Filmtracks: Space 3: Beyond the Final Frontier (Compilation)

Filmtracks Review >>

Space 3: Beyond the Final Frontier (Compilation)

Full Review Menu ▼

Buy It

Viewer Ratings (267 Total)

No Comments

Performed by:

The City of Prague Philharmonic
The Crouch End Festival Chorus

Conducted by:

Paul Bateman
Nic Raine

Produced by:

James Fitzpatrick

Track Listings

Total Time: 131:16

CD1: (63:04)

• 1. Aliens (James Horner)
    Prelude/Ripleys Rescue (5:54)

• 2. Ghostbusters (Elmer Bernstein)
    Main Theme (3:12)

• 3. IT Came from Outer Space (Henry Mancini)
    The Thing Strikes/Desert Rendezvous (4:11)

• 4. Strange Invaders (John Addison)
    Suite (8:27)

• 5. Judge Dredd (Alan Silvestri)
    Suite (4:50)

• 6. RoboCop (Basil Poledouis)
    Suite (9:31)

• 7. Time Machine (Russell Garcia)
    London 1900/Filbeys Theme (2:28)

• 8. Back to the Future (Alan Silvestri)
    Main Theme (3:25)

• 9. The Cape (John Debney)
    Main Theme (3:12)

• 10. Star Trek: The Menagerie (Alexander Courage)
    Suite (8:28)

• 11. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (Ron Jones)
    Opening (4:02)

• 12. Star Trek: Insurrection (Jerry Goldsmith)
    End Title Suite (5:06)

CD2: (68:15)

• 1. The Last Starfighter (Craig Safan)
    Main Theme (3:08)

• 2. Silent Running (Peter Schickele)
    The Space Fleet (4:09)

• 3. Journey to the Far Side of the Moon (Barry Gray)
    Suite (5:57)

• 4. Lost in Space (Bruce Broughton)
    End Titles (3:26)

• 5.Galaxy Quest (David Newman)
    Suite (7:11)

• 6. Things to Come (Arthur Bliss)
    The Childrens Ballet (3:46)

• 7. Things to Come (Arthur Bliss)
    March (3:59)

• 8. The Matrix (Don Davis)
    Anything is Possible (8:08)

• 9. Meteor (Laurence Rosenthal)
    End Titles Suite (5:03)

• 10. Deep Impact (James Horner)
    The Wedding (4:18)

• 11. Armageddon (Trevor Rabin)
    Suite (5:08)

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (John Williams)
• 12. The Flag Parade (3:18)
• 13. Anakins Theme (2:51)
• 14. The Adventures of Jar Jar (3:26)
• 15. Duel of the Fates (4:10)

Album Cover Art

Label & Release Date

Silva Screen Records America
(July 25th, 2000)

Album Availability

Regular U.S. release.

Also See

•	Space and Beyond
•	Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II

Notes & Quotes

The insert notes are in great depth. The artwork includes bio-hazard warnings and a picture of a man who is either intently singing or screaming in obvious pain.

Close Full Review Menu ▲

Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,500
Written 8/15/00, Revised 12/1/07

Invert Colors

Buy it... if five or six outstanding performances amounting to half an hour of material merits the purchase of the whole set.

Avoid it... if you are dissatisfied with the more suspect collection of scores represented on this product compared to the two superior sets that came before in the series.

Space 3: Beyond the Final Frontier: (Compilation) The "Space and Beyond" series of film score re-recordings by The City of Prague Philharmonic have been among the most enjoyable collections of film themes ever produced for album. The series debuted with "Space and Beyond" in 1997, followed immediately the next year by "Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II," and both albums were as outstanding as collections of science-fiction film music can get, with astute arrangements and robust, accurate performances throughout. Both products were critical and popular successes, perhaps not of the same magnitude of the "Cinema Choral Classics" albums also released by Silva Screen Records, but still much to the appreciation of film score fans. In the case of both series, the third entry would take slightly longer to hit the shelves, with "Space 3: Beyond the Final Frontier" released in the summer of 2000. It plays very much along the same lines, though, with the noteworthy collaboration between The City of Prague Philharmonic and the Crouch End Festival Chorus continuing. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this third "Space and Beyond" 2-CD set is its selections from the genre, stretching away from purely space-related scores and diving more into the straight-forward action and fantasy genres to reclaim adequate material for performance. With so many of the marketable sci-fi scores already represented on the previous products, the producers may simply have run out of relevant material; given that sci-fi fans are typically also in tune with the adventure and fantasy genres, this question is likely of little consequence. As with any of these compilations, its success depends completely on the selections of compositions for performance, as well as their arrangement. Having already released the most commonly popular selections on the first two albums, this one suffers mildly from the strain of finding good material for inclusion. As expected, "Space 3: Beyond the Final Frontier" contains the most recent additions to the sci-fi genre at the time (from 1998 and 1999), but to round out the album, a more obscure selection of older scores is also included.

Read More...

Among the surprising highlights of the album are a few performances of those obscure themes. By far the most impressive is the opening volley of the second CD with The Last Starfighter. Craig Safan's cult theme always seems to record well, and it is performed here with all the robust energy that makes it so enjoyable. Also worth noting is the unexpected, but respectful performance of the opening to the "Starfleet Academy" game by Ron Jones. John Addison's Strange Invaders is a welcome title that warrants its suite here as well. Although they really don't all belong on this album, the time travel and superhero sections are all well performed; the electronic touch in Basil Poledouris' RoboCop is captured with remarkable skill and serves as the highlight of the first CD. The improved enthusiasm and resounding power of Prague's performance of Bruce Broughton's Lost in Space confirms that the composition is not lacking anywhere near the degree to which the original recording's performance would suggest. You have to give the producers credit for hustling to record the suite from Galaxy Quest so soon after its release; with a fuller choral ambience and more moderate tones (the trumpet theme isn't quite as grating), it's arguably superior to the original recording, too. Some of the performances aren't necessarily more enjoyable than the originals, but they're so different that they merit some curiosity. The material from Don Davis' The Matrix, Alan Silvestri's Judge Dredd, and Trevor Rabin's Armageddon is of particular interest. This album does proportionally contain, though, more flops than the previous "Space and Beyond" albums. Performances of John Williams' Star Wars: The Phantom Menace were overexposed at the time, and these renditions lack the same depth of power of previous re-recordings of those suites found on the Varèse Sarabande label. Likewise, the droning Silent Running, the fluffy and poorly paced Ghostbusters, and Deep Impact, which has appeared numerous times before on Silva albums, are all ones to skip. Many of the others are decent, though not particularly inspiring. Overall, this third set's selections are somewhat suspect, and its total lengthy is 20 minutes less than its predecessor. Still, as with all of these compilations, there exist a few absolutely fantastic performances. **** @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Return to Top (Full Menu) ▲

Filmtracks Home	Reviews
Scoreboard	Desktop Site

The Small Print