Soundtracks, Compilations, or other recently purchased Music

[Schilkeman 964]

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

I'm not a fan of the LOTR OSTs, especially the ones for TTT and ROTK. They don't do a great job of presenting Shore's opus. The Fellowship OST is okay, though.

I plan on getting the complete recordings (digitally, unfortunately), though it is my understanding that there is enough material on the original soundtracks to warrant having both.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

34 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

But I learned recently, that this is how languange works and evolves. When there is something wrong, but enough people keep doing it even when it logically makes no sense, then after some time it becomes right. 

 

To a degree, certainly. But sometimes that argument gets used to justify a common misspelling or grammatical error where the actual rule is there for a reason. Like the apostrophe is there to mark the genitive in English, so there's a point to it, but it's not needed for a plural, it doesn't add anything except ambiguity because it suddenly pretends to be a genitive. Just look at all the instances of German-speaking people randomly adding an apostrophe before any terminating "s". 

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

I'm not a fan of the LOTR OSTs, especially the ones for TTT and ROTK. They don't do a great job of presenting Shore's opus. The Fellowship OST is okay, though.

 

The two sequel scores are just not as good as FotR.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,539]

Horses for courses, dear boy, horses for courses.

Personally, I think that they are all good, competent scores, that are about the same in quality, throughout.

Each one is neither better, nor worse, than the others.

[Edmilson 7,466]

15 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

The two sequel scores are just not as good as FotR.

If you only heard the OSTs, then yes 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,539]

That is true.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

1 minute ago, Edmilson said:

If you only heard the OSTs, then yes 

 

I've heard the CRs and seen the films, even the bloody extended editions!

[Brónach 1,302]

I like these films less and less over time.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,539]

 

1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I've heard the CRs and seen the films, even the bloody extended editions!

 

Great, kid. Don't get cocky.

[Schilkeman 964]

9 minutes ago, Brónach said:

I like these films less and less over time.

 

[GerateWohl 4,370]

I like the score of Return of the King best. The Two Towers score is really not that good. But it has the best song of the three scores.

[A. A. Ron 1,742]

1 minute ago, GerateWohl said:

The Two Towers score is really not that good.

 

Um.... What?

[1977 1,743]

39 minutes ago, Schilkeman said:

I plan on getting the complete recordings (digitally, unfortunately), though it is my understanding that there is enough material on the original soundtracks to warrant having both.

 

All three OSTs are fantastic and worth having. The CRs are incredible too but if you need a quick LotR fix then the OSTs do the job. The only thing that irritates my OCD is the white LotR logo on the Fellowship OST.

[Edmilson 7,466]

15 minutes ago, Brónach said:

I like these films and their scores more and more over time.

Fixed.

 

Fellowship is my favorite, but the trilogy as a whole is one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

9 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

But it has the best song of the three scores.

 

You mean theme?

 

9 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

The Two Towers score is really not that good.

 

Brother. 

 

9 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

like the score of Return of the King best.

 

If you judge a score by the number of endings it accompanies, sure.

[Schilkeman 964]

4 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

You mean theme?

I think he means song, as in end-credits song. 

[Tallguy 3,398]

I'm not a huge fan of the LotR movies, I like the scores, and Into the West is one of the best things ever.

[Brónach 1,302]

13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

If you judge a score by the number of endings it accompanies, sure.

 

this is great on an album listen, the intensity is special

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

3 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

 

Indeed, a totally different direction. I wonder what specific decider made them go to Djawadi instead. I could assume it was 'traditional vs RCP', but that feels like a lazy criteria. There are lots of elements to consider for a composer for a long term TV show. Maybe it was just down Warbeck doing some demos, and whatever he did didn't click with them.

To be honest I expect that someone like Djawadi is better suited in terms of background and temperament for the rigours of tv composing. I can imagine Warbeck being more old school in approach both musically and in the way he writes… not quite JW on pencil and paper but perhaps less technologically adept. Of course that’s entirely conjecture…

[Richard Penna 3,694]

A few articles (this and this) suggest that Warbeck parted ways during the pilot and that it took some persuading to get Djawadi to do it, after he was recommended to the producers.

 

Ultimately it only leaves us guessing as to why - maybe the producers didn't agree on an approach, or didn't like what he was doing? Or maybe it was just down to Warbeck deciding he couldn't do a series after all.

 

Also, there's the issue of additional composer requirements - Djawadi must have assistants, and if Warbeck doesn't, maybe it became clear he was out of the required depth.

 

Who knows.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

Assistants can be hired.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

1 hour ago, Schilkeman said:

I think he means song, as in end-credits song. 

Exactly.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

19 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Assistants can be hired.

 

Maybe he doesn't like composing by committee? I understand why it's often necessary in the current world of series production (at least if the series needs a lot of music), but I do believe there are a few who've actually made it work and yield music that's not just serviceable for the show, but actually good music as well. 

