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•	1991 MCA Album

•	2012 Intrada Album

•	1991 MCA Album

To counterbalance the score's two overwhelmingly ominous themes, Eidelman writes two positive ideas for Star Trek VI. One of them, of course, represents the Enterprise, a requirement of any score in the franchise. Four separate permutations of this theme exist in "Clear All Moorings," ranging from the solo trumpet performance at 0:10 to the massive ensemble expression at 0:55. This theme is not heard from again until "Dining on Ashes," in which two far less spirited brass solos carry the melody. It's not until the opening of "Finale" (and a redemptive string variation at 1:20), as well as the opening and closing of "End Credits," that listeners can enjoy this theme again. In comparison to other composers' representations of the famed vessel, Eidelman's idea is only average, largely swallowed up by the score's other themes. Even the second positive theme for Star Trek VI comes with a caveat. On the surface, this theme could be assumed to represent the crew, since its most vibrant and obvious performance comes over the signature-writing finale of the picture. But the theme more likely represents the concept of peace, and the elusive road that this story takes to achieve it. This peace theme only receives four significant performances in Star Trek VI, and two of them are ironically translated into the minor key to aid in the expression of dread that permeates the "Overture" (1:05) and "End Credits" (4:10). It's much easier to appreciate the theme in its fully heroic incarnation, reminiscent of Horner's expansive, sea-worthy theme for the crew. The lovely ensemble performances at 2:20 into "Finale/Sign Off" and 0:35 into "End Credits" are obviously meant to send off the original cast in the best of light. The minor-key variants of the theme that help bookend the film are so very well forced into battle with the darker identities' rhythms that they're not readily obvious. It's one of the more intelligent, though likely unnoticed aspects of the score. Four lesser ideas that Eidelman uses in the score include a three-note suspense motif (often in pairs), heard first at 2:35 into "Arrival of Kronos One" and used frequently thereafter. It's used as counterpoint to the ambassador motif, which is a surprisingly uplifting and hopeful rhythmic idea heard at 1:15 into "Death of Gorkon" and 1:25 into "The Battle for Peace (Part I)." A noble two-note phrase opening "Spacedock" was also used to introduce Eidelman's original trailer music for the film. Finally, a four-note "call to action" motif (responding to the rising three notes of the conspiracy theme with three descending alternatives), often reserved for trumpets, is heard in the "Overture" and thereafter to punctuate moments of all-out panic.

Two themes in Star Trek VI carry over in at least partial incarnations from previous entries in the franchise, one of which fully expected and the other a total surprise. The first is Alexander Courage's fanfare from the television show, performed by solo horn at 0:40 into "Clear All Moorings" and at 0:55 into "Finale." The two varied brass performances backed by the full ensemble in "Sign Off" (at 2:10 and 3:05, the latter a ) are rowdy and satisfying. The first of these two is likely what Dennis McCarthy was trying to achieve in his finale for Star Trek: Generations, but he doesn't capture the same expansive scope or enthusiasm of this performance. The other theme heard throughout Star Trek VI is, strangely enough, a close variation of Horner's Vulcan theme from Star Trek II and Star Trek III. Horner used it as an interlude during his title performances in both scores, and while it only had a minimal impact in the cue "Spock" from Star Trek II, it is lovely in its extended exploration during "Returning to Vulcan" from Star Trek III. You first hear this theme in the form of a glass bowl effect (produced by a passionless synthesizer, a keen and logical reflection of the coldly intellectual conversation at hand) during the first two conversational minutes of "Arrival of Kronos One" (otherwise known as "Spock's Wisdom"). It is given its only truly beautiful performance during the narrative at 3:30 into "Escape from Rura Penthe," accompanying the vista shot of Kirk and McCoy's snowy escape attempt (and this usage likely refers to Spock's ability to track them once beyond a protective shield). A reprise of the first treatment of the theme returns at 0:25 in "The Battle for Peace (Part I)" and it closes the philosophical "The Undiscovered Country" with an eerie, strangely unresolved fragment. Eidelman pays one last treatment to Horner's work with another lengthy series of statements starting at 1:15 into "End Credits," first with solo woodwinds and eventually extending to a full string rendition. Other minor motifs reminiscent of previous entries exist, including one of exotic instrumentation for the penal colony of Rura Penthe, but their usage is typically restrained to a single scene (or cluster of consecutive scenes). The score, as a whole, is remarkably rooted in the depths of despair, except for those four or so cues that feature the two positive themes. Never has a Star Trek film score, even into the Michael Giacchino age of the concept's reboot, sounded so morbidly melodramatic, and that dedicated choice to infuse overflowing, operatic lyricism in most of this entry's themes has to be strongly commended.

