Your Favourite Jerry Goldsmith Score

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

Sure is, and my favourite of his. But Goldsmith wrote a prologue.

 

Indeed, I didn't see it was the same piece posted twice. I'm afraid it's too repetitive to me.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

2 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

• Star Trek V (the ultimate "scoring the film it should have been rather than what was on screen")

 

Ahem.... Damnation Alley would like a word:

 

 

2 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

• Criminal Law of course*.

*obviously a joke

 

It wouldn't make my Goldsmith Top 50 by any means, but it's actually a really good score! I really dig the synth flute material heard in this cue and one other on the original album:

 

That said I think this score in particular out of Jerry's three for all synths would be best served by a real orchestra recording. As someone on the FSM board pointed out, the other two scores Runaway and Alien Nation are both sci-fi, so they fit the all-synth soundscapes more naturally. But this is essentially a present-day noir, so imagine that synth flute played by a real flute, etc. Here's an exciting bit of action music from the score that Leigh mocked up for full orchestra; I think it translated extremely well!

https://mega.nz/file/eyQVAZaA#UqwCtT_L9TCdzlLU7Ox0KxMwE6BwGADwgiCjKYun_Xo

 

Yavar

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Not difficult for me with Goldsmith to at least pick the finalists. It's either The Mummy or The Edge. One's complex, exotic and just damn exciting, but the other's evocative and provides such a unique atmosphere, with a lot of personal meaning.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The Agony and the Ecstasy is by Alex North.

 

2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

What IS this? Other than gorgeous?

 

My favorite Goldsmith score! The full short documentary film The Artist Who Did Not Want to Paint, produced to precede roadshow presentations of The Agony and the Ecstasy (because otherwise it was considered too short of a film to qualify for "roadshow"), is available for viewing online through Vimeo, so you can appreciate its beauty in context:

I'm pretty sure it's also included as a bonus feature on home video releases of The Agony and the Ecstasy. It has its own IMDb page though:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0191376/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_8_nm_0_q_artist%20who%20did%20not%20want

 

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Indeed, I didn't see it was the same piece posted twice. I'm afraid it's too repetitive to me.

 

Huh? It's like 12.5 minutes long! And it's got a good amount of material developed throughout, with each cue having a very different feel for the most part, even though there's a grand reprise. I posted it "twice" because there are two different recordings on album. My favorite is the 1989 London Symphony Orchestra recording produced by Intrada, but the original Hollywood recording is very good too, with a more intimate feel. Since it's my favorite Goldsmith score and very short, I simply shared both. (There's also a third version available unofficially, taken from a live concert performance... also good!)

 

Yavar

[Edmilson 7,466]

28 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

The Edge

I don't think I ever heard that one. I should get around to doing it soon, 90s Goldsmith in action mode is my favorite.

[Marian Schedenig 8,202]

22 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

(There's also a third version available unofficially, taken from a live concert performance... also good!)

 

As I remember, Brossé was supposed to conduct it at the Barbican in 2004, but it was replaced by Bronco Bustin'.

 

5 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

I don't think I ever heard that one. I should get around to doing it soon, 90s Goldsmith in action mode is my favorite.

 

Not much action mode. Mostly wilderness and bear terror.

[Andy 4,138]

You don’t want to scroll past another person saying Star Trek TMP, so …

 

 

Explorers is probably my favorite, start to finish.  Breezy, wistful, soulful, quirky, brave, silly, sentimental.  So much heart in the music for Explorers. I just adore it. 

[Tallguy 3,399]

11 minutes ago, Andy said:

You don’t want to scroll past another person saying Star Trek TMP, so …

 

I was THIS close to saying Innerspace or NIMH for just that reason!

[Andy 4,138]

TMP has higher highs maybe than anything else, but (controversial opinion) there are Vejur cues that begin to weigh the score down until the Spock Walk ignites it again. 
 

