From The Tube To The Turntable: A Dozen Audio Collections From TV Shows

A recent TNOCS comment section chat…

…inspired me to dig into TV series soundtracks and collections of theme songs…

Here’s a countdown-style look at a dozen:

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So why does its soundtrack rank at the bottom? Part of it has to do with format: I bought it on cassette tape. While that was appropriate for this alt-rock collection, it didn’t survive my cassette purge of the late aughts. I did like Juliana Hatfield’s “Make It Home” enough to digitize it for my iPod.

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I guess the faces of Noel, Ben and Felicity brought out my inner adolescent. I may have listened to each once, to upload its two different themes.

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…given the fact that I purchased this collection as well as the If I Were a Carpenter collection the previous year. It was more of a nostalgia buy than a love for any of the artists involved.

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Reminiscences of Vietnam vets are interspersed between 1960s tracks (“Lonely Too Long,” “Hang On Sloopy”) and covers by contemporary artists (Katrina and the Waves’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”). Its kickoff track, series theme “Reflections” by Diana Ross and the Supremes, immediately calls to mind the show’s opening credits. Dana Delany’s track doesn’t put her to use as well as the series did.

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Like My So-Called Life, this period piece lasted longer – but still ended without a proper wrap-up. The soundtrack mirrored the series’ conceit – artists of the early ’60s being portrayed by artists of four decades later. Though I find the renditions by Vivian Green, Vanessa Carlton, Duncan Sheik and India.Arie quite solid, my favorite track is Emerson Hart’s theme song “Generation.”

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Chris Walker’s “Teach Me How to Dream,” Billy Dean’s “Here We Are, My Friend” are here, as well as tasteful covers like Amy Holland and Michael McDonald’s take on the Jimmy Webb composition “All I Know.” Too bad it was a decade too late to include Peabo Bryson’s awesome theme song.

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This longtime WB/CW genre-buster went for broke with a musical episode in late 2001. Within a few months, a full-length soundtrack CD was released, with the series’ cast all contributing to original numbers. Why does it rank this low? Mainly because I don’t recall the songs outside the context of the episode and need to watch the episode again to get the full effect.

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This a collection from various Muppet projects. So “Mahna Mahna” is included from Sesame Street, as is “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie. But really, their inclusion is as much a plus as a mi

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• The $25,000 Pyramid
• The Price Is Right
• Jeopardy!]
• and the’70s version of Match Game…

It also features lesser-knowns like The Wizard of Odds, Card Sharks and Chain Reaction. CD liner notes from the Game Show Network add a fascinating dimension to the set.

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• This collection pulls together some of the best:
• Mike Post’s “Theme From The  Rockford Files”
• The Cowsills’ “Love American Style“

… with hard-to-find tracks:

• Sonny Curtis’ “Love Is All Around” from The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• The Partridge Family’s “When We’re Singin’”
• and even Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton’s “Those Were the Days:”

My favorite is the Banana Splits’ theme (much better than the cover version on the CD at No. 10.)

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And a memorable one it is: with three tracks that were adult Top 40 hits in 1995:

• The Rembrandts’ theme “I’ll Be There for You,”
• Hootie and the Blowfish’s rendition of “I Go Blind,”
• and Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “Good Intentions.”

Wisely, they’re positioned in tracks 1-3 on the CD. Bits from the NBC sitcom are interspersed. Why isn’t it No. 1? Simple: I never watched the series. I just liked the music.

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It’s from a show I cherished… well, at least until the actors’ squabbles made later seasons intolerable. Even Bruce Willis’ take on “Good Loving” and Cybill Shepherd’s renditions of “Blue Moon” and “I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out!” work within context of the show.

The Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine” comes from a great episode guest-starring Dana Delany as an ex of David’s (a still from the episode is shown on the album’s back cover). My favorite is the rendition of “Since I Fell for You” by Bob James, David Sanborn and Al Jarreau.

It’s impossible to hear it and not think of the triangle between David Addison, Maddie Hayes and Mark Harmon’s Sam at the end of Season 3.

What’s your favorite soundtrack?

And how heavily does your fondness of the TV series play into it?

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