Koray Savas 2,251 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Jupiter Ascending - Michael GiacchinoMy first impression was that this was a colorful leap forward for Mikey. Having listened a few times, my standing impression is that this is just the latest proof that all he lacks to be a really "great" composer is inventive musical DNA - that is, good themes and motives, with which to unify his obviously substantial abilities.John Carter - Michael GiacchinoI actually may prefer this one if only because his older, more "compact" orchestrations leave less of a gap between them and the actual musical content, so things seem to be spread a bit less thin than in his latest effort, where you're more desperate for him to break out a gesture that shows as much maturation as the rest of his compositional skills.I also listened to his most consistently perfect, beautiful score. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NsKokhM4EY Giacchino did all of this years ago, just not with his past handful of films. I feel like he's focusing more on orchestral color (Jupiter Ascending) and texture (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes) versus his more unabashed thematic efforts.As for La Luna, I prefer Chris Tilton's La Lune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 The Golden Compass - Alexandre DesplatThis is my new favorite from him, I think! Fantastic....even if there are some creeping intrusions from the old minor i-V waltz and the dreaded The Fury ostinato.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 The Golden Compass - Alexandre DesplatThis is my new favorite from him, I think! Fantastic....even if there are some creeping intrusions from the old minor i-V waltz and the dreaded The Fury ostinato....It took a few years for this score to click with me and it does indeed rank high upon my Desplat list now. Very intricate and very vibrant, bursting with ideas. I do wonder to what heights Desplat might have risen with this music if he had had the chance to score the entire trilogy.The Rocketeer. How easy it is to become familiar, then tired, then even slightly jaded with a score after listening to it for a while. That can happen even more easily with scores that lean heavily on a handful of themes (as Horner is wont to do anyway). I always liked The Rocketeer, but I got to the point where I paid a lot less attention to the action pieces later in the score . . . before I stopped listening to it altogether for a while. It came as a very pleasant surprise to find that this is a much better filmography as a whole than I remember. Properly heroic without being superheroic (which would've been wrong for this movie), romantic, devilish when it needs to be, uplifting because it should be, this is as fine an entry into Horner's repertoire as many others I've long considered superior.I think it is one of Horner's most enjoyable action adventure scores mostly thanks to the stupendous main theme which seems to be able to encompass much of what you mention in your comments plus the sheer awe and wonder of flight and youthful optimism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome in Plaid 219 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Images (Williams) - How did I just find out about this? Anyway, although in parts it's excellent, and on par with the best of the master's works, there are some rather iffy parts that take away from the overall experience, namely the occasional breathing and groaning inserts that just sound terrible. Also, this score is now featured in one of the weirdest coincidences in my life: just yesterday, I was working on a string quartet piece that hit me; today, I'm listening to Images, and a section of "Blood Moon" is almost identical to the opening of the piece I was working on, and I've never heard the score before or seen the movie. Très bizarre...Sucker Punch (Bates) - Speaking of bizarre, this. It's not really a film score so much as an almost experimental expansion on pre-existing pop songs... and it's surprisingly good, or at least not bad. It just goes to show, when not being asked to try to be original, Tyler Bates can copy with the best of them.my standing impression is that this is just the latest proof that all he lacks to be a really "great" composer is inventive musical DNA - that is, good themes and motives, with which to unify his obviously substantial abilities.So you're saying he's the exact opposite of Hans Zimmer? Bespin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 That's actually a really good point Grey. What Giacchino lacks in comparison to his contemporaries, is a unique, inventive musical DNA. Though I apply that to both his themes and at times his writing in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 What Gia needs....is the human factor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I only he was as productive as...say, Randy Newman...i wouldn't mind him as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faleel 5,340 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 King of Kings - Miklos RozsaEl Cid - Miklos RozsaThe Power - Miklos RozsaKnights of the Round Table - Miklos RozsaSomething of Value - Miklos RozsaThis one stood out to me so I decided to revisit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome in Plaid 219 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 King of Kings - Miklos RozsaEl Cid - Miklos RozsaThe Power - Miklos RozsaKnights of the Round Table - Miklos RozsaSomething of Value - Miklos RozsaThis one stood out to me so I decided to revisit it.For the un-initiated, what Rozsa scores would you recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faleel 5,340 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, and El Cid first.King of Kings, Something of Value, All The Brothers Were Valiant after that.