Looking for music cue.

[doctorwho 03]

Some time ago I got a hold of the TOS original television soundtracks. While listening to the first volume with music from 'Cage' and WNMHGB, I noticed a piece of music was missing from the 'Cage' portion. It's the music that plays when Captain Pike hallucinates he's back on Rigel 7, just before his fight with the warrior guy. This same music cue also plays in 'City On The Edge Of Forever' when McCoy is harrassing the homeless guy, 'Wolf In The Fold' during the seance scene, and 'A Private Little War' when Nona heals Kirks Mugato injury. I'm not sure what the music cue is actually called, so I'm calling it 'Star Trek Voodoo' because of it's weirdness. Why wasn't this cue included on the soundtracks and can it be found anywhere else?

 

[Anticitizen]

Some time ago I got a hold of the TOS original television soundtracks. While listening to the first volume with music from 'Cage' and WNMHGB, I noticed a piece of music was missing from the 'Cage' portion. It's the music that plays when Captain Pike hallucinates he's back on Rigel 7, just before his fight with the warrior guy. This same music cue also plays in 'City On The Edge Of Forever' when McCoy is harrassing the homeless guy, 'Wolf In The Fold' during the seance scene, and 'A Private Little War' when Nona heals Kirks Mugato injury. I'm not sure what the music cue is actually called, so I'm calling it 'Star Trek Voodoo' because of it's weirdness. Why wasn't this cue included on the soundtracks and can it be found anywhere else?

Is it the music with the high-pitched voice or theramin warble, giving it an 'otherworldly' sound? If so, that's one of my favorite cues.

 

[scotpens]

You’re referring to that “spooky” variation on Vina’s theme with the heartbeat-like rhythm, right? It was recycled in a number of TOS episodes, including the scene where Spock gets “spored” in “This Side of Paradise.” No idea why it wouldn’t be included on the CD.

 

[doctorwho 03]

Yep, that's the one. And I didn't realize it's a variation of Vina's theme.

 

[GSchnitzer]

Yep, that's the one. And I didn't realize it's a variation of Vina's theme.

You know, I didn't believe you. They re-used so many cues over the course of all the episodes, how could they have left that particular cue off of "The Cage" soundtrack CD when it was reused in all those creepy, paranormal instances? But I listened to the whole CD, and you're right: that particular cue is not on the disc. (All the other various arrangements of Vina's theme are there, though.)

My guess is that the cue you want is not commercially available--except by pulling it off an episode and stripping it of dialog and sound effects.

 

[Christopher]

Here's something that includes a variation of it, unless my memory is failing me:

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Warp/dp/B0019M78IK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1296446308&sr=8-4

Time Warp is one of a series of albums the Cincinnati Pops did in the '80s featuring SF film/TV themes. Track 4, which you can download as an MP3 from the link, is "The Menagerie Suite," a number of cues from the first pilot arranged as a single 7 1/2-minute suite. (Keep in mind that the pilot was retitled "The Menagerie" before it was filmed, and wasn't officially designated "The Cage" until it finally came out on home video in 1986, two years after this album.) I think Courage himself did the arrangement, but I'm not certain; I only have a casette-tape copy of the album, so I don't have access to the original liner notes. I do recall that it includes the "Rigel fortress" cue, though not necessarily complete or arranged/paced exactly the same as the original. (My other favorite cue on this one is an extended, 3:30 version of Stu Phillips's Battlestar Galactica theme -- which I now know to be a sort of mini-suite combining portions of various different cues from that show, all based on the main theme.)

I don't know why Amazon gives its release date as 1972. Considering it has music from productions as late as 1979, that would really be a time warp.

 

[Ssosmcin]

That bit (the music going to the Rigel 7 illusion) and the Kirk vs Mitchell fight are the two cues I never thought would be left off the album back in the day. There were space limitations due to the media, but I'm sure re-use fees also came into the picture. Still, there are a number of cues from The Cage I would have dropped in favor of those two.

Hopefully a re-release (of better quality) will be forthcoming, but since GNP Crescendo put the album out, and they often bought the rights "for-evuh," this may not happen anytime soon. And they seem to be out of the soundtrack business.