So, start to finish, for me, it’s not TMP all day, every day. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,202]

1 minute ago, Andy said:

TMP has higher highs maybe than anything else, but (controversial opinion) there are Vejur cues that begin to weigh the score down until the Spock Walk ignites it again.

 

If you're talking about The Cloud, V'Ger Flyover, and The Forcefield, that's my favourite part of the score, along with Spock Walk - maybe even before The Enterprise.

[Andy 4,138]

That’s not at all surprising to me. I know for many people, that’s the appeal.  I think it’s totally cool too, how different people feel very passionately about the contrasting qualities of the score.  Nothing but respect from me. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,202]

1 minute ago, Andy said:

That’s not at all surprising to me. I know for many people, that’s the appeal.  I think it’s totally cool too, how different people feel very passionately about the contrasting qualities of the score.  Nothing but respect from me. 

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Huh? It's like 12.5 minutes long! And it's got a good amount of material developed throughout, with each cue having a very different feel for the most part, even though there's a grand reprise.

 

I was referring to the score, not the fact that you posted two recordings.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

19 minutes ago, Andy said:

TMP has higher highs maybe than anything else, but (controversial opinion) there are Vejur cues that begin to weigh the score down until the Spock Walk ignites it again. 
So, start to finish, for me, it’s not TMP all day, every day. 

 

Honestly, I kinda agree. Only I love almost all the Jerry Goldsmith Vejur cues... It's the ten Fred Steiner cues (mostly Vejur-related) that drag the score down a bit in my estimation. Or rather, nine of them do... one of them I think is just as good as Goldsmith's work. And those nine cues aren't bad or anything! They fit in well enough with the Goldsmith (better than say the John Debney cues at the end of Looney Tunes do, IMO)... I can just tell they aren't at the same level of compelling genius as the rest of the score. I admit that I program most of them out on my common playlist for the score... and I'm usually a complete-scores-are-best kind of guy.

 

It's for this reason that I actually prefer Star Trek V: The Final Frontier in complete form -- it's 100% Goldsmith brilliance from start to finish, with some amazing new themes brilliantly developed (even if the original Enterprise and Klingon themes from the first score get a bit Tom-and-Jerry in a couple cues...)

 

 

5 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I was referring to the score, not the fact that you posted two recordings.

 

I know. I was confused that you found the 12.5 minute score, which for me has a good deal of variety and excellent development of its thematic material, to be "too repetitive."

 

Yavar

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

2 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

I know. I was confused that you found the 12.5 minute score, which for me has a good deal of variety and excellent development of its thematic material, to be "too repetitive."

 

Perhaps I need to listen to it more, but to me it's repetitive calmness followed by a nice, grand finale.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

I don't think I ever heard that one. I should get around to doing it soon, 90s Goldsmith in action mode is my favorite.

 

Actually not a huge amount of action - maybe 15 mins or so in the 60 minute score - and there are no synths or textures that Goldsmith normally used - a completely organic sound. If you've never heard it before, the OST might be enough, but LLL's (sadly OOP) expansion adds some really nice material - it was a minor grail for me but thankfully it was one of the earlier modern Goldsmiths they did.

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

5 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Wonderful score. I listened to the 2017 (or 18? I dunno) expansion a lot back when it came out.

 

Yeah, Papillon had a number of releases (imagine that... a Jerry score with a number of releases, that'll never happen again...), but I think the last one is essentially definitive and in excellent sound. Such a gorgeous score again showing his extraordinary range - i.e. not just the action and sci-fi guy.

 

5 hours ago, Edmilson said:

This one is also great. Goldemith's best "epic" score.

 

Also, there's The 13th Warrior, which is also Jerry in his "Arabian epic" mode. I might like this one a little bit more than The Mummy.

I have to admit that TWATL isn't one I listen to that often, but it is undeniably excellent. Having joked about it, this is perhaps one of his classic older scores that could do with a re-release. The Intrada release from 2007 is fine enough but is (I assume) long out of print and would likely benefit from a new transfer and mastering using the latest technology.

