Star Trek: Generations
Music by Dennis McCarthy
GNP/Crescendo GNPD 8040 [59'08 + 44'24 (music only)]There was a three-year hiatus as the producers wondered what to do next. With the closure of Star Trek: The Next Generation after seven seasons on network TV, the logical step was to move it to the big screen, which was what they did.
It was, all told, a big experiment. Most of the cast and crew - composer Dennis McCarthy himself included - had little or no experience in the big screen medium. McCarthy himself got the nod for the job on the basis of his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as for the Emmy win for Best Original Theme for its spinoff Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the same year.
Like Eidelman before him, McCarthy (right) had to produce a slow, quiet opening for the movie. Good idea; bad idea - guess which side the coin dropped this time. Many who watched the movie felt that it would have been better served with a "regular" fanfare-powered overture than the tranquil introduction accompanying scenes of a bottle floating through space (over the credits) before it finally bursts on the stem of the new Enterprise-B at its launching ceremony.
With much bigger forces than he is usually accustomed to, there seems to be room for more ambition in McCarthy's music, with the potential that, given more experience and opportunity, he might mature into a fully-fledged film composer. (Mark Snow, in his effort for The X-Files movie, displayed many of the same symptoms in the transition from television to film scoring.)
The score understandably lacks the melodic invention of a Goldsmith, but does not falter all that badly as accompaniment. "A Christmas Hug" evokes (if only just) an ethereal quality that elegantly underlies Picard's brief soujourn in the fantasy wonderland of the Nexus where all of one's dreams come true. There is also a heroic "Two Captains'" motif which serves as the main theme, although again, it is rather sparse as themes go - and more than slightly reminiscent of the Deep Space Nine theme. The action music isn't half bad either, but understandably not conducive to repeated leisure listening.
The comprehensive documentation on this disc includes a synopsis of the movie which is related to individual tracks, as well as a biography of the composer. Additionally, after the music tracks, there is also a series of bonus sound effects from the movie, from transporters to phasers to buttons and alarms, which is perfect for people who want to create sound effects for their personal computers. Undoubtedly this is a gimmick which has "marketing" fingerprinted all over it, but then who's complaining ?
Star Trek: First Contact
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
GNP/Crescendo GNPD 8052 [51'14]Musical fans of the show around the world rejoiced when word went out that Goldsmith would be returning for a third time to score First Contact. (There is more than a touch of serendipity here: his theme for Star Trek: Voyager also won an Emmy for Best Original Theme that year, pretty much the similar circumstances as McCarthy before him.)
Goldsmith produced yet another lyrical yet eloquent main title for the film, even if he quotes a four-note motif from The Final Frontier in the opening theme (which he later reuses in several battle scenes) that might raise an eyebrow or two. Subsidiary themes include a menacing synth-driven figure for the Borg (built on a different four-note motif), as well as the Enterprise leitmotif reprised for visual flybys of the magnificent new starship - the previous vessel having been destroyed in Generations, a bad habit the producers seem to have acquired in the movies. As usual Goldsmith also employs a kitchenful of percussion and synth effects for the battle sequences that puntucate the action.
The soundtrack also includes additional music not written by Goldsmith but used in the film: "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf and "Ooby Dooby" by Roy Orbison (don't ask). Interestingly, a third musical cue, "Vallon Sonore" from the Berlioz opera Les Troyens was not included; the producers probably felt that there was not enough demand to be worth licensing it from Philips, even if the aria's brief appearance in the film (about three bars' worth) had many fans asking about the full work.
(An aside: "Vallon Sonore", taken in context where it appears in the movie, when Captain Picard is alone in his room and contemplaying disobeying orders from Starfleet Command not to return home to Earth to help defend against a Borg incursion, has a certain significance - this aria, in the opera, is sung by Hylas, a young sailor, who laments that he might not be able to return home again because the Trojan war dragging on year after year. Ironically, Picard here is faced with the exact opposite dilemma.)
The end credits for this movie, as already metioned, was taken from The Final Frontier; carefully edited so that it begins with the Enterprise fanfare, smoothly segues into the First Contact theme, before returning to The Final Frontier for its conclusion. Fans who know better have the right to feel shortchanged - the biggest detraction of this otherwise elegantly-written score.
The other gimmick is the release of this soundtrack on an Enhanced-CD that installs an interactive program, running video clips of interviews with Goldsmith and other crew members on the production of the movie. Again, this is probably not a must-have for the serious collector, but just might be the swaying factor for the neutrally undecided. The documentation is, as with all GNP/Crescendo discs, excellent. Fans of the show, of course, need not hesitate.
Star Trek: Insurrection
Music by Jerry Goldsmith)
GNP/Crescendo GNPD 8059 [42'49]Also known as the movie of a thousand titles, it went through a big naming contest (other contenders including Prime Directive, Betrayal, Revolution and Mutiny) before the eventual winner, Insurrection, was decided on. But it was announced unambiguously from the start (to global cheers again) that Goldsmith would be retained yet again to write the score.
Because of the low key opening, Goldsmith adopted a different tack from his previous efforts, although not by much. After the short trademark fanfare, the music segues directly into the pastoral "Bak'u village" theme over cinematic visuals of halcyon village life on the paradise planet. The villians of the piece, the So'Na, are highlighted by a metallic (read "heavy percussion and synths") underscore whenever they make an appearance; the action sequences are chock-full of staccato beats and music piú mosso - great stuff with the movie, but somewhat wearisome when repeatedly listened to standalone.
The end titles, like in First Contact, were again recycled from The Final Frontier, which is all that needs to be said about it. Insurrection, for all its moments of beauty, is arguably the least attractive of the four Goldsmith scores, notwithstanding also that it lacks the gimmicky add-ons from the previous two discs. The packaging and liner notes are as excellent as ever, but music-wise, this is still strictly for aficionados with money to burn.
And then some...
A second-party disc, Symphonic Star Trek (Telarc CD-80383), containing music from the first seven movies, deserves mention here. Performed by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops, this disc also includes original arrangements of the themes from the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (fourth season remix) and Star Trek: Voyager. A few of the numbers have also been previously released on other Kunzel/CPO collections.
The tracks are interspersed with sound effects designed and created by veteran Telarc engineer Michael Bishop, some of which are downright tacky (but then that's what programmable CD players are for). The recording is of the usual high Telarc standard; the documentation, on the other hand, is a technically-flavoured essay which bears little relevance to the music. Kunzel, it has to be said, also delivers an idiosyncratic (albeit technically valid) reading of the music which might not suit all tastes, especially for fans who are accustomed to the original versions, and therefore this collection cannot be safely recommended to all comers: caveat Trekkus emptor.
Benjamin Chee is actually listed in the official Star Trek Encyclopedia. He is now also listed as one of the many people assimilated to watch The Phantom Menace. Members of the Inkpot are not resisting.
Back to the Classical Index!... or read more film music features from the Inkpot Archives!
495: 30.5.1999 ©Benjamin Chee
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