Tom Guernsey

His score to A Man Called Horse is truly something else -- the way he incorporates Sioux chants into a symphonic setting is really wonderful to listen to.  The film is very poor in terms of representation and I can't speak towards how respectful Rosenman is to the people and culture from whom his music is appropriated; but it can't be denied that what he wrote is just an incredible, beautiful combination of style and influence that exemplifies what really only the best film music seems to offer.  So many cues in this score make my heart soar.  And while as a white American it can be difficult to reckon with the fact that I so enjoy listening to this blatant appropriation of Native American music (alongside many other Western scores of this one's ilk -- Friedhofer's Broken Arrow and North's Cheyenne Autumn come first to mind), its mix of 'authentic' (i.e. recorded) Sioux chants and avant-garde 20th century western classical music is a wonder both as an artifact of its time, and as a film music composition.
 
Here's a suite from Soundtrack Fred to give you a taste!
 
 
The FSM CD is GREAT and still in print!
 
This might be my favorite of his!  Prophecy and Robocop 2 are not far behind just for their sheer ferocity and bombast (the blaster beam in Prophecy is GREAT and I freakin LOVE the "Robocop!" chorus in Robocop 2 -- it makes me laugh every time).  East of Eden is incredible as well -- and imo Cross Creek and Keeper of the City are worth checking out too!

Williams and Spielberg, the best due there is! 

Watched Conan the Barbarian for the very first time on the new Arrow UHD set. Really enjoyed this. Whatever clunkiness there might be, whether that's acting or music performance, it actually works very well for this movie. It makes it feel like something from an very old age. I was amazed just how much attention is given to music, making it feel like a silent film for big stretches of time. There is an isolated score track included but you hardly need it as Poledouris' contributions are at the very forefront almost all the time. It's also refreshing to watch something as cinematic. There's hardly any unnecessary dialogue and most of it is carried by cinematography and music. Really cool.
 
Karol

Wish is now on Disney+ and I gave it a watch because of my morbid curiosity given all the bad reviews and press it got last November. And yeah, the movie is as middling and disappointing as everyone says. It's not a bad movie necessarily, but it's just so frustratingly weak in too many aspects. There's no soul or depth or nuance to anything (costumes, faces, settings, character arcs...). The overall impression you get is that this movie is a simulacrum made by an alien or generative AI of what it thinks human beings would enjoy in a Disney animated movie. Watching Wish is just a wan and emotionally flat experience. Except during the songs, when all you can do is cringe at the amateur quality of the writing. ("Throw caution to every warning sign"? What does that even mean?) You can't help but miss the genius of Howard Ashman and Stephen Schwartz when you hear talents like Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine do what they can to make lemonade from the artless rhyme-lemons foisted upon them.
 
Also, it seems like every tenth word spoken in the movie is "wish." I never thought that word could get annoying to hear but, yes, it definitely can.

I believe he did make such a claim at one of his film scoring classes. Hint... he doesn't ;-) but I like his stuff anyway. He also taught James Dean to play the piano, hence him scoring Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, both of which are great. There's a recording of suites from both conducted by John Adams (don't think it's that John Adams although happy to be corrected on that) which is well worth checking out.
 
His LOTR score is pretty great, very different from Shore, but also different from innumerable imitation JW fantasy scores - it's only from 1978 and Rosenman was very much the iconoclast, doing his own thing anyway. I rather like his Robocop 2 score, even if the female chorus singing the titular character's name is kinda weird and a bit cheesy, but it's not as terrible as it sounds (and I agree it sounds terrible as a concept). However, the rest of the score has plenty of striking moments. I have to admit that I never enjoy Basil's score for the original as much as I want to (he wrote much better scores in this style, peaking with Starship Troopers) but am always pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy Rosenman's.

I believe he did make such a claim at one of his film scoring classes. Hint... he doesn't ;-) but I like his stuff anyway. He also taught James Dean to play the piano, hence him scoring Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, both of which are great. There's a recording of suites from both conducted by John Adams (don't think it's that John Adams although happy to be corrected on that) which is well worth checking out.
 
His LOTR score is pretty great, very different from Shore, but also different from innumerable imitation JW fantasy scores - it's only from 1978 and Rosenman was very much the iconoclast, doing his own thing anyway. I rather like his Robocop 2 score, even if the female chorus singing the titular character's name is kinda weird and a bit cheesy, but it's not as terrible as it sounds (and I agree it sounds terrible as a concept). However, the rest of the score has plenty of striking moments. I have to admit that I never enjoy Basil's score for the original as much as I want to (he wrote much better scores in this style, peaking with Starship Troopers) but am always pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy Rosenman's.