 

4 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

When they came out back to back in 1999, 13th Warrior was hailed as the latest Goldsmith masterpiece and The Mummy was considered a secondary knockoff score. I never understood why, because I loved the whole of Mummy from the get go and initially only really cared about a few individual tracks from Warrior. Over the years, my appreciation of that score has grown considerably, while at the same time Mummy has clearly taken over as Goldsmith's most lauded from that era, with Warrior seeming almost half forgotten these days.

Funnily enough, I listened to The 13th Warrior recently and really enjoyed it. It's not quite as much fun as The Mummy and  the main theme sounds a bit - stifles a technicolour yawn - like HZ (Crimson Tide as I recall), presumably a bit of temp track bleed, but some fine stuff there.

 

3 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

Ahem.... Damnation Alley would like a word:

 

I guess I can't comment as I've not seen it, but I would say that Star Trek V (as a film) aspires to be something more and Jerry scores that aspiration, whereas (sounds like) more of a straight up action movie. To that end (and notwithstanding that Damnation Alley is great), I'd say STV more closely fits my (slightly tongue in cheek) description of a score that's for the film the filmmakers had in their head rather than the one their budget and abilities achieved.

3 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

That said I think this score in particular out of Jerry's three for all synths would be best served by a real orchestra recording. As someone on the FSM board pointed out, the other two scores Runaway and Alien Nation are both sci-fi, so they fit the all-synth soundscapes more naturally. But this is essentially a present-day noir, so imagine that synth flute played by a real flute, etc. Here's an exciting bit of action music from the score that Leigh mocked up for full orchestra; I think it translated extremely well!

https://mega.nz/file/eyQVAZaA#UqwCtT_L9TCdzlLU7Ox0KxMwE6BwGADwgiCjKYun_Xo

 

Agreed that the synth orchestra mockup does indeed sound great! I'll have to root out the original cue to compare it. However, I'm pretty sure that Criminal Law usually gets voted as one of his most poorly regarded efforts. Sometimes a film is so shit even Jerry phoned it...

 

 

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Honestly, I kinda agree. Only I love almost all the Jerry Goldsmith Vejur cues... It's the ten Fred Steiner cues (mostly Vejur-related) that drag the score down a bit in my estimation. Or rather, nine of them do... one of them I think is just as good as Goldsmith's work. And those nine cues aren't bad or anything! They fit in well enough with the Goldsmith (better than say the John Debney cues at the end of Looney Tunes do, IMO)... I can just tell they aren't at the same level of compelling genius as the rest of the score. I admit that I program most of them out on my common playlist for the score... and I'm usually a complete-scores-are-best kind of guy.

I don't think I'd realised it was technically 10 cues by Fred Steiner, but putting it like that does rather overstate how much music he actually wrote/arranged/adapted. A couple of the early incidental cues are certainly not essential, but I hadn't really noticed his hand in the later ones. As I've said a few times, the programme from the 1999 release is perhaps my ideal presentation of this score as it just trims the handful of incidental cues and leaves all the best parts. I guess less interesting incidental cues amongst a great work and "additional music by" are the price we pay for the way film composers are required to write, but I don't think they detract sufficiently from the full work.

 

I'm easily a fan of both aspects of the score. The Enterprise and Starfleet music appeals to the side of me who loves something rousing and upbeat while the V'Ger music appeals to my Bernard Herrmann loving side who revels in those darker timbres, the arpeggios and the unusual orchestration (notably the Blaster Beam, the inclusion of which was a stroke of genius). To some extent TMP is two different scores, but the thematic and harmonic connections link everything together so it never feels like that.

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

It's for this reason that I actually prefer Star Trek V: The Final Frontier in complete form -- it's 100% Goldsmith brilliance from start to finish, with some amazing new themes brilliantly developed (even if the original Enterprise and Klingon themes from the first score get a bit Tom-and-Jerry in a couple cues...)

