What is the last score you listened to?

[Neimoidian 14]

Rosewood by John Williams: Williams mixes here the sense of his Americana with the music of the South with great results. The gospel pieces add to the score a feel of the times and setting but also the spirit of the story. Williams incorporates one of his three gospel compositions Look Down Lordin many ways into the score. Worth mentioning is its perfomance in Healing which contains a superb horn and cello solo rendition of it. Tuneful and folk like guitar passages are a special joy to listen to as is the theme for Rosewood, a gentle melody Williams lets finally soar in Mann at Rosewood. This score reminds me a bit of The River which has some of the same elements but with less Southern musical influences.

A very fine score from the excellent year 1997. However, it's also the one I like the least and the only one I haven't purchased. I agree about Healing - it is a superb track and my favourite from the album.

War of the Worlds by John Williams: Some of the darkest and most driving music JW has ever composed. Relentless rhythms and furious orchestrations create and build momentum, chilling high strings and raging flutes add tension and choir is used in inventive ways to bring the alien feel to the music. Closest cousin of this score is the Close Encouters of the Third Kind although whereas that score started with eerie anticipation of the unknown, it came to a wondrous finale and had a sense of relief and spiritual lift, this score comes to a much more sombre and ominous conclusion. A palpable sense of dread, horror, sorrow and tragedy permeates this score. I have always found the action music absolutely primal as it washes over you with unrelenting force, just like the aliens in the film.

Like the movie the score is half-baked in my opinion. There is some good stuff there, but a lot of the music leaves me cold - not only while listening to it on the album, but also within the movie, which is the worst thing that can be said about film music. If I want to hear sense of dread, horror, sorrow and tragedy, WotW is the last score I play. Instead I prefer the real gems like Alien, Alien3, The Fury or - to some extent - CEO3K (I mean the darker parts).

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (expanded) by John Williams: This score has become one of my favourites over the year and a half I have listened to it. It contains such a great set of new themes (no matter what I think of the characters who inspired them), classic JW Indiana Jones mood, brilliant set pieces (The Warehouse Escape, Whirl Through the Academe, The Jungle Chase, Ants!) and interesting and evocative underscore (yes, that's right, I find it extremely well done and interesting). Irina's theme in particular stands out as my favourite because of the ravishingly beautiful way JW channels the film noir musical tradition and creates such a sultry and stunning piece (I am glad he composed an extended concert version of this piece which explores the main melody more extensively).

I agree about Irina's Theme. It's also my favourite. The action cues you mentioned, however, are failure in my opinion. Most of them scream "autopilot" and they are particularly unimpressive, even if you compare them only to recent, post 2000 JW's output. Of course, each of these cues has some standout moments (Whirl through Academe has that brilliant Brahms quote, Jungle Chase has very enjoyable oficially unreleased opening and gorgeous part during the monkey scene...), but it's not enough for me. I do like the finale tracks immensly though - both Temple Ruins and Departure consist some of the best material from the score.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

The Jungle Chase (complete) and The Departure are pretty much the only parts of this score that I can honestly say I listen to these days. I just find the rest very uninspired.

[publicist 4,643]

I love NIMH. The album could use some remastering though. As you just watched the movie (it's been years since I last saw it): Is there anything significant missing from the album?

Yes and no. The album has a great selection and was quite long for it's time, 50 minutes in 1982). But tracks like THE SENTRY REEL have notable middle chunks missing, where Goldsmith expanded on the mysterious/choral ideas and even a little Korngoldian fanfare (which appears more stately in the main and end credits).

The Jungle Chase (complete) and The Departure are pretty much the only parts of this score that I can honestly say I listen to these days. I just find the rest very uninspired.

I wish there would be more variations on the russian theme. The end credits hint at the possibilities - just to think of a Williams score for a TOM AND JERRY cartoon with them fighting russians, but alas....

[Maxxie 1]

The Mummy Returns by Alan Silvestri. I love it.

His theme for the Medjai Commanders is fantastic. In fact, I'm going to try and make a suite using all the different statements of it throughout the movie. When time permits that is (bloody TransPennine Express!)

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The Mummy Returns by Alan Silvestri. I love it.

His theme for the Medjai Commanders is fantastic. In fact, I'm going to try and make a suite using all the different statements of it throughout the movie. When time permits that is (bloody TransPennine Express!)

I love that score. "Evy Kidnapped" and "My First Bus Ride" are particularly thrilling and fast-paced action tracks that actually contain thematic development that we barely hear in film scores these days.

