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Review of Space and Beyond (Compilation)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you seek one of the best compilations of science
fiction film music ever to be recorded for album.
Avoid it... if the set's large collection of tired Star Trek concert arrangements would send you looking for one of this product's more varied sequel sets.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Space and Beyond: (Compilation) Along with the
outstanding "Cinema Choral Classics" CDs, the "Space and Beyond" series
in the late 1990's helped establish Silva Screen as a top producer of
quality film music recordings. While the public's response to "Space and
Beyond" may not have been as great as its choral counterpart, Silva
would eventually go on to provide a trilogy of "Space and Beyond"
albums, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. As a standalone
album, however, the well-informed 2-CD "Space and Beyond" set is still
among the best of the lot, getting most of the standard Star Trek
performances out of the way while also providing a relatively unique
combination of standard tunes and more obscure material. While the
following sets in the series would offer an even more enticing array of
stranger material, Silva's offering on this debut sci-fi set is still
impressive enough to attract you even in the event you're tired of all
the same Star Trek concert arrangements. Also of note is that The
City of Prague Philharmonic, while appropriately blasted for some of its
early performances of film music, had finally hit its stride as of 1997.
There are very few outright poor performances as of "Space and Beyond,"
though a couple of individual missed notes are to be heard. More than
any other group, however, Silva/Prague has ventured into areas of film
music that no other label and performing ensemble have gone (and that
includes even Telarc and Erich Kunzel at their prime). The first "Space
and Beyond" will impress you with its depth and crisp sound, providing
mostly material that you will likely be familiar with. But as with the
subsequent albums, the set has a few new themes that you may not have
heard before, making the balancing act between mainstream appeal and
keen film music knowledge a successful one. That said, there are a few
widely-known selections that you'll probably want to skip past, not
because their performances are poor, but because you've heard them
before. As such, Star Wars, Close Encunters, and
2001 are adequate, but hardly interesting inclusions. The same
could be said of a few of the Star Trek selections on the second
CD, though those always appeal to different groups within the community
depending on personal favorites.
Like most compilations, there are a few standout surprises than need to be recognized. The back-to-back performances of Species and Lifeforce (written by Christopher Young and Henry Mancini, respectively) are highlights of the compilation, with the extended end title variant on the main theme of Species served with the appropriately haunting choir. More ambitious is Lifeforce, with its driving, militaristic, and heroic theme well rendered here (though its tiring use to promote professional football games on television in 2006 has somewhat tarnished the theme's original purpose). Also highly praised through the years has been Prague's performance of Jerry Goldsmith's Capricorn One, one of the very best and most spirited in their history. The inclusion of The Black Hole is commendable; the original has never been released due to lost source tapes, and it's relatively strange to hear vibrant science-fiction music from John Barry anyway, so it's a fabulous stop on the CD. Breaking with the norm, Silva offers the "Han Solo and the Princess" concert arrangement from The Empire Strikes Back rather than the typical march, a far more interesting piece given the worn tread on the more famous theme. The only notably lackluster performances on this set are unfortunately Apollo 13 (poor selection of cue to perform), Enemy Mine (poor material to begin with), and Star Wars (just an off-kilter performance). After a gracious nod to Alex North's partially rejected 2001, the set embarks into the realm of Star Trek. The television themes are adequately portrayed (an obvious horn flub in Voyager is the only serious problem), though the most impressive performances are dedicated to the major motion picture scores. Lengthy tracks from The Wrath of Khan, The Final Frontier, and The Undiscovered Country are all very well done, though this logic largely follows the fact that those scores are among the best of the series anyway. The sound effects littered throughout the album are reminiscent of the Telarc/Erich Kunzel albums, and they likewise have little to do with the actual sounds from the films or shows. The ones on the first CD consist mostly of grinding noises... not suitable for real use as an annoyance for neighbors in your apartment. Overall, though, this set (and those in the series that followed) is outstanding, especially given that it's available on the used market for under five dollars as it reaches its tenth birthday. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 138:55
(Sound effects listed in red)
NOTES & QUOTES:
The release is contained in a silver sleave with blue lettering. The insert notes are extensive, though faulty in a
few places. Most noticably, under Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the plot description of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is given.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Space and Beyond are Copyright © 1997, Silva Screen Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 3/10/97 and last updated 12/21/06. |
