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

[Jurassic Shark 12,065]

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

It's REALLY long, and REALLY drags.

 

Just the way I feel about the Stargate OST.

[Jay 37,351]

The Stargat OST is great!  They expertly moved a few cues out of chronological order to make an album presentation that moves very nicely.  I like it!

[Nick Parker 3,040]

45 minutes ago, Jay said:

It's almost a blessing that GL didn't have his shit together enough to have a complete cut to present to Williams so he could have scored everything.  As a result we have no filler music, just great stuff all the way through.

 

Say wha? Could you elaborate on this?

45 minutes ago, Jay said:

I've also been listening to a mini-playlist of just the action cues lately and liking that a lot

 

One of his best action scores!

[Jay 37,351]

1 minute ago, Nick Parker said:

Say wha? Could you elaborate on this?

 

Well, there's a whole bunch of scenes in the film that Williams never scored at all, that are just tracked with music from The Phantom Menace.  You never noticed?

 

Quote

 

One of his best action scores!

 

Yes!

[Faleel 5,346]

He is probably talking more about the "no filler" part of the comment.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

4 minutes ago, Jay said:

Well, there's a whole bunch of scenes in the film that Williams never scored at all, that are just tracked with music from The Phantom Menace.  You never noticed?

 

Is what you said really the reason those scenes had tracked music? 

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

Yes!

 

It has so much color, personality, and it's a great blend of balls-out macho with the more "dainty" orchestral gestures Williams has used in more of his scores of the time period.

[crocodile 8,006]

18 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Is what you said really the reason those scenes had tracked music? 

What he's saying there was no original music written for anything in between the monster scene on the arena and that scene in which Obi-Wan, Padme and Anakin are pursuing Dooku en route to that hangar. Most of these sequences were created quite late in the editing/post-production and there was nothing for Williams to score so they decided not to do it at all.

 

 2001: A Space Odyssey by Alex North

 

Karol

[Jay 37,351]

Right, what croc said

 

GL didn't have a rough cut ready for Williams to write a score to, so Williams simply never scored it, and the music editor cobbled together bits of TPM music.

 

Same thing with the scene where they fly to that planet in their shuttle, that's a long cue from TPM tracked in

[Faleel 5,346]

You mean Geonosis....

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Huh, funky. I thought it was a matter of, "Hey John, whatever you're gonna write here, we're gonna put music from the last movie instead. By the way, you're my most treasured collaborator." Did a similar thing happen in Revenge of the Sith?

[crocodile 8,006]

One of the most head-scratching thing about AOTC score is that they never used that amazing arena march in the film (except for that one small excerpt towards the end). It is easily one of the most distinctive things Williams wrote for the prequels. As is the heavily butchered Coruscant chase. Amazing stuff. The score might not be as theme-heavy as other films but it has an unmistakable sound of its own. The percussion-heavy action cues are quite specific to this score. And the love theme provides the music and film with a strong emotional arc. You can understand why many people consider this to be the weakest SW score of all, especially given its treatment in the film as well as lack of music in the crucial final act. But weak music it ain't. It is also the most focused of the three.

 

1 minute ago, Nick Parker said:

Huh, funky. I thought it was a matter of, "Hey John, whatever you're gonna write here, we're gonna put music from the last movie instead. By the way, you're my most treasured collaborator." Did a similar thing happen in Revenge of the Sith?

Yes, but the tracked music on that one must have been planned from the start. Because it fits in much better with the new music.

 

Karol

[Nick Parker 3,040]

2 minutes ago, crocodile said:

You can understand why many people consider this to be the weakest SW score of all

 

Who's "you"? 

 

 

[crocodile 8,006]

2 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Who's "you"?

Is it a philosophical question?

 

You (as in you) can switch the word to "one", if you like.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,351]

4 minutes ago, crocodile said:

One of the most head-scratching thing about AOTC score is that they never used that amazing arena march in the film (except for that one small excerpt towards the end). It is easily one of the most distinctive things Williams wrote for the prequels. As is the heavily butchered Coruscant chase. Amazing stuff. The score might not be as theme-heavy as other films but it has an unmistakable sound of its own. The percussion-heavy action cues are quite specific to this score. And the love theme provides the music and film with a strong emotional arc. You can understand why many people consider this to be the weakest SW score of all, especially given its treatment in the film as well as lack of music in the crucial final act. But weak music it ain't. It is also the most focused of the three.

 

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS!

[Nick Parker 3,040]

4 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Because it fits in much better with the new music.

 

Are you saying it's more cohesive with the music newly written for the movie?

[crocodile 8,006]

2 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Are you saying it's more cohesive with the music newly written for the movie?

Yes, it feels like it was meant to be in there.

 

Another reason I think people dislike the score is because of the OST's sound quality. It is bit...flat. Especially after TPM.

 

Karol

[Nick Parker 3,040]

1 minute ago, crocodile said:

Yes, it feels like it was meant to be in there.

 

Karol

 

Except when stuff pops up like the march not even being in sync with the soldiers' footsteps! Honestly that whole moment always struck me as very wrong, tonally.

 

Also, as amazing and a career highlight as the Arena cue is, I don't think it plays very well when the creatures are attacking the protagonists.

