Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Some of the Special Edition fanatics dismiss these earlier releases because they hate the original and superior ending to ROTJ. Why are they against superior music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Some of the Special Edition fanatics dismiss these earlier releases because they hate the original and superior ending to ROTJ. Why are they against superior music?They both stink! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Why are you against superior music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Amazing Stories: Ghost TrainClose Encounters of the Third Kind: The Collector's Edition(Not as perfect a listening experience as the OST, but amazing nonetheless. I admire just how different the album and the expanded film version of the score are. Both are indispensable.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 I decided to listen to LotB after I heard Christian Kühn's rendition of it:http://picosong.com/bsrG Good old Kühni!They should have recruited Kuhni as a soloist for the Hobbit scores!It would have been something to behold I am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 The Empire Strikes Back (Polydor CD)This one is truncated and the tracks are mixed up, but if rearranged into the original album order, it's still a nice 40 minute summation of the score. It was always worth having for the alternate album mix and the album versions of the Star Wars Main Theme (featuring This is Not a Cave, which was missing on the Anthology and horribly compressed on the RCA set), as well as Finale, where the concert version of The Imperial March is inserted into the end credits. I love those clumsy analog edits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Always OST in intended album order, minus the pop tracksCinema Gala: Star Wars/Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Zubin Mehta, 1977) - Not just a stellar performance, but recording as well. This thing sounds better on the old Decca CD than modern recordings. The dynamic range is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-_A70S30rkTHE 33 - James HornerThe swan song of Horner's career and given the pitiable circumstances, one hesitates to call it solid-if-unremarkable which pretty much describes SOUTHPAW and WOLF TOTEM as well. On his most-cherished beloved playground, the 'emotional' drama, this time concerning a rescue mission for workers trapped in a chilean mine, Horner plays the benign Hollywood presence, never threatening to get deeper than Discovery channel background music. The few sly exceptions aren't enough to overcome this malaise.The south american settings gift upon us Horner's expected-if-sanitized EL CONDOR PASA impersonations with guitars and Tony Hinnigan pipes (off of VIBES and HOUSE OF CARDS, sadly minus the impressionist brushes) while the brothers-to-the-last spirit of the survival drama unleashes a long unheard-of friend, the brothers-in-arms theme from GLORY - both could have been expanded into something organic for the story at hand but Horner more or less plays them broadly and ripe, almost as if he's scoring an update of a 50's Cinerama attraction on the wonders of the Andean mountains for an largely unsophisticated suburb audience.As a pleasant background diversion it's OK though some cues as the atmospheric 'Aiming to miss' with its hypnotic combi of guitar, piano and shakuhachi give you at least a hint of something more ambitious, musically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,010 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 This is his weakest score this year. Hopefully, they'll get around to releasing his IMAX score as well. It was promised.I missed you, pub!Karol publicist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Hopefully Horner will do better next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I wouldn't bet on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Elizabeth by David HirschfelderOne of my favourite period scores. Before the time when the 'pretty' piano tunes took over the genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I really like how the composer incorporated the Volta rhythm in the main title, and how the love theme derives from it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 The rhythm is the binding component of the score, used to tie the various ideas together. Its the foundation of the dance setpieces, it drives the love theme, it's sometimes used sparsely in suspense, etc etc. Very effective.I love how claustrophobic the score feels at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Hopefully Horner will do better next time.If another composer were to cut and paste from the best of James Horner, they could still call it a James Horner score, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Raiders of the Lost Ark OSTNot just a favorite, undeniably one of John Williams' greatest scores from his golden age, perfectly assembled into a 40 minute musical program for superior home listening experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Should really be 40 minutes and 20 seconds, but other than that I love those old Polydor compact digital audio discs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 The album presentation is too long. You could cut out a good 20 minutes without losing any highlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 The first track, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is really all you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Maybe even that's too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Just the final track, "The Raiders March", with some clunky analog edits and the sound quality of the Star Wars double album CD release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamTheater 131 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 1941 (Williams)Chaotic is the perfect word to describe it, and apart from the march and the odd cue, it's not very entertaining (LLL complete score).Young Sherlock Holmes (Broughton)It has three superb themes, but none of them are used enough, considering all the uninteresting filler material that was written (Intrada complete score).Lost in Space (Broughton)Much better. In fact this is my favorite Broughton and one of the most entertaining and most rollicking scores ever. Never ceases to amaze (Intrada release). