Composed by Shirley Walker, Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Kristopher Carter
Released
on Rhino Entertainment
1.
“Batman Beyond” Main Title (1:02)
2.
Cold VS Hot (3:14)3. Terrific Trio VS Rocketeers (1:52)
4. Bat-Slapped In Store (1:18)
5. Farewells (2:46)
6. Batman Defeats Chappell (2:16)
7. Batman Chases Inque (2:44)
8. Yachting With The Card Gang (2:11)
9. Batman's First Fight (2:59)
10. The Legacy Continues (1:26)
11. Hotel Scuffle (1:59)
12. Trouble In The Museum (1:48)
13. Inque Escapes! (1:24)
14. Nuclear Lab Destruction (1:56)
15. Golem Chases Shoppers (2:02)
16. Willie Defeated (2:39)
17. Genetic Theft (1:31)
18. Joker Chase (3:09)
19. Move To The Groove (1:19)
20. “Batman Beyond” End Credits (1:02)
---------------
“Batman
Beyond” presented its own unique set of challenges both to the show runners and
to the musical composers who had worked with them previously. As with “Batman:
The Animated Series” (1992) and “Superman: The Animated Series” (1996), the
task of musical composition once more fell upon the shoulders of composer
Shirley Walker and her fellow staff Lolita Ritmanis and Michael McCuistion, as
well as new comer Kristopher Carter, who would go on to become synonymous with
the animation team by providing scores for several episodes of the series, its
spin-off film “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” (2000) and a number of
future DC animated projects.
To
create a foundation of musical composition for Batman in the era of Bruce
Wayne’s tenure in the cape and cowl is one thing. It’s a completely different
series of elements in play to bring the same sense of pathos, flight, heroism
and dramatic intrigue to the adventures of a Batman 20 years into the future.
Rather
than retread the idea of film noir and gothic, baroque symphony, Walker and her
composers approach the drastic shift in genre and accept it with gusto and
enthusiasm, using it not as a means of paying homage to the Batman they’d
written before but as an opportunity to play with the paradigm and usher in a
new era of Batman in musical terms.
“Batman
Beyond,” heavily infused in the Science Fiction aesthetic, lends itself
musically to a number of new and dynamic scenarios, situations, motifs and
instrumentations that are rip-roaring, colossal, synthetic and awesome in every
aspect of their use.
It’s
as though the composers plunged into the spirit of Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s
brainchild, extracted its pure essence of adventure and heroics, and performed
a gnarly bio-chemical experiment, injecting beeping, twittering synthesizers,
tech-euphoric beats, roaring electronic guitar and an incredible sense of
futuristic imagination and mechanized wonder.
The
score for the television series is heavily embroiled in synthesizers and
electronic music akin to the Gotham techno night clubs that Terry McGinnis and
his friends frequent nightly and yet it maintains the melodrama and daring-do
that befits Batman, whether it’s Wayne or McGinnis beneath the mask.
The
“Batman Beyond” theme is now as classic in its own right as the theme of his
legendary mentor, perfectly encapsulating the aforementioned with an aggressive
industrial beat; its now-iconic four-note motif is still engrained in the heads
of the show’s fans and greatly hum-able. I also love the bit that plays when
the opening cuts to a strobing shot of Terry’s girlfriend Dana as she dances
alongside other club-goers.
Another
great track is “Farewells,” collecting a trio of empathic cues that both
capture the mythic impact of the Batman persona and it’s transcending the
limits of time and the eventual heartache that such a responsibility will
inevitably create for Terry in as assuming of that persona.
It
begins with the terrifically emotional escalating piano work as Terry returns
home to find the Jokerz tags of “HA HA HA” spray painted in the stairwell.
Fearing the worst, the music grows desperate as Terry ascends the stairs,
questioning his mother as to the whereabouts of his father Warren...only to rush past
the police to find the inevitable tragedy that’s befallen him.
We
segue into the continuation of the piano motif as it reappears alongside a
solemn, wailing guitar as Dana drops Terry off at Wayne Manor so he can plead a
case of corporate subterfuge at Wayne/Powers to Bruce. The undercurrents of
mystery and espionage are incredibly palpable in this cue and I love the moment
where it takes a negative turn with Terry’s frustrations.
“Yeah,
should’ve known you wouldn’t care. You’re no Batman, you whacked out old
FRAUD!”
The
cue ends with a chilling bit of chorus provided by a lone, female vocalist that
calls forth the possible echo of an angel...calling forth for Bruce’s resolve
to relinquish his self-imposed dormancy and once more take a stand as Gotham’s
champion, at least in spirit as he uses his years of experience to oversee
Terry in the field.
The
final portion of the track comes courtesy of the climactic finale in “Meltdown,”
and it’s incredibly emotionally charged as Batman makes a failed attempt to
convince Mr. Freeze to save himself from the explosions he’s set off at
Fox-Techa. The guitar work is powerful and laced with chilling empathy for our
villain as he shares a tender moment with the dark knight. What I loved about
this encounter is the idea that Freeze, whether he was aware of it or not,
seems to have no interest in who’s wearing the Batsuit; to him it’s just
Batman, as it’s always been.
