Seth 67 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 This week I've been revisiting Howard Shore's LOTR scores. I only have the original 1-disc releases of each score. Right now I am finishing up The Two Towers. I've already listened to the other two, and it seems to me that The Two Towers is the least of the three. It is by no means a bad score; I think there is some very fine music in the score. Oddly enough though, I think that "Gollum's Song" is possibly the best of the end titles. The orchestration is more evocative and integrated with the song (yes, I know that Shore didn't write "May It Be") itself. I guess I have a question-does the expanded release of this score reveal any material that outshines FOTR or ROTK? I understand that the film itself is darker and the music has to reflect that, but to my ears a lot of the middle portion of the original album seems to drag and become monotonous. That's really all I have to say and I'm curious for others' thoughts and opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 The complete score release is pretty much the same as the OST, just longer. Long and dull. I don't enjoy the score any more after getting it. The quick cameo appearance of the Gondor theme is the only really good thing I can think of. I agree, it's easily the least of the three.But, the complete FotR is worth every penny, and I'm sure the complete RotK will be as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 1,059 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I enjoy the second one and think it ranks up there with FOTR & ROTK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Roadrunner man is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,626 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I have trouble making it through the OST"s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I thought The Two Towers was the most thematically interesting and robust of the trilogy. I think it's underrated, if anything, it's the pair that won Oscars that are the most drawn out and difficult to listen to all the way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robthehand 3 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I still love the themes, but the underscore gets less and less interesting each time I listen to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fommes 153 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Weird, for me it's the best of the three. Except for a few parts (the finales) I find RotK the weakest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth 67 Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Sure- I think the Rohan theme and the new motif for Gandalf the White are great. It's the underscore I have trouble with, particularly the music that accompanies the Ents. I know it fits the picture and that is the primary goal of a film score, but it's not the easiest thing to sit through. I appreciate it and think the orchestration is inventive but the music is not interesting enough. I actually found that I have grown to appreciate ROTK more than I did when it was released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 1,059 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I found TTT's score to have an epic sweeping feel to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Ware 526 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 It's a rather bleak listen, particularly in it's complete form. There is no real respite from the dark and brooding underscore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 That's one of the reasons I like it so much. It's uncompromising, it doesn't dumb down. This is the sacrifice one sometimes have to make when a complete score is released, especially in cronological order. Not everything is easy for you to listen too, it hasn't been re-edited and reformed to please the easy-listening crowd.Anyone who complaints about this, has no real appriciation for the art of film music as far as I'm concerned, and I have no time for these fakes! Dixon Hill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 75 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I like all of the scores dearly, but I'd rank Fellowship slightly above Towers. At least, from the OST's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Musically I have always thought TTT as the perfect middle part of the trilogy. It bridges the musical world of FotR with RotK very organically developing established themes and introducing new ones along the way. It transports the action to the World of Men and thus to a whole new musical world as well. The events of the story are getting darker and darker and the music naturally reflects this. As the action escalates so does the music. It gets more epic and more complex finally culminating in RotK. TTT has so many individual moments that have become my favourites that it would take too long to list them all here. I enjoy the underscore as much as the grander moments as there are details there to appreciate whether it is a dialogue cue between Wormtongue and Eowyn or Gandalf the White charging down the slope towards an army of Uruk-hai in Helm's Deep. There are some more subtle cues that might not make impact on the first listen but I have come to appreciate them and found interesting details in all of them on subsequent listens. I keep finding new things in this score (and FotR and RotK) all the time and that is one thing that has kept it so fresh and interesting all these years. It just contains a wealth of detail and is emotional, thoughtful and powerful music.Whether or not the CR is for all listeners is another matter. Those who do not like Shore's style in the first place should not bother. If you appreciate Shore's music and LotR in particular there is no reason not to get acquainted with the CRs. They offer a more complete view of the whole musical world of these films. And as Stefan said if you want to listen to the complete score you should be prepared to invest time and effort into it. If you do not have interest to hear these scores in their entirety stick with the OSTs. They offer a nice compilation of some of the highlights of the scores but leave out a lot of beautiful music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent B 337 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 That's one of the reasons I like it so much. It's uncompromising, it doesn't dumb down. This is the sacrifice one sometimes have to make when a complete score is released, especially in cronological order. Not everything is easy for you to listen too, it hasn't been re-edited and reformed to please the easy-listening crowd.Anyone who complaints about this, has no real appriciation for the art of film music as far as I'm concerned, and I have no time for these fakes!Indeed. The same thing can be said for pratically almost any complete intended score... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,176 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 TTT is the most difficult of the scores to listen to, I think. FOTR, with its plot covering most of the actual distance of the Fellowship's journey, is obviously much more varied, and ROTK easily has the best writing (and a lot more standout cues than either of the previous two scores). TTT is still an excellent score, it just requires more concentration, and isn't as "purely entertaining" as the other two. But even in that regard, the CR has some great moments which are missing from the OST (and even the movie). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Lewis 6 Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Anyone who complaints about this, has no real appriciation for the art of film music as far as I'm concerned, and I have no time for these fakes!Indeed. The same thing can be said for pratically almost any complete intended score...No, Vosk.The re-arrangement of music for an improved independent listening experience is something that is very common, and very old in fim music. Listening to a complete intended score just means you are following the film's pace and dramatic up-and-downs. Which, musically, might not be the best option. And knowing this doesn't diminish "your appreciation for the art of film music". It just makes you aware of what's best for the music.If Steef thinks that this particular instance is perfect, it's his call. But to extend that feeling "almost all complete intended scores"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 I agree with Ender, in some cases the complete and cronological presentation works far better then others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Takis 206 Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 As it happens, I just finished an in-depth listen of the TTT Complete Recordings set (coming on the heels of an in-depth listen to the FOTR CR). And while I rank TTT as an equal partner to FOTR in terms of overall quality, I do think it's a more challenging listen than Fellowship's more direct, single-narrative arc. It must be affirmed that the complete version of the score is a revelation -- although I continue to admire and enjoy listening to the more concise original album presentation.If I were ranking the scores individually, ROTK would get top place, containing as it does the culmination of all the promises and potential of the first two parts. But that would be misleading, as I tend to think of Shores achievement as one huge score, divided into three parts for convenience, but in fact representing one continuous magnum opus (much as I view Tolkien's work as "one book" and Jackson's as "one film"). LOTR stands unique in this regard, even compared to sagas such as Star Wars, Indy and Harry Potter, which -- while they form a certain musical continuity -- do not have the "one flowing piece of music" quality of Shore's LOTR scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 It's the underscore I have trouble with, particularly the music that accompanies the Ents.I'd agree with the Ent thing, or more to the point - Treebeard's music. It was the only downside (boring and overly long) to seeing the LOTR Symphony live in London. It was a snorefest if I'm being honest and I'm sure the audience agreed, yet it does fit the film perfectly well. I'm sure there are fans out there who love it as a standalone listen, but surely they're the die-hards...Thankfully the Ents were given the full choral treatment later during The Last March Of The Ents. Fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,176 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Actually, I thought the Ent music (which I always found difficult on CD) was one of the better parts of the Symphony, much of it seemed like random copy & paste jobs from the scores. The Ent music with all its interesting sounds was quite intriguing to hear live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 You finally saw the Symphony live?Not that it was a symphony.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,176 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Yes, didn't I say so? I posted a report at MM.com at least.I got a free ticket, so it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I don't frequent MM.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldsmithfan 6 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I've just gotten around to re-listening to Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. The OSTs that is. I remember really loving the second score when I first listened to it but, this time, it was jarring to go from the first score to the second. The first one seems to have much more going on than the second, but The Two Towers seems more evenly paced. Psh, what do I know?I'll have to give Return of the King another go, seeing as I've never made it through that one (which probably has something to do with the fact that I never saw the film). It'll be the first thing I grab during my next visit to the library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ymenard 54 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I hope ROTK's complete soundtrack is not a hundred bucks, I bought the first complete score but I passed over paying over a hundred bucks for 3 CD of music. No way I will do the same for the last movie. Shame on them for increasing the price for the same packaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 A hundred?I thought it was about sixty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 The price of the FOTR and TTT sets was pretty much equel.I think I even paid slightly less for TTT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 1,059 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Yes, didn't I say so? I posted a report at MM.com at least.Those threads are too boring to sort thru. I just scroll until I see Doug's name.Oh and your name too Marian.... The price of the FOTR and TTT sets was pretty much equel.I think I even paid slightly less for TTT.I paid $49 for FOTR and $54 for TTT. When ROTK comes out I would recommend Barnes & Noble for those in the US because they mark their stuff down even without a membership and they also offer on line coupons.I'm not sure what their overseas rates are along with customs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,176 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Those threads are too boring to sort thru. I just scroll until I see Doug's name.Oh and your name too Marian.... Good. Seriously, if I didn't copy my report here, I'll try to dig it up and post it.The price of the FOTR and I'm not sure what their overseas rates are along with customs.I'll probably end up ordering it from axelmusic or play.com again. Both have relatively good prices and excellent service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 When ROTK comes out I would recommend Barnes & Noble for those in the US because they mark their stuff down even without a membership and they also offer on line coupons.Yeah, B&N had the best price when I finally got around to getting it, even better than Amazon. The only drawback is that they use UPS, who seem to have an impossible time figuring out where my house is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 1,059 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 That's what you get for living out where the desert is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 And you'd think that would make my house easier to see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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