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Contrary to what Jason will tell you, the 1941 complete score is unbearably long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Agreed. The OST was fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Agreed. The OST was fineA fine mess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Star Wars OST double album CD versionAnother perfect Williams album. Loaded with glorious awkward analog edits and featuring the best dynamic range by far of any digital release of the score. Definitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Agreed. The OST was fineA fine mess!Its a messy score for a messy film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Close Encounters of the Third Kind OSTAnother perfect album! The man could simply do no wrong in this era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,010 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 It's a bit too long. I would cut about 20 minutes.Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 More like 40. Gruesome Son of a Bitch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 1941 OST (source: La-La Land 1941: Limited Edition*)I actually wanted to listen to the original CD release, but I apparently didn't bother with it once the La-La Land version was released, because it's missing from my iTunes library. What was I thinking?*AKA the version with a completely useless disc, as well as the remastered OST on disc 2.I think I'll listen to the original CD release of The Fury OST next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 You know those little woodwind interjections of the Rebel fanfare over Leia's theme in the end credits suite or whatever? I kind of hate that. It doesn't work at all. Can anyone else not stand that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 That's one of those moments that made me a John Williams fan. So, no, I don't agree with you.I think the original CD for The Fury sounds better than the remastered version. There, I said it. The Deluxe Edition (and I'm assuming the La-La Land version, which I have no intention of getting) is just brighter and louder. The old CD sounds more natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faleel 5,347 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 You know those little woodwind interjections of the Rebel fanfare over Leia's theme in the end credits suite or whatever? I kind of hate that. It doesn't work at all. Can anyone else not stand that?You know your little interjections?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faleel 5,347 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 What? I kind of hate them. They don't work at all. Can anyone else not stand them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Feel free to block me.A strangely personal response to my questioning of a Williams moment but I guess it's not that surprising after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Conrack: Main TitleStanley and IrisHow to Steal a Million (original motion picture score album) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Conrack: Main TitleStanley and IrisHow to Steal a Million (original motion picture score album)What no Star Wars or Indiana Jones?!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 CHAIN REACTION - Jerry GoldsmithBasically an inexcusable assignment in any way, shape or form, this one has it all: wretched assembly line thriller script with C-Span aspirations, butt-ugly cover, a Morgan Freeman paycheck performance, abysmal box office performance. Why Goldsmith took this job (on short notice from JNH) remains just another mystery in a career laced with them.In an ironic moment of historic retribution, this score is now released in a DELUXE edition which is akin to auctioning off your used cotton swabs at Sotheby's. But still, it's Goldsmith and it's testament to his towering musical persona that it probably will be a good seller for Varése, the company which released the perfectly fitting ugly original 30-minute album that nobody loved back then in 1996.But it's a different time, so why not take a look at this, which in its heart is a 90's update of Goldsmith's own seminal CAPRICORN ONE that perfectly describes the difference between 70's and 90's commercial filmmaking. Goldsmith by this time had adapted his style from wildly innovative - octatonic scales were not a swear word back then - to blunt and workmanlike to befit likewise stale and committee movies that no one wanted to make and even less people wanted to see. But still, the decades of craftmanship hadn't abandoned him and while it's a bit hard to listen to 80 minutes of CHAIN REACTION and calling it remarkable with a straight face, not all is lost.There are germs of interest in this score, not thematically where it's reduced to the barest necessities (a minor 6 note horn call), but in its more biting paranoid suspense and action material that while redundant within score and Goldsmith's oeuvre shows an uncanny sense of direction, not so much for what's on-screen but for the underlying theme of huge conspiracies of powers beyond control.Consider the first 3 minutes of a cue like 'Be