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

[KK 3,307]

I'm listening to Bernard Herrmann's Symphony (1941). This is a wonderful piece, thats diverse in its application of Herrmann's mannerisms. Love it!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Brick by Nathan Johnson

First off, if you haven't seen the film, do so. It's a wonderful little noir homaging dramedy that few people have heard of. Director Rian Johnson went on to do the also wonderful The Brothers Bloom, and the upcoming Looper.

Nathan's score here is awesome, with traces of Goldsmith's Chinatown and the use of Anton Karas' theme from The Third Man. His wealth of material for the characters is all him, however. The beginnings of Penelope's theme in The Brothers Bloom, Laura's theme here is bittersweet and melancholic. Emily's theme is a bit more dark yet still has that unique instrumentation that Johnson boasts so well. A nice score that I love revisiting from time to time. Really excited to hear what he comes up with for Looper.

[Incanus 5,713]

Oscar and Lucinda by Thomas Newman: A mesmerizing experience full of unique atmosphere and spell-binding choral music. One of Newman's best although least discussed scores. Newman's gift for both melody and unsual atmospheric sounds is strong in this one, the score containing subtle yet insistent themes that beautifully weave in and out of the fabric of the score and brisk but alas quite brief energetic scherzos offer variety to the dreamy, almost at times hypnotic music. He achieves an odd sort of spiritual feel in this music even when not leaning to the choir for such sounds and his skill at combining most exotic instruments and soundscapes together is something few composer's can do so well in my opinion. His woodwind, oboe and cor anglais writing, is as powerful, direct and lyrical as ever and the choral music and theme is vintage majestically hymnal Newman. If there is a downside to this album then it is the all too familiar many short tracks that plague most Newman's albums (some fans might rejoice that he does not have a habit of combining cues) and sometimes the composer stops where you wish he would have continued his musical idea although that is more the fault of the film and its restrictions.

[Jilal 569]

Max Steiner - King Kong - Re-recording by John Morgan and William Stromberg

A fantastic 30's film score. Makes me want to see the film. It's a very good re-recording as well. Once again Morgan and Stromberg did a great job.

[Incanus 5,713]

Knowing by Marco Beltrami

The Usual Suspects by John Ottman

[crocodile 7,973]

Anything more on Knowing, Inc? I can't remember you mentioning it before.

Karol

[Brónach 1,301]

The Vikings - Mario Nascimbene.

Fun.

[Incanus 5,713]

Anything more on Knowing, Inc? I can't remember you mentioning it before.

Karol

It is one of the few Beltrami scores I have listened to regularly. The unsung master of craftsman type suspence and horror achieves here something a bit more engaging, the music having a fatal, doom laden and tragic atmosphere to counter the suspence and orchestral terrors he unleashes, which by the way is quite entertaining, Beltramian via Herrmannesque in style. Some obvious homages to Herrmann aside it is like a more lightly orchestrated version of War of the Worlds by Williams, whose pulsating action writing seems to have been the inspiration for Beltrami's own action cues.

I have never gotten very much into Beltrami's style, which while competent sounds worksman like and fitting for the films he does but will not exactly leap to your ears outside them but Knowing combines his usual techniques with a bit more resonating emotional core, even as bleak or bittersweet as it is here. This is something I have found wanting in most of his music, the power to move me although I am aware he is always trying hard to do so. But with this score the pieces fall into place which was nice surprise even though we are not talking about a complete home run. There is a driving, nervous feel to much of the music which is varied enough for it not to get repetetive and containing both somber and tragic emotional writing and eerie atmospheric and suspence cues to form a very satisfying listening experience which ends in a big finale formed by the last 4 tracks.

As a minus I would mention the recording which doesn't do the dynamics of the finale justice, at times I feel, sapping a much needed resounding quality from the score which would have greatly benefitted the large orchestral ending.

[Hlao-roo 389]

Oscar and Lucinda by Thomas Newman: A mesmerizing experience full of unique atmosphere and spell-binding choral music. One of Newman's best although least discussed scores. Newman's gift for both melody and unsual atmospheric sounds is strong in this one, the score containing subtle yet insistent themes that beautifully weave in and out of the fabric of the score and brisk but alas quite brief energetic scherzos offer variety to the dreamy, almost at times hypnotic music. He achieves an odd sort of spiritual feel in this music even when not leaning to the choir for such sounds and his skill at combining most exotic instruments and soundscapes together is something few composer's can do so well in my opinion. His woodwind, oboe and cor anglais writing, is as powerful, direct and lyrical as ever and the choral music and theme is vintage majestically hymnal Newman. If there is a downside to this album then it is the all too familiar many short tracks that plague most Newman's albums (some fans might rejoice that he does not have a habit of combining cues) and sometimes the composer stops where you wish he would have continued his musical idea although that is more the fault of the film and its restrictions.

