Thursday, October 13, 2022

Unknown Song #51 Identified

Jwasc92Wrestling has now finished off all the New Primetime songs (the ones I've posted so far, anyway).  Unknown Song #51 is "Amped," by David Robidoux.  Robidoux, like Tom Hedden, is a well-known NFL Films composer, and many of his compositions appear on the later discs of the NFL's famous Autumn Thunder compilation.  Amped appears on the NFL Music Library album NFL-0049.

Again, special thanks to Jwasc92Wrestling on YouTube for ID'ing US #51 as well as US #'s 52-56.

LINK

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Unknown Songs #52, #53, and #54 Identified

As covered in my previous post earlier today, I saw last night that Jwasc92Wrestling had identified US #55 and US #56 on YouTube.  What I didn't know until just after making that post was that Jwasc92Wrestling had also made YouTube comments identifying US #52, US #53, and US #54.  Those comments didn't show up in my YouTube notifications for some reason.  Anyway, here they are:

Unknown Song #52 is "A Date with Destiny."  As initially suspected, this piece is by the same composers (Ron Klein, Udi Harpaz) and is on the same album (EVO062) as US #56/Field of Courage.

Unknown Song #53 is "Blow the Stack," by Tom Caffey, Eric Cunningham, and Chris Lang.  It's contained on the Killer Edge album EDGE80.  Caffey is a prolific sports/pro-wrestling composer, while Cunningham is the founder of Chronic Tracks.  "Chris Lang" is a pretty generic name, so I wasn't able to nail down exactly which Chris Lang he is.

Unknown Song #54 is "Fire Zone," by Tom Hedden.  It's an official NFL song contained on NFL-0056 (CD).  Tom Hedden used to be the NFL music director.

Again, special thanks to Jwasc92Wrestling for pointing out all of these New Primetime tracks.


LINK - A Date with Destiny
LINK - Blow the Stack
LINK - Fire Zone

Unknown Songs #55 and #56 Identified

For the first time, New Primetime music exclusives have been identified.  A helpful YouTuber who posts a lot of production music used in pro wrestling, Jwasc92Wrestling, has identified both Unknown Song #55 and Unknown Song #56.  US #55 is "Superior Strength," by Kavin Hoo.  Hoo is a Malaysian composer described on Discogs as a "new age pianist and composer" and is also the founder of Earthtones Studio.  US #56 is "Field of Courage," by Ron Klein & Udi Harpaz.  I couldn't find much info on Klein, but Harpaz is a longtime composer with his own website.  Harpaz also did the music for seasons 2 & 3 of Airwolf back in the '80s.  Both songs are contained on albums from the EVO production-music label.  Superior Strength is on EVO209, while Field of Courage is on EVO062.

LINK - Superior Strength
LINK - Field of Courage

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Unknown Song #56 (New Primetime) - Field of Courage

Song - Field of Courage
Artist(s) - Ron Klein, Udi Harpaz
Released - 2006
Primetime Usage - 2020-21 (non-highlight)
Contained on - EVO062 (Gridiron Glory)
Featured Highlight - Game Balls: Week 13, 2020

*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 10/10/22

This is technically a post for Unknown Song #56, but you could probably think of it as "Unknown Song #52-B."  It's marcato orchestral style is similar to US #52, and its tempo is only a little slower.  US #56 doesn't sound quite as "piratey" as US #52, but they are still difficult to tell apart.  The fact they were both used for NFL Primetime's Game Balls segment in 2021 doesn't help distinguish them, either.  At any rate, I wouldn't be surprised if US #52 and US #56 were on the same album… assuming either one of them is even on an album.

As an example, here is US #56's lone Game Balls use for 2020:




Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Unknown Song #55 (New Primetime) - Superior Strength

Song - Superior Strength
Artist(s) - Kavin Hoo
Released - 2014
Primetime Usage - 2019-20 (highlights); 2020-21 (non-highlight)
Featured Highlight - Dolphins @ Broncos, 2020


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 10/10/22
 
Unknown Song #55 is one of those songs that has a solid, punchy core, but comes off incomplete.  In other words, it feels like the composer could have done more with the track than they did.  I suppose it could be an underscore.  NFL Primetime did previously choose the underscore instead of the base track at least a couple other times (Race to Midnight, Take Care), so that wouldn't be surprising.  Anyway, the ESPN sound people put this song on one 2019 highlight (that I know of), and split it between highlights & non-highlight stuff in 2020.  It was used exclusively as a non-highlight track last year.  As an example of US #55's use on NFL Primetime, here's a video of the Denver Broncos inflicting a lot of pain on Tua Tagovailoa.




Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Unknown Song #54 (New Primetime) - Fire Zone

Song - Fire Zone
Artist(s) - Tom Hedden
Released - 2012
Primetime Usage - 2019
Featured Highlight - Texans @ Chargers, 2019
 
 
*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 10/10/22
 
Unknown Song #54 was the last new song to debut in Week 3 of 2019 and will hopefully be the last to require an audio-only post.  It's a generic '90s-or-later rock-guitar track with a laid-back tempo.  It doesn't sound like a piece that was intended to stand out; it's just there to accompany and not to offend.  In that vain, I suppose it's basically a simpler & quieter version of Grid Lock.  This is the only use of US #54 I'm aware of, but I haven't seen most of New Primetime's 2019 episodes so I don't for sure that it's the only one.  It was not used in 2020 or 2021.




Friday, July 8, 2022

Unknown Song #53 (New Primetime) - Blow the Stack

Song - Blow the Stack
Artist(s) - Tom Caffey, Eric Cunningham, Chris Lang
Released - 2005
Primetime Usage - 2019-20
Featured Highlight - Bears @ Packers, 2020 (SNF)


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 10/10/22
 
There's not much to say about Unknown Song #53.  It's an orchestral song that conveys intensity with its high-pitched strings and loud long notes.  It conveys this intensity in basic, rudimentary fashion, however—there's no subtlety here.  To put it another way, US #53 is a forgettable equivalent to International Statement.

I had two available highlights to choose from here.  The Steelers/49ers game from the same NFL Primetime episode as US #51 and US #52, and the Bears/Packers Sunday Night Football game from 2020.  The first surely would've required another audio-only post, so I tried the second.  Fortunately, the Bears/Packers clip was only flagged by the NFL and not blocked, so my channel now has New Primetime video content for the first time.




Friday, June 17, 2022

Unknown Song #52 (New Primetime) - A Date with Destiny

Song - A Date with Destiny
Artist(s) - Ron Klein, Udi Harpaz
Released - 2006
Primetime Usage - 2019 (highlights), 2020-present (non-highlight only)
Contained on - EVO062 (Gridiron Glory)
Featured Highlight - Dolphins @ Cowboys, 2019
 
 
*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 10/10/22
 
Back to new songs from New Primetime.  Unknown Song #52, which I guess could be called the "Pirate Song," was the second piece to debut on the Week 3, 2019, episode.  Unlike US #51, however, US #52 would still be used into the current decade…  at least as a non-highlight track.  It was used as a rare auxiliary track in 2020, and it was the primary Game Balls theme for 2021.  US #52 sounds like it could be a Sam Spence composition, but I don't believe it is—it might be a deliberate knock-off.

As with US #51, I had to post the accompanying clip as audio-only because of a Disney/ESPN copyright block.  I don't know if this will happen with episodes from 2020 or 2021, but this was the only highlight clip of US #52 I currently possess.  Anyway… if you happen to know this song's identity and/or where to find it, don't hesitate to comment here or on YouTube or wherever to let me know.  Thanks!




Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Sam Spence Duo

Song 1 - Up She Rises (a.k.a. "Up as She Rises" or "A Golden Boy Again")
Artist(s) - Sam Spence
Released - No later than 1971
Primetime Usage - 2000
Contained on - Classic NFL Orchestral (as well as other NFL Films compilations like Autumn Thunder)
Featured Highlight - Raiders @ Steelers, 2000

Song 2 - The Raiders
Artist(s) - Sam Spence
Released - 1974
Primetime Usage - 2000
Contained on - Classic NFL Orchestral (as well as other NFL Films compilations like Autumn Thunder)
Featured Highlight -
(same as above)



For the December 2000 matchup between the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium (the penultimate game at TRS), NFL Primetime decided to give it the 1970s NFL Films throwback treatment.  One feature was Chris Berman constantly referring to then-current players as 1970s stars (e.g., referring to Rich Gannon as Ken Stabler).  The more memorable feature, however, was the back-and-forth use of two classic NFL Films songs by Sam Spence.  The first, mostly used when Pittsburgh had the ball, is "Up She Rises."  This song is also referred to as "Up as She Rises" or "A Golden Boy Again."  The second, mostly used when Oakland is doing stuff, is appropriately titled "The Raiders."  The Raiders debuted on NFL Films in 1974 to accompany the poem, "The Autumn Wind."  I don't know exactly when Spence wrote Up She Rises, but it's used on the 1970 Colts highlight video so it couldn't be any later than the first half of 1971.

Special thanks to Godzfire for pointing this highlight out to me, and to SW561 for putting the original clip on YouTube.





