Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - Various Artists

After Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ended on a distinctly somber note with the death of Spock, some doubts were raised as to the future of Star Trek. With Spock gone what point was there to go on. But sure enough two years later a third entry did appear, entitled Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and directed by Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. Continuing right where the last movie ended, Kirk and crew are on their way back to Earth while Kirk's ...
...when compared with some other Star Treks, The Search for Spock is quite decent entertainment and holds up quite well within the original crew features.

Continuing with the story and overall production values is composer James Horner with his nautical approach on the Star Trek genre. Like the film, the score is a straight continuation on his previous score for Star Trek II and shares many details with it predecessor. The overall tone ... more

After Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ended on a distinctly somber note with the death of Spock, some doubts were raised as to the future of Star Trek. With Spock gone what point was there to go on. But sure enough two years later a third entry did appear, entitled Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and directed by Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. Continuing right where the last movie ended, Kirk and crew are on their way back to Earth while Kirk's son and Lt. Saavik (both introduced in Trek II) go investigating the Genesis planet just created. After Dr. McCoy starts behaving strangely, Kirk soon finds out that Spock had transported his Katra (soul) into McCoy before he went off to face death. Now Kirk has to get McCoy to Genesis in order to get Spock's body and take them to Vulcan. The problem is that Genesis has been declared off limits and the only way for Kirk and crew to get there is to steal the Enterprise and go against Starfleet officials. To make things more complicated there is also a group of renegade Klingons wanting the Genesis secrets to themselves with Christopher Lloyd (of Back to the Future fame) as their leader Kruge. Although often declared as hokey and rather below-par when compared with some other Star Treks, The Search for Spock is quite decent entertainment and holds up quite well within the original crew features.

Continuing with the story and overall production values is composer James Horner with his nautical approach on the Star Trek genre. Like the film, the score is a straight continuation on his previous score for Star Trek II and shares many details with it predecessor. The overall tone is the same but there are some sings of maturation both in the toning down of heroic spacebattle action and in its more highlighted dramatic aspects. Whereas Trek II was a fullblown adventure score, Star Trek III is considerably more thoughtful and overshadowed by the death of Spock. Trek III is characterized by the more extensive use of Spock's theme that in the previous score was centered closer to the end. This theme is a lot more euphoric and thoughtful, thus making the score in itself sound much more dramatic than adventuresome. The theme for the Klingons on the other hand is much more brutal and barbaric. It comprises of a four note brass motif with a lot of percussive instruments. The running joke is that every time the Klingons show up it appears that they are having dinner. A solo horn is often heard wailing without any apparent regard for the rest of the players, which can sound a little funny. It is a far cry from the noble Klingon music composed by Jerry Goldsmith for the original motion picture, but there is enough raw power to purposefully represent these particular brutes.

The "Prologue and Main Title" presents Horner's main theme over the prologue scene as Spock's death is recapped. The "Main Title" is quite beautifully managed by beginning the main theme in mid-phrase (much slower than in Trek II) and extending Spock's theme further than in the main title sequence of Trek II. Spock's theme gets its most pronounced appearances in the tracks "The Mind Meld" (basically the same as "Spock" in Trek II) and "Returning to Vulcan", a particulary grandiose cue which develops Spock's theme to its fullest potential. "The Katra Ritual" is the grand culmination of the religious and mystical qualities of Vulcan music in this film as Spock is resurrected, something that is not particularly exciting but effective enough. The two Klingon tracks ("Klingons" and "Bird of Prey Decloaks") are full of that metallic banging and clanging that has always been particularly characteristic in Horner's action music.

A definite highlight is the almost nine minute track "Stealing the Enterprise". Standing right there with Horner's epic "Battle in the Mutara Nebula" of Trek II, it is one of the most exciting action suspense tracks you will ever find in Star Trek. Particularly the second half is Horner at his best with the music reaching that pictorial quality often found in the music of John Williams. Absolutely wonderful! And finally there is the absolute highlight of them all. After a small silence in the cue "Klingons", we are presented with the music that accompanies the Enterprise as she enters the space dock orbiting Earth. There we have Horner at his best with a sweeping rendition of the main theme (with little twinkles) and a haunting moment when Spock's theme is heard as the damaged Enterprise floats past the cafeteria window. Truly magical. The "End Title" is the same as in Trek II, though it is a re-recording and is slightly less effective than in Star Trek II.

The album was released in 1984 in the latter stages of the LPs. The CD includes some 45 minutes of music, the same as on the LP, and it has never been expanded on a commercial release. Missing are some quite important cues like the destruction of the Enterprise and the demise of the Genesis planet. The music on the album somewhat differs from the music in the film, mostly due to the fact that the tracks are presented in unedited form. Also the beginning of "Stealing the Enterprise" features more distinct influences of Prokofiev (namely the "Morning Dance" from Romeo and Juliet) as well as in the unreleased cue where the Enterprise plummets into the Genesis atmosphere is taken almost note for note from the same ballet's "Romeo's Death" scene. A stranger curiosity is the final track "The Search for Spock" which is a horrid 1980's type disco/pop version of Spock's theme. Who wrote it and who exactly was supposed to enjoy it is a mystery to me. Anyway it is best skipped and forgotten.

1. Prologue and Main Title (6:27)
2. Klingons (5:55)
3. Stealing the Enterprise (8:33)
4. The Mind Meld (2:30)
5. Bird of Prey Decloaks (3:37)
6. Returning to Vulcan (4:47)
7. The Katra Ritual (4:29)
8. End Title (6:12)
9. The Search for Spock (3:43)

Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner
Music Editor: Bob Badami
Orchestrations: Greig McRitchie
Music Scoring Mixer: Dan Wallin
Assistant Engineer: Bill Benton
Recorded at Record Plant - Stage M
Produced by James Horner

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