HUNTERS

This surely makes for an interesting combination! I really wasn't sure what you would get when you combine an excellent avant-garde band with the Discovery Channel, but the results are pretty good. Apparently, this album was recorded by the Residents for a Discovery Channel documentary of some sort. I haven't actually seen the program, but I'm sure that this music would most definitely compliment it.

The Residents do a fantastic job incorporating tribal tones with their already established avant-garde way of doing things. The tracks all flow together very nicely, as the album itself is very thematic. This album is also the most accessible Residents' album I have heard so far. There are no out-there weird vocals (actually no vocals at all!!!) or aspects of bizarre compistion and structure. The album is altogether very tame and fits along well with "jungle" themes and ideas.

This isn't a Residents album to start out with, but every fan should look into checking this album out. The final product is actually much better than you would think. Although I like this album, I think it's for Residents' fans only, so I have to award it two stars, but like I said, anyone interested, should check this album out.

One thing we must understand when rating or reviewing a soundtrack album, is that the music is meant to provide atmoshere behind whatever visuals are on the screen. If the music commands too much attention, then it is not doing what it was intended for.

The music on this album is the soundtrack to the Discovery Channel series, "The Hunters". And as such, it is meant to provide a mood of tension. It does that quite well. The rhythms, mostly tribal sounding, are the main driving theme of all of the tracks. The Residents' odd tunings and chord structures provide a hefty helping of eeriness and more tension.

But overall, because this is background music for a series, the music never breaks away and takes charge. So because of that, it can only rate three stars.

Try putting it on at a dinner party. I dare you.

This album is the original soundtrack of a educational TV series about predators in the animal kingdom. It is music entirely composed by The Residents and it is proof positive that they knew what they were doing, even though several of their albums in their massive discography don't always allude to that fact. This one is completely instrumental and seems to be electronic. No annoying vocals here, just great orchestrated music, even though it is all electronic.

The music definitely fits the subject of the soundtrack. As it plays, you can picture what could be going on in the series at different times. The music is very well done and expertly written, you can understand how they got the job of writing the music for the series. Much of it works to build tension, as it should in a series like this. Yet each track is different enough to make it interesting to listen to as an avant-prog recording. It definitely is as good as any electronic artist has done for any other soundtrack including Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. There is a lot of percussion also, mostly tribal rhythms at times and other times just standard percussion, even though it is also electronic. The only complaint I have here is that you get that faux-orchestra sound with is obvious not authentic, but it's not a major issue in this album like one might expect. However, I would love to hear a real orchestra doing this soundtrack. It is good enough to warrant having an orchestra perform the tracks and re- record the album.

A great soundtrack and a good enough stand alone album. The music is such that it would not have been considered distracting for the program, but yet it is interesting enough to listen to on it's own and definitely has similarities to past Residents sound (in a good way) and also Vangelis' soundtracks, maybe not quite as dynamic as Vangelis, but still interesting enough. I can't call it a masterpiece like "Eskimo" or "Duck Stab" but it is still an excellent addition to your collection and one of The Residents better endeavors. 4 stars.