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

[Jay 37,267]

John Powell - Solo

 

I hadn't listened to this in months.  I like it, I enjoy it, but it always ends too soon.  The album is so action heavy, it's quite relentless, too.  I really hope this gets a proper complete score release (or leak) eventually.

 

 

Michael Giacchino - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

 

This score is so cool!  I love the blend of action material and horror type scoring.  I don't listen to many scores of that type but I really like what he does here.  The OST album misses many highlights heard in the film so this is another score deserving of an expansion or leak for sure.

 

 

Pinar Toprak - Captain Marvel

 

I dunno.  I listened to this when it came out and thought it was fine, nothing special.  Don't remember anything about it now.

 

 

Lena Raine - Celeste

 

I continue to regularly listen to this brilliant electronic score from 2018 and love every bit of it.

 

 

Brian Tyler - Now You See Me 2 (OST re-arranged into a more chronological order)

 

Super fun score, I have enjoyed it regularly since it came out.  Sleight of Hand remains a highlight score cue of the 2010s.

 

 

Henry Jackman - The Predator

 

Ehhhhhh, not bad.  I suppose I like it more than what Debney did.  Nothing comes close to Silvestri's own reworking of the original material, for Predator 2.

[Jay 37,267]

Don Davis - The Matrix (Complete)

 

Good stuff... creepy at times, thrilling at times, adrenaline-pumping at times... but all very coherent and just an enjoyable listen.  I love the way it starts strong, then slows down and builds and builds to the big climax.

 

 

James Horner - Aliens (Varese Deluxe Edition)

 

Another classic score I just love and can listen to all the time and never get sick of it.

 

 

Danny Elfman - Batman (Complete edit including mondo LP cues)

 

So I've always loved this score, the score album was one of the first score albums I ever bought and I've listened to it countless times since.  The initial expansion didn't do much for me, likely due to its incomplete nature, poor sound quality, and me being SO used to the album sequencing.  Recently I've completely turned around, now that we finally have the entire score in good, proper sound quality.  Once you take the revised LLL album and add the Mondo cues and properly title and sequence everything, you end up with a really strong complete film score experience that does take you on a different journey than the OST album does, and isn't boring at all ever along the way, every cue counts towards the final result.  Great score.

 

 

James Newton Howard - Waterworld (Complete)

 

I like this score a lot, in either OST form (which is wildly out of chronological order, but works very well) or complete form.  I don't find either outstays its welcome at all, I quite enjoy it from beginning to end.  Great action music throughout with many nice scene-setting cues in between.  "Swimming" was actually running through my head the whole time I was snorkeling off the coasts of Lanai and Maui.

[Fabulin 3,506]

.

[Jay 37,267]

Nah, I'm just catching up on posting about the scores I've listened to in the past few months

[publicist 4,643]

Percussion galore...probably one of the mightiest scores ever written (The Big Chase!). Though it's in Jarre's inimitable idiom, so it will turn off the silent majority.

[Marian Schedenig 8,158]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

vocal songs

 

2 hours ago, Jay said:

vocal songs

 

[Jay 37,267]

Yes

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

52 minutes ago, Fabulin said:

One Bridge Too Far by John Addison - a very good score. One can feel that it tells a personally honest story (Addison himself fought as a paratrooper in the Operation Market Garden)

I highly recommend the movie. 

 

The main theme takes on the role of a sort of triumphant march at times. Good score.

[Jay 37,267]

Christopher Larkin - Hollow Knight

 

Wow!  I started playing this game recently and liked the music I heard in it, so figured I'd check out the OST.    Turns out I'm only scratching the surface of the game so far, because everything after track 3 was new to me.  I liked everything I heard here a lot, but probably won't return to this until after I beat the game.

 

Always nice to discover a cool new score by a composer I'd never heard of before!

[Fabulin 3,506]

.

[Jurassic Shark 12,008]

59 minutes ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

I highly recommend the movie. 

 

The main theme takes on the role of a sort of triumphant march at times. Good score.

 

I prefer A Bridge Too Far.

[Richard Penna 3,665]

Hacksaw Ridge by RGW.

