|
T.J.
HOOKER - THE SOUNDTRACK
original theme by Mark Snow | incidental music by John
Davis III
featuring songs by:
Jerry Lee Lewis | Adrian Zmed | Midnight Star | Herbie
Hancock | William Shatner
liner
notes by TJ-Hooker.com's 4Adam30
|
| |
Track
Title |
Time |
Size |
| 01 |
T.J.
Hooker Main Title Theme |
1.27 |
1.3MB |
| |
Mark
Snow's compelling theme remixed to accompany the opening
credits of T.J. Hooker's third season. Ostinato violins
and synthesizers that combine to mimic the sound of a police
siren are interrupted by the clash of electronic drums to
herald the arrival of T.J. Hooker on-screen. The siren motif
is repeated midway, albeit this time it is a lengthy howl
as opposed to the minimalist repetition of the opening bars.
Purely visceral music, this mix of the theme gives it a
more contemporary sound. Hooker's status as a true
transition between the cop shows of the 1970s and the 1980s
is never more apparent. |
| 02 |
4Adam30
Dispatches the Diamond Thieves |
3.33 |
3.2MB |
| |
from
episode 2.13 - "Deadly Ambition" |
| Beginning
with a reprise of the T.J. Hooker theme, this exciting
music recycles some themes used often throughout the series'
run, but includes an exciting motif which doubles electric
guitar and flute wrought against a driving backbeat, creating
an air of impending doom for Hooker's old friend Ben Edwards,
a security guard who is shot during the break-in. |
| 03 |
A
Thug's First Car Theft |
1.37 |
1.4MB |
| |
from
episode 2.12 - "The Survival Syndrome" |
| Piano
and strings accompany David Harmon's friend Greg on his
first attempt at stealing a car. A wah-wah'd electric guitar
provides a tinge of menace as David and Greg rendezvous
with their slimy benefactors Thomas and Lawson. |
| 04 |
Romano
is Shot |
1.21 |
1.2MB |
| |
from
episode 2.12 - "The Survival Syndrome" |
| Dissonant
strings foreshadow Romano's fate as he approaches the van
carrying David, Greg, Thomas and Lawson. A subdued reprise
of the chase theme leads to the shooting; poetically, a
solitary bell tolls for Romano as Hooker comforts his fallen
comrade. |
| 05 |
"You're
Dead, Romano" |
1.16 |
1.1MB |
| |
from
episode 2.12 - "The Survival Syndrome" |
| Snare
rolls and eerie yet simple synthesizer music accompanies
Romano's turn in a hi-tech computer-controlled police training
simulator. Romano stands before a projection screen displaying
film footage of a confrontation with a crazed man holding
a knife. Romano fails his test, resulting in his theoretical
death which is announced to him by Hooker over a plaintive
piano motif. |
| 06 |
David's
Phone Call / Hooker Saves the Day |
4.58 |
4.5MB |
| |
from
episode 2.12 - "The Survival Syndrome" |
| After
an informing phone call from David Harmon, triumphant strings
announce Romano's readiness to enter the fray as 4Adam30
speeds towards the Gear Box Transmission Shop. A restatement
of the chase theme on horns precedes some classic Hooker
confrontation music, including more heavily wah-wah'd electric
guitar. A sobering restatement of the Hooker main
theme segues into a classic commercial break signature. |
| 07 |
"Whole
Lotta Shakin" (Jerry Lee Lewis) |
2.56 |
2.6MB |
| |
from
episode 2.13 - "Deadly Ambition" |
| The
Killer himself, Jerry Lee Lewis, performs one of his greatest
