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Product Description
Original soundtrack to the highly anticipated 2009 motion picture. From producer/director J.J. Abrams (Lost, Mission: Impossible: III, and Fringe) comes a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, Star Trek, featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no one has gone before. Starring Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Simon Pegg as Scotty, with Eric Bana, Winona Ryder and Leonard Nimoy. Michael Giacchino, who has served as J.J. Abrams' musical lieutenant on all his projects, follows the extraordinarily rich musical legacy of Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith, and James Horner, as he boards the Enterprise for her maiden voyage.
From the opening of Michael Giacchino's score, "Star Trek" reveals itself to be a bombastic musical journey.
As many of you already know "Star Trek" tells the story of the original crew's beginnings, depicting the coming together of James Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and the other classic heroes of the Starship Enterprise. And with a 43-year history, "Star Trek" has a lot of reference material- including its music.
However, contemporary innovation is the mantra of this production. So, if you are expecting a scaled-up version of the classic series' music, you're going to have to wait until the very end to get your Alexander Courage dosage. But more on that later.
"Star Trek" is dominated by a heroic leitmotif, an arrangement which serves as young Jim Kirk's theme. On first listen, the theme stands out as being absolutely ubiquitous- almost to a fault. Is it a catchy hook or a musical crutch for Giacchino? Or is it both? That depends on your musical taste- but it is the overriding identity of the score. Your love or dislike of this theme will probably determine your overall opinion of the film's music.
The most pleasing version of this theme is the track titled "Labor of Love." Without having seen the film, there's no context for its use as of yet- but one can imagine the Starship Enterprise being pieced together with a teenage Jim Kirk looking on. It's not nearly as soaring as Jerry Goldsmith's legendary "The Enterprise" track from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," but comparing anything to that composition may be unfair.
"Enterprising Young Men" is another standout piece- this likely playing around the time Kirk and McCoy make their way into outer space, approaching their eventual home for presumably the next several years. This track shares an emotional identity with former-Trek composer James Horner's "Apollo 13" score. It's all about adventure!
How's the action music? Very good. There are trace elements of Alexander Courage and Frank Steiner's original series-style in this new composition. While we (unfortunately) don't get a straight riff on the "Amok Time" fight music, the use of percussion and horns are stylistically in the same vein. The villain theme is reminiscent of John Williams' "Death Star" theme from the original "Star Wars"-- simple and old-Hollywood in style. And Giacchino adds what has become a common choice among composers of late- the "Apocalyptic Chorus." You know the kind of music- it's used in every single action movie trailer (close your eyes and you can see things exploding when you listen to it). You also get some quasi-Middle Eastern wailing found in 90% of Ridley Scott movies since "Gladiator." For "Star Trek" this isn't a bad choice, remember that the original theme song consists of some opera lady singing. But from a critical view, this use of a chorus is a tad trite. By the score's end we arrive at a musical high-point. "That New Car Smell" is a somber yet noble piece. It is quite emotional, progressing towards a rousing finish.
And that leads us to the wrap-up "To Boldly Go" and "End Credits" which finally delve into Alexander Courage's original theme with full force. What may be an unfortunate consequence of Giacchino saving the original theme to the very end is that it feels incongruous with the rest of the score. Sure, there are those elements mentioned above in the action music, but they are subtle and not used frequently. It feels as if there are two identities occupying the same space in this score- and they don't mesh well. Had Giacchino managed to stylize the new music to consistently match the original theme throughout, then this issue might have been avoided. Alternatively, if he had rearranged Courage's music to align with his own composition, the end product would have been more successful.
My expectations for this score were actually very high, which probably colors this review. Giacchino is a superb talent- his work on "The Incredibles," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Ratatouille" are among the best film scores of the last several years. He has imbued his orchestral work with jazz elements in the past, similar to Courage and Steiner from the original series. Giacchino's track record suggested a perfect fit for "Star Trek." While he fails to bridge the movie to the original series in a satisfying way, he has delivered a solid score. I look forward to his work on the inevitable sequel- where I think he will develop his "Trek" identity further. There is a good foundation here, but similar to Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's work on the Christopher Nolan "Batman" series, sometimes it takes two shots to make a real breakthrough on a property.
After repeat listening, the score to the newest installment is catchy, action-packed, a little cheesy and not a bad 44 minutes or so of music.
Is it Goldsmith's Star Trek? No.
Is it Horner's Star Trek? Absolutely not.
Michael Giacchino writes mostly TV and video game scores (a fact I don't hold against him at all, he's a fantastic composer), and this is evident in "Star Trek". Was the opportunity to score an epic, more "film-appropriate" score squandered on J.J. Abrams best music buddy?
Maybe.
Giacchino is hit or miss for me. Some of his work is good, some of it not so much. (I wonder when everyone screams about the "Lost" scores. What's the appeal?) "Star Trek" is in the "good" category, even if "good" usually means "Most of the score is ok save for one or two tracks on EVERY Giacchino CD that are outstanding". Speed Racer had "Grand ol' Prix" and "Reboot". MI:3 had "Bridge Battle". "The Incredibles" had... well, ok, that whole album was great, but it's Pixar.
This CD is mostly "good", with a few "outstanding" tracks, specifically "Enterprising Young Men" and "Nero Death Experience". These two are perfect examples of what happens when Giacchino tries to stir up the listener and does it well. He manages to hit emotional cues and tense action themes and he carries it just long enough to be satisfying but not overwhelming. Other tracks on the CD stand out as well, and there's actually quite a wide variety of themes in this film, but this leads me to what everyone will be arguing about...
Whose Star Trek is this?
Is it Goldsmith? Or Horner, or Courage or Rosenman or any number of composers who have lent their considerable talents trying to create an audible identity for one of the more long-lived science fiction series out there? Depending on what your tastes and who you grew up with, that's going to be a big argument.
What I do know though is this:
"To Boldly Go" and "End Credits" is the reason this CD should be bought. It's Star Trek, plain and simple. If there's one thing Giacchino can do, it's take a theme, scrub it down, rinse it off, dress it up and put it out there for the screams of adoring fans. He's just that good at it, and ending the album with these tracks is the perfect way to reintroduce the old but familiar Star Trek back into cinema.
How do you follow stellar giants such as Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Alexander Courage, and yes even Leonard Rosenman and Cliff Eidelman in the "Star Trek" film score lexicon? Well, you really can't, but this is the situation that Michael Giacchino has inherited for his score for J.J. Abrams blockbuster film "Star Trek." The result is a more somber approach than expected (with perhaps some echoes of Eidelman's treatment for "Star Trek VI-The Undiscovered Country," and a hint of James Horner), but certainly not a bad effort at all, indeed, it all amounts to a fine soundtrack recording and a solid score for the screen. One suspects that the general complaint will be a missing fanfare opening in the style of the great Jerry Goldsmith, but this is a prequel...and big things have yet to happen. The main theme is solid and works as an emerging heroic theme for James Tiberius Kirk (and the Enterprise) and it appears in various forms throughout the essentially orchestral score including a surprisingly effective combination with the Alexander Courage theme at the very end. The antagonist, Nero, has a distinct motif reminiscent of the TV series, while Spock has a trademark motif as well. There is a good deal to like about what Giacchino has done here and he has left some musical development open, to be continued in a sequel? The best part of all is probably the "End Credits" which is a traditional overture beginning with that nice twist with Courage's theme (listen for a brief return to this at the very end) and continues with all of Giacchino's representative themes and motifs to a big conclusion...yes, big, now things have happened and, we suspect, more is to come. Nicely produced and packaged by Varese.
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