“Believe
me. You’re the only one who cares.”
For
a brief moment, the score takes itself back into the simple with the acoustic guitar
that opens “The Legacy Continues” as Terry is met with Bruce Wayne following
his hap-hazard debut confrontation against Derek Powers. It’s a quaint peace
that seems to symbolize the humble beginnings of Terry as a character.
Here’s
a kid that’s been born and raised in a broken middle class family, dealing with
all the angst, drama and frustrating normality of being a public high school
attending teenager. He wasn’t born into wealth like Wayne and while tragedy
strikes just as it did for the original Batman, Terry’s far older than Bruce
was. He’s capable of comprehending a far more focused need for revenge that
proves dangerous given his hair-trigger temper and disdain for authority.
So
the track presents this concept; the acoustics and upbeat percussion call forth
images of the kind of simple home life Bruce never knew; the annoying little
brother, the aroma of cooking breakfast...and the comically logical exhaustion
as Terry sleeps in with the Batsuit crumpled up beneath his bed.
It’s
a great angle to take on Batman, humanizing him in a unique way with the fresh
disguise of the new millennium American teen.
However
the track carries us onward, taking a digital/electronic wing into the new era
of the dark knight as Bruce formally employs Terry into the fold of the mantle
he’s now earned.
“Very
good then, Mr. McGinnis. Welcome to my world.”
By
in large, the majority of the collection fits within the techno appetite that most fans found insatiable about the show.
Guitars
are also the breakthrough star for another great track titled “Batman chases
Inque.”
Commanded
by a surging beat of momentum, the track brings in an incredible electronic
guitar motif twenty four seconds in that runs throughout the cue with the same
velocity as Batman in his desperate chase after the genetically altered
shape-shifter.
The
sparkling majesty orchestrated for the newly revamped Royal Flush Gang is also
a standout with “Yachting with the Card Gang.”
I
love how each of the new villains Terry is faced with are handled musically.
It’s
a bizarre approach that works aesthetically and very well.
Rather
than orchestrate a full-on theme like they had previously done for the Joker or
Two-Face, foes like the Royal Flush Gang, Willy Watt and Spellbinder seem to be
given musical and audio punctuation through specific sound effect motifs and
electronic audio design.
It
fits within the tone of “Batman Beyond” perfectly; honestly, I can’t give these
artists nearly enough credit.
Here,
let’s try something.
See
if you can pinpoint these sound ‘motifs’ for each showcased rogue.
Willy
Watt
Inque
The
Royal Flush Gang
Did
you find them?
Willy and his pet Golem robot, with their neural interlink between one another, are realized musically with a lone vocal note and a strobing three-note motif that could possibly resemble some manifesto of a machine powering down.
An
electronic, pixelated staccato plays frequently for Inque as if it were a symphonic
example of her own fluid composition; the idea of notes representing droplets
of her bio-organic polymer form as it bends and contorts and splatters by sheer
force of her will.
With
the Royal Flush Gang, the frequent use of what I can imagine to be some sort of
electronic cymbal crashes with digital precision every time they appear in
their “Dead Man’s Hand” debut episode.
“Terrific
Trio vs. Rocketeers” just rocks; the beat is methodic yet pulsating and this is
definite showcase for the great synthesizer work the series was known for
overall. It’s got a great edge and mysterious malice. The bizarro trippy chorus
that comes in about forty seven seconds in just puts it over the top with the
Sci-Fi goodness. As a fan of the genre, I can never get enough of flourishes
like that, which are littered throughout the album.
It’s
such a great exploration for Walker, Ritmanis and McCuistion; I can’t imagine
how fun it must’ve been for them to take their prior experience and knowledge
of Batman and test their compositional skills with remarkable range and
experimentation. The sounds, the melodies and the beats are all wonderfully
conceived and built a new backbone of ‘future-noir’ that fits the series like a
hard-wired glove.
There’s
also “Genetic Theft;” there’s nothing I can even say about this piece with its
guitar work, it's just superb.
Take
a listen for yourself.
Crafted
out of techno beats and industrial edge, the music of “Batman Beyond” is a
combination of head knocking tech-slammin’ joy and hauntingly poignant melody
that enriches the legacy of the dark knight while playing with the Sci-Fi
elements now firmly taking root in Gotham City, flying high on the red wings of
our caped crusader of tomorrow.
I
can only hope that, as with the score for the original “Batman: The Animated
Series,” this material might someday get a proper collection release in the
future.
Hopefully
before Batmobiles are able to fly, right?
Simply
put, in the words of Gotham’s hormone-driven, splice-experimenting, club going
youth:
This
soundtrack is Shway.
----------------------------------------------
Shirley Walker
Lolita Ritmanis
Michael McCuistion
Kristopher Carter
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