hits while Hooker, Romano, Stacy and some hangers-on watch
and talk amongst themselves in one of Hooker's finest
uses of source music (i.e. music whose "source"
appears on-screen). |
| 08 |
Paul
Joins the Chase / Hooker Saves Paul |
3.25 |
3.1MB |
| |
from
episode 2.21 - "Vengeance is Mine" |
| Glissando
harp with string accompaniment segues into the chase theme
as the 4Adam30 crew are revealed to be teamed up with Hooker's
old friend Paul McGuire, portrayed by Leonard Nimoy. Horns,
strings, electric guitar and drums all figure prominently
in an excellent montage of pursuit and capture accompaniment. |
| 09 |
Sweet
Val's Deadly Aerobics Class |
0.37 |
592K |
| |
from
episode 2.21 - "Vengeance is Mine" |
| Paul
McGuire's daughter Val is an aerobics instructor who is
raped by one of her students. This peppy cue covers the
short introduction sequence which sees Val instructing the
man whose victim she will become. |
| 10 |
Lisa's
Red Rocket |
3.23 |
3.1MB |
| |
from
episode 4.54 - "Anatomy of a Killing" |
| Hooker's
ex-partner Jim Cody (portrayed by ex-NFL great Jim Brown)
waits up for his daughter Lisa, who has fallen in with the
wrong crowd. Hammered-on bass guitar and staccato electric
guitar segue into plaintive piano and strings as Cody secretly
watches Lisa come home in her car, labeled "Lisa's
Red Rocket." Heavily distorted guitar, synthesizer
and Simmons drums come to the fore as some of Lisa's friends
participate in a gangland hit that's "not personal." |
| 11 |
"You're
Just a Man" - Stacy's Exotic Dance |
2.52 |
2.6MB |
| |
from
episode 3.29 - "Carnal Express" |
| Source
music for Stacy's turn as an exotic dancer at The Pleasure
Palace. A heavy backbeat and throaty vocals by an anonymous
female artist accompany Stacy during her foot-tapping, finger-snapping
spectacle. |
| 12 |
"Run
Girl, Run" (Adrian Zmed) - Romano's Exotic
Dance |
3.04 |
2.8MB |
| |
from
episode 3.46 - "Death Strip" |
| Source
music with a metafictional bent, "Run Girl, Run"
is sung by Adrian Zmed himself (a track from his solo album
Adrian Zmed, produced by Rick Derringer). A slice
of pure '80s guitar rock, this rousing number--along with
Zmed's on-screen performance as a male stripper--prove that
Romano's turn as an exotic dancer beats Stacy's similar
escapade hands-down. |
| 13 |
"Freak
- A - Zoid" / Righteous Drug Bust |
6.35 |
6MB |
| |
from
episode 3.38 - "Undercover Affair" |
| Blurring
the distinction between source and incidental music, Midnight
Star's 1983 synth-funk hit "Freak - A - Zoid"
(from the album No Parking on the Dance Floor) accompanies
a display of streetside break dancers, proving that T.J.
Hooker always had its finger on the pulse of the popular
culture of the day. This dose of urban realism segues into
more traditional incidental music as the 4Adam30 crew interject
themselves into a chase begun by a pair of federal agents,
while the 4Adam16 crew holds out as backup. |
| 14 |
Chinatown
Chase |
3.29 |
3.1MB |
| |
from
episode 3.30 - "Chinatown" |
| An
ominous tuba and strings overture sets the scene for a holdup
at a cock fight in Chinatown. Electronic drums blare as
4Adam30 responds to the call, and a restatement of the chase
theme sounds as Stacy announces 4Adam16's backup position.
