Attn STAR TREK music fans: James Horner's COMPLETE "Wrath Of Khan" score Released! (1 Viewer)

[Nick Martin]

Being one of Horner's biggest fans in known existence, it is with great pleasure and even great irony that his career-making 1982 score for "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" is being released by Film Score Monthly and Rhino Records, ironic because FSM is known for reviling everything to do with the man and his music.

Here's the official information:

Film Score Monthly goes warp factor 10 to bring out every note of the famous film composer’s beloved score to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Linden, VA – July 20, 2009 – “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 that set the franchise back on its feet with a rich, weighty narrative of youth-and-age and life-and-death that continues to be the yardstick against which future films are measured – it is the quintessential example of mining the series 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 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 creator Gene Roddenberry's inspirations for the series. Horner contrasted sweeping 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-tugging and emotional scoring.

Star Trek II was released on LP by Atlantic Records in a 45-minute program issued on CD by GNP/Crescendo (now 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").

In cooperation with Rhino Entertainment (who administer the Atlantic Records catalog) and Paramount Pictures (owners of the Star Trek film franchise), FSM delivers a remastering of 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."


This is not a limited edition release, and is available here:

http://www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm?ID=12699

ComiCon visitors can pick it up there as well.

Here's additional info:

http://trekmovie.com/2009/07/20/fsm-releasing-complete-soundtrack-for-star-trek-ii-the-wrath-of-khan/

KHAAANNNN! is now complete, and fully remastered and (thankfully) remixed. The original GNP Crescendo album has a disgraceful mix.

 

[Paul.S]

Thanks for this. I came online looking for more info after stumbling across the disc in a store last night. I've had the original score release on GNP Crescendo on my Wish List for years waiting for the right price/opportunity to get a (used) copy. The store from last night loves list pricing so I didn't buy, assuming I would find it cheaper online. But now I find that, although the release may not be a limited edition, it distribution nevertheless betrays its boutique label origins: as of this typing, I'm not seeing it listed at the Best Buy or CD Universe sites, nor at Amazon. Will head back to that store soon.

 

[Nelson Au]

I didn't know about this thread till this week! I mentioned this disc on one of the Trek threads back when it came out.

I bought this disc the day it was available from Film Score Monthly. I never got the GNP release, so this is a nice release as that disc is OOP.

It's interesting to listen to this outside of the film. I've listened to the other soundtrack discs, but not this soundtrack, I never got it for some reason. So it's a revelation in some ways. Some of the pieces are very simple, where as in the film, the texture is different when the sound effects are mixed in. So it sounds different! But the same.

Anyway, a great release!

 

[Dan Szwarc]

Curse you like-minded movie score enthusiasts! You have forced me to spend more money!

(I just bought it for $20 shipped.)

Anyone want my old GNP CD? Out of print like new!

 

[Nick Martin]

The new release makes that GNP CD seem even crappier than it originally was. By that I mean the mixing of the album with that "B.A.S.E." faux 3D stereo effect added to the disc that completely ruined the imaging.

I find it interesting that while James Horner has been involved with "AVATAR" all year, he did take the time to personally assemble, master and produce several of his previously unreleased scores for the Intrada label, but wasn't involved with this FSM release at all.
It's even more interesting because Horner clearly retained a fondness for "Wrath Of Khan", speaking about it in a Blu-ray interview.

Then again, the names Film Score Monthly and James Horner are synonymous with Oil and Water so it's understandable at the same time.

 

[Dan Szwarc]

Finally received the CD in the mail via the slowest form of shipping known to man: USPS media mail (after a week of sitting in backorder status, too).

It makes me want to finally buy a blu-ray player and the disc of the movie.

The notes inside the case are a great history of the scoring process for Horner and the development of a low-budget Star Trek movie sequel to give the fans something to enjoy and keep the franchise alive. A very nice read indeed.

 

[Nick Martin]

Just wanted to bump this thread with this little tidbit:

an expanded, most likely complete score for The Search For Spock is in the making now, according to Screen Archives Entertainment's facebook page, which was apparently information that wasn't supposed to get out so soon since it's not ready, but from the now-deleted comments about it, it IS on the way.