Having listened to a lot of music in the past couple weeks, I figured I should do an article on the music of AIO...
In the special episode 500, they (the Odyssey team) did a short documentary on the creation of the Odyssey theme song. Apparently John Campbell, AIO's brilliant composer, stumbled upon those seven signature notes while at the piano one day working hard at composing the Odyssey theme. Since then, those seven notes have been incorporated into every one of Odyssey's theme songs over the years. Let's take a quick look at all five theme songs, shall we?
#1: Classic Theme: This is the theme most Odyssey fans generalize the series with. It's a grand, loud affair, with Whit talking in the background. This is probably not my all-time favorite, but it's still good, if only because it's the first one. It was used from Albums 1 - 12
#2: Golden Theme: This is the theme used from Albums 13 - 31. It includes the seven notes familiarized with Odyssey and a preview of the episode. This is quite possibly my favorite theme, though I enjoy them all. It has a nice intro and closing.
#3: Jansen/Novacom Theme: This is the theme used from Albums 32 - 38? I'm not entirely sure where this theme stopped. This is a nice fast-paced modern theme, but it almost seems too fast-paced, so I'm quite honestly glad Odyssey dropped this and went for something more classic.
#4: Classic-Modern Theme: I call this the Classic-Modern Theme because it combines elements of the more classic Odyssey theme and the modern one. It is genius on John Campbell's part and was used from Albums 39 - 49. (Album 50 had a different theme song to itself, essentially.)
#5: Modern Theme: This is the latest theme now, but in 20 years, they'll probably be calling it the 'Classic theme'. It is a nice homage to the original while still sounding incredibly different. It's short and sweet, and I like it, though not as much as the Golden or Classic-Modern. It was used from 51 - I don't know, we'll find out when AIO switches themes.
Yes, I'm aware that was brief, but I only wanted to give a quick, simple rundown. But naturally, the themes at the beginning have not been the only music Odyssey has ever put out. Let's examine some other musical episodes...
The Great Wishy Woz: This was really the first episode with real songs, original songs I might add. It gave the classic Kids Radio episode a nice feel, as though you were watching a Broadway rendition of The Wizard of Oz. All of the remixes of the original Oz songs were brilliant and catchy. I sometimes find myself singing "Follow the Big Fat Road" instead of "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". And the performances were all outstanding as well. Aria Curzon has a nice voice, though it was obvious she wasn't a professional singer.
Odyssey Sings!: This is the golden standard for all Odyssey episodes having to do with music. It's nearly perfect in every way, from the songs themselves to the performances, to Cryin' Bryan Dern's hilarious interruptions. I particularly loved Bart and Harlow's songs. And Eugene's performance at the end was a nice introduction to the Eugene Sings! CD. (Which I still haven't heard...) I only wish I could've heard Connie's song! The "I tripped" line was intriguing...
A Thankstaking Story: This is another nice little musical episode. Though the songs are not as grand as in The Great Wishy Woz, they are still fun and catchy. I think the song Good News was the best, with some sweet performances by Katie Leigh (who knew she could sing?) and Will Ryan. And Whit Hertford was surprisingly good as well.
Of course, there's always M'kalister Park, (which I'm listening to as I write this) but that's another article. Anyway, the music in Odyssey is amazing. Enough said.
Hope you enjoyed the article, and thanks for reading!
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