RoboCop 3 is probably a more enjoyable Poledouris, at least on album. But yes, I find 2 to be really good actually.
 
I don't listen to Rosenman often but I always find him intriguing. Bit odd but in a refreshing kind of way.
 
Karol

I believe he did make such a claim at one of his film scoring classes. Hint... he doesn't ;-) but I like his stuff anyway. He also taught James Dean to play the piano, hence him scoring Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, both of which are great. There's a recording of suites from both conducted by John Adams (don't think it's that John Adams although happy to be corrected on that) which is well worth checking out.
 
His LOTR score is pretty great, very different from Shore, but also different from innumerable imitation JW fantasy scores - it's only from 1978 and Rosenman was very much the iconoclast, doing his own thing anyway. I rather like his Robocop 2 score, even if the female chorus singing the titular character's name is kinda weird and a bit cheesy, but it's not as terrible as it sounds (and I agree it sounds terrible as a concept). However, the rest of the score has plenty of striking moments. I have to admit that I never enjoy Basil's score for the original as much as I want to (he wrote much better scores in this style, peaking with Starship Troopers) but am always pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy Rosenman's.

I believe he did make such a claim at one of his film scoring classes. Hint... he doesn't ;-) but I like his stuff anyway. He also taught James Dean to play the piano, hence him scoring Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, both of which are great. There's a recording of suites from both conducted by John Adams (don't think it's that John Adams although happy to be corrected on that) which is well worth checking out.
 
His LOTR score is pretty great, very different from Shore, but also different from innumerable imitation JW fantasy scores - it's only from 1978 and Rosenman was very much the iconoclast, doing his own thing anyway. I rather like his Robocop 2 score, even if the female chorus singing the titular character's name is kinda weird and a bit cheesy, but it's not as terrible as it sounds (and I agree it sounds terrible as a concept). However, the rest of the score has plenty of striking moments. I have to admit that I never enjoy Basil's score for the original as much as I want to (he wrote much better scores in this style, peaking with Starship Troopers) but am always pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy Rosenman's.

JP to HZ.... “When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master.”
 
It certainly has better characters and makes more sense ;-)

Harold and the Purple Crayon OST album drops Friday August 2nd, the same day the film opens
 
https://5catstudios.com/listen 

Master Powell was under a Padawan under Master Zimmer, a former Jedi exiled from the Order due to his forbidden experiments with synths and power anthems. After climbing in the ranks of the Order, Powell went searching for the knowledge of the powerful Jedi High Council leader Master John Williams to study the seemingly forgotten art of the orchestral film scoring, then under attack by Zimmer's acolytes.
 
A better plot than the SW sequels! 

His name does sound like the name for a Star Wars character 
 
"We must confer with Master Batu Sener about the dire situation in Utapau..."

What I love so much about the Bond scores, is that each one has something to offer that the others don't. Be it a positive thing or not.
 
Dr. No: Not really a score, but still a fun album for it's time
From Russia With Love: Oustanding thriller score with a beautiful theme.
Goldfinger: Some fantastic action music towards the end and Goldfinger will always be iconic.
Thunderball: Maybe a bit chaotic at points, but the action here is quite ferocious.
You Only Live Twice: Beautiful theme and oriental touches.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Maybe the most streamlined and best constructed Barry Bond. Love the synth touches.
Diamonds Are Forever: love all the big band and jazz in this score!
 
Live And Let Die: Very different from Barry, but this always was one of my favourites because of the way it incorporates the song in the score.
The Man With The Golden Gun: A more quieter score, but the two action cues are great (exept the whistle hahaha). Lovely softer moments.
The Spy Who Loved Me: I love the disco varient of the Bond theme, but the rest of the score is very hit or miss for me. It feels like multiple scores on 1 album and doesn't always work.
Moonraker: The Flight Into Space cue is almost enough to forgive that this film exists. That's Barry writing at his utmost grand!
For Your Eyes Only: One of my personal favourites. Love all the disco and funk in the action moments. And the title song is beautiful.
Octopussy: This is very basic imo. It has some really nice moments, but this felt like Barry wasn't too inspired.
A View To A Kill: Love the added guitar in the action scenes. The instrumental statements of the title song are beautiful.
 
The Living Daylights: Love love this one. Feels like Barry went out on a high note. Love the added drums, really feels like Bond is coming into a different era.
Licence To Kill: I love Kamen, so I love this score. Yes, there is some downtime, but when it works, it's some of my favourite music in the series.
 
