Jan Hammer - Miami Vice: Complete Collection
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CD Details
Artist: Jan HammerEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 2002-07-09
Music Label: One Way Records Inc
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Original Miami Vice Theme - Jan Hammer
- Crockett's Theme - Jan Hammer
- New York Theme
- Tubbs And Valerie
- Evan
- Rum Cay
- One Way Out
- Flashback
- Chase
- Theresa
- Colombia
- Marina
- Last Flight
- Night Talk
- Payback
- Poem
- Rico's Blues
- The Trial And The Search
- Wedding
- Miami Vice Theme
- Candy
- Voodoo Dance
- Lombard Trial
- Boat Party
- Angelina Flashback
- Rain
- Clues
- Crockett's Return
- Shadow In The Dark
- Incoming
- The Talk
- Gina
- Stone's War
- El Viejo Mix
- Airport Swap
- Russian Story
- Cool Runnin'
- Texas Ranger
- The Great Boat Race
- Golden Triangle
- Runaround
- Turning Point
Music reviews of Miami Vice: Complete Collection
Music Review: Waiting for the Hammer to Fall (into my hands!)
Rating: 4 Stars
First of all, let me thank Mr. Hammer for giving us old "Vice" fans this treasure! My copy of this double-album is mere months old and has already logged significant mileage!I wish there was a choice for 4.75 stars, because that is more like what I feel the album deserves, not a mere four. I was really excited by 95 percent of what I heard on the album, mainly by the new material I had not heard in any form other than its use in actual episodes. When I think of Miami Vice as a whole, I tend to focus on and be drawn to the grittier aspects of the show. As a result, the darker musical themes are what draw me in. Having said that, some of my favorites among the new themes include "The Talk", "Clues", "Airport Swap", "Russian Story", "Lombard Trial", "Shadow In The Dark" and "Golden Triangle". Those of you who have not heard long-standing tracks like "Chase" and "Evan" would benefit from those and other, more familiar tracks, most of which are on the first of this two-album (CD) set.
The best thing about the music Jan Hammer composed for Miami Vice is how he scored each track to set the exact mood of the scene or episode it is part of. The album's liner notes state that he would watch a tape of rough cut of each episode and then score music on a week-to-week basis which was tailored to that episode, much the way other great composers like Vangelis and John Williams do when scoring films. This technique is brilliant, and I know I'm not the only one that feels that without Jan Hammer's inspired and painstaking compositions, the show would have been less than it ultimately was. He is truly a third, unseen but very audible partner to Crockett and Tubbs.
Virtually every major character has their own theme of sorts; even some of the guest-stars' characters have a theme. "Lombard Trial" is one of these. It sets a total mood of urgency, doubt and desperation that underpins the episode. Dennis Farina plays Lombard, a mob boss who is looking for a way out of the world of crime, but who refuses to rat out other crime figures he is entangled with. His stubborn grip on his sense of pride ultimately proves his undoing and costs him his life, or so we are led to believe at the close of the episode.
The other tracks I mentioned above do essentially the same thing for the various episodes they were scored for. "Russian Story" weaves the mood for the dramatic episode, "Bushido", in which Lieutenant Castillo faces off with an old ally from his days in the "Company" -- presumably the CIA or NSA -- who has resurfaced in Miami while fleeing the Russian KGB. "Clues" is yet another terrific track which is used in the disturbing and unforgettable episodes "The Home Invaders" and "Out Where The Buses Don't Run", specifically in scenes where the good guys are trying to piece together information and clues that will lead them to their dangerous quarry -- namely robbers and drug dealers.
My only constructive criticism of this album is that it could have had more grit and less fluff. "Boat Party" is a light, fun track, but I would have preferred something akin to the throbbing drums and razor-sharp guitar licks Hammer wove under the "stiltsville dock" scene in "Out Where The Buses Don't Run". Hank Weldon knows what I mean. [grin] One track I very seriously would have loved to have seen included in this collection is from a very dark, poignant and powerful episode called "Duty And Honor". Castillo (Edward James Olmos) and an old acquaintance from his Vietnam war days are hunting an assassin code named "Savage" who is with them in a darkened house at night. The house belongs to a politician who has been marked for death. The track - which I would call something like "Hunting The Savage" -- is entrancing, eerie and wrought with all the emotion that comes with having hunted this assassin across many years and countries. What is more poignant is that the actor playing the Vietnamese police officer, Dr. Haing S. Ngor [The Killing Fields], was killed outside his California home many years ago. Hammer's music is a tribute to his memory as a great actor. In that episode, Hammer, Mr. Olmos and Dr. Ngor rule the field.
Final Comment: This is the best of the various Miami Vice-related albums because of its extensive and excellent track list of only Jan Hammer's compositions for the show. I can only hope that Mr. Hammer releases a third companion CD of some additional tracks which will hopefully include the afore-mentioned material! [grin] Here's hoping.
Happy listening, fellow "Vice" fans!!
Description of Miami Vice: Complete Collection
A long awaited digitally remastered 2CD set from keyboardist Jan Hammer, produced just for One Way Records. All together there are 42 songs & a 12-page booklet.International CDs
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