Veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith made a full return to the scoring stage for this 1998 underscore (Star Trek: First Contact was composed in part by his son, Joel Goldsmith). For the film, Goldsmith was called upon to provide both softer romantic music and grand action music, and delivered both reasonably well. The music covers a very broad dynamic range, with some extremely quiet and delicate passages, as well as the expected fortissimo sections involving copious amounts of brass and percussion. Still, while Goldsmith doesn't turn in a disappointment here, this is overall a relatively minor score for him. The orchestral performance is good, but not outstanding, and Bruce Botnick's engineering work is, as always, on the mark, providing both the orchestra and the electronic instruments room to breathe and range to punch. ~ Steven E. McDonald