Power Cutter

Song - Power Cutter

Artist(s) - Robin Gurin (composer credit only), Georgia Shapiro, Alec Williams (performer credit only)

Released - 1994

Primetime Usage - 1994-96

Contained on - FirstCom A29 (Power Net)

Featured Highlight - Ravens @ Jaguars, 1996


Another track that has made its rounds on various NFL Primetime download collections, "Power Cutter" is one that makes no attempt to stand out.  It's more generic, repetitive, and background-ish than perhaps any other Primetime song, and it was clearly intended to be nothing more.  It works surprisingly well, however, because it at least provides a nice beat & some steady energy for your football-viewing enjoyment.  Power Cutter was created by the same trio that gave us The Event, and is also contained on the same, impossible-to-find FirstCom album.  You shouldn't have much trouble obtaining a legally dubious, lower-bitrate version on the web, but good luck finding an official, high-quality cut.

Power Cutter's featured highlight has two, then-new teams squaring off in an entertaining game in Jacksonville.  Fun fact!:  despite playing only two years in Baltimore, Vinny Testaverde was the Ravens' all-time leader in passing yards until Joe Flacco passed him in 2010.

Getting Nowhere Fast

Song - Grid Lock

Artist(s) - Ray Russell

Released - 1994

Primetime Usage - 1996-05

Contained on - FirstCom A33 (Big Scores)

Featured Highlight - Jets @ 49ers, 1998


One of the staples of late '90s/early '00s NFL Primetimes, "Grid Lock" most often associated itself with the less prominent games on the schedule.  It makes sense on two levels.  The name of the song implies stagnancy & frustration, something that fits well with teams that aren't doing too well.  Also, the music—though good—sounds rather neutral emotionally and therefore works best for highlights that are more about the individual plays & accomplishments than about who wins.  Grid Lock was written by prominent guitarist, session musician, and production music composer Ray Russell.  Fortunately, this isn't Russell's only Primetime track, as he has one other (much more obscure) song that I have yet to cover on this site.

You likely won't be able to find the original CD cut of this track.  FC-A33 is one of many early albums in the FirstCom Action series that are no longer available on the FirstCom website.  I've never seen it show up on eBay or anything like that, either.  On the plus side, however, Grid Lock is easy to find online if you don't care about obtaining it or listening to it in a fully 100% legal way.  A google search for "Grid Lock" with either "Ray Russell" or "NFL Primetime" should suffice.

This post's highlight choice is ironic given Grid Lock's tendency to accompany undercard games.  The Jets & 49ers, who both were coming off winning seasons & would both win double-digit games in 1998, played each other in a high-octane season opener in what was then known as 3Com Park.  Glenn Foley, who would soon be replaced by Vinny Testaverde, threw for a career-high 415 yards for New York.  This game is mostly remembered for one other reason, though:  Garrison Hearst's 96-yard touchdown run on San Francisco's first offensive play of overtime.