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Star Trek: Enterprise
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Co-Composed, Co-Orchestrated, and Co-Conducted by:
Dennis McCarthy Jay Chattaway Velton Ray Bunch Kevin Kiner David Bell Paul Baillargeon John Frizzell Mark McKenzie
Co-Composed and Co-Conducted by:
Co-Orchestrated by:
Robert Elhai
Dana Niue
Andrew Kinney
Penka Kouneva
Gregory Smith
Co-Conducted by:
Richard Rintoul
Jeremy Lubbock
Produced by:
Nick Patrick
Russell Watson
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LABELS & RELEASE DATES
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Decca Records
(May 14th, 2002)
La-La Land Records (December 2nd, 2014)La-La Land Records (September 27th, 2016)La-La Land Records (April 5th 2022)
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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The 2002 Decca album was a regular U.S. release but went out of print
and fetched prices in excess of $60. The 2014 and 2016 La-La Land 4CD sets are limited
to 3,000 copies each and are both available through soundtrack specialty outlets for
an initial price of $40. The 2022 "Star Trek Collection: The Final Frontier" set
contains only one CD of music related to this series and is limited to 3,000 copies at
$60, again via specialty outlets.
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AWARDS
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Nominated for an Emmy Award.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if you can forgive the inappropriate rock song over the
opening titles and the tired orchestral formulas thereafter despite
honest efforts to spice up the episodic scores with percussive and
electronic personality.
Avoid it... on all but the 2014 4-CD set that contains the best
summary of impressive music from the series, including engaging entries
by Brian Tyler and Mark McKenzie.
BUY IT
Star Trek: Enterprise: (Dennis McCarthy/Various) At
the conclusion of the long-running Paramount "Star Trek" shows set in
the 24th Century, the studio requested another series for the early
2000's. While the concept's veteran producers obliged, their attempt to
shift the focus of the series to a grittier past was met with only muted
enthusiasm. At its inception, "Star Trek: Enterprise" didn't even
include "Star Trek" in its title, and Paramount encouraged the show to
break the mould that had defined the franchise's success in prior
entries. Sadly, "Star Trek: Enterprise" ultimately became the ugly
duckling of the various franchise properties at the time, and it became
the first "Star Trek" series since the 1960's original to be prematurely
cancelled before the standard seven-year run of its peers. Time has been
kind to the show in retrospect, its closer ties to future events in its
latter two seasons establishing it as a worthy extension of the "Star
Trek" universe, and Paramount's successor, CBS, eventually saw fit to
develop other concept series in the past a decade later, albeit with far
less satisfying results. At the start of "Star Trek: Enterprise" in
2001, though, some fans of the seemingly ageless franchise, despite a
looming feature film that was a year late in production ( Star Trek:
Nemesis), lost interest in the subject. With only the one show
sustaining the concept in the absence of a strong film series at the
time, "Enterprise" was all there existed for fans of Gene Roddenberry's
vision of the future, and it didn't resemble much of what they'd seen
before. The legacy of the music of "Star Trek" understandably caused a
demanding standard of quality for that music, even in the television
shows. While Jerry Goldsmith's Emmy Award-winning theme for "Star Trek:
Voyager" remained popular long after the end of that show, the music for
"Enterprise" did not enjoy the same level of widespread acclaim at any
time in its shortened run. Like the other shows, an album of the pilot
music for the 2001 series was released right away, taking advantage of
one of the more controversial aspects of the production. Much news was
generated by the disastrous decision of the producers to attract a more
widespread, pop-oriented audience for the show by dumping the usual
orchestral title theme, and that song anchored the initial album.
Despite continuous attempts by the producers of
"Enterprise" to explain their reasons for the use of a contemporary rock
song in a traditionally orchestral setting, a flight from the norm that
underscored a larger reason for irritation with score collectors in
general since the mid-1990's, many hardcore fans of the series
immediately rejected that song. At the launching of "Enterprise" in
2001, the song was even a mockery in some circles, with fans claiming to
hit the mute button on their television whenever the credits for the
show began. The song itself wasn't really new, dating back to its use in
the movie Patch Adams, which was part of the problem. Its writer,
Diane Warren, while having proven herself capable of creating several
successful movie songs, had her own habitual detractors, and although
British tenor Russell Watson had been well received in other genres at
the time, his performance of the song here won him no significantly
greater popularity, either. In short, the use of "Where My Heart Will
Take Me" for a "Star Trek" show simply didn't work for most fans, for
several reasons. First, tradition exists for a reason, and unless a
really good song had been chosen, perhaps with both pop and
orchestral instrumentation, the idea was a difficult prospect to begin
with. Second, the song, despite its lyrics, never embodied any of the
characters. When you watch a few episodes of the show, you don't get the
impression of arrogance or confidence that the tone of the song would
seem to suggest. Third, the scores of the episodes have nothing to do
with the tone of the song, which is a considerable problem. The title
piece simply can't stand alone without reference, regardless of whatever
half-hearted attempts may have been made to integrate the melody into
the orchestral narrative. Fourth, the primary composer for the series,
Dennis McCarthy, devised a completely different musical identity to
define the main theme of the collective scores for the show via their
end titles. Overall, the song was nothing less than a flop, and despite
some talk that the producers would eventually change it out in
subsequent seasons, that action was never taken. (Its instrumentation
was rearranged at the start of the third season, but that arguably made
it even worse.) This stubborn position by the producers was especially
disappointing given that other shows, including "Andromeda" in its
second season, had already corrected their own, obvious title music
problems.
