| Star Trek: Nemesis |
| Composed by Jerry Goldsmith |
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Orchestrated by Mark McKenzie and Conrad Pope Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by the Hollywood Studio Orchestra Produced by Jerry Goldsmith Release Date: 2002 |
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While Jerry Goldsmith has provided his services for the Star Trek franchise over the years, it was with the switch to the cast of the spin-off series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which caused him to become the de facto composer of the films, encompassing First Contact, Insurrection, and the latest voyage of the crew of the Enterprise: Nemesis. Boldly treading where few Star Trek films have gone before, Goldsmith hits the darker tone of the film with full force. The result is a score that is quite a departure from his previous Trek forays, but that at the same time has Goldsmith reaching back through the years to incorporate some of his most beloved styles. The use of electronic effects jumps at the listener with the first track. While electronic effects have always been a staple of Goldsmith Trek scores, its use here harkens back to Star Trek: The Motion Picture and other scores of that period. While feelings on this are bound to be mixed, I found it to be a nice homage to that era. It gives this score a unique feel, much in the way the score to Insurrection was highlighted by its use of electronics (though the two scores are very different). The opening track forgoes the typical bombastic performance of Goldsmith’s Star Trek theme, and instead heralds a different type of film altogether. Taking us to the planet Romulus, the score remains dark and mysterious, with plenty of pulsating strings, hammering percussion, and those electronic noises. The music picks up gradually with the first action cue in Odds and Ends, and then returns to its methodical pace until the Total Recall-inspired cue, The Scorpion. While listening to this score, I was constantly reminded of other Goldsmith moments from such films as First Blood, the aforementioned Total Recall, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In fact, Nemesis works as part of homage to the first Trek film at times (and even more so in cues from the film that didn’t make it to the album release). I found these references to be quite general, however, and their inclusion didn’t detract me from enjoying those cues. It takes the score roughly half of its running time before it really comes to life, with the climactic action cue appearing in Final Flight. Not quite as epic in scope as the film would suggest, it still serves its purpose well and can be quite a nice departure from the hellfire and brimstone action scoring that usually permeates the climax of most scores. The ending track begins nicely, with a reference to Irving Berlin’s Blue Skies before morphing into the end credits suite that has become a staple of Goldsmith Trek scores. As is usually the case, the segue into the primary themes between the Star Trek theme is pretty rough, and the fact that the Romulan theme is not all that striking to begin with doesn’t help matters. Goldsmith adds a nice touch in performing the Star Trek theme at the slower speed that was in The Motion Picture. After having the pumped up version from Star Trek V used in the previous two Trek films, this is a nice change of pace. The fact that it takes a while to get going will probably be the biggest gripe that most will have. Still, once it gets there it goes pretty well, and though it doesn’t quite knock of Star Trek: The Motion Picture as the current best Goldsmith score for the franchise, it’s still better than average. ***1/2 |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 48:31 | |
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