*(*These are only available in full through out of print specialty label releases, or expensive used copies of CD's or LP's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Julius Caesar might be my favorite Rozsa score. And it's not an overwhelmingly long or noisy score Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faleel 5,340 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 ^ Forgot about that one, probably because I have not heard it in full and because it is in mono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 The Broughton re-recording is pretty much perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 The Broughton re-recording is pretty much perfectIndeed. It is one of the first Rózsa scores (and recordings) I heard and it has held very well through the years. Still among his best scores I think. Wonderfully dramatic, musically beautifully constructed and has great variety and one of the best finales I know.Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, and El Cid first.King of Kings, Something of Value, All The Brothers Were Valiant after that.*(*These are only available in full through out of print specialty label releases, or expensive used copies of CD's or LP's)Yeap those are a good place to start. The Tadlow Quo Vadis re-recording is brilliant and I am partial to their performance of El Cid (I know not all are). Ben-Hur is a certified classic and cornerstone of any Rozsa collection of course.Valse Crepusculaire from Providence by Miklós Rózsa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamTheater 131 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 El Cid (Tadlow) is a masterpiece done right.Quo Vadis & Ben-Hur (Vocalion double disc set) is superb.Ivanhoe (Intrada Broughton recording) is wonderful too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 El Cid (Tadlow) is a masterpiece done right.Any example of a masterpiece done wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Ah hah! People never check that when they write that kind of sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 LIONHEART? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 LIONHEART?Yeap. And any other masterpiece butchered on a re-recording.Wasn't Graunke orchestra responsible for mangling Lionheart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 No, the hungarian barbarians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 The Broughton re-recording is pretty much perfectIndeed. It is one of the first Rózsa scores (and recordings) I heard and it has held very well through the years. Still among his best scores I think. Wonderfully dramatic, musically beautifully constructed and has great variety and one of the best finales I know.The whole architecture of the score is terrific. And it's a mostly timeless score in terms of the period it conveys. In a way, Nixon is a sort of a sister score to this one. That's perhaps why I love both of them so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamTheater 131 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 LIONHEART?I have no issue whatsoever with that one. It's brilliant music, and to my ears its performances have NEVER felt annoying, amateurish or unlistenable. <-- Why does spellcheck say this isn't a word, because it should.It's a score from the 80s, and its charm has never eluded me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Some people are just 80s synth haters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Some people are just 80s synth haters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I dare anyone LIONHEART?I have no issue whatsoever with that one. It's brilliant music, and to my ears its performances have NEVER felt annoying, amateurish or unlistenable. <-- Why does spellcheck say this isn't a word, because it should.It's a score from the 80s, and its charm has never eluded me.Listen to THE WRONG FLAG, the counter trumpets at 00:58 are a crime against the art of trumpeteering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Coolman! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,174 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 No, the hungarian barbarians. Bah humbug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 No, the hungarian barbarians.Bah humbug?Humbugians? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,287 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Danny Elfman - Mission: ImpossibleI purposely avoided listening to this for a while because I had hoped a specialty label release would happen. But I couldn't wait any longer. This score is so good! Love it from start to finish. My favorite version of Lalo's theme too.Alan Silvestri - PredatorCaught a bit of the film on tv Sunday morning and was inspired to listen to the score. Still great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,287 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Michael Giacchino - Super 8Love this every time I return to it. One of Giacchino's bestJames Horner - Wolf TotemLiking this more every time I listen to it. The main theme is catchy and the action music is fun.James Horner - The Amazing Spider-manI think I'm going to listen to all of Horner's scores that are on spotify in reverse order. This score is fun, I really like the way he blends the orchestra with synths. The