What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)

[publicist 4,643]

 

 

A surprising choice, to say the least...

[Romão 2,274]

52 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Its brilliant and accomplished im sure. It just never clicked with me.

 

It happens.

 

Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Took me a while to appreciate it. I owe Peio a great deal in opening up this score for me

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I was so surprised when he contacted me about the dinner!

[Incanus 5,713]

It was great to see him at the dinner, even if for a brief handshake and hello. I wish he had come to the after concert drinks so we might have talked more.

 

The Lost World: Jurassic Park by John Williams

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Sleepy Hollow by Danny Elfman

Well, this is...annoying. When I discovered the disc scratch that happened right around "Final Confrontation", I had the oh-so-brilliant idea of simply buying that one cue from iTunes and blending it with the rest, since the rest of the CD burned properly!....but wow, the sound quality on the iTunes copy is abominable. I guess I'll have to buy the album on CD again someday. 

 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Michael Giacchino

Because this is one of the most Severinist scores I've heard in years. In terms of genre, tone, atmosphere, that choir, that captivating main theme...It's like this was made for me. This score has earned my addiction. I take breaks, weeks, months apart...then my ears get hooked again from the score's first few seconds alone which set the stage so divinely. It scares and amuses me how much I'm not sick of listening to this yet.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

18 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Michael Giacchino

Because this is one of the most Severinist scores I've heard in years. In terms of genre, tone, atmosphere, that choir, that captivating main theme...It's like this was made for me. This score has earned my addiction. I take breaks, weeks, months apart...then my ears get hooked again from the score's first few seconds alone which set the stage so divinely. It scares and amuses me how much I'm not sick of listening to this yet.

 

I'm not falling for this!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

I..I'm not trying to trick you? 

[KK 3,307]

2 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

 

I'm not falling for this!

 

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to kasey. Kasey leads to Giacchino.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I resist!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

I'm confused, but I should probably keep my mouth shut and not question further.

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial by John Williams

Ahhhhh.... So refreshing. It's a break from all the action packed and excited music and a nice touch of rousing themes and gentle melodies. This score is just pure beauty. I don't listen to it a lot so I cannot say I've overplayed it. I'm at the perfect point with it right now. And its effectiveness in the film...! 

[Bespin 8,475]

I listened to the Audio Rip of the Jaws DVD.... wow!!!

 

Wen they do it in live projection, the orchestra have many many many moments to fall sleep between two "wu-wu..."

 

😂

[Incanus 5,713]

Seven Years in Tibet by John Williams: Such a lovely score. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

14 hours ago, Stefancos said:

 

I'm not falling for this!

 

14 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

I..I'm not trying to trick you? 

 

STEFAN COSMAN, KASEY IS NOT TRYING TO TRICK YOU!

He's trying to help you.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

15 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

I'm confused, but I should probably keep my mouth shut and not question further.

 

Don't let that Dutchie boss you around!

[Incanus 5,713]

Raiders of the Lost Ark by John Williams: It has been a while but boy this is such a tremendous score from start to finish from the a-thematic atmospheric jungle trek opening to the thunderous Ark theme dominated finale of Biblical proportions. And while the Raiders March has been played to death in the intervening decades in its concert suite form, you can't deny its iconic power as it appears throughout this and the rest of the Indy scores in varied permutations. Just like Lukas Kendall mentions on the DCC Compact Classics release liner notes, it is a rollicking symphonic hit akin to a pop song but such a perfect swaggering main theme for our adventuring archaeologist Indiana Jones and an earworm of the best kind, ingrained in the memories of all who have seen the globe trotting escapades of the man in fedora on the silver screen. One of those perfect immortal and indelible combinations of character and music where it seems like one couldn't exist without the other.

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

 

Infinitely boring.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

They got a pop band to write the incidental music for the Harry Potter play?  I didn't know that.  Disappointing.

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

44 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

They got a pop band to write the incidental music for the Harry Potter play?  I didn't know that.  Disappointing.

 

Ah, Stu, I feel we're finally bonding over this crappy music. 

 

[publicist 4,643]

 

If proof was needed that a demanding director can mean life support for struggling composers, Paul Verhoeven and Joe Dante were just that for Goldsmith in the early 90's when he was in a bit of a career funk. Both 'Total Recall' and 'Gremlins 2' were his grand entry into the 90's before he plummeted back into forgettable drama and thriller fare - a fate that dramatically turned in 1992, when Verhoeven's 'Basic Instinct' became his last legitimate claim to a possible Oscar win - not because the silly prize matters, but because it's a pretty good film score and a lot of people took note of that gloomy and neurotic thriller score, a genre usually far outside the Academy's comfort zone. If the criteria of innovation and dramatic effectivity would matter, this one should have won in March 1993 (it lost to, you guessed it, another frothy Disney musical). 

