When it came to choosing our first ‘Album of the Month’ I was in no doubt that it had to be this surprise release from Retrograde and Film Score Monthly. While there have been a handful of brilliant limited edition albums hitting stores in recent months – a number of which were composed by James Horner – it had to be this, his breakout classic from 1982, which would take the top spot.Horner was just 28 when he penned Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and while it was the culmination of a handful of years cutting his teeth on the likes of Battle Beyond the Stars and Up from the Depths it was this master stroke that made producers sit up and take notice, elevating the young composer to the top ranks of Hollywood’s finest. A score seemingly beyond his years, though with bags of youthful, windswept idealism, the announcement of an expanded and remastered version of it was met with squeals of delight across Horner’s wide fanbase, not to mention musically-minded Trekker’s everywhere.

We can of course thank Paramount Pictures for keeping the original master tapes safe in their vaults and in such good condition, offering us the chance to hear no less than half an hour or so of extra music. The original albums from Atlantic and GNP Crescendo will hold a special place in the hearts of fans, but this new release knocks them out of the park in terms of sound quality. The likes of ‘Battle in the Mutara Nebula’ never sounded better, the bass strokes and brassy flourishes so full and clean; the improvement really is striking, it’s hard believe you’re listening to a 27 year old recording.

But what of the new additions? Well with no less than 14 extra cues, there’s no shortage of fresh material. Early highlights include ‘The Eels of Ceti Alpha V/Kirk in Space Shuttle’, which is something of a precursor to the kind of work the composer would do four years later in Aliens, while the latter half of that cue, not to mention cues like ‘Kirk Takes Command/He Tasks Me’ offer shining examples of Horner utilising Alexander Courage’s original Star Trek fanfare.

This second motion picture score was of course the first in the franchise to take advantage of Courage’s material, a well conceived stroke of genius by Horner who felt audiences would feel as if they were about to be taken on a great, and indeed classic, adventure if those familiar ten notes started things off. The composer’s own themes are of course given even more room to breathe in these instances, with his overtly seafaring anthem (for Admiral Kirk) never failing to sweep you off your feet. His music for Spock, which forms the second main thematic is further evidenced in the later additional cue ‘Spock (Dies)’, in which the Vulcan hero is given a noble send off thanks to horn, paired with otherworldly hues, not to mention another brilliant rendition of the Courage fanfare. This is swiftly followed by ‘Amazing Grace’ which does exactly what it says on the tin and it’s revealed in the accompanying booklet that Horner was never a fan of the idea of using the piece. The booklet – which is a mine of fascinating information – also reveals how director Nicholas Meyer was against the studio’s last minute idea of bringing Spock back, or at least giving viewers a feeling of hope that he may not in fact be dead. This change, which happened well into scoring, saw Horner having to re-record the film’s ‘Epilogue’ and both versions, replete with identical ‘End Title’ cues are included on the album. His final statement, as the credits roll, remains one of the composer’s finest and the flourishing cadenza in the final moments has become something of a trademark which never fails to bring a smile. The remaining extra cues, including the delightfully prickly ‘Brainwashed’ and ‘Captain Terrell’s Death’, not to mention the glistening cue ‘The Genesis Cave’, of course add to the experience as a whole, though the majority act simply as filler against the main highlights.

One of the more peculiar additions to the tracklisting is Craig Huxley’s ‘Genesis Project’. Huxley of course invented the legendary ‘Blaster Beam’ and performed it in Goldsmith’s first Star Trek score, continuing his musical presence in the franchise right through to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. His musical creation, which featured in the famous computer generated video sequence, makes its first official Star Trek album appearance here.

Whether the producers of this fine set will continue their musical voyage through Paramount’s Trek vaults remains to be seen, but if this is the only fruit to be born of their collaboration then it’s as ripe as it ever was and sounds better than probably it ever has. The music of Star Trek has continued to evolve through the franchise’s many incarnations, each building on the one that came before and as such you cannot credit James Horner enough for the major part he played in its musical development. The Wrath of Khan remains a triumphant early peak in what has become a mountainous career. I can’t recommend this new release highly enough.