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Review of The C.O.W.L. Sessions

The C.O.W.L. Sessions

The C.O.W.L. Sessions (Original Soundtrack for the Comic)

(Original Soundtrack for the Comic)

You might be looking at this, and saying, “Wait… Comics have soundtracks…?” Well Image Comics’ latest hit series C.O.W.L. does!!! Here’s TFG1Mike’s review of Joe Clark’s score for the superhero labor union comic.

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C.O.W.L. is the hottest new thing from Image Comics. Well at least in my mind it is. C.O.W.L. launched May 28, 2014. While I’ve only done written reviews for the first three issues, I have been reading it since. Love every minute of it. This series stems from characters created by Kyle Higgins, and his friends when they did their college short film, The League! Something everyone should check out!!!  The score is done by Joe Clark, there are 9 tracks with a total time of 43 mins! Track 02: “Chicago (feat. Raya Yarbrough)” is the only track that has a singer on it, and it might be my favorite out of all 9 tracks. Track 01 “Blaze” has some great horns sections in it that are fun to listen to. This music really does take you back to Chicago in 1962! Track 04″Grey Raven” is the theme for C.O.W.L. Chief Geoffrey Warner. It has a nice twang to it, and in spots it’s kinda superheroic. Grey Raven’s track is the second longest on the album, and there were times when I got lost in it, and didn’t realize it was the same track. There’s just something about this music that makes me feel as if I’m a fly on the wall inside the C.O.W.L. HQ learning everything about them!!! Track 05: “Sparks” seems to me that it could be used during chase scenes. At least from reading the first 5 issues of the comic… that’s what it feels like it is to me. Some damn fine chase music!

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Track 06: “Radia” really suits the character in my mind. If you see the image above there, you’ll see that Radia is a very beautiful woman. At the same time she wants to be treated better than what she is. The music Joe Clark gives for her in Track 06 is intimate, yet fierce! I guess I’m used to listening to composers and musicans who use more of a 1:32 track time than 5:07 or any other larger track time. Because while listening to both Tracks 5 and 6, I thought that they had gone onto different tracks. I really enjoy the lengths on these pieces, but it seems that they change a bit too much as time goes on. That’s just a minor nitpick, because this album is awesome!!!!!Really wish that there were more than 9 Tracks… Maybe we’ll get another release after the next story arc concludes! Track 08 “Wraith” is the longest track here, with a running time of 7:10. I’ve listened to it several times, before writing this review. It’s got some great jazz themes in it, Track 09: “Chicago (Instrumental)” is great, but I prefer the vocalized version with Raya Yarbrough. The instrumental version I guess could be considered Club background music. But Raya’s singing adds so much more to the track, the city of Chicago, and the entire feel of C.O.W.L.!!!

Final Thoughts

You can get  THE C.O.W.L. SESSIONS ON iTUNES!!!! I highly recommend it, especially if you’ve been reading the comic series!!!! I highly suggest you go get the trade, C.O.W.L. Volume 1: Principles of Power. It collects the first 5 issues of the series!!!! It’s very much for adult readers only, but it’s wonderfully refreshing.

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Review Overview

C.O.W.L. has a soundtrack, and it fits the era so well!

Everyone should attend the c.o.w.l. sessions!!!!

The C.O.W.L. Sessions by Joe Clark is a wonderful mix of jazz and big band sounds from Chicago's 1960's era. It really takes you back in time. To when the nightlife was all about action in more ways than one. This score for the Image Comics series is 43 minutes of FUN!

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TFG1Mike

TFG1Mike is a geek with many interests. He has been podcasting for over a decade, and sees no stopping point in sight. From Transformers, He-Man, Batman, Comics, movies, video games, cartoons, and so much more, Mike has a zeal for the things he loves, and he will bring the hammer down on the things that he has a disdain for. He's generally a postive person, but negativity can creep in there. Mike is all about the innuendos and innuendon'ts too. You'll hear him on many of The GCRN podcasts!

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