[Maxxie 1]

Yes, those are both great cues. The ending section of "My First Bus Ride" (which uses Rick's theme) is fantastic.

I also love "Medjai Commanders" and "Sandcastles".

I must admit, I watched the film with very low hopes for any part of it being good, and although the plot is fairly thin, it's just good family entertainment (if somewhat far-fetched!)

The score didn't grip me the first time I heard it, so I bought the OST just to make sure and now I'm hooked!

[Richard Penna 3,694]

I've never been a fan of Silvestri's over the top cheesy action, and The Mummy Returns is a bit hit and miss with me. There's a lot of action-specific music with sudden bangs and hits which isn't easily appreciated outside the film (which tbh, I don't really like - takes dumb popcorn to a new level for me).

I was listening to BTTF last night, and the Clocktower scene is going round and round in my head. Such a brilliant score.

[Ollie 1,059]

The Shining - Wendy Carlos

Avatar - Horner

Land Of The Pharaohs - Tiomkin

[Maxxie 1]

I've never been a fan of Silvestri's over the top cheesy action, and The Mummy Returns is a bit hit and miss with me. There's a lot of action-specific music with sudden bangs and hits which isn't easily appreciated outside the film (which tbh, I don't really like - takes dumb popcorn to a new level for me).

I just don't take either the film or the album too seriously. That's how I enjoy them.

I was listening to BTTF last night, and the Clocktower scene is going round and round in my head. Such a brilliant score.

And not long ago you weren't too keen on the main bulk of the score! Now look at you, you're an addict!

[OneBuckFilms 323]

The Incredibles - Michael Giacchino

I picked it up in LA at "The Record Surplus" (I think it was called) in the used section.

I was aware of it in the movie, but listening to in on the cd: I really love it !!!

A perfect sendup/homage to John Barry's Bond scores.

Fantastic stuff !!!

[Morlock 11]

The Black Dahlia. Haven't listened to it in a while- my favorite Isham score (to one of my least favorite movies of the decade).

[Joe Brausam 214]

Madame Bovary

Beautiful score, and this music/effects track business isn't at all bad!

[Maglorfin 196]

Back to the Future (which I finally received today), and I guess it will remain in my player for quite some time.

[Joe Brausam 214]

Quo Vadis

It's amazing how well the restoration effort for this score went over. The music/effects tracks aren't bad, effects can barely be heard, if at all, in most of them. And no dialogue, either - obviously recorded on separate tracks. This is the case too with Madame Bovary.

[John Crichton 4]

I've been on a wonderful rediscovery journey with the Star Wars original trilogy. For years they were the only scores I had so I really wore them out, and then when the prequels were new I wanted to listen to them more since they were newer. Now that more time has passed, they sound fresher to me than they have in years. I remember why I'll always consider them the greatest scores ever written.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

I went through that journey a few months ago, and I had similar feelings. Also, I was able to conclusively decide that I think Star Wars is better than Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (although I cannot decide if Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is my favorite one or not).

Over the past two weeks, I also received practically every John Williams concerto CD ever released, and I have been enjoying them thoroughly. Of them all, I think the Yo-Yo Ma album is the most immediately enjoyable, although I have been appreciating the Violin concerto more and more upon each listen (by the way, is there some comparison list between the original and the 1998 revision?). I thought "Treesong" and "Five Sacred Trees" were very nice, but I have not familiarized myself with them to the point where I could decide if I love them or not. Sadly, the Flute concerto has done nothing for me yet, but I have not given it a concentrated playthrough.

And speaking of John Williams that has not done anything for me...

Images - Based on all of the praise that this score gets, I really anticipated listening to it, and I was very sorry to find that it did not leave much of an impact on me. I love the theme, but even "Blood Moon", which some consider one of John Williams' best pieces ever, did not make me feel anything other than "Oh, this sounds a bit like Jane Eyre". If I had to choose, I think "In Search of Unicorns" and "The Killing of Marcel" are my favorite Tracks at the moment. I am giving the score the benefit of the doubt, though, and hoping that I was just not in the mood to listen to it, because I really want to love this score, I really do.

[indy4 155]

Images, like many of JW's less accessible scores, has grown on me a lot since my first listen.

