The Original Epic… Sort of

Song - Raw Energy

Artist(s) - John Devereaux, David Reilly

Released - 1985

Primetime Usage - 1987-88

Contained on - KPMLP 1348 (Achievers), KPM 12 (Achievers)

Featured Highlight - Bills @ Seahawks, 1988


I've already covered the previous epic-sounding songs from NFL Primetime—Olympic Action (1989-90), Crush (1991-95), and International Statement (1997-05)—as well as the "epic track that wasn't"—Performance (1990).  Now comes the original.  "Raw Energy," composed by the supergroup-esque combination of John Devereaux & David Reilly, sounds exactly like how one would expect a dramatic rock/orchestral fusion piece from the late '80s to sound.  That means it's a perfect accompaniment to high-profile football highlights.  Unfortunately, despite this truth, ESPN didn't really use the song that way.  It was played frequently in 1987 and especially in 1988, but it often accented games that just weren't that interesting or important.  In other words:  Raw Energy could've been a true "epic track," but its questionable implementation prevented it from quite getting to that level.

This week's highlight doesn't need much setup.  It's just the 1988 Bills winning one of many low-scoring games on their way to a surprisingly easy division title.  You will get to see the long-dead Seattle Kingdome, though.

Since this is the final week of the NFL season, my Primetime Music posts will get less frequent for a while.  One interesting note, however, is that I only have a handful of fully documented tracks left to post.  That means that, sometime during the offseason, I will begin posting unidentified songs (starting with the songs that have some sort of partial identification or unofficial names).  Keep an eye out for that, and feel free to let me and/or the public know a song's ID if you happen to know it.  Thanks for reading!

Epic, Part Zero

Song - Performance

Artist(s) - John Devereaux

Released - 1987

Primetime Usage - 1990

Contained on - KPMLP 1376 (Performance), KPM 14 (Performance)

Featured Highlight - Saints @ Rams, 1990


"The 'epic track that wasn't," is probably what you could call "Performance."  It definitely does have the feel of the other epic-type songs on NFL Primetime (International Statement, Olympic Action, Crush), but it was only used briefly (perhaps just once) and not for a game that anyone would've considered crucial or memorable.  It is a little more boring & repetitive than those other tracks, so maybe that was a factor.  Or it could just be that Performance got lost in the shuffle.  Whatever the reason, I don't think it's a big deal that the song didn't last.  It was written by prolific KPM composer John Devereaux.  There's surprisingly little info about Devereaux online, but he has a lot of good stuff on KPM.  He also composed the song, "The Nightmare Begins," which was apparently used multiple times on Spongebob Squarepants.

Speaking of being lost in the shuffle, there were the 1990s Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams.  We all recall the cinderella Kurt Warner 1999 season, but what many don't remember is that the Rams had the worst record of any NFL franchise over the first 9 years of the decade (the Bengals ended up winning that honor).  They also tried to fix languish fan interest by moving the team to Missouri, a move that fits the definition of "mixed results" given that the Rams are now back in L.A. just 21 years later.  Anyway…  this decline started in 1990, when a team that had gone to the NFC Championship the year before went an unceremonious 5-11.  The only clip I have with "Performance" features them blowing a lead at home against a middling Saints team.

Epic, Part III

Song - Olympic Action

Artist(s) - David Reilly

Released - 1988

Primetime Usage - 1989-90

Contained on - Bruton BR 67/BRN 19 (Success)

Featured Highlight - Bills @ Oilers, 1989


My final post of the 2015 NFL Season features the earliest of NFL Primetime's "epic" themes.  "Olympic Action," much like its successors Crush & International Statement, typically accompanied the best and/or most important games during its two-year run on the show.  It's also my personal favorite of the three since it has higher quality instrumentation than the former and is a little more subtle than the latter (it would be hard to be less subtle than International Statement).  Olympic Action is the second of four Primetime tracks from David Reilly's Success album (in an earlier post, I erroneously indicated there were three) that contains most of the new 1989-90 additions that were not attached to the Sonoton label.  The same two links for the album are listed above.

Featuring Olympic Action is an unusually long & entertaining NFL Primetime clip.  The 1988 Buffalo Bills that began Marv Levy's run of success were a defense-first team, but the following year they gained the K-Gun-offense identity that best defines their subsequent Super Bowl years.  Their biggest shootout of 1989 came in the Astrodome against an Oilers squad that oddly hadn't played in their own building for 9 consecutive games including the preseason (I guess their home preseason game against the Dolphins wasn't in the Astrodome).  Lots of big, crazy plays in this one…

Crush You

Song - Crush

Artist(s) - Mark Matthews, James Griffith

Released - 1990

Primetime Usage - 1991-95

Contained on - FirstCom A2 (Intense)

Featured Highlight - 49ers @ Cowboys, 1995


"Crush" could probably count as NFL Primetime's "epic" theme for the first half of the '90s.  I like it, though, because it has more synth and is therefore less over-the-top than International Statement.  It was composed by Mark Matthews and James Griffith.  I couldn't figure out if Mark is any relation to Mary Therese Matthews or if James is related to Sally Anne Griffith, but—since they were all FirstCom composers—I wouldn't be surprised.  Unlike with the female Matthews/Griffith set, however, I have not found more than one Primetime song written by Mark or James.

Crush is contained on FirstCom A2 - Intense.  Unlike a lot of the Primetime themes on early FirstCom CDs, I don't think this track is on any of the earlier FirstCom Up Tempo LPs.  Crush isn't legally streamable or downloadable, as far as I know, but the single-digit FirstCom "A" discs are the most common ones to show up on eBay (that's how I got FC-A2).  Fast Drive is also on this album, plus one other Primetime song I haven't yet covered.

Accompanying Crush is an interesting footnote from the 1995 season.  The defending champion 49ers, despite being without Steve Young, rolled into Texas Stadium and thumped the eventual champion Dallas Cowboys.  Also included in this highlight is Merton Hanks's famous (infamous?) "Pigeon Dance," which was certainly one of the most unique celebration moves in NFL history.  Have fun!