I sort of agree (and don't get me wrong, I love STV, it was one of my first Jerry scores and The Mountain features my favourite ever performance of the TMP theme and the ensuing music is Jerry at his pastoral finest). However, I have a playlist that cuts out The Big Drop, which works in the film but is very much an incidental 28 seconds for a specific moment, and used the album edits of Without Help and An Angry God which are both examples of why the oft bemoaned micro edits can, in the right hands, turn a great cue, into an even better album track. Cutting out those looped bits and tightening the pacing makes them much more satisfying musically than they were originally written and performed, without missing anything substantive.

 

Oh and STV has A Tall Ship which, at a modest 128 plays to date, is one of my all time favourite 1 minute and 45 seconds of Jerry. The closest he ever got to another take on The Enterprise in one of his later Trek scores. One of those cues which can perk me up any time.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Perhaps I need to listen to it more, but to me it's repetitive calmness followed by a nice, grand finale.

 

Maybe give it a try in the short film itself, which I posted above from Vimeo?

 

 

28 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Yeah, Papillon had a number of releases (imagine that... a Jerry score with a number of releases, that'll never happen again...), but I think the last one is essentially definitive and in excellent sound. Such a gorgeous score again showing his extraordinary range - i.e. not just the action and sci-fi guy.

 

The crazy thing about Goldsmith is that you can almost pick any single year in his output, and since he was so prolific and varied in his output it'll demonstrate more range than most composers are able to demonstrate in an entire decade.

 

28 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I have to admit that TWATL isn't one I listen to that often, but it is undeniably excellent. Having joked about it, this is perhaps one of his classic older scores that could do with a re-release. The Intrada release from 2007 is fine enough but is (I assume) long out of print and would likely benefit from a new transfer and mastering using the latest technology.

 

I dunno...maybe if they got the great Chris Malone on the job he could do something. But I think the sound of the recording is due to it being done in Germany. I don't mind it but I can understand why some folks might long for a new recording of the score or something. Anyway, it is indeed still in print and readily available from Intrada themselves!

https://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.5477/.f

 

I guess it's possible they might do a revisit, since they did that (kinda under the radar) with The Sand Pebbles a year or two ago (fixing some wow on a couple of tracks using modern tech).

 

28 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Funnily enough, I listened to The 13th Warrior recently and really enjoyed it. It's not quite as much fun as The Mummy and  the main theme sounds a bit - stifles a technicolour yawn - like HZ (Crimson Tide as I recall), presumably a bit of temp track bleed, but some fine stuff there.

 

"The Fire Dragon" is my favorite cue by far. Just some awesome writing, especially for trombones! But I confess that even though The 13th Warrior is maybe the more consistent listen all the way through, I think The Mummy is far greater, more varied and with stronger highlights.

 

28 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I guess I can't comment as I've not seen it, but I would say that Star Trek V (as a film) aspires to be something more and Jerry scores that aspiration, whereas (sounds like) more of a straight up action movie. To that end (and notwithstanding that Damnation Alley is great), I'd say STV more closely fits my (slightly tongue in cheek) description of a score that's for the film the filmmakers had in their head rather than the one their budget and abilities achieved.

 

To me Damnation Alley is an equally great score for a much worse movie (apparently the book is far better, and fans of it were expecting a much better film adaptation than they received) than Star Trek V. But then I guess I like The Final Frontier more than most. For all its clunky parts, bad effects, and terrible treatment of the supporting cast... the treatment of the lead trio of Kirk/Spock/McCoy, for my money is the best out of all six TOS films!

 

28 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Agreed that the synth orchestra mockup does indeed sound great! I'll have to root out the original cue to compare it. However, I'm pretty sure that Criminal Law usually gets voted as one of his most poorly regarded efforts. Sometimes a film is so shit even Jerry phoned it...

 

Glad you liked Leigh's mockup! Honestly don't think Jerry did "phone it in" on that score and I have a hard time fathoming why it appears to be one of Goldsmith's most-hated. The great Jeff Bond admires it even more than I do, considering it an absolutely perfect fit for the film.

