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I gave Nemesis a first listen today after basking in the splendor of The Abyss all week. It has its moments to be sure, but as latter-day Goldsmith Trek, it's not quite up there with the likes of First Contact in my opinion. Some in this thread have commented I think you can build an enjoyable 50 minute playlist out of it and there's enough good material to make a solid 50-minute playlist (albeit a very different one than the original 50-minute soundtrack). So, has anyone made their own 50-minute playlist? Which highlights did you choose? I've started building my own, but I'm curious what others' ideal Nemesis albums look like.
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Varèse also used a green spine for their deluxe edition of "The Matrix."
I've listened to this album a few times now since its arrival early this week, and I'm actually shocked to find how much I'm enjoying it. The crisper "presence" on the recording helps, but the unreleased material (particularly from the second half of the score) is quite terrific. I love how Goldsmith uses the seven-beat pattern that drives much of the score in various settings - sinister, uplifting, etc. Also, I found the additional statements of the "Quest" theme lovely, and the "Your Brother" cue quite charming - I wish there had been more material like that in the score. Finally, while much of the more ambient scoring still does little for me, I was stunned at how much I enjoyed the "Blood Test" cue - it's a very well structured piece.
Upon this new, complete listening, parts of the material reminded me of a more low-key "Outland," with those dissonant low reed/string stabs on downbeats that permeates a few cues. So, I'm glad I've picked it up, as the score has gone up a few notches in my estimation, and it is an interesting score in the greater context of Goldsmith's career, too - thanks to Jeff Bond for his very fine notes. (Also, I'm not sure if it's the cleaner mix or different takes, but the performances of the TMP march in both versions of the end credits have a lot more get-up-and-go to them than on the original album. They're pretty swell.)
Two more things: Surprised that the Klingon motif isn't referenced at all, as it was used quite a bit in "First Contact," and had a well-placed cameo in "Insurrection." Since so much of the other genetic material from "The Motion Picture" score is revisited here - and since it showed up in all of the other Goldsmith scored sequels - I'm surprised it wasn't worked into one of the scenes.
Also, listening to some of the final cues, I'm struck with how much of the emotional weight in the film Goldsmith actually carried. Shinzon's theme is ultimately a bittersweet piece that points to the lost opportunities of the character (and film), it's rather mournful. As I said, I haven't seen the film in about ten years, but I do remember finding it (among other things) emotionally counterfeit. Listening to the cues on their own, Goldsmith really imbues things with a real sense of finality and dignity - the "That Song/An Honor" track has some very warm writing that got to me (which surprised me), and I realized that the music did a far better job of giving the lumbering film some meaning - and it works far better on its own, untethered from the image.
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