[Joe Brausam 214]

Ultimately that type of music won't click with everyone. It's natural for people to prefer melody over seemingly random percussion crashes and harmonies, which is why the flute concerto and Images may not be for everyone. And that's not a bad thing. Contemporary techniques haven't caught on with mainstream musical audiences - even Schoenberg said that it would probably be more than 100 years before his music started to truly be accepted.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Drag Me to Hell, Chris Young.

Hands down the best score of 2009. I like it even more than UP which is a beautiful event in itself.

[Joe Brausam 214]

I agree, it's a fun score. Chris Young really knows how to do a good, interesting horror score.

[Incanus 5,715]

Over the past two weeks, I also received practically every John Williams concerto CD ever released, and I have been enjoying them thoroughly. Of them all, I think the Yo-Yo Ma album is the most immediately enjoyable, although I have been appreciating the Violin concerto more and more upon each listen (by the way, is there some comparison list between the original and the 1998 revision?). I thought "Treesong" and "Five Sacred Trees" were very nice, but I have not familiarized myself with them to the point where I could decide if I love them or not. Sadly, the Flute concerto has done nothing for me yet, but I have not given it a concentrated playthrough.

And speaking of John Williams that has not done anything for me...

Images - Based on all of the praise that this score gets, I really anticipated listening to it, and I was very sorry to find that it did not leave much of an impact on me. I love the theme, but even "Blood Moon", which some consider one of John Williams' best pieces ever, did not make me feel anything other than "Oh, this sounds a bit like Jane Eyre". If I had to choose, I think "In Search of Unicorns" and "The Killing of Marcel" are my favorite Tracks at the moment. I am giving the score the benefit of the doubt, though, and hoping that I was just not in the mood to listen to it, because I really want to love this score, I really do.

I am glad you are enjoying all the Williams concert works. The Flute Concerto is certainly less accessible than the rest and will require some more listening on my part as well. Give Treesong some more listens. It is an absolutely beautiful and intricate shimmering work.

And Images which is really most avant garde music Williams has ever written is not an easy listen. Blood Moon which you mention resembling Jane Eyre, is much more classically influenced than specifically influenced by the Jane Eyre score in my opinion. And of course to each his own but to me that particular track represents Williams at his best. I do not know how he can capture such raw emotions of heart aching poingnancy, anguish, longing and even terror into a one string piece.

The whole body of the score should be listened as an exploration on a slowly fragmenting mind, series of confused mental episodes of a psyche slowly losing its grip on reality. The liner notes describe in the track-by-track analysis the scenes where this music is used and by that alone the score paints a very powerful images (sorry bad pun). It is chilling, emotional, strange musical journey to a fragmented mind. I particularly love the tracks In Search of Unicorns, The Killing of Marcel (you can't beat a man shouting in pain as a cue opener), Blood Moon and the Love Montage which is simply such a strange way to score love scenes that it is high in my book for that alone. And it has to be said, this score is not for everyone. For some reason it clicked with me.

First Knight by Jerry Goldsmith

L.A. Confidential by Jerry Goldsmith

Avatar by James Horner

Jaws 2 by John Williams

[Morlock 11]

The Mechanic. First time I've listened to it since I first bought it. Still boring as hell. So what if its Herrmann orchestration?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

You mean The Machinist?

[Ollie 1,059]

The Mechanic. First time I've listened to it since I first bought it. Still boring as hell. So what if its Herrmann orchestration?

I don't recall Jerry Fielding sounding like Herrmann.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm pretty sure he means The Machinist by Roque Banos. Everyone says it sounds like Herrmann.

Great film and score IMO.

[Ollie 1,059]

I prefer my Herrmann original.

[Morlock 11]

I did indeed mean The Machinist.

[Ollie 1,059]

I know, I'm just messing with you.

But Jerry Fielding did score the 1972 Charles Bronson film, The Mechanic.

[indy4 155]

I was listening to "Riding Iorek" from The Golden Compass, and I noticed that 3:53 sounds incredibly similar to the chorus of "Vois Sur Ton Chemin" from Les Choristes.

[Wojo 2,453]

I can't stop listening to In Search of Peace. I listen to it more than the other 2-disc album Intrada released the same day.

<ducks>

[Ollie 1,059]

I wouldn't duck, it's a very good score. I'm glad I gambled on this one and bought it. I've put my BTTF on the shelf as well. I only listened to it a few times myself but that's because I kept my feet warm for about 11 years.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I don't think I even finished listening to Back To The Future. Now that requires a duck.

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

I can't stop listening to In Search of Peace. I listen to it more than the other 2-disc album Intrada released the same day.

