In 1994 the Roland Emmerich/Dean Delvin film Stargate became a blockbuster success. The film itself has to be called one of recent sci-fi's best with everything from mystery to wildly exciting action sequences. The score by the now world famous David Arnold was half due to the film's success. With its massive themes and bombastic action cues that formed a huge album for an epic film.
The music for the film was amazing and as such, alot of it has appeared on the score for the television series SG-1.
20 minutes of the best of the Stargate score are featured on this album. These pieces whether welcome or not, firmly route the score in the Stargate universe and provide a solid fall back where Goldsmith's score lacks inspiration.
David Arnold's title sequence is a more action driven theme full of heroism and starts the score with a solid personality that seems to capture the essence of the show. Although short it is a good theme and it appears several times throughout the album.
Goldsmith's work for the album is more of a smoothing out attempt between each Arnold cue. Some of his transitions from one cue to the next are well handled but several come as abrupt changes that stick out especially if you know the original film score. Track 6 is the worst example of Goldmsith's transitions. However, it is Arnold's music that it transits to so you can't complain. Can you?
Goldsmith produces several key new themes to represent the Goa'ould and the serpent guards using an ominous fanfare for the Jaffa guards and strings making a slithering screach to represent the Goa'oulds.
These themes are most effectively used at the end of "Egyptology/Sha're/Aliens" and "Final Battle/Ultimate Victory" the latter also having the best of Goldsmith's action music and a superb cliffhanger ending that almost in homage to Arnold's "Ra" theme, has an effective choral backing that combined with a loud brass burst of the Goa'ould theme and high notes from wavering strings brilliantly rounds of the track.
It should finish the album (and a great finish it would have been) but the majority of tracks are out of place and so although these pilot episode releases are supposed to tell the story in music thet rarely do.
Apart for a few bad transitions that are easily forgotten there is little to criticise about the release. Unless you want to hear all new music form SG-1 with no David Arnold "interference". Which if you already have the Stargate soundtrack is understandable.
** - if you already own the film score **** - if you don't own the film score and haven't heard the film score or any SG-1 music before.
2. Return to Active Duty/General Hammond (2:50)
3. The Bomb/Jack's Protest (3:07)
4. Jack's Story/Memory of a Son (1:38)
5. Egyptology/Sha're'/Aliens (8:10)
6. Apophis/The Ceremony/Escape (6:39)
7. Entering the Stargate (3:12)
8. Chosen for Life or Death (4:16)
9. Final Battle/Ultimate Victory (8:47)
10. Choosing a Queen/the Test (3:26)
11. End Title (0:58)