| Star Trek III: The Search for Spock |
| Composed by James Horner |
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Conducted and Produced by James Horner Orchestrated by Greg McRitchie Release Date: 1991 |
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When Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan hit theatres and won great acclaim (not to mention box office receipts), work quickly took off on the next installment of the franchise. James Horner was again hired to provide the score for the sequel. That turned out to be a case of where Horner repeated himself because he pretty much had to. With the film following up right after the events of Star Trek II, it needed a cohesive score to carry over, especially with the loss of the character of Spock. The result is a score that a few dismiss outright due to its continuation of themes from the previous film, but that still maintains a charm of its own. Where the film opens pretty much where Star Trek II left off, so does the score. Prologue and Main Title return us to the world of Star Trek, reminding us of the dark events that took place, but retaining a reminder that anything can happen. The opening title sequence is exactly the same from the first film, though thankfully Horner opens up with his new material immediately in Klingons (using a manner that is reminiscent of Goldsmith's segue into his Klingon theme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture). Next follows what is arguably the best cue from the whole score. Stealing the Enterprise is an eight minute foray into intense thematic usage that Horner ingeniously pulls off. The culmination of the cue, which includes a rousing performance of the main theme as the Enterprise escapes Spacedock into the freedom of space, has always been music that makes my hair stand on end. The second half of the score suffers mostly due to the ethnic atmospheric music that Horner composed for the planet Vulcan. It is very interesting to start off with but it soon grows tiresome. The End Titles follow the same formula as the end credits music for Star Trek II, but with the added inclusion of a performance of the second half of Alexander Courage's original theme, which segues quite well into Horner's main title. The last track offers a glimpse into what the score for Star Trek II would have sounded like if the studio heads had prevailed and Horner had been limited to synthesizers. It can be a fun listen to relive the nostalgia of the 80s, but serious score fans will probably sneer at its inclusion. While not as strong as Star Trek II, Horner's work on the sequel is still delightful, and the extra material does warrant a purchase. If you're a fan of Horner's other scores, or you loved his work on The Wrath of Khan, be sure to pick this one up as well. **** |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 46:15 | |
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