Varèse Sarabande release Jesse Stone: The Ultimate Collection soundtrack. This two-disc collection features Jeff Beals's music from all nine Jesse Stone films. Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) is a former LAPD detective with a drinking problem who starts a new career as a police chief in the fictional seaside town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Between 1997 and 2010, Parker authored nine novels featuring Jesse Stone, which have been adapted into nine made-for-TV films...

Jeff Beal delivers some incredible themes for his work on the Jesse Stone TV movies. I'm probably in the minority here, but I haven't seen any of the films, and on the strength of this album (plus how good an actor Tom Selleck is) I'm making it a priority to watch these as soon as possible.

Beal crafts and delivers music that is almost a character in its own right. There's hauntingly beautiful themes ('Jesse Walks Home'; 'Above My Pay Grade'; 'Billy's Room'; 'Jealousy's A Powerful Thing'; 'Going Home Again'; 'Have Dinner With Me'; 'Voices'; 'Not Going To Make'; and 'Benefit of the Doubt') by the bucketful as well as plenty of suspense themes.

The album contains 51 tracks (2 hr, 06 min, 57 sec) and the music hits the nail on the head from the start - it doesn't improve over the franchise's duration, it just keeps a consistent quality and quantity throughout. It's varied and certainly keeps your interest for the duration - something that is rare these days.

CD 1 features music from Cold Stone (2005) as well as selected music from Night Passage (2006); Death in Paradise (2006); Sea Change (2007); Thin Ice (2009); and No Remorse (2010)

CD 2 contains selected music from No Remorse (2010); Innocents Lost (2011); Benefit of the Doubt (2012); and Lost in Paradise (2015).

It's an enjoyable collection that can be appreciated even if you haven't been following the movies.

9

Darren Rea