Undiscovered [Soundtrack]

undiscovered [soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Undiscovered is a movie about a struggling musician and his pursuit of love and fame. Star Steven Strait is also all over the soundtrack, performing on half of the songs on the disc. The surprise is that supporting actress Ashlee Simpson, who has a significant supporting role in the film, doesn't appear on the collection at all, except as a co-writer of the disc's title song. The list of contributors is also curious; a host of relatively low profile artists who seem to musically emulate bigger stars. (Work's "Got a Problem" is shockingly similar to the stylings of punk rocker Patti Smith," and Strait's "This Is Living" is eerily close to early Iggy Pop).

Standout tracks include Strait's grungified "Pure Example" and the disc's closer, "Why Not Me" by David Baerwald, who some might remember as the dark and dry performer of the retro hit "Welcome to the Boomtown;" Baerwald also wrote or co-wrote a number of songs on the disc. For sheer amusement, however, Chuck T & The Wookies' '70s rawk version of "Jungle Love" (originally by the Steve Miller Band-- is easily the best of the bunch, nearly identically duplicating the classic. --Denise Sheppard

Undiscovered,Original Soundtrack,Lakeshore Records,Pop,Soundtrack,Soundtracks & Film Scores

Undiscovered [Soundtrack]

Average customer rating:

Undiscovered talent
Bittersweet and powerful
I LOVE THE MOVIE BUT THE SOUNDTRACK SUCKS WITHOUT ASHLEE!!!!!!!!!
Purching this "smart" but in a stupid way?
I feel like I just got ran over by a publicity machine

Undiscovered
Original Soundtrack
Manufacturer: Lakeshore Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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Undiscovered
The Covenant
Sky High
The Covenant
The Covenant

ASIN: B000A2HA10
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Tracks:

Boomerang - Steven Strait
This Is Living - Steven Strait
Never Said Anything - Steven Strait
Girls Like You - Sparklemotion
Half Lit - Steven Strait
Smart In A Stupid Way - Steven Strait/Jen Crowe
Got A Problem Work
Pure Example - Steven Strait
I Can See Through You - Truman
Plans - Jaime Wyatt
House Lights - Steven Strait
Undiscovered (Acoustic) - Jen Crowe
Jungle Love - Chuck T & the Wookies
That's Why I Love You (Demo) - Jen Crowe
Why Not Me David Baerwald

Amazon.com

Undiscovered is a movie about a struggling musician and his pursuit of love and fame. Star Steven Strait is also all over the soundtrack, performing on half of the songs on the disc. The surprise is that supporting actress Ashlee Simpson, who has a significant supporting role in the film, doesn't appear on the collection at all, except as a co-writer of the disc's title song. The list of contributors is also curious; a host of relatively low profile artists who seem to musically emulate bigger stars. (Work's "Got a Problem" is shockingly similar to the stylings of punk rocker Patti Smith," and Strait's "This Is Living" is eerily close to early Iggy Pop).

Customer Reviews:

Undiscovered talent.......2007-03-12

I am a connoisseur of certain type of singing voices and fell in love with the actor who sings on this album. The movie is a gem and the singing is great. A different addition to your collection that has some great rock. Besides, the actor is very sexy.

Bittersweet and powerful.......2006-02-11

I really enjoy listening to this album and I'm surprised that it's not a top-seller. The songs are very diverse - some are happy and cheerful :"Plans" and "Jungle Love" for example, some are somewhat dark and melancholic :"House lights", "Boomerang", "Half Lit". The songs performed by Steven Strait would appeal more to the hard-rocking audience. The soundtrack also has a couple of bittersweet, very touching songs: "Undiscovered" and "That's why I love you". For somebody who has lost a loved one, those two can make you cry. And as far as Jaime Wyatt's vocals are concerned, I think she actually does a better job than Ashlee Simpson. She carries the tunes better and I find her voice much more interesting and appealing.
Overall, the lyrics are powerful, the performances - outstanding. The only reason why I can't give this album a 5-star rating is that I don't care for one of the songs - "Got a Problem" in particular. I keep changing it every time it comes on. It's just irritating. I will definitely recommend this soundtrack to my friends, even to my sis who is more into heavy metal - I think she'll appreciate Steven Strait's vocals.

