I hit peak Star Trek superfandom in the late ’80s, just in time for the 1990s and the sudden rapid expansion of Star Trek as a genuine media franchise to kick in. There were so many shows on TV. A good few episodes of these various series had really good music. And the music…was nowhere to be found commercially. Star Trek: The Next Generation wound up with four individual CD releases through the end of the 1990s, while Deep Space Nine and Voyager merited one each, in each instance with (most of) the score from their pilot episodes. That pattern continued with the pilot episode of Enterprise in 2001, and then…it all went silent. Being in my early 20s, I didn’t get it. It seemed like GNP Crescendo had a license to print money – or at least a license to get their hands of copious amounts of my money – if only they’d keep releasing more Star Trek music. (I know nothing of musicians’ unions and re-use fees at the time, I just knew what I liked.) My attention drifted to other franchises that seemed to know full well that their fans wanted more music, not less – Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, the new Doctor Who… and then a magical thing happened in the late aughts. Suddenly Paramount seemed more open to the idea of mining its musical vaults. Long-out-of-print Star Trek movie soundtrack albums suddenly had newly expanded editions. On the television front, things went from famine to feast as massive box sets chronicled either the entire musical oeveure of the 1960s series, or the entire body of work of a beloved single Next Generation composer. And then all of the television series racked up not just one, but two 3-or-4-disc box sets covering music from their entire broadcast run.
La-La Land Records took the lead with these releases, as they were behind the classic series box set and all of the nicely curated smaller box set releases from each TV series. Suddenly my Star Trek music shelf was bursting with an embarrassment of music riches that 20-something me could only have dreamed of. And then another plot twist: somehow, Star Trek returned, to borrow a phrase from a competing genre franchise. There were new shows, new episodes, new composers, and a lot of new music, and the studio again changed its tune: Star Trek music needed to focus on the new shows, largely through digital releases. It was no longer a dormant franchise whose music would appeal mainly to an aging demographic of collectors of physical media. The Final Frontier is La-La Land’s final release of music from the Rick-Berman-era Star Trek television series.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. When you count the massive Ron Jones box set, GNP Crescendo’s remastered reissues of their past titles, and all of the Berman-era music La-La Land has rolled out since, what was once a handful of scattered releases has now grown by over fifty CDs’ worth of material, thanks largely to this one label. That’s not bad at all, and at some point, it was probable that the law of diminishing returns would kick in. The “big episodes” had already been mined for music; episodes with less music, or perhaps even less impressive music, would be what was left. The Final Frontier’s tracklist – covering each of the four Berman-era series – was compiled largely from fan requests submitted to the label, and it’s not a bad final hurrah.
Leading off disc one is a handful of tracks of something not television-related at all – a handful of previously unheard pieces from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which instantly become the killer app of this set. These pieces only existed on paper, so they’re not lost recordings from Jerry Goldsmith’s sessions; they’re performed (very nicely, I should add) with sampled instruments by Joe Kraemer (who scored Jack Reacher and Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation, and has also been doing music for Big Finish Productions). The Motion Picture pieces are primarily about changes in emphasis and arrangement to known pieces, rather than stunning revelations of roads not taken. “Body Meld” is the best example of this – intended for the scene of Decker and Ilia being engulfed in V’ger’s energy field, the arrangement is more strident and triumphant than the more mysterious version that was heard in the actual movie.
The theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation – which was, after all, an arrangement of Goldsmith’s Motion Picture theme – provides a fitting transition to TV music for the rest of the collection. The remainder of disc one is music from The Next Generation, with some pieces that surprisingly hadn’t been made available before – such as the music for the cliffhanger moment of the fourth season finale when a Romulan woman who looks just like Tasha Yar steps out of the shadows – but it’s the Next Generation disc that is especially interesting as something of a time-lapse Of Rick Berman’s approach to the music of Star Trek as a whole. The earliest score represented is season one’s Justice, With Dennis McCarthy in full widescreen melodic/thematic mode, and by the time you get to the aforementioned season-ending cliffhanger, the show’s music is firmly lodged in whole-note mode, where it remained with some notable major-scene exceptions through the end of Enterprise in 2005.