 

[doctorwho 03]

Guess I'll have to do what GSchnitzer suggested if I want the original cue, but that Time Warp CD does sound interesting. And I didn't realize the Kirk Mitchell fight was also missing. Haven't seen WNMHGB for a while, so I didn't notice it.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, they pretty much ran out of room on the LP (this was originally made for vinyl) and had to lop off about the last act or so of "Where No Man."

 

[Basill]

It's the music that plays when Captain Pike hallucinates he's back on Rigel 7, just before his fight with the warrior guy. This same music cue also plays in 'City On The Edge Of Forever' when McCoy is harrassing the homeless guy, 'Wolf In The Fold' during the seance scene, and 'A Private Little War' when Nona heals Kirks Mugato injury. I'm not sure what the music cue is actually called, so I'm calling it 'Star Trek Voodoo' because of it's weirdness. Why wasn't this cue included on the soundtracks and can it be found anywhere else?

You’re referring to that “spooky” variation on Vina’s theme with the heartbeat-like rhythm, right? It was recycled in a number of TOS episodes, including the scene where Spock gets “spored” in “This Side of Paradise.” No idea why it wouldn’t be included on the CD.

For trivial interest's sake, it was also used in "Return of the Archons" when Kirk and company first witness and escape the zombified inhabitants of Landru's "summoning the body," as well as their subsequent discovery of the absorbed Lt. O'Neil. This episode lends itself quite well to a lot of the deliciously creepy "Cage" music. There is quite a bit of Vina theme throughout. "Return of the Archons" and the previously mentioned episode re-uses are the only instances I can recall of the cue, though there may be more.

I too was very disappointed when I first realized that particular cue didn't make the soundtrack cut. I had the CD for years before I actually realized it. Of course, that was only because I went looking for it after watching the episode on some occasion. I also noticed on my copy of the CD, that the tracks don't match up to their listing on the liner notes.

I've captured the audio from those episodes for listening purposes myself, but they are naturally imperfect with sound effects and dialogue still in place: it's a make-do-for-now effort.

 

[doctorwho 03]

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if the other soundtracks were missing cues as well. I think the Doomsday Machine/Amok Time CD may be complete, but I have a feeling the Naked Time/Shore Leave CD is missing some.

 

[Christopher]

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if the other soundtracks were missing cues as well.

Most of the early ones originally released on vinyl tended to be incomplete, due to the space limitations of the medium. You can't get more than about 45 minutes of audio onto an LP. And of course only the GNP Crescendo albums were the original soundtracks; the Varese Sarabande and Label X albums were new performances, the latter organized into suites that altered certain details.

I think the Doomsday Machine/Amok Time CD may be complete, but I have a feeling the Naked Time/Shore Leave CD is missing some.

I can't think of any cues missing from either.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if the other soundtracks were missing cues as well. I think the Doomsday Machine/Amok Time CD may be complete, but I have a feeling the Naked Time/Shore Leave CD is missing some.

All of the albums are missing some music. The Doomsday Machine is missing some in the teaser, the music under the episode titles, the music coming into act II and the piece as the Enterprise first approaches the Planet Killer just as we segue to Kirk using the "laser beacon" to solder wires. Amok Time is missing a little, too. You're right; Naked Time is also incomplete.

I wouldn't say these omissions are deal breakers, though, and none are as glaring as the missing fight music from WNMHGB. The great majority of the music from each score is represented.

 

[doctorwho 03]

Makes me wish CBS/Paramount would release a CD collection of all the TOS music. Or put a music-only option on the DVDs like some of the Doctor Who's.

 

[Basill]

Makes me wish CBS/Paramount would release a CD collection of all the TOS music. Or put a music-only option on the DVDs like some of the Doctor Who's.

Yeah, too bad the music business (like any business really) is such a red tape, profit-oriented sort of concept. I don't pretend to know .01% of all the legal/financial necessities that go into such a process, but I’ve heard that such projects take a lot of hoop jumping and many caveats before they see the light of day. Granted the recent Ron Jones CD set is no exception, but it seemed to be the passion of one man and the hard work of a few people that brought that gem to fruition. I've also heard that efforts to get the older stuff out would probably be even more strenuous.


When it all boils down to money, without the gleam of profit and/or the motivation of some really passionate people in the know, such things usually just don’t happen. I would love to be wrong.


Now, I would prefer to have hard copy materials like the Ron Jones set, but if it were any more convenient to the powers-that-be, I'd be perfectly happy with download-only product, if it would get me some of those music cues I've been longing for all these decades.