Tom Guernsey

Absolutely! The arrangements are absolutely superb and it's great to hear all that underlying detail in the orchestration when the vocals are removed. One person's singalong album is another person's insight into the composing and arranging process for a Broadway-esque show tune!

Never a bad time to listen to MPR. It’s such a charming and memorable effort and I love the songs - I had them on a loop when it first came out. The underscore itself it’s top notch too and makes me miss film composer Shaiman. I’m glad I’m not the only one who not only put the songs and score into film order in a playlist but did it with the singalong versions as well. Sometimes it’s fun just to enjoy the whole thing as a purely instrumental experience. I sometimes find it frustrating that Disney albums bunch all the songs together and put the score after but I’ve come to appreciate that kids don’t often want to listen to the score and sometimes I enjoy just listening through all the songs. I downloaded the Oscar promo of the MPR score but never bothered to try and put together a playlist that combines it with the songs (and any underscore on cd that is on the album but not on the promo, if any). To be honest the score tracks on the album include all the major highlights and a perfect balance with the songs. My other half and I were discussing how little of the music in some later 90s and 2000s Disney films was taken up by songs. Beauty and the Beast and Hunchback have a solid 40/45 minutes or so that is sung (not exact figures so don’t quote me!) but they lost heart with things like Mulan etc where the songs are barely 10/15 minutes. MPR makes a nice return to having songs that are a good length and tell solid chunks of the story or move forward the narrative as well as some that are basically just for fun (a cover is not the book, for example). Songs make up over 45 minutes of MPR. I know quantity isn’t as important as quality but the quality is there too and puts the songs front and centre of the film.

Agreed. Young’s score is terrific. Not s composer I know well to be fair. I did like Trevor Jones’s effort for the Steve Coogan version too. Although the most memorable themes for any adaptation is a tie between the Michael Palin documentary version (one of my favourite ever tv shows) and the animated version that I remember being always on when I was a kid. I don’t ever remember seeing them leave or arrive home. They were always in the middle of the adventure!

I randomly listened to his score to The Great Human Odyssey the other day and really enjoyed it so will have to give Equus a listen. Can't seem to find Lost Years readily available. In other news... Paper Planes (Nigel Westlake) - charming, tuneful, energetic orchestral score from a movie about the competitive world of paper plane making (so the title isn't a metaphor... in case you're wondering). Absolutely wonderful, well worth checking out even if you've never heard of the film (which, let's face it, is quite likely). Around the World in 80 Days (Billy Goldenberg) - This came up elsewhere and (for some reason) I thought it had Sam Neill in it, but it's actually Pierce Brosnan (pre-Bond) as the well known Irish adventurer Phileas Fogg. Despite a sprightly overture, the rest of the album feels more like source music than the thrilling adventure score I expected based on the opening. I have Mose on my "to listen" list but I seem to recall the sound being absolutely terrible last time I gave it a listen. Secret of the Sahara is one of those hidden gem Morricone scores that never gets listed as one of his great scores (I'd put the fantastic Nostromo in the same category) but I think is absolutely terrific. Although, unless I'm missing it, the above doesn't include The Golden Door, which is one of my favourite 2 minutes of Morricone. Starting from hushed strings and these calls/shouts by a male vocalist, who is joined by the rest of the chorus in disquieting shouts that then builds towards a crazy fanfare before subsiding back to quiet. A very strange but utterly enthralling couple of minutes.

Scientific proof! ;-) I'm sure he would have done a terrific Batman score, but I agree the Shadow is probably the closest within what he did write. I think I might have to go listen to Batman Returns today... now that's a 5 star score.

Sorry I didn’t write a detailed analysis… just that I enjoyed it.

Snap! Rocketman was a great movie. I actually didn’t get round to Bohemian Rhapsody yet. I was really hyped for it but given the lukewarm reviews I didn’t bother in the end.

I always really liked the folksy violin theme that opens the main theme concert arrangement but the brassy theme is kinda as close to JW on autopilot as you can get (and let’s face it his autopilot mode better than most composers doing their best work). I think on the nose describes the brassy theme well. The violin theme feels a lot more, I dunno, authentic? Having said all that, I voted for War Horse.

I’m almost certain he wasn’t and if didn’t like it he’d have said so but I am surprised he liked it quite that much!

I usually agree with James (aside from the day long rows we had about Michael Kamen, John Barry and Alan Menken when we were at uni…) but I have to wonder what I’m missing that he’s hearing. It’s certainly an impressively atmospheric score but without the lack of thematic material that “atmospheric” usually euphemistically implies. But the issue becomes how grinding the main Batman theme becomes by the end. I mean I got sick of it by the end of the end of the concert arrangement (it doesn’t help that it clearly stops in the middle and needlessly starts again) let alone after nearly 2 hours. It doesn’t quite make me miss 30 minute Varèse albums but 2 hours is rather pushing it… Still, I guess thematically it’s a move in the right direction. Elfman’s had 6 notes, Zimmer pared it back to just 2 and Giacchino is back up to 4. But it still reminds me of the musical equivalent of someone drawing the outline of the Imperial March in pencil.

