It was common place in OTR, old time radio, adventure programs for music to be fairly simple. Sure there were big band shows, dance shows, etc., but for the "story" shows such as sci-fi and mystery shows, music just needed to underscore story along. Shows that featured musical numbers there could be a band. Radio comedies traditionally has musical numbers within the show which used a small orchestra section. For many shows however, an organ was the instrument of choice. It was an inexpensive way of getting music in the program.
For the preparation of the Alien Worlds program, the excellent choice was made to use a score that would raise the bar for dramatic science fiction on radio. On one hand, science fiction TV, such as Star Trek, and the huge success of the orchestral score for the blockbuster film Star Wars, raised the expectations of the audience. It makes sense that the producers would want the same for their audio-only experience.
James Kirk is credited as: "Original score composed and produced by James Kirk". The score is performed by The Westminster Sinfonia. Tom Rounds is credited as the music director.
The score gave the show a short, iconic and exciting theme using horns leading the orchestra with a triumphant sound. The shows themselves did not have a continual underscore of incidental music. Much of the music was used as "stings" at exiting or scary points of the story; the music would link parts of the story during a "scene change"; and was most prevalent when going into a commercial break or coming back from a commercial break. During the show credits, a longer version of the Alien Worlds radio theme was used. The show credits would start with the horns that would introduce every show, and transition into an orchestral string melody that would play under Roger Dressler's narration for the technical personnel and cast that appeared in the program. The theme also ended itself so it could be seamlessly extended, should the credits run longer than normal.
My memory at the time in 1979 was that the music itself was one aspect of the show that received praise, which I feel is a testament to the skill of James Kirk and Lee Hanson.Speaking as someone who did not listen to classical music prior to the release of the Star Wars sound track, I fell in love with the film score. I listened to it over and over, learning every instrument and every theme, burning it into my memory. When I first stumbled upon an episode of Alien Worlds on the radio in 1979, which was the Resurrectionists of Lethe, I loved the show and the music. I listened to Alien Worlds over and over through the years and wished to myself that the music could somehow be released. Over the years, I have exposed myself to more classical pieces, but I still have a strong link with the score from Star Wars and the score from Alien Worlds.
I had originally stumbled upon the Alien Worlds official website in 2000. I looked for it on a whim to see what I could find. I immediately purchased the show CDs that they were offering. At that time, the musical score was not available, or at least, I had not noticed it at the time.
Several years later I revisited the site and found that a CD of the musical score was available. I do not know exactly when that CD was officially made available, but I was flabbergasted. I remember being ecstatic that this music was finally available, and honestly, I never ever expected it to happen. I ordered the official CD. The CD contained a single track that ran 18 minutes and 40 seconds. This contained a high quality, stereo version of the music from the show. All of the orchestral themes and queues were on this disc. The starting "horn" introduction, the music theme used for the credits, the queues for commercial breaks are there too. This enabled one more way to enjoy the radio series, one more piece of the puzzle that could be listened to on its own.
The CD lists the musicians as "The London Sympohy" and the press material lists them as "The Westminster Sinfonia". I have to admit that I do not know what the difference is between the two, or if it is simply different names for the same orchestra. An artical in Broadcast Programming & Production states the following, "The music for the series comes from an original score entitled 'The Alien Worlds Suite,' recorded in England by the Westminster Sinfonia, a 57-piece symphony orchestra. Providing the main theme music and various mood setting pieces, the original score is believed to be the most elaborate and costly to produce in the history of dramatic radio."
What is not on the official CD is the music created for specific shows. A notable example is the music from Death Song. It makes sense that this music was created separately from the music by the Wstminster Sinfonia, particularly since it contains music and lyrics created specifically for the story. My preference would have been to include this on the CD as well, assuming there is something existing in the archives separate from what was broadcast. Maybe there is a slightly longer version or alternate takes. If you look at my editorial comments for Death Song, I really didn't think it was a good idea to have the characters sing. My reason for saying that is that I don't think singing was right for the story. I will say, that the songs are actually well written. I have listened to these shows so many times that I know these song melodies very well. I sometimes find myself thinking about, or even humming, the tune from the end of Death Song when my thoughts turn to the show. Again, my opinion is that this is a testament to the quality of the show and the skill of the people that created it. The credits for Death Song give credit to Rick Kellis as "Special Musical Effects Composed and Performed by".
From Broadcast Programming Production & Production January 1979
The image quote reads, "Alien Worlds music director and executive producer Tom Rounds (left) listens to a music track with conductor Richard Holmes, composer James Kirk and engineer Dick Lewzey."
This picture two additional people not otherwise mentioned in the Alien Worlds credits: Conductor Richard Holmes and Engineer Dick Lewzey.
The same article from January 1979 says this, "Although the show will air
on both sides of the radio band, it's likely to find its best environment
on FM radio. Lee Hansen, the show's creator and producer, is clearly
hoping to take advantage of the tremendous growth in home stereo systems
over the past few
years, not to mention the explosion of interest in science fiction itself.
If things go according to his plan, all those expensive woofers and
tweeters that have been so faithfully reproducing Linda Ronstadt and
Steely Dan will suddenly be booming out the dark plottings of the Marcab
Confederacy and the faster-than-light passage of "Delta One" through the
space time continuum. "
Written by Ferin Films