 

Yavar

[RuBen_Kenobi 19]

Alien and Gremlins 

[HB Potlood 33]

The Blue Max is the best for me. Also never get tired of Congo.

[Marian Schedenig 8,202]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Oh and STV has A Tall Ship which, at a modest 128 plays to date, is one of my all time favourite 1 minute and 45 seconds of Jerry.

 

The Target Practice - A Tall Ship - Plot Course triplet is one of my favourite chunks out of all Goldsmith scores. And among the best sounding ones, too.

 

58 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

For all its clunky parts, bad effects, and terrible treatment of the supporting cast... the treatment of the lead trio of Kirk/Spock/McCoy, for my money is the best out of all six TOS films!

 

[Tallguy 3,399]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

The Mountain features my favourite ever performance of the TMP theme and the ensuing music is Jerry at his pastoral finest).

 

I still pick TMP as the ultra. (Either the album take or the film take is perfect.) But the Star Trek V titles have an OOMPH that no other rendition ever had. It's a very respectable second place for me.

 

Between The Mountain and Let's Get Small from Innerspace that part of the Goldsmith sound got a wonderful representation in '87 and '89.

 

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Oh and STV has A Tall Ship which, at a modest 128 plays to date, is one of my all time favourite 1 minute and 45 seconds of Jerry. The closest he ever got to another take on The Enterprise in one of his later Trek scores. One of those cues which can perk me up any time.

 

To be sure. Also, the tail end of Let's Get Out Of Here Part 2 is one of the loveliest statements of the Goldsmith theme ever. Including The Enterprise.

 

Cosmic Thoughts is almost worth the price of the expanded set all by itself.

 

3 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

It's the ten Fred Steiner cues (mostly Vejur-related) that drag the score down a bit in my estimation. Or rather, nine of them do... one of them I think is just as good as Goldsmith's work.

 

@Yavar Moradi which one is "just as good"? I'm guessing it's Meet V'Ger?

 

From System Inoperative to V'Ger Speaks can be a bit of a slog. And Inner Workings is Jerry! It's almost the anti-Cloud suite (The Cloud / V'Ger Flyover / The Force Field with Meet V'Ger as a nice prologue.) It's not bad it's just so featureless. I should just play those four tracks until I change my mind.

 

Otherwise I love everything else. Malfunction (Jerry) and The Crew Briefing (Fred) is a lovely little pause / sweetener between The Enterprise and Leaving Drydock. A Good Start is like a little piece of TOS filtered through Goldsmith.

 

I re-acquainted myself with the LP program recently. It's a masterpiece. It's not only the essential TMP, it's the MOST essential OF the essential. (OK, it's missing The Force Field.) When I was a kid (which lasted well into my 30's) I did not GET side 2. (Other than Ilia's Theme which is such a lovely opening to the side.) And The Cloud was the boring part of side 1. I'm sorry, Jerry. I was so wrong.

[Andy 4,138]

No, you were right. 

 

Honestly, it’s the Vejur ostinato that doesn’t thrill me.  I truly wish I were wired to appreciate the Cloud and Vejur Flyover more. 
 

24 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

The Cloud / V'Ger Flyover / The Force Field with Meet V'Ger as a nice prologue.) It's not bad it's just so featureless. I should just play those four tracks until I change my mind.

 

Maybe that’s it. Maybe I need to just study them.  They aren’t completely featureless.  I do like some of the chaotic woodwinds and percussion on top of the lower registers in the final minute of Vejur Flyover.  It’s very Poltergeist. 

32 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

Between The Mountain and Let's Get Small from Innerspace that part of the Goldsmith sound got a wonderful representation in '87 and '89.

 

 

I consider the Thunder Road theme from Explorers to be cut from that same heroic nobility cloth as well. 

[JTN 2,031]

20 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

What do you think about it?

