There's no episode this week; the final two hours will air next Thursday at 8 pm (mountain time) and I'm sure everyone is one the edge of their seats in anticipation. Without an episode to write about this week, I've instead written a review of the soundtrack of the third season of the show, which was recently released on May 6 th. It has certainly tided me over in the two week wait between episodes. Enjoy...

Lost Season 3 Soundtrack Review:

There are dozens of elements that make the TV show Lost the best offering currently available on network TV; the acting, the writing, the directing, the cinematography, etc. High on the list, however, is the phenomenal musical score by Michael Giacchino. His score ties all the great elements of the show together; in one moment, the music can shock and frighten us, and in the next it can bring tears to our eyes with a depth that many film scores never touch upon. The show itself does this too; it can shock and excite one second, and then become an emotional trip.

Giacchino's score brings us inside the minds of the characters. Each character has had their own motif at one point or another, and sometimes there is joy in simply hearing some of these motifs reused when certain characters return or do something really special. There are also situational motifs; the themes for action or running are familiar to fans of the show, and quiet emotional moments always have a musical signature behind them. Lost wouldn't be nearly as good as it is without the great score by Giacchino.

The soundtracks to the series have been surprisingly good to listen to. Some TV scores, while sounding great in context on screen, can lose their edge on CD. The music of Lost works just as well-if not better-on its own in Album form. For the soundtracks to seasons one and two, a sampling of music from the entire season made up the album. The best musical moments of the season were compiled into riveting 80-minute CD's, and were a joy to listen to.

While the soundtracks to Season One and Two arrived on time with the DVD release, it has taken a very long time to get the score for Season Three. In fact, it's been almost a year since Lost shocked audiences with the revelation of flash-forwards in the season finale, and five months since the DVD of season three hit shelves. But the album producers have done something special for this release that makes up for the lost time.

The Season Three soundtrack is actually a 2-disc release this time around. Disc 1 is just like the Season One or Two soundtracks-the best musical moments from the season. We hear all our favorite themes, along with the notable new ones composed for the season. It only contains music from the first twenty episodes of the season, though; Disc 2 is the special part. Disc 2 contains the entire, unabridged score to the final two episodes of the season, "Greatest Hits" and "Through the Looking Glass." These are two of the show's best episodes, partially because Giacchino went all out with the score to the episodes.

The two-disc set really does a great job of illustrating the show's musical spectrum to the listeners. While Disc One is a great overview of what the third season sounded like, Disc Two gets up close and personal and shows us what individual episodes sounded like. This was a great idea by the album producers, and I commend them for it. The music to Lost is so good that just by listening to the complete score for "Through the Looking Glass," you can actually get an understanding of the plot.

The style of music hasn't changed much since Season One. Horns and brass instruments dominate on numbers meant to frighten or create a sense of unease; high-pitched string notes help out too. Slow, soft numbers meant to breath emotion into the scene are conveyed with piano, often in solo form, or backed up with other soft instruments. When Giacchino wants to get the blood pumping, he brings in the percussion, which is fast-paced and exciting; exotic percussion instruments are used to heighten the tension. Strings dominate in pieces that, on the show, would be played during large-scale shots of the island, or while the survivors are traveling. In fact, the "travel/adventure" motif, played heavily in many forms in the third season, is one of my favorite themes on the show.

The music itself is simply phenomenal, and there's tons of it. Each disc uses the full capacity of a CD, both clocking in at about 30 seconds shy of 80 minutes. For a reasonable price, you get 2 hours and 40 minutes of music, each second worth listening to. My only quibble with this soundtrack is the actual quality of the recordings.

For the most part, the audio quality is very good. Every instrument comes through clearly, the ones that are supposed to dominate doing so. There are no sections too quiet to hear, and it never really becomes deafeningly loud, either. It's a good balance, and it sounds crisp and clean.

However, during silent parts at the end of tracks or in brief rests in the middle, along with quiet solos, you can actually hear the orchestra moving around. The sounds of feet shifting or footsteps come through fairly clearly, and it can become distracting. The only track where this really got on my nerves was track 9 of Disc 2-there's a piano solo that is very lovely, but footsteps and other ambient noises seep through.

Most film scores record the individual instruments by themselves, and put everything together later. I'm guessing that for a smaller budget TV score like Lost, they recorded the entire Orchestra at the same time, and because of this, you can hear some of the "live" noises. Why they didn't edit those noises out is beyond me, but it is a small black spot on an otherwise spotless album. Sometimes it feels like listening to a live concert (sans the audience), which can be somewhat interesting, but for a TV score, we really shouldn't be hearing those noises.

But that is the only area that this soundtrack wavers in-the rest is 100 percent top-notch material. Despite the use of the same motifs multiple times, the way Giacchino rearranges themes really mixes things up and every track feels new and different. Including the entire score to the final two episodes make this album much better than the scores to Seasons One and Two, and this album gets my very high recommendation.

Music Rating: A+
Audio Rating: A-
Overall Rating: A

Standout Tracks:

Disc One:

5. Pagoda of Shame
6. The Island
22. A Touching Moment
30. Dharmacide

Disc Two:

1. Paddle Jumper
9. Flying High
10. The Good Shepherd
33. Looking Glass Half Full

Remember to watch the season finale next Thursday, May 29 th. The two-hour finale starts at 8 PM (mountain time), but will be preceded by an encore of part 1 of the finale, which aired on May 15 th. This way, you can watch the entire 3 hour finale the way it was meant to be seen. My review/analysis of the episode will up about an hour after the finale airs.