Having waited three seasons to release a soundtrack album from Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, one would imagine that the end results would be something a little more varied and impressive than it is. Don’t get me wrong: I really do like the music from this show. The music is, in fact, the only thing I do like about the show anymore (the Boone-to-Kincaid transition instilled a total loss of any interest in the series on my part). The theme music is a gorgeous combination of unearthly-sounding exotic instrumentation, an ethereal wordless vocal, modern percussion, and a hint of an orchestral presence. The theme is worth the price of admission in and of itself. But the 23 tracks between the opening and closing titles on the Earth: Final Conflict soundtrack are a slight disappointment.
Again, I’m not criticizing the music itself here. It’s all very sensitively and wonderfully performed, but it has a knack of sounding the same throughout the entire album. There is a strong and obvious Titanic influence on the whole product, with wistful Ulliean pipes – or a close synthesized approximation – stating the show’s theme again and again in various near-mournful interpretations. Despite the fact that Earth: Final Conflict has action scenes, and sometimes very good action scenes at that, there is little action music on the soundtrack. The whole CD leans heavily in the direction of ethereal, but the result is a collection that is more likely to put listeners to sleep than invigorate them.
This might be a loss to soundtrack fans, but there is an upside – the E:FC soundtrack will be a great find for new age music fans and those who are looking for something relaxing to listen to. A better balance could have been struck in the music, but it’s almost worth it simply to have the theme music.
- Main Title (0:53)
- The Secret of Strandhill / Redemption (5:50)
- Old Flame (1:27)
- Defector (3:59)
- Decision (1:27)
- Float Like A Butterfly (0:55)
- Sandoval’s Run (2:02)
- Bliss (2:24)
- If You Could Read My Mind (1:42)
- Lilli (1:53)
- Law And Order (2:11)
- Atavus (2:00)
- Between Heaven and Hell (0:57)
- Sleepers (2:57)
- Dimensions (2:23)
- Moonscape (4:34)
- Isabel (0:55)
- The Gauntlet (1:24)
- Second Chances (4:45)
- One Man’s Castle (1:22)
- Payback (1:35)
- Truth (4:16)
- Dèjà Vu (0:54)
- Crossfire (3:08)
- Volunteers / End Credits (1:54)
Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1999
Total running time: 58:00