[crocodile 8,006]

5 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Except when stuff pops up like the march not even being in sync with the soldiers' footsteps! Honestly that whole moment always struck me as very wrong, tonally.

 

Also, as amazing and a career highlight as the Arena cue is, I don't think it plays very well when the creatures are attacking the protagonists.

I never tried listening to it in context.

 

Oh wait, there it is:

 

 

It's not that bad.

 

Karol

[Faleel 5,346]

Just now, Nick Parker said:

 

Except when stuff pops up like the march not even being in sync with the soldiers' footsteps! Honestly that whole moment always struck me as very wrong, tonally.

It works better for the Utupau stuff minutes later IMHO.

3 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

Also, as amazing and a career highlight as the Arena cue is, I don't think it plays very well when the creatures are attacking the protagonists.

Are you referring to the final film edit?

[Nick Parker 3,040]

3 minutes ago, Falafel said:

It works better for the Utupau stuff minutes later IMHO.

 

Hell yeah, it's pretty kick-ass there.

 

4 minutes ago, Falafel said:

Are you referring to the final film edit?

 

Maybe? Overall I feel the tone is off for the creatures, it works much better as music for war and combat (which so many video games in the era capitalized on).

[Faleel 5,346]

Ah okay, I was thinking you placed it/watched a video placing it against the final film (instead of edited to fit the music) and felt it didn't fit.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Just now, Falafel said:

Ah okay, I was thinking you placed it/watched a video placing it against the final film (instead of edited to fit the music) and felt it didn't fit.

 

When it comes to restored Star Wars music, you're my one-stop shop, amigo, don't think different.

[Faleel 5,346]

3 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Hell yeah, it's pretty kick-ass there.

Yep, though in my head I always imagine the high pitched statement of the theme starting with the Crab droid shot instead of the Gunship shot.

1 minute ago, Nick Parker said:

 

amigo

Whenever you say that, it makes me think of:

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

Falafel, you are now officially my best friend. Can I get you anything? Back massage?

[Nick Parker 3,040]

31 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

Falafel, you are now officially my best friend. Can I get you anything? Back massage?

 

You should know by now after all your Bryce Dallas Howard fan comics that back massages are never enough. 

[SteveMc 2,674]

Cocoon by James Horner. 

Ah, yes. peak Horner.  Magnificent stuff, really.  The depth of Horner's writing always surprises.  Lovely oboe work.

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

On 9/27/2018 at 1:59 AM, KK said:

I never found Glass to be very good at the whole large-scale, full-blown orchestral film music thing. It often comes off as overstuffed, gaudy and a bit vapid.

 

 

19 hours ago, KK said:

If by agile, less restricted by "minimalist" structures, yea I'd agree.  But while MGV is real good stuff, the bulk of his work still stays within his usual harmonic and rhythmic parameters. I like Nyman, but I find a lot of his stuff rather limited too.

 

 

[SteveMc 2,674]

9 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

 

 

That is a good one.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

Heartbeeps by John Williams

One of those special scores where I fell in love with it upon the first note heard in the first cue and it's been a favorite of mine since. Pure concentrated joy and giddiness!

[KK 3,307]

4 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

 

 

Cheers for this. Good stuff.

 

4 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

 

 

A nice piece, with some atypical gestures towards the end. More of an exception to the "rule" though, isn't it?

[Incanus 5,714]

7 hours ago, crocodile said:

One of the most head-scratching thing about AOTC score is that they never used that amazing arena march in the film (except for that one small excerpt towards the end). It is easily one of the most distinctive things Williams wrote for the prequels. As is the heavily butchered Coruscant chase. Amazing stuff. The score might not be as theme-heavy as other films but it has an unmistakable sound of its own. The percussion-heavy action cues are quite specific to this score. And the love theme provides the music and film with a strong emotional arc. You can understand why many people consider this to be the weakest SW score of all, especially given its treatment in the film as well as lack of music in the crucial final act. But weak music it ain't. It is also the most focused of the three.

 

Karol

As I said a short while ago in this thread, this score has aged well. It must have been stylistically such a surprising turn after TPM which turned off some fans as it didn't sound like expected but there is as you say a clear focus here musically with the love theme taking the lead while Williams supports the story elements with shorter motivic material that ties it all together. I really love the suspense writing in this score as well. 

 

Shame about all that tracking though. I remember reading a reviews of the film at the time where the critics blamed Williams for being lazy since they could spot the music tracked from TPM in AOTC and obviously had no clue that Williams wasn't to blame for it.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

40 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Shame about all that tracking though. I remember reading a reviews of the film at the time where the critics blamed Williams for being lazy since they could spot the music tracked from TPM in AOTC and obviously had no clue that Williams wasn't to blame for it.

 

Pretty par for the course, unfortunately. As another example, Jerry Goldsmith got letters dissing him for laziness in Alien.

[Incanus 5,714]

21 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

Pretty par for the course, unfortunately. As another example, Jerry Goldsmith got letters dissing him for laziness in Alien.

Yeah I remember seeing an interview where Jerry wryly commented on that. 

[publicist 4,643]

13 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

How is Mr. Wallfisch?

 

He is well, but while expertly done, this pastiche of 50's/60's spy and detective sound was much more distinctive the first time around. In other words, Wallfisch doesn't add a distinctive new twist on it.

[crocodile 8,006]

The New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms

Lethal Weapon

The Lord of the Rings (Rosenman)

The BFG

 

Odd thing, but I'm sort of warming up towards that Williams. While far from artistic triumph, watching the film really helped me appreciate it. And it works much better around this tine of the year as well.

 

 The Predator

 

 

Karol

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

7 hours ago, KK said:

A nice piece, with some atypical gestures towards the end. More of an exception to the "rule" though, isn't it?

 

Some of the percussion "inserts" remind me of Goldsmith.

 

Tbh, I don't know that much full-orchestra stuff by Glass. Plenty of his symphonies had their world premiere in Austria, and I failed to attend every single one of them (but I think I only knew of one in advance).

 

But I like Itaipu a lot, as well, and that's probably as big as it gets (big orchestra plus choir). More typical for Glass and less distinctive than The Canyon perhaps.

 

This one's nice, too:

 

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind by John Williams

The River Wild by Jerry Goldsmith

Witches of Eastwick by John Williams

[Nick Parker 3,040]

5 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

The River Wild by Jerry Goldsmith

 

Have you seen the documentary featuring it? Because of it I feel a much stronger connection to this score than I feel I should.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

I have indeed! 

I can see why this score's seen as lower-shelf as far as the Goldsmith library goes, but I'm finding it a pleasant little pallet cleanser. 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

1 minute ago, kaseykockroach said:

I have indeed! 

I can see why this score's seen as lower-shelf as far as the Goldsmith library goes, but I'm finding it a pleasant little pallet cleanser. 

 

Agreed!

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

Fall of the Roman Empire, Tiomkin

 

then a couple of Barry's -Man With the Golden Gun and Monte Walsh. Something about the instrumental for 'Good Times are Comin' that is quietly moving. Good film to boot. 

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

Logan's Run by Jerry Goldsmith

Moby Dick by Christopher Gordon

The Predator by Henry Jackman

[Nick Parker 3,040]

1 hour ago, kaseykockroach said:

Logan's Run by Jerry Goldsmith

Moby Dick by Christopher Gordon

The Predator by Henry Jackman

 

Some slick-ass music in there! I didn't enjoy Logan's Run very much, what are your thoughts on it?

 

How do you like The Predator? You enjoyed Jackman's Kong score, yeah?

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

6 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Some slick-ass music in there! I didn't enjoy Logan's Run very much, what are your thoughts on it?

 

How do you like The Predator? You enjoyed Jackman's Kong score, yeah?

His Kong score was phooey, but I liked his Big Hero 6 and Jumanji scores. As for this, it's pretty alright. I longed for Predator 2's crazy awesome percussion, but this was at least more entertaining than Debney's Predators.

 

Logan's Run, I'm not the chap to ask if you seek compelling music observation. My enjoyment was merely of the juvenile "Oooh, this sounds cool!" "Oh, I like this sound!" variety in regards to all the awesome funky syth noises. Partway in, I thought on a whim "I feel like listening to Hook now". Just popped in mind because I'm all alone...far away from home...it's a top fiver for me as far as the William library goes.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I'd like to hear Goldsmith's Runaway but with the orchestral elements taken out. Needs a full synth re-recording.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

2 minutes ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

I'd like to hear Goldsmith's Runaway but with the orchestral elements taken out. Needs a full synth re-recording.

Oh, wiseguy, eh?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Don't think! Just pick up that phone and make it happen!

[Incanus 5,714]

14 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

Logan's Run by Jerry Goldsmith

Moby Dick by Christopher Gordon

The Predator by Henry Jackman

Moby Dick is an awesome score. As I have said before it feels more like a nautical tone poem than a mere film score.

 

For some reason I have never listened to Goldsmith's Logan's Run. 

 

War of the Worlds by John Williams: I love the mix of Stravinskian rhythms, apocalyptic kinetic orchestral and choral bombast and delicate Americana string elegies in this one. The use of human voices harkens back to Close Encounters as the Maestro uses them both as a signifier of humanity and something utterly alien and frightening. While not very theme driven vehicle, the aforementioned rhythmic propulsion is the the carrying force of this score and the 60 minute album is a pretty succinct listening experience although I would have loved to hear Williams' synth Prologue and Epilogue sans Morgan Freeman's narration.   

[Incanus 5,714]

Children of Men by John Tavener (etc.): Although this "score" comprises mostly of Tavener's own previous works and selections from the likes of Händel, Mahler and Penderecki it also features his new composition for the film, Fragments of a Prayer, that with its combination of vocal soloist and mainly a string orchestra fits stylistically in with the rest of the composer's selections on the album. I find the listening experience aside from Penderecki's scathingly screaming Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima to be a very soothing listening experience thanks to the spiritual religioso tone of Tavener's compositions of which I think Mother and Child and Eternity's Sunrise are particular favourites.

[crocodile 8,006]

 The Adventures of Robin Hood

 

Karol