Inspector Gadget's Outro Theme Orchestrated in Four Different Ways

Did you know Shuki Levy did four different orchestrations of Inspector Gadget's end credits theme? I gradually became aware of this a number of years ago, but didn't realize just how many there were until I started researching the various dubbed releases of the series. In all, I have come across 4 distinctly different recordings.
00:54 : Version 1 - American Outro Theme (outro starts playing at 01:24)
02:14 : Version 2 - The Missing Reverb Outro Theme (outro starts playing at 02:56)
03:45 : Version 3 - Instrumental Cut #1 (outro starts playing at 04:24)
05:04 : Version 4 - Instrumental Cut #2 (outro starts playing at 05:38)
More info about the soundtrack releases of Version 2:
This version of the theme was released in stereo form as "Gadget Closing" on ABC Records' Australian soundtrack album "Inspector Gadget - The Music" in 1986 (CD reissue 1995). Later released on Télé 80's French 2013 CD "Inspecteur Gadget - Edition Speciale" (albeit with different stereo effects in the beginning and end). Plus, released in a sped-up version on Horus' 1984 Spanish musical album "Inspector Gadget - Grabación original" (cassette only).
UPDATE (1/18/2021): I'm late in mentioning it here, but a little while after I posted this video, the user Relectro Wolf wrote a comment pointing out that the last two instrumental versions seem to be edited together using parts of the instrumental intro theme to replace the bits with vocals. In other words, Versions 3 and 4 were likely put together by DiC for the purposes of dubbing rather than being true instrumental variations by Levy. This didn't occur to me when researching the outro themes, but it certainly makes sense. Here is Relectro Wolf's comment in full:
"While it is true that Levy did the first two variations of the End Titles theme, I have to point out that I don't think that the last two 'Instrumental Cuts' were entirely his own doing. After listening to them, they were just basically "Version 1" with the vocals replaced with portions taken from the instrumental version of the Opening Titles theme, and that really bothers me.
I would assume that some of the International audio mixers, while still got a hold of the instrumental version of the opening, did a bit of tinkering with the end theme by splicing in sections from the former over the latter's English vocals and pitched them up to match the end theme. It's a shame, really, as it would've been nice to hear a proper instrumental version of either of the first two versions of the end theme, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that as I doubt it even exists in that form..."

[@triplec5902]

Videos like these need more attention. thanks for this

[@Mesterius1]

And thank you for that compliment. :) This video took a lot of work and research. That said, be sure to also read the comment by Relectro Wolf, who pointed out something which didn't occur to me when putting together the video: that the last two instrumental versions were likely edited together by DiC for the purposes of dubbing rather than being true instrumental variations by Levy.

[@madgadgetss]

Yoo I never noticed!! That's amazing, thank you so much!!! delicious gadget info! i was like "what does missing reverb mean" until 3:05, that was kinda funny, made me laugh how it suddenly cut off

[@charliechaplin852]

I love the reverb at 1:33

[@sslaxx]

The Norwegian VA trying to do MAD Cat... pretty hilarious!

[@Mesterius1]

Jeez, I'm not getting ANY comment notifications on this video! :O I'm only seeing this because I checked back manually. Really have to wonder what's up with KZbin at times... But yeah, that Norwegian take on M.A.D. Cat is pretty funny. :P Especially since they didn't dub M.A.D. Cat in the actual episodes from Season 1, where the original, uh, English meowing is part of the Music & Effects tracks. But this specific version of the outro theme DOESN'T have M.A.D. Cat's meowing included... so if you're using it for dubbing, you'll just have to provide the meowing yourself. (Or NOT provide it, as was actually the case with some Norwegian-dubbed episodes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJ2rnX-uebaZg9k)

[@FukiMakai]

@@Mesterius1 MEOW, I think.

[@KairuHakubi]

@@Mesterius1 that's hilarious.. so Norwegian kids knew what the cat was supposed to sound like, and this random not-even-close meowing just shows up in the outro.. they must have been a bit confused.

