What is the last score you listened to?

[publicist 4,643]

Since 1995? Really? Anyway, this is indeed a very good album, much better than the first one. It feels more "Zorro" and less "Willow". And it doesn't have a song to spoil it.

Karol

My psychic powers. Feared and adored all around the world!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Ennio Morricone's The Thing. Again.

Yeah!!!! You can keep all your "The Mission"s, and all your "Once Upon A Time In The Whatever"; "The Thing" is, quite simply, THE BUSINESS, and, IMO, the best thing (no pun intended!) that Morricone has done for the cinema.

Not a chance, but that doesn't mean The Thing isn't brilliant.

[Trent B 337]

Film Score Monthly's complete presentation for Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. God I love this release...it's far better than the old GNP release. To hear not only the unreleased cues in great quality but the whole score in general in an actual balanced stereo field is just awesome. Who ever at GNP thought it was a good idea to put the music to either the left or right channels (no middle?!) should have been fired.

I guess there have been rumors that Star Trek III's full score will be out next year. Those are just rumors though...we gotta wait and see what happens but I would not be surprised if it does.

[Richard Penna 3,679]

A Christmas Carol

It has a few Silvestri-isms that I was afraid of, but overall I found it a nice listen, with some superb carol integration. It's also not even remotely as repetitive as The Polar Express was, and the main theme is actually pretty damn good by Silvestri standards.

Only problem is, it ain't Christmas yet!

[John Crichton 4]

Spaceballs. Fun stuff, I'm glad it got a proper release.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Terminator Salvation: I think I will try Earthquake.

Earthquake: As I try to describe the score to myself, the word "cool" constantly appears. In fact, this is probably the coolest John Williams score I have ever listened to. Some highlights for me:

Main Title - The piano and drum kit give me chills every time. I have one question, though: does anyone else have a tapping noise throughout some of the Track?

Miles and Wheels - Cool.

City Theme - Very nice, it sounds very George Shearings-esque at some points.

Something for Rosa - Sounds like something Burt Bacharach might write.

Finale, End Title - It actually vaguely reminds me of "Epilogue" from War of the Worlds

[indy4 155]

The Phantom of the Opera:

A great soundtrack, I can't believe it's taken me so long to get ahold of it.

Penelope:

A very fun listen, it is always interesting to hear Williams in his early years of film composing. And there's some really nice music included. Surprisingly, I hear a bit of what would become Family Plot.

Bachelor in Paradise:

This is the first full Mancini score I've heard, and I like it. Some of the flute stuff is a bit too hokey for my tastes, but the brassy stuff is very nice.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Star Wars, the Anthology. Again.

Can't stop listening to all three lately. As much as I love Empire and even Jedi very much, I think Star Wars has to be the best of the three. There's not a moment in the other scores as wonderful as Luke's theme when he scans the horizon for R2-D2 or the almost playful Rebel fanfare when Vader rights his TIE fighter and flies off the movie after the Death Star is blown to kingdom come.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

The Phantom of the Opera:

A great soundtrack, I can't believe it's taken me so long to get ahold of it.

The 2004 movie soundtrack?

Really?

[Joe Brausam 214]

Yeah, I hope you mean the one from the stage production - in the film Gerard Butler's signing is especially bad...

[Nick Parker 3,040]

This is the first full Mancini score I've heard, and I like it.

I am glad you like it.

[indy4 155]

The Phantom of the Opera:

A great soundtrack, I can't believe it's taken me so long to get ahold of it.

The 2004 movie soundtrack?

Really?

Yeah, for some reason it's hard for me to get into Broadway soundtracks if I haven't seen the play. I've listened my copy of Sweeney Todd from the film soundtrack waaay more than the Broadway soundtrack.

[Hitch 57]

Ryan Shore's THE GIRL NEXT DOOR. An exceptionally fine score to a disturbing movie based on Jack Ketchum's novel.

