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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The original album from Milan Entertainment was a curiosity. Some people loved it, while others loathed it. Of the 50 minutes of music on that album, as many as twenty minutes of David Arnold's original cues for the feature film were directly inserted into the mix. What Goldsmith had done at that early time was take the most memorable 20 minutes or so from the film (at least --this is just on the album we're talking about... more may have been used in the show but never made it onto album) and place them in and around his own cues. So prolific was the use of David Arnold's music that Goldsmith became a sort of negotiator of cues, writing just enough material in between Arnold's work to make the whole item sound consistent. Sometimes, the mixing from Goldsmith's music to Arnold's is plainly evident for those of us with tested ears (especially when it comes to Arnold-lovers), with some awkwardly abrupt moments throughout the album where Goldsmith's interludes could not smooth out the switch. Other transitions were very good, and in the heated action sequences, the mass of regular fans were certainly not going to notice many of the edits. Working in Goldsmith's favor was the fact that Arnold's orchestra and his own were comperably mixed so that the sound quality did not vastly change during these transitions between material. Notable Arnold tracks from the Stargate album that are mixed into the 1997 Stargate SG-1 soundtrack include track #'s 1, 2, 6, 8, and 9. The only exceedingly poor transition is at 2:15 into the 6th track of the 1997 album. Joel Goldsmith's music in between these Arnold cues is very loyal in theme and style, and makes them difficult to tell them apart. The opening titles are a great compilation of the original Stargate themes; though hasty, he managed to fit all three of Stargate's primary themes into a one minute cue. Most of the choral cues on the 1997 album belong to Arnold's original, but Goldsmith adds some very stirring action sequences dominated by grandiose brass. His softer themes are also effective. For what is essentially a "mimic" job by Goldsmith, he adds many new percussion styles to the mix. Goldsmith's material works so well that it could serve as a Stargate sequel CD, and Arnold fans were impressed enough by Goldsmith's music to make the 1997 album a strong seller. The problem with the 1997 album now, however, is that it is not only a fragmented piece, but the album fails to exhibit the mass of good music produced outside of the edits with Arnold's material. Obviously, with up to 30 minutes of music required for each and every episode, there was a lot of great music absent from that original album. Some fans of the show have gone so far as to make a mockery of the 1997 album, and its over-reliance on Arnold's inserted material. Generally, the average fan of the show didn't care about the choppy edits on the album, and bought the album in masses. But fans of the original film, or collectors of film music, noticed the heavy edits immediately, and reacted with both disgust and ambivalence to that album. In the end, though, it's hard to argue with its strong sales figures, and it was only a matter of time before another Stargate SG-1 album would hit the shelves. The 2001 album from GNP Crescendo corrects all of the errors from the 1997 album, and presents the music from Stargate SG-1 as it was meant to be heard. Along with the occasional references to David Arnold's themes (with no direct lifting of material from the film this time), the 2001 album contains lengthy suites of music from episodes scored by Joel Goldsmith, Kevin Kiner, Richard Band, and Dennis McCarthy. All of these men are accomplished in the television scoring genre, and you may recall that Kiner worked with the interpolation of Arnold's themes for the pop sci-fi film Wing Commander a few years back. The most interesting aspect of the 2001 album is the revelation that Goldsmith actually isn't responsible for the best episodic music for the show. The material by Kiner, Band, and McCarthy is by far the most diverse, encompassing both the more exciting and sensitive emotions on the album. Goldsmith's material is extremely functional, and it is still impressive outside the context of Arnold's mixes. But the highlights of the album are the first two suites, "The Enemy Within" and "Cold Lazarus," with Kiner's two other suites not far behind. The McCarthy/Kiner suite features superior sound quality to all of the other suites, and Band's delicate piece provides a different take on Arnold's themes. The opening and closing credits performed by the Seattle Studio Symphony Orchestra are adequate again, but one could wonder why Goldsmith's original theme for the end credits isn't used more often in the episodic scores. Overall, the suites on the 2001 album are very impressive (as are the extensive notes on the attractive packaging for the product), and offer an even better companion piece to Arnold's original film score. If you already own that original Arnold film score, and wish to purchase an album of the television's music, then the 1997 album has been made completely obsolete by the lengthier, more creative 2001 album.
The 2001 GNP Crescendo Album: **** Overall: ****
The insert notes of the 1997 album include no extra information about the score or show. By contrast, the 2001 album contains information about each suite and the episodes for which they were written. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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