Star Trek: Insurrection

This soundtrack is great. I think this film has the best intro music for the title than any other Star Trek film. The start was much like Jerry's other Star Trek introductions, but then he twists it into something completely new. AWESOME! The main songs to highlight this soundtrack would be "New Sight" and "The Drones Attack". GREAT ACTION CUES AND MELODY THEMES! This score I listen to all the time. Here's the downside...The album is too short, only 45 min. And, the best song in the film is missing from the album, "The Holoship". Listen to the film when Data walks into the lake and you'll see what I mean. Still, I hope Jerry Goldsmith does the next Trek film due to come out in 2001. He is the greatest composer for the Next Generation, even though Dennis McCarthy did a great score to end the television show. Buy this, also buy Star Trek 1, and First Contact. ST5 has its good moments, buy it if you love his music. Happy listening!

Thematically Jerry Goldsmith doesn't have much here that is a substantial improvement over his brilliant score for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" or the splendid score for "Star Trek: First Contact". Yet it is unquestionably his most pastoral, with a haunting theme for the peace-loving natives of the planet rescued by the USS Enterprise which sounds Brahmsian, almost Mahlerian, in its outlook. Without question, this is yet another elegant score composed by Jerry Goldsmith, which comes close to the musical heights attained by the first "Star Trek" score, and the scores for "Alien" and "Patton". Both Star Trek fans and cinematic music fans won't be disappointed with this CD.

I preferred this music to that in First Contact, and found it much more moving and satisfying. The whole score actually sounds better, due to orchestrations by Alexander Courage. There are far more diverse themes in this score than in First Contact- two themes for the Ba'ku planet, one for Data gone haywire, a special statement for Riker and the Enterprise and the rythmic, menacing piece for the Son'a. The synthesizer tones and sounds also make tracks like "The Riker Maneuver" fast paced and interesting. The 24-bit recording is almost totally noise free, and is best heard on a good system, in open air. The end credits version of the traditional Star Trek march is the definitive orchestration- and Goldsmith lowers the volume of the orchestra on the descending chords so that the brilliant solo trumpet can be heard. All in all, the very best that Goldsmith has to offer.