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John Powell kicks ass


Morlock

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I just realized.

 

2014 was the last year we got two Powell scores (Rio 2 and HTTYD 2).


Since then, the cadence has been exactly 1 per year

 

2015 - Pan

2016 - Bourne 5

2017 - Ferdinand

2018 - Solo

2019 - HTTYD3

2020 - Call of the Wild

2021 - Locked Down

2022 - Don't Worry Darling


What do we think of this?

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He indeed said in an (or more than one) interview that he only wanted to concentrate on one film per year from now on.

 

And that's if we can even consider Locked Down as a project worth mentioning :sarcasm:

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Haven't heard it and I don't feel like watching the movie as it seems like a waste of time :shakehead:

 

Maybe I could try and find a scene that Powell scored on YouTube :huh:

Edit: I tried and couldn't find any 🙁 Next step: scroll through the movie until I hear a scene that has Powell music :lol:

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6 hours ago, Jay said:

I just realized.

 

2014 was the last year we got two Powell scores (Rio 2 and HTTYD 2).


Since then, the cadence has been exactly 1 per year

 

2015 - Pan

2016 - Bourne 5

2017 - Ferdinand

2018 - Solo

2019 - HTTYD3

2020 - Call of the Wild

2021 - Locked Down

2022 - Don't Worry Darling


What do we think of this?

 

It's not enough. But if it's what it takes to get scores the quality of Solo, HTTYD3 and Call Of The Wild, I'll put up with it.

 

I do wish we were still getting 3-4 action scores a year like in the early 2000's.

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9 hours ago, Jay said:

I just realized.

 

2014 was the last year we got two Powell scores (Rio 2 and HTTYD 2).


Since then, the cadence has been exactly 1 per year

 

2015 - Pan

2016 - Bourne 5

2017 - Ferdinand

2018 - Solo

2019 - HTTYD3

2020 - Call of the Wild

2021 - Locked Down

2022 - Don't Worry Darling


What do we think of this?

 

I think it's great that Powell has built enough of a career for himself that he can pick which films he wants to do, and how much he wants to work!

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2 hours ago, Kasey Kockroach said:

Quality over quantity.

 

Exactly. Still a far better average per year output than most.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yesterday, when I was on my usual Spotify playlist, somehow, I craved for a Timpani music

(just to clarify, I'm really not that fond of classical music, so spare me if I'm bit late in acknowledging these "classical" music) .

I searched for Timpani concertos, and long story short, I was directed to Miklos Rozsa's page.

 

There I heard this particular music of his Top Song list, especially the theme:

 

That Sneaky Powell!

Because that famous theme is really similar to one of Powell's themes in Ice Age 4, just hear it here:

(I'm sorry again if maybe someone here have already noticed this first)

 

Again, Powell sometimes is famous for adapting classical theme, if I remember correctly, Puccini for Solo's love theme, and Gustav Holst for Ice Age 3's end credits. But I don't know if it's this often, again so sneaky of him 😄 

make me want to hear Powell's theme again and if somehow Powell adapted those from classical tunes

(perhaps someone here have already found other examples?)

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  • 1 month later...

A little insight on why Solo has no "end credits" propper and has only and edited track?

 

Roque Baños said this on his facebook:

Quote

I’ll never forget when we recorded this piece, at the end of all things and against some objections that considered it not necessary for being only in the end credits. Now, watching this beautiful video by Liliana, and some other uses fulfilled, I think it must be*, and it was.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=roque banos

 

He is talking about "In the Heart of the Sea" which RON HOWARD directed and produced. Maybe he doesnt like to spend money in useless End credit pieces...

 

*i think he makes a mistake translating his own words. He meant: "I think it had to exist/was meant to exist, and it did".

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On 07/01/2022 at 5:11 PM, Jay said:

I just realized.

 

2014 was the last year we got two Powell scores (Rio 2 and HTTYD 2).


Since then, the cadence has been exactly 1 per year

 

2015 - Pan

2016 - Bourne 5

2017 - Ferdinand

2018 - Solo

2019 - HTTYD3

2020 - Call of the Wild

2021 - Locked Down

2022 - Don't Worry Darling


What do we think of this?

 

He's gradually becoming John Williams.

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5 hours ago, crocodile said:

Wasn't that HTTYD2 DE supposed to be coming out this month? 🤔 

 

Karol

 

No, they never told us a month for that. Only a year. 

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I was listening to HTTYD2 the other day. I still can't decide if Dragon Racing is a shameless needle drop or a genius reintroduction to most of the themes. (Astrid's theme is a genius reintroduction to the theme. Wheeeee!) 

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34 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

I was listening to HTTYD2 the other day. I still can't decide if Dragon Racing is a shameless needle drop or a genius reintroduction to most of the themes. (Astrid's theme is a genius reintroduction to the theme. Wheeeee!) 

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.

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32 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

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.

 

That's what led to my question though. It's the same suite! Actually, I should check that. What are the difference between This is Berk and Dragon Racing?

 

Anyway, Flying with Mother is still out of this world.

