That said, what exactly are we dealing with in regards to the Animated Series music? i mean, how did this finally become a reality? For the longest time, this website has hosted several threads regarding the availability of this music and the most common conclusion was that the music was lost. Like the studio marked it to be destroyed after the series was done and someone actually paid attention and destroyed everything.
The Animated Series was very difficult to release. The only surviving masters were the mono music stems from the dialogue/FX/music tracks. We transferred all available episode DMEs and Neil Bulk meticulously collated all of the cues to get each one complete and in best-possible sound. Then Mike Matessino did the audio restoration. I think fans will be very happy with the sound and presentation. Incidentally I tried to do what Neil did and got around 2% of the job done before I threw up my hands, screaming mad. I don't know how he did it.
Separately the licensing was quite difficult. Filmation's licensed properties were handled differently from the shows they created from original material. CBS owns and has administrative control of TAS but the music was published by Filmation's company (which is why none of the TOS music was reused) so we had to clear it with Universal Music Publishing, who represent the current owner. It literally took years.
I don't know of any plans to release any other Filmation music, sorry. This release does not necessarily make any other Filmation album easier to achieve because of their licensed properties and the lack of music masters.
Definitely too much TOS here, even though the material is a fresh encode coming from new sources. I also question the wisdom of putting in the ST:TE and ST:Borg OSTs. That space should've been dedicated to more TNG.
I'm especially disappointed the cue I asked for from "Starship Mine" wasn't included...it's a delightful moment and a terrific piece of music from Jay Chattaway.
I am sorry you are disappointed. That is not lip service; I really am. There was just too much music to choose from and no way to include everything and make everybody happy. For every piece that gets added, something else has to get deleted.
As a lifelong Trekkie I really love working on these albums and it has been tremendously gratifying to get to do so many of them. Thank you all for supporting them. As long as there is interest I do not see why we can't continue to release more Trek music.
What exactly was the deal with the ST: TNG theme opening anyway?
Why did it open with that synth rendition of the Courage fanfare? Was that always planned? Was that part of some longer synth piece that was junked? Was an orchestral attempted planned or made?
And as a related question, was that meant to be tagged on to McCarthy's un-used theme like it was on he old GNP pilot score CD?
The TNG theme was always intended to be a marrying of the Courage TOS original (first half) and the TMP Goldsmith march for the credits. I dimly recall, though I don't have an interview source, that this came from Roddenberry personally. Dennis McCarthy's audition for the TNG job was to create a synth demo of such an arrangement and marrying of the two pieces. Unfortunately we could not find a tape of that, but we did find Dennis's DS9 demos (MT and pop version) for this new album.
At the 1987 season-one format music session, Dennis recorded his arrangement (for reduced orchestra) of the Goldsmith theme for main title and end title use (as well as shorter versions for trailers and bumpers). He also recorded the Courage part. The two parts were married in editing.
Dennis also wrote and arranged, and conducted one take of, an original theme that was never used in the show but included on the "Encounter at Farpoint" album. It is a triumphant march theme with the familiar "Picard's Theme" as the B-section. Ford Thaxton will know better than I will but it was provided as an alternate or safety choice for the M.T. and E.T. in case the producers chose not to use the Goldsmith theme or for some reason could not clear it (although I don't see how that would happen, seeing as how Paramount owned it).
Die-hard fans know that the version of the Main Title sequence heard in the first season episodes is not quite what was recorded. A "loop" was made editorially to present one more statement of the Courage "Enterprise" fanfare, and some cuts were made in the Goldsmith theme (notably at the ending). We searched but could not find a clean music master of this (without Enterprise ship sound FX). Dennis recorded the Main Title sequence for the second season incorporating the editorial change of the opening into the arrangement—which is to say, he recorded it again for the second season to make it sound like the version they cut up to create in the first season. He then recorded it again for the third season (adding some electronic sounds for the opening to enhance the new cosmic visuals), which was used from that point to the end of the series.
The track on the new album has an alternate version of the Courage half of the main title with the opening bass synth sound taceted, and the Goldsmith theme played without the cuts. You'll have to hear it to understand exactly what I mean.
There's a scene in the TNG episode "Realm of Fear" when Barclay is trying to calm down and fall asleep. He asks the computer to play some relaxing music. I would have given my left testicle for that musical piece to have been included in this new set.
The track on the new album has an alternate version of the Courage half of the main title with the opening bass synth sound taceted, and the Goldsmith theme played without the cuts. You'll have to hear it to understand exactly what I mean.
If this recording of the Goldsmith theme includes the extension on the finale that concludes the march in TMP (and would be incorporated into the TNG main titles from season 2 until Wesley left in season 4), that could well be the source of what was tracked into the saucer separation sequence in “Encounter at Farpoint.” You can hear the extension begin, but the string portion is edited out.
Thanks, Lukas -- that answered it everything but the McCarthy part.
Landstander:
I would have given my left testicle for that musical piece to have been included in this new set.
Sounds like you kept the ... right one. Ba-zing.
Swashbuckler, you're video is not showing at all. I see by the code you posted that you need to change it. Viewing the source code for the page, it looks like you posted this (without the space I added so we could see it):
This is a nice augmentation of the TOS and TNG sets. I think the Alexander Courage season two library cues and the Gerald Fried tracks alone will be worth it if the sources on those are upgraded as hinted.
