42 replies to this topic

[Alexander]

It surprises me there never was a Howard Shore thread...

[Ricard]

Don't you mean LOTR thread?

[Greg1138]

No



Utterly mesmerising...

[chuckster312]

Touche"



And a chance to see Howard shore's office

[Quint]

Don't you mean LOTR thread?

No

[chuckster312]

[crocodile]

I think I will listen to The Fly tonight. Now THAT's a good score.

Karol

[chuckster312]

This is Howard Shore's three Oscar wins:

(embedding disabled)

[Ricard]

I think I will listen to The Fly tonight. Now THAT's a good score.

[The_Trout]

To further reiterate, NO:

[chuckster312]

In all honesty, this is the second memorable score I remembered from HS outside of the LOT trilogy score.

[Ricard]

Glad to finally see some appreciation for Shore's non-LOTR scores in this forum...

[chuckster312]

Yeah...

[Greg1138]

I think I will listen to The Fly tonight. Now THAT's a good score.

Karol

I've been listening to that quite a bit myself at the moment! Thundering stuff...

[chuckster312]

[indy4]

[chuckster312]

My favorite late night theme back when Conan wasn't been screwed and he was the golden boy of late night.

[alicebrallice]

[mrbellamy]

[Stefancos]

Don't you mean LOTR thread?

Very rich for someone who started this place as a website about the music of The Phantom Menace!

[chuckster312]

[Ricard]

Don't you mean LOTR thread?

Very rich for someone who started this place as a website about the music of The Phantom Menace!

Yeah, but that was more than 20 years after my JW fandom began

[chuckster312]

[Corellian2019]

No love for Seven?

[KK.]

Don't you mean LOTR thread?

LOTR may have been my first Shore scores, but I've definitely become a Shore enthusiast. I adore Shore's non-LOTR works!
Also keep in mind that LOTR is drenched in Shore's normal musical sensibilities. His magnum opus essentially showcases Shore's different styles in music. Its very much Shore (including the dark brooding stuff), its just LOUDER!!!

You got to it before I did! Eastern Promises is absolutely gorgeous and heart-breaking.

One of my absolute favourites from the man! This is where the LOTR sound began folks!


I'm glad there are some Silence of the Lambs fans out there (its great) and The Departed is great fun. Of course his light hearted ventures are great too (Big, Mrs. Doubtfire, and I absolutely love Hugo!).

Shore has quickly become one of my favourite composers. What I've always admired about him is his incredibly versatility. I'm always awestruck by how he can approach so many different genres with a very appropriate and intelligent approach (who knew the tango sound would work for the Departed, but it did!).

[chuckster312]

One could say some of his non - LOTR works are kind of minimalistic.

[KK.]

One could say some of his non - LOTR works are kind of minimalistic.

I wouldn't



For LOTR fans, make sure you check out the score for the Soul of the Ultimate Nation:





And this is LOTR + theremin (odd combo, but I really like the rips here):

[Incanus]

Well I really became aware of Shore through Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I love to bits, and then began to explore more of his works. While at times I feel he is too intellectual for his own good in his music sacrificing emotional side for all kinds of subtexts, resulting often in incredibly brooding and grim soundscapes, I have to admit his music has its own sort of appeal. It is quite different from the main stream Hollywood sound and he usually finds different approaches than most composers would even for traditional genres.

Through the years I have accumulated a surprisingly wide collection of Shore's music but he is a bit hit and miss with me. Oh and I am not a huge fan of his "rising chords of doom" since it is as bad as Horner's danger motif. It is everywhere in every score he has done, almost obnoxiously so.

Btw A History of Violence is Shore still very much in Middle Earth. It is good music but sounds like material from LotR that was for some reason left out from those scores. You can hear rising chords of doom (well this is pre-LotR trademark), the Ring Wraith Theme sans choir, Tom's Theme sounding like it was written for heroic Hobbits etc.

And Soul of the Ultimate Nation won me over little by little. Now it is one of my favourite Shore albums. Very much LotR inspired, the game for which it was composed borrows heavily on LotR visual style as well e.g. in its trailer, so it is not a big surprise why they hired Shore. The music is at times brooding, heroic and ethereal, like a sibling score to LotR with a lot less themes in it.

[indy4]

I'm glad there are some Silence of the Lambs fans out there

Me too.

