I too have things that I like or dislike, it’s human. Expressing evaluation on something isn’t an act of courage, sorry. The fact you acknowledge any negative things doesn’t make you look smarter or more intelligent than others. Plus, I’m not silencing anyone, as this isn’t my place to begin with, but simply stating fatigue by reading your posts. I don’t see the point of beating up the argument with such pedantic attitude like you continue to do here. But don’t worry, I’m the one who’s out of place here, so I’ll slip away as usual. Have a nice day!
You’re just being pedantic, please. It’s absolutely fine disliking the recording and saying why (which you already did a million times!), but trying to convince others who enjoy and find good things in it with such absurd conspiracy theories is pathetic. Give it a rest.
Well, I think what really matters with an album is when you put it in and press Play, how much enjoyment you get out of it.
You can't really say a new presentation of a score that is different from a presentation you're familiar with is better or worse until you've heard. It doesn't really make a lot of sense to look at a track list and assume you won't like it - you haven't heard it yet, how can you possibly know?
And since you already own an edition of the score you like, what is the point of repeatedly poo-pooing on a release that you don't intend to buy? All you accomplish is looking like a pessimistic asshole ruining things for the people who are looking forward to it and enjoying it. You're not creating interesting discussion, you're just being a contrarian troll.
"We cut to it when we were editing... Hans was like 'But I wrote that song for this universe so why aren't we using it? That's what you do with themes.' ...It was so perfect and we cut to the rhythm of it exactly. So then it was just great, you know, it was great. It was true. And it's like, yeah, we're the DC Universe and we should reuse great scenes."
I had the same reaction to the series Thor but you should really check out the book that accompanied it. It has complete unedited transcripts of the one on one interview Cameron conducted with Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg and they are absolutely fascinating.
Due to the nature of this season's score release, I have concluded that while it is not exactly ideal to continue the thematic analysis precisely as I did last year, it would still be good to dissect the album and the music therein using a format that combines the timestamping and writing that I have done in the past.
Getting to know Goransson's score for this season has been a very interesting experience, it being very different in circumstance compared to last year. I recall hearing the odd update in the months leading up to October; how he had begun work shortly after finishing Tenet, recorded with strings for the first 7 episodes and larger orchestra for the finale thereafter, and wrapped up in good time. I was quite surprised at the turn around, and also intrigued by the news of the orchestra size. At the end of the day I was thankful they were able to record anything, but I was still anxious about the almost inevitable new:tracked material ratio when it came to the premier. With each episode I have gained appreciation for the execution of the music this season, a worthy achievement when you take a step back. I appreciate hearing Goransson strengthen his writing for strings, tweak pre-existing cues and effectively integrate them in with fresh music, and pull out all the stops in his studio to continue the sound he established without a noticeable drop-off. And it works!
Even under these circumstances I'd still very much like to have had all the music for this season available, tracked and all, yet I remain extremely grateful for the excellent release that is Volume 1, as it is quite a smashing album. Without further ado, let's dive right in!
01. Mando Is Back (4:05)
You can already hear the studio work pulling its weight from the beginning, with this kicker of an opening that features an array of guitars, synths and wild recorders, all under a tough beat as Mando walks through the graffiti town. We hear statements of the familiar recorder theme in different settings, the second of which plays out like a beefed up version of the guitar rendition in Ch. 8's A Thousand Tears, percussion and synth being the key additions. The confident western motif returns, and we hear brass stabs of the recorder outline (likely backtracked from the final episode, as it certainly doesn't appear anywhere else before). A tracked but altered statement of the Razor Crest theme closes the cue.
0:11 Recorder Riff (guitar version)
1:15 Recorder Riff (guitar version)
1:26 Western Motif (downbeat)
1:32 Western Motif (downbeat)
1:38 Western Motif (downbeat)
1:44 Western Motif (downbeat)
1:50 Western Motif (downbeat)
1:56 Western Motif (downbeat)
Recorder Riff (skeletal/outline)
2:00 Western Motif (downbeat)
2:55 Western Motif (downbeat)
3:07 Razor Crest
3:32 Recorder Riff
Western Motif (interlude)
3:37 Western Motif (downbeat w/ interlude)
3:43 Western Motif (downbeat)
3:49 Rhodes Motif
02. Enjoy the Fights (2:56)
It's hard to really describe what this cue is, beyond wacky goodness. The self-contained piece is extremely unique, even for this show, the full percussion, vocal effects and wailing horn sound (almost like a bagpipe?) really walk the line between score and source music. Brooding strings enter as Mando sits down beside Gor Korresh, the one-eyed informant, and watches the pigs fight. At 2:03, the drop and ripple synth present in Ch. 3's Second Thoughts is reprised purely for effect. No thematic material is present here.
