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


Ollie

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Ah another Wintory score. I'll have to take a listen soon.

 

Tale of a Lake by Panu Aaltio:

taleofalake.jpg

 

 

A quite lovely sequel to Aaltio's Tale of a Forest documentary music. As with the previous score broad melodic themes alternate with varied and colorful orchestral vignettes but this time a unique element is the Finnish vocalist Johanna Kurkela, whose voice plays the role of a water spirit in the music, bringing ethereal additional textures to the music. While not a staggeringly powerful soloist her contribution does give the underwater music suitable mystical colouration and emotional pull.

 

There is a immediacy and intimacy to the woodwind rich writing that is enhanced by the crisp recording. It is a full-orchestral tone poem which isn't ashamed to be big or bold or sentimental showing off the colorful orchestrations although at times it feels like it is trying a tad too hard to do everything with a big splash, shifting gears and presenting abundance of effects during each and every track but luckily Aaltio has along the way created some very satisfying self-contained musical pictures that range from awe to humour.

 

I look forward to exploring this music more deeply. I hope we hear more of Aaltio soon as the composer shows promise even if his own voice is not always quite as prominent as one would wish.

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Return to Oz expanded score

Star Trek: First Contact complete score

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 2008 playlist currently, although I might switch over to the OST after the first three tracks!

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Bridge of Spies and

Force Awakens, once more.

 

Rey's theme has greatly grown on me, to the point that almost overwhelmed by its use in the end credits -triumphant and sweeping. Not to mention the Star Wars theme right at the death.

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Planet of the Apes synth/original percussion recording

 

A curious entry but judging by the clips, its own beast. Purists may cry 'heretical apeshit!' but i think, given how tinny and shit the original sounds, it may be a better introduction to the modernist approach of the score for people who never 'got' it. That Emil Richards is behind all the percussion stuff justifies it further.

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Is Emil Richards actually playing on the recording? As I understand the text they used his instruments but he is not himself playing this stuff. Great that they got to use the original instruments on this recording though. :)

Quote

Features Percussion Instruments from the Emil Richards Collection at L.A. Percussion Rentals—the same, unique instruments used in the original recording sessions...

12-page, full color booklet with an essay on the album's production, photos of Emil Richards' unique percussion instruments in action and more!

 

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Trumbo (Shapiro) – What an unexpected surprise!  I haven't cared much for Shapiro in the past, but my cousin insisted I give this a listen, and I was quite impressed.  It's filled with diverse but still time-appropriate jazz strains from the avant-garde ("Forty Words a Minute," "Benzedrine") to more listener-friendly big band ("Curriculum Vitae," "Eddie Names Names"), a few gorgeous themes ("Curriculum Vitae" again, "Ping Pong," "A Letter from Prison," and "It's Over,"), and tracks that might be dismissed as filler if they weren't so perfectly written ("So I Rage," primarily): all these give the score (I would say film, but I'm not seeing it until Sunday) a fascinatingly unique score that I'm surprised hasn't gotten much recognition.  In fact, I'll need to find a way to squeeze this into my Top 5 for the JWFan Awards.

In Cold Blood (Mann) – This is quite an unusual score, with a background of ersatz country guitars embellished by early-style Shore synths, the occasional jazz saxophone, and even a vibraphone that sounds like it was borrowed from the studio of Frasier.  There's very little in the way of thematic material, but I think that suits the senselessness of the setting (disclaimer: I've only read the book, never saw the film).  Somehow Mann succeeds in channeling both the directionlessness of the killers and the rhythm of the crime's escalation.  My biggest criterion in judging a score is to ask if it successfully creates a sonic atmosphere for the film, and by that metric, Mann knocks it out of the park.  It's a punishing listen (a number of cues sound like a blending of Naked Lunch and Crash), but as intriguing as it is harsh.  The three songs stand out like a sore thumb, though.

Highlights: "Good Daughter," "End of the Damn Rainbow," "No Safe," "Upside Down in Cozumel"

Mad Max: Fury Road (Holkenborg) – Nope.  I tried, I really tried.  I got through 3 tracks and.  Nope.  I'm done.

 

On 2/5/2016 at 3:00 AM, TheGreyPilgrim said:

After listening to The Revenant a few more times, I'm realizing how silly the way that it's being written off as just the usual ambient soundscape stuff is, particularly by folks as illustrious as Conrad Pope.  We can joke about new vs. old and all the usual bullshit, but I find it hard to fathom how someone could argue that this isn't music of fine craft, which functions supremely well, regardless of how they feel about it taste-wise.  I hope it wins some awards and makes people mad.

Agreed, with reservations.  The more melodious cues are excellent, but some of the purely electronica ones drag at times.

 

On 2/7/2016 at 7:45 PM, Mr. Big said:

Anybody care to tell me what the best John Debney scores are? (that aren't Cutthroat Island, Passion of the Christ, or Lair)  Thinking about exploring some of his filmography.  

I'll steer you to Sponge Out of Water, The Stoning of Soraya M, Stonehearst Asylum, and White Fang 2.