I LOVE THE MOVIE BUT THE SOUNDTRACK SUCKS WITHOUT ASHLEE!!!!!!!!!.......2006-01-14

Undiscovered soundtrack is pointless and the only reason why i say that is because Ashlee is not on it..... I love the movie and the only way to really check out this music is to buy the movie,because Jen Crowe can not sing whatsover..... So if you want to waste your money then buy this soundtrack,but if you want to save your money then buy the movie and check out my girl Ashlee really sing!!!!!!!!!!

Purching this "smart" but in a stupid way?.......2006-01-01

There are a few fun songs here. However, only one song is a stand out (smart in a stupid way). Which is pretty and fairly well done. I personally think the lyrics could use some rewriting and this could get close to being a great song. I would suggest the rewrite be done by a male songwriter older than 35 and maybe have had some kind of relationship with a beautiful Japanese lady who's possibily aspiring to be a 5/0 tennis player. The opening lyrics might be "She had eyes almond shaped diamonds". You have to wonder after watching the movie if Ashlee could ever have a lover that she would ever betray. As for the rest of the songs they're fine for playing in a party atmosphere where the coversation is preeminent.

I feel like I just got ran over by a publicity machine.......2005-08-31

The soundtrack was the 2nd best thing about the movie. The best thing about the movie was watching models try to walk and talk. They had a hard time at that. The people in this film need to first get acting lessons, then singing lessons. With a different cast this might have been good. But the music wasn't bad if you like lip synching.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Average customer rating:

"Star Trek" At Its Darkest
Excellent score from a relative youngster
MUSIC WORTHY OF A SENDOFF!
Terrible
I love IT

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Cliff Eidelman
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Trek | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

1990s | By Decade | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Star Trek First Contact: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]
Star Trek - Nemesis

ASIN: B000002OJG
Release Date: 1991-12-10

Tracks:

Overture
An Incident
Clear All Moorings
Assassination
Surrender For Peace
Death Of Gorkon
Rura Penthe
Revealed
Escape From Rura Penthe
Dining On Ashes
The Battle For Peace
Sign Off
Star Trek Vl Suite

Customer Reviews:

"Star Trek" At Its Darkest.......2004-07-14

People would kill if I said that I had never heard of Cliff Eidelman before "Star Trek VI-The Undiscovered Country". When I first heard he was going to be the composer for the final chapter of the "Star Trek" movies with the original cast, I somehow was uneasy about it, as uneasy as when I heard that James Horner had been chosen to be the composer for "Star Trek II-The Wrath Of Khan" back in 1982. However, it seems director Nicholas Meyer has good instincts for music.
The overture pays homage to Holst's "Mars" from his Planets concert. It starts dark and then, it goes on in crescendo until the orchestra bursts out and finishes with a bang -if you take my meaning for it.
The entire score is totally dark and thrilling. Tracks like 'Rura Penthe', 'Assassination', and 'Death Of Gorkon' are fine examples of it. On the other hand, we also have emotional moments like 'Clear All Moorings' -where the epic motif is first heard -, 'Dining With Ashes', and my favorite from this bunch, 'Sign Off'.
Unfortunately, I have to say that Cliff Eidelman is not as consistent with his action or epic music as James Horner was in "The Wrath Of Khan". Just as I explained in my review of "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery", Eidelman starts his action and then, falls into tranquility leaving you kinda interrupted, wanting for constant action. 'The Battle For Peace' starts nicely with dark motifs; later it segues into bombastic moments, but then it suddenly goes dark again, then into action again, and so forth. The end credits suite falls into that sin as well: the epic motif explodes when the credits start rolling but, suddenly, it goes down to a dramatic part leaving you wanting for more. It's annoying.
Despite all those flaws, the score for "Star Trek VI-The Undiscovered Country" succeeds in portraying the dark side of what Gene Roddenberry had always shown as an "optimistic" future, and I have to say that Cliff Eidelman is one of the people responsible for this.