Highlights on the disc devoted to Deep Space Nine include the eight-minute suite of music from the Klingon-heavy episode Blood Oath, and, toward the end of the tracklist, the selections from David Bell’s episodes, presenting us with everything from the Federation’s national anthem (!) to highlights from two critical episodes in the sixth season’s multi-part opening Dominion War saga. David Bell’s work is again the centerpiece of the Voyager-centric disc, specifically his music for Flashback, a 30th anniversary episode that bolted new mythology onto – of all things – Captain Sulu’s scenes in Star Trek VI. Velton Ray Bunch’s contributions to the music of Enterprise are the scene-stealers on that disc; on the one hand, some of the long-stand restrictions on more active music had started to fall by the wayside during Enterprise, though that was counterbalanced by, in its final season, the composers being told to make do with fully-electronic scores since the budget for an orchestra every week had been slashed in the name of keeping the show alive.
Overall, a very good representative cross-section slice of each of the series, with some previously unrealized alternates from the first Star Trek movie as the cherry on top. There’s also a lot of stuff on here that ends up being a little bit on the somnolent side, proving that this was probably the best cutoff point for releasing music from this era of Star Trek. Not only are there now newer shows and newer music to release, but the chances of getting people to pony up for further box sets of this at full price on release day were probably numbers that just weren’t going to work any longer. We’re fortunate to have gotten as much music from this era of the franchise as we did.
Disc 1
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – music by Jerry Goldsmith, performed by Joe Kraemer- Preludium (alternate, arranged/orchestrated by Fred Steiner) (1:36)
- Total Logic (early version, orchestrated by Arthur Morton) (3:01)
- Pre-Launch Countdown (early version, orchestrated by Arthur Morton) (0:42)
- Body Meld (early version, orchestrated by Arthur Morton) (3:16)
Star Trek: The Next Generation – music by Dennis McCarthy- Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title (Season 2) (1:40)
- Justice: New Planet / First Hugs / Dance Break (2:39)
- Justice: God (1:55)
- The Dauphin: A Taste (1:27)
- The Ensigns Of Command: Aqueduct (2:47)
- The Most Toys: Zapped / Requiem (3:37)
- The Most Toys: El Yucko (3:00)
- Identity Crisis: Hickman (2:46)
- Identity Crisis: Geordi (4:17)
- Half A Life: Star Birth / Burial Plot (5:19)
- Redemption, Part I: Battle Royale (4:08)
- Redemption, Part I: Worf’s Goodbye (2:41)
- Time’s Arrow, Part II: Nicks of Time (3:52)
- Phantasms: Data’s Dream (1:39)
- Phantasms: Salvadore Data (2:53)
- Attached: Still Friends (1:57)
- Force Of Nature: Kablooie/Don’t Touch That Warp (3:16)
- Genesis: Jurassic Worf (3:58)
Star Trek: The Next Generation – music by Jay Chattaway
- Hero Worship: Android Bonding (2:03)
- Hero Worship: Androids to the Rescue (3:38)
- Lower Decks: Waiting for Sito / Sito’s Wake (3:59)
- Firstborn: Klingon Opera (instrumental) (4:04)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation End Credits (Season 3, short version) (0:48)
Disc 2
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – music by Dennis McCarthy- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Main Title (Seasons 4–7, alternate mix) (1:55)
- Sanctuary: Sleepy Space Flute (2:31)
- Blood Oath: The Fortress / Battle Prep / To the Death / Pariah (8:06)
- Way Of The Warrior: Hammered (4:13)
music by Jay Chattaway
- Armageddon Game: Runabout Switch/Coffee Break (5:34)