 

Indeed it's glued to the trashy, glossy and stylish Verhoeven homage to Hitchcock (the master would have probably raised more than one eyebrow at the kind of smut Verhoeven gleefully inserts at every turn) and sells, as Randy Newman aptly put it, Sharon Stone's performance to a degree she probably should have paid for. It's also testament that Goldsmith could come up with pretty innovative orchestral combinations if pushed, as the score's palette of cool, shimmering strings and synth effects still seems pretty fresh and modern. 

 

The OST is really all you need - Goldsmith compiled an excellent 45-minute program - but since the recent complete set is cheap and in wide circulation it's a viable alternative. 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

They got a pop band to write the incidental music for the Harry Potter play?  I didn't know that.  Disappointing.

Are we sure it was David Yates that screwed Williams out of the later Potter films?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

J.K. Rowling didnt want Williams!

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

He was just too sophisticated for her taste.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

2 hours ago, publicist said:

 

The OST is really all you need - Goldsmith compiled an excellent 45-minute program - but since the recent complete set is cheap and in wide circulation it's a viable alternative. 

I didn’t care for this score much until I heard the OST playlist. Complete score draaaaaags...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

21 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

I didn’t care for this score much until I heard the OST playlist. Complete score draaaaaags...

Be off with you, scurvy knave!

ONE SHOT, is great!!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

It's like The Haunting, where every other cue on the complete score sounds the same.

[SteveMc 2,674]

Sleepers by John Williams

Decided to give the score my first listen, seeing as how you guys have been discussing it.  A pretty good score, nothing earth-shattering, but I find some of the orchestral material to be quite interesting, well-executed.  The electronics are not as engaging for me as JFK, but still quite impressive considering they are not really in JWs comfort zone.  What the score is missing are two or three thematic identities for the listener to latch onto.  I think if Williams paired the varied textures of the score with variations on a couple of strong themes the result would be more than striking.  

[Disco Stu 15,495]

All you need is the Lockhart track.

[publicist 4,643]

6 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

It's like The Haunting, where every other cue on the complete score sounds the same.

 

Go back to your Giacchino dungeon!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Masters of the Universe

[crocodile 7,983]

 King Kong Lives

 

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

God of War by Bear McCreary

 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by John Williams

 

JFK by John Williams

[Bespin 8,475]

With my morning coffee: The Big Farting Giant.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

Jawohl, my farting führer.

[Bespin 8,475]

John Williams - The Book Thief

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

A perfectly lovely late-flowering masterpiece. It's a pleasure to listen to.

[Bespin 8,475]

A november release. And we are in november!

[publicist 4,643]

 

A friend borrowed me this set almost a year before but my extreme dislike of this particular score prevented me to give it any further consideration. Now i finally waded through hours of what i consider - at best - a collection of Horner familiarities though done in an unbecomingly clumsy 'popular' style and sadly it didn't do much to alter my initial perception. 

 

My main problem isn't so much particular cues - some of them are fine - but that the thematic material just doesn't cut it for me: the main theme proper (played over the front titles) is a generic irish folk tune, which is utilized almost exclusively as a reflective new age lament, and to say its whinging vocalization grates by the time the movie has ended is an understatement. Horner's well-known gift for melodies is fully intact, of course, so the love theme (or Rose's theme) probably rightly became a late 90's hymn (a 'Dr. Zhivago'-like muzak), again its didactic pop-oriented chords and shaping just turns me off - pop per se can be a wonderful thing, this kind of pop - which i label the 'Last Christmas' variety - makes my teeth ache.

 

Which leaves us with the slim debris, of which the ship's theme, indeed one of Horner's more lovely nautical creations, remains the best but to my never-ending annoyance it's intervowen with the score's most galling feature, namely incredibly limp syncopations shouted by an asthmatic synth chorus that feels like half-assed Vangelis. It's never more apparent than here that James Cameron's incredible expertise in the technical departments of moviemaking finds no match in the more sensuous arts of music - Horner never attempted such folly again, so it's rather obvious were the 'inspiration' came from.

 

The scores fares best - relatively speaking - in its robust action scoring (as usual for Horner, it cannot deny a heavy russian influence in its brawny brass writing) and Horner compensates himself with a few harsh modernisms (best represented in the new 'Trapped on D-Deck') that culminate in an orchestral maelstrom when the ship is finally going down. Though there is quite a lot of such material, much of it relies on successions of rather short ostinatos, making it very scene-specific - a far cry form Horner's best symphonically-minded creations.

