Star Trek [Soundtrack]

Michael Giacchino (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Michael Giacchino
• Audio CD (May 5, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B001Z920NA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #457 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #33 in Music > Soundtracks

Track Listings

1. Star Trek

2. Nailin' The Kelvin

3. Labor Of Love

4. Hella Bar Talk

5. Enterprising Young Men

6. Nero Sighted

7. Nice To Meld You

8. Run And Shoot Offense

9. Does It Still McFly

10. Nero Death Experience

11. Nero Fiddles, Narada Burns

12. Back From Black

13. That New Car Smell

14. End Credits

Editorial Reviews

Original soundtrack to the highly anticipated 2009 motion picture. From producer/director J.J. Abrams (Lost, Mission: Impossible: III, and Fringe) comes a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, Star Trek, featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no one has gone before. Starring Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Simon Pegg as Scotty, with Eric Bana, Winona Ryder and Leonard Nimoy. Michael Giacchino, who has served as J.J. Abrams' musical lieutenant on all his projects, follows the extraordinarily rich musical legacy of Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith, and James Horner, as he boards the Enterprise for her maiden voyage.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 77 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Giacchino's worst... May 5, 2009

By William Smith

Format:Audio CD

After repeat listening, the score to the newest installment is catchy, action-packed, a little cheesy and not a bad 44 minutes or so of music.

Is it Goldsmith's Star Trek? No.

Is it Horner's Star Trek? Absolutely not.

Michael Giacchino writes mostly TV and video game scores (a fact I don't hold against him at all, he's a fantastic composer), and this is evident in "Star Trek". Was the opportunity to score an epic, more "film-appropriate" score squandered on J.J. Abrams best music buddy?

Maybe.

Giacchino is hit or miss for me. Some of his work is good, some of it not so much. (I wonder when everyone screams about the "Lost" scores. What's the appeal?) "Star Trek" is in the "good" category, even if "good" usually means "Most of the score is ok save for one or two tracks on EVERY Giacchino CD that are outstanding". Speed Racer had "Grand ol' Prix" and "Reboot". MI:3 had "Bridge Battle". "The Incredibles" had... well, ok, that whole album was great, but it's Pixar.

This CD is mostly "good", with a few "outstanding" tracks, specifically "Enterprising Young Men" and "Nero Death Experience". These two are perfect examples of what happens when Giacchino tries to stir up the listener and does it well. He manages to hit emotional cues and tense action themes and he carries it just long enough to be satisfying but not overwhelming. Other tracks on the CD stand out as well, and there's actually quite a wide variety of themes in this film, but this leads me to what everyone will be arguing about...

Whose Star Trek is this?

Is it Goldsmith? Or Horner, or Courage or Rosenman or any number of composers who have lent their considerable talents trying to create an audible identity for one of the more long-lived science fiction series out there? Depending on what your tastes and who you grew up with, that's going to be a big argument.

What I do know though is this:

"To Boldly Go" and "End Credits" is the reason this CD should be bought. It's Star Trek, plain and simple. If there's one thing Giacchino can do, it's take a theme, scrub it down, rinse it off, dress it up and put it out there for the screams of adoring fans. He's just that good at it, and ending the album with these tracks is the perfect way to reintroduce the old but familiar Star Trek back into cinema.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome soundtrack! September 14, 2009

By Claudio Lassala

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've never been a big Star Trek fan, but wanted to go see the new movie because JJ Abrahms and Zach Quinto were involved in it. I really enjoyed the movie.

One of things that stood out for me was the soundtrack. By the time the movie was done I've made a mental note that I just *had* to get the soundtrack. And so I did. I have been listening to it almost every day since I got it. This is a piece of art on its own.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beam Mr. Giacchino Up Please! May 7, 2009

By G M. Stathis VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

How do you follow stellar giants such as Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Alexander Courage, and yes even Leonard Rosenman and Cliff Eidelman in the "Star Trek" film score lexicon? Well, you really can't, but this is the situation that Michael Giacchino has inherited for his score for J.J. Abrams blockbuster film "Star Trek." The result is a more somber approach than expected (with perhaps some echoes of Eidelman's treatment for "Star Trek VI-The Undiscovered Country," and a hint of James Horner), but certainly not a bad effort at all, indeed, it all amounts to a fine soundtrack recording and a solid score for the screen. One suspects that the general complaint will be a missing fanfare opening in the style of the great Jerry Goldsmith, but this is a prequel...and big things have yet to happen. The main theme is solid and works as an emerging heroic theme for James Tiberius Kirk (and the Enterprise) and it appears in various forms throughout the essentially orchestral score including a surprisingly effective combination with the Alexander Courage theme at the very end. The antagonist, Nero, has a distinct motif reminiscent of the TV series, while Spock has a trademark motif as well. There is a good deal to like about what Giacchino has done here and he has left some musical development open, to be continued in a sequel? The best part of all is probably the "End Credits" which is a traditional overture beginning with that nice twist with Courage's theme (listen for a brief return to this at the very end) and continues with all of Giacchino's representative themes and motifs to a big conclusion...yes, big, now things have happened and, we suspect, more is to come. Nicely produced and packaged by Varese.