Went looking for this because I've just been watching "Gold" and gosh that Space Princess theme gets stuck in your head! :) Many thanks for your hard work on assembling this
Thanks so much and absolutely agreed about the Space Princess theme! I'm hoping somebody might do a recreation of it one day (assuming the original tapes never turn up) - Jess Jurkovic at the Dudley Simpson IS Doctor Who project would be brilliant if he'd consider it!
Excellent, thank you very much for putting this together. I love B7 and Dudley Simpson and have always had a soft spot for the often (I think unfairly) maligned Series 4.
I've just rewatched all 4 series for the first time since 1993, it was like watching brand new episodes as I'd forgotten each plot bar the very finale. I watched series 4 first as i recalled that being my favourite and then watched 1, 2 and 3. Having rewatched them all I now think series 1 & 2 were the best and 3 was the worst. I think series 4 has so many good stand out episodes like Gold, Sand and Orbit which are easily in my top 10 of all 4 series. Avon, Servalan, Vila, Zen and Orac were the standout characters for me.
Big thank you for all the effort put into creating this soundtrack. Loved Blake's 7 and Dudley's incidental music and sound effects. The Space Princess theme is wonderful.
They're both great aren't they (I only wish there was a clean recording of the full dreamy Space Princess cue from 'Gold' - most of the scenes when it's heard in the episode have characters talking over it so I was limited with what I could isolate) and that opening sequence from 'Warlord' might just be my favourite music cue in the whole show! Thanks so much again for listening to the full set of suites - and the latest instalment of 'Mission to Endor' is brilliant and gave me a much-needed chuckle!
So glad you've been enjoying them and thanks so much for the kind words - I needed something to take my mind off the long hours during lockdown so the project was a very welcome antidote to cabin fever!
Oh I *love* that bit! I tried to isolate the full tune and edit the different extracts from it together but there was always a bit of dialogue at some point that got in the way - I'm thinking of submitting a request to Jess Jurkovic to ask if he would consider doing a Blake's 7 spinoff from his 'Dudley Simpson is Doctor Who project' and the Space Princess music would be my top pick!
Once again, thank you for this upload! Just wonderful. Is it me, or was there more music in the last season? Or perhaps just more that could be successfully isolated? Dudley is on fire throughout Series 4, I've always thought so, but hearing the scores so clearly here emphasises that. I wonder if it was the change of format or the fact he was no longer scoring Blake's 7 in tandem with Doctor Who that seemed to increase his energy, not that, that was lacking in any previous series, but I really think the final series represents his best work for the show. His filmic music for the sequence where Scorpio returns to base in 'Rescue' , all of 'Stardrive' and that throbbing, cold, distorted heart beat music which underpins Avon's aborted mission of murder in 'Orbit' is just sensational. Credit where credit is due to Elizabeth Parker as well, particularly the opening moments of 'Warlord'. Stunning!
Thank you so much again Peter and totally agreed about Series 4 too! I miss those glorious cues for the Liberator but this is the set of suites that I've found myself coming back to the most. Dudley definitely seems to be re-energised by the possibilities of Series 4 - I'd never made the connection with him being freed up from Doctor Who duties before so that makes a lot of sense as a possible factor but I agree that the change of format also seems to have compelled him to come up with some fresh approaches too. It's telling how many 'wordless' sequences there are in Series 4 that allow him to come to the fore: all the Scorpio launch and landing sequences (agreed completely about that initial landing sequence in 'Rescue'), the battle on Helotrix, the search for Cancer on the black ship in 'Assassin', Soolin and Avon on the run from Federation troopers on Betafarl in 'Warlord' - all come to mind where the dialogue takes a back seat for a while. In Series 3 you do get quite a few episodes where there's some lovely music but a lot of dialogue over it - 'Harvest of Kairos' is like that - and the biggest regret for me in Series 4 is the gorgeous cue for the Space Princess in 'Gold' which I couldn't isolate in full due to dialogue. If Jess Jurkovic is ever taking requests and considers going beyond Doctor Who in his marvellous Dudley Simpson transcription project I'd put a shout out for the Space Princess melody! One of the things that Dudley seems to convey more of is a sense of warmth and almost a tenderness and even vulnerability with some of the cues for the Scorpio - I've wondered if some of that is to do with the movement of the Scorpio model being quite slow in a lot of shots (it doesn't burst into view as the Liberator often does) and Dudley recognising that the ship isn't as invincible as the Liberator seemed to be but also Dudley's awareness of the bond between the crew that has grown over time and the sense that they're a surrogate family who need each other whatever their personal misgivings (as Dorian points out to them), so you get these lyrical 'homeward bound' cues at the end of 'Sand' and 'Orbit' or Scorpio's arrival on screen at the start of 'Stardrive' reprised later in the episode. He also does a rhythmic 'hopping' motif for Scorpio which I'm convinced is him following on from the ship being described as a planet hopper - it's in that churning synth sound underneath the melody in the brass when the ship first appears in 'Rescue'. This is a marathon response I know! The short version is agreed completely and I think Series 4 is some of his finest work. All that being said, Elizabeth Parker's ambient electronica at the start of 'Warlord' is among my favourite music cues from the entire series!
