Happy First Contact Day!

On April 5, 2063, Zefram Cochrane is destined to break the warp barrier – after which, he will make official first contact with an alien race when he greets Vulcan visitors to Earth. It therefore seems only fitting to use this date to post about GNP Crescendo's new limited-edition release of the complete score to Star Trek: First Contact by Jerry and Joel Goldsmith.

To quote from the official press release:  

GNP Crescendo Records, longtime home of new and classic Star Trek soundtracks, releases a long-sought limited-edition collector’s CD of Star Trek: First Contact (1996) featuring the complete score by Jerry Goldsmith (with additional music by Joel Goldsmith), newly remastered by recording engineer Bruce Botnick. [...]

The accompanying 16-page booklet includes informative notes by Jeff Bond and John Takis and is lavishly illustrated with film stills.

As a long-time Star Trek fan (and published Trek fiction author), I was absolutely thrilled to receive this assignment from Lukas Kendall and GNP Crescendo. I was equally excited for the opportunity to write about the music of Jerry Goldsmith, who has played such a prominent role in my love of film and television music over the decades. Star Trek: First Contact contains some of his finest themes, delivered with typical Goldsmith craftsmanship and panache.

It was my pleasure to work with the inimitable Jeff Bond, author of The Music of Star Trek, for this release. Jeff conducted new interviews and wrote the brunt of the booklet essay, while I contributed some thoughts about the film's music. I also wrote the track-by-track analysis (with valuable input from Jeff) which is available on GNP Crescendo's official website as a downloadable PDF. I hope that Trekkies (or Trekkers, if you prefer) and Goldsmith devotees alike will find it to be an interesting read.