Soundtrack Review: Star Trek: Voyager (1995)

Posted by Jon Blough

May 4, 2009

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Star Trek Voyager This is a review of Star Trek: Voyager by Jay Chattaway.

“Voyager succeeds with what should’ve been common sense by now: strong theme, acceptable action, and the common sense to avoid having pleasant anonymity be the dominant personality.”

By now it’s fairly safe to say one goes into a Star Trek TV score with diminished expectations. Back during the release of TOS Volume 2 that may not have been the case, but the underachieving albums for TNG sort of crushed that hope. At the point of listening to Voyager’s maiden effort, I can really say I’m thrilled, but I expect a decent listen. It would be naïve to say that diminished expectations are the reason Star Trek: Voyager’s album stands a little bit taller than most of its predecessors, for diminished expectations still don’t help those lackluster releases, rather Voyager succeeds with what should’ve been common sense by now: strong theme, acceptable action, and the common sense to avoid having pleasant anonymity be the dominant personality.

New Theme

The new theme for the series, composed by Jerry Goldsmith (yay!), is a slower, more majestic theme than his rip-roaring TMP fanfare but certainly about as soaring. Certainly it bears stylistic similarities to First Knight, which came out in the same year, but not in a blatant way…did I mention that means this cue’s quite rousing? No, I guess I didn’t, but anyways, it’s the best opening TV titles for the series since TOS, and more readily accessible in a heroic format than DS9’s main theme. The integration into the underscore doesn’t really kick in until the second half when it heroically sneaks into the restrained action cue “Escape From the Ocampa Underground”, which also boasts a surprisingly strong low woodwind presence in places as well as stylistic similarities to Goldsmith in the building brass and one ethnic flute strike that harkens back to ST6. Also worthy uses are the fine, resolute closing in “Set Course for Home” and the end credits.

Chattaway’s action fare is certainly more driving than it was in TNG Volume 4, which makes the “Prologue” and most of “70 Thousand Light Years From Home” good fun, and a lot more grand and exciting than you’d expect most modern Star Trek TV action to be. The following “Beamed to the Farm” is also good propulsive underscore, similar in strings and electronics to some of Goldsmith’s more minor cues. Future action cues like “Paris Takes the Helm” are equally driving and stylistically similar to Goldsmith’s work, which anyone familiar with my reviews on his Trek scores knows is a quality I will not complain about. Regrettably the 6-minute “Battle For The Array” doesn’t live up to the momentous expectations a title like that creates, though it does have some nice lighter renditions on the main theme.

Conclusion

As to be expected from any single episode score (regrettably modern Star Trek shows have defined the norm on that one) there are some effective but unassuming cues that pass by like leaves on a fall day. After 5 preceding albums these cues have become a dime a dozen, and it’s not really relevant who’s the composer since any one of the regulars could have written “Lifesigns in the Barn” or “Not Enough Time” and I wouldn’t notice the difference. Thankfully these don’t prove to be the dominant personality here; the above paragraphs prove this score has a bit more zest, and the climactic “Set Course For Home” is more moving than anything to come from the TV albums in a long time. Voyager is the first Trek TV album to have a somewhat decent identity since TNG Volume 2, and considering the bummers that came before, that’s enough to elevate this album a bit above the crowd.

Oh, and yes, there’s that durn hillbilly track at the end. I suppose a source cue was inevitable, especially given the episode’s theme. Honestly, it’s not a big deal, and it’s certainly better than, say, the last cue on ST3.

Album (46:14)
1. Star Trek: Voyager Main Title 1:47
2. Prologue 3:12
3. 70 Thousand Light Years from Home 3:23
4. Beamed to the Farm 4:19
5. Lifesigns in the Barn 6:05
6. Paris Takes the Helm 2:38
7. Star Trek: Voyager Main Title (short) :19
8. Escape from the Ocampa Underground 8:06
9. Not Enough Time 2:02
10. Battle for the Array 6:56
11. Set Course for Home 3:32
12. Star Trek: Voyager End Credit 1:20
13. The Caretaker’s Hoedown 2:35