially those two themes (second one being of Gabrielle's). Though I'm still hoping out for the battle theme by you. The one you did years ago still sounds terrific!

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    3. Could you share this fan version? Don't think it's mine. I did something once, but it was really short and was just one instrument playing.

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    4. Sure, how do I send it to you? :)

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    5. Right. That's actually a good question. Perhaps you could upload it to sendspace.com and post the link here?

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    6. chances are it'll be by AirSwe, aka AirwolfSweden, he did a number of airwolf covers about 2 maybe 3 years ago (45 tracks by my count here) would assume its his, my version of it was awful : /

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    7. Jaff, thanks for the link. Yup, it's definitely not the one I did. Must be AirwolfSweden's version as Bob points out.

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  3. Oh man this is awesome work, I've always loved the theme music from Airwolf and I'm so looking forward to this release! My favorite tracks so far is the one from Eagles, Season 3 theme and offcourse the orchestral theme from the pilot ;) can't wait to hear the full versions!

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  4. Track one, you can almost here him saying turbos one and two.. in the green, defo nice work ;)

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