Dedicated to the superheroes who decorated your underwear when you were a kid (and many more who didn't), Defenders lets listeners revisit a time when a world in which men who could fly, climb skyscrapers, and morph into g... more »reen monsters seemed possible. Naturally this lends itself to camp with such kitschy songs as "Wonder Woman," "Astro Boy," and "Batman." There are also some serious compositions that hold up surprisingly well, like "Superman: The Movie," "Escape from New York," and the melancholy "Incredible Hulk," plus "Knight Rider" and "The Six Million Dollar Man." Despite a few glaring omissions--Battle of the Planets, The Omega Man, and Flash Gordon--diversity reigns on Defenders as it progresses from outer space cadets to costumed crusaders to technologically enhanced heroes. Now if only they'd included a life-size poster of Lynda Carter... --Bryan Reesman« less
Dedicated to the superheroes who decorated your underwear when you were a kid (and many more who didn't), Defenders lets listeners revisit a time when a world in which men who could fly, climb skyscrapers, and morph into green monsters seemed possible. Naturally this lends itself to camp with such kitschy songs as "Wonder Woman," "Astro Boy," and "Batman." There are also some serious compositions that hold up surprisingly well, like "Superman: The Movie," "Escape from New York," and the melancholy "Incredible Hulk," plus "Knight Rider" and "The Six Million Dollar Man." Despite a few glaring omissions--Battle of the Planets, The Omega Man, and Flash Gordon--diversity reigns on Defenders as it progresses from outer space cadets to costumed crusaders to technologically enhanced heroes. Now if only they'd included a life-size poster of Lynda Carter... --Bryan Reesman
CD Reviews
A (conditional) must have...
08/11/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album is comprised of TV and movie soundtrack titles, some of which are original recordings (Superman, Speed Racer, Knight Rider, The Terminator, the bionic series, Quantum Leap - there may be others), and not-so-original (but fairly close) re-orchestrations. I bought this album for "The Flash", and although it is one of the re-orchestrations, it is fairly close to the original and definitely worth having. Both it and Knight Rider are so good, they're goose-bump inducing. If you don't mind skipping over the mind-numbing kiddie show themes, this is a must have!"
Lots of fun and memories.
Guybert | 08/01/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This one will take you back to the good old days of getting up early on Saturday mornings to sit in front of the t.v. for half the day. Lots of cool tracks on this one, like the 60's version of the Astroboy theme (though the newer one is much cooler, in my humble opinion); Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet (which are sort of like cousins to each other); Underdog; Batman: The Animated Series (one of the most amazing shows ever. Period.); The Green Hornet with it's great rendition of "Flight of the Bumblebee" played by trumpeter-extraordinaire Al Hirt; the original Spiderman cartoon theme (which everyone likes better than the new one); The Tick with it's crazy, jazzy, scat theme; Knight Rider, which is awesome and unforgettable; Max Headroom, the late, great, short lived show that deserved a much better fate; Quantum Leap, one of the most interesting and intelligent shows I've seen. There are many more, some good, some so-so, all interesting choices (Mortal Kombat is one of those 'interesting' choices, as they aren't really defenders of justice. Oh well.) This album is a lot of fun to listen to and can be enjoyed by people of all ages."
I had a great time...
Andrea Taylor Simunovich | Dublin, CA USA | 04/30/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The theme songs were the oririnals from all of my favorite TV shows when I was a little girl! I closed my eyes, listened to my favorites like Astro-Boy, Gigantor, and The Green Hornet. I felt my pigtails grow back, and tasted Bosco on my lips. If you want to go back in time too, I'd recommend this CD highly."
FUN AND UPBEAT
Andrea Taylor Simunovich | 04/27/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The music is from the actual TV shows and films, however some of the tracks (KNIGHT RIDER, SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN) do not contain the dialog that is heard on those shows ("Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist"; the communication between Steve Austin and Houston--the track starts at the crash and has Oscar Goldman's dialog, which isn't bad). The music is uplifting and inspiring for writing sci-fi, if you're into doing that sort of thing."
Track Listings (37) - Disc #1