GoldenEye: Awful. Hate it. But it's unique. Haha
Tomorrow Never Dies: Best Arnold score. Perfection to me. White Knight alone assures it's at the top of the list 
The World Is Not Enough: Still really love this. The electronics aren't to overbearing yet and the emotional cues are gorgeous.
Die Another Day: I still like this, but the drum loops etc get a bit much at points.
 
Casino Royale: Arnold back on track. Score works slightly better in the film than on album, because of the quieter cues during the poker games. Action cues here are fantastic and all have something unique and fun to offer + Vesper's theme still breaks my heart.
Quantum Of Solace: Short and sweet. Action is extremely powerful, but the score misses a central theme to build from.
Skyfall: There are some who don't like this, but I love it. It's Newman through and through, his action music is sublime and I'll never tire of his orchestrations.
Spectre: Same as Skyfall. This one is a bit darker, the final action cues are powerful and the madeleine material is beautiful.
No Time To Die: Love it. I like Zimmer and I like Bond, so this is a great mix for me personally. The cue Cuba Chase is one of the most fun action cues in the whole series.
 
Love me or hate me, but this is just my opinion. Can't wait to see who scores the next film.

Today 50 years ago ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. And, believe it or not, Belgium gave exactly zero points, even though the song is about a Belgian town .
 
 

Just had my contribution taken and email confirming that it was all funded. Hurrah! Now just need to wait to see my name in lights (well a thank you in the credits). Oh and can't wait to hear it, obviously. Decided to give all the clips a miss, feels like one of those things I will enjoy more when the whole thing is there to enjoy.

So, Bond scores. When Tomorrow Never Dies came out, I listened and rewatched the movie and happily bought it. When TWINE and DAD were selling out, I rewatched all the Brosnans and decided TND is enough.
 
So now when LaLD and O came out, I listened to the samples and liked LaLD... but is this the right score to jump down the rabbithole with? I certainly knew don't want every single Bond score on by shelf, is this really one to buy? Sure I liked it but what if it's for example just copypastes of Barry cues from better scores and would be redundant if I get those too in the future? The simplest solution of course was... to watch every movie again from No to License, I haven't seen most of them in 12 or more years anyway!
 
And the overall impression is that it's a wildly mixed series of movies. The practical stunts in most of them are insanely impressive, even if many of them had overlong superfluous chase scenes shoved in just to have them. The gadgets are always fun, Q is the best character (was positively surprised to see him in bigger "field work" roles in some of them!), it was sad to see Bernard Lee and eventually Lois Maxwell go. It was also funny to see how little of an effort they put into Felix Leiter, I assume eventually they just decided it's a core element of the Bond formula that he cannot be played by the same actor in any two movies, and they have to have nothing to do with each other!
 
The formula of random side adventures all over the world leading to megalomaniacs wanting to control the world was getting old fast, but when it was dealing with random smaller fish underworld figures, that got dull and kind of small stakes too.
 
Connery's era is endearingly classic, all of them are pretty good, even if Thunderball gets really bloated and YOLT pretty silly. I thought OHMSS was good but a bit bland, and DAF was a pretty weak attempt to go back to the previous feel. Moore was... well it ranged from good but bland (SwLM, FYEO) to stupid but in a kind of fun way (MWTGG, Moonraker) to just plain old embarrassingly stupid (LALD, Octopussy) to whatever AVTAK was, I didn't even finish that one, just had enough by that point. Dalton was a really refreshing revitalisation attempt, I loved his take on the character and loved TLD... but then LTK was kind of a mess.
 
So, why did I do this again? Oh right, scores! Barry was having a lot of fun with the early ones but after a while it felt like he started resenting them? He used the main theme less and less, and most often just in its Gunbarrel arrangement, he was writing good themes but just reused the same settings of them again and again, some of the later scores, maybe due to their spottings, are just not really all that fun at all, most that's left is just murky investigation tension and some love themes with the song melodies. There are of course standout favourites that I'd like to get when they're expanded properly: From Russia with Love is a good varied thriller score, Goldfinger starts off meh but has some really good stuff near the end, You Only Live Twice has some gorgeous writing, Golden Gun was really fun after he took a little break, Moonraker starts off meh but has some really good stuff near the end, Living Daylights' 80s sampled percussion loops put me off a bit but even with that I really got into it. That's still a really good amount even though I was picky.
 