 

I Shazammed  'Okinawa Battlefield' in The Grand Tour and this evening decided to listen to the entire thing. Like The Prisoner, it makes a really good background concept album, and about 4 tracks in I was looking up the album on Amazon. Need to check out more of his stuff.

 

Also listened to the first half of HTTYD 3 (for probably the 20th time) on the drive home yesterday. Hell. Yeah.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,489]

43 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I prefer A Bridge Too Far.

Who the bloody hell do you think you are, JS? Me?

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I prefer A Bridge Too Far.

I figured that One Bridge Too Far was just the product of translation. I knew what he meant.

 

Have you seen the film, Shark?

[Jurassic Shark 12,008]

5 hours ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

I figured that One Bridge Too Far was just the product of translation. I knew what he meant.

 

Have you seen the film, Shark?

 

No, but I've been aware of it for a long time.

[Incanus 5,713]

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King The Complete Recordings by Howard Shore

 

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas by Harry Gregson-Williams

 

Medal of Honor: Airborne by Michael Giacchino

 

Lust Caution by Alexandre Desplat

 

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,008]

19 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas by Harry Gregson-Williams

 

Very good, especially the first half!

[Incanus 5,713]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Very good, especially the first half!

Indeed. HGW had a long time to write this and he crafted a neat swashbuckler that has the old fashioned and modern scoring sensibilities in good balance. I do enjoy it in its entirety with the 10-minute Tartarus being a standout piece. I also love the vocal effects in Sirens and in HGW's theme for Eris which succeeds in being both playful and wicked at the same time.

 

Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra by John Williams: One of my favourite Williams concertos. While it is not the flashiest it is certainly among his most lovely concert works. The Pastorale movement is absolutely stunning with such tenderness and pensive air to it and the Commedia finale is full of humour and energy that if I remember correctly the Maestro himself described to be in style akin to Hayden meeting Shostakovich.

[Incanus 5,713]

Saving Private Ryan (20th Anniversary Limited Edition) by John Williams

[Jurassic Shark 12,008]

I've always wondered who composed that one.

[crocodile 7,978]

Angela Morley posing as William Ross posing as Conrad Pope posing as John Williams. Who else?

 

Karol

[John 2,032]

The Godfather: Part II, by Nino Rota 

 

Chariots of Fire, by Vangelis 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

9 hours ago, Incanus said:

One of my favourite Williams concertos. While it is not the flashiest it is certainly among his most lovely concert works. The Pastorale movement is absolutely stunning with such tenderness and pensive air to it and the Commedia finale is full of humour and energy that if I remember correctly the Maestro himself described to be in style akin to Hayden meeting Shostakovich

 

Hmmm, maybe I should give that one another shot some time. I listened to it soon after its release, and other than some fun similarities to Tintin, I remember thinking it felt like cotton candy.

[Jay 37,267]

Joe Kraemer - The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot

 

The first good score of 2019!  Lovely main theme for Barr, cool action music (one cue reminds me of The Arena from AOTC, another reminds me of Kraemer's own unreleased knife fight cue from MI5), some nice suspense music too.  I enjoy Kraemer's own piano playing for Barr's Theme.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

 

6 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Hmmm, maybe I should give that one another shot some time. I listened to it soon after its release, and other than some fun similarities to Tintin, I remember thinking it felt like cotton candy.

You don't like cotton candy, huh? Cynic!

[Brundlefly 2,385]

Coma

The only score that qualifies as "as creepy as Alien".

[Fabulin 3,506]

.

[Incanus 5,713]

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by John Williams: It has been a while since I last listened to this one and again it sounded so fresh, constantly interesting, energetic and vibrant. This is the fun swashbuckler of the Prequels before all comes to angstier doom and gloom of its sequels, rooted in the Williams adventure sounds of late 1980's and 1990's but given a Star Wars treatment with its signature flourishes and fanfares.