"The first authentically shocking American film I've seen since Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer over 20 years ago. If you are easily disturbed, you should not watch this movie. If, on the other hand, you are prepared for a long look into hell, suburban style, The Girl Next Door will not disappoint. This is the dark-side-of-the-moon version of Stand By Me." (STEPHEN KING)

[Henry B 50]

The Phantom of the Opera:

A great soundtrack, I can't believe it's taken me so long to get ahold of it.

The 2004 movie soundtrack?

Really?

Yeah, for some reason it's hard for me to get into Broadway soundtracks if I haven't seen the play. I've listened my copy of Sweeney Todd from the film soundtrack waaay more than the Broadway soundtrack.

Yeah, but do you really want to listen to the drowning cat with emphysema that is Gerard Butler's voice? Unlike Sweeney Todd, the music is virtually identical to its Broadway counterpart, so the Broadway soundtrack would hardly be a stretch. And as for Sweeney, is Helena Bonham Carter's tone deaf whisper preferable to Angela Lansbury or Patti LuPone? And is the dull, massively orchestrated "best of" style musical score preferable to all the intricate leitmotif of Sondheim's original writing? I mean, it's not that the film adaptations have nothing good to offer, but it seems like you're more interested in reliving the films frame-by-frame than in listening to the music.

[Romão 2,274]

In all honesty, it's beyond me how anyone can favor the Sweeney Todd soundtrack over the original cast recording.

[Datameister 2,041]

I can't claim to be particularly familiar with the original cast recordings, but from what I've heard, the vocals are clearly much more professional, but I wasn't particularly impressed with the accompaniment. What can I say? I guess I'm a sucker for larger ensembles. The orchestra in the film may sometimes sacrifice some of the subtlety, but there's no getting around the fact that I just...enjoy it more. And since I mostly listen to it for the orchestra, not the vocals, it made sense for me to buy the movie soundtrack. Perhaps when I've got a wee bit more money I'll round out my collection with the "real thing", but there are some scores by Williams and others that are much bigger priorities for me.

[Henry B 50]

I feel just the opposite way about the orchestration. It's not that I like a small sound, it's that the sound on the OBC is big enough! The orchestration calls for a minimum of 26 musicians - I'd know, I'm conducting it in two weeks - and it sounds enormous. Why? Because of just one instrument: the organ. It's nearly always playing, and it's an orchestra in of itself. That's how Sondheim (or his orchestrator) achieved such a grand sound. The film orchestration replaces the organ with endless numbers of strings and brass. The only difference it creates is a sense of overwhelming doubling. The blunt, "wall of sound" recording doesn't help either.

As for the music, it's not simply that numbers are dropped or that the chorus doesn't sing, but that the harmonies themselves are diluted. Just take the "Main Title" cue and compare it to "Prelude" from the OBC. Generic bass drone to begin, fully diminished chord, and finally Sondheim's written organ music. Was that necessary? Actually, the OBC does it a bit differently. This is how "Prelude" is actually written. Disturbing, no? There's nothing like this in the film. "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," which is a carefully crafted chromatic piece, has Hollywood sounding diatonic harmonies tossed around the beginning of it. Same goes for the end of "Final Scene." There's stuff like that everywhere.

The Phantom OLC also has a large sound, though this is due to recording trickery; tracks were layered upon themselves. I do like a few things about the film version, like Christine's moment in the final scene: "Pitiful creature of darkness..." (strings: mi-fa-so-la...). That's really touching.

[Datameister 2,041]

It's eerie, for sure, but I still like the film version in its own way. I don't have any sort of logical rebuttal for anything you're saying; it makes sense, but at the end of the day, I enjoy the orchestral arrangements used in the film. In fact, as someone who hadn't seen the play, that was one of the things that struck me most when I saw the film for the first time. I guess it sounds like a film score, whereas the arrangements for the musical sound more like...well, arrangements for a musical, which is not inherently bad thing, except that I tend to prefer film scores. Not really a choice on my part...it's just the way my brain is wired, for whatever reason.

[Henry B 50]

I know what you mean by "musical" sounding orchestrations, but I never got that from the OBC. It's a very cinematic score to begin with.