[@Mesterius1]

​@@KairuHakubi To be honest, I doubt any of us thought twice about it. :P I certainly didn't. We just watched the series and were entertained.

[@Sqk.]

Norwegian dub version also has a mistake version without any voices at the end

[@alanhaggarty9880]

I’ve always thought that Jean-Hugues Anglade would have made the perfect live-action Inspector Gadget back in the day.

[@palmwineguy]

Nice work. Tremendous fan of the show - I came across this fascinating well researched vid. Great work.

[@Mesterius1]

Thank you! :) Be sure to read the last part of the video description, though: The commenter Relectro Wolf pointed out something about Versions 3 and 4 that hadn't occurred to me when doing the video, but it seems completely logical in retrospect.

[@SlayerSantiago]

Pretty sure the last two versions were just quick pitch shifted edits of the main theme combined with sections of the regular ending credits theme most know today with the reverb. Still pretty fascinating regardless!

[@Mesterius1]

If you read the comments and the video description, you'll see that others have arrived at that same conclusion. :) See the comment by Relectro the Wolf in particular. That felt like it cleared up a lot for me... I hadn't thought about that possibility when doing the video, but in retrospect, it seems obvious.

[@fco64]

​@@Mesterius1if they just edit the intro theme then they deserver some claps because they made a close version

[@ZakWolf]

Nice to see the original early DiC and LBS logo combo at the end of "Health Spa," using the "Vortex" before introducing the custom logo with Gadget's mallet dotting the "i".

[@Mesterius1]

Yeah, that's why I chose these specific credits. I thought it would be interesting to have all of the outros with their original broadcast logos if possible. The "Health Spa" credits are sourced from Magna Pacific's Australian DVD edition. Most episodes on Magna's DVDs are the Saban International prints, with Saban logos following the DiC logos, but "Gadget at the Circus" and "Health Spa" actually have their original LBS logos at the end. If you listen closely, you can even hear the audio printdown of the LBS logo playing over the DiC logo. This is straight from the original master tapes.

[@Mesterius1]

Woops, I used the wrong term here: it's print-through, not printdown.

[@spinballpac-man]

Mesterius1 Don’t worry,mate. I’m sure you can edit the last comment you did

[@Mesterius1]

​@@spinballpac-man I could, now that you mention it, but I decided to just correct myself in another comment instead. ;)

[@spinballpac-man]

Mesterius1 fair do’s. I agree with the first guy who commented that the last two versions had bits of the opening instrumental spliced into the original outro with the vocals taken out. Once I heard the Korean dub version,I instantly knew I was right

[@FukiMakai]

Version 3 and 4 sounds like a montage between instrumental intro and a few notes of the actual outro.

[@Mesterius1]

Yeah, Relectro Wolf pointed that out in an earlier comment here. Though, it's basically the parts with vocals that are replaced... the rest is still from the outro.

[@FukiMakai]

@@Mesterius1 Just watched that along below this comment. And yeah it's a bad montage. If you listen closely you can notice the bar jumps.

[@Mesterius1]

@@FukiMakai Really? Haven't noticed any jumps myself, I think. Though, it's been a little while since I listened closely to them.

[@FukiMakai]

@@Mesterius1 Maybe less noticeable without phones

[@NijiMarii]

@@Mesterius1 I think the most obvious jump is at 4:46, where the cut ends up slightly off-beat.

[@jimtaylor294]

For ease of comparison: Version 1: 1:24 Version 2: 2:56 Version 3: 4:24 Version 4: 5:38 Being able to compare opening notes within split seconds is strangely satisfying 😂

[@maestrotitano]

This is fantastic

[@airbendingeagle2358]

"I'll get you next time, Gadget! Next time!"

[@CJODell12]

I didn't know of the different orchestrations honestly.