 

Duel of the Fates is to my ears still very exciting and visceral even thought it has been played to death in these intervening years and the very definition of EPIC but Williams also incorporates it neatly into the fabric of the score without it ever being too obtrusive and its three main components, the ostinato, the main melody and the choir chant are employed in various ways in the original vision of the score (which was so butchered in the film). Add to that Anakin's theme, the neatly deconstructed innocent origins of Darth Vader's music, music for Shmi, Jar-Jar Binks, the Trade Federation Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Maul and the Rózsa-esque Flag Parade and you have a diverse and colorful collection of themes to play with, not to mention the whole host of the old themes from the original trilogy. The score is best enjoyed in its complete form (on various fan edits) as the OST is still one of the most dissatisfying listening experiences among Williams' many albums. Such vibrant energetic fun!

[crocodile 7,978]

 Elf Elf by Danny Elevenman

 

Karol

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

5 hours ago, Incanus said:

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by John Williams

Great insight, Incanus. Easily my favourite prequels score for all the reasons you listed.

[Fargo 297]

Currently listening to SHAZAM! by some dude named Wallfisch. First track is great, lots of energy. Next will probably be the original Superman by Williams, I think I've only listened to the completed OST just once in the past.

 

Edit: just finished SHAZAM. Honestly I felt it went downhill after the first track, never really getting to that level again. Pretty average score for the most part.

[Fabulin 3,506]

.

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

1 hour ago, Fabulin said:

7 Years in Tibet by JW. So that's where the prequel sound comes from... A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. An interesting oriental score.

One of my all-time favourites! Great score. Leaving Ingrid has shades of RotS, even the new Han theme, but in a sombre and more string-oriented way.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Pet Sematary by Christopher Young

Was admittedly disappointed when I learned he was going the electronic route for this one, in a similar vein to Sinister. Despite that, I actually found Sinister's album a morbidly captivating listen, and was further disappointed this one isn't as interesting as that either. Still, it is an intriguing work, and it's appreciated the score rarely gets loud, in favor of (as always for Young even on a lesser work) building up an atmosphere that creeps up on you. The family theme's lovely too in all its appearances. It's not my thing, but what the hey, if he wants to do something different and explore out of his comfort zone, who am I to object? If I need yet another orchestral horror score by this chap, I can just go listen to one of his earlier works I haven't played yet. And yes, this is at least more interesting a listen than Goldenthal having been temp-tracked with Amityville Horror. 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

The BFL

[Trent B 337]

The complete score for Vladimir Horunzhy's The Langoliers.  An awesome score and I'm glad he finally made it available after all these years.

I even read a post of his that he was surprised the producers never released a CD release of his score back then in 95.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Hellbound: Hellraiser II by Christopher Young

The Gift by Christopher Young

Firestarter by Tangerine Dream

Sleepwalkers by Nicholas Pike

[publicist 4,643]

 

75 minutes of half-digested orchestral 90's gestures (y'name it, Silvestri, Elfman, Arnold, that sort of stuff) with all the elements that made those distinctive taken out. The main theme, a hymnic fanfare, only takes flight in the penultimate cues and without other catchy ideas it all remains vague: it sounds like one of those scores where the composer had to compose incidental material around lots of featured songs. 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

People whine for this kind of crap to make a comeback but forget that 80% of what was churned out "back in the day" was as unmemorable as 80% of anything today, just with a different musical accent.  Not surprising that one score that ticks the usual boxes of overblown symphonic fetishists (read: "themes" and "orchestration" or whatever the fuck those mean in their little world) while still making the dozens of studio twits calling the shots happy is nothing to write home about. 

[publicist 4,643]

I suppose it could be done in a more orderly fashion and i would go along with a 'fair' rating then, but yeah, it's all far away from the kind of intelligent, original musical conception we should aim for. 

[Incanus 5,713]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (LLL set) by John Williams

 

Superman (40th Anniversary Remastered Edition) by John Williams

[publicist 4,643]

Highly experimental, tiring in larger doses (the album runs almost 70') but not altogether uninteresting. Young is back in his musique concréte mode (á la Sinister), with the tonal parts in his patented idiom (dreamy piano/vocalise lullabies and so forth) - some of the harsh textural voice manipulations, i. e. in 'Scream for More' are pretty unsettling. 

