Despite all the hoopla about the parts of the score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture that would inevitably shape the future of the franchise, it is ultimately "Ilia's Theme" that remains as the definite highlight of the original entry. The suite arrangement of the theme, led by the elegance of a concert-positioned grand piano, was partly used as the overture to the film at Wise's insistence, and despite a few references throughout the score in relation to the romance between Ilia and Decker, its applications are frustratingly sparse. The theme doubles as the idea of resolution for the V'Ger spacecraft, developed parallel to its love theme alternative before revealing itself as the same basic identity during the climactic, metaphysical connection between the two characters. Its fleeting conclusion comes in one final, grand performance in "V'Ger Speaks." The score's other major three themes are all introduced immediately in "Klingon Battle." The theme that Goldsmith penned (late in the process) for the Klingons themselves is understandably used only in this cue, however the primal hunting instinct inherent in the identity's slightly exotic rhythm and low brass would return in various forms throughout the following nine films. James Horner offered a similarly percussive, though less memorable theme for the species in his second sequel score, while Goldsmith expanded upon his original idea in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and used it as a token reference to the character of Worf in his last three sequel scores. Also introduced in "Klingon Battle" is the motif for the mysterious cloud that destroys the Klingon cruisers and Federation station, with the V'Ger craft at its heart. This theme's suspenseful yet awe-inspiring and almost religious tones (aided by organ) are a precursor to Goldsmith's Poltergeist music, and its performances dominate the later portions of the score, highlighted by "The Cloud." An arguably more vital theme for Starfleet is heard first in "Klingon Battle," and this alternating minor/major-key rhythm is used frequently in the score (especially prominent in "Leaving Drydock") for both the upbeat ambience of Starfleet and the suspense of their current mission. This idea is surprisingly pervasive in the original entry, especially in its first half, and it inspired later scores' treatment of Starfleet, including Cliff Eidelman's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. A lesser motif exists for Spock and his mind meld capabilities as well (introduced in "Total Logic"), though it lacks many memorable characteristics.

A 98-piece orchestra was used to record Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and the quality of that recording has always been strong. Adding distinction to the score is Goldsmith's instrumental creativity, however. Outside of the organic percussion in "Klingon Battle," the composer foreshadows his work for Legend and other later fantasy music with an array of synthetic sounds, some of which unique to this score. The most obvious element debuting here is the "Blaster Beam," Craig Huxley's invention of the long, metallic tube with a scaling magnet used to produce different pitches of sound of extraordinarily harsh and deep tones. Frightfully resonating in the bass region, this clearly menacing instrument is another representation of the mysterious V'Ger cloud. It serves as an extremely effective futuristic signal for the concept and offers an expansive presence in the bass region rarely realized before electric guitars and matured synthesizers tackled the same soundscape in the 1990's. It also compensated for the lack of well-developed sound effects in the final mix of the picture, too. The idea was reprised to an extent by James Horner in his sequels, and Goldsmith would use a fully synthetic version of it to represent the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact, but the instrument itself was not used in the same fashion for those subsequent entries. It was utilized in John Barry's The Black Hole and a few other film scores, though not with the same fame or originality as in this particular score. To augment the "Blaster Beam," Goldsmith used his usual zipping and zapping sound effects in the effort, and "The Cloud" and other cues of suspense are treated to lengthy wind and surf-inspired effects, some of which organically created, that later matured in Total Recall. The religious tone of Poltergeist prevails later in "The Cloud" and reaches an organ-powered climax in "The Meld." The role of the percussion, whether it's the pounding strikes of single piano keys or the tapping of wood and metal elements, is another important factor that Goldsmith finally revisited in Star Trek: Insurrection. The recording of the overall ensemble is quite dynamic and defies its 1970's origins. Expert mixing helped the longevity of the work as well, the placement of Huxley's various synthetic contributions crackling with a force of clarity despite his positioning alongside the live players. Several decades later, when pre-records had become the norm for synthetic augmentation of an orchestra, it's remarkable to revisit these Goldsmith achievements and appreciate his insistence that such instruments should serve as a fifth section of a live ensemble.