[Datameister 2,041]

Compared to other entries in the genre, certainly. And as I've listened to more of it as a result of this conversation, I've realized that's even more true than I originally thought. The OBC's good, no doubts there.

[Henry B 50]

The 1997 concert recording is also worth checking out.

[Datameister 2,041]

Mmm, I shall look into that.

[indy4 155]

The Phantom of the Opera:

A great soundtrack, I can't believe it's taken me so long to get ahold of it.

The 2004 movie soundtrack?

Really?

Yeah, for some reason it's hard for me to get into Broadway soundtracks if I haven't seen the play. I've listened my copy of Sweeney Todd from the film soundtrack waaay more than the Broadway soundtrack.

Yeah, but do you really want to listen to the drowning cat with emphysema that is Gerard Butler's voice? Unlike Sweeney Todd, the music is virtually identical to its Broadway counterpart, so the Broadway soundtrack would hardly be a stretch. And as for Sweeney, is Helena Bonham Carter's tone deaf whisper preferable to Angela Lansbury or Patti LuPone? And is the dull, massively orchestrated "best of" style musical score preferable to all the intricate leitmotif of Sondheim's original writing? I mean, it's not that the film adaptations have nothing good to offer, but it seems like you're more interested in reliving the films frame-by-frame than in listening to the music.

It's not really that--to be honest I haven't seen Phantom in several years, and even then I only saw about half of it.

For Sweeney Todd there are a few reasons that make me prefer the film version. First, I don't like all the vibrato that Broadway singers use so often. It sounds very unnatural and rather annoying to be honest. I also don't like it on woodwinds, especially flutes. When used nicely I think it can achieve a cool effect for brass, but in general I'd prefer more tone and less vibrato. For Sweeney Todd, the only time the film uses vibrato is during "The Contest," and I think there it's more appropriate, as the character is kind of annoying and, for lack of a better word, obnoxious.

Also, because of the practical issues on Broadway, the fact that everything is seen by an audience, there's less opportunity for "tricks." As a result, everything seems a bit less (again, for lack of a better word) organized. Long cues that consist of one person singing a short phrase and then another singing another phrase, in what is really only meant to be a conversation more than a song, just don't do it for me. Especially when I haven't seen the Broadway show so I don't know exactly what they're talking about...it's just random words to me. An example of this is "The Wigmaker Sequence" and "The Letter." The first 30 seconds or so of that cue doesn't really interest me at all. There's some of that in the film as well, but because the director has the luxury to cut and restage people without being seen, etc., they don't need to resort to this. Or maybe it's just an artistic difference between the two mediums of storytelling, but I definitely prefer the film version.

Further, there are other limitations on Broadway. An actor has to communicate his/her emotions to a large audience, so he/she can't really be as subtle as a film that has close-ups, volume control, etc. So in the end you get Depp's devastated, shocked, and almost speechless "You knew she lived..." versus Cariou's less realistic, less interesting "YOU KNEW SHE LIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I still really like the Sweeney Todd Broadway version, and I listen to it when I want something different than the film version, but I still prefer the latter. And I also acknowledge the flaws of the film version (Carter's mostly bad voice and tendency to get waaay out of time, the horrible editing of the final cue, etc).

[Henry B 50]

Vibrato isn't a special effect, it's simply an aspect of the human voice. Rapidly oscillating in volume and pitch is not vibrato, and it sounds awful. See the OBC of Les Mis. Vibrato is something that comes from the diaphragm. I don't hear it as much of a problem in Sweeney. Angela Lansbury's voice just fills the stage. She inhabits the character. Helena Bonham Carter sounds like a kid trying out for the school musical. Her Mrs. Lovett is completely unconvincing because she has no confidence. The Judge and the Beadle are very pompous, self assured characters, so again the awful voices of Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall drag the characters down. The Beadle's vicious hypocrisy in "Parlor Songs," you just don't get that. Although, I was never a big fan of the Judge of the OBC.