[@catplayshacknewschannel1932]

Mad cat says "Yeah Next time Gadget!!!!"

[@Gaz66d]

Yeah, that last one had the “Safe Cracking” sound effect from the intro right before a really short sharp (and somehow profoundly more scarier) MadCat yowl. Interesting that one.

[@Mesterius1]

It's just the meowing from the English Season 2 outro: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6TYaoStiM15irM

[@StephenPhillips]

I thought the fourth version was funny because the instrumental parts along with the actual Season 2 credits have slightly different pitches.

[@gregorkrause]

3:33 that was a lame meow, and it reminded me instantly of #stevenassanti from #my600life lol.

[@roadrunnercoyote2263]

Technically the 1982 pilot has a stereo mix of both versions 1 and 2. If you listen very closely between the three, versions 1 and 2 both have certain instruments missing, and the 1982 pilot has both of them mixed with all of the instruments intact :)

[@Mesterius1]

Hmmm... are you sure about that? I spent a little time just now listening to the pilot outro and the Season 1 outro with a headset, switching back and forth between them... and I'm honestly not sure if I can hear any differences in the orchestration. I'm wondering if the difference has more to do with how the audio is mixed (i.e. edited into the TV episode). In the pilot outro, the music sounds more distant, and also lower in volume compared with the Dr Claw voiceover. But the instruments sound the same in my ears. Whatever the case, I can't think that the pilot outro is really a true mixture of the Version 1 and 2 themes here. Just to mention one thing, the unique, final notes of the Version 2 theme are simply not there in the pilot outro.

[@roadrunnercoyote2263]

@@Mesterius1 Not counting the extra final notes in version 2, listen closely and repeatedly to version 1, version 2, and the pilot version and you'll see what I'm talking about

[@Mesterius1]

​@@roadrunnercoyote2263 I have done it a few times now, including the Version 2 theme. I'm still not sure I can hear anything from Version 2 in the pilot outro. Maybe I'd need to do it even more times to hear the differences, but I dunno... could you point me to anything in particular regarding instruments from Version 2 that you're hearing in the pilot?

[@catplayshacknewschannel1932]

Listen closely at 2:03 by synthestic buzz sounds.

[@erickvelez7576]

SuperClassic Inspector Gadget📢📢🚔🚓👮‍♂️💂👨‍✈️

[@jimtaylor294]

Great video 🙂👍

[@kameronbousquinthesuperher5373]

La La La La La La La La LA LA LA LAAA

[@stevensolway1054]

Mr. ANDY HEYWARD as 1 of the Exec.Producers of I.G. in 1984, after 10 years in 1994, he and D.I.C. ROARED in with SAILOR MOON 🌙 in Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦, S.M. open theme is 65 DIFF ERENT VERSIONS, both Mono or Stereo, and different Audio levels, with vocals louder or softer by 2 Girls 👭, and different instruments like drums, guitars, drums, synthetic organ, and magic Sparkles, 100%AMAZING!!!!! OK 👍!, FRI.,OCT.6, 2023A.D.!!!!!

[@Jandro_33]

Also, there was a 5th version used here in Spain and probably in France too. The music was the one with the french lirics, both in the intro and outro. Later, in Spain, the first version of the outro was used in some regions when they dubbed the chapters into the regional languages ​​of Spain. Here is the sample: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZjXeWpnmNmBoZo Edit: I found a 6th version, the Germany one. Like the spanish and french outros, it uses the same music, but it is translated into german. Here is the sample: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kH3EZJl5qd17Ztk

[@Mesterius1]

I find it a little confusing that you describe this Spanish outro with the French theme as a "5th version" of the outro theme. The French dub of the series (which the Spanish dub was based on) used the French theme song recorded by Apollo on both the intro and outro. There WASN'T even a specific outro theme made for the French-language version, as there was for the English-language version. So I don't think the French song belongs on a list of versions of the English outro theme. Same with the German outro theme, which was based on the French. Though, I do find it interesting that they edited the German outro music somewhat differently than the French, by starting the outro with some different notes and changing up the singing a bit from the German intro. "Later, in Spain, the first version of the outro was used in some regions when they dubbed the chapters into the regional languages ​​of Spain." Which languages do you have in mind here? For instance Catalan? I've actually seen some Catalan TV recordings where the Version 2 outro theme in the above video is used.