OFF:

Listening to LADY JANE. Enjoying it a lot. “The Hunt” is very… hunty.
It’s a very lyrical, traditional score, which I like a lot.

[ThePenitentMan1 744]

15 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Honestly, I kinda agree. Only I love almost all the Jerry Goldsmith Vejur cues... It's the ten Fred Steiner cues (mostly Vejur-related) that drag the score down a bit in my estimation. Or rather, nine of them do... one of them I think is just as good as Goldsmith's work. And those nine cues aren't bad or anything! They fit in well enough with the Goldsmith (better than say the John Debney cues at the end of Looney Tunes do, IMO)... I can just tell they aren't at the same level of compelling genius as the rest of the score.

 

I assume the one really great one is A Good Start?

 

 

12 hours ago, Tallguy said:

From System Inoperative to V'Ger Speaks can be a bit of a slog. And Inner Workings is Jerry! It's almost the anti-Cloud suite (The Cloud / V'Ger Flyover / The Force Field with Meet V'Ger as a nice prologue.) It's not bad it's just so featureless. I should just play those four tracks until I change my mind.

 

Or do what I did for my (old) work playlists and drop just those three Steiner cues.  Spock Walk->Inner Workings->The Meld/A Good Start.  Just four minutes of Inner Workings to set the stage for The Meld.  All of the storytelling, none of the filler.

 

12 hours ago, Tallguy said:

Otherwise I love everything else. Malfunction (Jerry) and The Crew Briefing (Fred) is a lovely little pause / sweetener between The Enterprise and Leaving Drydock. A Good Start is like a little piece of TOS filtered through Goldsmith.

 

I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of Malfunction when it's between Enterprise and Drydock.  Even if it's the intended chronological spot for it, it just doesn't feel right to me, having this sad, melancholy crewman death music between such major-key, triumphant pieces.  Removing Steiner's three briefing cues makes this even worse, as now there's nothing to ground us back into the mission at hand before the Enterprise launches.

 

Just recently, I tried moving Malfunction in between Warp One and No Goodbyes...  and it surprisingly works really, really well!  The intended mood after Warp One's seeming triumph is supposed to be one where the joy of the reunion falls away and the problems start to show, and Malfunction fits that mood perfectly!  Malfunction even starts on the same note that Warp One ends with!

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

'Legend' remains a sentimental favourite. I was excited to pick up the original Silva Screen release back in my salad days. 'The Dress Waltz' is probably my favourite cue.

 

'Alien', 'The Final Conflict', and 'The Shadow' have been getting a lot of play recently too. But I can't really pick a hands-down "best" or "favourite."

[JTN 2,031]

1 hour ago, Mr. Hooper said:

But I can't really pick a hands-down "best" or "favourite."

LEGEND is a perfectly good choice.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Basic Instinct closely followed by Star Trek TMP

[JTN 2,031]

1 hour ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

Basic Instinct closely followed by Star Trek TMP

BASIC INSTINCT is such an underrated score. 

[Richard Penna 3,694]

I remembered that my first exposure to Goldsmith was actually in the very early 2000s when illusionist Hans Klok did a TV special where for whatever reason the producers could get UK TV rights to a whole load of soundtracks, and one of them made a superb use of Basic Instinct.

 

See this clip, particularly from around 17 mins in. (and keep watching after the dramatic bit at the end, for an inspired use of a Jurassic Park cue)

 

 

[GerateWohl 4,370]

1 hour ago, JTN said:

BASIC INSTINCT is such an underrated score. 

Why underrated? It was nominated for an academy award and is to my knowledge a fan favourite all over the place.

[JTN 2,031]

Underrated in the sense that it’s not talked about nearly as much as e.g. Star Trek:TMP or The Mummy.

[Tallguy 3,399]

16 minutes ago, JTN said:

Underrated in the sense that it’s not talked about nearly as much as e.g. Star Trek:TMP or The Mummy.

 

Fair.

