Hawaii Five-0

The soundtrack album to the TV series Hawaii Five-0 was unique in its time on several levels, and it's still unusual. During the 1960s and 1970s, most commercial soundtrack releases of movie and television scores utilized re-recordings of the music, often with new arrangements and almost always with reduced orchestral forces. This album, originally issued by Capitol Records in early 1970, was a rarity in that it used the original scoring sessions for the series, with the full orchestral forces (up to 45 players) at work and the proper, original arrangements in place. Morton Stevens' music for Hawaii Five-0 was the other unique factor -- Stevens' main title theme for the series is probably the most widely recognized television theme of its era (and possibly of all time), far beyond the ranks of those who watched either the original 1960s series or its 2010 revived and updated version. And the tapes for those original sessions have held up incredibly well -- the Film Score Monthly CD is one of the finest-sounding vintage television soundtrack reissues ever to show up in the digital medium; the full complement of players on the recordings and the excellent condition of the source tapes give this music genuine, palpable impact on the listener, from the percussive opening of the main title theme all the way through the swinging rock-jazz hybrid "Front Street," the jazzy sax- and horn-driven "Operation Smash," and the dark-toned, moody opening of "The Long Wait" (a theme first heard in the two-hour pilot film for the series). Stevens freely mixed rock and jazz influences in his scores, and actively got the Ventures (who had a hit single with the series' title theme) involved with the show -- one track here, "Blues Trip," was apparently a leftover from the scoring for a drug-themed episode, and as executed could easily have passed muster on any 1968-vintage rock album, and that's no small achievement for Stevens, a 1950 Juilliard graduate who would have come to rock & roll sort of second-hand. One track here, "Beach Trip," actually features the members of the Ventures (working uncredited) on a somewhat trippy and ominous mood piece. All of it, intended to leap out of the cheap, tinny television speakers of the era, fully comes to life on this release. And the stereo separation on these tapes is startling for the focus it provides for the timbre of certain instruments -- massed strings and horns in various places, electric piano, and those amazing drums. There may only be 30 minutes of music on this album, but it's a very busy and satisfying 30 minutes, and not just for fans of the series or the music -- a lot of composers and arrangers could learn something listening to Stevens' work here, drawn from the highlights of the scoring for the first two seasons of the series. The thorough annotation is almost as much of a treat as the production of the CD, which is a model for reissues in this genre. ~ Bruce Eder|

60年代人気ドラマ・シリーズのサントラはゴキゲンなラウンジ/イージーリスニング・ポップ・サウンド。

『ハワイ5-O』(1968～1980)
TVサウンドトラック

音楽　モートン・スティーヴンス
企画・原案・製作　レナード・フリーマン
主演　ジャック・ロード、ジェームズ・マッカーサー

ハワイ州知事直属の捜査官たちの活躍を描き、13年アメリカで続いた人気ドラマ・シリーズ。2010年秋からリメイク・シリーズ開始というタイミングでオリジナル・サントラ・アルバム音源をCD化。テーマ作曲は、サミー・デイヴィス・ジュニアのアレンジャーとしてキャリアをスタートし、アメリカのテレビ音楽界でヒット・ナンバーを次々出したモートン・スティーヴンス（このドラマの音楽は、数多くの作曲家が携わったが、こちらの盤はスティーヴンスによるもののみを収録）。中でも、の大ヒットがやはり、この『ハワイ5-0』のテーマ。お気楽、ゴキゲンでかつ勇ましさも表現するキャッチーなイージーリスニング・ポップ・オーケストラ。ほかにも、リゾート地ハワイを舞台にした事件モノ、という陽気な設定ならではの、軽快なサウンドがいっぱい。意外ながら、今回が初CD化。 (C)馬場敏裕