Some listeners have argued through the years that "Where
My Heart Will Take Me" is nowhere nearly as terrible as it could have
been for "Enterprise," and that is a valid point. For many in the
mainstream, the song will be quite attractive. But it's simply not a
viable match for the circumstances of this particular franchise. The
episodic scores for the show were also a point of departure for the
concept, Paramount finally realizing that the extremely conservative,
mostly orchestrally-minded but often restrained music for the 24th
Century shows was not competing well at all against Jerry Goldsmith's
popular music for the feature films. Finally, with "Enterprise," the
composers were encouraged to utilize prominent percussion and electronic
effects as part of their ensemble, opening many new avenues by which the
scores could flourish stylistically. Franchise veteran composers Dennis
McCarthy and Jay Chattaway were brought on board immediately, and
workhorses from the more recent "Star Trek" franchises, like David Bell
and Paul Baillargeon, returned as well. The role of McCarthy in the
history of the franchise was a vital one. In addition to his somewhat
underachieving composition of the score for the seventh feature film,
Star Trek: Generations, McCarthy was a staple in the recording of
scores for both "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine." He
approached "Enterprise" with a sense of relief despite the existence of
the title song, for he was finally allowed to make much more extensive
use of wide instrumental tones and thematic material in the actual
episodic music, the latter also formerly a taboo in the previous shows.
His theme for Captain Archer is an adequate adaptation of the spirit of
the Warren melody, if not faintly elegant in a down-to-earth kind of
way, though it remains remarkably similar to his melodic constructs for
Star Trek: Generations. Importantly, this idea serves as the de
facto main theme of all the scores for the show, applied even outside of
his own episodic entries for the honor aspect of the overarching plot.
The references to this theme throughout the first dozen episodes alone
created a better consistency in the orchestral material than in the
beginning of the previous shows. The combined work by all the series
composers doesn't consistently apply any additional themes for other
concepts, however, the absence of which, especially in the case of the
compelling, unfinished love story between main characters T'Pol and
Trip, is a disappointment.
Generally, the music for "Enterprise" is more varied in
tone and often more aggressively postured than the scores for preceding
"Star Trek" series. The involvement of franchise veteran composers does
bring the comfort of consistency, though some of the best episodic
contributions came from newcomers like Brian Tyler, Velton Ray Bunch,
and Mark McKenzie. Even McCarthy's own scores were often superior once
he began collaborating with Kevin Kiner to spice up the music. Even so,
the combined music for "Enterprise" is hit-and-miss, generally average
on the whole and diminished in the end by the pesky presence of the
song. As expected, there are individual highlights sprinkled throughout
the series, episodic scores that offer more engagement with the
listener. Several albums have been released for "Enterprise," ranging
from the original 2002 Decca product reflecting the pilot episode,
"Broken Bow," to a pair of 4-CD sets from La-La Land Records in the
2010's containing significant amounts of music from the fuller swath of
composers involved. This review will focus on each album release as a
representation of the show. Generally, McCarthy does a few other things
in "Enterprise" that could be considered positive or negative, depending
on your opinion of his work. His score for the pilot established a more
familiar base for the show initially. The composer uses an often
subdued, passive, and wishy-washy string and brass style that never
quite explodes with the same level of intensity as a feature film score.
He continues to use a harmonica, which rightfully drives some people up
a wall, something he had been doing since early "The Next Generation"
episodes. His anonymous, slightly dissonant material for the purpose of
tension, as in "Temporal Battle," is underwhelming at best, and it is
this kind of mundane personality that diminishes his music greatly. He
relied upon a method of changing key to signify scene changes, a
technique heard extensively in "Deep Space Nine," and that procedural
tactic was beginning to wear thin in its lack of originality. His
Warren-inspired, pop-laced version of his theme for the captain in
"Archer's Theme" seems a bit token. On the other hand, to his credit,
McCarthy interprets both a fragment of Alexander Courage's "Original
Series" theme and his own theme from Star Trek: Generations into
the "New Horizons" cue, and he also inserts some of the grinding,
synthesized sounds from Goldsmith's original movie score into the
Klingon chase scene at the start of the pilot episode.
McCarthy's music for "Broken Bow" and beyond takes a few
small steps forward but also some giant leaps backwards for the
franchise. There are a handful of action cues in the pilot, led by
"Phaser Fight," which reference Goldsmith as well, that reach beyond his
usual tepid scoring for these episodes; this may or may not be due to
the fact that score was recorded midday on September 11th, 2001. The
2002 album includes, like those that came out for the many series before
it, the score for the pilot episode and a few versions of the title
song. With Watson's involvement, the label switched from the familiar
though sputtering GNP Crescendo to Decca/Universal, but despite debuting
after a whole year of episodes long finished, the packaging of the album
was still restrained to the extremely uninteresting early promo shots of
the principle actors standing around in their silly blue jumpsuits. (Had
the fanboys at GNP produced this CD, a shot of a mostly naked Jolene
Blalock would have been included, guaranteed.) Sound quality on the 2002
product is also a major concern. The remix of the title song for the
first track features spectacular resonance in sound, but all of the
score and the actual television version of the song at the end of the
product suffer from a muted quality that is significantly detrimental to
the listening experience. The ninth track, "Grappled," is especially
muffled. This inconsistency had been a problem with these episodic
albums in the past, but one would think that 2001 mixing techniques (and
the resources at Universal available for an album presentation remix)
could make McCarthy's undersized orchestra sound considerably better
than it does on this product. The varied sound quality carries over to
the episodic scores that followed, some composers' work sounding far
more vibrant than others.' Some of this difference could be attributed
to the presence of electronics or disparate ensemble sizes, but it's
fascinating to hear things like basic sectional emphasis and reverb
change so much from score to score. The La-La Land 4-CD sets
unintentionally illuminate these discrepancies, making them products in
substantial need of culling and rearrangement by franchise enthusiasts.
Not surprisingly, the quality of music on these sets, while fairly
representative of major episodes in demand and the range of composers
involved, does fluctuate. A significant amount of the music on these
products won't engage listeners much better than the more conservative
alternatives heard on the products representing the 24th Century "Star
Trek" shows.