I like what Newman does with his 'Oscar and Lucinda' ideas in 'Meet Joe Black,' which I regard as a stronger score overall.

[Incanus 5,713]

I agree. Meet Joe Black is also a bit more main stream orchestral in its approach while still containing those quirky Newmanisms and while it too has many short tracks it benefits from several longer pieces where Newman has time to develop his musical ideas satisfyingly. He also rarely goes so all out orchestral with his scores which is always a treat to hear.

[Datameister 2,034]

Listening to Le sacre du printemps. Not a film score, but it sure sounds like one a lot of the time. It's really fun to hear some of the sources of Williams' inspiration in works like this and The Firebird. And regardless of that, the music itself is just really fascinating and engaging (and occasionally disturbing) to listen to.

[Incanus 5,713]

Listening to Le sacre du printemps. Not a film score, but it sure sounds like one a lot of the time. It's really fun to hear some of the sources of Williams' inspiration in works like this and The Firebird. And regardless of that, the music itself is just really fascinating and engaging (and occasionally disturbing) to listen to.

Well those pieces have not only inspired Williams but a lot of other film composers as well. And both Rite of Spring and Firebird sound very much like film music both because their influence on the movie scores has been so great and of course because they are programmatic music with inherent dramatic arc.

[Datameister 2,034]

Certainly. They've been a clear influence on a lot of composers, and for good reason. But I do especially hear the influences on Williams. Don't mistake that observation for a criticism...it's not. For the most part, Williams has simply drawn inspiration from Stravinsky's musical language, and in a pretty sophisticated way, too.

[Admiral Holdo 16]

Max Steiner - King Kong - Re-recording by John Morgan and William Stromberg

A fantastic 30's film score. Makes me want to see the film. It's a very good re-recording as well. Once again Morgan and Stromberg did a great job.

Never seen it? It's fun if you know what you're getting into period-wise; there's that sense of adventure that some find cheesy, but I can't get enough of it.

[Hlao-roo 389]

Certainly. They've been a clear influence on a lot of composers, and for good reason. But I do especially hear the influences on Williams. Don't mistake that observation for a criticism...it's not. For the most part, Williams has simply drawn inspiration from Stravinsky's musical language, and in a pretty sophisticated way, too.

Williams is the most sophisticated of plagiarists!

[Wojo 2,453]

Max Steiner - King Kong - Re-recording by John Morgan and William Stromberg

A fantastic 30's film score. Makes me want to see the film. It's a very good re-recording as well. Once again Morgan and Stromberg did a great job.

Never seen it? It's fun if you know what you're getting into period-wise; there's that sense of adventure that some find cheesy, but I can't get enough of it.

It's a great way to enjoy the King Kong story without giving up an entire evening watching PJ's epic monstrosity.

[KK 3,307]

I thought Peter Jackson's adaptation was brilliant and a highly engaging epic. Besides its pacing issues and its overuse of slow motion, its a great film.

[Maglorfin 196]

Over the last few days, I've been listening to the pieces I will be playing in 3 weeks with the World Youth Wind Orchestra. I'm especially looking forward to playing two pieces by a very talented American composer Steven Bryant.

[Wojo 2,453]

Listening to John Debney's and Tony Morales' Hatfields & McCoys. The music was serviceable in the mini-series and I bought the score from Amazon a few weeks back, and thought I'd give it a spin.

[Matt C 452]

Hollywood '95

For a CD made back in the mid-1990s, the recording holds up extremely well. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra did a great job performing the suites from Batman Forever, Judge Dredd, Casper and First Knight (I love those scores, but the suites encapsulate the best segments for the most part). And you really can't go wrong with Geoff Foster -- the man is like the UK Bruce Botnick.

[Incanus 5,713]

The Village by James Newton Howard

The Happening by James Newton Howard

[publicist 4,643]

L. A. NOIRE / Andrew Hale

Surprisingly potent orchestral jazz/noir score on the trail of Goldsmith (L. A. Confidental) and Grusin (Mulholland Falls). While the abundance of overly short tracks sucks, you can condense it down to a perfect 35-minute album with 3 songs recorded for the game. The orchestrations are classy and the sometimes impressionist jazz vignettes seem extravagant in a year when SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and SPIDER-MAN are the summer's musical all-time high.