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8 hours ago, Luke Skywalker said:

A little insight on why Solo has no "end credits" propper and has only and edited track?

 

Roque Baños said this on his facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=roque banos

 

He is talking about "In the Heart of the Sea" which RON HOWARD directed and produced. Maybe he doesnt like to spend money in useless End credit pieces...

 

*i think he makes a mistake translating his own words. He meant: "I think it had to exist/was meant to exist, and it did".

 

I know it's 20 years previous, but Howard definitely used an original end credits suite on Apollo 13. Don't know if that means much. 

 

EDIT:

@Luke Skywalker Maybe I'm missing the nuance (or just don't know enough about Solo). How is Solo different from, say, Rogue One? Is it because Rogue One has suites?

 

Come to that, was the Star Wars end credits recorded for Solo? I just listened to it and frankly it's the most natural transition from the Star Wars section to the film's original music since... Empire? (Jedi is OK, but I never liked the way Williams structured his credits suites in the prequels or the sequels. And the transition from the Rebel Fanfare to the uptempo Yoda's theme is AMAAAAAAZING.)

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2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

I know it's 20 years previous, but Howard definitely used an original end credits suite on Apollo 13. Don't know if that means much. 

 

EDIT:

@Luke Skywalker Maybe I'm missing the nuance (or just don't know enough about Solo). How is Solo different from, say, Rogue One? Is it because Rogue One has suites?

 

Come to that, was the Star Wars end credits recorded for Solo? I just listened to it and frankly it's the most natural transition from the Star Wars section to the film's original music since... Empire? (Jedi is OK, but I never liked the way Williams structured his credits suites in the prequels or the sequels. And the transition from the Rebel Fanfare to the uptempo Yoda's theme is AMAAAAAAZING.)

Oh i was not making a comparison with rogue one there... But i think solo uses score tracks from the film yes, not concert version that could have written as end credits. 

 

 

What are the end credits of other ron howard films? The da vinci films for example

 

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It's funny how Powell's Dragon scores have grown on me in nearly the same way every time. With the first score for some reason it didn't connect with me right away... but over a short time it became my favorite score of that year. Same with the second score... I was initially disappointed and preferred the first score but over a short period of time I loved it even more! Then the third... "oh, it was alright but I still vastly prefer the second score", yet while I STILL may prefer the second score overall, the third one has seriously creeped up on me for being potentially even better. I think he certainly improved on his orchestrations, and the new themes are great and powerful.

 

It's just interesting to me that his Dragon scores were all like that to me. Usually scores either connect with me right away or they never really do. So I wonder what, for me at least, has a disconnect at first but then over time somehow beckons me to revisit then fall in love with it for all time?

 

NOTE: The Jonsi songs for me are easily ranked in this order, however: 1) Where No One Goes [Gee, I wonder why?], 2) Together From Afar [A very close second, it resonates with me.], 3) Sticks And Stones [A distant third; fluff, but good fluff.]. Btw, I will always love that they got the guy who did the amazing Hoppípolla song that I was blown away by years prior when it was used in a trailer for the "Planet Earth" documentary series.

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21 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

That's what led to my question though. It's the same suite! Actually, I should check that. What are the difference between This is Berk and Dragon Racing?

 

Anyway, Flying with Mother is still out of this world.

Obviously, the more bombastic opening (on the album), and the use of the theme from See You Tomorrow.

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23 hours ago, Tallguy said:

It's the same suite! Actually, I should check that. What are the difference between This is Berk and Dragon Racing?

 

Well. That was fun. I don't know what the actual theme names would be. But at any rate I'm comparing like to like, I hope. I'm ignoring the opening logos that were replaced in BOTH films!

 

This is Berk
0:28    Viking theme - soft
1:01    Menacing transition
1:12    Viking theme
1:45    Stoik
2:11    Viking theme
2:26    Stoik
3:00    ASTRID!
3:18    Hiccup
3:58    Viking
4:20    War (maybe a theme for the dragons?)
5:20    Stoik

 

Dragon Racing    
0:27    Viking theme - soft    
0:56    Upbeat transition    
1:19    Viking theme (now with bagpipes!)    
2:03    Hiccup
2:16    Toothless / Friendship    
2:19    See you tomorrow theme    
2:56    Stoik    
3:30    Viking    
3:45    Stoik    
4:03    ASTRID!    I love that silly little trumpet at 4:08!
4:14    Viking   

 

So, other than both being a glorious torrent of themes and some of the themes having similar orchestration (and some being very different) they're more emotionally similar than actually similar.

 

So, I learned a thing!

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9 minutes ago, WampaRat said:

Just wanted to take a moment and recognize this fantastic cue. I couldn’t stop humming this swashbuckling theme ( starting at 3:07) when I saw this as a youngster. This was the first time I wanted to know who this Powell guy was! The swirling strings that build to an explosion of that same theme (3:51) is such a joyous adventurous moment. And the rocking-zimmer-esque theme at 1:43 is a great fun too. Just a great sample of his ability to tell the story musically.
 

