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

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I enjoy these more than the LOTR scores.

[DreamTheater 131]

Mona Lisa Overdrive - Burly Brawl - Chateau Swashbuckling (altenate)

[Jay 37,351]

Yea, the best tracks

[Faleel 5,346]

BTW, one thing: One of the main themes, the one that runs through Abrasax Family Tree - I swear is SO FAMILIAR to me, like it's almost note for note from some other score. I've been racking my brain but can't figure out what. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

I hear a motif that reminds me of a cross between Quidditch 2004 and Keys theme from ET. (not exactly the same though), some Quo Vadis...

[crocodile 8,002]

Don Davis - The Matrix Reloaded (La-La Land)

Love this score, I love the blend of orchestra and electronics. I even like all the non-Davis pieces included in the main presentation. Great release of a great score. I don't really play the bonus tracks much.

Following your lead - The Matrix Revolutions (La-La Land).

Karol

[Jay 37,351]

Jerry Goldsmith - The River Wild (2015 Intrada release)

My first time ever hearing a note of this score (I've never seen the movie either). First impressions are very good, the action material reminds me of Total Recall, but more grounded and less sci-fi. Good stuff, love 90s Jerry.

[crocodile 8,002]

Wait for Jarre. It makes for better music on album.

Karol

[Jay 37,351]

I'll listen to that one tomorrow.

[Hlao-roo 389]

NP: Salt (Howard). Probably the best Bourne material that Powell never wrote, but still not sure why I enjoy this so much.

[Matt C 452]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 - Alexandre Desplat

It's more emotionally direct and distinctly different than Part 1 (which I still love), but the way Desplat approaches the final film is a more prominent nod to John Williams' work. The striking woodwill trills in "Underworld", the orchestral frenzy in "In the Chamber of Secrets" and the final section of "Broomsticks and Fire"... it feels more cohesive with Williams' style than Doyle or Hooper's scores. I also think he's more comfortable with going big, when in Part 1 he held back a bit. "Lily's Theme" holds the score together beautifully, and I liked how Desplat revisits his Part 1 motifs briefly.

But yet it's still a Desplat score. The precise orchestrations, the wonderful action music, and the quiet beauty of "A New Beginning." I don't really miss the tracked-in music from Nicholas Hooper or the re-recorded "Harry's Wonderful World" for the epilogue.

[Incanus 5,714]

Flesh + Blood by Basil Poledouris

[publicist 4,643]

NP: Salt (Howard). Probably the best Bourne material that Powell never wrote, but still not sure why I enjoy this so much.

It's just too slick, though i can do with the first cue, the DC chase and 8 Floors Down.

[crocodile 8,002]

One action was pretty cool, if ultimately unremarkable.

The Journey Inside (Shire) and The Last Starfighter (Safan). Remarkably good combination.

Karol

[crocodile 8,002]

Everly by Bear McCreary

Karol

[Jay 37,351]

Kevin Reipl - Aliens: Colonial Marines

Wow! What a fun, high-octane action score! It's an original score influenced heavily by Horner's Aliens score (and in fact incorporates themes and melodies from that score). Really cool - Thanks to DreamTheater for turning me onto it!

Maurice Jarre - The River Wild (Rejected) - 2015 La-La Land

Seemed nice, but I was unable to pay close attention to it, and need to listen again. The LENGTHY bonus tracks was crazy - next time I'll just listen to the main program then stop. Wow, what a ton of alternates!

[Matt C 452]

Breakfast at Tiffany's - Henry Mancini

It's a pleasant score. I don't see the fuss about it but it's nice and romantic nonetheless.

[publicist 4,643]

It's one of cinema's most endurable tunes.

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

And it works wonders in the opening sequence of the film. I used to hate the song when I first heard it, now I admire it.

[Matt C 452]

After watching The Secret World of Arriety, I was tempted to put on Cecile Corbel's score. Her title song is incredibly beautiful, and the underscore is a solid listening experience outside the film.

But it's wonderful in the film. Proof that a minimalistic score works just as well in an animated film.

[DreamTheater 131]

Kevin Reipl - Aliens: Colonial Marines

Wow! What a fun, high-octane action score! It's an original score influenced heavily by Horner's Aliens score (and in fact incorporates themes and melodies from that score). Really cool - Thanks to DreamTheater for turning me onto it!

And now purchase (or at least have a listen to) Resistance : Burning Skies and Gears of War.

The guy writes the most ballsy brassy action videogame music.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I still need to buy Burning Skies. Really liked the music in the game.

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

Heroes of Telemark- Malcolm Arnold.

closest I'll get to getting his Dunkirk theme (which Telemark is a slight variation of). Stirring in its way, akin to River Kwai.

[crocodile 8,002]

The Last Starfighter

Karol

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Groovy.