Safe' (a chase over a Chicago drawbridge): the way the cue opens up in jagged, unstoppable motion while laying a vengeful, threatening-but-unstable brass motif on top establishes such a raw, kinetic energy that i am convinced would it have ended up in a more respectable movie (there must be a way to shoehorn this into one of the countless action scenes in the Nolan BATMAN's, no dear Youtubers?) people would gush over it.Another such moment occurs in 'Getting There / C Systems' around the 01:40 mark: as we see a helicopter shot of black cars entering an unnamed facility, Goldsmith's thumping but stately approach perfectly nails a feeling of huge forces gathering for sinister business. It's neither murky nor overwritten, just the perfect notes for this occasion.Alas, i would be lying if i recommended it as top notch on these few virtues, there are also lots of overly bland orchestra hits, huge redundancies (there is only so much you can do with the few blunt motifs) and the plain hackwork synth drums and such things that are partly necessitated by the movie's dependence on the score as constant presence. The 'cool' e-guitar riff for Keanu Reeves scores some points for pure 80's goofiness, though.So while it probably is easy to condemn as forgettable late entry in an already overcrowded discography i still think it's worth a listen - or a look if you feel inclined to become a film composer - just to see what a master craftsman would do if saddled with a lame action thriller and probably not more than three or four weeks of time to come up with 80 minutes of score. That may be slim pickens, but with deluxe and expanded releases coming at us with no mercy, it's actually far from the worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I only listen to the old Bay Cities OST of 1941. Great CD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 The Thin Red Line by Hans ZimmerInterstellar by Hans ZimmerFrost/Nixon by Hans Zimmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,302 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 It's a bit too long. I would cut about 20 minutes.KarolBoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Checkmate & Rhythm in Motion by John Williams: I love this swinging crime jazz from JWs TV period and of course the album is geared for variety, offering a nice programme where more romantic slow pieces interrupt the energetic or laidback cool swing once in a while. Rhythm in Motion displays Williams' skills as an orchestrator and he does bring his considerable arsenal of bells and whistles into this stereophonic experience where he cleverly gives some standards and classics a new spin, often tongue-in-cheek, which leads to varying results in terms of listening pleasure.Karaoke & Cold Lazarus by Christopher Gunning: The composer works as a unifying voice between the two very different but linked British television mini-series and does so beautifully, first giving Karaoke a dark, urbane atmosphere complimented by neo-noirish synths and saxophone and a gorgeous love theme and then bringing the full power of the London Symphony Orchestra to bear in Cold Lazarus, delivering at times a subtle but nuanced and at others a thunderous gothic sci-fi score with heart and musically supporting the wit and commentary of the series itself with allusions to styles and genres for a measured effect. The main theme is a sweeping romantic affair that appears only a few key times in the grand guise but the chilling rising 4-chord motif that seems to accompany the dark cryogenic freezing laboratories and the cruel plans of the villains ehcoes eerily throughout, encapsulating both grandeur and dread. Well worth investigating.Rebecca by Christopher Gunning: Lyrical, thematic, bold and romantic. Old fashioned as it gets but the themes the composer crafts are par excellence and the story is told through music with such clarity on the album. Theme for Rebecca haunts the listeners like the eponymous character does the De Winters in the story but this is a ghost you gladly spend your time with.Firelight by Christopher Gunning: Sensitive, orchestrally refined and very much the soul of tragic romance this music is like a first cousin to Rebecca. Haunting main theme is ever present but Gunning takes it beautifully from darkness to redemption through numerous variations during the running time of the 47 minute album. Superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamTheater 131 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Close Encounters of the Third Kind OSTAnother perfect album! The man could simply do no wrong in this era.I used to think that too. But now that I have finally heard 1941 I'm not so sure.It's average Williams at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,010 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Regression by Roque Baños (my musings, if you're interested)Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Agora by Dario Marianelli: Marianelli employs orchestra, chorus, ethnic woodwinds and (obligatory) wailing female vocalist to produce a polished work that at times breaks into almost Goldethal-esque orchestral fury with satisfying results. It is all a surprisingly potent and entertaining mix which contains a strong narrative drive, well thought out thematic throughline and quite a few truly evocative moments. Only true distraction is the aforementioned female vocalist that is actually more of a distraction than an asset here, well worn through its decade plus use as a filmic devise for exoticism and tragedy that in this case adds very little to the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Sounds too European. Powell should have scored it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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