Excellent score from a relative youngster.......2004-03-14

This score is not the equal of Goldsmith's masterwork for the original ST movie (few will ever be) or Horner's great work for "ST III" (better than his soundtrack for "ST II"), but it was an amazing effort for a 24-year-old and far, far better then Rosenman's dreadful (and inexplicably Oscar-nominated!) "ST IV." The terrific opening march sets the tone for what is easily the darkest of all ST scores. (And in response to the earlier poster who felt he ripped off Holst's "The Planets," director Nick Meyer asked him to make an opening that resembled "Mars, the Bringer of War," so don't knock him for doing so.) This soundtrack won't blow you away, but it is marvelous work for one so young and it still puzzles me that it didn't advance him to the big leagues like Horner's breakthrough effort for "ST II" did for him. Buy it!

MUSIC WORTHY OF A SENDOFF!.......2003-12-03

Cliff Eidelman's score for "Star Trek VI" is the perfect score to say goodbye to the best "Trek" crew ever! With the music, you'll remember how it felt when you realized that this would be the final time that you would see Kirk, Spock, McCoy and all the others together on screen for the last time! Stands right up there with Goldsmith and James Horner! Bravo, Mr. Eidelman! Grade: A+

Terrible.......2003-04-20

This music is awful. The almost literal quotes from Holst in the Overture are wretched.

How anyone can compare this to Goldsmith, Bernstein, et al is beyond comprehension.

Tripe.

I love IT.......2002-03-18

This album has a good mixture of music like classical, pop, rap,and others that I cannot think of. God bless

Average customer rating:

Quite good, but not a stellar "Trek"
Love The Soundtrack
Best ST recording in the Alpha Quadrant
I must disagree
Middle-Trek

The Star Trek Album
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Ultimate Star Trek
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ASIN: B0000DJYNZ
Release Date: 2003-11-11

Tracks:

Theme (TV Series)
End Titles (The Motion Picture)
Klingon Attack (The Motion Picture)
Warp Drive (Sound Effect)
Overture (The Wrath Of Khan)
Bird Of Prey Decloaks (The Search For Spock)
End Titles (The Voyage Home)
Away Team (Sound Effect)
End Titles (First Contact)
Tasha's Farewell (The Next Generation)
Theme (Deep Space Nine)
He's Toast (Deep Space Nine)
End Titles (The Final Frontier)

Tracks:

End Titles (The Undiscovered Country)
Theme (Voyager)
Battle Stations (Sound Effect)
Overture (Generations)
One Last Visit (Deep Space Nine)
End Titles (Insurrection)
Dogfight In Space (Sound Effect)
The Menagerie (The TV Series)
Opening (Star Fleet Academy)
Crash Landing (Sound Effect)
Suite (Nemesis)

Customer Reviews:

Quite good, but not a stellar "Trek".......2007-05-18

Silva Screen Records has made a name for itself releasing reproductions of modern orchestral soundtracks, with most of its products centering around a particular genre or composer. Star Trek has a history of quality music, so its no suprise Silva has taken a crack at music in the final frontier. This is a fine release, with some strong points and some weak ones as well.

IN GENERAL: For the purist looking for a "best of" compilation taken from the original soundtracks take note: this isn't that product. Rather, these are reproductions by Nic Raine conducting the City of Prague Philharmonic. That said, this is a quality group, and the general sound is professional and comes off quite well (for the most part..I'll mention a few exceptions). It is superior to the other releases I have heard from the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

SELECTION: The biggest advantage here is variety of sources. The Trek feature films are all represented here, as well as the various series (except for the last one, "Enterprise"). The thouroughness seems to match or excel the oher Star Trek Compilation CDs that have been released. There are a few other offbeat additions..notably a four minute suite from the videogame Star Fleet Academy. Personally, I found this bland track to be four minutes of wasted disk space. The original series has many memorable moments (listen to the Amok Time/The Doomsday Machine soundtrack) which would be be more exciting and also a better fit on this album.

Jerry Goldsmith's standard Star Trek March is heard far too often on these 2 CDs. The march itself is terrific, but it has been used so much it has become the franchise's major theme and the album's producers rely on it by representing many movies by their "End Titles". Unfortunately, Goldsmith's end titles consistently use a three-section approach: two sections of the "standard" Star Trek March sandwich a middle section of music that is unique for that particular film. This is OK if you are listening to a single movie's soundtrack, but for a compilation album, the fourth or fifth time you hear the march, it is too much. It would have been a better idea to cut a few "End Title" performances in favor of other selections from the films' soundtracks.

PERFORMANCE QUALITY: For the most part it is very good and captures the spirit of the original soundtracks. Selections from Horner's scores for the second and third films stand out as particularly well done. The last movie, "Nemesis" also has a terrifically arranged suite, and most of the movie soundtrack reproductions are very good quality. The only exception is from "Klingon Attack" in which the awesome bass of the "blaster-beam" from the original cannot be matched by the comparatively hollow synthesized atempt here.

PERSONAL GRIPE: the inclusion of sound effects. Every so often a special effect like "Warp Drive" or "Dogfight in Space" pops up between tracks. This by itself would be extremely cheesy. Add to this that these are not the actual sound effects from the TV shows or movies and the cheesiness levels reach a level I think only a Wisconsin resident could appreciate. Sci Fi music (and Star Trek in particular) seems to inspire some labels to add special effects inclusions like this. Who knows why.

Love The Soundtrack.......2007-04-03

I bought this soundtrack and I love it.A great edition to the star trek fans.

Best ST recording in the Alpha Quadrant.......2007-01-10

Great collection of Star Trek series and Movie themes; only a Klingon
Opera is missing.

I must disagree.......2005-07-17

I own all the original recordings, and I still enjoy this re-recording. It is good. It is better than the Cincinatti Pops "Symphonic Star Trek", it is better than the Richard Hayman "Star Trek" compilation from 89, its better than the Sci Fi compilation on the Edel label from 93 and for the most part is better than Varese's Ultimate Star Trek from 1998.

This collection has music you will not find anywhere else. The Tasha's Farewell track is beautiful and the only other place its avialable is the Edel "Best of Science Fiction" compilation from 1993, and while that was recorded by the same orchestra, it was with a different conductor, and comparing the two, you can tell that Nic Raine was more successful with Prague than William Motzing was. That said Edel release is also more than $30 here on amazon. Also this release is in HDCD Dolby which is a plus. There's also two cues from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; one of them is on The Best of Star Trek: 30th Anniversary Special, the other is not on any other album. In addition, there is music from Ron Jones "Starfleet Academy" video game which is pretty cool to listen to, and not availble anywhere else that I know of. Finally, Jerry Goldsmith's main theme can get boring after a while, I mean, its repetitive that it is in all the end credit suites, it would have been nice for Insurrection to have maybe an action cue instead of the end credits suite...And Nic Raine, did just that, only for Star Trek: Nemesis. Instead of the tradition end credit suite, Mr. Raine arranged a professional suite with the main Nemesis theme, some action cues, as well as the Goldsmith Star Trek march, and it is a wonderful 8 minutes. If you already have the 3 space and beyond albums, the Star Trek Nemesis track as well as Birds of Prey Decloaking from Star Trek III are the only new tracks on this CD.

This is a must-buy for fans of star trek in general, and hardcore star trek fans should buy this album for the aforementioned cues that aren't available anywhere else.

Middle-Trek.......2005-01-13

I rate this album as fair-to-middlin' for Trek score tributes.
After Star Trek: The Motion Picture's ground breaking and intensely serious dramatic score, the other Trek filmscores slide downhill somewhat and like the films themselves became less spectacular. Goldsmith himself never even re-captured the grandness of the first film's music and it shows in this album. The playing by the orchestra is fairly competent but it suffers a bit by being a smaller ensemble and these scores need at least 90 or 100 pieces to do them justice. Also the "Blaster Beam" instrument is so integral to a couple of the scores as to be alarming by it's absence. Only Craig Huxley and Micheal Stearns still use one as they built each-other's instrument in the late seventies.

What would have rescued this album from the admittedly 'high end' of mediocrity would have been if the producers could have recorded some of the missing cues from ST-1 and ST-2 and maybe a couple of the others.

This would have made it much more valuable to soundtrack collectors and Star Trek music buffs.

What we are left with is a nicely produced somewhat 'ho-hum' in an endless series of Trek music covers...

Average customer rating:

The penultimate collection ...
Muisic of the Spheres
The Ulllllltimate Sci-Fi Music Collection
SciFi Album gift
Away From to be a Collectible Peace

The Science Fiction Album
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sci-Fi Channel - Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: The Dark Side

ASIN: B000066HE5
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Tracks:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Aliens
Sound Effect - The Nostromo
Alien
A.I.
Armageddon
Sound Effect - Apollo 13 Lift-off
Apollo 13
Back To The Future
Battle Beyond The Stars
Battlestar Galactica
The Black Hole
Contact
Capricorn One
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Dune

Tracks:

Galaxy Quest
Sound Effect - Dogfight in Space
Enemy Mine
Ghostbusters
Gremlins
Heavy Metal
Independence Day
E.T.
Judge Dredd
The Last Starfighter
Lifeforce
Sound Effect - Crash Landing
Lost In Space
Mars Attacks
The Matrix
Predator
The Right Stuff

Tracks:

Moonraker
Robocop
Silent Running
Sound Effect - Alien Organism
Species
Stargate
Starship Troopers
Starman
Star Trek - TV Theme
Star Trek: The Motion Picture End Title
Klingon Attack
Sound Effect - Warp Drive
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Tracks:

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Sound Effect - Transporter Crew
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Main Theme
Star Trek First Contact
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Sound Effect - Battle Stations
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace - The Flag Parade
Anakin's Theme
The Adventures of Jar Jar
Duel of the Fates
The Time Machine
Things to Come
The Thing From Another World
War of the Worlds
When Worlds Collide
Total Recall
You Only Live Twice
Superman

Customer Reviews:

The penultimate collection ..........2006-12-07

Generally I agree with Strategos in his ecstatic Spotlight Review above. It is a joy to here some of the most memorable themes and cues from some of the most memorable science fiction and fantasy movies (re)recorded in great sound and in lavish (re)orchestrations, played by renowned classical orchestras, namely the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, no less.

I have always had a weak spot for (good, or maybe even intelligent) science fiction/fantasy and film music, especially its way of evoking mystery, grandure and wide open spaces. Call it a weakness if you want. But it was maybe really kick started off, for as far as I can remember, with Star Trek. But especially Star Trek II, III and IV - essentially a trilogy - because of their very romantic but very warm, human core, set on the broadest canvasses of unlimited and mysterious outer space. But then there was the music for adding that essential extra dimension of emotion and atmosphere. I am happy that much of the music on this album is from the Star Trek series and films, often equaling or sometimes even outclassing the original recordings.

This kind of music (for the movies) should be seen as an art on its own rights with its own merits and qualities. As such, the musical sequences on these CD's are a beautifully played cross section of some of the most evoking orchestral music for science fiction/fantasy film ever created. And I very much like the nicely blended, wide and deep orchestral soundpicture with enough reverberation to evoke a sense of wide open spaces.
I am quite thrilled by tracks like the evocative music from Dune, truly transporting one to the vastly sands of Arrakis (the music is wonderful, but to my great regret I think the movie itself is a flawed masterpiece at best, alas.). And then there is the very different, goofy music for Ghostbusters (memories of childhood), the spoofy but electrifying music from Mars Attacks (lovingly parodist music, this, with not a little touch of irony) and the happily adventurous, forward driving Theme from Galaxy Quest ('Never give up, never surrender!'), now also used for the internet-based fan-series Star Trek: The Hidden Frontier. On the other side of the spectrum we have the atmospheric music for Enemy Mine (an underestimated 'little' movie), the Theme from The Right Stuff (actually science FACT, not fiction, this film, just like Apollo 13, of course), the eerily attractive music for Species, the original End Title for Alien (not used in the theatrical version of the movie, where it was replaced by music from howard Hanson's Second Symphony), the exquisitely exotic music for Stargate, the sweet and warmly sympathetic, beautifully re-orchestrated, theme for Starman, the title cue for Star Trek: TOS (much more melodiously played than the original! If only a series nowadays could continue to be as thought provoking and as original as Star Trek was during its launch, fourty years ago ...) and a truly overpowering End Titles Suite from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I especially like the thrillingly grandiloquent rendition here of the music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And how nice it is to hear the (thematic) similarities between James Horner's music for The Wrath of Khan, his great break-through as a film music composer, and his (two years) earlier music for Battle Beyond the Stars (which did indeed help him earn the job for writing the music for Star Trek II) ...