I am very excited AND GRATEFUL for this set!! A lot of great stuff including the holy grail TAS material. Also glad to see the odd source music from Unification Part II as well, not to mention the Experience tracks and so forth.
I can understand why some folks are disappointed. I do agree that TOS and TNG are overly represented here, while DS9, Voyager and Enterprise are not. I say that because at this point in time we already have two volumes of TNG, plus the Ron Jones set, plus single discs of Best of Both Worlds, Encounter at Farpoint, etc. It would've been awesome if some of the cues I submitted for DS9 and Voyager were chosen. I know many people that would love more stuff from the Dominion War episodes in Season 6 of DS9.
That being said, I know Voyager has two sets and one DS9 coming next year so lets see what those bring. I just hope certain cues are chosen next time around, though I understand how and why things don't make it sometimes.
But I don't know about ya'll, but I'm excited beyond beans for this! Then again that's to be expected of the resident Trekkie here.
Swashbuckler, you're video is not showing at all. I see by the code you posted that you need to change it. Viewing the source code for the page, it looks like you posted this (without the space I added so we could see it):
Dear Lukas, I congratulate you (and all the others involved) on this outstanding achievement!
It's clearly a labor of love and what's more: you seem to have achieved the impossible not once but several times on this set. Or in other words: You've boldly gone where no Trek-Fan has gone before!
Thank you so much!
However personally I'm also a bit sad, that the original Shatner introduction speech couldn't be included but I conclude from all your explanations so far that there are very good reasons to it. So I wanted to ask whether you might want to shed some light on this matter. (Theoretically it still might be included as an Easter egg, but I think that would be rather unlikely)
I still need to get the second volumes of the TNG and Enterprise sets from LLL. Hopefully some point I can...
Lukas I definitely thank you for working on every Trek release that you have worked on, especially for the film scores! You've made this Trekkie very happy and also I am very honored to own a copy of the Ron Jones TNG box set been worth every penny.
Definitely too much TOS here, even though the material is a fresh encode coming from new sources. I also question the wisdom of putting in the ST:TE and ST:Borg OSTs. That space should've been dedicated to more TNG.
I'm especially disappointed the cue I asked for from "Starship Mine" wasn't included...it's a delightful moment and a terrific piece of music from Jay Chattaway.
I am sorry you are disappointed. That is not lip service; I really am. There was just too much music to choose from and no way to include everything and make everybody happy. For every piece that gets added, something else has to get deleted.
As a lifelong Trekkie I really love working on these albums and it has been tremendously gratifying to get to do so many of them. Thank you all for supporting them. As long as there is interest I do not see why we can't continue to release more Trek music.
Lukas
As always the rest of us will support such endeavours of yours and the rest of the team involved. Keep 'em coming!
I admit, my love of the original series makes me prejudiced, but having a greater focus on that series makes sense to me. It's probably pretty certain that no other TOS music is coming. Between the box set and the additional music found since then - presented here - this is as comprehensive as it's going to be. The two movie tracks weren't going to be sent out on their own, so this was the place. And the Animated Series music. Good lord, if it sounds as good as the music stems for the earlier missing Lost in Space music, I'll be a happy dude. Hell, I'll be happy anyway.
Then there is a pretty good sampling of TNG music - almost two entire CDs of this set. Honestly, between the two LaLa Land sets, the GNP albums and the massive Ron Jones set, TNG had a shit ton of music released already. This is pretty damned good. How many other shows get this much music released decades after cancellation?
DS9 and Voyager? We have albums coming. Plenty of music left to be released for those series. I can only hope against hope Enterprise will get one more release. If anything just to finally get the score to Azati Prime. How the climactic battle music from that episode was skipped both times is totally beyond me.
I admit, my love of the original series makes me prejudiced, but haing a greater focus on that series makes sense to me. It's probably pretty certain that no other TOS music is coming. Between the box set and the additional music found since there - presented here - this is as comprehensive as it's going to be. The two movie tracks weren't going to be sent out on their own, so this was the place. And the Animated Series music. Good lord, if it sounds as good as the music stems for the earlier missing Lost in Space music, I'll be a happy dude. Hell, I'll be happy anyway.
Then there is a pretty good sampling of TNG music - almost two entire CDs of this set. Honestly, between the two LaLa Land sets, the GNP albums and the massive Ron Jones set, TNG had a shit ton of music released already. This is pretty damned good. How many other shows get this much music released decades after calcellation?
DS9 and Voyager? We have albums coming. Plenty of music left to be released for those series. I can only hope against hope Enterprise will get one more release. If anything just to finally get the score to Azati Prime. How the climactic battle music from that episode was skipped both times is totally beyond me.
I'm really, really glad I have tomorrow off. I'll be ready at 3:00 PM (my time) sharp!
I can't thank you and the other producers enough, Lukas. Star Trek is one of my favorite musical universes (no pun intended) and it's a great time to be a Trekkie and a film/TV music fan. If I'd been given a list of all these recent releases back in 2002 I'd have laughed it off. We are so absurdly spoiled right now. I love it!