Friday, April 15, 2022

Non-Highlight Tracks - The News Triplets

Song 1 - Action News
Artist(s) - Jean-Yves Rigo
Released - 1998
Primetime Usage - 1999-2000
Featured Highlight - Wild Card Preview:  Week 17, 1999

Song 2 - Very News
Artist(s) - Jean-Yves Rigo
Released - 1998
Primetime Usage - 1999-04
Contained on - Kosinus KOS 47 (Very News)
Featured Highlight -
Sunday Wild Card Preview:  Wild Card Saturday, 1999

Song 3 - Network News
Artist(s) - Christian Poulet
Released - 1998
Primetime Usage - 2000
Contained on - Kosinus KOS 47 (Very News - original album release only)
Featured Highlight - Inside the Numbers:  Wild Card Saturday, 2000


In addition to Industrial News, there were three other "News" tracks from the same Kosinus album to get non-highlight duty on NFL Primetime.  "Action News" & "Very News," both by Jean-Yves Rigo, were disproportionately used in playoff episodes and, more specifically, for playoff matchup/game-time previews.  "Network News," on the other hand, was only used one time that I'm aware of:  the secondary Inside the Numbers segment that followed the Saints/Rams Wild Card Game in 2000 (NO's first-ever playoff win).  It's a weaker song than the other "News" tracks, though, so that was no big loss.

With four songs used on the show, that puts the album Very News in a tie for second for most Primetime tracks along with David Reilly's Success album from Bruton (Sonoton's Automotion 3 has five).  Action News & Very News are currently available on APM's streaming service (linked above).  Unfortunately, Network News is by Christian Poulet and has therefore been purged from streaming for whatever reason (just as with Industrial News).

Special thanks to Dopethrone for pointing Action News out to me, and to Tom Bombadil for posting the playoff episodes on YouTube that contain the Very News & Network News clips.






Thursday, April 14, 2022

Good Morning America! Now Streamable Redux

The old Bruton album Good Morning America!, which wasn't streamable at all until 2020, is now available at two locations.  Universal's website has been digitizing a lot of the old Bruton LPs through their Usample service, so you can now find it there.  It's still hosted on archive.org, too.  The N.Y. Giants & Spearhead posts have been updated to add the new source.  Special thanks to Godzfire for noticing this.

LINK

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Unknown Song #24 Identified

Unknown Song #24, one of the few remaining unknown songs not from 1988, has now been identified.  It's the underscore version of the song "Take Care," by Rolf Wehmeier.  It was originally released on the Happy Records LP "Multimedia 2002" (HR2257) in 1987, then later added to the CD "Multi Media" (HR2264-3) in 1988.  The latter album is contained on Ring Musik's website.  Wehmeier did a decent amount of production music work, most of it for Happy Records & Golden Ring Records (both controlled by Ring Musik) according to Discogs.  Special thanks to Godzfire, Craig-UK, and mitin for getting this one ID'd.

As an aside, I'm not really sure why John Colby (he was still the ESPN music director in 1991) went with the underscore here.  The main track for Take Care has a nice guitar part, and the underscore feels aimless at times without it.  This isn't like Race to Midnight where the underscore was the superior version (RtM's synth trumpet is cheesy & low quality).

LINK

Friday, February 4, 2022

Unknown Song #35 Identified

Unknown Song #35, another Oddball Week entry, is now ID'd as "Mega Scape," by John Andrew Hancock.  I couldn't find any information at all about Hancock, but the song is contained within the Moments Music library housed on the Spirit Production Music site.  Special thanks to Godzfire for cleaning up the Primetime clip audio and triggering YouTube's copyright sensors.

Only one of the seven Oddball Week tracks remains unidentified…

LINK

Friday, January 14, 2022

Non-Highlight Track - Internet

Song - Internet
Artist(s) - Jimmy Kaleth
Released - 1996
Primetime Usage -
2001 (miscellaneous), 2002-05 (TJ's Extra Point)
Contained on - Dennis Music HDCD 1255 (Communicator)*
Featured Highlight - TJ's Extra Point:  Week 1, 2003 (Patriots @ Bills)

* - Search for the album "Communicator"


In the latter years of classic NFL Primetime, ESPN added even more emphasis to Tom Jackson's sage analysis by adding a weekly segment called "TJ's Extra Point."  In this segment, Jackson would get video & music accompaniment to his usual postgame commentary.  This was actually pretty similar to the end-episode analysis that was typical of NFL Primetime in the late '80s (most often with Pete Axthelm).  For most every TJ's Extra Point bit, the included song was "Internet" by Jimmy Kaleth.  Internet definitely feels like a neutral, summary, "Inside the Numbers" kind of track, so it was an appropriate choice by the producers.  I couldn't find much info on Kaleth, but he did a good amount of work for various library-music companies.  The included clip is the TJ's Extra Point segment from Week 1 of 2003 that followed the Bills' 31-0 pasting of the New England Patriots, the infamous "Lawyer Milloy" game.  This was the last Buffalo win over New England until 2011.

Special thanks to Dopethrone (nirvanainstrumental on YouTube) for identifying this one and for pointing out that it was used for other non-highlight purposes in 2001 (the year before TJ's Extra Point started).