Calling all Germans! Stu Phillips' electronic score for the kitsch-classic
David Hasselhoff TV series Knight Rider proves a surprisingly engaging and innovative listen. While squarely rooted in the shimmering synth textures and percolating rhythms of the mid-'80s, the music perfectly captures the show's flair for over-the-top action and suspense as well as its high tech sheen. Phillips' gripping title theme was the first series theme to eschew traditional instrumentation in favor of synthesizers, and while some individual episodes do employ strings, big-band brass, and rock-influenced arrangements, it's the electronic passages, while somewhat dated, that set the score apart. For all of
Hasselhoff's cheesiness, Knight Rider was a show ahead of its time in many respects, and Phillips deserves significant credit for making it so. You will believe a car can talk. ~ Jason Ankeny