[Loert 2,515]

I haven't listened to all Jerry Goldsmith, though a while ago I did go through a bunch of 15 minute suites of his scores on Youtube. But I'm still not that familiar with his Star Trek work, for example (in fact I'm listening to it now )

 

That said, my favourite so far is Total Recall. Someone who doesn't know anything about music might dismiss it as a silly action score, and in a way it is silly, but on closer inspection it reveals amazing artistry. And it's an enjoyable listen from start to finish.

 

It's so hard to choose with Goldsmith, though, because all of his works are so diverse. With Williams, even though he has also written in different genres, I feel that you can always pick out a single internal language in his soundtrack work. With Goldsmith it's not so obvious, and he's better at being more chameleon-like. But then I've listened to far more Williams than Goldsmith, so that might just be a bias of mine.

 

EDIT: Just finished listening to The Enterprise for the first time. As if I needed any more confirmation that Goldsmith is a genius! Brilliant track, almost a perfect encapsulation of epic/heroic musical tropes of that time (not in a bad way). Lots of Debussy influences.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

I managed to get my hands on this one and, gosh, it shows again, why I prefer the young Goldsmith over the old.

Great score, great album. 

 

Made it immediately into my top five ever Western scores.

 

[Cristian Lee 35]

The Edge

[Tallguy 3,399]

On 24/03/2024 at 9:15 AM, Loert said:

Just finished listening to The Enterprise for the first time. As if I needed any more confirmation that Goldsmith is a genius! Brilliant track, almost a perfect encapsulation of epic/heroic musical tropes of that time (not in a bad way). Lots of Debussy influences.

 

I'm so jealous. 

 

Hey, @Yavar Moradi did you ever say what Steiner cue you thought was as good as Jerry? (I'm on my phone so it's harder to look.) 

[Faleel 5,356]

On 24/03/2024 at 9:15 AM, Loert said:

 

EDIT: Just finished listening to The Enterprise for the first time. As if I needed any more confirmation that Goldsmith is a genius! Brilliant track, almost a perfect encapsulation of epic/heroic musical tropes of that time (not in a bad way). Lots of Debussy influences.

Wait until you hear the original version!

[Andy 4,138]

I’m jealous too. I wish I could remove it from my memory and enjoy it for the first time again. 
 

Really that’s what being a soundtrack fan is, chasing a high. 

[Bellosh 3,419]

First Blood

[Tallguy 3,399]

47 minutes ago, Andy said:

Really that’s what being a soundtrack fan is, chasing a high. 

 

TBH, The Enterprise was not an instantly life changing experience but neither was it a slow burn. I got the LP quite some time after seeing the film. And the Klingon Battle probably made more of an impression on me in the film. 

 

Also I listened to the LP program this evening and The Enterprise has lost none of its charm and appeal for me. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,202]

The interesting thing about The Enterprise is… as one of the earlier Goldsmith cues that made a strong impression on me, and because of its classic, hummable theme, it always felt very traditionally Romantic to me. Unless I got the Omni score and read along with it and suddenly heard how strikingly modern it actually is.

[Bellosh 3,419]

1 hour ago, Andy said:

Really that’s what being a soundtrack fan is, chasing a high. 

 

This sums it up so well.

 

Deep down I think we all (besides Thor) have a kink for cues never getting released and chatting about them here 😏

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

12 hours ago, Tallguy said:

Hey, @Yavar Moradi did you ever say what Steiner cue you thought was as good as Jerry? (I'm on my phone so it's harder to look.) 

 

He didn't because there's too many to mention. 

[Edmilson 7,466]

12 hours ago, Bellosh said:

Deep down I think we all (besides Thor) have a kink for cues never getting released and chatting about them here 😏

Thank goodness The Enterprise isn't one of these cues. I can't imagine a world that hasn't been graced with the hability to listen to JG's masterful cue outside of the movie.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

On 30/3/2024 at 11:53 AM, Tallguy said:

Hey, @Yavar Moradi did you ever say what Steiner cue you thought was as good as Jerry? (I'm on my phone so it's harder to look.) 