Sure, it's awesome. BTTF is great too, but already familiar. I need more Holdridge.

[Incanus 5,715]

The Sunset Boulevard by Franz Waxman: Such and excellent film noir score for an unusual tale. Highly thematic and lively score that paints vivid images of the story and works on its own as listening experience. Waxman creates such brilliant musical and psychological portraits of the main characters, deftly illustrating moods and thoughts and implications and also the general strange atmosphere of the story adding a touch of dark humour to the music at appropriate places.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Listening now to Young's Creation. Interesting mix of Species (which I've also been listening to) and something more classical.

And the bass on this score is phenomenal. I thought my computer was going to blow up during "Struggle for Survival".

I don't think I even finished listening to Back To The Future. Now that requires a duck.

When it was just the boot, I never listened to it, but a legit, CD quality upgrade changes things.

But then there's only one or two other 80s era scores I want. This is an exception to the norm.

[Trent B 337]

Jurassic Park 3 (complete), listened to it while I was waiting at the laundry mat with my dad while our clothes washed and dried. We normally wash clothes here at home but our washer went out on us the other day ...parents gotta buy a new one once they get their income tax return.

Oh and I'm currently listening to Star Trek Nemesis (complete), nearly done with that one...may listen to my complete edit of The Mummy next.

[Diego 21]

BTTF pretty much non-stop.

[Romão 2,274]

The Sunset Boulevard by Franz Waxman: Such and excellent film noir score for an unusual tale. Highly thematic and lively score that paints vivid images of the story and works on its own as listening experience. Waxman creates such brilliant musical and psychological portraits of the main characters, deftly illustrating moods and thoughts and implications and also the general strange atmosphere of the story adding a touch of dark humour to the music at appropriate places.

Did you listen to Mcneely re-recording?

[Incanus 5,715]

The Sunset Boulevard by Franz Waxman: Such and excellent film noir score for an unusual tale. Highly thematic and lively score that paints vivid images of the story and works on its own as listening experience. Waxman creates such brilliant musical and psychological portraits of the main characters, deftly illustrating moods and thoughts and implications and also the general strange atmosphere of the story adding a touch of dark humour to the music at appropriate places.

Did you listen to Mcneely re-recording?

Yes the McNeely re-recording which is a very good one.

[Maglorfin 196]

BTTF pretty much non-stop.

[Diego 21]

BTTF still, Innerspace and some older stuff than usual: "Ivanhoe" and "3 Worlds of Gulliver"

[Charlie Brigden 7]

A mix of the commercial soundtrack and John Murphy's promo score to MIAMI VICE.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

SHERLOCK HOLMES. It's ok, I guess, it all kind of blended into one. The fiddly bits were good (reminded me of Broughton's TOMBSTONE opening), but it got bad when the big RCP chords come in. Doesn't really feel like Holmes, but then the film doesn't either.

[Morlock 11]

Loved his use of Big Ben's Chime for the villains theme. The score is cheeky, something the film was missing. As a big score, it's mostly unremarkable (certainly doesn't account for Zimmer's press tour and seven months of work), but as a small score it's pretty fun, in the Everlasting Piece category.

[crocodile 8,017]

It's quite an enjoyable album actually. Repetitive, but nice.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I think it's one of his best scores of the decade.

[Morlock 11]

Too bad he's overselling it. I was fine with him making Dark Knight and PoTC 3 sound like Herculian tasks, but this? Come on. It's a fun little piece.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Backdraft.

Never really listened to this until recently, but it makes a great half hour of listening. I'd risk an expanded version.

[Morlock 11]

Never liked that one. Main theme is theoretically fine, but I get sick of it real fast.

Been listening to PoTC: AWE. Damn good. One of Zimmer's most ambitious and successful scores.

The Golden Compass. Love the details. Wish the big picture was as compelling.

Avatar. The more I listen to it, the less I like it.

Don't Look Now. One motif in it I like. The rest doesn't do it for me.

Mission: Impossible. [insert usual gushing]

It's been a while since I've lsitened to Goldsmith. I'm bummed out by this. But every time I look at the shelf, nothing pops out as right for the moment.

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

It's been a while since I've lsitened to Goldsmith. I'm bummed out by this. But every time I look at the shelf, nothing pops out as right for the moment.

I've had that problem with Williams for years. I can nearly always find some Goldsmith I want to listen to though. Hence his being my #1 artist on last.fm with 4000 listens vs Williams on #2 with 1800.