03. The Marshal's Tale (6:06)
With that we move to Tatooine, getting our first taste of many one-off set pieces in double form, first with a cool speederbiking melody and then into Cobb Vanth's flashback, which features a dramatic string idea that is briefly alluded to later in the episode in an unreleased cue. This is a very apt combination that works extremely well, despite there being two unreleased sections totaling just under 3 minutes that technically separate the pair in episode. The first is Cobb Vanth's introduction cue, which itself is essentially reprised in a more fleshed out form starting at 4:44, and the second is an upbeat 20 second travelling insert that leads into the the story. Another item of interest is the the flashback appears to hint at the Tusken Raider theme for the episode, but more on that later. Note that for all intensive purposes the one-off melody is notated below alongside proper themes.
0:07 Speederbiking to Mos Pelgo
0:12 Recorder Riff (weaving in & out)
0:44 Speederbiking to Mos Pelgo
0:50 Recorder Riff (weaving in & out)
1:03 Recorder Riff
1:21 Speederbiking to Mos Pelgo (acoustic guitar version)
1:58 Recorder Riff
2:38 Dramatic Flashback String Idea
3:28 Tusken Raiders (?)
3:57 Jawa Motif
4:12 Recorder Riff (skeletal/outline)
4:16 Jawa Motif
4:26 Jawa Motif
5:23 Dramatic Flashback String Idea
04. Tusken Raiders (3:19)
I must admit that I was disappointed when I first heard this on album, as I was almost certain going in that this would include the big Tusken statement when the banthas enter town, paired with the Arabian recorder riff for the journey to the dragon cave. Unfortunately these two cues remain unreleased, much to my surprise, but this track is still a nice one to have, considering the others are well-mixed in episode and fairly salvageable. Goransson touches up sections of a number of cues here, including Ch. 5's Raiders, Ch. 1's Face to Face, and Ch. 7's The Standoff. I'll repeat my initial comments about the former, in that the muted trumpets give off a sort of Star Trek vibe, as in, the original series. The middle section lays the groundwork for the two-parted Tusken Raider motif.
0:02 Fanfare (ascending closing figure) [Raiders]
0:12 Fanfare (ascending closing figure) [Raiders]
0:43 Tusken Raiders A
0:55 Tusken Raiders B
1:07 Tusken Raiders A
1:19 Tusken Raiders B
1:38 Fanfare (ascending closing figure) (guitar version)
1:50 Fanfare (ascending closing figure) (guitar version)
05. Get the Child (2:07)
The latter half of Ch. 5's Raiders is referenced here, featuring filtered percussion and recorder textures. The second part of the track, after a snappy title card, features a dynamic guitar idea that has a similar shape to elements of the show's main theme without any striking similarities.
0:55 Western Motif (downbeat)
1:01 Western Motif (downbeat)
06. Beneath the Ice (5:26)
This track has really grown on me. I remembered little of this sequence after viewing the episode, so hearing this music in particular was a revelation. Once again it is quite unlike anything else in the show's repertoire, focusing on a chilly atmosphere and taking the form of an eerie sound collage. It's a real treat, with brief glances at the new material for Baby Yoda, as well as the recorder riff in slick guitar mode, fitting in perfectly with the mood of the cue. I dig it!
4:34 Recorder Riff
07. Snacks (2:47)
Snacks is actually one of two sequences with fuller displays of the new music for Baby Yoda (and the all that he consumes, apparently). An earlier unreleased cue is a bit longer in its presentation, and isn't cut off by a hard synth takeover in the final minute as happens here, fully equipped for a spider attack with aleatoric pizzicato. Decidedly cute zings and plucks form an idea that seems mostly connected to that which Baby Yoda eats, but is still rather fluid, as the next track indicates. Goransson touches upon Ch. 5's Bright Eyes and essentially reverts to it as the theme of Baby Yoda and his antics this season, shedding the mysterious motif that the child once took claim to last year.
0:19 Bright Eyes (underneath)
Snacks/Eggs
08. Reunited (1:41)
A lovely expansion on Snacks underscores the reunion between the frog lady and her husband. Strings take up the sweet melody, intermixed with hints of Bright Eyes and glimmering synths. Without a doubt one of the standout cues on the album.
09. Ship o hoj, Mandalorians! (8:00)
Cute title aside, this is a real stunner of a set piece, spanning nearly five cues and successfully covering the new theme for Bo Katan and company in several different settings, ultimately posing as a suite for Chapter 13. A staticky accordion idea for the creatures of the harbour planet appears at the beginning of the track, as well as in an unreleased cue. From there Bo Katan's theme pumps and pounds, fully at home in its Tenet-esque surroundings (on that note, I've begun a fun project to "rescore" Tenet with Mando excerpts). It's quick and punchy, and works so well amongst the fun beats and sound that Goransson paints in and around it, even going as far into the realm of pop music to include a beat drop in the final minute. Low-key pizzicato renditions find zings of Baby Yoda creeping in ever so briefly before the second half of the track enters into full action mode for the transport heist. There's no question in my mind- this is yet another season highlight, and superbly edited for the album too!
