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

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yep, good stuff.

[Wojo 2,453]

I keep forgetting to put it onto my iPod.

[crocodile 7,990]

Mythic Gardens by Howard Shore. As said previously, I have no idea how would it rank among modern concert pieces. Two things are certain, though. One, it's very pretty. Two, it sounds like Howard Shore. Beyond that, I'm not sure whether anything else matters really.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Not sure if this just a guilty pleasure or an actual one, but I really enjoy the final track, when Howard's music segues into Metric song (he co-wrote that). And the song is actually not bad, he seems to get the vibe of this franchise and its target audience (which is not something orchestral composers grasp very often). Even if the style itself is not necessarily my type of thing.

Karol

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

I really like the song. It's a nice tune but I know nothing about the franchise; I was dragged to that film but spent the duration mocking it.

I'm still trying to warm up to the cello concerto, which starts with great promise but seems to stick around too long, without really going anywhere.

[crocodile 7,990]

I've only seen the first film.

Sadly.

And sadly, too.

Karol - who wants to hear Shore's piano concerto, now!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

That franchise has barely any musical continuity. But I like Desplat's score for the second film.

[crocodile 7,990]

It's ok. The album is slightly too long, I think. But there is some nice stuff to be found on it.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

That franchise has barely any musical continuity. But I like Desplat's score for the second film.

Burwell reused everyone's themes in the last one.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

That franchise has barely any musical continuity. But I like Desplat's score for the second film.

Burwell reused everyone's themes in the last one.

Key word there is "barely".

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Hey, how often does that happen in a franchise that has a new composer for each film?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The Mummy movies?

[Incanus 5,713]

Superman movies? I mean thematic continuity between scores.

Hour of the Gun by Jerry Goldsmith

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil

Thoughts?

[Incanus 5,713]

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil

Thoughts?

I like the music quite a bit. The score combines beautiful if somewhat simple melodic constructs that often express sheer wonder and allure with unsettling off-kilter orchestral and synthetic sounds. There are plenty of highly harmonious highlights and quite entrancing vocal performances from both soloists and chorus and these compete with the underlying musical tensions that never seem far away. Despite being composed by 3 different people the music sounds quite unified sound-wise and as it is a major element in the film the score is allowed a lot of almost operatic leeway which translates to a strong album.

[crocodile 7,990]

If anything, the music manages to take over the role of scent in the film. And it's really effective at that. I heard it performed live to picture a couple of years ago and it worked great. It's beautifully performed as well. Now, whether it means the score is a refined compsition... well... not really.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

If anything, the music manages to take over the role of scent in the film. And it's really effective at that. I heard it performed live to picture a couple of years ago and it worked great. It's beautifully performed as well. Now, whether it means the score is a refined compsition... well... not really.

Karol

Yeah I am inclined to agree. Still it is a nice album.

[crocodile 7,990]

I cannot disagree.

Karol

[DreamTheater 131]

Dark City (Trevor Jones)

This may be my favourite from Jones, followed by Mohicans. The expanded score adds so much to the album presentation, which has a selection of good songs as well.

It does have his most stunning finale music with 'You Have The Power', a stupendous mix of incredible intensity and emotional impact.

This score give me goosebumps every time.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Those guys kick ass.

[Romão 2,274]

Dark City (Trevor Jones)

This may be my favourite from Jones, followed by Mohicans. The expanded score adds so much to the album presentation, which has a selection of good songs as well.

It does have his most stunning finale music with 'You Have The Power', a stupendous mix of incredible intensity and emotional impact.

This score give me goosebumps every time.

I love the score, but the Rite of Springs throw me off a bit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WXaH6TBzPg#t=18

[crocodile 7,990]

My CD of Penny Dreadul has just arrived. I'm listening now.

Karol

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

Dark City (Trevor Jones)

This may be my favourite from Jones, followed by Mohicans. The expanded score adds so much to the album presentation, which has a selection of good songs as well.