John Powell by a margin. Chicken Run was probably the first score by him that I really loved (even though it’s co-written with HGW) and I was disappointed that Julian Nott didn’t get the gig having scored all of the Wallace and Gromit shorts (and I’m still a bit annoyed they felt the need to get Hans involved in the feature that Nott did score but I digress…). Listening back to Chicken Run I’m still firmly of the view that JP probably contributed the most interesting thematic material and had the stronger influence on the overall tone of the score. I can only imagine how the Narnia scores might have turned out done by JP as I can’t remember much HGW’s work on them (and I do like HGW). Unlike, say Michael Giacchino who would probably have been my first pick a decade ago, JP has got better and better in his writing whereas MG has got broader and clunkier. Sure JP perhaps writes too many notes but his orchestration, thematic material and the intricacy of his writing is superb. His writing is ambitious in its detail and he has worked hard to ensure his ability matches his ambition. I really hope he does get some more non-animated films to score that allow him to write the kind of thematic orchestral film music we all love but for now I’ll take what I can get as he rarely disappoints.

Sounds like we’re not missing much then! Just improved sound. I gave it a listen the other day and I can’t say it excites me hugely! Some much more interesting JW scores yet to expand methinks!

It could definitely use a remaster as the current release is quite muddy but agree that I don’t think it’s a score I’m desperate to hear more of. Is there much more of it anyway?!

It's JP, I'll go with genius ;-) But in all seriousness, the first film opens with what is effectively a suite of all of the main themes for the rest of the score as the setting and characters are introduced, it's just a bit more obvious in the second one as you're already familiar with them by then.

Oops, should have said "beginning of a complete cycle". Really looking forward to this, I'm surprised so little of his music has been recorded given how many less well known composers have had their stuff recorded.

I think you might be right! I'm sure I must have seen one or other of them at some point but I really don't know. I guess it's a surprise given how fun and strident Conti scores can be, especially for films I'd kinda consider sports movies, at which he has considerable experience! (I have no interest in sport, but sport movies often sport great scores... hah). Hmmm, to be honest, I doubt I'd miss them if I sold them. Then again, I've kinda given up on selling my unwanted CDs anywhere outside of the UK due to the complicated new customs requirements to post to Europe. Anyone who followed by decade-anniversary postings for JW's and JG's recent birthdays (albeit sadly JG's being posthumous) may not be massively surprised to know that I have playlists going back 10, 20, 30 etc. years from the current year, so 2012, 2002, 1992 etc. I then pick scores from those years I have either listened to once or don't know very well. I usually line them up one decade at a time, this year the earliest being 1942 (although I do have The Most Dangerous Game by Max Steiner from 1932, apparently!). Quite a nice way to listen to a range of scores and eras, and rediscover less well known efforts by composers I know well or, usually, less well known composers I'd forgotten about!

Let us all know what you think!

Karate Kid II (Bill Conti) - I rarely regret supporting LLL or taking a punt on Bill Conti, but this didn't do much for me at all. Kinda nondescript Asian-inflected noodling that I can't really remember much about... which rather sums up my feelings on the first one. Are the third and fourth KK scores any more interesting?! I'm almost tempted to say I prefer Horner's remake, but I don't remember much about that either... Howard the Duck (John Barry) - Only just got round to listening to the original album presentation and actually rather digging the Thomas Dolby songs. Barry's score is pretty decent even if I found it a bit repetitive by the end. The Potato Venture (Panu Aaltio) - Fun and tuneful comedy score. Shame Aaltio hasn't had some slightly higher profile assignments, his nature scores are great. The Messenger: Joan of Arc (Eric Serra) - I remember enjoying this a lot more than I did this time round. A bit too much dark, low-key underscore that doesn't really go anywhere. OK, that was a bit negative. Sorry about that.

I'm guessing Cláudio Santoro isn't well known to even the well educated musos of JWFan, but I highly recommend his 4th and 9th symphonies on BIS. Thrilling stuff, particularly the choral finale to the 4th. https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7943336--claudia-santoro-symphonies-nos-4-9-ponteio-frevo Alas BIS only recorded this one disc it would seem, but Naxos appear to have recorded his 5th and 7th symphonies which appear to be the of a complete cycle: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9313120--claudio-santoro-symphony-nos-5-7-brasilia