In reality, all the talk about Paramount allowing these
"Enterprise" scores far better presence for percussion and electronics
only yielded incremental improvements in that sense. Don't expect to
hear anything truly wild or experimental in this music despite the
longer leash for the composers. The best results are simply slightly
more cinematic in scope. The better episodic entries are collected on
the initial 4-CD set from La-La Land in 2014 (the "Star Trek: Enterprise
Collection"), and this product will satisfy most series enthusiasts in
search of the show's more obvious and memorable music. The first CD in
this 2014 set is dedicated to McCarthy's contributions, sometimes in
conjunction with Kiner. The latter's involvement typically improves the
McCarthy sound with more varied elements in the mix. That first CD opens
with the Season 1 and 2 version of the Warren song and then launches
into the two parts of the "Shockwave" episode, which very much resemble
McCarthy's Generations and "Deep Space Nine" work. In these
episodes, "Playing Possum" has solid brass lines in action and better
percussion presence, and "Hide and Seek" is a highlight. The rest is
fairly subdued and mundane, though "The Captain" closes well with
Archer's theme and even a hint of Goldsmith's "The Next Generation"
theme. By comparison, the episodic score for "The Expanse" is more
brutal and propulsive in tone, defined by less accessible suspense, a
sound that carries over to the challenging, churning rhythmic
unpleasantness of "Impulse." McCarthy's music for "Twilight" contains an
annoying, pounding crescendo bracketing a brief moment of yearning
drama, while "Carpenter Street" establishes obnoxious dissonant whining.
Kiner joins him for the electronic tilt of "Kir'Shara" (mostly ambient
meandering) and the strong suite from "Countdown," a highlight of the
album that contains really good action material with a
synthetic-sounding edge at times. The score for "Storm Front: Part II"
emulates the same, more enveloping general sound as the "Countdown"
score, and the choral shades in "Stukas Incoming/The Vortex" are a nice
touch. Archer's theme closes out "Home at Last" with fuller depth, and
the first CD of the set finishes with an instrumental of "Where My Heart
Will Take Me" that doesn't offer much solace. The second CD opens with
the Season 3 rearrangement of the Warren song, which rearranges the
instrumentals of the song to alter its personality a bit. The result
isn't any better than the previous version, as it was still wrong for
the show.
The second CD in the 2014 set concentrates on Jay
Chattaway's music for "Enterprise," which is less romantic and more
varied in tone generally, a bit more like Mark Snow's style. In
"Civilization," an exotic woodwind is the highlight, though surrounding
suspense is mundane. Woodwinds highlight the propulsive, aggressive
suite for "The Catwalk," and "North Star" offers a definite diversion
from the norm with its sometimes awkward, Western-infused spirit with
electric and acoustic guitar. "Zero Hour" has a touch of Bruce Broughton
action before generic alternatives, whereas "Storm Front, Part I" is
nowhere near as engaging as the second part by McCarthy and Kiner.
Tasteful electronic accompaniment exists in the otherwise unremarkable
"Awakening," Chattaway saving some of his best episodic work for
"Bound." That score utilizes "Slave Girl Dance" as a source-like dance
piece, but the music shines in the breathy effects of "Kelby Under the
Spell" (a great touch) that extend well into later action to maintain
the allure. A better overall melding with McCarthy's established style
follows in "Terra Prime," especially in its drama, Chattaway's music
here highly disparate in style but nicely resolving to the captain's
theme in "Archer's Speech." The CD wraps back to a source-oriented, old
Western cue of amusement in "The Catwalk." The third CD of the 2014 set
opens and closes with Archer's theme from McCarthy, first in the form of
the unused main title recording for the pilot, which builds to a rock
personality just as unfitting for the show, and finally in a shorter
rendition that is equally annoying but fits somewhat better with the
tone of Warren's song. The episodic scores on this CD feature other
composers' works, and Mark McKenzie's "Horizon" is an all-around great,
orchestral episodic score of 14 minutes on this album. You can clearly
hear McKenzie's experience from having orchestrated Goldsmith's feature
film scores in the franchise, with a touch of James Horner in the softly
dramatic passages as well. The score also maintains one of the
composer's better career themes in the soft opening cues, the kind of
sincere melody that has attracted romantics to McKenzie's work for
decades. In "We're Under Attack," you hear heavy references to
Goldsmith's meters and rhythmic devices, and this fantastic attitude
continues in "Band of Brothers," where the Goldsmith touch remains
really superb. Comparatively, the cue from "Terra Nova" by David Bell is
brief and rather unremarkable, though he does develop pleasant woodwind
and string ideas for Phlox in "Dear Doctor."
The third CD then moves on to music by 24th Century "Star
Trek" show veteran Paul Baillargeon, who provides vaguely interesting
electronic vocals to "The Andorian Incident " but not much else of
distinction. His take on "Vox Sola" is very conservative material for
this show, but he finally expresses more range in "First Flight,"
including a really nice use of Archer's theme in "See You Out There" and
better personality from percussion in "Prototype Crash" despite learning
on McCarthy's more mundane, vintage stylings. Film composer John
Frizzell's music for "Enterprise" was not his best, but on this set he
is represented by the decent "Proving Ground." Though not particularly
noteworthy, this score is more mature, propulsive, and exciting in its
suspense tempos, emulating some of Frizzell's better dramatic horror
score moments. By comparison, Velton Ray Bunch was an important addition
to the composing team for "Enterprise," one advocated for by actor Scott
Bakula. Bunch's "Silent Enemy" offers interesting rhythmic variations
and motifs, while "Desert Crossing" is a little too sparse for what it's
trying to accomplish; the orchestra sounds poorly mixed to achieve the
right tone for the composition. Bakula's insistence that Velton Ray
Bunch be hired on the show was vindicated by "Similitude," the lone
Emmy-winning score for the series. A solemn trumpet weaves through the
score, highlighted in "In Memorium," and attractive electronic pulsing
and percussion layers occupy "Warp Drive Test" while "You Owe Me One"
offers a moment of militaristic reverence. Bunch's score for "The
Augments" presents solid rhythmic employment, highlighted by percussion
and synths, and only six minutes from this episode leaves you wanting
more. The fourth CD of the 2014 set contains what the label deems "fan
favorites," concentrating on music by McCarthy, Kiner, and Brian Tyler.
The "In a Mirror Darkly" episode's music will be the obvious target for
many enthusiasts of "Entrprise" that are seeking out these albums, for
it allowed McCarthy and Kiner to really shake up the formula for the
music while reprising a healthy chunk of Goldsmith. The alternate
universes of "Star Trek" always tend to produce the most outrageously
spectacular twists in the franchise, and this episode suggests that at
the conclusion of Star Trek: First Contact, warp speed inventor
Zefram Cochrane greets the first Vulcan visit to Earth with a shotgun,
blowing away the visitors and leading Earth to a much darker future.
