''Escape from Television'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

by Czech-American musician

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores fo ...

, released in 1987 by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

Content

The album contains selected

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

pieces composed and performed by Hammer that had been used as

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

in the American television series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' prior to the album's release, along with the main theme to the series, plus two of Hammer's tracks (no 7 & 10 & bonus 13) that were not used in the series.

Singles

"''Miami Vice'' Theme" had been released as a single in 1985, becoming a worldwide hit, including reaching number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Three other tracks were released as singles: "

Crockett's Theme "Crockett's Theme" is an instrumental song written for the hit NBC series ''Miami Vice''. The surname Crockett refers to Don Johnson's character, James "Sonny" Crockett. The initial version of the theme first appeared in the episode " Calderone' ...

", which also became a worldwide hit in 1987, "Tubbs and Valerie", which reached number 84 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 34 in Germany that year, and "Forever Tonight", which reached number 62 in Germany and number 74 in the Netherlands.

Critical reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, the album was given four out of five stars, being described as containing "a very strong style of

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

current instrumental music ..with the edge of rock music and the smooth, spacey appeal of some of the more progressive

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

musicians."

Track listing

All tracks written by Jan Hammer.

Personnel

Adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

. *Produced and engineered by

*Recorded and mixed at Red Gate Studio, Kent, New York *Mastered by

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such no ...

, New York *Track 13 remixed by

François Kevorkian François Kevorkian (born 10 January 1954), also known by the stage name François K, is a French-born, U.S.-based DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent, who started his career DJing in clubs such as the Paradise Garage an ...

*Artwork: The Complete Works *Liner notes: Arthur Levy *Photography: Chris Callis

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

''Escape from Television''
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Jan Hammer 1987 compilation albums Jan Hammer albums MCA Records compilation albums