Expanded? That's a boot, right?

I love the score, but the Rite of Springs throw me off a bit

I got used to it. And it's rather just a fragment copied from Sacre really, turned into a motif that can carry an action track. It's a remarkably powerful (excuse the pun) cue.

[Romão 2,274]

It works wonderfully and Jones' adaption turned into a very powerful quasi-militaristic march

[crocodile 7,990]

I find Trevor Jones a bit difficult to enjoy, to be honest. His big scores are really dense and relentless.

Karol

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Hans Zimmer

Think I'm finally clear on how to best sort through this one for the good stuff.

Like...

and the first minute and a half of this

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Independence Day (La-La Land)- A lot of the action is too disjointed and noisy but the softer material and the over the top patriotic material more than makes up for it. 4.5/5

Listening to scores like ID, The Patriot, and Stargate make me long for the days when Roland Emmerich films had good scores.

Home Alone 2 (La-La Land)- This score gets a bad wrap from a lot of people for rehashing the first score but there's still a satisfying amount of original material and a lot of the reworked passage are superior to the original. The suite from Angels with Filthy Souls is a hidden gem. 3.5/5

[publicist 4,643]

 

 

UNDER THE SKIN - Mica Levi

What seems to be an alien psycho thriller, or rather a genre-defying film that's as much about human nature as it is about its failings gets a wonderfully outlandish score by Mica Levi. Lightyears beyond the gimmick-and-effects approach of similar (in tone) scores like GRAVITY, UNDER THE SKIN manages to create a unique sense of dread by enhancing its look-at-my-electronic-toolbox approach with a modernistic Bartok/Varése-ian string ensemble that seems - knowingly or unknowingly - to take its clue from early-to-mid 60's thriller Goldsmith. It actually sounds as if the soundscapes of ALIEN get mangled by SHOCK TREATMENT and SECONDS, two of Goldsmith most impressive/devastating thriller scores from that period and its a wonderful discovery for everyone who appreciates meticulously crafted scores that can be studied and analysed rather than gleefully rewinded for another emotional high jolt. One of this year's best.

[crocodile 7,990]

Yes, as I said previously, this is a very intriguing and witty score and film. I could completely see Kubrick using this kind of music in his films. And that needs to count for something.

I've gave a more in-depth listen to Howard Shore's upcoming Maps to the Stars yesterday and here is my review. It won't be a popular score with many fans, of course. But I'd argue that it's a really interesting one.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

The Wolfman by Danny Elfman

Penny Dreadful by Abel Korzeniowski

[crocodile 7,990]

The Wolfman is among Elfman's finest works, references and nods acknowledged. What about the other one? Does it feel any more plausible on album?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Again, I know. But it sounds to me like one of the most accomplished Giacchino scores to date. Simple themes and motifs, repetitive ideas and ostinatos work in its favour, helping to build this primitive but always listenable soundscape. There is a lot of intricate detail - woodwind writing, percussion, subtle chorus. All of that is basically a matured take on his own Lost - with bigger ensemble. All that captured beautifully by Joel Iwataki. And while many could argue the long album is an overkill (it's not a baseless criticism), there is an architecture behind it that makes it interesting. And it really enriches the film. It's the kind of score that tips the hat to scores past, but sounds very much like it belongs to modern era. A winner!

Karol

[KK 3,307]

I find Trevor Jones a bit difficult to enjoy, to be honest. His big scores are really dense and relentless.

Karol

I enjoy his dense stuff. Much preferred to his more bland soaring melodies (where almost all his themes are variations of each other).

Cleopatra and Dark City are my favourite Jones scores.

[DreamTheater 131]

For anyone wanting the opposite of Jones' dense and relentless scores, check out The Mighty. 'My Noble Knight' will melt your heart !

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The Wolfman is among Elfman's finest works, references and nods acknowledged. What about the other one? Does it feel any more plausible on album?