main superhero theme is a good one too. Without it, the score would be nothing, its an essential piece of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,984 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Star Wars: Shadows of the EmpireKarol Trent B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Dark City by Trevor JonesWith all the Jones talk recently, thought I'd revisit one of my favourites. And man, this is a fantastic score. Jones creates a unique collage of almost amorphous-ideas, but with one with brilliant atmosphere. You can literally feel the shadows creeping on you as you hear the score. Quite the package, with the noir-ish ideas, the high romance (once you get to the finale), the darker textural writing (plenty of waterphones and bowed cymbals foreshadowing a bit of what you hear from Davis a year later), the shadowy electronic hues (those synth choirs do the trick) and even the delicious Stravinsky rips (makes up for some real badass action writing after all). There are times where the electronics threaten to overwhelm the more subtle orchestral textures (there is some really neat string writing buried underneath all that bass), but there's always something very interesting going on texturally. It might not exactly reach the heights Davis did with The Matrix, but what you have is an incredibly admirable effort. And that's why this is my favourite Jones score.Oh and the bootleg has much more to offer than the poorly assembled OST. Just sayin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by John Williams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Jack the Giant Slayer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,984 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Star WarsOr Star Wars: A New Hope for all the kids that don't know what I'm talking about. According to some of them, it was first released in 1997 (as I was told the other day).Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Dark City by Trevor JonesWith all the Jones talk recently, thought I'd revisit one of my favourites. And man, this is a fantastic score. Jones creates a unique collage of almost amorphous-ideas, but with one with brilliant atmosphere. You can literally feel the shadows creeping on you as you hear the score. Quite the package, with the noir-ish ideas, the high romance (once you get to the finale), the darker textural writing (plenty of waterphones and bowed cymbals foreshadowing a bit of what you hear from Davis a year later), the shadowy electronic hues (those synth choirs do the trick) and even the delicious Stravinsky rips (makes up for some real badass action writing after all). There are times where the electronics threaten to overwhelm the more subtle orchestral textures (there is some really neat string writing buried underneath all that bass), but there's always something very interesting going on texturally. It might not exactly reach the heights Davis did with The Matrix, but what you have is an incredibly admirable effort. And that's why this is my favourite Jones score.Oh and the bootleg has much more to offer than the poorly assembled OST. Just sayin... Agree 100% with your post, though I have only heard the poorly assembled OST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Star WarsOr Star Wars: A New Hope for all the kids that don't know what I'm talking about. According to some of them, it was first released in 1997 (as I was told the other day).Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faleel 5,340 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 97, 77, it's just one number! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Just call it "Star Wars '77" if you really want to avoid confusion. A New Hope is such a lame title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,984 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I agree. For one, it is not new any more. Anyway... The Empire Strikes Back.Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent B 337 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Star WarsOr Star Wars: A New Hope for all the kids that don't know what I'm talking about. According to some of them, it was first released in 1997 (as I was told the other day).KarolSeriously? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,984 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Yup.But... the good things is that they loved it. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,984 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 That was mentioned, too. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,984 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Jupiter Ascending by Giacchino. I can indeed one of his finest, large chunks of it are among the best stuff he's ever created. Rough around the edges in other parts. I don't necessarily think of pieces like The Shadow Chase as the finest orchestral writing under the sun but it's more exciting than many similar setpieces from this composer. What makes it win me over in the end then? It does feel like a score that's written by Giacchino which... is supposed to sound like Giacchino. I like it on album and I liked it in the film (the two are not necessarily one and the same).Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Kiki's Delivery Service I've only heard this arrangement and the concert suite. Is the rest of the score worth picking up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Troy - Gabriel Yared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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