One of the less heralded aspects of Star Trek VI is Eidelman's effort to compliment his arguably somewhat skimpy orchestra with a variety of specialty instruments, including a collection of synthetic effects. The otherworldly tones of the Vulcan theme in "Arrival of Kronos One" ("Spock's Wisdom") are carried over to several suspenseful scenes later in the film (though never so obvious until "The Undiscovered Country"). The eclectic selection of non-Western instruments contributed in part by orchestrators Mark McKenzie and William Kidd offer the Klingons and the penal colony of Rura Penthe a distinctly foreign sound without resorting to the same simplistic drum-banging used by the other composers in the franchise. Hinted at in "Assassinations" and assisting in the moment of panic in "Surrender for Peace," the exotic woodwinds are an integral part of the score's tone. Eidelman inserts them at seemingly illogical points in the story, but they work brilliantly every time. No matter what slight electronic accompaniment he applies (especially in "Escape from Rura Penthe," which offers several outstanding textures), he manages to augment the orchestra without drawing any distracting attention to the specialty accents. The score remains dominated by the orchestra's standard instruments of the lower registers, and only at moments like that at 4:30 into "Escape from Rura Penthe" does Eidelman skirt into the synthetic territory of Goldsmith's prior lead. Ultimately, Eidelman's use of strong ensemble hits, often given a sharp edge by the snare, is what remains most memorable about this score. The opening strikes of "Guess Who's Coming" and "The Battle for Peace (Part III)" ("The Final Count") are extremely memorable in the film, as are the strident rhythms of relentlessly continuous hits during the height of the final battle sequence. It's a score defined not by its thematic resonance, necessarily, but by the flow of its constant rhythms. The perpetual sense of churning movement is invaluable to the film's strong narrative pacing, even in instances such as the end of "Arrival of Kronos One," when various rhythms that typically accompany themes are expressed in solitary fragments. Meyer was insistent that Eidelman "got it" when it came to the kind of propulsive music he wanted for the film, and the finished product is clear evidence of this claim. While film score collectors and fans of franchise tend to hold the Horner and Goldsmith scores close to their hearts, it's difficult to discount Eidelman's contribution to the concept. In many ways, Star Trek VI was the best entry since Goldsmith's opener in 1979, if only because it so perfectly matches and enhances the mood of the film.

Undoubtedly, Star Trek VI is a truly singular entry in the series, which is precisely why it is both loved and shunned by collectors. The film was the first in the franchise to really utilize digital surround sound effects to extraordinary levels (the film is the only one with the full original cast that you can truly appreciate on a surround system), and Eidelman's music contributes greatly to that soundscape. On album, his score doesn't offer the same resounding sense of fantasy ambience that Goldsmith's later entries do, but that is not as much a comment on the ensemble size as it is on the mix of the recording. This is one of those scores that definitely benefits from the addition of some reverberation for those listeners with the software to do so. Otherwise, there have been several suites of music from the film (usually staying somewhat close to the "End Credits" format that is heard on screen) performed quite well by various ensembles around the world and pressed onto album. The original MCA release of 1991 squeezed as much of the score into 45 minutes as possible, and the resulting presentation suffers from several edits and combinations of separately recorded cues. For the most part, all of the important pieces were edited by Eidelman onto that album, though there is far better material than "An Incident" and the second half of "Revealed" to be included from the overall work. With the commercial album eventually going out of print, fans of the franchise sought out the expanded score in bootleg form and, in the 2000's, they were treated to a leaking of the recording sessions that not only provided almost the entire score but also contained interesting alternative versions of several major cues. In its complete length during the film, Eidelman's score for Star Trek VI runs about thirteen minutes longer than the original album. Most of the benefit to hearing the bootlegged session recordings relates to the natural separation of each cue, a trait not extended to the official 2012 release of roughly the same contents by Intrada Records. Listeners familiar with the bootleg will hear little new on the Intrada album's presentation of the actual score, with the exception of tasteful merging of shorter cues in the longer sequences. While the bootleg contains more alternate takes, the Intrada offering importantly provides two recordings of the original Eidelman trailer music for Star Trek VI, which is largely based upon cues that would make the final score but does include a version of the rolling conspiracy theme that is unique to the trailer. Sound quality is equally satisfactory on the bootleg and Intrada presentations, though the latter does flatten the soundscape in a few cues (yielding duller snare presence).

Of the material heard in the film but not included on the original commercial album, much of it consists of incidental meanderings on low strings. Both the noble tone of "Spacedock" and the slightly menacing tone of "The Sentencing" are really uneventful. Both "Morally Unjust Evidence" and "Finding a Clue" ("First Evidence") are underwhelming low brass explorations of what was better expressed in "Surrender for Peace." The "The Mind Meld" cue is as uninteresting here as the equivalent was in Horner's second Star Trek film score. Two hand-to-hand combat cues are far more intriguing, including the primordial drum rhythm of "Alien Fight" and the Goldsmith-like, staggered movements of "Kirk Versus Kirk." Four cues that really should have been included on the original album include "Guess Who's Coming" (the most obvious omission from the MCA product), the second half of "Death of Gorkon" (with the ambassador motif), the subsequent "The Trial," which offers another enticing performance of the conspiracy theme much like that heard in "Overture," and "The Undiscovered Country," a thoughtful moment of reflection. Otherwise, you do hear small snippets at the ends of cues, such as "Arrival of Kronos One" that were chopped off of the MCA album for time purposes (on the MCA album, you'll recall that this cue was merged with "Assassination"). Three film versions are included on the bootleg, including the choir-less film version of "Assassination" (a poor decision by Meyer?), a more percussive take on "Rura Penthe (Part I)," and the performance of "The Battle for Peace (Part III)" that halts during the bird of prey's destruction (a good choice that allowed the sound effects alone to accompany the cheers from the theatre audience). A gorgeous, softer ending in "Sign Off," slightly alternate takes on the first two "The Battle for Peace" cues, an inconsequential alternate excerpt of "Death of Gorkon," a more forceful and superior version of the middle part of "Revealed," and a slightly more robust, flourishing interpretation of "Guess Who's Coming" are included. The bootleg is missing "The Search" (0:50 in length), which should come after "Finding a Clue," and the Intrada album solves that omission. The 2012 product also includes the "Guess Who's Coming" and "Sign Off" alternates (arguably the most important two) to join the two trailer cue recordings. Overall, while Jerry Goldsmith has been immortalized as having brought the most, musically speaking, to the Star Trek franchise, Eidelman's score for Star Trek VI remains a unique powerhouse. Although the massive exposure led to some noteworthy, subsequent projects for Eidelman, he would never achieve lasting notoriety for his film scores in the following two decades.  *****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Cliff Eidelman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.29 (in 17 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.2 (in 8,860 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.