[@furious_445]

@@Mesterius1 why does the french dob has its own intro instrumental

[@Mesterius1]

​@@furious_445 I don't know the reason, but clearly someone at the French side of things wanted a different-sounding theme song than the English one. I'm 100% certain the English Inspector Gadget theme was recorded first; for one thing, because that's the theme version you hear as background music in the series itself. You never hear the French orchestration as background music anywhere. Plus, the English song is timed really well to the on-screen action in the intro sequence. It might be that FR3 (the French TV channel which co-produced Season 1) wanted a different version of the theme song with full lyrics. It might also be that Saban Records was the party which wanted a different song version, since they were gonna release the song on vinyl and single.

[@furious_445]

@@Mesterius1 so to be sure, Shuki Levy composed the french opening instrumetal? like a whole new recording session?

[@Mesterius1]

​@@furious_445 I can't imagine anything else, considering the two orchestrations are very different from one another. I'm guessing Levy himself did the French orchestration too, since this was still pretty early in the Saban studio's history. (Later on, a lot of the musical work that got credited to Levy and Saban was in reality done by others).

[@RelectroTheWolf]

While it is true that Levy did the first two variations of the End Titles theme, I have to point out that I don't think that the last two 'Instrumental Cuts' were entirely his own doing. After listening to them, they were just basically "Version 1" with the vocals replaced with portions taken from the instrumental version of the Opening Titles theme, and that really bothers me. I would assume that some of the International audio mixers, while still got a hold of the instrumental version of the opening, did a bit of tinkering with the end theme by splicing in sections from the former over the latter's English vocals and pitched them up to match the end theme. It's a shame, really, as it would've been nice to hear a proper instrumental version of either of the first two versions of the end theme, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that as I doubt it even exists in that form...

[@Mesterius1]

Hey, interesting points! I found it funny myself how similar some parts of Version 3 and 4 were to the instrumental opening... but it didn't occur to me they might simply be *extracted* from the opening, or that these edits might not be done by Levy. Listening to them now, though, it seems more and more obvious. I'm still wondering a bit about some details, like the music heard at (for instance) 04:46 in Version 3. Nothing quite like that can be heard in the opening theme, but it's included in this version of the closing theme. And yeah, I have to concur that proper instrumental versions of the first two themes likely don't exist. I've certainly never seen instrumentals of those anywhere... and I've been looking a LOT.

[@kozmon0t]

Three of the four confirm that Chief Quimby is Dr. Claw

[@Mesterius1]

Nah, Dr Claw is just watching Gadget and Quimby on one of his monitors while saying the "Next time" line.

[@alexandru2xx4]

I consider the version without reverb to be just the original outro, but mono. By the way, was Inspector Gadget filmed on 16mm or 35mm?

[@Mesterius1]

Don't know. There is a rumor that the pilot was shot on 35mm and the rest of the series on 16mm, but I don't think that's anything more than a rumor. I've never seen information that verifies it in any way. Both film formats would make sense for a TV cartoon series from the 1980s.

[@charlie891]

can you link me to a higher quality version of the missing reverb theme?

[@Mesterius1]

Oh, sure. I synced the outro to ABC's stereo soundtrack release of this theme a while after doing this video. Here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHy9e5abmNp4Zrc

[@erickvelez7576]

1984-2016

[@obixo.uxhixa]

😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@angelfabianmesina6099]

⚙️

[@erickvelez7576]

1983 Soy Erick Generacion z🚔🚓