Powell has become and even better composer since then! Man I love this guy’s music.

 

At the beginning of this cue, it's one of the most "in your face" version of the Dies Irae I have ever heard haha. In the sens that it's not only the first four notes of the motif that are used, but the whole phrase.

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20 minutes ago, Luka said:

 

At the beginning of this cue, it's one of the most "in your face" version of the Dies Irae I have ever heard haha. In the sens that it's not only the first four notes of the motif that are used, but the whole phrase.

OH yeah. Haha. I completely agree! 
 

Also the theme at the beginning of this cue has been used liberally in many a “media ventures” score. Badelt primarily used it in Equilibrium and later in PoTC. Not sure if Powell came up with it first or if Zimmer himself used it earlier.

 

 

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41 minutes ago, WampaRat said:

Just wanted to take a moment and recognize this fantastic cue. I couldn’t stop humming this swashbuckling theme ( starting at 3:07) when I saw this as a youngster. This was the first time I wanted to know who this Powell guy was! The swirling strings that build to an explosion of that same theme (3:51) is such a joyous adventurous moment. And the rocking-zimmer-esque theme at 1:43 is a great fun too. Just a great sample of his ability to tell the story musically.
 

Powell has become and even better composer since then! Man I love this guy’s music.

You know when you have a theme that comes and goes randomly from your mind but you can't quite work out where it came from... well that swashbuckling theme is the one in my head. Bits of it appear in other (mostly Zimmer or Zimmer like) scores but it either it goes off in a different direction after the opening phrase or starts differently, but this is where they come together as I have it in my head. So double thanks for solving a mystery that's been bugging me for months and reminding me what a kick arse (ass) score El Dorado is. Insert obligatory "this needs a complete release" comment here ;-)

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1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

You know when you have a theme that comes and goes randomly from your mind but you can't quite work out where it came from... well that swashbuckling theme is the one in my head. Bits of it appear in other (mostly Zimmer or Zimmer like) scores but it either it goes off in a different direction after the opening phrase or starts differently, but this is where they come together as I have it in my head. So double thanks for solving a mystery that's been bugging me for months and reminding me what a kick arse (ass) score El Dorado is. Insert obligatory "this needs a complete release" comment here ;-)

Happy to help! Yeah this score is a blast. Perhaps a little too synth-y at times (probably due to budget, or Powell trying to blend his style to Zimmer’s) But that kinda adds to its nostalgic charm for me. 
 

I don’t think there’s ever been a composer to come out of Zimmer’s camp to have such a distinct and identifiable musical voice. Even more than HGW. 

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10 minutes ago, WampaRat said:

Happy to help! Yeah this score is a blast. Perhaps a little too synth-y at times (probably due to budget, or Powell trying to blend his style to Zimmer’s) But that kinda adds to its nostalgic charm for me. 
 

I don’t think there’s ever been a composer to come out of Zimmer’s camp to have such a distinct and identifiable musical voice. Even more than HGW. 

Agreed and I really like the songs by Elty even if the film versions only appear on the (ahem) promo. I don’t mind the synth elements in the score and there’s enough enjoyable orchestral and vocal writing to balance it out. Agree on JP. I quite like HGW but as a melodist he’s not a patch on JP. 

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Also been enjoying this cue today. I mean, he instills such fun and joy into a film that…is not. He certainly earned his paycheck with this one. I’d say Powell is the heir apparent to Goldsmith for the “incredible scores to dumpster fire films” category. 

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On 02/03/2022 at 5:18 PM, WampaRat said:

Happy to help! Yeah this score is a blast. Perhaps a little too synth-y at times (probably due to budget, or Powell trying to blend his style to Zimmer’s) But that kinda adds to its nostalgic charm for me. 
 

I don’t think there’s ever been a composer to come out of Zimmer’s camp to have such a distinct and identifiable musical voice. Even more than HGW. 

Gave the rest of Road to El Dorado a listen following the exchange and loved it. Such a great score and the songs are pretty good, even if the one song performed by the characters is slightly marred by the fact that neither Kenneth Branagh or Kevin Kline can sing for toffee. I do love that swashbuckling theme and so glad that the eternal mystery in my head has been solved (and I really mean it, it's one of those tunes I randomly hum to myself a lot and it's a huge relief to know where it came from!).

 

A few other observations... I could be reading too much into it, but I wonder if the use of the Dies irae is for the Spanish villain is meant to link his villainy to his religious beliefs somehow. I'm probably reading too much into it, but it's an effective musical sleight of hand. It also means he doesn't get specifically Spanish music, although the use of that musical language here almost feels a bit awkward given that however lighthearted this movie is meant to be in the end, the Spanish are the invaders! Having said that, from a purely musical perspective, it's an interesting musical prequel to Powell's Fernando and you can definitely hear a similar approach to his interpretation of Spanish musical idioms in both.

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On 17/01/2022 at 12:01 AM, PrayodiBA said:

Puccini for Solo's love theme

 

I always thought it sounded a lot like Puccini. Where specifically was it lifted from, or based on, or whatever you want to call it?

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