Y2's music.

Hard to top the spooky, emotive themes we had in Y1.
Does anyone know if Derek Wadsworth just wrote whatever he wanted, or was he instructed to write stuff that was as radically different from Y1 as possible?

I think it's been said that Wadsworth was chosen to write something more upbeat and "contemporary" than Barry Gray, and indeed his stuff veers more into the areas of jazz-funk and pop - of course the trouble with being "contemporary" is that it dates the music much more quickly - whereas the season 1 music is pretty much timeless. (Though having said that, the season 1 theme tune is a real funk workout, isn't it? )

I quite like listening to the season 2 score for pleasure, but I find it quite jarring in the actual programme itself. The jazzy action/fight music is one that really sticks out a mile, for instance.

Interestingly, on the Fanderson CD, there are two alternative takes of the season 2 theme music - one is bright and poppy, even more than the theme they used; but the other is quite a dark and moody variation on the theme, which I think would have worked better.

Derek Wadsworth was a gentleman I was honored to speak with on one occasion. Saying that, under Freiberger's guidance, the series two music is saxophone-porn in many places. There is far less variety than in series one, and for the most part the music sounds exactly alike. There are a few emotive themes, the so-called 'Maya's theme' is one, that are charming and (barely) save the season musically.

I always loved Y2 music. But i also love Y1 music.

I am in the category of people who really enjoy the Year Two music. I'm a fan, generally, of 70s-era sci-fi soundtracks (going back a bit into the 60s and forward a bit into the 80s)... On its own, as stand alone music, I think the Y2 soundtrack is great fun. I always find that it's amazingly reminiscent of the scores that Joe Harnell wrote for The Bionic Woman (which, of course, I also love).

I also love Barry Gray's Year One work - it's an absolutely brilliant masterpiece. The two soundtracks, like Y1 and Y2 themselves, are so totally different, but both have their place in my music collection.

I love much of the music for Y2. Yeah, some of it is dated, but so is some of Y1, particularly the theme with the disco influenced bits. The theme song for Y1 had a group of 20 somethings LOL at my dismay when it played. If anyone thinks the music in Y2 sounds like porn music... you need to see better porn. While there is no denying that the first series' score celebrated the wonder of space, some really beautiful and haunting, even eerie sounds were created by the late Derek Wadsworth in Y2 that stay with me when I think about certain scenes.

I have a marked preference for the music from Y1. I hated the music from Y2. It seemed out of place and slightly disjointed for the action/adventure that Y2 had become. However, recently I have noticed that Y2's upbeat and jazzy sounds strike a cord in me. Not because it was great music, but because it was music from Space: 1999 and will always remind me of when each episode was new and how I couldn't wait for next Sunday afternoon. Y2 evokes this nostalgic feeling in me even more than Y1. Probably because I missed most of Y1 and never saw them all until I was well into adulthood. I still prefer the Y1 theme to Y2, but now I have learned to appreciate Barry Gray AND Derek Wadsworth.

Coach34 wrote: Y2 (music) evokes this nostalgic feeling in me even more than Y1 (music).

Forgive the italics if these violate the intention of the sentence. I find I agree, but not because I favor the Y2 music, but only because this music is unique to Space:1999 and can be confused with nothing else. The classical-style music of Y1 is timeless and could have easily graced 2001: A Space Odyssey.

s99fan, you said it better than I ever could.

I've got series one and two CDs and was very disappointed not to find Dragon's Domain's haunting organ music on them or New Adam,New Eve's and Brian The Brain's god loving theme! Found them both on youtube but someone has taken it off in recent months...