How in the name of Jupiter’s taint did I miss this when it was reported earlier this week?
StarTrek.com: Expanded Generations Soundtrack Set Out Oct. 29th
Yep, that’s right: another expanded/complete Star Trek film soundtrack is a’coming, and this time it’s Dennis McCarthy’s score for 1994′s Star Trek Generations, the seventh movie in the series and the one which officially passed the cinematic baton from the cast of the original Star Trek to that of its first live-action offspring, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The new 2-disc release from GNP Crescendo Records will feature the complete score, as well as a remastering of the shortened version released in 1994. Also included will be new liner notes by the ever-dependable Star Trek music historian Jeff Bond along with Lukas Kendall, and you can even check out an extended set of notes and a track-by-track commentary as a free PDF file from the GNP Crescendo website.
The set is already available for pre-order, and will be released on October 29th, with a limit of 10,000 units. According to the site, it will only be sold in physical CD format. Check it out by clicking on the cover art:
I remember thinking the film’s music was one of the high-points, very different from the material Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner or even Cliff Eidelman had provided for earlier installments. It’s very moody in places, in keeping with one of the movie’s central storylines. In particular, I always liked the “Generations Overture” which plays over the end credits, especially in how it winds up the film’s central theme and ties it off with a rousing rendition of Alexander Courage’s iconic eight-note fanfare from the original series. Compared to the soundtracks from some of the other films, McCarthy’s work on Star Trek Generations, for whatever the heck my opinion’s worth, is a tad underrated.
So, yeah…I’ve already pre-ordered my copy. By my count, that leaves Insurrection and Nemesis as the only remaining Star Trek films not to have expanded/complete soundtrack releases. Here’s hoping GNP Crescendo is already working on Insurrection‘s, and Varese Sarabande is considering a similar effort for Nemesis.
Why do they include the remastered original score on a 2nd disc (as on Trek 3, 5 & 6)? If we’re buying the expanded score, why would we want the original, especially when most fans will likely have it in their collection already?
I guess there’s a few ways to look at it: Not everyone has the original release, or if it’s an older soundtrack, maybe they only have/had it on LP or cassette. Also, in a lot of cases–particularly if the original was released many years ago–they remaster/clean up that version.