 

Which brings us to 'Titanic's ultimate tragedy, namely how the name James Horner is forever chained to its compromised musical hodgepodge of ideas, the best of which were utilized in much better form in other, less famous scores (probably best exemplified in 'Perfect Storm', a musical apology of sorts). Or, to put it more succinct, the aesthetic challenges of 'Titanic's score could have been handled by many lesser musical talents, what we still need to hear is how a real James Horner score for this would have sounded like. 

[Holko 9,499]

The BFG

 

I liked it. Nothing really popped out as major standout cues, but a pleasant enough listen on the whole.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

27 minutes ago, publicist said:

 

A friend borrowed me this set almost a year before but my extreme dislike of this particular score prevented me to give it any further consideration. Now i finally waded through hours of what i consider - at best - a collection of Horner familiarities though done in an unbecomingly clumsy 'popular' style and sadly it didn't do much to alter my initial perception. 

 

My main problem isn't so much particular cues - some of them are fine - but that the thematic material just doesn't cut it for me: the main theme proper (played over the front titles) is a generic irish folk tune, which is utilized almost exclusively as a reflective new age lament, and to say its whinging vocalization grates by the time the movie has ended is an understatement. Horner's well-known gift for melodies is fully intact, of course, so the love theme (or Rose's theme) probably rightly became late 90's 'Dr. Zhivago' muzak, again its didactic pop-oriented chords and shaping just turns me off - pop per se can be a wonderful thing, this kind of pop - which i label the 'Last Christmas' variety - makes my teeth ache.

 

Which leaves us with the slim debris, of which the ship's theme, which is indeed one of Horner's more lovely nautical creations, remains the best but to my never-ending annoyance it's intervowen with the score's most annoying feature, namely incredibly limp syncopations shouted by an asthmatic synth chorus that feels like half-assed Vangelis. It's never more apparent than here that James Cameron's incredible expertise in the technical departments of moviemaking finds no match in the more sensuous arts of music - Horner never attempted such folly again, so it's rather obvious were the 'inspiration' came from.

 

The scores fares best - relatively speaking - in its robust action scoring (as usual for Horner, it cannot deny a heavy russian influence in its brawny brass writing) and Horner compensates himself with a few harsh modernisms (best represented in the new 'Trapped on D-Deck') that culminate in an orchestral maelstrom when the ship is finally going down. Though there is quite a lot of such material, much of it relies on successions of rather short ostinatos, making it very scene-specific - a far cry form Horner's best symphonically-minded creations.

 

Which brings us to 'Titanic's ultimate tragedy, namely how the name James Horner is forever chained to its compromised musical hodgepodge of ideas, the best of which were utilized in much better form in other, less famous scores (probably best exemplified in 'Perfect Storm', a musical apology of sorts). Or, to put it more succinct, the aesthetic challenges of 'Titanic's score could have been handled by many lesser musical talents, what we still need to hear is how a real James Horner score for this would have sounded like. 

Pub, I find myself agreeing with every single word, especially the final paragraph.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Great score!

[crocodile 7,983]

 The Wind and the Lion while taking a morning stroll on the beach. It ain't half bad, this score. It's moving up the list of my favourite Gorgeous music, and fast! 

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

4 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Great score!

 

[crocodile 7,983]

@publicistwhen you say "main theme" which one is it? Do you mean the one at the very start of both albums? Or the one that follows it?

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

The one that is plastered all over the album, always sounding the same...

 

 

[crocodile 7,983]

Ah I was assuming you were talking about the theme that opens the track. Which I like very much. Shame it also always sounds the same.

 

Karol

[Maglorfin 196]

Instead of attending the Vienna concert today, I listened to these babies:

 

- Saving Private Ryan (LLL)

- Empire of the Sun (LLL)

- Jaws (Intrada)

- The Cowboys (VS)

[Bespin 8,475]

John Williams - E.T. (LLL) but the LP program

[publicist 4,643]

5 hours ago, crocodile said:

Ah I was assuming you were talking about the theme that opens the track. Which I like very much. Shame it also always sounds the same.

 

That is the ship's - or seafaring - theme. It's the one that feels like a Horner theme (plus that lovely motif that pops up now and then next to it).

[Incanus 5,713]

Legend by Jerry Goldsmith: I am not a huge fan of the synths in this one (Jerry in his 1980's synth experiment phase) but the orchestral scoring is top notch stuff.

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug by Howard Shore: Perhaps the strongest of the three Hobbit scores although I keep switching between this and AUJ for the first place quite often depending on my mood. At the moment this score reigns.