Naturally, the music runs on a parallel course with equal darkness of
heart.
The "In a Mirror Darkly" scores open with a reprise of
Goldsmith's Vulcan arrival cue from Star Trek: First Contact. The
recording clearly doesn't sound as good, but the connection works, and
"First Contact Revisited" closes with an appropriately disjointed
crescendo as the humans rush the Vulcan ship to pillage it. More
importantly, both episodes in this two-parter drop the Warren song and
instead use "Mirror Main Title From 'Enterprise'," an amusingly dark
alternate title theme for war that is actually a little underplayed.
Deep synthetic choral and snare effects are too infrequent in these
episodes to be effective, though the composers pick up momentum in
"Tholian Web" and "Abandon Enterprise" after underplayed, forbidding
ambience. The slightly raw tone of Kiner's influence helps in especially
the second part, and without some of the synthetic flourishes, much of
it sounds like a later "Deep Space Nine" score. "Avenger Attacks"
infuses better action into an otherwise gloomy suspense mix, and the
suddenly tonal ending to "Empress Hoshi" is a nice touch. The
"Regeneration" score represents the Borg-related episode from which
Tyler had produced a promo album at the time. Like McKenzie, Tyler is in
top form for this show, imitating some of the metallic sheen from
Goldsmith's treatment of the Borg but not outright accessing his theme.
Vague electronic vocal effects are adequate, and the more accessible
music in the score does continue to emulate Goldsmith mannerisms.
Tyler's later attack cues are more aggressively pounding than usual for
the series, making his music another highlight of the set. The show
concluded with "These Are the Voyages," for which McCarthy and Kiner
brought a healthy dose of nostalgia. The score opens with Archer's theme
in appropriately "The Next Generation" tones as the series awkwardly
shifts back to the Enterprise-D. There is really fantastic ensemble
force in the action of "Narrow Escape" and surprisingly heavy bass
droning under the group in "Under Attack/Trip Hurt." Prototypical
McCarthy light heroism from trumpet follows in "It Was Worthwhile," and
"Heroic/'Trek' Theme Montage" closes with a solid melding of three "Star
Trek" television show themes by Courage, Goldsmith, and McCarthy for the
cross-generational send-off. The final CD of the 2014 set concludes with
McCarthy's Archer theme in end credits form, this time appended by Lalo
Schifrin's Paramount logo music from 1975 that became a mainstay at the
end of all of these shows' credits. On the whole, the 2014 set is a
strong survey of the best and most important music from "Enterprise,"
even without the pilot episode's music.
The second 4-CD set of music from "Enterprise" was
released as the "Star Trek: Enterprise Collection, Volume 2" in 2016 and
follows mostly the same spread of composers heard on the prior product.
The overall quality and memorability of the music on the second set
isn't as impressive, but there are some highlights. The first CD opens
with music solely by McCarthy, starting with the episode "Breaking the
Ice," which is a very generic version of redemptive McCarthy light
drama, like wholesome music from "The Next Generation" but with Archer's
theme. "Sleeping Dogs" develops from typical fare to decently tumultuous
soft suspense, while "The Communicator" sounds much like Star Trek:
Generations leftovers and thus not very distinctive. Woodwind and
brass solos try but struggle to create dramatic allure beyond basic
pleasantness in "Stigma" before McCarthy offers action material in
"Future Tense" that is reminiscent of the final Star Trek:
Generations battle music and "Deep Space Nine" equivalents. Less
interesting is "Congenitor," its constant volume of conversational light
drama without any flair. On the other hand, "The Xindi" presents
impressive percussion layers and growling background effects; the action
of the "Escape" cue is slightly more ambitious than McCarthy's norm.
Kiner joins him for the remaining entries on this CD, "Doctor's Orders"
adeptly forcing a manipulation of Archer's theme into distorted mystery.
The "Phlox to the Rescue" cue flourishes with Kiner's additional synth
and percussion layers. From "Damage," McCarthy and Kiner's "Hijackers/No
Choice" is afforded a little more reverb in its action and is therefore
nicely expansive in scope. "Observer Effect" has an annoying episodic
score largely defined by dissonance; a few horn solos attempt to bring
sadness and contemplation to later cues (with nods to the Archer theme),
but those performances aren't particularly crisp. The synthetic edge
doesn't help the score for "The Aenar" much, the rendering not
particularly impressive and the composition meriting a fully orchestral
recording instead. As with the prior set, the second CD is dedicated to
the music of Chattaway after a quick bumper of Archer's theme. Of note
is the "Fight or Flight" score, with decent acoustic guitar comfort in
"Archer Reverses Course" and good electronic rhythm-setting in the long
suite cue that should have been provided in separate tracks. A flute
joins the guitar in "Hoshi Gets Through" and closes with an excellent
and rare Warren song quote at the end. Comparatively, "Detained" suffers
through unremarkable underscore that finally yields to strongly dynamic
action in the second cue.
Among the unusual episodic scores on the second CD of the
2016 set is Chattaway's "Carbon Creek," a 1950's Americana episode with
an innocent Western twang. Guitars, dulcimer, piano, and electric bass
provide wholesome, low-key spirit unlike the rest of the show's music.
More comfortable in the concept is material from "Anomaly," with
Chattaway at his best in the brief action of "The Sphere." The "E2"
episode contains attractive electronic pace-setters and synthetic wind
effects in "Recap/Future T'Pol," though the dramatic and later action
passages in this score aren't as interesting. Starting with better
action rhythms is "Cold Station 12," though the remainder is average.