Satisfying.

[Incanus 5,714]

The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams: Every time I listen to this score I wonder where Williams mustered all this energy, thematic catchiness, sheer bold (melo)drama and fearsome inventiveness for this one particular score. One lacks superlatives to describe this music where everything seems to be perfectly aligned.

Jupiter Ascending by Michael Giacchino: This score has been growing on me and after some pruning of the album into a shorter listening experience I have to say it works quite well. Giacchino's space epic sound and melodies still do not engage me emotionally as much I would wish but his hyperkinetic action music is quite fun in many places. His John Barry loveletter in Titus Clipper is both obvious and a good deal of fun and the piece builds into an impressive climax. The opening 4-movement suite, the action pieces and the finale of the score are highly enjoyable but the subdued middle portion, as I said before, brings the music to an unfortunate halt on the album.

Appalachian Spring, The Tender Land Suite, Fall River Legend and Latin-American Symphonette by Aaron Copland & Morton Gould: This is an old RCA recording of the aforementioned pieces with the composers conducting their own works and to a film music buff it seems like the blue print to a lot of elements that later would become to define what film music Americana consists of. Copland's offerings, The Appalachian Spring and The Tender Land Suite are as vintage and classic Copland as one as ever heard but extremely lovely. Gould's 9 minute Latin-American Symphonette as the name suggests incorporates some Latin-American musical gestures and flair into the writing with a in turn playful in turn seductive Tango and the energetic and bustling Guaracha.

[publicist 4,643]

 

 

ENEMY AT THE GATES - James Horner

 

James Horner's love letter to 200 years of russian music & his own repertoire, seasoned with an infamous Mahler-cum-Schindler's List quote that broke EATG its neck. These post-2000 Horner's often are hard to rate. Taken as film music, its pushy insistence on grand opera-izing even the faintest twinkle in the actors eyes at any given moment with the sheer force of a 150-piece LSO performance turned to 11 give it a sometimes campy feeling. Like a hermaphrodite its sharply divided - oddly overwrought anachronistic melodrama on one end and clockwork-precise suspense writing on the other - and Horner just can't constrain his more overbearing side (the one that he describes vaguely as 'emotional' in interviews; maudlin and obvious are two less mealy-mouthed words that spring to mind).

 

Though take away Annauds pictorial but a bit buffonish western duel amidst the ruins of Stalingrad - you must shake away the images of Bob Hoskins and others hamming it up, atrocious attempts at slavic accents mandatory - and you are left with a true russian war opera, indeed. Hampered only by Horner's insistence on copycatting old ideas even up to the tiniest of motivic fragments, it is in hindsight probably his most imposing post-2000 score.

 

Rigorously adhering to symphonic forms, there is hardly a moment that doesn't relate to another, flowing pieces of 10 to 15 minutes being the ultimate goal though the thematic variation isn't very subtle. Horner prefers broad strokes. The opening, RIVER CROSSING TO STALINGRAD, is the pièce de résistance, going from acidic strings perfectly setting the wintry Taiga woods (just as perfect as when they depicted the moody highlands in BRAVEHEART) to a schmaltzy rendition of the Schindleresque main theme before culminating in a storm of fiery battle music that brilliantly interweaves the patriotic works of Shostakovich/Prokoviev. The piece comes full circle with a ghostly denouement, returning to the opening motif now depicting the sight of thousands of dead soldiers lying at the doors of Stalingrad. This is a kind of writing you just do not hear everyday in an often pursy medium like film music and it shouldn't be dismissed because of its heavy use of  - again and again and again - the danger motif^R from WILLOW that ages ago belonged to a Rachmaninov symphony. It now rightfully belongs to Horner's repertoire though at this point a Kickstarter seems required to urge Horner to stop using it ever again by popular demand.

 

The score's many suspense pieces are what makes it so enduring, Horner constructs little masterpieces of tension in THE HUNTER BECOME STHE HUNTED, TRACTOR FACTORY and DANILOV'S CONFESSION and when the tension erupts in a brilliant impersonation of choral russian propaganda music in VASSILY'S FAME SPREADS, it's a nugget worthy of the best what other skilful pasticheurs like Franz Waxman had to offer.

 

But where there's light, there is shadow, too, and when Horner jacks up the kitsch factor to 150 in the 11-minute BETRAYAL where his main theme is repeated till you feel abused by it before erupting in a frankly undeserved ejaculation of pure schmaltz - in the movie it comes off like a blunt moment of ZAZ satire, circa AIRPLANE. Also, when Horner began his bloated period in the mid-90's starting with scores like LEGENDS OF THE FALL, his incessant repeats of his core material with mnimal variation played a big part of establishing him as the leading schmaltzmeister whom you called when you wanted to gloss over your product with a bit of pseudo-classical frosting that may go down well in the culturally less-proficient parts of Hollywood, California but raised many a eyebrow by more suspecting patrons. EATG is not as excessive as, i. e. THE PERFECT STORM or others from around that time but it would be vastly better if condensed to a manageable length minus endless repeats of the main theme and purely atmospheric parts.

