Star Trek - Nemesis
Alexander Courage may have given the sprawlingStar Trekfranchise its signature musical fanfare, but for two decades it's been composer Jerry Goldsmith who's periodically infused the film and TV cycles with their crucial musical heart and soul or, as in the case of this rousing masterwork, their fire and fury. Giving nearly free reign to his notably modernist muse, the veteran has turned in a dark and driving orchestral maelstrom that's relieved only by its edgy, occasionally synth-burnished passages of alien intrigue and mounting suspense. Underpinned by bracing blasts of massive brass worthy ofBernard Herrmannand powered by Goldsmith's passionate sense of drama and mastery of orchestral color and dynamics, it's a score that not only ranks among the best of the imposingTrekmusical catalog, but certainly one of the composer's most accomplished sci-fi scores of the last 20 years.--Jerry McCulley