: (Jerry Goldsmith) With so many
composer-specific compilations available to collectors in the late
1990's and 2000's, it's to believe that at one time in the mid-1990's
the only composer who received any form of regular compilation treatment
was John Williams. Despite a dozen compilations of re-recordings for
Williams, both of the mainstream's other big names, Jerry Goldsmith and
James Horner, had never been treated to regularly available commercial
compilations. The Silva Screen label largely solved this problem in
1998, though late in the previous year, Varèse Sarabande debuted
the first commercial compilation of re-recorded Goldsmith music ever to
hit the market. It was producer Robert Townson's idea to approach
Goldsmith about the idea of conducting the Royal Scottish National
Orchestra's performances of the composer's wide variety of science
fiction music. The September 1997 recordings offered, at the time,
selections from several Goldsmith scores that were unreleased in their
original form, and despite their later release on specialty labels (and
in the hyperactive bootleg market), the vastly improved sound quality
and precision of the recordings continues to impress. Among the ten
scores represented over 47 minutes on "Frontiers," three come from the
infamous world of
. Due to the recent success of both
the film and its score,
opens the album
with its "End Title" arrangement to address both the franchise theme and
the eighth film's own, majestic theme. The performance of this suite
here seems to offer greater clarity in instrumental enunciation than the
original recording... definitely an improvement.
The classically elegant cue "The Enterprise" from
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is nestled in the middle of the
product. The diversity in the thematic playfulness of this cue provides
refreshing variations on a now-tired idea that are always welcome. The
Emmy-Winning French horn salute to "Star Trek: Voyager" is given a
robust stature here that eclipses all other performances of the theme.
The non-
Trek-related selections on the album are among the more
enticing treats for film score collectors. The music from
Twilight
Zone: The Movie is arguably more interesting than any of the usual
Star Trek material. The "Overture" presented here represents
themes from three of the four distinct mini-scores that accompanied each
portion of the film. These performances are more authentic than the much
earlier-recorded Erich Kunzel version that had been available on the
Telarc label for a number of years. The inclusion of the "Main Title"
from
Capricorn One is welcome on any compilation, and its
performance here, especially in the gorgeously layered love theme
interlude, is the highlight of the collection. What you hear on this
album is far superior to the original, but not as immense as the
performance on Silva's
Space and Beyond release earlier in 1997.
It's rare that a different conductor can beat the original in any
re-recording, but the City of Prague Philharmonic did it there. Perhaps
the most anticipated tracks on this release were those from the scarce
Logan's Run. The score combines fantasy elements from
Legend and
Poltergeist, its playful moments
counterbalanced by stern, brass themes. The second track, "End of the
City," is one of the best finales of Goldsmith's career, and it was a
key initial advertising point of this release.
The selection from
The Illustrated Man may not
impress many, with bland vocals and woodwind ramblings that promise more
than they deliver. The opening of
Damnation Alley is very
suspenseful, with jarring brass themes that hint of
Capricorn
One; the "End Title" cue is more thematically pleasant and was, at
the time, a target of many Goldsmith collectors. This performance of the
unused finale cue from
Alien was also available on
Varèse's
Alien-related compilation from the previous year.
The only suspect performance on "Frontiers" (aside from
The
Illustrated Man, which isn't a strong score to begin with) comes
with
Total Recall, for which the lack of synthesizer accents in
the rhythm and a brass flub on the second note of the theme cause
problems. Goldsmith attempted to replace the electric bass rhythm with
low strings, oboes, and drums, and it simply doesn't work. The concert
ending of this piece differs from others. Overall, the album is an
outstanding collection of Goldsmith themes ranging from the famous to
the obscure. Only two notable omissions plague this collection. First,
the lack of the suite from
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
deprives the album of Goldsmith's popular, percussion-driven Klingon
theme. Additionally, the finale cue from
Outland would have been
a welcomed inclusion; Townson originally intended for it to appear on
this compilation, but the inability to find any copies of the original
score (or its notations or sketches) prevented this desire. Aside from
these minor problems, "Frontier" remains a fantastic album ten years
after its release, despite the greater availability of the scores it
represents. While Goldsmith would conduct the RSNO again for
Varèse, a subsequent compilation of the composer's scores in
other genres was never organized.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
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