 

Though all things considered, EATG stands as one of the most accomplished symphonic treatments of war movies and is heartily recommended. If you only can look past the usual baggage that comes with every Horner score after the mid-90's.

[Incanus 5,714]

I remember distinctly how sour taste the previous listen of Enemy at the Gates years ago left as nothing new seemed to be on offer. Even when I didn't have any idea about how the music would work in the context it felt both too familiar and too much and without actually evoking emotional response from me. But people keep bringing it up and giving it glowing praise so I guess I have to venture into it with a bit more open mind to Horner's nature saving recycling activities.

[publicist 4,643]

It would be a mistake to reject a score like this because of the fleeting moments where the recycling becomes off-putting. The architecture and mood are what makes EATG much more noteworthy than other Horner mammoth scores that bumble around with much less to say (i. e. WINDTALKERS, PERFECT STORM, THE MISSING etc.).

[Incanus 5,714]

It is still a bit unfortunate (the eternal gripe) that Horner's scores contain this amount of recycled materials but it is curious how little or much it seems to bother people in different scores. I for one can listen to Iris and find it enjoyable even if it is littered with Hornerism and the 4-note motif of doom and same goes for Avatar where he plunders from all over the place from Four Feathers to Apocalypto. Then again it feel unbearable in the likes of Enemy at the Gates. Go figure.

Funny how that Schindler's List-like tune actually pops up a lot in Horner scores prior to EATG like in Titanic and even Apollo 13. Another one of those short signatures James likes to insert into his works.

I'll give the score another spin though. As I said it has been a few years.

[publicist 4,643]

IRIS is a wonderful plaintive score and the romantic incarnation of the Rachmaninov isn't comparable to the IMHO insufferable AVATAR with its terrible native chanting. There are some good moments sprinkled throughout but on the whole, i ind it annoyingly cheesy.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Clemmensen should be deposed and Pub should be given a dedicated website soapbox.

[KK 3,307]

EATG is actually quite a feat as a film score, it's just hard to look past the rips. And I can't stand the SL/Tania theme in context of the score.

The Village by James Newton Howard

Lady in the Water by James Newton Howard

The Happening by James Newton Howard

Maleficent by James Newton Howard

That run reminded me why I loved this composer so much. Well I still do, I just wish we could hear more of that JNH impressionism in his latest scores.

I'm also happy to report that Maleficent finally opened up to me. Aside from some generic action bits, and intrusively harsh percussion/electronics crashes, everything just clicked. Good stuff.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I took some time off from film scores, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm currently listening to The High and the Mighty LSO compilation album.

[Romão 2,274]

ENEMY AT THE GATES - James Horner

James Horner's love letter to 200 years of russian music & his own repertoire, seasoned with an infamous Mahler-cum-Schindler's List quote that broke EATG its neck. These post-2000 Horner's often are hard to rate. Taken as film music, its pushy insistence on grand opera-izing even the faintest twinkle in the actors eyes at any given moment with the sheer force of a 150-piece LSO performance turned to 11 give it a sometimes campy feeling. Like a hermaphrodite its sharply divided - oddly overwrought anachronistic melodrama on one end and clockwork-precise suspense writing on the other - and Horner just can't constrain his more overbearing side (the one that he describes vaguely as 'emotional' in interviews; maudlin and obvious are two less mealy-mouthed words that spring to mind).

Though take away Annauds pictorial but a bit buffonish western duel amidst the ruins of Stalingrad - you must shake away the images of Bob Hoskins and others hamming it up, atrocious attempts at slavic accents mandatory - and you are left with a true russian war opera, indeed. Hampered only by Horner's insistence on copycatting old ideas even up to the tiniest of motivic fragments, it is in hindsight probably his most imposing post-2000 score.

Rigorously adhering to symphonic forms, there is hardly a moment that doesn't relate to another, flowing pieces of 10 to 15 minutes being the ultimate goal though the thematic variation isn't very subtle. Horner prefers broad strokes. The opening, RIVER CROSSING TO STALINGRAD, is the pièce de résistance, going from acidic strings perfectly setting the wintry Taiga woods (just as perfect as when they depicted the moody highlands in BRAVEHEART) to a schmaltzy rendition of the Schindleresque main theme before culminating in a storm of fiery battle music that brilliantly interweaves the patriotic works of Shostakovich/Prokoviev. The piece comes full circle with a ghostly denouement, returning to the opening motif now depicting the sight of thousands of dead soldiers lying at the doors of Stalingrad. This is a kind of writing you just do not hear everyday in an often pursy medium like film music and it shouldn't be dismissed because of its heavy use of - again and again and again - the danger motif^R from WILLOW that ages ago belonged to a Rachmaninov symphony. It now rightfully belongs to Horner's repertoire though at this point a Kickstarter seems required to urge Horner to stop using it ever again by popular demand.