As for the lack of organization, well, one problem is that the OBC doesn't give you the complete score. A lot of the second act is punctuated by organ preludes like those of the opening number. It makes a lot of sense when you hear it. Second, the leitmotif is amazing. Sweeney doesn't have song reprises, it has themes. The way they all come together in songs like "Ah, Miss" and "Kiss Me (Part II)" is marvelous. The movie tosses it all out.

I can't speak for Len Cariou, since he was replaced by George Hearn, but watch the taping of the show if you get a chance. The physicality of the characters really gives you a better understanding of them. They don't look nearly as "campy" as they sound.

[Incanus 5,714]

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by Bernard Herrmann: If there ever was an antidote to Herrmann's suspence, scary and ominous music, it is this score. What a treasure of lyrical beauty.

[mahler3 478]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition):

Good stuff! Unlike the complete release of WoK, I found that there was quite a bit of interesting new material that hadn't made it onto the OST. This is definitely the best Goldsmith that I've heard thus far (though my collection isn't anything amazing).

If you have not yet had the pleasure, just wait until you stick on "Poltergeist", and "The Final Conflict".

Pleasantville: I have a feeling it's not as good as the other scores I have of Randy Newman.

Alex

Really Alex? I always felt it was his best score, do you like the movie at least? I agree with Jeff, it's a top recommendation!

Been listening to The Mummy again. I still like most of his Next Gen Trek scores better, but there's no denying this is the freshest sounding Goldsmith score from the last part of his life, and his last great pure action score.

Isn't it fantastic! Such a great 'sounding' score too, the London guys played brilliantly and Mike Ross mixed it with typical panache!

Yeah, I hope you mean the one from the stage production - in the film Gerard Butler's signing is especially bad...

He's no Michael Crawford, but he wasn't that bad. Infact I can't listen to the stage production version anymore as the sheer immense size of the orchestra for the movie gave the music a whole new dimension (damn Sony's CD though with SFX etc all through it! Typical!)

[Neimoidian 14]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition):

Good stuff! Unlike the complete release of WoK, I found that there was quite a bit of interesting new material that hadn't made it onto the OST. This is definitely the best Goldsmith that I've heard thus far (though my collection isn't anything amazing).

If you have not yet had the pleasure, just wait until you stick on "Poltergeist", and "The Final Conflict".

I still don't get all that craze about ST:TMP. It's a really good score and that's the fact I won't dispute. But in my book it's even not among the very best (like top 3) of Goldsmith's works and I say that even though I still haven't heard neither Poltergeist nor TFC. Moreover, I find WoK a better score in the franchise.

[mahler3 478]

The Final Conflict and Poltergeist are in my top 10 along with Star Trek: TMP hence my gesture!

Check your PM's!

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition):

Good stuff! Unlike the complete release of WoK, I found that there was quite a bit of interesting new material that hadn't made it onto the OST. This is definitely the best Goldsmith that I've heard thus far (though my collection isn't anything amazing).

If you have not yet had the pleasure, just wait until you stick on "Poltergeist", and "The Final Conflict".

I still don't get all that craze about ST:TMP. It's a really good score and that's the fact I won't dispute. But in my book it's even not among the very best (like top 3) of Goldsmith's works and I say that even though I still haven't heard neither Poltergeist nor TFC. Moreover, I find WoK a better score in the franchise.

What are your top three?

What I love about TMP - aside from the fact that it's purely great music - is that it manages to integrate together the two main philosophies about space travel and space itself - the romance, and the fear/mystery. The unexplainable. The majesty of space travel itself through the Enterprise, and the romance of our - and Kirk's - love affair with the starship, as well as the more conventional romance of Ilia and Decker, and the chilling but fascinating descent into what is ostensibly an unknown region of space in V'Ger. Both concepts are so perfectly intertwined and translated into musical form that it transcends the film itself, which was not great in displaying these concepts, to become a separate work that is able to tell a really epic story which - largely due to the pace of the film itself - is not restrained by time or urgency, except for when it is required in the score. To appreciate this fully you really need to listen to the complete score though.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,511]

The Final Conflict and Poltergeist are in my top 10 along with Star Trek: TMP hence my gesture!