Likewise, "Divergence" has some good action moments, but there is
nothing to indicate that there are Klingons in the plot, a workmanlike
episodic score that isn't as exciting as it could have been. The third
CD of the 2016 set is dedicated to Bell and especially Baillargeon,
though it's easily the weakest of the four CDs in the product. After
opening with a brief bumper of Warren's theme, the CD provides really
subdued conversational underscore of little interest from Bell's
"Fusion." His "Dawn" score is a decent composition but is hindered by a
poor recording mix, with percussion and brass muted; there is very
little genuine energy in this episodic score. From Baillargeon, "The
Crossing" starts with promising action rhythms early, but most of the
score is highly restrained and uninteresting until its decent action
ending. Intriguing electronic and percussive effects but not much else
follow in "Rajiin," and "Chosen Realm" is saved by better than average
action in the middle of the suite. The flat recording of "Hatchery"
makes it sound like it's from the 1970's, with no breadth to the music
whatsoever. Closing the CD is Baillargeon's "The Forgotten," beginning
with a solid sense of urgency at the outset but diminishing to muted
drama. The "Reptilian Attack" cue is restrained by poor placement of
percussion in the mix, though there is a moderately attractive romantic
ending to "Goodbye Elizabeth." The fourth CD in the 2016 set
concentrates on the composers who were new to the "Star Trek" universe
at the time. A softer, short bumper of the Warren theme precedes the
"Canamar" episodic score by Tyler. It opens with some hints of typical
Goldsmith chord shifts and explodes with action material that stands
apart from the other composers in technique and scope. By "End of
Kuroda," the brass is really ripping and aided by wet percussion. It's
an exemplary episodic score, ending with a touch of Goldsmith nobility.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the CD isn't of the same quality.
Frizzell's lone entry on the 2016 set is the score for
"The Forge," with an eerie synthetic opening not sustained in tone
during the rest of the episode; the music is surprisingly devoid of
character until late in "Syrranite Sanctuary." The "Acquisition" episode
is known for one of the funniest scenes in the history of the franchise,
showing a Ferengi trying to interrogate Archer's pet beagle using a
universal translator until another Ferengi exclaims, "It's a lower life
form, you fool!" The score by Bunch for this episode has a touch of
Michael Kamen's Die Hard stalking in "Krem & Muk on Board" and
"Ferengi Showdown," which is ironic, given the plotline. Aside from some
engaging dynamism in "Trip Chased," there's not much humor in the score,
or even much of a narrative at all. Likewise underwhelming is Bunch's
"Exile," which fails to generate much genuine excitement. Low key
suspense with good electronics in the cue "Into the Chamber" from "The
Council" dissolve for Bunch into later cues that lose distinction until
better action in "Weapon Launched." Finally, the "Affliction" episode
provides too little emotional connection in the score. There's some
exoticism but without much dynamism in the mix of "T'Pol's Daydream,"
and synthetic effects in "Klingon Augments" are not very effective
despite hints of Goldsmith brass. Genuine coolness does follow in
"Columbia First Flight," highlighted by its synth choir, and "Warp 5.2"
builds to one of the series' better unresolved ensemble climaxes. The
album closes with the same McCarthy end credits Archer theme as the
prior set. The La-La Land label continued to release "Star Trek" show
music into the 2020's, and a 2022 4-CD set, "Star Trek Collection: The
Final Frontier," included exclusively "Enterprise" music on its final
CD. That disc opens with McCarthy's unused main theme but launches into
a bevy of really good action material by multiple composers that had
been missed on prior sets. The McCarthy and Kiner cues from "Damage" and
"Borderland" are varied and merit attention, the former including a n
impressive, long propulsive action cue pairing despite an annoying
dissonant passage in the middle and the latter leaning more on
percussion and particularly good reverb. The only Baillargeon inclusion
is from "Rogue Planet" and offers understated suspense highlighting
woodwinds. Likewise, only one cue comes from Bell on this CD; in
"Minefield," he provides engagingly urgent, rhythmic brass in the first
half. The product dedicates more than 38 minutes of time to Velton Ray
Bunch, but his material is not up to par with that of the other
composers on this collection of "Enterprise" leftovers.
The Bunch cues on the 2022 set begin with stalking
suspense and some striking moments late from "Silent Enemy" and continue
to two cues from "Marauders," for which he offers highly varied styles
for the Klingons, with eleven minutes covering sparse action and lengthy
suspense. A few dramatic moments but not memorably attractive ones
follow in the "Judgment" cues, and a dry mix likewise really inhibits
the two cues from "Harbinger," in which Bunch provides thumping
electronics along with skittish action, the nice synthetic accents
overall betrayed by the mix. For the selection from "The Council," he
offers lengthy suspense rhythms with continued electronic thumping, and
the Vulcan wedding cue from "Home" understandably restrains itself with
stoic contemplation before its quietly agonized conclusion. The
Chattaway tracks are the highlights of this disc, "United" leading with
a broader soundscape and better spread of synths and orchestra, an
excellent action rhythm joined by a consistent ascendant motif. In "Cold
Front," well layered percussion meets a somewhat dissonant action
stance, and "The Seventh" is represented by an accomplished climactic
cue with excellent brass and a great dramatic send-off at the end. A bit
more non-descript but still decent rhythmic suspense awaits in
"Vanishing Point," while "Anomaly" presents a large-scale, ominous brass
and percussion confrontation. The ascending motif from "United" returns
with bombast in "Azati Prime," really solid electronics and brass over
percussion in the mix. The "Enterprise" music on the 2022 set is
action-heavy and attractive, with Chattaway's cues the highlights.
Overall, McCarthy's music for "Enterprise" is comfortably familiar (when
not aided by Kiner), while Chattaway and Bunch both provide distinct
highlights at times. Bell and Baillargeon disappoint but Tyler and
McKenzie are predictably superb. If you limit yourself to just one album
of only "Enterprise" music, definitely select the first 4-CD set from
La-La Land in 2014. The best music from the three albums could produce a
really entertaining single CD, but the remainder consistently
underwhelms. Despite all the hype about going in a new direction with
the music, the title song failed to set a strong, popular standard, and
the orchestral underscores are still too familiar to be considered
refreshingly new. The music for "Enterprise" is one giant contradiction
that has failed in what the producers set out to accomplish. The total
lack of connection between the rock song and the episodic scores is
inexcusable but predictable. As it stands, the song is out of place, the
widely disparate scores are completely disconnected from it, and the
sound quality is extremely variable. Poor strategic decisions and
execution doomed this show and its music.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Series: **
- Music as Heard on the 2002 Album: **
- Music as Heard on the 2014 Set: ***
- Music as Heard on the 2016 Set: **
- Music as Heard on the 2022 Set: ***
- Overall: **
Pop ? Expand >>
JR - November 2, 2006, at 10:11 a.m. |
2 comments (2870 views)
Newest: December 29, 2011, at 2:46 p.m. by
FrancisLila32 |
buy it?
