I think that Giacchino did a great job creating a balance with this score. It sounds like he mixed a bit of Courage, Goldsmith and Horner together and fused them with the 60's style jazz that he seems to have favored lately. This fusion creates something familiar and yet different. We feel its ties to Star Trek, and yet it doesn't quite sound like a Star Trek score.

Part of the reason is because the movie doesn't quite feel like a traditional Star Trek film. This was by design, they wanted to invoke the past and yet break with it. It worked very well for me, I enjoyed the film and the new path it took. I've run into plenty of people who feel the opposite.

One thing I miss is the true wonder of space travel, and that was only found in a few of the Star Trek films (The Motion Picture and Final Frontier). Both of these movies allowed for moments of awe and grandeur in the scores (and Goldsmith did an excellent job in both of them). I wish that Giacchino had a few moments to really pull that type of sound off. There are some fleeting hints here and there, but the movie moved so quickly we never got to enjoy the moment.

This score would benefit from a longer release. I also think that if Giacchino is brought back for a follow-up film, we will see this movie as the seeds for a larger musical tapestry. The theme that we have here will undoubtedly be fleshed out into something more impressive. I look forward to seeing what kind of film and score comes out of that.

As it stands, the album is very good as a complete listen, but I enjoy certain tracks more than others. As Giacchino has shown, his lead in and end titles music is some of the best currently being written. For me that makes "That New Car Smell", "To Boldly Go" and "End Credits" some of my favorite music form the movie.