Check your PM's!

SCREW THE TOP 10! These three ARE my top three, with "POTA", and "Total Recall", completing my top 5.

Terminator Salvation: I think I will try Earthquake.

Earthquake: As I try to describe the score to myself, the word "cool" constantly appears. In fact, this is probably the coolest John Williams score I have ever listened to. Some highlights for me:

Main Title - The piano and drum kit give me chills every time. I have one question, though: does anyone else have a tapping noise throughout some of the Track?

Miles and Wheels - Cool.

City Theme - Very nice, it sounds very George Shearings-esque at some points.

Something for Rosa - Sounds like something Burt Bacharach might write.

Finale, End Title - It actually vaguely reminds me of "Epilogue" from War of the Worlds

I'm glad there is another "Earthquake" convert out there (I have traded 4s with Alexscreamers on this subject). The tracks you mention are great, but, unlike you and Alex, I can't hear Bacharach in "...Rosa", try as I might. Miles On Wheels is cool, and I love playing "Something For Remy" late at night. This really needs a 2-disc re-release, and soon. I prefer the Film version of the "Main Title", though.

[Kevin 22]

End of Days - John Debney

[Neimoidian 14]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition):

Good stuff! Unlike the complete release of WoK, I found that there was quite a bit of interesting new material that hadn't made it onto the OST. This is definitely the best Goldsmith that I've heard thus far (though my collection isn't anything amazing).

If you have not yet had the pleasure, just wait until you stick on "Poltergeist", and "The Final Conflict".

I still don't get all that craze about ST:TMP. It's a really good score and that's the fact I won't dispute. But in my book it's even not among the very best (like top 3) of Goldsmith's works and I say that even though I still haven't heard neither Poltergeist nor TFC. Moreover, I find WoK a better score in the franchise.

What are your top three?

What I love about TMP - aside from the fact that it's purely great music - is that it manages to integrate together the two main philosophies about space travel and space itself - the romance, and the fear/mystery. The unexplainable. The majesty of space travel itself through the Enterprise, and the romance of our - and Kirk's - love affair with the starship, as well as the more conventional romance of Ilia and Decker, and the chilling but fascinating descent into what is ostensibly an unknown region of space in V'Ger. Both concepts are so perfectly intertwined and translated into musical form that it transcends the film itself, which was not great in displaying these concepts, to become a separate work that is able to tell a really epic story which - largely due to the pace of the film itself - is not restrained by time or urgency, except for when it is required in the score. To appreciate this fully you really need to listen to the complete score though.

I guess I am more Chinatown/The Papillon/Russia House kind of guy when it comes to Goldsmith. Of course, I am familiar with many more of his works and I have lots of appreciation for ST TMP as well, but what I find most compelling about that particular score is "the mystery" aspect - my favourite tracks are neither Main Title, nor The Enterprise, but ones like The Cloud, The Meld, Spock Walk (Ilia's Theme is also among my favourites). The adventure/space travel part never really manages to capture my attention for long - perhaps because I have always prefered Williams/Star Wars approach.

[Ollie 1,059]

Gojira - Ifukube

Godzilla vs Mecha-Godzilla(1993) - Ifukube

The Mummy - Goldsmith

The Mummy Returns - Silvestri

That Man From Rio - Delerue

Top Secret! - Jarre

[crocodile 7,998]

Silvestri's A Christmas Carol

It's perfectly enjoyable and pleasant. But then again it pretty much sounds like everything else in this genre. Many times when listening to this I thought I was listening to Williams' own Joy to the World compilation. Also, I didn't spot any theme. I might say it's Silvestri in good shape, but does it really say all that much?

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I still need to listen to it, but I've been preoccupied with my Beatles set and all the Morricone I've gotten recently. Everyone is gushing at this score, but I feel it's going to be bland and uninteresting.

