Beam Me Up: La-La Land Boldly Expands "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Score

You've heard all of the clichés before, but La-La Land records truly will go where no man has gone before with the June 5 release of the 3-CD set Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Complete Score. Though Jerry Goldsmith's score to the science-fiction classic has been released on CD before, this joint project of La-La Land, Sony Music and Paramount Pictures offers a luxurious view of every aspect of the film's music.

Released in December, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the cast of the 1960s Star Trek television show, including William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and DeForest Kelley (McCoy). The development road for the movie was complicated as it was first envisioned as a film in 1975, then became a second television series entitled Star Trek: Phase II before returning to its originally intended form on the big screen. The Motion Picture grossed $139 million worldwide and was deemed successful enough to warrant a sequel, 1982's Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Eventually, due to the reinvigoration began with The Motion Picture, the Star Trek franchise produced 11 additional movies, four more television series and numerous books, comics, video games, toys and other collectibles over the last 30+ years.

Hit the jump for more on ST: TMP, including details on what to expect from this deluxe expanded score reissue! Hint: the scope of this project is so wide that even Bob James and Shaun Cassidy are involved!

Directed by Academy Award winner Robert Wise (whose previous credits included West Side Story and The Sound of Music) and written by Harold Livingston based on a story by Alan Dean Foster, Star Trek: The Motion Picture takes place several years after the conclusion of the television series. Kirk, now promoted to Admiral, must reunite the old crew of the Enterprise to investigate a mysterious alien entity known as V'Ger which threatens to destroy the Earth. This script was adapted from what was supposed to be the pilot episode of the aborted Star Trek: Phase II, entitled "In Thy Image." The tone of the picture is more in line with 2001 than with Star Wars, with more contemplative sequences and less action. For instance, the scene where Kirk and Scott (James Doohan) approach the Enterprise in dry-dock lasts for five minutes and consists mostly of exterior shots of the ship! Critical reaction at the time was mixed, with most critics lamenting the intentionally slow pacing of the film. The series took on a more action-oriented focus with The Wrath of Khan.

Jerry (Patton, Chinatown) Goldsmith was enlisted to provide the score, and crafted an enduring march theme which would later be utilized as the main theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Goldsmith's entire score has been fully restored, remixed and mastered from the first generation multi-track masters by Bruce Botnick, the original album co-producer and Goldsmith's longtime scoring engineer. The 3-disc set clocks in at over 3 hours and 40 minutes in length!

Botnick, also renowned for his work with The Doors, has stated of the restoration, "To put together the complete score the decision was to go back to the original Analogue 16-track 2-inch 30 i.p.s. masters. John Davis at Precision Audiosonics baked each of the 37 rolls in a convection oven at 110º for eight hours so that they were playable, then rolled out a marvelous 3M 56 IsoLoop 16-track machine with brand new heads. The tapes were resolved at 60Hz to maintain the original orchestral pitch and sync. The Analogue-to-Digital transfer was done from the 16-track through the latest Black Lion A/D convertors and recorded to Pro Tools X at 192kHz 24-bit."

Discs 1 and 2 include the score for the film's theatrical release and premiere the early rejected cues that Goldsmith composed early on in the scoring process. The 1979 original LP soundtrack follows, much of which was performed and edited differently than the actual film cues. This program concludes the second disc, with Disc 3 presenting additional alternates (including those heard on the previous Sony expanded CD release of 1999, Columbia C2K 66134) and yet more bonus material. Among the highlights are early takes of the "Main Title" (including extensive stage chatter), isolated segments featuring Craig Huxley's "blaster beam" and synthesizer effects, the domestic CD debut of jazz artist Bob James' disco cover version of Goldsmith's theme plus Shaun Cassidy's vocal version of the movie's love theme, "A Star Beyond Time." Tireless co-producer Mike Matessino and film historian Jeff Bond contribute new liner notes based on interviews with Botnick, Huxley, session violinist (and a distinguished composer in his own right) David Newman and the late Goldsmith. The clamshell packaging and 40-page full color booklet have been designed by Jim Titus.

This expansive set, a limited edition of 10,000 units, will be available directly from La-La Land Records beginning on June 5. Los Angeles-based fans, however, might want to consider attending a very special evening on June 4. Hollywood's Arclight Cinemas (coincidentally, next door to Amoeba Music!) will host Jeff Bond as moderator of a 90-minute panel discussion about the music of ST: TMP. Currently scheduled guests include Bruce Botnick, Craig Huxley, David Newman, Mike Matessino and the film's Director of Photography, Richard H. Kline! Botnick and Huxley will be on hand to sign copies of the CD at the special pre-release price of $30.00, and a screening of the original film's Director's Cut will follow the panel discussion and signing. Event tickets are $17.50 and are available for purchase here. Tickets will be available at the door for $20.00. The full track listing, revealed at trekmovie.com, follows!

Jerry Goldsmith, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Columbia Records JS-36334, 1979 - reissued La-La Land LLLCD 1207, 2012)

CD 1: The Film Score