Escape from Television

Escape from Television
Compilation album by
Jan Hammer
Released1987
LabelMCA
ProducerJan Hammer
Jan Hammer chronology
The Early Years
(1986) 		Escape from Television
(1987) 		Snapshots
(1989)

Escape from Television is a compilation album by Czech-American musician Jan Hammer, released in 1987 by MCA Records.

Content

The album contains selected instrumental pieces composed and performed by Hammer that had been used as film score in the American television series Miami Vice prior to the album's release, along with the main theme to the series, plus one of Hammer's tracks that was not used in the series ("Before the Storm").

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", which also became a worldwide hit in 1987, "Tubbs and Valerie", which reached number 84 in the UK Singles Chart[1] and number 34 in Germany that year,[2] and "Forever Tonight", which reached number 62 in Germany[3] and number 74 in the Netherlands.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]

In a review for AllMusic, the album was given four out of five stars, being described as containing "a very strong style of [then] current instrumental music [...] with the edge of rock music and the smooth, spacey appeal of some of the more progressive New Age musicians."[4]

Track listing

All tracks written by Jan Hammer.

No.TitleLength
1."Crockett's Theme"3:32
2."Theresa"3:07
3."Colombia"2:39
4."Rum Cay"3:05
5."The Trial and the Search"4:55
6."Tubbs and Valerie"3:33
7."Forever Tonight"4:01
8."Last Flight"3:31
9."Rico's Blues"2:54
10."Before the Storm"4:32
11."Night Talk"2:45
12."Miami Vice Theme"2:29
CD bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Forever Tonight" (Extended CD Mix)6:08

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[5]

  • Produced and engineered by Jan Hammer
  • Recorded and mixed at Red Gate Studio, Kent, New York
  • Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk, New York
  • Track 13 remixed by François Kevorkian
  • Artwork: The Complete Works
  • Liner notes: Arthur Levy
  • Photography: Chris Callis

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 22
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 34

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[9] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "JAN HAMMER | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  2. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Jan Hammer - Tubbs And Valerie". hitparade.ch.
  3. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Jan Hammer - Forever Tonight". hitparade.ch.
  4. ^ a b "Escape from Television - Jan Hammer | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  5. ^ Escape from Television (liner notes). Jan Hammer. MCA. 1987.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jan Hammer – Escape from Television" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jan Hammer – Escape from Television" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Jan Hammer; 'Escape From Tv')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "British album certifications – Jan Hammer – Escape From Tv". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 June 2021.