[crocodile 7,998]

Morricone... right. Which reminds me of... his birthday.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yep, today he turns 81.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

E.T.. Masterful.

[John Crichton 4]

I honestly don't get The Final Conflict as one of Goldsmith's absolute best. Don't get me wrong, it's really good. It's high points are amazing, but it also has a fair amount of "filler" music that kind of make the whole thing drag to me. I definately prefer The Omen, and maybe even Omen II. Goldsmith was obviously having so much fun riffing off his original Ave Satani material.

And TMP is the masterpiece of masterpieces. Period.

John- currently listening to Patton

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

I honestly don't get The Final Conflict as one of Goldsmith's absolute best. Don't get me wrong, it's really good. It's high points are amazing, but it also has a fair amount of "filler" music that kind of make the whole thing drag to me.

It has a lot of filler stuff (especially on the extended release), but that doesn't make the highlights any less great. And yes, they're that good.

[Corellian2019 386]

Yeah, I'm just gonna go ahead and contribute to the Goldsmith love that's been saturating this thread recently by revealing that I've been listening to the Deluxe Edition of Total Recall quite a lot recently.

Among the cues that I keep replaying the most are "The Dream" (film version), "The Mutant", "The Nose Job", "The Space Station", and "End of a Dream".

[Diego 21]

Speaking of Goldsmith, I've been pretty much discovering him lately, as he was extremely prolific and I have very few of his scores, and it's been great, recently I've got and listened to:

First Blood

The Great Train Robbery

Total Recall

The Secret of N.I.M.H

And I've listened to some old favorites like Poltergeist, Gremlins and Twilight Zone, since it was Halloween and all that.

I think I would like First Blood Part Two, but it's not on any stores here and it's not on iTunes so I'll have to wait. Maybe I'll include it on my next order from moviemusic, whenever something that interests me gets released, I'm hoping we'll see Batman: TAS Vol 2 soon.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I can't hear Bacharach in "...Rosa", try as I might.

Really? I personally hear similarities between it and "The Look of Love", to name one.

[Datameister 2,041]

Back to the Future. Thrilling, quirky, and poignant. Love it.

[Joe Brausam 214]

The Legend of Zorro

I finally listened to this, after having it for several months. I was so glad that it wasn't a carbon copy of Mask, it's actually very much improved. Less shakuhachi and more of a Mexican/Spanish feel to it. I have to say, the two Zorro scores are truly among his best (modern) work.

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

Among the cues that I keep replaying the most are "The Dream" (film version), "The Mutant", "The Nose Job", "The Space Station", and "End of a Dream".

I'd add Clever Girl and The Big Jump. The Mutant is of course something special. And End of a Dream may be the most focused action climax cue I know. Kloser recently said that nowadays, to make a score get noticed among all the effects, you have to change the tempo every few bars. Of course, Goldsmith had fewer sound effects to compete with, but it's still remarkably what he did with a non-stop, constant rhythm driving the cue forward.

Speaking of Goldsmith, I've been pretty much discovering him lately, as he was extremely prolific and I have very few of his scores, and it's been great, recently I've got and listened to:

First Blood

The Great Train Robbery

Total Recall

The Secret of N.I.M.H

Three awesome scores, but I've never quite seen what's so great about First Blood. The sequel score, on the other hand, is fantastic. As an action score, it's second only to Recall.

[Diego 21]

I do like the theme from First Blood a lot, but based on what I've read online, I think I would enjoy the second one more.

[ChrisAfonso 186]

"Interview with a vampire". Classic Goldenthal, I listen to this much too seldom.

[Joe Brausam 214]

It's not a score, but Godzilla Eats Las Vegas by Eric Whitacre, performed by the Rutgers Wind Ensemble. It's really an awesome piece (it's fun to read along in the score as you listen too!).

[Romão 2,274]

"Interview with a vampire". Classic Goldenthal, I listen to this much too seldom.

Madeleine's theme is gorgeous