Music Review: Various Artists – Heroes Soundtrack

I tend to watch the television program Heroes on a fairly regular basis. When I read that a soundtrack to the series was available, I could not think of or visualize enough music to fill an average CD. So it was with a great deal of anticipation and curiosity that I acquired the Heroes Soundtrack album.

I have to say I was right. There was no where near enough music from the series to fill a full length CD. Yet here we have a release that clearly state Heroes: Original Soundtrack.

What we have is an album of music that the writers and producers of  the series listen too and are inspired by when they are creating the stories. There are also some bits and pieces of music that are actually used in various episodes. The liner notes state that the music is part of the Heroes experience. It is all a little misleading but so be it.

There are three snippets of music from the series. Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman are the main composers for the show and their tracks such as “Heroes Theme,” “Fire and Regeneration” and “Homecoming” are instantly recognizable to any fan of the show.

The rest of the music contained on the CD is an eclectic group of songs which probably reflects the different personalities of the people who work on the series. As such the album does not really have a flow to it but rather is a group of individual tracks just strung together.

Despite the nature of the album there are some good moments. “Heroes” by David Bowie and “Man In The Long Black Coat” by Bob Dylan are both pleasurable tracks from the past. Also of note are “Jealousy Rides With Me” by Death Cab For Cutie, “Nine In The Afternoon” by Panic At The Disco and “All Things Must Pass” by The Jesus and Mary Chain.

The best part of the album is probably the packaging. It is a quadruple fold out which all fold out again. They contain fifteen comic book type panels which may be essential for hard core fans of the show.

The Heroes Soundtrack album needs to be approached with caution. There is some good music but overall it is not what would be considered a traditional soundtrack album.