Category: Individual Tracks (CD’s)

SUMMARY:                                      RUNNING TIME: 1:43 Min.

Covering composer Jerry Goldsmith’s 1987-1994 TV theme, it’s the second track for conductor Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra on their 1996 Symphonic Star Trek instrumental album.

REVIEW:

This perfectly-executed cover is recommended, not for only long-time Star Trek fans, but for any sci-fi playlist.   

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                        8 Stars

Note: Goldsmith’s original version, for instance, appears on 1996’s Television’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 7: Cable Ready album.  It was  released in CD and cassette formats.

SUMMARY:                                         RUNNING TIME: 3:51 Min.

Composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith for 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this instrumental celebrated Star Trek’s long-awaited film debut.  Versions of Goldsmith’s 1979 theme have regularly appeared on compilation projects over the years.  Among them is this cover by The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for its 1996’s Symphonic Star Trek album.   

REVIEW:

Impressively, this cover is a virtual replica of Goldsmith’s work. Suffering from an excessive sense of majesty (including its initial electronica twist), this theme tries too hard to live up to Star Trek: TMP’s would-be epic tone.  Unsurprisingly, the tune sounds outdated some four decades later. 

One also can’t help comparing Goldsmith’s work to John Williams’ iconic Star Wars theme, not to mention  James Horner’s nautical-flavored Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan themes.  In either instance, Goldsmith’s grandiose instrumental would surely lose out, though it possessed an unique sound for that time.  That is … until Goldsmith twice plundered TMP: first, in 1987, as Star Trek: The Next Generation’s TV theme, and then, regrettably, for 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.  Of Goldsmith’s ‘three’ versions, The Next Generation frankly holds up best. 

Even so, along with the movie’s equally overblown FX, Goldsmith’s anthem is among the few enjoyable elements arising from Star Trek: TMP.  Admirably executed by Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, this particular cover is a nostalgic keepsake for any Star Trek fan’s playlist. 

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                          6 Stars

Note: There’s a rendition of Goldsmith’s Star Trek: The Next Generation tune on this same album.

SUMMARY:                                RUNNING TIME: 6:09 Min.

As Track # 25, Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra revisit James Horner’s theme for their 1996 Symphonic Star Trek instrumental album.

REVIEW:

It’s a virtual replica of the original 1984 theme.  The drawback is Horner’s own unimaginative recycling.  Though Star Trek III’s primary theme is still good, too often it sounds like a lukewarm suite left over from his Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan score.  Including elements of Alexander Courage’s signature Trek theme, this track offers some welcome nostalgia for Trekkers.    

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                        6½ Stars