[KK.]

Well I really became aware of Shore through Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I love to bits, and then began to explore more of his works. While at times I feel he is too intellectual for his own good in his music sacrificing emotional side for all kinds of subtexts, resulting often in incredibly brooding and grim soundscapes, I have to admit his music has its own sort of appeal. It is quite different from the main stream Hollywood sound and he usually finds different approaches than most composers would even for traditional genres.

I disagree. Yes, much of Shore's career has those dark brooding works, but I never feel Shore sacrifices emotional integrity. Take for instance Eastern Promises with heartbreaking writing that gets close to Schindler's List in terms of gravity. Or Hugo, which shines with emotional resonance if you ask me. I always felt that Shore's intellectual approach always nailed the emotional atmosphere needed for the pictures he scores. Yes, some (or rather many) are difficult to listen to on album (primarily his brooding work for Fincher and Croenberg) but they are still works to admire that also largely maintain emotional integrity.

Through the years I have accumulated a surprisingly wide collection of Shore's music but he is a bit hit and miss with me. Oh and I am not a huge fan of his "rising chords of doom" since it is as bad as Horner's danger motif. It is everywhere in every score he has done, almost obnoxiously so.

I've come to recognize many of Shore's mannerisms in his scores, but I've never yet come to really name them.

Btw A History of Violence is Shore still very much in Middle Earth. It is good music but sounds like material from LotR that was for some reason left out from those scores. You can hear rising chords of doom (well this is pre-LotR trademark), the Ring Wraith Theme sans choir, Tom's Theme sounding like it was written for heroic Hobbits etc.

I really enjoyed this score, although even in its more optimistic nature, there is that sense of Croenberg gloom to it. Another film I believe Shore nailed the atmosphere for. And all the mannerisms you pointed out are correct. I liked how Clemmenson described it, its about as close to Zimmer's Thin Red Line as he'll ever get.

And Soul of the Ultimate Nation won me over little by little. Now it is one of my favourite Shore albums. Very much LotR inspired, the game for which it was composed borrows heavily on LotR visual style as well e.g. in its trailer, so it is not a big surprise why they hired Shore. The music is at times brooding, heroic and ethereal, like a sibling score to LotR with a lot less themes in it.

Aye. A good solid fantasy score for those in love with LOTR. But as I said above, LOTR is technically Shore's traditional sound, its just beefed up with more muscle and big orchestras/choir.

Simple as the theme may be and the score may be, I really liked how Shore integrated Wagner so well into his score for A Dangerous Method. And I love the brooding nature when his main theme explodes!

[Incanus]

Well I really became aware of Shore through Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I love to bits, and then began to explore more of his works. While at times I feel he is too intellectual for his own good in his music sacrificing emotional side for all kinds of subtexts, resulting often in incredibly brooding and grim soundscapes, I have to admit his music has its own sort of appeal. It is quite different from the main stream Hollywood sound and he usually finds different approaches than most composers would even for traditional genres.

I disagree. Yes, much of Shore's career has those dark brooding works, but I never feel Shore sacrifices emotional integrity. Take for instance Eastern Promises with heartbreaking writing that gets close to Schindler's List in terms of gravity. Or Hugo, which shines with emotional resonance if you ask me. I always felt that Shore's intellectual approach always nailed the emotional atmosphere needed for the pictures he scores. Yes, some (or rather many) are difficult to listen to on album (primarily his brooding work for Fincher and Croenberg) but they are still works to admire that also largely maintain emotional integrity.

For me Shore is a bit hit and miss in this regard as I said be it his intention or not. Eastern Promises is an excellent example of how he captures both mood and emotion of the rather bleak tale with lyrical precision and Slavonic melancholy. With Hugo I am sad to say I can't get into the music. It is French influenced, has mysterious themes, some happy waltzing material but on the whole, and I have listened to it many times, I can't get emotionally involved in the music. Nothing really grabs me in this music. Which is a shame really.

Through the years I have accumulated a surprisingly wide collection of Shore's music but he is a bit hit and miss with me. Oh and I am not a huge fan of his "rising chords of doom" since it is as bad as Horner's danger motif. It is everywhere in every score he has done, almost obnoxiously so.

I've come to recognize many of Shore's mannerisms in his scores, but I've never yet come to really name them.