0:39 Bo-Katan and Co.
0:46 Bo-Katan and Co.
1:00 Bo-Katan and Co.
1:07 Bo-Katan and Co.
1:10 Drama B
1:13 Bo-Katan and Co.
1:34 Bo-Katan and Co.
2:16 Bo-Katan and Co.
2:26 Bo-Katan and Co.
2:30 Drama B
2:35 Bo-Katan and Co.
2:57 Fanfare
3:06 Western Motif (downbeat)
3:33 Bo-Katan and Co.
3:40 Bo-Katan and Co. (pizzicato)
3:47 Bo-Katan and Co. (pizzicato)
3:54 Bo-Katan and Co. (pizzicato)
4:02 Bo-Katan and Co. (pizzicato)
4:06 Bright Eyes
4:44 Bo-Katan and Co.
4:50 Bo-Katan and Co.
5:16 Bo-Katan and Co. (underneath)
5:23 Bo-Katan and Co. (off-kilter variation)
5:43 Drama B
6:54 Bo-Katan and Co.
6:56 Bo-Katan and Co.
6:58 Bo-Katan and Co.
7:04 Bo-Katan and Co. (partial expansion)
10. Long Live the Empire (4:06)
It was only a matter of time before Moff Gideon's theme made it's season debut, and this next track nearly reaches the heights of Ch. 8's The Ewebb in terms of hyper-focused development for the big baddie of the show. A standard introduction gives way to those warning signals that are the swirling strings, pushed to the limit all throughout this 4 minute cue. Interesting to note that statements of the Moff's A section are hardly ever completed in their fullest form at this point, as if to save up for bigger things later in the season. All in all, his theme is put through the grinder here, and is unrelenting in it's fight against Mando and company, who only get a small shred of heroism in the middle of the track, courtesy of the recently discovered utility motif. The end of the track borrows from portions of Ch. 1's Back for Beskar, before fluttering synth takes off.
0:13 Moff Gideon A
0:36 Moff's Frenetic Strings
0:39 Moff Gideon A
0:59 Moff's Frenetic Strings (variation)
1:11 Moff Gideon A
1:27 Moff Gideon A
1:45 Utility Motif (heroic variation)
2:03 Moff's Frenetic Strings
2:27 Moff Gideon A
3:04 Western Motif (downbeat)
3:11 Western Motif (downbeat)
3:19 Western Motif (downbeat)
3:27 Western Motif (downbeat)
Drama B
3:40 Drama A
Drama B
11. Back Together (2:20)
Back Together is a fun little arrival cue to introduce the Chapter 14 content of the album. Familiar themes make appearances in new iterations, and Baby Yoda's appetite is expanded, so to speak, with even more shimmer and shine to it than before.
12. Experiment (5:17)
This track is similar to Long Live the Empire in it's intensity and focus on the villain material. A deep choral effect opens, as if to echo the Snoke/Palpatine throat singing of the Williams Star Wars canon. A surprise cameo appearance from the Client's cello theme is made, before Moff Gideon takes over the cue with some particularly Kylo Ren sounding strands of his theme's A section. At one point, Goransson's Tenet sensibilities come to the fore once again; you can clearly hear a point where time is running out, so to speak. The recorder riff plays out on strings, reminiscent of sections in Ch. 6. The drama motifs appear, and a hybrid string melody that appears to cross Kylo Ren with Moff Gideon, and then some, enters the conversation at 4:01.
0:17 The Client
0:47 Moff Gideon A (partial variation)
1:14 Moff Gideon A (brief variation)
1:31 Moff's Frenetic Strings
2:02 Recorder Riff (string variation)
2:28 Recorder Riff (string variation)
2:59 Drama A
Drama B
4:24 Drama A
13. Quite a Soldier (2:47)
While it's not the most satisfying conclusion, and perhaps isn't even the most wanted reference to this particular heme, Goransson's solemn March of the Resistance quote is a great inclusion for the album. Between this and the "trap" version, he really highlights his ability to tinker, pushing the theme in completely new directions, which is a promising indication as to how keen Goransson is on ensuring his stamp is always present (think Powell's Solo rather than Giacchino's Rogue One). Moff Gideon makes a cliffhanger return and, as far as my personal playlist is concerned, the credits roll.
0:17 March of the Resistance
2:02 Moff Gideon A
2:17 Moff's Frenetic Strings
2:20 Moff Gideon A
...
Thank you for reading! I have been very busy lately, but I assure you that this album has been getting no shortage of plays on my end. I have not been able to dissect episode-by-episode for the last two weeks, whether it be writing or extracting audio, as I'm starting to realize that it doesn't really make sense to do that at this point, but I was confident that I'd be able to timestamp and briefly share a few thoughts on each track released thus far, and so I did. I have next to no gripes with this album, save some key missing music (more is more with Mando!). Cannot wait for Volume 2!
Other ongoing things in the way of Mando music includes isolated score videos for Ch. 8, available to view in this Drive folder (check it out if you haven't yet- they're fun!), as well as an exciting development for the "all-in-one-place" catalogue of write-ups/themes/etc. More on that later! Cheers and keep on listening!
Thats rubbish. He already made it clear that there are no exciting titles numerous times at FSM about this batch which clearly meant no John Williams this time around because we have all have been expecting a John Williams titles since the last 3- 4 years.
And for the record he has not indicated or told me whats coming either (which obviously even if he did tell me, I wouldn't even tell or disclose publicly)
On the otherhand yet you continue to patronize members shamelessly across the board; even if its MV.
I find it interesting how so many seem to know the rights to Varese releases. I am quite certain that VS has rights for Final Conflict. All I will say on this.
I was finally able to play this through today. I had either forgotten--or never realized--how unforgiving this score is. I can't think of much more music in Williams' output that is so relentlessly oppressive and unnerving. Even the lighter material has a shadow over it. It's very much a companion to AI and Minority Report in that loose sci-fi trilogy Spielberg made in the early 2000s. I really appreciate the action music for its unrelenting rhythmic drive and reliance on mid- and low-range colors--the antiphonal timpani (!) and massed horns and trombones with low strings that mark The Intersection Scene and The Ferry Scene, but I had forgotten about the textural elements--I really love repeated figures for high muted trumpets--in the basement scenes and the lurching, unstable chords in the horns near the climax of The Red Planet. I wish there were more examples outside of this score of the emotionally aloof, icy string writing that Williams used so well here, where two contrapuntal lines sort of move around each other. In terms of atmosphere, cues like Refugee Status remind me a little of how Williams scored the family separation/Shanghai street scenes in Empire of the Sun and I have no complaints. It's definitely a score I'll have to be in the mood to listen to, but I'm glad to have a treatment that emphasizes the musical narrative.
There's no clipping on this release. You can't really expect precision from a consumer level, free product like Audacity...at least not compared to professional grade tools like ProTools. As is evident to the people who say they can't hear any clipping -- that's because there isn't. You can't believe your eyes!
On the horn issue, it appears that Horner did chose an insert from an earlier take that was never documented. Since this is obviously what Horner preferred and what folks are saying they prefer, we have no issue making the change. Stay tuned.
McKenzie's contribution is discussed in this great podcast: http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/6119113-odyssey-soundtrack-spotlight-the-last-castle-200
My copy has just arrived, looking forward to listening to it.
I also love 'The Land Before Time' and I don't care about the classical influences at all. I actually wonder if in some cases they are intentionally meant to comment on the action, last time I watched the film I remember thinking that there's no way the direct quotes of the trapping the wolf motif from 'Peter and the Wolf' for the trapping of the T-Rex at the end of a children's story is not 100% intentional!
The same issue others have had with the last few tracks of disc 1. Intrada sent a replacement disc out within days of me reporting the fault. Glad most copies appear to be okay.
12-Mile Reef reacted to TownerFan in John Williams & the Vienna Philharmonic: January 18/19 2020
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from Quintus in The Mandalorian SHOW discussion - Spoilers Allowed for all aired episodes
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from crumbs in The Mandalorian SHOW discussion - Spoilers Allowed for all aired episodes
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from Chewy in The John Williams Jurassic Park Collection from La-La Land MUSIC Discussion
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from CuriousMan in The John Williams Jurassic Park Collection from La-La Land MUSIC Discussion
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from Edmilson in Hans Zimmer's WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020)
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from bruce marshall in Avatar 2, 3 and 4 or how James Cameron stopped worrying and pulled The Hobbit on us
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from DrTenma in Ludwig Göransson & Joseph Shirley's THE MANDALORIAN (2019-present)
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from artus_grayboot in Ludwig Göransson & Joseph Shirley's THE MANDALORIAN (2019-present)
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from 1977 in James Horner's THE LAND BEFORE TIME (1988) - NEW Intrada 2020
12-Mile Reef got a reaction from Josh500 in Did your War of the Worlds (Intrada) arrive defective?