Soundtrack Review: Star Trek: The Original Series Volume 2 (1991)
This is a review of the original TV score Star Trek The Original Series Volume 2 by Sol Kaplan & Gerald Fried.
“Volume 2 climbed to classic heights that few future Star Trek scores would boldly go to”
I was hoping this score would serve as inspiration for Michael Giacchino’s score for the latest Star Trek film since he said he would seek inspiration from Courage’s themes. I was thinking a thematic ripping apart and rearrangement ala his morphing of the Speed Racer tune, but instead Giacchino reserved the stunning performances solely for the film’s ending (I still loved them though). Anyways, I hoped that Volume 2 would serve as a starting point because it features the best incorporation of Courage’s fanfare of any of the TOS commercial albums, putting it to exciting and moving effect. Oh yeah, and the album’s a classic. Need I say more? Well, yeah, I guess I do.
Consistent Thematic Strength
The CD begins in the same fashion as the last TOS album, with the noble, twinkling entrance leading into the jazzy Courage title theme, though this time the female choir is mixed at a louder level. What’s notable about this album is consistent thematic strength and density. There’s far more of the Courage Fanfare present in its entirety, notable right off the bat in “Approach of Enterprise/The Constellation”. New here are takes on low strings throughout and the woodwind use in “What is Doomsday Machine/The Planet Killer” and “Strange Boom/Decker Takes Over”. I personally love the jingling atmosphere behind the trumpet calls to start “Condolences/Power Drain”, as well as the victorious closes to “Kirk Does It Again” and “One’s Enough”. It’s wonderfully complemented by the determined, militaristic motif (used mostly on muted brass) that Kaplan uses to represent both Decker and the Planet Killer. Its variations are woven into the score quite well; the chimes in “Commander Matt Decker/The Crew That Was” are a nice surprise, while its use on trumpet in “Strange Boom/Decker Takes Over” is at once valiant and menacing, aided of course by a militaristic snare. A rumbling, marching motif is also exciting fun in “The New Commander/Light Beams/Tractor Beam”.
Suspense
The order of the day is suspense, more finely crafted and diverse than the still fine work featured in The Cage. “What is Doomsday Machine/The Planet Killer” weaves mysterious, low strings around in its first half to create a fine sense of impending menace, while “The New Commander/Light Beams/Tractor Beam” builds up into fine takes on the Courage Fanfare. Of course, this doesn’t mean there’s no action. Aside from the rumbling, marching motif, Kaplan makes cues like “Violent Shakes” and “Spock Takes Command/Decker’s Foil/Sneaky Commodore” sensational, using the same brassy style Courage used in Volume 1, though in Kaplan’s case his action cues run longer and have more depth, aiming less for brief, violent orchestral shocks and more for ominous propulsion. The trumpets get an absolute workout in “Goodbye, Mr. Decker”, while “Kirk Does It Again” is a grand, powerful menace of a climax, with an absolutely chaotic explosion around 2:55.
Right out of the first few notes of “Vulcan Fanfare/Prying”, you’re amazed how stylistically similar the score for “Amok Time” is to the rest of the TOS music despite being from a different composer. The fine woodwind duets, the brassy fanfares, the moving string work…it’s all here. Still, Gerald Fried firmly puts his stamp on this episode in a number of ways. His main motif is a meditative theme on guitar, almost as if it came from India, which isn’t as anachronistic as it conceptually sounds due to its fine integration with the saga’s style (counterbalanced against dissonant, spacey woodwinds in “Contrary Order”) and fine representation of the cerebral, meditative Vulcan race that is central to the episode. Further great extensions on this are the gorgeous cello solo on these Eastern chord patterns in “Marriage Council”, the guitar driving the exotic march in “The Processional”, and the mournful trombone solo to close the climatic action cue.
Conclusion
The second stamp is the classic action music is with his classic action music, build up in “The Challenge” on woodwinds amidst the Eastern guitar plucking before combusting into a rampaging brass explosion complete with a variety of tribal drumming. This cue exemplifies my main complement about this album: cue length. While a plethora of Volume 1’s cue were often too brief to be memorable, here the music gets time to breathe and build up spectacular momentum. That point proves the final stamp on an album that has no major flaws, which is why Volume 2 is a monumental step up from Volume 1, one that climbed to classic heights that few future Star Trek scores would boldly go to.
Album (52:24)
1. Star Trek Main Title 1:04
2. Approach of Enterprise/The Constellation 1:11
3. Going Aboard 1:40
4. Commander Matt Decker/The Crew That Was 2:02
5. What is Doomsday Machine/The Planet Killer 2:01
6. Strange Boom/Decker Takes Over 2:56
7. The New Commander/Light Beams/Tractor Beam 4:09
8. Violent Shakes 3:07
9. Spock Takes Command/Decker’s Foil/Sneaky Commodore 2:33
10. Goodbye Mr. Decker 3:16
11. Condolences/Power Drain 1:18
12. Kirk Does It Again 3:49
13. One’s Enough :27
14. Vulcan Fanfare/Prying :50
15. Mr. Spock 1:27
16. Contrary Order 2:57
17. T’Pring :55
18. Marriage Council 1:54
19. Vulcan 1:04
20. The Professional 1:37
21. The Challenge 3:07
22. The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah 6:08
23. Remorse/Marriage Council II 1:18
24. Resignation/Lazarus Return/Pig’s Eye :44
25. Star Trek End Title :49
Listen to Star Trek The Original Series Volume 2 by Sol Kaplan & Gerald Fried below:
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(6 votes, average: 9.67 out of 10)
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