But on the 'down side', if one is looking for - for example - the gorgeously expansively played End Titles from Cocoon, it is not included here: one has to acquire the album that 'kicked it all off', so to say, namely 'Space and Beyond', also on Silva Screen. I was very pleased also with the inclusion on that album of some of the music from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, namely where one of the characters, Tasha Yar, in one of the episodes (Skin of Evil) is saying goodbye to her crewmmates: sweetly sentimental and simple music which I have always wanted to own on CD. I guess that a few cues from the other two sequals ('Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II' and 'Space3: Beyond the Final Frontier') didn't make it onto this 4 CD collection-album as well, but I guess that it would be the 'better part of the bargain' to opt to buy this 'The Science Fiction Album' instead of buying all three albums separately. Well, of course it is for yourself to ultimately decide what you really want ;-)

If I were to nitpick (which is not easy with such a marvellous project as this one), then I would say that while all music is performed with magnificent grandure and with style, some of it is not performed as crisply and as technically 'on the spot' as some of the original recordings: ensemble is a little slack and the playing somewhat stilted sometimes, losing some of the edge and the originality of the writing. ET and Star Wars spring to mind, but then the soundtracks for Star Wars are traditionally recorded with the magnificent London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro John Williams himself, and these superior recordings (especially the ones for Episode I, II and III) can't really be bettered, IMHO. Likewise for the music from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, I believe that in the end one really has to resort to the ultimate reference, namely the original recording (which is true in many other instances of 'original recordings'), and then the 20th anniversay colector's edition of this soundtrack on Columbia/Legacy (truly unmissable, this veritable classic of sci-fi/film music soundtracks!).

But all in all this 4CD-collection amounts to probably being the penultimate high quality sci-fi music album collection (I certainly know of no other project that comes as close quality as well as quantity wise), with some of the most memorable musical moments from classic to modern sci-fi/fantasy film captured in lavish orchestrations.
Collection-wise: five *stars*. Playing: generally four *stars*, sometimes more. The recording quality: five *stars*. The music (qualified on its own merits as film music) and its (re)orchestrations: generally five *stars*. In the end this is all highly recommended, and certainly not to be missed by science fiction and fantasy film music fans. Klaatu barada nikto.

Muisic of the Spheres.......2006-11-06

You wonderful four disk collection of SF music. It startsa up the the grand master of SF music, 2001: A space Odyssey all the way to Superman. This is all American SF music and several themes I would have liked to have included are not there. All in all though, a collection you will enjoy.

The Ulllllltimate Sci-Fi Music Collection.......2005-10-23

If one person gives great gifts, it's the illustrious Codemaster Talon. I've received a fair number of gifts in my lifetime, but so far, my older sister's take the cake. Take this one for instance. I'm real big on orchestral music, to the point where I listen to them more than any other kind of music. I've got orchestral versions of video game themes, orchestral soundtracks to truck-loads of anime shows (Big O, Escaflowne, and Giant Robo are incredible), and could probably spend the rest of my life just trying to study the nuances of all the classical music I've got. Being such a huge fan of orchestral music, I also have come to believe that orchestra music produced for movies and television is the new classical music (or as someone once said, Mozart would be making music for movies if he were alive today). Being a huge sci-fi fan, that kind of music has always been particularly near and dear to my heart. But were I to buy each and every soundtrack for every sci-fi I liked it would cost quite a bundle, and would include a lot of sub-par music along with the grandiose and fantastic main and memorable themes. That's where this beauty comes in.

The moment I ripped off the shrink-wrap and popped it into my cd player was a moment of great trepidation. Believe me when I tell that I've seen my fair share of sub-par orchestral recording in my lifetime. Very often they are in those big super-packs of music, and suffer from poor direction, improper mastering, and sometime even pathetic orchestration (or worse yet have something sounding like a cheap synthesizer and a kazoo in place of a full orchestra). I needn't have worried though. This sucker is fantastic.

Many people who are not audiophiles will probably miss the point of this cd collection. It is not the original versions of the pieces. It is re-orchestrations, mostly by the phenomenal Prague Symphony Orchestra. Many of these themes didn't sound all that hot in there original versions because they were low budget films or were not recorded in high-fidelity. Here they are given the full treatment, mastered with the most loving care imaginable. Often the version found in these cds is SUPERIOR to the original.

