Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

James Horner

 
" The search for the expanded one "

Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the expanded release

Star Trek III is the successful continuation of the Star Trek Enterprise and its unfailing crew. The death of Spock just seemed to be the beginning of an all new adventure, leading to Captain Kirk's rebellion to disobey direct orders and go for the search of Spock. Returning for the ride was James Horner, after his amazing debut on Star Trek II a couple of years before. And now after all this time, we get our hands on the complete edition of this wonderful score. And the newly released material surely adds something spectacular to the list. "Sunset on Genesis" with its Project X like ethnic flutes, "Spock Endures Pon Farr" with the delicate versions of Spock's theme and the thrilling heroic sounds of "Genesis Destroyed". It are surely moments the Horner fan has been waiting all this time.

Of course the brilliant highlights "Stealing the Enterprise" and "Bird of Prey Decloacks" are also on board, killer tracks that possess every single thing that makes filmmusic memorable (though it's a bit weird to hear the opening of "Stealing the Enterprise" without the whirling strings). The score is full of references to other future Horner scores as well, from Cocoon to Aliens, and unleashes all the musical ingenuity a Horner classic possessed during that time. The creative, colorful and inspired writing is something that doesn't age after all this time, and shows again what the filmmusic of today is missing. Though this complete edition unveils several hidden treasures, it still doesn't reach Horner's jewel in Star Trek history. Therefore The Wrath of Khan remains the winner.

Special edition adds loads of unreleased goodies.
Score shows a plethora of themes and emotional highlights.
Stealing the Enterprise, a track that outranks all the excellent tracks of every year.
Comparing sucks, but yes Star Trek II still has that something extra.

Track Listing

Complete Album CD 1: 69.45
1. Prologue and Main Title * (6.30) Excellent track
2. Klingons * (5.57)
3. Spock's Cabin (1.40)
4. The Klingon's Plan * (1.01)
5. The Mind-Meld (2.31)
6. Stealing the Enterprise * (8.39) Excellent track
7. Grissom Destroyed (1.02)
8. Sunset on Genesis (2.17)
9. Spock Endures Pon Farr * (3.04)
10. Bird of Prey Decloaks (3.47) Excellent track
11. A Fighting Chance to Live (3.52)
12. Genesis Destroyed * (2.42) Excellent track
13. Returning to Vulcan (4.56)
14. The Katra Ritual (4.30)
15. End Titles * (6.13) Excellent track
16. That Old Black Magic / Tangerine / I Remember You (Bar Source) (10.32)

Soundtrack Album CD 2: 46.57
1. Prologue and Main Title *+ (6.29) Excellent track
2. Klingons *+ (5.56)
3. Stealing the Enterprise *+ (8.34) Excellent track
4. The Mind-Meld (2.31)
5. Bird of Prey Decloaks (3.46) Excellent track
6. Returning to Vulcan + (4.53)
7. The Katra Ritual (4.30)
8. End Titles * (6.13) Excellent track
9. The Search For Spock (Theme From "Star Trek III"): Group 87 (3.42)

* contains "Theme From Star Trek (TV Series)" by Alexander Courage
+ differs from version used in motion picture
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Released by

Retrograde Records FSM-80129-2 (expanded release 2010)

Conducted by

James Horner

Orchestrations by

Greig McRitchie