[Admiral Holdo 16]

Creepshow (John Harrison)

Objectively this is a 2/5 album, but I love the film to pieces, so it's 5/5. :-P

[crocodile 7,973]

Some recent score I listened to:

Moon by Clint Mansell

Taras Bulba by Franz Waxman

The Missing by James Horner

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan by James Horner

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home by Leonard Rosenman

Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country by Cliff Eidelman

The Lord of the Rings by Leonard Rosenman

John Carter by Michael Giacchino

Romeo and Juliet by Nino Rota

The Aviator by Howard Shore

City Hall by Jerry Goldsmith

Predator by Alan Silvestri

And some Stravinsky ballets as well. And bits of Hook.

Alien by Jerry Goldmsith

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

Good stuff!

Minority Report by John Williams

[crocodile 7,973]

I'd also like to point out Moon is Clint Mansell's finest work. I really, really enjoy this album.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

I have to take a listen. I have not explored that much Mansell outside Requiem for a Dream, which to tell you the truth did not impress me much. But exploring relatively unknown composers to me is always interesting.

[crocodile 7,973]

Here's the long final track which contains most of the material used in a score. It's not a traditional film music, obviously, but works very well imo. I prefer him to use something from his actual musical background, as opposed to his attempts and string quartets and ballets (even though I like Black Swan).

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtCpttsZiys

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Fountain is his best, for me.

[tannhauser 101]

Desplat - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2

I don't think Desplat's Potters get much love round here, but I'm very fond of both of them, especially part 2, placing them miles ahead of Hooper's and Doyle's efforts. DH2 has I feel the best use of Hedwig's theme post-Williams, and he does some interesting things with it, it's never just there out of routine and necessity like it seems to be in some of the other films. Lily's theme is gorgeous and heartbreaking and a really solid emotional core to the score. The other major new theme which I call the "Statues" theme, while on first listen seemed quite weak, really grew on me, and the way he modulates it into the major key in "A New Beginning", with Hoopers bittersweet harmonies underneath, gets me every time. I think it's a really strong score which fits the film perfectly, and is a worthy finale to the franchise.

Does anyone else love these scores?

[crocodile 7,973]

The Fountain is his best, for me.

I warmed up to his work considerably. And you can take some credit for that, Koray.

Karol

[Brónach 1,301]

I'd also like to point out Moon is Clint Mansell's finest work. I really, really enjoy this album.

Karol

I love that CD. Great in the film as well.

[Incanus 5,713]

Capricorn One by Jerry Goldsmith

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Fountain is his best, for me.

I warmed up to his work considerably. And you can take some credit for that, Koray.

Karol

Glad to hear it, although I don't remember what I did lol

[KK 3,307]

The Fly by Howard Shore

This is one of my favourite scores by the composer. I absolutely love the brooding romanticism that this score is drenched in. And the operatic constructs that Shore so effectively employs really brings out an overarching sense of a tragedy (so much awesome doom and gloom). And I absolutely love the larger than life, melodramatic statements of the themes, especially when they explode in awesome cues like The Finale. And its also nice to hear where some of the Mordor constructs came from This is certainly one of the composer's finest.

[Admiral Holdo 16]

The Fly by Howard Shore

This is one of my favourite scores by the composer. I absolutely love the brooding romanticism that this score is drenched in. And the operatic constructs that Shore so effectively employs really brings out an overarching sense of a tragedy (so much awesome doom and gloom). And I absolutely love the larger than life, melodramatic statements of the themes, especially when they explode in awesome cues like The Finale. And its also nice to hear where some of the Mordor constructs came from This is certainly one of the composer's finest.

I agree with everything you just said. Always had Cronenberg's movies and Ed Wood on as a kid, so I was a fan of Howard Shore before LOTR! (He said with snarky faux-hipster voice ) It's just great music.

Listening to The Wrath of Khan right now... man, I'm enjoying it so much. It's like Elfman on Batman, you can feel Horner bursting with excitement at getting paint on a large canvas (a metaphor he'd surely approve of). I get the same vibe from Krull.

[tannhauser 101]

The Fly by Howard Shore

This is one of my favourite scores by the composer. I absolutely love the brooding romanticism that this score is drenched in. And the operatic constructs that Shore so effectively employs really brings out an overarching sense of a tragedy (so much awesome doom and gloom). And I absolutely love the larger than life, melodramatic statements of the themes, especially when they explode in awesome cues like The Finale. And its also nice to hear where some of the Mordor constructs came from This is certainly one of the composer's finest.