Just starting rewatching B5 on Amazon - one of their "included with your subscription but with adverts for some reason" shows, although as I'm in Guernsey, Amazon doesn't know what adverts to show me so I don't get any, win! I'm pretty sure I watched the entire thing when it was first on, but never really had any great urge to buy it on DVD so nice to have it on streaming. They clearly did a good job remastering it as the filmed footage looks great, even if they didn't upgrade the FX. Only a few episodes in and enjoying it, even if it's a bit clunky, although Andrew Katsulas and Peter Jurasik are clear standouts both as actors and characters. I still don't know if Centauri hair is meant to stand up on its own or if they just have amazing barbers... (much like The Expanse. I get it, it's TV, but the Belters have ridiculously complex hair cuts that always look perfect, which seems kinda weird given what they are meant to be). It's amazing how much slower shows were to get going in the "old days" compared to today where things seem to hit the ground running. It's strikingly more dated looking than DS9 or other Star Trek shows of the period. Not just the FX (which are rather more nice graphics rather than any pretence of realism) but the way the interiors are decorated and lit. You don't get much of an impression of the station's size, it's all gloomy corridors (that make it look like a crappy grey hotel) and neon bars; even the bigger civilian sections seem kinda pokey. The only time it genuinely looks impressive are the shots where the central cylindrical section is shown in the background. I can't help but wonder if they would have put everything on interior surfaces of the cylinder so you'd always see it above and around you; clearly the FX required for that would have been prohibitively expensive and difficult to achieve. A shame as the promenade or ops on DS9 are pretty easy to identify from the exterior but much of the inside of B5 is rendered so anonymously. I remember there being very regular releases of Christopher Franke's music and much of it is very effective, even if it's not the stuff I'd ever want to listen to on its own. Certainly has more character than Trek music of the period. The only thing I could do without are the stingers which seem to accompany every shot of the exterior of the station or the opening of the jump gate (which is definitely much less impressive than DS9's wormhole). I'll be interested in this reboot though... although hopefully the writing will be shared a bit more. I'm not sure JMS writing nearly every single episode is a good thing!

Good review! I think it sums up some of my feelings about this score. It has a fair number of decent parts but a lot of it is a bit clunky, thematically, as well as orchestration wise. However, the key thing it lacks (for me) are the strong narrative arcs of the JW scores, both across the score itself but also within cues. Too often it's just scoring the film moment by moment and lacks that fluidity JW manages to make sound so effortless. This is also why I still find Solo's score significantly better than Rogue One; JP manages to write with much greater fluency and with the kind of strong musical architecture that we've come to expect from the main Star Wars feature scores. I've only seen each film once so I don't know one better or the other, but I can see each scene/action sequence for Solo in my head (or at least get a strong impression thereof) as the music plays in a way that I really don't from the Rogue One score. And it's not even because I think Solo is a better film or am more familiar with it. Solo is both more recent and (for my money) weaker as a movie compared to Rogue One. It maybe that Solo lent itself better to music that could convey the story through music than Rogue One, but I'm not really sure that's the case - Rogue One is perhaps more compelling in many ways. Of course, JP having a lot longer to write the music undoubtedly helped, but plenty of other composers have written under a time squeeze and come up with narratively strong music (Broughton's Lost in Space or Waterworld by JNH spring to mind). JP managed the careful balancing act of moving forward the golden age Star Wars sound established by JW with some more contemporary touches but without going too far with it (even though I know not everyone likes the occasionally manic percussion loops). Rogue One is more like someone doing a clunky impression of a Star Wars score. I get what he was trying to do writing proto versions of some of the main themes but they come across more like awkward paraphrases than a theme that stands on its own but slowly and cleverly develops into the Imperial motif or the main theme or whatever. That all probably sounds too negative... I still enjoy Rogue One and am enjoying this expanded version, despite the crappy production from Disney (isn't it lucky we all have free music editing software to fix this shit?!) but I think Giacchino did a much better JW impression with his Medal of Honour scores and JP did a much better job of moving forward the Star Wars sound without losing sight of what made it great in the first place; complex music with great themes that tells the story.

In one of those “controversial opinions” threads I suggested that Ben Kenobi’s theme effectively evolved into the main theme for the entire Star Wars franchise. It appears far more often than the actual main theme including in trailers and the Star Wars ident with the light flashing over the helmets that Disney use. The main theme is great but it’s much more of a Saturday matinee swashbuckling theme that fits the original movie and Luke when he was essentially an innocent being heroic but is perhaps too upbeat as a calling card for the more mythical tone of the series as a whole.

Bloody autocorrect… Agreed. Especially the last part. JP rose to the challenge of not wasting being given a John Williams theme to work with and made sure that not only did he do it justice in terms of integrating it into his own music but also ensuring his themes worked alongside it so the whole thing sounded like an organic whole. I hope the Kenobi composer can do the same.

Haha. Quite. I like JW’s Han theme but Powell could quite well have written a great theme himself. As I’ve said before, Powell so effectively weaves it into his own style and material that if I didn’t know it was a JW theme I’d never have guessed (outside of the concert arrangement which has far more JW stylistic touches and orchestral thumbprints). Powell may not have quite the string of pubic consciousness themes but he’s a fine tunesmith in his own right.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I wonder if this hints at them going for a more traditional Star Wars sound for this show after the Ennio goes rogue music for the other shows. William Ross would be a great choice and if they got him to write the theme I’m sure they consulted on choice of composer too.