Rising Chord of Doom is my own name for the 5 chord progression that seems to pop up everywhere in Shore's music, many times presaging dire turn of events.

Btw A History of Violence is Shore still very much in Middle Earth. It is good music but sounds like material from LotR that was for some reason left out from those scores. You can hear rising chords of doom (well this is pre-LotR trademark), the Ring Wraith Theme sans choir, Tom's Theme sounding like it was written for heroic Hobbits etc.

I really enjoyed this score, although even in its more optimistic nature, there is that sense of Croenberg gloom to it. Another film I believe Shore nailed the atmosphere for. And all the mannerisms you pointed out are correct. I liked how Clemmenson described it, its about as close to Zimmer's Thin Red Line as he'll ever get.

As you say it is a very enjoyable score that has suprising warmth and optimism mixed with the Croenenberg's often dark mood. Shore's dual idea for flute and horn is a nice subtle touch.

And Soul of the Ultimate Nation won me over little by little. Now it is one of my favourite Shore albums. Very much LotR inspired, the game for which it was composed borrows heavily on LotR visual style as well e.g. in its trailer, so it is not a big surprise why they hired Shore. The music is at times brooding, heroic and ethereal, like a sibling score to LotR with a lot less themes in it.

Aye. A good solid fantasy score for those in love with LOTR. But as I said above, LOTR is technically Shore's traditional sound, its just beefed up with more muscle and big orchestras/choir.

I agree. LotR is very much Shore's own sound through and through but I think Peter Jackson has to be thanked for challenging Shore to write more accessible and hummable thematic material. It is interesting to hear in the alternates for LotR how Shore often initially plays certain scenes without the themes and how the final versions are much more thematic, be that a result of the director comments or rethinking on composer's part.

Another pre-LotR favourite of mine is Looking for Richard, which is one of clearest examples of how Shore's style in LotR is not something he invented overnight. The choral themes, the orchestrations and mood in this score are very similar. It is a dash darker and gloomier though.

Silence of the Lambs is intensely brooding and dark but I really like it. Again Shore captures the whole world of the film with his edgy music, conjuring unease with deep orchestral sonorities and motivic ideas that inexorably through the album move to a tense finale.

[Richard Penna]

A History of Violence was from the first listen, Shore in LotR mode.

You hit that right on the head Mikko - it sounds like unused material from I'd say the second film. Even his main theme is based heavily around the Hobbit theme.

[Incanus]

My first Shore album was believe it or not Copland which I bought on a whim since it was so cheap to take a listen to a composer I had not explored before. Big mistake. Such an awful awful album. I have not listened to it since 2000 or something when I bought it. Perhaps I should take a listen and see what how my tastes have changed and has the time affected what I remember to be a horrible listening experience.

[crocodile]

I'm listening to Hugo at the moment. I think Simon Rhodes really adds to the charm and introduces a bit warmer sounding Howard Shore. The Desplat similarities are still there, which is not a bad thing at all.

Karol

[KK.]

Some might compare the score to Desplat, but its very clearly Shore to me. The main theme thought is what I love so much about the score. There is so much warmth and love in it, its hard not to get taken away by it. It perfectly fits Hugo's character and I absolutely adore its song rendition at the end.

Its a shame ol' Incanus can't seem to hear it

[crocodile]

He will be corrected, don't worry.

Karol

[Incanus]

The samples for Howard Shore's score for David Cronenberg's new film Cosmopolis are up on Howe Records' site:
http://howerecords.com/cosmopolis/

I have to say it does not sound like my cup of tea. Very different from his recent output though.


Btw has anyone else trouble with the embedded youtube videos when viewing these JWFan threads with Firefox? The plugincontainer on Firefox starts to eat all the CPU and freezes my computer everytime I open a thread with this many embedded videos. Does anyone have any advise how to fix this?

[BloodBoal]

Why don't you use Waterwolf, instead?

[chuckster312]

Earthjackal was the more appropriate choice until it was bested by the rise of AirDingoes....

[Maurizio]

The samples for Howard Shore's score for David Cronenberg's new film Cosmopolis are up on Howe Records' site:
http://howerecords.com/cosmopolis/

I have to say it does not sound like my cup of tea. Very different from his recent output though.

Like he did many times in the past, Shore isn't afraid of experimenting (which is a good thing). I'm not that much into electronic/ambient music, but this sounds interesting.