The Tale of the Tape: 15 tracks, total run time 49:28. The first track is the expaneded "album version" of "Faith of the Heart" from Watson's album. The rest of the tracks are in proper sequential order, save for the last track (listed as a "bonus track"), which is the TV version of "Faith..." Many of the tracks are slightly longer than they were in the episode (Broken Bow), suggesting that they were recorded to the "uncut version" of the ep. A couple of tracks sound suspiciously different, suggesting either last minute changes to the ep track, or the use of the "original composition scores" for the CD. Contrary to some early reports, the "end theme" IS present, albeit slightly disguised, as part of track 14 ("Archer's Theme").
On to the opinion part: I liked this soundtrack, both as a soundtrack and as a Trek soundtrack. It isn't perfect, not by a long shot, but it IS really good. McCarthy does a good job of trying to insert little bits of "sparkle" into the mix, with sub- rythms and counterpoints in each "scene". He works one or two careful "character themes" into the proceedings, but has to hide them within the body of the overall score, rather than letting them shine forth in the old Alex Courage style.
At this point, you're probably wondering what I've been smoking. Could I really be referring to a score by the composer who many blame for the "sonic wallpaper" feel of modern Trek music?
Honestly, I am. Blame Berman, if anyone. McCarthy works a very subtle magic with this score, only to have it burried under the "mix" (dialogue/sound fx/ambients/etc). (I've noticed this on the 4th Next Gen CD as well; subtle nuances that can only really be appreciated on the CD, w/o the rest of the audio "polluting" the music.) Could it have been improved? Sure. I'd've loved to have more character themes. Something a bit more rousing for key moments like Enterprise's launch sequence would have been nice as well. But, there is quite a bit more to this score than you'd think if your only exposure to it was in the aired ep.
In conclusion, not the best (that'd be Ron Jones' "Best of Both Worlds"), but far from the worst.
Registered: Mar 2002
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