Dixon Hill

Zimmer's genius is in his orchestration - but not orchestration in the traditional sense. Like Jerry Goldsmith, he's a master at unusual and startling timbres - both acoustic and electronic. Like Bernard Herrmann, he creates bizarre ensembles (8 pedal steel guitars, 4 tubas etc.) that a concert orchestra would never be able to afford, that are purely cinematic in nature.

The Hunt for Red October
Hey, this new expanded edition actually makes a hell of a difference. I used to dislike the original album for it's muffled sound quality and strange programme where all the climactic good stuff was placed at the start and the synth material at the end - creating an unbalanced and unsatisfying listening experience overall. The Intrada not only sounds better (not ideal, but much richer) but there is more of a balance between the synthetic sections and the gorgeous orchestra/chorus material and it all builds up towards the brilliant Nuclear Scam and the great end credits edit. Thanks to that the actual synthetic parts of the score actually feel like they're part of the design (even though, they exist only due to budget restrictions), representing the scary mechanical warfare, if you will. It all works great together. Not to mention the fact all the previously missing material adds some depth as well. It's like Star Trek V in this respect, where the original album presents you with what seems to be an underachieving and uneven score. while in reality it's all great. Highly recommended!
Karol - who also listened to Intrada's Cocoon today and is still wating for The Book Thief...

Huh, those pictures have a really different feeling about them. Interesting. I think Bard's character will be something we're glad PJ embellished.

Well let's see. You've got the Clarinet Concerto, the Piano Concerto, the Pied Piper Fantasy, and Mr. Tambourine Man. Those might whet your appetite.
I used to study with him.

That's actually Across the Stars

12 Years A Slave
The most harrowing experience I've had with cinema since The Thin Red Line.

Well written, informative, detailed, and to the point. Well done, Inky.
You know, it's funny. You said the score "might be best described musically as meeting an old and welcome friend." I read another review just this morning that said the score is "almost like a comforting letter from an old friend."
Given the subjectivity of interpreting music, it's fascinating to see that Williams' music can evoke such similar imagery in listeners. A sure sign of quality music, especially for film.

Just came across this. Interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP9c6NvI_Bs

Fantastic third movement, starting at 23:10, but listen to the whole piece if you can.

That theme in "Where's Bilbo" is what Shore2Shore over on Doug's blog was talking about

Harrison Ford conducts the Raiders March on Spanish TV.

Happy birthday to the greatest film composer!

The Shelob underscore reminds me of Shore's THE BROOD. Wonderfully expressionist.

Completely unexpected indeed. Also they once again use that most horrid of words, "epic", which obviously can mean same as good, great, giantly bombastic and everything in between.

Yes, Abbey Road uses B&W 800 D monitors. These are heavy beasts (maybe about 250 lbs each) and I adore the sound of these speakers because they are exceptionally clear, warm, and detailed - especially well suited for acoustic music such as orchestral and jazz. So the idea is that when the engineers are recording a top level orchestral ensemble, having a great sound in the booth will help them get the pest recording since they have a real sense of how the mic placement and levels are working based on the precision of those B&W monitors. Since a room is typically made up of an assortment of complex microphone and patterns and a precise array of placement (the sweet spot for a trumpet and frequency response would mean a Royer mic would be great for trumpet but not for violin as an example where a vintage neumann would probably work better for the violin). These mics can cost up to tens of thousands each and in a typical orchestral setting, one might have 48 microphones - the end result is a very complex array of mics, placement, frequencies, phasing issues etc. A detailed and wonderful set of monitors (such as B&W) will help the engineer realize the ideal placement, mic selection, etc., to get the best recording given the ensemble, skills, and style. Basically, you end up getting a very accurate audio picture of what is happening in the room. This is the theory of why it is a good thing to have high end monitors at these top studios. I believe Skywalker Ranch also has those same monitors. BIS, the Scandinavian classical label uses B&W to mix their award winning recordings. Though much of the recorded sound comes from the decca tree above the conductor which captures the left, right, and center channels of the room, each instrument group will have a mic (or several) to capture the texture, solo, or clarity of the instrument and get mixed in low since instruments have an ideal "sweet spot" that is usually not close to it and this mixture is what we hear in recordings generally. Do note, many times the mixer will "fix" issues of frequency responses and such while doing the edit and mix probably in their own studios, but having the source material captured in the most ideal way from the start makes their job much easier.

I loved her in West Side Story.

Saul Goodman spinoff is 70% drama, 30% comedy, and could be both a prequel and a sequel to Breaking Bad
http://www.avclub.com/articles/that-saul-goodman-breaking-bad-spinoff-may-be-both,105288/

I'm just listening to Never Let Me Go (not for the first time).
I am generally not into the Rachel Portman sound but this score is definitely a masterpiece!
Should have been nominated for an Oscar. A perhaps overlooked gem (I don't know how many here have listened to it).
A Rachel Portman with a mature voice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlTjn7mBI9c

Fantastic third movement, starting at 23:10, but listen to the whole piece if you can.

My Dear Frodo full clean film version!

 

I forgot to mention, I used Gkgyvers mockups for these two, just for a few seconds of music.

More relevant now than ever.
http://www.malonedigital.com/starwars.pdf

oh you should definitely start with arn. god, I love that score.

COB: "So anyway, he's got this music out in the water, and he's listening to it on his headsets, and he's just happy as a clam. And then all hell breaks loose. See, there's this whole slew of boats out in the water—"
Jonesy: "Including one waaay out at Pearl!"
COB: "Including one way the hell out at Pearl. All of a sudden, they start hearing . . . Poledouris!"
- Uni

My analysis of this situation: