CHiPs Vol. 3: Season Four, 1980-81

For fans who can't get enough of Alan Silvestri’s disco-driven, up-tempo and melodically inspired music for seasons two and three of the hit TV series, CHiPs, FSM now proudly presents Volume 3—focusing on music from the show’s fourth season (1980-81). The show, which mixed spectacular stunts with human-interest police stories, brought out the best of Silvestri’s pop sensibilities. Unlike his better-known symphonic scores, the music he created for CHiPs was contemporary and energetic, organic to the disco style of the day yet unlike anything else on the air. He kept the music fresh by writing new melodies for each episode. Because a musicians’ strike forced the producers to re-use music from past shows for part of the season, only 12 episodes in season four featured new and original music by Silvestri. This means that this volume features longer suites (with more cues) for each episode. Typically, Silvestri orchestrated each episode for an ensemble of around 20 players, but one episode on this disc (“Mitchell and Woods,” produced in season four but aired in season five) was a pilot for a potential spin-off series. Its larger budget gave Silvestri the chance to create a slightly different sound with an orchestra of 35, including a scat-singing vocal component. Just as with Volumes 1 and 2, FSM’s third CHiPs CD is entirely in stereo from first-generation 1/2” three-track master tapes and features liner notes by Lukas Kendall. No collection of classic television scores is complete without CHiPs, so rev up your ‘cycles, put on your shades and get ready to travel back to the early 1980s!