Non-Barry? Well, mixed again. Funny that the two least bad Moores had the worst scores, though neither quite nearing Goldeneye levels where the score is actively working against a great film to make it as uninteresting as possible, making sure to never enhance anything. License to Kill has fantastic Arnold level playfulness and main theme renditions, great action, but also a lot of dull general Kamen stuff, sorry, half of what he does is just not really for me. That leaves Martin and LALD, the reason for this whole exploration... and hell to the fucking yes I'll buy it! When Barry was going down, Martin kicked the fun and groove up to 11, incorporated the song's many melodies well and played with the main theme a lot, and delivered what I think's easily my favourite non-Barry non-Arnold Bond score! It was so good that even Barry had to get himself back together for MWTGG right after.

Wow sounds like it’ll be a cracking album. Can’t wait to hear it and to experience the percussion concerto again. The live performance in London was terrific and it was a brilliant work. 

In my opinion this is Hisaishi's very best. It really feels like a symphony. I love the themes he created and the Merry-Go-Round Of Life is his best theme I think.
 
But what I find so great about this score is the orchestration. He does so many incredible interestimg thimgs with the orchestra. One moment the woodwinds get a chance to shine, the next the brass is dominant while the piano slowly sneaks in to grab a hold of you for the strings then to break your heart in the best possible way.
 
Love it so much!!
 
 

Powell has been writing an opera with Gavin Greenaway.
 
Release date on the site of 5 Cat Studios currently has it TBD, but it's been announced for a while, so should be sometime this year or next year.
 
It's called "An Englishman, An Irishman and A Frenchman"
 
https://5catstudios.com/listen
 

I'm 95% sure Powell is one of the two composers Elfman is working with to create a new classical work called 'Trio': three composers writing for solo violin (Sandy Cameron), solo voice and piano.
 

Wow sounds like it’ll be a cracking album. Can’t wait to hear it and to experience the percussion concerto again. The live performance in London was terrific and it was a brilliant work. 

Wow sounds like it’ll be a cracking album. Can’t wait to hear it and to experience the percussion concerto again. The live performance in London was terrific and it was a brilliant work. 

From the Amazon preorder links:
 
 
PERCUSSION CONCERTO
 
Percussion has always been an important part of my life. Beginning in my travels though West Africa when I was 18 years old, when I began collecting and learning to play ‘balafons’ (kind of like the African version of a marimba), and through my years of playing in metal-based Indonesian Gamalan ensembles in my twenties, as well as building my own strange metal and wood percussion ensembles in my early theatrical performance years, it has always been a lifelong obsession.
Shortly after we premiered my first violin concerto, I had a chance meeting with percussionist Colin Currie in London. We decided it could be great fun to create a piece together. I was excited to plunge into the challenge of another concerto while at the same time to really go back to my roots with wood and metal, mallets and sticks and hands. I also knew Colin was an extraordinary musician who would be great to collaborate with.
And I was aware that there were far fewer concertos for percussion then the more obvious piano, violin, cello, etc, and that meant there were far fewer models to guide me which made the idea of a percussion concerto far more enticing.
 
Wunderkammer
 
It was just before the pandemic when I was in London working on a film score, and my publisher suggested I meet the NYOGB (The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain) as they had expressed interest in the possibility of doing a commission. At first I was skeptical about the idea of a youth orchestra, but I decided to attend a performance they were giving. I was, to say the least, blown away by how good they were. I decided on the spot that I would indeed find a way to write a piece for them.
So I jumped into the composition that’s now called Wunderkammer. My original intentions was to create something that was very challenging for them, as I knew they were up for that, and something that would also be fun and exciting for them to dig into which might feature different instrument sections throughout to give everyone a moment to shine.
A Wunderkammer (or “wonder room”) is a cabinet of curiosities or even a room of mystery and oddities which can be fun, or scary, intriguing or instructive, but never boring! And that’s just what I was hoping to bring to the NYOGB with Wunderkammer.
 
ARE YOU LOST?
 
My first concerto was written for violinist Sandy Cameron. She had been besieging me for ages to write a duet for violin and voice. I finally relented on the condition that we add a piano and make it a trio. While talking about the project with two composer friends we all decided to write for the same trio for a collaborative project which will be called, appropriately, “Trio”. When I began discussing the possibility of recording the concerto and Wunderkammer with Sony Classical they suggested that I include something that had never been performed. It was then I decided to take one of the 4 moments I’d written for “Trio” and to both expand and adapt it for choir and full orchestra. Thus, the origins of “Are You Lost?”