The score's many suspense pieces are what makes it so enduring, Horner constructs little masterpieces of tension in THE HUNTER BECOME STHE HUNTED, TRACTOR FACTORY and DANILOV'S CONFESSION and when the tension erupts in a brilliant impersonation of choral russian propaganda music in VASSILY'S FAME SPREADS, it's a nugget worthy of the best what other skilful pasticheurs like Franz Waxman had to offer.

But where there's light, there is shadow, too, and when Horner jacks up the kitsch factor to 150 in the 11-minute BETRAYAL where his main theme is repeated till you feel abused by it before erupting in a frankly undeserved ejaculation of pure schmaltz - in the movie it comes off like a blunt moment of ZAZ satire, circa AIRPLANE. Also, when Horner began his bloated period in the mid-90's starting with scores like LEGENDS OF THE FALL, his incessant repeats of his core material with mnimal variation played a big part of establishing him as the leading schmaltzmeister whom you called when you wanted to gloss over your product with a bit of pseudo-classical frosting that may go down well in the culturally less-proficient parts of Hollywood, California but raised many a eyebrow by more suspecting patrons. EATG is not as excessive as, i. e. THE PERFECT STORM or others from around that time but it would be vastly better if condensed to a manageable length minus endless repeats of the main theme and purely atmospheric parts.

Though all things considered, EATG stands as one of the most accomplished symphonic treatments of war movies and is heartily recommended. If you only can look past the usual baggage that comes with every Horner score after the mid-90's.

Your post made me re listen to this score. And while there are definitely portions of it I quite like, the amount of lifts and borrowings in this score (being from himself or others) is staggering and downright distracting. Such an hard score do rank

[JoeinAR 1,949]

The Wedding by James Horner from Deep Impact.

Avatar is one of the best scores of the 21st century.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

[publicist 4,643]

Clemmensen should be deposed and Pub should be given a dedicated website soapbox.

I couldn't compete...maybe when i've grown up.

Your post made me re listen to this score. And while there are definitely portions of it I quite like, the amount of lifts and borrowings in this score (being from himself or others) is staggering and downright distracting. Such an hard score do rank

I never cared much for the outrage at Horner copying from century-old symphonies - the self-plagiarism is a much bigger nuisance since most of what he steals from himself isn't that noteworthy in itself.

Avatar is one of the best scores of the 21st century.

Joey, where have you been!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Mine opinion is just as valid as yours. Unless Jason says it's trolling.

I enjoy Horner more than most here.

I laugh at all those here who talk about Horner's "plagiarism" but reject that Goldsmith and Williams do the same.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

But do you laugh when people talk about Zimmer and "plagiarism?" You must remain totally objective Joey, if you're going to claim it.

[crocodile 8,002]

Return to Oz by David Shire

Karol

[JoeinAR 1,949]

But do you laugh when people talk about Zimmer and "plagiarism?" You must remain totally objective Joey, if you're going to claim it.

Sorry but I don't talk about Zimmer and plagiaris because I don't listen to HZ music outside of watching a movie. I only own the Lion King and HZs music does not suck as much as Reggie.

[Faleel 5,346]

adis - Miklos Rozsa

[Hlao-roo 389]

Drive (Martinez)

Cars (Newman)

Rush Hour (Schifrin)

Traffic (Martinez)

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Return to Oz by David Shire

Karol

And it's amazing.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

The American President

[Incanus 5,714]

Drive (Martinez)

Cars (Newman)

Rush Hour (Schifrin)

Traffic (Martinez)

Hmmm an obvious theme going on. Do you intend to end in Crash?

[crocodile 8,002]

Shore or Isham? Or both?

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

Another Filmtracks quote for the ages:

Avoid it... if you believe you may have the genetic predisposition towards a mental disorder, because this score's album could substantially accelerate the development of any brain disease.

...guess the score.

[Incanus 5,714]

Another Filmtracks quote for the ages:

Avoid it... if you believe you may have the genetic predisposition towards a mental disorder, because this score's album could substantially accelerate the development of any brain disease.

...guess the score.

Ah classic Clemmensen. Sine ira et studio.

Angela's Ashes by John Williams

E.T. The Extraterrestrial (OST album) by John Williams

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Another Filmtracks quote for the ages:

Avoid it... if you believe you may have the genetic predisposition towards a mental disorder, because this score's album could substantially accelerate the development of any brain disease.

...guess the score.

I wonder how KK is gonna defend him now!