EARTH: FINAL CONFLICT

MICKY ERBE and MARIBETH SOLOMON

Rating:

Original Review: Earth: Final Conflict is the legacy of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who sadly died before the last series he conceived ever made it on to the air. Set in the not too distant future, Earth: Final Conflict poses a similar question to that posed by the sadly short-lived TV series Alien Nation: what would happen if aliens visited our planet, and stayed? An enigmatic race from the planet Taelon have arrived on Earth, with seemingly peaceful intentions, and are welcomed by the enlightened world leaders as honoured guests. However, as the Taelon begin to integrate into Earth's society, it becomes apparent that their presence may not be as benign as was first thought... The series, which premiered in 1996, stars Robert Leeshook and Jayne Heitmeyer, and features Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett in a supporting role.

The music for Earth: Final Conflict is by Canadian husband-and-wife scoring duo Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon who, from their base in Toronto, have spent the last ten years or so writing for innumerable IMAX movies, made-for-TV dramas and straight-to-video fodder such as Dancing In The Dark, Friends At Last, John Woo's Blackjack. I am quite proud to say that I HAD heard of Erbe and Solomon before this CD dropped through my letterbox, although they were pretty low down on the list of composers I thought I'd ever own a CD by. Earth Final Conflict is by far the most high profile assignment of their career to date, and they have responded to the thought-provoking stimulus with one of the best synth scores I have ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Intriguingly, much of Erbe and Solomon's work features a variety of instrumental soloists, all of whom lend their considerable talents to a series of wonderfully atmospheric synthesised textures and melodies. The main title is a decent sounding affair, mixing synth grooves with the beautiful, ethereal voice of Leah Erbe, Ernie Tollar's flute and George Gao's erhu, cleverly capturing the show's central message of alien societies being thrown together, past and present and future colliding. The various soloists feature in many subsequent cues, with sublime piano and trumpet tones of 'Decision' and the erhu of 'Law and Order', 'Atavus' and 'Payback' sounding especially effective. In addition to these, Erbe's haunting vocal performances lend a much-needed human touch to several tracks, especially the soothing 'Defector', while 'Sleepers' contains just a hint of Tubular Bells in its countermelody, and the amazing 'Moonscape' is almost like Wendy Carlos classical adaptation, with a distinctly baroque aspect.

However, by far the best cue on the entire album is the second one, 'The Secret of Strandhill/Redemption', which somehow manages to conjure up the evocative sound of Ireland with some goregous pipe solos, traditional fiddles and pennywhistles, heavenly vocal performances, and a core of delicately beguiling themes. Quite how this lovely music fits into a science fiction series I have no idea - it sounds like it would be more at home accompanying a rural romantic drama - but as a standalone listening experience it is undeniably superb. Some of this thematic material is also recapitulated in 'Float Like a Butterfly' and the delightful 'Bliss'.

Quite frankly, this is the most un-science fiction like science fiction music I have ever heard - but this is in no way a criticism. Instead, it is just a word of warning to those who might approach Earth: Final Conflict expecting to be bombarded with patriotic fanfares and rousing action in the style of Stargate SG-1 and Star Trek. In fact, the closest EFC ever comes to raising its voice is during the exciting 'Second Chances' and the heroic 'Déjà Vu'. Instead, the music for Earth: Final Conflict is much more akin to the meditative, ethereal music one might expect to hear on a relaxation album, but with much more interesting themes and an increased sense of musical originality. As my introduction to the music of Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon, I admit to being highly impressed with their efforts, and look forward to hearing more. Evan H. Chen please take note.

Track Listing: Running Time: 58 minutes 02 seconds

Sonic Images 828-278-920-2 (2000)

Music composed and arranged by Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon. Performed by Ray Parker, Donald Quan, Tom Szczesniak, Lou Pomanti, George Gao, Lenny Solomon, Ron Korb, Ernie Tollar, John Johnson, Cynthia Steljes and Robert Venables. Special vocal performances by Leah Erbe. Recorded and mixed by Michael Banton-Jones. Edited by Vic Pyle. Mastered by James Nelson. Album produced by Micky Erbe, Maribeth Solomon and Ford A. Thaxton.

Cinemusic Online: Review by Ryan Keaveney (***)
Filmtracks: Review by Christian Clemmenson (***)
Movie Wave: Review by James Southall (**)
Score!: Review by Andreas Lindahl (***)
Scorelogue


Home Page | Reviews A-M | Reviews N-Z | Composers | Links

Movie Music U.K is designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton (c) 2000. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those the University of Sheffield. All photos and album artwork used on Movie Music U.K. are only for the non-profit making promotional purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.