I like it too. A spiritual cousin to Kilar's Dracula.

[DreamTheater 131]

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Jeremy Soule)

Love this game score, simply breathtaking when condensed to a custom playlist. Hands down his best composition.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Yep. Probably the best work yet done for the video game medium. Yes, even better than all the old school Japanese stuff. And the newer Japanese stuff. And Goldenthal.

[publicist 4,643]

And Goldenthal.

Goldenthal hasn't done any video game.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Oh yeah, Final Fantasy was a movie.

[DreamTheater 131]

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within had nothing with to do with the games, except for some small references, but I still like it as standalone animated sci-fi.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Never played the games or seen the film and don't know anything about any of it, I just always assumed that Goldenthal's score was meant for a game.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

What?

[crocodile 7,990]

It might not be a video game, but it's barely a film.

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You can hear from it's textural complexity, the precision in the writing and the sheer gravitas of the score that it can never have been written for a computer game.

[Incanus 5,713]

The Wolfman is among Elfman's finest works, references and nods acknowledged. What about the other one? Does it feel any more plausible on album?

Karol

Penny Dreadful improves slightly on the album but it feels a bit too monochromatic and its style is overly familiar from Korzeniowski's previous scores so it is quite clear what the series creators wanted from the music. Excuse me the pun but it lacks an individual bite although it is accomplished writing and I feel that the horror music is done in a very cliched fashion apart from few moments. It is portentous music as the story treats all the characters as hyper dramatic be it anguish or reflection and the score is there to enforce this emotional weight. It is elegant to be sure but as I said rarely comes to its own. There are a few truly excellent moments of emotion but on the whole this TV series score did not win me over.

[crocodile 7,990]

I just seem to have a soft spot for Slavic brooding. It makes me nostalgic. Besides, these are television scores and they will always feel fragmented on disc. Maybe a tight 45 minute album would serve this score better? Maybe.

You can hear from it's textural complexity, the precision in the writing and the sheer gravitas of the score that it can never have been written for a computer game.

Does Soul of Ultimate Nation also lack complexity?

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Complete Recordings)

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

I just seem to have a soft spot for Slavic brooding. It makes me nostalgic. Besides, these are television scores and they will always feel fragmented on disc. Maybe a tight 45 minute album would serve this score better? Maybe.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Complete Recordings)

Karol

I am wondering if it is the current trend or conscious decision or budget that prevents any larger woodwind or brass element in Penny Dreadful. They would perhaps liven up the string and piano heavy feel of the score. Then again they might distract from the story. And aren't woodwinds for sissies anyway like Mr. Bruckheimer says.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Graceland by Paul Simon.

A politically motivated album, but great music nonetheless. Much of the melodic writing and bass riffs are catchy, especially in Diamonds On The Soles of Her Shoes and You Can Call Me Al. The material with Ladysmith Black Mambazu is exquisite and beautifully expressed, particularly in Homeless.

I know there's a remastered version but I've never heard it. The '86 album mix is par excellence with perfect volume. I get nervous that these remasters are mixed to loud and compressed.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yep. I'd extend that to encompass all three of his scores in the series though. Oblivion is in a similar style but with a bit more... Englishness to it, to suit the somewhat more conventional fantasy world of that game. And Morrowind is wonderfully colorful and novel, again reflecting the game. Taken together, they obviously constitute his best work, and probably the best work yet done for the video game medium. Yes, even better than all the old school Japanese stuff. And the newer Japanese stuff. And Goldenthal. And O'Donnell. It just is.

I'd give that title to Edmonson's Uncharted scores.

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

You can hear from it's textural complexity, the precision in the writing and the sheer gravitas of the score that it can never have been written for a computer game.

So you're saying the reason why video games can't be art is the same supposed reason you claim for concert music being inferior to film scores?

[crocodile 7,990]

He has obviously not heard things like this, for example:

Karol