: (Compilation) In the late
1990's, it seemed as though there was a new collection of "Star Trek"
themes produced for album once or twice every year, each one
clamoring over another in order to feature the theme of the newest
television or movie release. The pride of each release from 1999 to 2000
had been the inclusion of
, which
featured, ironically, a theme that was one of the least interesting in
recent "Star Trek" memory. Nevertheless, undaunted by redundancy,
the Varèse Sarabande label jumped on the bandwagon in the autumn
of 2000 to please those die-hard franchise fans who were grasping to the
last, dying breaths of "Voyager" and wondering when or if there will be
another television series and feature film. This compilation, titled
"The Ultimate Star Trek," isn't much different from others in the genre;
it takes performances of all the famous "Star Trek" themes by orchestras
around the world (in other words: from the places where musician's fees
aren't astronomical) and arranges them into a pleasant listening order.
For this "ultimate" collection (which is a silly claim to make, if you
think about the fact that there would certainly be another series and
films from the famed Alpha Quadrant in the coming few years, reducing
the validity of this product's claim), Varèse assembled
performances conducted by their usual favorites, including some already
existing in their library of released works. Jerry Goldsmith conducts
the Royal Scottish Orchestra for a few of his own pieces, while Frederic
Talgorn conducts the same group for two of the more recent entries. Fred
Steiner works with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the selections
from the "Original Series." Finally, Cliff Eidelman conducts his Seattle
Symphony Orchestra for the majority of the motion picture themes,
including his own.
Generally speaking, the performances are basically
decent, but most are lacking when compared to either their originals or
other recordings done by similarly employed orchestras. The best
selections on this album are, obviously, those for which Goldsmith
conducts the impressive RSNO for his own compositions, including
Star
Trek: The Motion Picture,
Star Trek: First Contact, and
Star Trek: Voyager. Unfortunately, the product doesn't mention
that these same performances were originally available in late 1997 on a
Varèse compilation of Goldsmith recordings with the RSNO called
"Frontiers." The difference in quality between Goldsmith's conducting of
his own works with the RSNO and Frederic Talgorn's conducting of
Goldsmith work with the same ensemble a few years later is interestingly
noticeable. While the RSNO's professionalism is still maintained for
Star Trek: Insurrection, a genuine spirit is lacking in the
rendition, proving that the effect of Goldsmith's own presence in the
podium is not to be underestimated. So many of the highlights of
Star
Trek: Insurrection were contained outside of the primary statements
of the film's themes that the suite stands at a disadvantage due the
choice of material to record for this album. Talgorn's leading of
Star Trek: Generations is admirable, but the inclusion of Dennis
McCarthy's theme is easily one of the poorest on the product because of
the fluffy composition's original "episodic score-like" shortcomings.
Fred Steiner's conducting of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra provides a
unique and well conditioned spirit in the performances that capture the
essence of the old 1960's themes quite well. To hear them performed in
such vastly improved sound quality will be awkward for some listeners,
however.
Cliff Eidelman, while composing arguably the most gutsy
and enjoyable score for a
Star Trek film, is greatly hindered by
the lackluster size and unenthusiastic attitude of the Seattle
performers. Their recordings of four feature film themes in the middle
of the album, as well as
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, are shallow
and poorly mixed compared to the RSNO's performances. Even the recording
of Eidelman's own
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,
arranged into a unique suite of the score's two final cues ("Sign Off"
and "End Credits"), proceeds at an unsatisfyingly slow and withdrawn
pace. There are several small, but noticeably painful mistakes during
their sequences as well, especially during
Star Trek VI.
Additionally, there are two factors working against this album. First,
the tracks mostly consist the same old concert suite arrangements. The
targeted fans have heard them hundreds of times, many of them in person.
Only Eidelman's own, aforementioned extended suite is an exception. With
Goldsmith's end credit sequences all sounding so similar, the producers
would have been better served by commissioning the performance of one of
the relentless attack sequences from
Star Trek: Insurrection
instead. The other factor working against this compilation is the simple
fact that most of the suites have been performed better by other
orchestras. From Erich Kunzel to The City of Prague Philharmonic (and
even the older Czech performances on the Edel label in the early
1990's), massive symphonies with assistance from authenticating
synthesizers and choirs have produced exciting "Star Trek"
recordings that are far superior to most of those on this product,
especially the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. In light of this reality,
dedicated fans should seek out these other products, as well as
Goldsmith's "Frontiers" album from the same label.
** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.22
(in 141 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.24
(in 154,884 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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 8,876 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