It was indeed “Meet V’Ger” — the opening sounds very much like TOS Fred Steiner and it’s fine. But after that it’s like a cross between Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith in the best way; I absolutely love the effect of the slowed-down pumping Starfleet motif, making it more ominous and imposing as they, well, meet V’Ger and that sound mixes in. Pretty damn brilliant and I would have believed the cue was Jerry.

 

“A Good Start” is perfectly fine but it feels very much like Steiner simply cut-and-pasting earlier Goldsmith music from the score. Nothing fresh or exciting there for me, just basic reprises.

 

”System Inoperative” and “Hidden Information” are perfectly effective in the film itself (I like those hits for the destructive balls of energy that go out and surround Earth) but yeah rather a slog on album. I like “Inner Workings” much better but I guess compared to other Goldsmith cues it’s rather understated too. But I adore the way Ilia’s Theme appears 2-3 min in. So subtle and powerful. And the rising piano and wind machine followed by delicate organ in the final minute! Yeah sorry, it’s way better than nine of the Steiner cues IMO.

 

“V’Ger Speaks” is less interesting again but it do love the brief Ilia’s Theme drop-in at 2:46-3:05… just not as much as what Jerry himself does with it in the previous cue.

 

I really really wish Goldsmith had been able to record his fantastic original version of “Body Meld” at the end, where the amazing Ilia’s Theme gets the final flowering/development the whole score frankly feels like it’s building towards… grateful for Joe Kraemer’s professional realization with samples though:

 

Yavar

[Falstaft 2,132]

25 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

I really really wish Goldsmith had been able to record his fantastic original version of “Body Meld” at the end, where the amazing Ilia’s Theme gets the final flowering/development the whole score frankly feels like it’s building towards… grateful for Joe Kraemer’s professional realization with samples though:

 

 

It's just amazing, isn't it?

 

On one hand, I think "The Meld" as we all know from the film it is a masterpiece and one of the most skillful and effective musical climaxes in Goldsmith's filmography. (Which may be close to saying it's one of the most skillful & effective  musical climaxes/payoffs in film, period!)

 

On the other hand, the rejected cue is simply magnificent, and clearly works wonders with the scene.

[Tallguy 3,399]

12 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

I really really wish Goldsmith had been able to record his fantastic original version of “Body Meld” at the end, where the amazing Ilia’s Theme gets the final flowering/development the whole score frankly feels like it’s building towards…

 

11 hours ago, Falstaft said:

On one hand, I think "The Meld" as we all know from the film it is a masterpiece and one of the most skillful and effective musical climaxes in Goldsmith's filmography. (Which may be close to saying it's one of the most skillful & effective  musical climaxes/payoffs in film, period!)

 

Pretty much this. If we could have heard the "real" cue of Body Meld that Jerry actually completed and recorded. I'm guessing / assuming that this was demoed to Wise and it was decided to go in another direction. The conceptual gratification of having Ilia's theme "completed" is powerful. And I'm sure with a real Goldsmith orchestra that blasting statement of Ilia would have blown us out of our chairs. I wonder if Wise thought the Ilia treatment was too sentimental, too old fashioned?

 

And of course what @Falstaft said. It's just perfect. It still brings back all of the Vejur cues but rather than mystery it plays with a kind of kinetic optimism. It feels like the previous score "unwinding". That statement of the Enterprise / Star Trek theme at the end is amazing in both versions. Of course even The Meld is dialed out of the film at this point. Well, from 1:47 to 2:05. I know I'm supposed to hate every time Jerry's music gets clipped, but I actually love the shot of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy fleeing the Meld without music.

[Andy 4,138]

Kickstarter to record that, please. 

[Tallguy 3,399]

1 hour ago, Andy said:

Kickstarter to record that, please. 

 

How does that happen and how much does it cost?