Ditto. It's a real treasure in his oeuvre.

[Hlao-roo 389]

A Shine of Rainbows - The Henry Girls

[Incanus 5,713]

The Fly by Howard Shore

This is one of my favourite scores by the composer. I absolutely love the brooding romanticism that this score is drenched in. And the operatic constructs that Shore so effectively employs really brings out an overarching sense of a tragedy (so much awesome doom and gloom). And I absolutely love the larger than life, melodramatic statements of the themes, especially when they explode in awesome cues like The Finale. And its also nice to hear where some of the Mordor constructs came from This is certainly one of the composer's finest.

I think I have to give it a listen after a long long while. It is a great score, especially showing strong dramatic sense and Shore's unique orchestrational skills so early on. And as mentioned most Shore's scores prior to LotR offer small hints at the grander architecture of that trilogy of scores, either motifs in earlier or embryonic forms or stylistic traits showing up gradually and finally coming together for LotR where as the composer said he was ready, utilizing all that he had learned in his career.

[Faleel 5,326]

Star Trek - Michael Giacchino

I am starting to enjoy this now, especially in complete form, Hangar Managment is my favorite cue so far, Spocks theme is my favorite theme, the motif in Jehosefats is my least favorite.

[Matt C 452]

Does anyone else love these scores?

I like Part 2, but I love Part 1... it's gotten as much time in my CD player as Williams' Azkaban score. Everything about that score just clicks, and there's a lot of nuance and detail in the writing itself. I find it overflowing with thematic material, and the action cues are just amazing. I know other users don't like the scores because 1) they don't like Desplat or 2) it's not scored by Williams.

Part 2 has some truly great moments, but Part 1 is just... beautiful. It has his fingerprints all over it, and that's a good thing for me.

[Admiral Holdo 16]

Aliens (The Deluxe Edition)

It's derivative of Alien and Horner's two Star Treks. Who cares? The action music is great.

The percussion-only tracks are also a lot of fun. I'd totally march into battle with the perc-only Ripley's Rescue playing.

[Incanus 5,713]

Does anyone else love these scores?

I like Part 2, but I love Part 1... it's gotten as much time in my CD player as Williams' Azkaban score. Everything about that score just clicks, and there's a lot of nuance and detail in the writing itself. I find it overflowing with thematic material, and the action cues are just amazing. I know other users don't like the scores because 1) they don't like Desplat or 2) it's not scored by Williams.

Part 2 has some truly great moments, but Part 1 is just... beautiful. It has his fingerprints all over it, and that's a good thing for me.

I tried to like these two scores, I really did but they just don't click with me as strongly as with some. In part 1 no matter how many themes there are, those do not sound strong, memorable or particularly emotional to me but rather detached and minimalistic meanderings. To his credit Desplat does sometimes capture the spirit of Potter music spot on.

Part 2 is a bit better on the emotional department but lacks the sense of powerful finale and Desplat had to give in to the modern blockbuster scoring cliches even more here.

And of course many fans would compare this and every other Potter score to Williams' scores. It is quite natural. But none of the composer who came after Williams, in my opinion, had the same ability to write so clear, apt or memorable thematic identifications for these stories even though they might have other fortes.

I might try and see if these two would resonate a bit better now after some water has flowed under the bridge and I have gained some distance to them both.

[Hlao-roo 389]

I don't think there's another composer I've tried as hard to like as Desplat. I appreciate what he brings to the table, but a consistent emotional connection with his music has been elusive.

[Marc 758]

[Incanus 5,713]

King Kong by James Newton Howard

[ZackR 95]

I love this score. The rejected one is great too but I really love Kamen's.

[publicist 4,643]

I tried to like these two scores, I really did but they just don't click with me as strongly as with some.

May have something to do with the fact that they are some of Desplat's less successful efforts. Listen to NEW MOON or GOLDEN COMPASS to hear strong post-2000 blockbuster scores.

[Ren 75]

Part 2 is a bit better on the emotional department but lacks the sense of powerful finale and Desplat had to give in to the modern blockbuster scoring cliches even more here.

Can you please explain, I'd love to hear your opinion on modern block buster cliches as its something I teach about.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I don't think there's another composer I've tried as hard to like as Desplat. I appreciate what he brings to the table, but a consistent emotional connection with his music has been elusive.

I'm sure you've heard a lot of his work, but my personal favorites are Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, New Moon, Moonrise Kingdom, The Ghost Writer, and The Tree Of Life.

The Ides Of March and Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close are good ones too. I wasn't really a fan of his until he teamed up with Fincher.