Remember the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey? Of course you do. But how many times have you heard a cheap imitation of the original version from the movie, starting too low in volume and ending too high (and missing the essential pipe-organ that gives it that extra oomph)? Well, this first track in the entire collection is not only everything it should be instrumental and timing-wise, but it also has been oh-so-carefully adjusted during the mastering process so that at no time is the music either too low or too high in volume (surely a benchmark for every other recording ever to be made of the piece).

Or what about the theme from the (at-the-time) uber-creepy The Black Hole? The orchestration of this piece of music goes from tiumphant to terrifying and back again, with a splendor and cleanness that I CERTAINLY don't remember being in the original recording.

Then there's the new version of the theme from Independence Day, complete with a violin solo, a far more electrifying ending climax, and a chorus so thunderous that you feel like applauding at the end. Simply indescribable. Kind of like the MIND-BLOWING rendition of the theme from The Last Star Fighter. This has been one of my favorite themes for a long time now, but I've never heard it played like this. I think the original version of the theme is something like 1 minute long, but this new version doesn't just fade out (HAHAHAHA!!!!) THIS version is THREE minutes long, goes through the main theme THREE times, with the final strains being so triumphant and joyous I could not help but feel an electrifying charge the first dozen or so times (come to think of it, I still feel that way). This is superior to the original in EVERY way. AWESOME.

And let's not forget the incredible new rendition of Stargate with it's heavy use of clarinets (for Egyptian effect!) and a triumphant new ending (completely lacking the chanting from the original version. This version is so different that for the first minute it is very hard to tell that it is in fact Stargate. But then the main theme kicks in, and then you get this incredible flute solo for my favorite part of theme (the whole thing is played slower, but arguably more powerfully than the original). My goodness. At first I found the thing so different I didn't like it. But then I listened to it again. And again. And again.

I could go on and on, talking about the fantastic new rendition of Moon Raker, the ear-popping Battlestar Galactica, the classic Star Trek (First Contact has a minute or two of the theme from Star Trek:The Motion Picture before going into the main theme), or the sweet renditions of music from the Star Wars movies (or the music from E.T.).

I have to mention though that this collection was not picked based merely on what people want, or on what is popular. No, the people who made it obviously thought a GOOD music collection was better than a popular one. That's why you get a heartbreakingly beautiful theme from A.I. instead of the main theme. It's why you get music from movies that you probably never gave a second thought to the music (because the movie was lousy). It's why you get Armageddon, Judge Dredd, and Robocop (who would have guessed their music was so COOL when there was all that crazy action and bad-acting going on on-screen).

I said it before and I'll say it again. This cd-set was mastered with tender-loving-care, and it shows BIG-TIME. High-fidelity the likes of which I have not seen since the days when cds were brand-new in the world. Dolby Surround. Perfectly balanced. BEAUTIUFL orchestrations. About the only thing that makes me scratch my head is the weird sound-effect tracks (Oooookay.....). Other than that, it's PERFECT. Obviously they could not include every sci-fi theme ever (no one can), but this collection is REALLY GOOD. A lot of great themes that got away (forgotten gems :), new versions of old favorites, and under-appreciated classics aplenty, but ALWAYS the full and complete versions with nothing cut-out (the theme from Dune is quite extended).

If you love movie music (and sci-fi movie music in particular) you MUST buy this awesome collection). It is not the original recordings. Almost always the new ones are better (if they aren't better they're just equal). This is what you have been waiting for. I for one am going to be buying quite a few cds from this company in the future. Give your ears the treat they deserve. Buy it NOW.

SciFi Album gift.......2005-07-20

I bought the Science Fiction Album as a gift for my son who is twenty-one years old. He is a musician, and also a huge fan of many SciFi shows and movies. I thought this would be the perfect thing for him and I was right. He loves it!

Away From to be a Collectible Peace.......2004-12-16

If you like Sci-Fi movies and want a compilation of their important scores, this is the CD-set to buy. But let me warn you about that very few songs in the cds are from the original soundtracks. Most of them is re-recorded by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. But the sound quality of cds are very good, because they have HDCD and Dolby Surround labels. This set is away from to be a collectible peace, but it is a good general compilation of favorite Sci-Fi movie scores.

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