This week sees the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek. To honour this special occasion I shall be highlighting some of my favourite musical moments associated with this fascinating franchise.
Star Trek: The Next Generation brought a whole new cast of characters boldly going where no one has gone before. We all have our favourites but mine was Data, the only android officer in Starfleet. Brent Spiner is charming and riveting as the mechanical man striving to become more human. He takes what could have been a cliched part and keeps it interesting by gradually adjusting his behaviour throughout the series with beautiful subtlety.
A huge Frank Sinatra fan, he released an album of jazz, swing and blues classics in 1991. Playfully titled Ol’ Yellow Eyes is Back, my favourite track pays homage to neither genre but instead is a tribute to the groundbreaking vocal group The Ink Spots. ‘It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie’ features Spiner’s beautiful tenor voice backed up by the lovely harmonies of Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton and Patrick Stewart. This is not only my favourite song on the album but my favourite song performed by anyone associated with Star Trek.
