When I was a kid, I couldn't get home fast enough to watch Spider-Man. As a latchkey kid, cartoons were my after-school escape, but this one left a musical impression that never faded.
The original 1967 series has become a pop-culture fixture, even finding a second life through memes, but for me, the music has always been the real time machine. There was something wonderfully different about those jazz riffs, rock-and-roll rhythms and late-sixties sounds. Behind much of Spider-Man's musical magic was Ray Ellis, a composer, arranger and producer whose career stretched across six decades. Ellis was no stranger to musical greatness. He arranged Billie Holiday's celebrated 1958 album Lady in Satin, then went on to compose background music for Filmation under the pseudonym Yvette Blais, his wife's name. He also worked on another animated television favourite, Star Trek: The Animated Series, alongside Norm Prescott, who used the name Jeff Michael. So the composer behind the music that accompanied my childhood Spider-Man adventures also helped send the animated Starship Enterprise on its voyages. That's quite a musical universe!
Now, thanks to YouTuber 11db11, much of that Spider-Man music can be enjoyed without the dialogue and sound effects getting in the way. The recordings have been carefully pieced back together, although a few gaps remain where removing the original sound was impossible. The collection includes all the music from Season 1, along with many recordings from Seasons 2 and 3. It's a wonderful opportunity to hear the work that helped give the series its distinctive personality. And with all 52 episodes of the original 1967 series now restored, there's never been a better excuse to revisit those adventures. One familiar melody and suddenly I'm that kid again, racing home, dropping everything and settling in for another Spider-Man adventure. Funny how a few notes can bring an entire childhood rushing back. #mtlmusic