Varèse Sarabande Records release Chris Bacon's score for Bates Motel. Produced by Universal Television for A&E, Bates Motel is a television series drama inspired by Hitchcock’s genre-defining film, Psycho. This is a contemporary exploration of the formative years of Norman Bates's relationship with his mother, Norma, and the world they inhabit...

Chris Bacon's score for Bates Motel represents an impressive range of themes. The album contains 36 tracks (1 hr, 04 min, 46 sec), most of which house beautiful segments of music at their core.

Highlights include 'A Fresh Start'; 'New Home'; 'Keith Summers, Sore Loser'; 'Shelby And Norma' (which houses several interesting themes); 'Norma Doesn’t Approve'; and 'Everything’s Going To Be Okay'.

It was such a relief to discover that Bacon steers well clear of echoing Bernard Herrmann's wonderful and original movie score. The music here is mainly used to signify the bond between Norma and Norman rather than foreshadowing the coming horror.

In the series the music adds much weight to so many scenes, and when listened to on its own merits, the score takes on a life of its own. This is a beautiful soundtrack that is well worth adding to your collection.

8

Darren Rea