Enterprise was certainly in a horse race with Star Trek: Voyager for the worst Star Trek series. I hadn't exactly been clamoring for a soundtrack album of its music. But when I heard samples from the album, I changed my tune. Enterprise had been plagued by a litany of bad decisions, but one thing they apparently got right was the music. (Well, except for the inappropriate choice to use the schlocky "Faith of the Heart" for the main credits.)
As executive producer of all the spin-off Star Trek series (again, to date), Rick Berman had some strong ideas on what the series' music should sound like. Apparently, he felt that strong, thematically driven music was hokey. You can perhaps understand such a point of view when you think about, say, the classic "fight music" from the old Star Trek. It's wonderful music, and lots of people can hum the melody... but few would be likely to associate it with "realism." But on the other hand, when you think of all the triumphant (and serious) melodies that have been composed by John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and more, the attitude makes no sense at all.
Though perhaps Berman didn't see prominent melody as "hokey" so much as "old-fashioned." (Again, given its use in the original Star Trek series.) In any case, when it came time for Enterprise -- a prequel to the original series -- Berman decided to change up the musical approach to the show. Recurring themes were still off-limits, but lots of things forbidden on The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager were suddenly allowed: loud percussion, short musical stings, more extensive use of synthesizers and electronics. The result: outside of the amazing material Ron Jones composed for The Next Generation, the music of Enterprise is the best of all the Star Trek spin-offs.
The 4-CD collection that La-La Land assembled assigns a topic for each disc. Star Trek stalwarts Dennis McCarthy and Jay Chattaway each get their own disc, filled with selections of their best music from Enterprise's four seasons. For his part, McCarthy was not reluctant to admit that synthesizers weren't his forte. Partway into the run of the show, he decided to bring in a collaborator, Kevin Kiner. Together, the two of them brought excitement to several episodes in seasons three and four, and their disc represents McCarthy's best work on any Trek series.
As with Deep Space Nine, though McCarthy and Chattaway composed for the majority of the episodes, a number of others were brought in for the occasional fill-in assignment. Disc 3 of this CD collection is filled with tracks from these composers: Mark McKenzie, David Bell, Paul Baillargeon, John Frizell, and Velton Ray Bunch. (The last of those scored Quantum Leap, and got work on Enterprise at star Scott Bakula's recommendation.) With the exception of Bunch's work, this disc is actually the weakest of the collection. I think that McCarthy and Chattaway, after so many restricted seasons of three earlier Star Trek series, were itching to try different things. Bunch, who had never scored for Star Trek before, didn't even know of the restrictions that were no longer being enforced. It was those other guys, who did only a handful of Deep Space Nines and Voyagers, who didn't seem to be yearning to breakout. Consequently, their efforts on this disc don't stray far enough from Rick Berman's boring old formula.
But Disc 4 of the collection is a real treat, a so-called "Fan Favorites" selection of episodes. While I know of no one who would actually call the series finale "These Are the Voyages..." a favorite, the other episodes represented on the disc are "In a Mirror, Darkly" (the mirror universe two-parter) and "Regeneration" (the Borg episode), both fun and action-heavy installments of the series. The mirror episodes are scored by the team of McCarthy/Kiner, and are all-out percussive assaults. (They also include an alternative title song, mercifully replacing "Faith of the Heart," as well as a distorted interpretation of Jerry Goldsmith's music from First Contact, for the alternate meeting of Zefram Cochrane and the Vulcans.)
As for the music from "Regeneration" -- well, it's the best on the collection. It was written by Brian Tyler, unknown at the time, but now a rising star in films (with a pair of Marvel movies under his belt). I'm reluctant to praise any Borg music other than that of Ron Jones (who composed for The Next Generation classic, "The Best of Both Worlds"), but Brian Tyler brings an entirely different, yet equally valid approach to the music. Where Jones expertly conveys the cyborg nature of the race with his haunting synthesized choir, Tyler focuses elsewhere. His take highlights the unstoppable nature of the Borg, and makes them damn scary.
Overall, my one complaint about the La-La Land's Enterprise Collection would be that it has a few too many short tracks, only a minute-or-so long. (And many of those were composed to accompany "previously on Enterprise" episode openers.) There are a handful of long tracks (one over 12 minutes long!) to balance this, but I would have preferred to see a little more consistency overall. Still, this collection is a massive improvement over the Deep Space Nine release. (Deep Space Nine may have been the far better show, but Enterprise had the better music.) I give this set an A-.
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