The album opens with one of the very best recordings of a Goldsmith theme that The City of Prague Philharmonic has ever accomplished: Capricorn One. Although this same recording was available on a previous album, it's a welcome inclusion on any compilation; the superior sound quality of Prague's recordings can best be heard right there. After a strong performance of the rhythmic themes from Masada, including the necessary light percussion, the album's best feature follows. While it may be surprising to find fifteen minutes of music from Under Fire on a compilation like this, you can't argue with the quality of Goldsmith's superb score. Both the acoustic guitar and Ayres' electronics are absolutely perfect in this performance, with the pan pipe effect masterfully emulated. Proper pacing and an enhanced mix for the guitar provide four outstanding tracks of the best music from the score, including the longing strings of "New Love." The echoing synth rhythm in the Basic Instinct theme is also well performed by Ayres, though the cue gets washed away to a degree by the power of its surrounding tracks, including Great Train Robbery and The Omen, the latter of which was a successful suite on Silva's first "Cinema Choral Classics" album. The track from Baby: Secret of a Lost Legend has a very good representation of the score's harsh brass tones. The tracks from The Shadow and The Russia House are among the great choices for performance by the ensemble, though they unfortunately botch both of them badly. They are represented by concert arrangements that suffer from awkward progression from idea to idea. The Shadow is performed without the depth and power of the original, lacking the robust percussion section for the Mongolian theme and completely absent of the necessary synthetic accompaniment. As heard on several albums, Prague's performance of The Russia House is a watered-down orchestral version that lacks any of the jazz elements that make it such a lovely score. It's impossible to imagine this score performed without a sax, bass, and piano at the forefront, but Prague unfortunately attempted just that. The lack of a sax is unforgivable.

On the other hand, the two tracks from The Swarm are excellent. While they had already debuted on a disaster-themed product from Silva, the "End Title" performance continues to be a treat for fans likely unfamiliar with the impressive score. The second CD is arguably not as strong, but it still features some bright spots. The suites from The Blue Max, MacArthur, and Patton will remind listeners of the arrangements that Goldsmith himself concocted for his "Suites and Themes" tours (and available on the compilations Goldsmith conducted through the years). The eleven minutes from First Knight are pure joy, with the same overwhelming performances by the Crouch End Festival Chorus that graced their first "Cinema Choral Classics" album. Performances of Total Recall and Powder are a tad flat (and the inclusion of Powder is suspect to begin with), though the album finishes strongly, with very respectable performances of themes from the first two Rambo/First Blood scores and a conservative presentation of Medicine Man. The set then dives into the inevitable Star Trek material. There is nothing unexpected to be found here, and veteran Goldsmith collectors would probably have preferred to hear the Klingon theme from Star Trek V rather than the same concert arrangement of The Motion Picture that appeared on the second "Space and Beyond" set. A slight horn flub in the latter portion of the Voyager theme is said to be more of an interpretation than a mistake. The number of obvious mistakes by the orchestra is minimal on the album; those that are lacking fall into that category because the concert arrangements (or performances by the ensemble as a whole) fail to muster the energy or enthusiasm of the original. And, of course, the lack of precise instrumentation hurts in some places as well. Otherwise, the set is among the strongest of Silva's composer-specific offerings. As with many of the similar Silva releases, the tracks featuring the Crouch End Festival Chorus are by far the most entertaining, even though most listeners have heard much of that material on other albums from the label. The suite from Under Fire also makes this set a valued compilation in and of itself.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download