(written from a Production point of view)
The Star Trek: First Contact soundtrack is composed of Jerry Goldsmith's original score for Star Trek: First Contact. It includes additional music by Joel Goldsmith, Roy Orbison and Steppenwolf.
Overview[]
Jerry Goldsmith's third contribution to the Star Trek film series (his first of three in the TNG era) began with director Jonathan Frakes' request for a darker theme for his directorial debut. Goldsmith's return was popular among Trek music aficionados following the generally lukewarm response to Dennis McCarthy's handling of Star Trek Generations.
A culmination of his work for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Goldsmith incorporated established themes and introduced new ones in First Contact. Returning were the Klingon theme – this time underscoring Worf's actions in the film – originating from The Motion Picture and used heavily in The Final Frontier, and the popular "A Busy Man" theme from The Final Frontier – here littered throughout the film, most notably just after the opening Star Trek fanfare. Also reprised (of course) is Goldsmith's highly memorable USS Enterprise theme from The Motion Picture, heard at the film's finale. New to the mix are themes for the Borg and their Queen, the USS Enterprise-E, and a stirring, but subdued, overarching theme (heard in the opening titles) that made the score a highly sought after item, despite its release nearly a month after that of the film.
With Jerry Goldsmith's schedule crowded, the veteran recruited his son, Joel Goldsmith, to aid in the composition of First Contact. Notable is the younger Goldsmith's contribution of electronically synthesized instrumentation, used alongside clanging, metallic percussion to represent the Borg and their cybernetic nature. The score is marked by the clearly intentional contrasting of harsh electronic (or metallic) sounds and traditional (if sometimes distant) orchestrations. The "A Busy Man" theme again resurfaced in both Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek Nemesis, though its inclusion in the former is fleeting.
A stark departure for Star Trek soundtracks (as heard in the film and on album) is the inclusion of "pop" music; Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" is often revered as a classic 1960s rock 'n' roll song, while Orbison's "Ooby Dooby" is a little more dubious – even criticized by the film's writers, Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, in a DVD commentary.
Track listing[]
The commercial soundtrack release of Star Trek: First Contact contained a sampling of the music used in the film. Below is a list of the tracks made widely available.
| # | Title/Runtime |
|---|---|
| 1 | Main Titles/Locutus ‡ †(4:17) |
| 2 | Red Alert (2:13) |
| 3 | Temporal Wake (2:07) |
| 4 | Welcome Aboard (2:40) |
| 5 | Fully Functional (3:18) |
| 6 | Retreat ‡ (3:59) |
| 7 | Evacuate (2:19) |
| 8 | 39.1 Degrees Celsius ‡ (2:44) |
| 9 | The Dish (7:05) |
| 10 | First Contact (5:52) |
| 11 | End Credits †(5:24) |
| 12 | "Magic Carpet Ride" (Performed by Steppenwolf; 4:25) |
| 13 | "Ooby Dooby" (Performed by Roy Orbison; 2:22) |
| Total | 73:19 |
- ‡ Contains music composed by Joel Goldsmith
- †Contains TOS theme composed by Alexander Courage
See also[]
| Previous soundtrack release: | Series | Next soundtrack release: |
| Star Trek Generations | Star Trek Movie Soundtrack Star Trek: First Contact |
Star Trek: Insurrection |