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Surprised the album's indeed overlong, as Young's usually pretty good at perfect album length (usually keeps his horror albums at around 40-50 minutes). I'll probably make a 40-ish minute playlist later, after I get over my childish disappointment that he chose this route over an orchestral work (and Sinister's album really grew on me later, so this likely will too).

[publicist 4,643]

Young tends to be more interesting in his more outlandish ventures nowadays. Like last year's 'Wilson's Heart', a strong work: 

 

 

[Bespin 8,472]

The Witches of Eastwick

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

In any case, I'm happy to see him have fun explore outside a comfort zone (rather than get bored with his bag of tricks, as much I love said tricks), so it's no skin off my back if it's not up my alley since there's plenty of apparently great works of his I haven't heard yet. 

5 minutes ago, publicist said:

Young tends to be more interesting in his more outlandish ventures nowadays. Like last year's 'Wilson's Heart', a strong work:

 

 

[John 2,032]

Wallace and Gromit in: The Wrong Trousers, by Julian Nott 

 

A lean, lively score with plenty of memorable themes and some excellent suspense cues. 

 

***** out of *****

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind by John Williams

A masterpiece. From the versatility of fugal pieces such as Roy and Gillian on the Road, to the integrity and intensity of Roy's First Encounter, Barry's Kidnapping, Barnstorming and such, this score serves up a little bit of everything. The opening orchestra hit was always one of my favourite entrance cues. Top notch Williams writing here. 

 

VICE by Nicholas Brittel

A bit of a breakthrough year for Brittel in my books, considering he composed two scores last year that I really, really enjoy. VICE can turn from groovy disco styles to a track beat, and from something borderline baroque to something very modern. Another score that offers up so many different styles in surprisingly good cohesion. The main theme is stellar too. Excited for future works from this fellow.

For sampling, best to listen to Conclusion- The Transplant.

 

Moonraker by John Barry

Not entirely impressed by this score. Mostly general Bond material, but it just isn't presented in a way that Thunderball or On Her Majesty's Secret Service was.

 

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace by John Williams

A complete edit arranged in the style of the '97 OT Special Editions. Really, really good. When it comes to the Prequels, it's really hard to pick favourites. This score is normally vying for first though. The Droid Invasion, Escape from Naboo, The Great Duel, The Flag Parade. Great themes and a phenomenal third act of score. Lovely how Duel of the Fates serves as a setpiece for the entire final act rather than for just the duel. 

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides by Hans Zimmer

Unfortunately, I feel this to be one of the weaker Pirates scores. The new themes are still very good: the haunting mermaids, the epic Spanish, the evil Blackbeard. Some of the guitar material can be quite delightful too, but when it comes to serving up new arrangements or ideas, I'm not entirely impressed. A lot of the music feels tracked from the earlier films at times, and it can be annoying when key moments are simply recycling old ideas. Par exemple, at the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard's -ahem- demise is underscored by a segment of Make Way for Tortuga from Dead Man's Chest. Missed opportunities, good themes, more Pirates action. 

For sampling, best to listen to Mermaids.

 

At Eternity's Gate by Tatiana Lisvoskaya

Impressive. Centered almost entirely on the piano (select violin solos too, I recall), this score really brings a fair bit of tranquility and beauty. I wouldn't say that there is too much aside from the main theme, but that in and of itself is lovely. 

For sampling, best to listen to Van Gogh Theme II (With Violin).

 

[Matt C 452]

Alien -- Jerry Goldsmith

 

I'm actually surprised this wasn't nominated for Best Original Score, because as a whole it's impressive. Even though it was cut to pieces and replaced with temp in some scenes, Goldsmith really crafted a score that elevated the movie. The alternate cues Goldsmith composed for the main and end titles have this dark beauty to them, while the film version utilized the creepier and more 'alien' aspect of the film. But the brass runs in cues like "Parker's Death" and "The Shaft" are impressive, and he truly outdid himself with conveying the atmosphere and terror of the story so well.

 

I miss Jerry.

[SteveMc 2,674]

Gave that one a bit of a listen over the weekend.  Solid stuff, moments of great subdued brilliance.