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Hey, I had a wacky idea! Let’s all listen to Star Trek TOS episodes on the anniversaries of the days they were recorded!
This is somewhat short notice because the 47th anniversary of The Man Trap is Monday, August 19th.
So we’ll have to fudge for the pilots. Maybe we can knock those out this weekend. We’d need to look at the liner notes of the box set to see what else was recorded at the same time.
So who’s with me? Let’s raise a glass (or a baton) to Mr. Courage. The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before this weekend, then The Man Trap on the day it was recorded! Then we babble about it here!
I'll put together a calendar. Man Trap is Monday. Charlie X is Friday, 8/29. I'll look to see if there are any "recorded with" cues.
Let's boldly go!
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And people are still questioning this ;-)
http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=18446&forumID=1&archive=1
By the way: I'm in.
No question in my case. None.
Here we go! The Cage!
There are those opening dings. Still thrilling. And don’t they sound pretty on the LLL discs?
Courage’s Americana sound for Pike wouldn’t really be heard again until other composers would get into it. Kaplan and Steiner especially. Courage would go all Man Trap and Where No Man Has Gone Before on us for Season One. Which isn’t a bad thing to be sure. But Dr. Bartender is one of my all-time favorite Trek tracks.
Ahh, the Vina theme. The prototype of all the Star Trek love themes.
The Talosian theme manages to be weird and creepy without being “ooooEEEEEEOooooo” sci-fi. You get that, right?
Monster Illusion. Almost a year later it’s still nice to hear the “grail” tracks and say “Hey, we have that now!”
It’s not a very original observation, but The Cage being more “cerebral” than WNMHGB is BS. There is more action, more thrills, etc. in The Cage. I love WNMHGB but most of it character talking about what is happening. Monsters, chases, escapes, fencing, true love, miracles…
Vina’s Dance. Everybody knows the Amok Time music, but boy it all started here didn’t it?
Who Was Eve? Hey! Homey heroic Star Trek theme-y stuff at the beginning, weird alien mystery for most of the show, back to the Star Trek at the end, with a big theme send off. Sounds like TMP, doesn’t it?
Annnnnd I’m skipping the sound FX. Interesting that we have outtakes of the season 1 and 2 titles, but nothing for The Cage?
On to Where No Man Has Gone Before.
I love Beyond the Pale SO much. I love that lonely spooky thing that Courage just runs with for this (and subsequent) episodes.
As mentioned before (often) the LLL box sounds SO good. WNMHGB was a score we had largely complete and I’ve been listening to it for over 25 years. And it sounds like new. Speedy Reader sounds so crisp.
I don’t know why the barrier scene is one of my favorites in all Star Trek. But it is.
Poor Gary and Elizabeth.
I’ve read that Mr. R. was unhappy with the Man Trap score. Too sci-fi. But I think there are very clear indicators in WNMHGB that this is where he was going. Maybe Man Trap got too Theremin-y.
I’m very grateful for the work that GNP did over the decades and that we had all the Trek music we did. But how could they leave Situation Grave off of the original LP? (Of course I’d have to pick something else to cut…)
Well, that’s the pilots! Production on Monday!
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Those first three Courage scores have emerged as some of my favorite music in the box set (I've always liked the pilot scores - but hearing them complete & in such great sound was a minor revelation) - just incredibly intelligent writing all around. It's odd, but I think "Where No Man Has Gone Before" may be the more 'cerebral' of the two pilot scores - with its rather bleak, questing material, as opposed to the more visceral, at times very emotional work of "The Cage." (Edit: Now that I've read your last post in full, Tallguy, I see we've reached similar conclusions about that particular facet. Great minds think alike. And so do we.)
I do love the sound effects though - it's really a rather incredible glimpse into Courage's process, and also startlingly modern in terms of the applications of music as sound (and vice versa). I'm glad they were included.
But I did want to point out that "Situation Grave" was left out of the original GNP release because the cue was not on Alexander Courage's personal tapes - which was the only source available at the time of that album.
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. . . But I did want to point out that "Situation Grave" was left out of the original GNP release because the cue was not on Alexander Courage's personal tapes . . .
I always thought that was pretty harsh, preparing an actual grave for your supposed "friend," before the fight was even over. Then, of course he got the middle initial wrong, proving (to us die-hards, anyway) that he wasn't all that great a friend to begin with.
Then again, Googling revealed this possible alternative explanation:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10901121@N06/2061931369/
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This hasn't gotten a LOT of posts, but hey, tomorrow is the BIG DAY! The day that the first PRODUCTION episode of Star Trek was scored!
I wonder what that must have been like. Not just a hand-crafted one-off like the Cage or even the craziness of a SECOND pilot like Where No Man Has Gone Before. (And they're so completely different.)
This was "By GUM we're making TWENTY SIX of these BABIES!"
There is a lot of discussion of "Production order vs. Aired order." Interesting that the first MUSICAL order is the same as aired. There are a lot of "first episode" markers about Corbomite Maneuver. But for music it's The Man Trap allllllll the way, sweetheart!
(Edit: Now that I've read your last post in full, Tallguy, I see we've reached similar conclusions about that particular facet. Great minds think alike. And so do we.)
"Funny man." - Tricia McMillan.
I do love the sound effects though - it's really a rather incredible glimpse into Courage's process, and also startlingly modern in terms of the applications of music as sound (and vice versa). I'm glad they were included.
Me too. I just didn't feel like listening to them again.
Interesting that there weren't similar artifacts from later seasons.
I should make "Recorded Date" playlists.
But I did want to point out that "Situation Grave" was left out of the original GNP release because the cue was not on Alexander Courage's personal tapes - which was the only source available at the time of that album.
I had read that before. But I obviously didn't remember it.
Looking back at the History of Star Trek Soundtracks I have decided that the GNP guys are SUPERHEROES. Even more so when I remember tidbits like this. ZERO bitching from me.
Sigerson, I'm not sure I'm buying it. Especially since Captain April's first name is "Robert".
James R. Kirk does not bother me NEARLY as much as the fact that "Vulcanian" is used EXCLUSIVELY through the entire first season.
OTOH, I've heard the story that the name Noonian appeared in TOS (Khan) and TNG (Soong) because Roddenberry knew a guy in WWII named Noonian that he wanted to get back into contact with. If this is true then when I write my sci-fi masterpiece it will feature a three headed assassin / hooker named "Eddie Bernstein".
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Okay, I'm giving "The Man Trap" a listen. I haven't until now because, heard in the context of its drab episode, it's always seemed like a major downer.
On a stand-alone basis, first of all the sound quality is bright and clean. I must have subconsciously expected that aspect to be drab as well. Hardly.
Professor Crater and Nancy always seemed more like 1940s characters than people from the Space Age. Now that the music is removed from the episode, a whole other spirit emerges. Pure emotions are painted. It's timeless and very dark.
There are portions of this score that would not be out of place in the exquisitely moody first season music of LOST IN SPACE. And in case anyone doesn't know, that's a compliment.
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Hey, I had a wacky idea! Let’s all listen to Star Trek TOS episodes on the anniversaries of the days they were recorded!
Hey, I've been enjoying Star Trek a lot over the past three decades, but still I gotta quote the Shat on SNL here:
"Having received all your letters over the years, and I've spoken to many of you, and some of you have traveled... y'know... hundreds of miles to be here, I'd just like to say... GET A LIFE, will you people? I mean, for crying out loud, it's just a TV show! I mean, look at you, look at the way you're dressed! You've turned an enjoyable little job, that I did as a lark for a few years, into a COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME!"
http://www.myvideo.de/watch/127096/Star_Trek_TOS_William_Shatner_SNL_Get_A_Life
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I'm reading along as my ST:TOS box is still in the shrink wrap. (As is the DS9 box). So much other stuff to listen to.
That's why today is the day! Heck, this gives you the chance listen to the whole thing - by 2016!
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I've just had a night off and spent some time with the LLL set, listening to:
- The Conscience of the King
- Shore Leave
- Charlie X
- The Corbomite Maneuver
- What are Little Girls Made Of?
- The Squire of Gothos
- Some S1 library music and outtakes
- Gregory Smith's re-recording of the main title
- S2's Sad and Thoughtful on Captain's Theme
- Parts of Metamorphosis and Return to Tomorrow.
I only stopped because my ears were getting tired. I use iPod earbuds to avoid waking people up, and that's a little harder on your ears than using speakers.
Shore Leave was actually a first listen. I'd been leaving it aside due to the GNP familiarity issue, but I'd just watched the episode and was in the mood for more. Re-plays are not a problem, apparently. STAR TREK music takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
It's entirely unique in my experience for one box set to be loaded with so many goodies. The list of beloved scores I didn't even get to tonight is ridiculous. It's hard to wrap your mind around it.
You're skipping ahead! But I'm glad you had a good time.
It's funny. Since I'm now in this three year long "project" I suddenly feel bad about listening to TOS on the “wrong days”. Which is obviously absurd considering how long and how spaced out this is going to be. I’m sure I’ll shake it once we get past the August September batch.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of next month:
8/29 Charlie X
8/31 The Naked Time
9/7 Mudd’s Women
9/14 The Enemy Within
9/20 The Corbomite Maneuver, Balance of Terror, What Are Little Girls Made Of, Library cues (disc 5).
Then we’re done until NOVEMBER.
Were the library takes recorded with the same episode? i.e. were the Charlie X cues recorded with Charlie X?
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Were the library takes recorded with the same episode? i.e. were the Charlie X cues recorded with Charlie X?
Apparently not. I'm at work now without my liner notes, but if I recall, they had special sessions just for library cues. And they had to be re-done each year to satisfy union rules.
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Were the library takes recorded with the same episode? i.e. were the Charlie X cues recorded with Charlie X?
Apparently not. I'm at work now without my liner notes, but if I recall, they had special sessions just for library cues. And they had to be re-done each year to satisfy union rules.
Reading the notes it looks like the library cues (the stand alone ones by Mullendore) were recorded by Steiner with Balance of Terror, etc. and with Conscience of the King by Mullendore himself. The library takes of episode music were recorded by Steiner with the episodes themselves. So Charlie X was recorded with Charlie X, etc.
The notes say 9/21 but the tracks say 9/20 - did these take more than one day? Actually, the weirdness continues: The notes say ALL of the Mullendore tracks were recorded by Steiner on 9/21 and the Wilbur Hatch music was recorded by Mullendore. The track listing says that only four of them were recorded by Steiner on 9/20 and the rest (including the Hatch music) were recorded by Mullendore on 11/2.
Also Quasi-Sex (the jazz Star Trek theme) was recorded two months before the rest of Conscience of the King, but it wasn't considered a library cue? Or was that just a question of spacing on the CDs?
Paging Mr. Bond. Mr. Jeff Bond, please pick up a white courtesy phone...
Wow, lotta music to listen to on 9/20.
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Today’s schedule: Charlie X! Also, Season One opening credits (cello verison, with alternates if you choose) and Charlie X Library cues.
Enjoy!
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I’m a little bummed this thread isn’t getting more posts. Is this a stupid idea?
Well here we are on the 47 years later for the recording of Fred Steiner’s Charlie X.
To start with, this is by far my favorite arrangement of the title. And the LLL disk sounds so perfect.
I love that lonely Courage Captain’s Theme in Space Orbit. And Steiner does such a great job with it. I’m always pleased when a composer can do something cool with another composer’s work and not just feel like “yeah, yeah, I have to use the theme, here it is”. This is why I loved how Horner took Courage’s themes and made them feel like part of the whole score. Not just “Hey! It’s the THEME!”
Kirk’s Command. Certainly one of my top five favorite cues in all of TOS.
I keep meaning to post a thread asking what makes something “Herrmannesque”. Well, this is. The opening of Card Tricks could come right out of Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Zap Sam is also wonderful. This score manages to be menacing and exciting without being morose. This is really Steiner at his best.
Those rolling strings at the beginning of Standoff are too cool.
He doesn’t use the Courage Fanfare once. Hmmm. Kaplan used it constantly.
That fast moving martial bit he does at the beginning of Zap the Broad is so tense. I’d love to see Wrath of Khan rescored with this stuff. Seriously. Well, kinda seriously.
The Varese re-recording is really good, but I always thought that high-pitched whine in the back of Charlie’s Friend was an iTunes glitch. (I obviously didn’t remember my LP very well.) This is a little more subdued. I still prefer the track without it. Steiner made a library cue out of it for season 2 (well, Goodbye Charlie, actually) and he used a very similar arrangement in Mudd’s Women.
Goodbye Charlie. Wow, what a downer. It’s so great. It’s a musical sob. The orchestra says “can you believe this?” Those chimes. Then back to Courage and his “Oh space is so EMPTY!” music.
Oh, I should listen to the closing credits today too, shouldn’t I? Done.
Kirk’s Command, Library sounds so much darker. Maybe a hair more nautical too.
I do wonder if Steiner realized they could re-use this music, or if he wrote music that could be re-used.
Ok, damn it. I’ll listen to Nichelle one more time. Of course this music wasn’t recorded today, right?
That’s Charlie X. Next up on 8/31 (Saturday) The Naked Time! See you then. Oh, and post!
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Posted: |
Aug 29, 2013 - 4:37 PM
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By: |
Verity
(Member)
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Hey Tallguy! I love this thread. Keep it coming, I say. 
You were waaay more articulate than I am here, but I will echo a few of your comments.
I think Charlie X is quintessential Trek. The fact that it was heavily used throughout the rest of the first season - and even making it into re-recordings for other seasons - means that you can hit just about hit any Charlie X cue and think "yeah, now THIS sounds like Star Trek."
Every cue is a gem, so a list of favorites seems pointless from me, but I will say this...
Zap Sam, Zap the Pistol, Standoff, Kirk Waits - holy cow, what a magnificent series of cues.
I am struck by the depth of the denouement (or would it be deus ex machina?) of the Finale cue. Steiner's music goes a long way to selling the tragedy of Charlie's departure.
The Captain's theme is wonderful too - so glad that Steiner works this throughout the series.
I think overall the score evokes a lonely, melancholy feel that is reminiscent of Courage's best Season One score - The Naked Time.
That's my 2 cents. I'm no expert on music - but to me this episode worth of cues IS the purest form of TOS music from the entire (wonderful) set. 
Veri!
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