Nice job! Has anyone found any original B7 audio in stereo? I'd guess it was recorded in St or at least multiple mono tracks then downmixed for mono broadcast, leaving the long shot that some tapes could still be lurking. It would be fantastic to recreate at least one episode in stereo to go with the CG space scenes others have done. Or even St>5.1. All I've ever found is: BBC Sound Effects 26 LP: 6 in St, plus 25 mono Radiophonic Workshop 21: Mysterioso in St. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Sound_Effects_No._26:_Sci-Fi_Sound_Effects
You are doing God's work here.
Went looking for this because I've just been watching "Gold" and gosh that Space Princess theme gets stuck in your head! :)
Many thanks for your hard work on assembling this
Thanks so much and absolutely agreed about the Space Princess theme! I'm hoping somebody might do a recreation of it one day (assuming the original tapes never turn up) - Jess Jurkovic at the Dudley Simpson IS Doctor Who project would be brilliant if he'd consider it!
Yes, thank you very much indeed
Great work, sounds from an iconic program
Excellent, thank you very much for putting this together. I love B7 and Dudley Simpson and have always had a soft spot for the often (I think unfairly) maligned Series 4.
Thanks so much - I'm so glad you've enjoyed them - and agreed completely about the fourth series too!
I've just rewatched all 4 series for the first time since 1993, it was like watching brand new episodes as I'd forgotten each plot bar the very finale. I watched series 4 first as i recalled that being my favourite and then watched 1, 2 and 3. Having rewatched them all I now think series 1 & 2 were the best and 3 was the worst. I think series 4 has so many good stand out episodes like Gold, Sand and Orbit which are easily in my top 10 of all 4 series. Avon, Servalan, Vila, Zen and Orac were the standout characters for me.
What a wonderful score for a superb series. This is Dudley's best season I think. Love the engine room music in Stardrive. Thanks for uploading.
Also love the engine room music
54:50 could listen to this for hours
Big thank you for all the effort put into creating this soundtrack. Loved Blake's 7 and Dudley's incidental music and sound effects. The Space Princess theme is wonderful.
Fantastic work... I liked that there was no music in the final episode after they hit the blockade. Felt very ominous.
Excellent production once again! Im loving "Gold" & "Orbit" & forgot how haunting the intro to "Warlord" was! 👍🏽👍🏽
They're both great aren't they (I only wish there was a clean recording of the full dreamy Space Princess cue from 'Gold' - most of the scenes when it's heard in the episode have characters talking over it so I was limited with what I could isolate) and that opening sequence from 'Warlord' might just be my favourite music cue in the whole show! Thanks so much again for listening to the full set of suites - and the latest instalment of 'Mission to Endor' is brilliant and gave me a much-needed chuckle!
@@doctorzerkalosmonitorzone6154 Oh that's great to hear, I'm partial to a good outhouse scenario for a chuckle :) Thx
Wow, just wow, so much work to get these into this state. Very enjoyable, thank you so much
So glad you've been enjoying them and thanks so much for the kind words - I needed something to take my mind off the long hours during lockdown so the project was a very welcome antidote to cabin fever!