jacopo italy - October 30, 2005, at 7:44 a.m. |
1 comment (2228 views) |
| 2002 Decca Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 49:28 |
• 1. Where My Heart Will Take Me (Album Version)* (4:14)
• 2. New Enterprise (1:42)
• 3. Klingon Chase-Shotgunned (2:05)
• 4. Enterprise First Flight (2:52)
• 5. Klang-Napped (2:12)
• 6. Morpho-O-Mama/Suli-Nabbed (2:47)
• 7. Phaser Fight (5:54)
• 8. Breakthrough (2:02)
• 9. Grappled (4:11)
• 10. The Rescue (6:41)
• 11. Temporal Battle (8:07)
• 12. Blood Work (2:12)
• 13. New Horizons (1:27)
• 14. Archer's Theme (1:27)
• 15. Where My Heart Will Take Me (TV Version)* (1:27)
| |
* written by Diane Warren and/or performed by Russell Watson |
| 2014 La-La Land Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 290:25 |
CD 1: (70:37)
• 1. Where My Heart Will Take Me (Main Title, Season One)* (1:25)
Shockwave, Part I (#026, Dennis McCarthy):
• 2. Disaster (0:56)
• 3. Eulogy (1:43)
• 4. Daniels Arrives (3:02)
• 5. Hide and Seek (3:34)
• 6. No Return (3:41)
Shockwave, Part II (#028, Dennis McCarthy):
• 7. A Refresher (1:43)
• 8. Playing Possum (2:16)
• 9. The Captain (2:25)
• 10. Onward (0:23)
The Expanse (#052, Dennis McCarthy):
• 11. Florida Attack (0:47)
• 12. On the Team (2:12)
• 13. Now There is One/Loop-de-Loop (5:02)
Impulse (#057, Dennis McCarthy):
• 14. Blocked Exit (2:57)
• 15. Paranoia (2:02)
Twilight (#060, Dennis McCarthy):
• 16. Armageddon (1:40)
• 17. Rip Van Winkle/Angst (2:05)
• 18. Showdown/Back to the Past (6:59)
Carpenter Street (#063, Dennis McCarthy):
• 19. Street Walkin' (3:05)
Kir'Shara (#085, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 20. Kir'Shara Activated (3:29)
Countdown (#075, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 21. Recap - Enterprise 075 (1:32)
• 22. Ready to Fire (3:27)
• 23. Countdown Begins (1:10)
• 24. Hays Departs (1:34)
Storm Front, Part II (#078, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 25. Recap - Enterprise 078 (1:10)
• 26. Fight to the Death (3:06)
• 27. Stukas Coming/The Vortex (3:11)
• 28. Timeline Restored (1:19)
• 29. Home at Last (1:19)
• 30. Where My Heart Will Take Me (End Credits Instrumental)* (1:03)
CD 2: (70:48)
• 1. Where My Heart Will Take Me (Main Title, Season Three)* (1:22)
Civilization (#009, Jay Chattaway):
• 2. Old City (2:34)
• 3. Entering the Reactor/Reactor Surprise (3:13)
• 4. Memorable (0:29)
The Catwalk (#038, Jay Chattaway):
• 5. Taking Back Enterprise/Capitan a Capitan/Core is Down (7:43)
North Star (#061, Jay Chattaway):
• 6. Hangin' Offense (1:01)
• 7. Gunfight/Final Fight (4:17)
• 8. New School (0:59)
Zero Hour (#076, Jay Chattaway):
• 9. Sphere Builder on Board/Andorian Offensive/Sphere/Final Showdown (12:03)
• 10. My Captain (2:29)
Storm Front, Part I (#077, Jay Chattaway):
• 11. Daniels' Goodbye (2:50)
Awakening (#084, Jay Chattaway):
• 12. Meet Surak (1:37)
• 13. Archer Remembers Cave/Vulcans on the Attack/Kir'shara (7:03)
Bound (#093, Jay Chattaway):
• 14. Slave Girl Dance (2:07)
• 15. Kelby Under the Spell (1:20)
• 16. Captain Romantic/Disoriented Captain (4:00)
• 17. Harrad-Sar Attacks/Trip Foils Slave Girls (5:27)
Terra Prime (#097, Jay Chattaway):
• 18. Five Seconds to Impact (2:02)
• 19. Her Name is Elizabeth (1:19)
• 20. Archer's Speech (1:49)
• 21. Grieving (2:22)
Bonus Track: The Catwalk (#038, Jay Chattaway):
• 22. Into the Sunset (0:32)
• 23. Where My Heart Will Take Me (End Credits Instrumental)* (0:49)
CD 3: (76:17)
• 1. Archer's Theme (Unused Main Title, Dennis McCarthy) (1:24)
Horizon (#046, Mark McKenzie):
• 2. Travis in Sweet Spot/Change of Course (1:37)
• 3. Up Your Alley (4:18)
• 4. Star Map (1:16)
• 5. We're Under Attack (1:50)
• 6. Band of Brothers (3:33)
• 7. Never Better Sir (1:23)
Terra Nova (#006, David Bell):
• 8. Phaser Cuts Log (1:48)
Dear Doctor (#013, David Bell):
• 9. Doc's First Installment/Phlox Needs a Friend (3:46)
The Andorian Incident (#007 (Paul Baillargeon):
• 10. Sanctuary Interrupted (0:47)
• 11. Sensor Array (2:32)
Vox Sola (#022, Paul Baillargeon):
• 12. Force Field Ready/Take Me Home/Crew Released/Home of the Tendril (3:28)
First Flight (#050, Paul Baillargeon):
• 13. Prototype Crash (3:34)
• 14. See You Out There (1:41)
Proving Ground (#065, John Frizzell):
• 15. Recap (1:32)
• 16. Turning the Tables (4:12)
Silent Enemy (#012, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 17. First Encounter (2:03)
• 18. Taking Risks/Showdown (4:44)
• 19. Pineapple Cake (0:59)
Desert Crossing (#024, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 20. Warm Welcome (1:14)
• 21. Geskana Match/Archer Goes for Goal (2:52)