- Defiant: Run Noisy, Get Caught / Officer or Terrorist (9:38)
- The Begotten: Birth and Rebirth (3:59)
- Chrysalis: Chrysalis Song (0:53)
- Chrysalis: Love Lost (3:31)
- Valiant: Rough Start / Meet Red Squad (4:43)
- Valiant: Squad Montage (2:34)
- Valiant: Giant Hunters / Abandon Ship / Decide for Themselves (8:27)
music by David Bell
- Take Me Out To The Holosuite: Federation National Anthem (1:00)
- Rocks and Shoals: Plummeting Into Planet (2:19)
- Rocks and Shoals: Laughing at Trouble (1:20)
- Rocks and Shoals: Parley With Doomed Patrol / Not My Life to Give Up (4:17)
- Sacrifice of Angels: Opened a Hole in Their Lines? (1:56)
- Sacrifice of Angels: Kira in Corridor Combat (1:57)
- Sacrifice of Angels: Prelude to White Flash / White Flash Prophets (4:25)
- Sacrifice of Angels: Welcome Back Captain / Garak & Kira in Infirmary (2:40)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine End Credits (Seasons 4–7, alternate mix) (1:04)
Disc 3
Star Trek: Voyager – music by Jay Chattaway- Star Trek: Voyager Main Title (1:55)
- Displaced: Nyrians Take Over/Chakotay Sabotages (6:27)
- One: Seven’s Daily Routine / All by Myself / Sleepwalking (1:52)
- One: 17 Hours to Safety / Beating the Loneliness (5:54)
- Counterpoint: Kashyk’s Departure (2:12)
music by Paul Baillargeon
- The Darkling: Doc’s Soliloquy (0:40)
music by David Bell
- Meld: Tuvok Slams Cart (3:29)
- Meld: Tuvok Attempts to Execute Suder / No More Mind Melds (3:20)
- Flashback: Tuvok’s First Hallucination (1:53)
- Flashback: Klingons Other Side of Galaxy / Tuvok and Janeway Meld / First Flashback / Energy Wave Hits Excelsior (3:48)
- Flashback: Sulu: Intruder Alert / Our Last Chance — Concentrate! / Be Nostalgic for Both (5:19)
- Unity: Chakotay Attaches Power Conduit / Chakotay Phases Tuvok (5:06)
- Flesh and Blood, Part I: Doc Snatched (2:44)
music by Dennis McCarthy
- Eye of the Needle: Possible Way Home (1:50)
- Deadlock: Inexorable/Surprise, Surprise! (6:33)
- Infinite Regress: Naomi the Detective (0:56)
- Survival Instinct: The Outpost / Realizations (4:13)
- Survival Instinct: Rebellion / With Family (4:42)
- Real Life: Ugly to the Max (Klingon teenager source) (2:34)
- Real Life: Dad School / Where’d He Go? (2:17)
- Real Life: Tom Dooley / El Plan-O / Hangin’ On (3:23)
- Real Life: Belle’s Death (3:59)
- Star Trek: Voyager End Title (1:19)
Disc 4
Star Trek: Enterprise – music by Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner- Archer’s Theme (Unused Main Title) (1:24)
- Damage: Hijackers / No Choice (5:30)
- Borderland: Slaves Are Loose (2:34)
music by Paul Baillargeon
- Rogue Planet: Alien Hunters (3:07)
music by David Bell
- Minefield: Damage Report (3:14)
music by Velton Ray Bunch
- Silent Enemy: Aliens Return / Aliens on Board / Cannon Fire (7:18)
- Marauders: Klingon Defense / Deserted Colony (5:09)
- Marauders: Hand to Hand / Klingon Trap / Ring of Fire (5:26)
- Judgment: Duras Tells His Story / Archer Tells His Side (5:23)
- Harbinger: Recap / Red Cloud (5:02)
- Harbinger: Jealous Fighter / Alien Attack (2:56)
- The Council: Recap / Into the Chamber (5:19)
- Home: Vulcan Wedding (1:32)
music by Jay Chattaway
- United: Recap / Rigellian Attack (2:23)
- Cold Front: Searching for Silik / Conduit Brawl / Space Diver (6:21)
- The Seventh: T’Pol Gets Her Man (2:44)
- Vanishing Point: Bombs (3:01)
- Anomaly: Osaarian Showdown (4:19)
- Azati Prime: End Game (3:57)
- Archer’s Theme (End Credits) / Paramount Studios Logo (0:50)
Released by: La-La Land Records
Release date: April 5, 2022
Disc one total running time: 78:33
Disc two total running time: 78:11
Disc three total running time: 77:47
Disc four total running time: 78:50