The Space Princess brought me here 😎
54:50
That's for my return so I can skip to one of the best bits!
Thank you
Oh I *love* that bit! I tried to isolate the full tune and edit the different extracts from it together but there was always a bit of dialogue at some point that got in the way - I'm thinking of submitting a request to Jess Jurkovic to ask if he would consider doing a Blake's 7 spinoff from his 'Dudley Simpson is Doctor Who project' and the Space Princess music would be my top pick!
Once again, thank you for this upload! Just wonderful. Is it me, or was there more music in the last season? Or perhaps just more that could be successfully isolated? Dudley is on fire throughout Series 4, I've always thought so, but hearing the scores so clearly here emphasises that. I wonder if it was the change of format or the fact he was no longer scoring Blake's 7 in tandem with Doctor Who that seemed to increase his energy, not that, that was lacking in any previous series, but I really think the final series represents his best work for the show. His filmic music for the sequence where Scorpio returns to base in 'Rescue' , all of 'Stardrive' and that throbbing, cold, distorted heart beat music which underpins Avon's aborted mission of murder in 'Orbit' is just sensational. Credit where credit is due to Elizabeth Parker as well, particularly the opening moments of 'Warlord'. Stunning!
Thank you so much again Peter and totally agreed about Series 4 too! I miss those glorious cues for the Liberator but this is the set of suites that I've found myself coming back to the most. Dudley definitely seems to be re-energised by the possibilities of Series 4 - I'd never made the connection with him being freed up from Doctor Who duties before so that makes a lot of sense as a possible factor but I agree that the change of format also seems to have compelled him to come up with some fresh approaches too. It's telling how many 'wordless' sequences there are in Series 4 that allow him to come to the fore: all the Scorpio launch and landing sequences (agreed completely about that initial landing sequence in 'Rescue'), the battle on Helotrix, the search for Cancer on the black ship in 'Assassin', Soolin and Avon on the run from Federation troopers on Betafarl in 'Warlord' - all come to mind where the dialogue takes a back seat for a while. In Series 3 you do get quite a few episodes where there's some lovely music but a lot of dialogue over it - 'Harvest of Kairos' is like that - and the biggest regret for me in Series 4 is the gorgeous cue for the Space Princess in 'Gold' which I couldn't isolate in full due to dialogue. If Jess Jurkovic is ever taking requests and considers going beyond Doctor Who in his marvellous Dudley Simpson transcription project I'd put a shout out for the Space Princess melody! One of the things that Dudley seems to convey more of is a sense of warmth and almost a tenderness and even vulnerability with some of the cues for the Scorpio - I've wondered if some of that is to do with the movement of the Scorpio model being quite slow in a lot of shots (it doesn't burst into view as the Liberator often does) and Dudley recognising that the ship isn't as invincible as the Liberator seemed to be but also Dudley's awareness of the bond between the crew that has grown over time and the sense that they're a surrogate family who need each other whatever their personal misgivings (as Dorian points out to them), so you get these lyrical 'homeward bound' cues at the end of 'Sand' and 'Orbit' or Scorpio's arrival on screen at the start of 'Stardrive' reprised later in the episode. He also does a rhythmic 'hopping' motif for Scorpio which I'm convinced is him following on from the ship being described as a planet hopper - it's in that churning synth sound underneath the melody in the brass when the ship first appears in 'Rescue'. This is a marathon response I know! The short version is agreed completely and I think Series 4 is some of his finest work. All that being said, Elizabeth Parker's ambient electronica at the start of 'Warlord' is among my favourite music cues from the entire series!
Nice job!
Has anyone found any original B7 audio in stereo?
I'd guess it was recorded in St or at least multiple mono tracks then downmixed for mono broadcast, leaving the long shot that some tapes could still be lurking.
It would be fantastic to recreate at least one episode in stereo to go with the CG space scenes others have done. Or even St>5.1.
All I've ever found is:
BBC Sound Effects 26 LP: 6 in St, plus 25 mono Radiophonic Workshop 21: Mysterioso in St. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Sound_Effects_No._26:_Sci-Fi_Sound_Effects
1:13:25 🔥