• 22. Trip's Menu (1:23)
• 23. The Rescue (3:00)
• 24. Not Why We're Here (0:59)
Similitude (#062, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 25. In Memoriam (0:43)
• 26. Warp Drive Test (3:08)
• 27. You Owe Me One (3:51)
The Augments (#082, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 28. Recap/Teaser - Enterprise 082 (1:51)
• 29. Pathogen Bomb (3:27)
• 30. Goodbye Doc (0:39)
• 31. Archer's Theme (End Credits, Dennis McCarthy) (0:49)
CD 4: (72:43)
In a Mirror, Darkly, Parts I and II (#094, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 1. First Contact Revisited (1:49)
• 2. Mirror Main Title From Enterprise (1:21)
• 3. Mutiny (3:53)
• 4. Dangerous Seduction (2:43)
• 5. Counter Attack (2:31)
• 6. Boarding the Defiant (2:23)
• 7. Tholian Web (2:08)
• 8. Abandon Enterprise (1:59)
• 9. Recap - Enterprise 095 (1:00)
• 10. Defiant Trapped/Defiant Fights Back (2:49)
• 11. T'Pol Interrogation (1:31)
• 12. Booby Trap (2:26)
• 13. Gorn to Die (2:53)
• 14. Defiant to the Rescue (2:14)
• 15. T'Pol Busted (2:05)
• 16. Phlox Sabotage (1:55)
• 17. Avenger Attacks (2:02)
• 18. Empress Hoshi (1:16)
Regeneration (#049, Brian Tyler):
• 19. Borg Crash Site/Borg Awakening (3:13)
• 20. Archer Tells Plan/Distress Call/Phlox Attacked (3:10)
• 21. Hive Mind/Borg Hunt/Dead in the Water (6:43)
• 22. Borg Attack/Borg Attack 2 (7:23)
• 23. Message in a Bottle/Postponed (0:58)
These Are the Voyages (#098, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 24. Freeze Program/Enterprise D (0:59)
• 25. Narrow Escape (1:24)
• 26. Under Attack/Trip Hurt (4:28)
• 27. Trip's Possessions/It Was Worthwhile (1:46)
• 28. Heroic/Trek Theme Montage (2:11)
• 29. Archer's Theme (End Credits, Dennis McCarthy)/Paramount Studios Logo (Lalo Schifrin) (0:51)
| |
* written by Diane Warren and/or performed by Russell Watson |
| 2016 La-La Land Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 305:51 |
CD 1: (75:15)
• 1. Where My Heart Will Take Me (Main Title, Season Three)* (1:21)
Breaking the Ice (#008, Dennis McCarthy):
• 2. Archer's Comet/Comet Chasers (2:03)
• 3. The Comet (2:15)
Sleeping Dogs (#015, Dennis McCarthy):
• 4. Dive (1:49)
The Communicator (#034, Dennis McCarthy):
• 5. Searching/It's Not There (3:59)
• 6. Great Escape (2:52)
Stigma (#040, Dennis McCarthy):
• 7. A Promise/Yuris Saves the Day (3:11)
Future Tense (#042, Dennis McCarthy):
• 8. Attacked (3:26)
• 9. Final Attack (3:10)
Cogenitor (#048, Dennis McCarthy):
• 10. Visitor (2:31)
• 11. Responsibility (4:16)
The Xindi (#053, Dennis McCarthy):
• 12. Recap/Xindi Meeting (2:34)
• 13. Escape (3:39)
Doctor's Orders (#068, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 14. Empty Ship (1:28)
• 15. Phlox to the Rescue (3:16)
Damage (#071, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 16. Bad Dream (3:40)
• 17. Hijackers/No Choice (5:36)
Observer Effect (#087, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 18. Your Move (1:45)
• 19. One Way Nap (3:13)
• 20. Hoshi Dies (4:18)
• 21. Archer Out of Options (2:31)
• 22. More Than Observe/Rules Need to Change (1:06)
The Aenar (#090, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 23. Recap - Enterprise 090/Hunt Down Enterprise (2:18)
• 24. Telepresence Test Fails (2:31)
• 25. Freighter Fight (2:15)
• 26. Telepathic Siblings/Trip Hits the Road (3:10)
CD 2: (75:02)
• 1. Archer's Theme (Bumper Version #1, Danny McCarthy) (0:07)
Fight or Flight (#003, Jay Chattaway):
• 2. Archer Reverses Course (1:20)
• 3. Aliens Return/Damn the Torpedoes/Failure to Communicate/Hoshi Gets Through (10:08)
Detained (#021, Jay Chattaway):
• 4. Danik to Isolation (2:23)
• 5. Big Bang/Suliban Liberation (3:46)
Carbon Creek (#027, Jay Chattaway):
• 6. Welcome to Carbon Creek/Wearing It Backwards (1:31)
• 7. The Hustler (1:55)
• 8. Get a Job/Mestral's Secret Date (1:39)
• 9. Glaring Vulcan (2:03)
• 10. Vulcan Velcro/Not Enough (3:32)
Anomaly (#054, Jay Chattaway):
• 11. Recap/Future T'Pol (1:11)
E2 (#073, Jay Chattaway):
• 12. The Sphere (1:20)
• 13. Enterprise 2/117 Years Early (3:24)
• 14. Father Son Talk 2/Reunion (2:29)
• 15. Lorian's Plan/Standoff (4:28)
• 16. Joining Forces/Team Enterprise/Subspace Passage/Remembrance (6:26)
Cold Station 12 (#081, Jay Chattaway):
• 17. Lucas Cracks/Stasis Chamber/Soong Escapes (7:40)
Divergence (#092, Jay Chattaway):
• 18. Recap - Enterprise 092 (1:03)
• 19. Prepare for Transfer/Trip Transfer (4:15)
• 20. Warp Drive Reboot (3:31)
• 21. Krell Demands Surrender (3:00)
• 22. Krell Attacks/Klingons Disabled/Phlox Fools Krell (6:20)
• 23. Thanks for the Help/One Captain (0:44)
CD 3: (77:33)
