TV Show "24" Original Musical Score CD
Creator/producer Joel Surnow's hit action-suspense series largely turns on an innovative fusion of real-time plot line delivered by aggressive camera work and multi-frame editing technique. But no small part of the show's intensely propulsive drive -- and much of its dramatic tension and atmospheric textures -- are consistently delivered by the music of young composer Sean Callery, who's won three straight Emmy nominations (winning once) for his contributions to the series. The composer personally selected and annotated the tracks for this anthology of his best work from the show's first three seasons, anchored by a complete version of the show's usually truncated theme. Though it shares similarities with Michael Giacchino's work onAlias, Callery's work here is consistently darker, an electro-organic fusion that spans tense, brooding orchestral passages and thrashing dollops of metallic-edged techno. Yet the composer also delivers moments of melodic, almost mournful solitude, while the third season's story line inspires some evocative Latin influences as well. Callery's background in sound effects editing contributes much to the rich sonic textures here, yielding a pioneering approach that portends a bright future for the composer.--Jerry McCulley