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Trek III Expanded Score vs Trek (2009) Deluxe Soundtrack

R

Ryann866

Lieutenant Commander
Red Shirt
Just got both of them today, listened to them back to back and was really surprised how Horner's score totally blew me away when compared to Giacchino's.

I haven't watched either film recently but as far as the albums go, even though the 2009 Trek score features much more music, most of the soundtrack seems thematically very repetitive and uninspired... and I really enjoyed the new film and was impressed with the soundtrack when I first heard it.
The emotional impact of the 2009 score (aside from the Spock theme) just doesn't resonate with me as much as Horner's TSFS score does.

I'm talking about the score here... not the construction of the actual main theme. I can hum practically all of Horner's secondary cues (Stealing The Enterprise, Returning to Vulcan) while Giacchino's fail to stick with me.

Horner uses only a handful of motifs (expanded from material established in TWOK) and weaves an amazingly evocative experience. In comparison, Giacchino's album sounds like a lot of generic action filler built around the overly stated 'Kirk hero theme".

What do you all think?
 
I absolutely LOVE Giacchino's score, but I do feel that Horner's work is better in many ways.

To be fair though, it is a little like comparing Apples to Oranges.
 
The young James Horner was totally brilliant. And the most important thing about it is: he did a score for a Star Trek movie, and he used... the themes of Star Trek, throughout the entire movie, instead of just playing it once during the end credits when nobody really cares.

Giacchino's scores are never really that impressive. But that seems to be an issue of a lot of "younger" composers. Music gets more and more generic. The problem is that the "old" composers are starting to wear off somehow. The current James Horner wouldn't be able to create a score as excellent as TWOK's or TSFS's again, I guess.
 
Ryann866 said:
the 2009 Trek score features much more music, most of the soundtrack seems thematically very repetitive
Click to expand...

Haha! That's what sooooo many people said about Horner's ST III soundtrack when the film first came out.

I've enjoyed all ST movie soundtracks very much, with only "Generations" being a bit forgettable.
 
This soundtrack has always been my second favorite of the Trek movies (TMP being the first).I'm delighted to have the additional cues -- for 26 years, I've wanted the music for the Enterprise destruction sequence!

It's remarkable to compare James Horner's oustanding work for TSFS and TWOK to the derivative blandness he cranks out these days. Both of his Trek scores are so stirring and emotional. Even though he does steal a bit from other composers here and there, he ably uses original TOS music and variants thereof.

Although there are some cuts from Giacchino's that I've listened to over and over and over again, I don't find they they communicate the story as well as Horner's scores. With Horner's Trek scores, you can see the movie playing out in your head as you listen to the music. It's all very narrative and signposts the action really well. Much of Giacchino's is just accent music that doesn't pull me in as much.
 
Horner's score was so good he was able to regurgitate it across a dozen more films! Along with countless movie trailers for films he had nothing to do with otherwise.
 
I play around with the Trek III Expanded score a lot more than the Deluxe Edition of Trek09's score. I just wish Trek09's release was given a lot of the same amount of attention that the Expanded Trek III soundtrack had, cause there are so many things about the Deluxe Edition that feels so cheap and lazy.
 
Ryann866 said:
Just got both of them today, listened to them back to back and was really surprised how Horner's score totally blew me away when compared to Giacchino's.

I haven't watched either film recently but as far as the albums go, even though the 2009 Trek score features much more music, most of the soundtrack seems thematically very repetitive and uninspired... and I really enjoyed the new film and was impressed with the soundtrack when I first heard it.
The emotional impact of the 2009 score (aside from the Spock theme) just doesn't resonate with me as much as Horner's TSFS score does.

I'm talking about the score here... not the construction of the actual main theme. I can hum practically all of Horner's secondary cues (Stealing The Enterprise, Returning to Vulcan) while Giacchino's fail to stick with me.

Horner uses only a handful of motifs (expanded from material established in TWOK) and weaves an amazingly evocative experience. In comparison, Giacchino's album sounds like a lot of generic action filler built around the overly stated 'Kirk hero theme".
Click to expand...

This!

JarodRussell said:
The young James Horner was totally brilliant. And the most important thing about it is: he did a score for a Star Trek movie, and he used... the themes of Star Trek, throughout the entire movie, instead of just playing it once during the end credits when nobody really cares.

Giacchino's scores are never really that impressive. But that seems to be an issue of a lot of "younger" composers. Music gets more and more generic. The problem is that the "old" composers are starting to wear off somehow. The current James Horner wouldn't be able to create a score as excellent as TWOK's or TSFS's again, I guess.
Click to expand...

And this! I kind'a noticed the same thing about Jerry Goldsmith as the years went on...his quality dropped considerably.
 
I read in Nick Meyer's book that when he came across a the tape Horner submitted for his audition, Meyer thought, "Well here's a guy with some ideas in his head." That's what I think is missing from a lot of modern scores; the music now fills space but it doesn't express ideas.
 
I absolutely love Giacchino's body of work, particularly his contributions to Lost. Talk about beautiful music that resonates. But his score for ST'09 was a little... underwhelming. Sure, there are some great cues here and there. However, overall, it doesn't impress me that much. Horner's work in TWOK and TSFS are much more memorable.

I suspect Giacchino will score the next film. Let's hope he's able to do a little more next time around.
 
jwb said:
I read in Nick Meyer's book that when he came across a the tape Horner submitted for his audition, Meyer thought, "Well here's a guy with some ideas in his head." That's what I think is missing from a lot of modern scores; the music now fills space but it doesn't express ideas.
Click to expand...

Agreed. And, I think, that's the way the studios want it, because it's cheaper to just slap a "tone" on the scene than to properly orchestrate it for maximum effect. Proper scoring, like that in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a dying art form in film, and virtually absent in television.
 
Just listen to the difference between the soundtracks of Danny Elfman-Batman and Hans Zimmer-Batman. Of course it was an artistic decision to make the rebooted Batman score low-key, but wow, that is some bland and generic music.

Even in television the soundtracks were better in the past. Especially the art of the catching main theme that sets the tone for the entire show is also a dying one. The last show that had a really great memorable theme was J.A.G., as far as I know. Today most of shows don't even have a recognizable theme, for instance CSI, House, 24, Lost, etc...
 
Giacchino's score underwhelmed in the film and it underwhelmed me on the original album. In its expanded form, however, I've found myself more and more impressed by it.

That said, Horner's work on Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is impressive and even superior to his work on the previous film in the series. I'm not convinced, however, that the new material on either expanded score albums (both of which I've listened to on youtube, and not on CD, due to a lack of finances) offers much of significance, though it is certainly nice to have the scores finally presented in their full form.
 
I'd have to go with Star Trek III. There's no comparison to me between a fully realized score and the same eleven notes over and over and over and over again. Don't get me wrong, the new theme is ok, but I'm not sure if it's catchy or was simply driven into my skull.

Actually make that sixteen notes.
 
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EnsignRicky said:
I'd have to go with Star Trek III. There's no comparison to me between a fully realized score and the same eleven notes over and over and over and over again. Don't get me wrong, the new theme is ok, but I'm not sure if it's catchy or was simply driven into my skull.

Actually make that sixteen notes.
Click to expand...

Exactly how I feel! Almost every track has the same 3 basic melodies in the same orchestration... I can't really wrap my head around what JJ was going for with all the repetition.

It would be like hearing the basic Goldsmith TMP main theme in EVERY SCENE of the films he scored, no mater what the scene was, as opposed to bringing it in when the material required it.
 
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