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33 minutes ago, Gnome in Plaid said:

My biggest criterion in judging a score is to ask if it successfully creates a sonic atmosphere for the film, and by that metric, Mann knocks it out of the park

 

33 minutes ago, Gnome in Plaid said:

Mad Max: Fury Road (Holkenborg) – Nope.  I tried, I really tried.  I got through 3 tracks and.  Nope.  I'm done.

 

Inconsistent!

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John Williams - Pops around the world

John Williams - E.T. (original album)

John Williams - The Green album

John Williams - The five sacred trees

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:music:The Boxtrolls by Dario Marianelli. A score that makes me lament we never got to hear this composer's version of Pan. I remember reading several reviews in 2014 stating that it lacks coherence and themes. Not quite sure what to make out of that, the score is devilishly clever with main malleable idea going through many iterations - from ominous to heroic (and everythihg else in between). And there are several ideas running through it. It's a very conservative score in the best tradition of animation, yet never succumbing to sugary aimless underscore. The thematic material might be bit elusive but is in fact well developed and used and Marianelli's trademark tendency to blur the line between sound effects, source music and underscore is yet again on display. And it is also brilliant in the film. Can't wait for his next score to Laika's latest production that's coming out this year.

 

 

 

 

 

Karol

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Jaws 2 by John Williams (Intrada)

 

The Russia House by Jerry Goldsmith

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Batman Returns complete score

 

My GOD was the Elf Man hitting the notes in this one. Doesn't get any better than this or Pee-Wee's Big Adventure as far as Elfman is concerned! And that version of "Super Freak"! What a masterpiece!

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The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) by Howard Shore

 

The Good German by Thomas Newman

 

Star Trek Insurrection by Jerry Goldsmith

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On 07/02/2016 at 11:40 AM, publicist said:

CASSANDRA CROSSING - Jerry Goldsmith

 

This brittle gem, which after a long time got into my shuffle with a (brilliant) piece i couldn't quite place, is at the top of the heavenly pantheon of the maestro's suspense-and-paranoia scores of the mid 70's - together with COMA and CAPRICORN ONE it belongs to the best american film music could possibly offer in this genre.

 

The musical idiom is an even more raw and sharp-edged Stravinsky-cum-Bartok exercise with electronically altered harpsichord and piano effects on top (to characterize the threat of biological warfare) that is made palatable by one of those Abba-inspired Europop themes of the time, ironically, i might add, because it's for the least deserving part of an already trite disaster movie.

 

Goldsmith orchestrated this one by himself: even more bone-dry than usual, the pulsating action cues ('The Climber'/'Helicopter Rescue') are among the composer's best and at a time when it wasn't considered anathema to have a wriggly, nervous clarinet line on top of things. A classic best appreciated on the perfectly assembled 35-minute album.

 

 

I don't play the full score/album as often as I should, but I frequently return to cues like Break-In and The Climber. Some of Goldsmith's most hardcore action writing.

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I'm listening to some of KOTCS, which I rarely if ever have listened to outside the film.  What's so bad about this?  Interesting underscore, and the alien theme has a really neat contour to it.

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Under Fire :music:

 

3 hours ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

I'm listening to some of KOTCS, which I rarely if ever have listened to outside the film.  What's so bad about this?  Interesting underscore, and the alien theme has a really neat contour to it.

 

It's fine (I find myself returning to it fairly often) but it's a bit too "whimsical".  One of the few instances when a John Williams score has too many woodwind runs and xylophone hits.  Plus I find the underscore boring.  

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1 hour ago, Stefancos said:

Of course it isnt a bad score. It just isnt a particularly good one. Not compared to the other 3.

Nonsense! It is AWESOME! And I mean it!

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11 hours ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

I'm listening to some of KOTCS, which I rarely if ever have listened to outside the film.  What's so bad about this?  Interesting underscore, and the alien theme has a really neat contour to it.

 

KOCS is great!  There's a vocal minority that really hates on the score, but I've always enjoyed it alot, especially when the full thing leaked.

 

The film is, of course, completely terrible in every way, but the score is great!

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KOTCS isn't even in the same quantum reality as the Indy trilogy scores. That isn't the Williams I love. Raiders, Temple and Crusade are perfect scores with iconic memorable themes and motifs, not a wasted note, Williams at the top of his game! To compare Crystal Skull to those masterpieces is an insult. KOTCS also has the distinction of being one of the dullest JW OSTs, all the more disappointing and baffling because it was for an Indiana Jones film. Contrary to popular opinion on this forum, the complete score doesn't improve matters.

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Yea, the original Indy trilogy scores are untouchable masterpieces.

 

KOCS I think of in terms of his other 2000s/2010s output, and its a very good part of that era

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it's my favorite of the 4. It's curious how the first 3 Indy scores have nearly the same number of proponents. It's not lile Star Wars, where ESB always comes on top

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan OST

Amazing Stories: The Mission

 

Man, this one has everything! A great main theme, action, drama, that trademark Williams whimsy, even religioso. At just 30 minutes it's the perfect length!

 

:music: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Ultimate Edition

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