Discs and Tracks

Disc 1
  1 - Main Title
  2 - Surprise Attack
  3 - Spock
  4 - Kirk's Explosive Reply
  5 - Khan's Pets
  6 - Enterprise Clears Moorings
  7 - Battle in the Mutara Nebula
  8 - Genesis Countdown
  9 - Epilogue/End Title

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No Wrath For Khan        Rating:


Since this is my favorite Star Trek movie of all time, this is one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. All of the tracks remind me of what I love about this movie. Each track is so distinct and different from each other it is easy to identify where it is used in the movie. Probably my favorite tracks are the Main Titles, the Enterprise Clears Its Moorings and the End Titles which include Leonard Nimoy doing an updated narration taken from the original Star Trek series. For a Star Trek fan this soundtrack is a must. Unfortunately it is out of print and therefore requires paying through the nose to own it.

Finally A re-release! Check this out!        Rating:

Now this is what Everyone has been waiting for! Finally someone else got the rights to the TWOK soundtrack!

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I have been...and always shall be...YOUR DREAM SOUNDTRACK CD.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) is beloved as arguably the finest Star Trek feature film. Directed by Nicholas Meyer (Time After Time), the film features the death of Spock, one of William Shatner's finest performances as Kirk, and an iconic villain in Ricardo Montalban as Khan. After the special effects-laden Star Trek: The Motion Picture, it was Star Trek II set the franchise back on its feet with a rich, weighty narrative of youth and age, life and death that continues to be the yardstick against which future films are measured--it is the quintessential example of mining the franchise for all the drama it possesses while staying true to its essential themes and characterizations.

The film benefits enormously from a rich, sweeping symphonic score by a composer at the time virtually unknown, but who has since then become one of the giants of the field: James Horner. Then 28--with only a few films under his belt--Horner was personally selected by Meyer and his colleagues when the budget prohibited the hiring of a veteran like Jerry Goldsmith (who had done such a sensational score for the first film).

Working closely with Meyer, Horner crafted flowing, nautical-sounding melodies for Kirk and the Enterprise that recalled the spirit of Captain Horatio Hornblower, one of Gene Roddenberry's inspirations for the series. Horner contrasted sweeping, flowing themes for the heroes against shorter, warlike music for the archvillain Khan--creating dynamic and memorable battle music for the film's WWII submarine-style spaceship confrontations. But it was the film's core story of the friendship between Kirk and Spock--and the separation of that bond at the story's end--that received Horner's most heart-pulling and emotional scoring.

Star Trek II was released on LP by Atlantic Records in a 45-minute program issued on CD by GNP/Crescendo (long out of print). Although the album program featured the score's highlights, fans have long clamored for a complete-score presentation--adding such important cues as the mind-control sequences involving Chekov and Capt. Terrell being possessed by alien eels, the revelation of the Genesis Cave, the final battle between the Enterprise and Reliant, and Spock's death and funeral ("Amazing Grace"). FSM delivers in cooperation with Rhino Entertainment (who administer the Atlantic Records catalog) and Paramount Pictures (owners of the Star Trek film franchise)--remastering the complete score from Dan Wallin's 1982 three-track film mixes, stored in the Paramount vaults in sterling sound quality.

The 28-page CD booklet features commentary and track-by-track breakdowns including new and historical interview quotes by Horner, Meyer and others involved in the production--as well as our customary art direction by Joe Sikoryak featuring stills, rare artwork and behind-the-scenes photos.
To borrow a quote from a completely different movie--American Beauty--here at FSM we feel about this CD like Kevin Spacey when asked about the hotrod in his driveway: "It is the car I've always wanted and now it is mine."

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James Horner scores Star Trek        Rating:

James Horner is an excellent film composer but for the Star Trek films I truly enjoyed Jerry Goldsmith's scores. James Horner's score for "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" is a let down after Jerry Goldsmith's brilliantly powerful, mystical and moving score for "Star Trek: TMP." Jerry Goldsmith truly evoked the element of the insatiable human curiosity encountering the unknown with his atmospheric score. This is one of the few scores composed by James Horner that I dislike. It is a bit bombastic and failed to move me except for the finale where Horner brilliantly captured the feeling of loss and demonstrated his interpretation of the camaraderie between captain and crew.

Incomplete Soundtrack        Rating:

I don't know if anyone realized, but this soundtrack is missing several pieces from the movie--just watch the movie and you'll know the ones that were left out. Thus this isn't an "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". The same thing was done with the Star Trek 3 soundtrack. Will James Horner ever bring out the complete ones? Who knows?

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