• 1. Where My Heart Will Take Me (Bumper #1)* (0:07)
Fusion (#017, David Bell):
• 2. T'Pol Tells Dream (1:58)
• 3. First Dance I Went To (1:50)
Dawn (#039, David Bell):
• 4. Trip Crash Lands (1:33)
• 5. Trip Tosses Phaser/The Big Fight (4:31)
• 6. Trip Reviews Life (2:09)
• 7. Leave This System/Glad I Missed (1:22)
The Crossing (#044, Paul Baillargeon):
• 8. Enterprise Swallowed (1:04)
• 9. Wisps First Contact (4:06)
• 10. Wisps Take Trip (2:50)
• 11. Wisps Chase Reed/Alien Reed/More Crew Taken (6:39)
• 12. They're Lying to Us (1:15)
• 13. Alien Trip Listens In/Phlox Pulls Panel/Trip Fights Phlox/End of Wisps (7:24)
Rajiin (#056, Paul Baillargeon):
• 14. Intimate Intruder/Rajiin Captured (5:09)
Chosen Realm (#064, Paul Baillargeon):
• 15. Crew Fights Back/Hand to Hand/Final Fight (8:18)
Hatchery (#069, Paul Baillargeon):
• 16. Recap/Crashed Ship (1:31)
• 17. Endangered Mission (2:37)
• 18. Hatching Time (1:37)
• 19. Mutiny/Return to Duty (6:40)
The Forgotten (#072, Paul Baillargeon):
• 20. Recap/For the 18 (2:16)
• 21. Emotions (1:51)
• 22. Trip Dreams (1:21)
• 23. Reptilian Attack (3:06)
• 24. Goodbye Elizabeth (2:27)
CD 4: (78:01)
• 1. Where My Heart Will Take Me (Bumper #2)* (0:12)
Canamar (#043, Brian Tyler):
• 2. Shuttlepod Adrift/Start the Investigation/Kuroda Gets Free (2:37)
• 3. Pilot Knocked Out/Crew Gets Message (2:15)
• 4. Kuroda's Plan (1:25)
• 5. Piece of Cake (3:34)
• 6. End of Kuroda (6:17)
The Forge (#083, John Frizzell):
• 7. Vulcan Catacombs (1:17)
• 8. Rogue Bomb (2:09)
• 9. Sandfire/Mindmeld (4:25)
• 10. Syrranite Sanctuary (2:25)
Acquisition (#019, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 11. Krem & Muk on Board (3:40)
• 12. Trip Chased (1:43)
• 13. Ferengi Showdown/Seductive Vulcan (5:03)
• 14. Vault Scheme/Krem Gets His Ship (4:41)
Exile (#058, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 15. The Voice Returns/Alien Garden/Meet Tarquin (4:59)
• 16. Space Landing (2:56)
• 17. Last Visit (1:01)
The Council (#074, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 18. Into the Chamber (4:11)
• 19. Armaturi Attack (1:39)
• 20. Reprieve (1:34)
• 21. End of Degra/News of Degra (1:58)
• 22. Weapon Launched (2:31)
Affliction (#091, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 23. Bad Medicine (1:00)
• 24. Mind Meld Memory (2:39)
• 25. T'Pol's Daydream (2:25)
• 26. Klingon Augments (2:47)
• 27. Columbia First Flight (2:01)
• 28. Warp 5.2 (2:01)
• 29. Archer's Theme (End Credits, Dennis McCarthy)/Paramount Studios Logo (Lalo Schifrin) (0:51)
| |
* written by Diane Warren and/or performed by Russell Watson |
| 2022 La-La Land Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 78:37 |
CD 4: (78:37)
• 1. Archer's Theme (Unused Main Title, Dennis McCarthy) (1:24)
Damage (#071, Dennis McCarthy/Kevin Kiner):
• 2. Hijackers/No Choice (5:30)
Borderland (#080, Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner):
• 3. Slaves Are Loose (2:34)
Rogue Planet (#018, Paul Baillargeon):
• 4. Alien Hunters (3:07)
Minefield (#029, David Bell):
• 5. Damage Report (3:14)
Silent Enemy (#012, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 6. Aliens Return/Aliens on Board/Cannon Fire (7:18)
Marauders (#032, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 7. Klingon Defense/Deserted Colony (5:09)
• 8. Hand to Hand/Klingon Trap/Ring of Fire (5:26)
Judgment (#045, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 9. Duras Tells His Story/Archer Tells His Side (5:23)
Harbinger (#067, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 10. Recap/Red Cloud (5:02)
• 11. Jealous Fighter/Alien Attack (2:56)
The Council (#074, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 12. Recap/Into the Chamber (5:19)
Home (#079, Velton Ray Bunch):
• 13. Vulcan Wedding (1:32)
United (#089, Jay Chattaway):
• 14. Recap/Rigellian Attack (2:23)
Cold Front (#011, Jay Chattaway):
• 15. Searching for Silik/Conduit Brawl/Space Diver (6:21)
The Seventh (#033, Jay Chattaway):
• 16. T'Pol Gets Her Man (2:44)
Vanishing Point (#036, Jay Chattaway):
• 17. Bombs (3:01)
Anomaly (#054, Jay Chattaway):
• 18. Osaarian Showdown (4:19)
Azati Prime (#070, Jay Chattaway):
• 19. End Game (3:57)
• 20. Archer's Theme (End Credits, Dennis McCarthy)/Paramount Studios Logo (Lalo Schifrin) (0:50)
| |
(Only CD 4 on the compilation is relevant to Star Trek: Enterprise.) |
The insert of the 2002 Decca album includes bland artwork but also a note from the composer about
recording the score on September 11th, 2001. The inserts of the 2014, 2016, and 2022 La-La Land sets contain
extensive notes about the show and scores.
|
