Lost (CD - 2006)

Liner Note Authors: Carlton Cuse; Damon Lindelof; Bryan Burk; J. J. Abrams.

Recording information: Capitol Records, O'Henry Sound Studios, Warner Bros. Cl.

Featuring what is likely the most minimal music ever for the main theme of a major TV series, the LOST soundtrack, like the show itself, is far from conventional, as revealed by the aforementioned opening track, an eerie 16-second piece of sonic abstraction that accompanies the brief title sequence. Although composer Michael Giacchino's score is largely built around tense moments of swelling strings, ominous horns, and foreboding percussion, the individual titles serve as humorous counterpoints to LOST's unfolding drama (see "World's Worst Beach Party," "Charlie Hangs Around," and "Locked Out Again"), serving as in-jokes that will be recognized by the program's legions of devoted fans.

One of the things that makes Lost a remarkable television show is that it often feels like a long movie presented in hourlong installments as opposed to an episodic series. One of Lost's other remarkable attributes is its music, which, correspondingly, also feels more filmic than your average TV score. This disc collects all of Michael Giacchino's cues for the first season, as well as J.J. Abrams' "Main Title," which is a classic TV theme even though it's just 16 seconds long and its ominous drones barely qualify as music (in the conventional TV soundtrack sense, anyway). Many of Giacchino's cues are spare, spooky, and percussion-heavy, emphasizing the show's pulse-pounding tension as well as its remote, quasi-tribal setting; "The World's Worst Beach Party," for example, sounds like the theme to Survivor, or like the title itself says, the world's worst beach party. However, "Run Like, Um... Hell?"'s rattling percussion and shivery brass and harp show that Giacchino knows how to turn it up when necessary. The score's quirky track titles are entertaining in their own right, sometimes because they capture the moment in the show exactly ("Proper Motivation," "Just Die Already"), sometimes because they're incredibly incongruous: it's hard to reconcile that The Beautiful, Soul-Stirring Music That Accompanied Boone's Funeral is actually called "Booneral." There are terrible puns ("Crocodile Locke") and subtle ones ("Kate's Motel," the music to which is a terrific homage to Bernard Herrmann), and nearly as many allusions to pop culture and literature as there are in the actual show ("Run Away! Run Away!" is a particularly apt nod to Monty Python, while "Monsters Are Such Innnteresting People" refers to a Bugs Bunny cartoon). However wacky the titles are, they don't detract from the impact of the music. "Win One for the Reaper" is an especially lovely rendition of the show's main emotional theme, while "Locke'd Out Again" captures the poignancy of Locke's background story and his new start on the island. With its urgent strings and brass, "Hollywood and Vines" sounds like it could also appear on the soundtrack to a Western; "Navel Gazing"'s lively marimbas and harp evoke the all too rarely shown peaceful, pretty side of the island. The score even has a sense of humor (beyond the track titles) on "I've Got a Plane to Catch," the rambling acoustic piece that accompanied Hurley's hilariously complicated, ill-fated attempts to catch his flight. While Lost missed the opportunity to include "You All Everybody," the hit that Charlie had with his band Driveshaft, or Shannon's charming rendition of "La Mer," Lost geeks and soundtrack buffs in general will be delighted to own this impressive score. ~ Heather Phares minimize