Heavy string and harp statements merge with synthesizer
flourishes during the ensuing chase, ending with guitar
and drums as Romano uses a double-barreled shotgun to subdue
an escapee. |
| 15 |
Hooker
Sings in the Shower (William Shatner) |
2.24 |
2.2MB |
| |
from
episode 3.30 - "Chinatown" |
| During
one of Romano's many visits to Hooker's hotel room at the
Safari Inn, Hooker serenades himself during his daily ablutions
before partaking in some witty repartee with his young partner. |
| 16 |
"Hooker
is Dead" |
3.29 |
3.1MB |
| |
from
episode 3.47 - "Psychic Terror" |
| Atmospheric
synthesizer
lines and minimal guitar accompany psychic Julia Hudson's
frightening premonition of the murder of T.J. Hooker. Hudson
(portrayed by William Shatner's then-wife Marcy Lafferty)
awakes from her prescient nightmare and writes "Hooker
is Dead" on a pad of paper. Some banter between Hooker,
Romano, Stacy and Corrigan about Hooker's mistrust of psychics
serves to foreshadow the inevitable untruth of Hudson's
divination. |
| 17 |
Teresa's
Cantina |
1.12 |
1.1MB |
| |
from
episode 3.48 - "Gang War" |
| Once
again drawing on Hooker's urban setting, we hear
a song sung in Spanish. This source music sets the scene
as Hooker prepares to make an announcement to the denizens
of a local cantina. |
| 18 |
Showdown
with Frank Medavoy |
4.09 |
3.8MB |
| |
from
episode 3.37 - "Blue Murder" |
| Hooker
and his old-mentor-gone-bad Frank Medavoy confront each
other in a junkyard. After a signal from Medavoy, one of
his rogue cop henchmen fires at Hooker, beginning a marvelous
piece of incidental music. Throbbing synth lines provide
the underlying structure for syncopated Simmons drums, power
chord guitar flourishes and some sassy synthesized horns.
|
| 19 |
Hooker's
Nightmare / Johnny Gets Shot |
2.38 |
2.4MB |
| |
from
episode 3.28 - "The Return" |
| The
most eerie and ominous use of the T.J. Hooker theme
yet, impressionistic synthesizer and string lines are bathed
in reverb as Hooker dreams about his old partner Johnny
Durrell, who was killed in the line of duty. A sweeping
string section plays a broad melody which builds to a crescendo
as Hooker awakes, the name of his dead partner on his lips.
His clock radio suddenly springs to life, blaring some boogie-woogie
big band music which will become a symbol for the cyclical
nature of existence later in the episode. |
| 20 |
The
One-Handed Man Returns |
2.47 |
2.5MB |
| |
from
episode 3.28 - "The Return" |
| A
sprig of ostinato synthesizer is quickly replaced with a
bold restatement of the T.J. Hooker chase theme in
a full arrangement. |
| 21 |
"Rock
It" (Herbie Hancock) - Evelyn North's
Exotic Dance |
2.25 |
2.2MB |
| |
from
episode 3.28 - "The Return" |
| An
inspired choice of source music for the exotic dance of
a Hooker informant, Herbie Hancock's "Rock It"
serves up a healthy dose of old school funk with a dash
of street cred; its ambitious turntablism brought to the
fore, this groundbreaking track does more to establish the
sassy-yet-in-control characterization of Evelyn North than
Marine Jahan, the actress who portrayed her, did herself.
Once her dance number is completed, the music shifts to
a more lackluster dance instrumental. |
| 22 |
Hooker
Chases Freddie Hamilton |
2.27 |
2.2MB |
| |
from
episode 3.28 - "The Return" |
| Evelyn
North tips Hooker off to the whereabouts of Freddie Hamilton,
a crooked restaurateur. Stacy and Corrigan go undercover
and coerce him into making a drug deal. Hooker breaks in
and gives chase, accompanied by one of the most powerful
readings of the chase theme in the show's history. Crisp
electronic percussion dominates. |
| 23 |
"Everything
Changes, Hooker" |
0.53 |
844K |
| |
from
episode 3.28 - "The Return" |
| The
One-Handed Man behind bars, Hooker, Romano, Stacy and Corrigan
pay a visit to the local fair at the pier. After waxing
poetic with Corrigan, Hooker walks off into the sunset alone
on the beach, unshod, to the same big band music he earlier
heard on his clock radio. Beautiful. |
| 24 |
End
Title Theme |
0.34 |
536K |
| |
A
rapid restatement of the T.J. Hooker main title theme,
from the third season. |
| BONUS
TRACK |
| 25 |
The
Original T.J. Hooker Theme |
1.03 |
992K |
| |
The
only version of the T.J. Hooker theme to be commercially
released, the theme as presented for the show's first season
has more in common with cop show themes of the 1970s than
that of the show's own decade. An interesting musical sketch
for the bold and timely version that would eventually become
the show's trademark. |