In sum, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is one of the few scores that truly deserves the title of "classic masterpiece." It was a huge factor in salvaging a troubled production and defined the music for a franchise to come. The depth of its secondary themes has never been repeated, and no following sequel score has been so richly endowed with such a perfect blend of romance, suspense, and gravity. One structural aspect of the score to mention specifically is the end credits, which followed the formula used by John Williams for Star Wars. In this and all of his subsequent scores for the franchise (along with Horner and Eidelman), Goldsmith bracketed the secondary theme with the fanfare for the Enterprise. The transitions between the main theme and Ilia's theme here are more fluid than in the composer's last three formula end title structures. From the standpoint of listenability, Star Trek: The Motion Picture has its share of distinct highlights and, like Star Wars, moments that you skip if only because they have been made redundant by superior sequel recordings. A few of Steiner's arrangements are somewhat dull filler material as well, revealed to their fullest on the score's most complete release on album. The moments of suspense involving the Voyager craft are delights for hardcore Goldsmith enthusiasts, while "Ilia's Theme," with its clever influences from the famed title theme, remains a favorite for casual collectors. Both of the primary themes were translated into disco or pop songs not affiliated in any way with Goldsmith or the film. For a long time, the score has often been represented on re-recorded compilations by prominent orchestras around the world. Usually performed is "The Enterprise," which Goldsmith himself conducted for a 1997 compilation of his sci-fi works entitled "Frontiers." This cue is the staple of any similarly themed compilation, conducted even by John Williams for the Boston Pops, and the more illustrious compilations have tackled the "Klingon Battle" cue, including an intriguing rendition conducted by Erich Kunzel. Performances of "Ilia's Theme" are strangely rarer despite the theme's inherent concert arrangement. In its original recording, Star Trek: The Motion Picture has received four official major releases on CD. An early, 1986 album was pressed by Columbia to match the original LP presentation and featured exactly 40 minutes of Goldsmith's music out of film order. Most of the major cues were represented on this album, however, and with sound quality equal to the later expanded pressing of 1999, some casual fans continued to be adequately served by this product.

For the film's 20th anniversary in 1999, Sony and Columbia pressed another 25 minutes of music and a compilation of 1976 spoken interviews with Roddenberry and cast members, among other short items, on a second CD. Goldsmith chose which cues to newly include, and fans were disappointed to find pieces, including Courage's short contributions, still missing. But the newly released cues were of substantial length from all parts of the film, arranged finally into film order. Portions of the V'Ger music are indeed redundant, though both "V'Ger Speaks" and especially "A Good Start," essentially an extension of "The Enterprise," were welcome additions. There was much consternation and outward hostility towards Sony and Paramount's teasing of fans prior to this album's release, for it was advertised as having a November 1998 release date but was forced into countless delays due to marketing conflicts with the theatrical debut of Star Trek: Insurrection. Additionally, the "Inside Star Trek" marketing ploy on the second CD didn't appeal to everyone. Still, the slightly higher retail price was worth 65 minutes of the score. In 2012, La-La Land Records finally offered a definitive, nearly comprehensive 3-CD set. This product includes the complete film score with newly released takes, the long-awaited rejected recordings, a remastered recreation of the original album presentation, countless alternate takes (including some raw recordings of the sessions), and even the two pop songs, of which "A Star Beyond Time" is actually entertaining. Substantial efforts were made to transfer the master tapes to digital form in the best possible quality of sound, and the result is outstanding. Upwards of four hours of material is available on this $35 product, easily meriting that price. The label later released one notably absent cue from this product, the "Inner Workings" variant with the original wind effects that Goldsmith had vehemently detested, on their catch-all, limited 2016 set, "Star Trek 50th Anniversary Collection." Likewise, their similarly limited 2022 set, "Star Trek Collection: The Final Frontier," contains nine minutes of early, unrecorded Goldsmith cues assembled and performed on synthesizers by composer Joe Kraemer, mostly an intellectual curiosity and not for enjoyment. After the 2012 set's 10,000 copies sold out, La-La Land followed in 2022 with a condensed and slightly rearranged 2-CD version that drops some of the alternates and the rejected recordings for another 10,000-copy run. Paramount Music released just the main 25-track presentation from that album digitally. While admirable for its availability, the 2022 versions cannot compete with the masterful 2012 product, the most rewarding treatment of a score that remains among the best of Goldsmith's incredible career.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download