The CD starts with the Japanese flavor filled "Main Title", which is, like the rest of the score, dominated with zither and shakuhachi flute. The main theme is not very noticeable to me the first time because it is very simple. It consists mainly of three notes and is played rather slowly. It is soon played with western instruments like strings and woodwinds. Thought the theme is not very dominant, it evokes quite a bit of feelings, especially the honor and nobility of a samurai. It gets quite catchy once you hear it a few times. In fact, you can hear tons of versions of the theme in the score. After the soft "Main Title", it jumps right into a vintage Goldsmith action cue. Zither and shakuhachi flute continues to play major roles. It is more like a 'Japanese-nised' action cue from Rambo: First Blood Part II. Also, fans of Goldsmith's Planet of the Apes should be very familiar with the instrumentation, especially the second half of the cue. "Over the Top/Fish Market" continues the bombastic sound of "The Wrong Swords". After a bridge of quiet (but has a sense of danger) traditional Japanese music, the main theme is fully exposed in a rousing form. Loaded with percussion and brass instruments, plus the clever use of the zither and shakuhachi flute, this truly intense cue is the most enjoyable track. Again, many musical techniques from Planet of the Apes are employed. "Half an Equal" reprises the main theme in a quieter but more vigorous manner. "Lonely Road" has a rare happy motif but lasted not long. In "`Let's Talk'", a charming love theme seems to be evolving. Unfortunately, it is never heard or developed again in the score. "`Can't We Do It?'" has some nice slow strings arrangements and (yet) another softer rendition of the main theme. The scores goes into a darker and more unsettling mood in "The Pit" while using big gongs effectively. It ends with another dark but bombastic variation of the main theme. The beginning of "Double Cross" is a revisit of "The Wrong Swords". The track then quickly resolves to yet another soft but unsettling in times rendition of the theme. "Bamboo Forest" is the only cue that deviates from the others. It shows the lighter side of traditional Japanese music but it lasts only 30 ticks. "Stay with Me" is a more warm hearted action cue. It starts with a poignant but noble rendition of the theme. This track actually reminds me of the softer moments of Goldsmith's Omen. In "Surprise Visitor/Forced Entry", it reaches to where Planet of the Apes meets Rambo meets Japanese music after a long build up. It is a solid action cue but it is not as enjoyable "Over the Top/Fish Market". The last track "'As You Wish'" picks up where the previous track left off. It is more vintage Goldsmith in the sense that the Japanese flavor is not very strong. "End Title" contains a reprise of the "Main Title", a more Japanese rendition of the theme, and "Stay With Me".

In general, The Challenge is a score that an honest Goldsmith fan should enjoy. Just as the liner notes said, it resembles some of his scores of earlier period. For example, it does not have the contemporary sound of The Planet of the Apes but they share similar instrumentation. The action cues are not over the top but they are enjoyable. The traditional Japanese music sound that Goldsmith created is as authentic as anyone can imagine. But I am a little surprised that taiko (Japanese big drum) was not used at all in the score. Despite the above strong points, I think the thematic materials are not strong enough. It is basically a mono-thematic score and the main theme is quoted in the score a little too much. Moreover, most of the variations are quite low key and is very hard to draw me into the score for the whole 60 minutes. Nonetheless, it is a solid score that show another face of Goldsmith and worth to earn a spot in your collection.