 

And there's a big difference between two people collaborating on a work, like Herrmann and Newman, or Powell and HGW, and a team lead wrangling an entire team of composers churning out music without much actual interaction, to meet the deadlines. I still doubt this method of working is very compatible with such a thing as an overall artistic vision - and that's something that I imagine is still a key component "old-school composers" (or really any composer who's in the business to actually write interesting music).

 

36 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

To be honest I expect that someone like Djawadi is better suited in terms of background and temperament for the rigours of tv composing. I can imagine Warbeck being more old school in approach both musically and in the way he writes… not quite JW on pencil and paper but perhaps less technologically adept. Of course that’s entirely conjecture…

 

Quite possibly. But it's still a shame when that means we can't have good music.

[Andy 4,138]

Three Costume Dramas! 

 

Did you know Cleopatra was out of print?  My booklet looks like it was handled by a gorilla’s fingers, but I got it at a good price.  Wonder if this could be reissued with sonic improvements? 
 

[crocodile 8,017]

Great score, Cleopatra. The other two are really good too.

 

Karol

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

Stumbled over it at a good price so I thought what the heck...

 

[crocodile 8,017]

It is actually a very good interpretation.

 

Karol

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

It is, but the singing of the male lead is disappointing. 

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

44 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

It is, but the singing of the male lead is disappointing. 

Agreed. He seemed an oddly poor choice all round. He’s not Helena Bonham Carter bad singing wise but he’s not HBC good as an actor either. They should have gone for a Broadway star for the role instead. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,539]

14 hours ago, crocodile said:

Great score, Cleopatra.

Karol

Indeed. It's North's masterpiece.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

14 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Agreed. He seemed an oddly poor choice all round. He’s not Helena Bonham Carter bad singing wise but he’s not HBC good as an actor either. They should have gone for a Broadway star for the role instead. 

 

What did David Newman do on this score now again? Was it arrangements, transitions, underscore?

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

14 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

What did David Newman do on this score now again? Was it arrangements, transitions, underscore?

I can’t exactly recall. If he added any material in terms of transitions it’s pretty minor. I guess he may have arranged the end credits suite (which is now my favourite orchestral summation of WSS). 

[crocodile 8,017]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Indeed. It's North's masterpiece.

But I absolutely cannot sit through the film. And I tried. 😄

 

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 9,539]

2 hours ago, crocodile said:

But I absolutely cannot sit through the film. And I tried. 😄

Wha'?! 

Are you kidding, Karol?!

It is the best "sword and sandal" epic ever made, by a country mile.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

It has its issues, but it's far better than its reputation. For a film with such a troubled production and one that's considered a (not just financial) disaster, it's perfectly fine.

[1977 1,743]

Pity they never got to release the 2-part version due to all the footage that was lost 

[Andy 4,138]

I’ve never seen Cleopatra,  Ben-Hur, or the Ten Commandments. 

[crocodile 8,017]

7 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Wha'?! 

Are you kidding, Karol?!

It is the best "sword and sandal" epic ever made, by a country mile.

 

5 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

It has its issues, but it's far better than its reputation. For a film with such a troubled production and one that's considered a (not just financial) disaster, it's perfectly fine.

I will watch it in full one day. 

 

Karol

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

33 minutes ago, crocodile said:

I will watch it in full one day.

 

I last saw it before watching Rome, after I'd seen I, Claudius. Someday, I'd like to watch the three in chronological order.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

18 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Rome

 

The TV series?

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

51 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The TV series?

 

[Edmilson 7,466]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

I’ve never seen Cleopatra,  Ben-Hur, or the Ten Commandments. 

Neither have I. But my grandma loved these old epic movies, she catched all of them in the theater with my grandfather when they were young. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

6 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Neither have I. But my grandma loved these old epic movies, she catched all of them in the theater with my grandfather when they were young. 

 

I thought you were going to say she experienced the time periods...

[Richard Penna 3,694]

On 14/04/2023 at 7:37 PM, Marian Schedenig said:

Quite possibly. But it's still a shame when that means we can't have good music.

 

It's a shame when people blanket-dismiss committee-composed scores. McCreary's Outlander is one of the finest TV scores there is and he has an entire team on that show.

 

What you want to blame is the style and taste of the composer who happens to be directing the team, not the existence of the team.

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

28 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

And an excellent series it is. The first season is especially great. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

2 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

And an excellent series it is. The first season is especially great. 

 

I first saw a bit of it when it originally came out, and didn't get very far back then. But when revisiting it a few years ago on Blu, I loved it. A shame that it was cut short, necessitating the story to suddenly start jumping all over the place & time in the later part of the second season.

 

2 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

It's a shame when people blanket-dismiss committee-composed scores. McCreary's Outlander is one of the finest TV scores there is and he has an entire team on that show.

 

What you want to blame is the style and taste of the composer who happens to be directing the team, not the existence of the team.

 

I haven't been altogether dismissing them, "just" mostly. There's plenty of fine stuff in Outlander, but there's also just an awful lot of it, much of which tends to blend together. Which is why I mostly lost interest in it after collecting the first four albums. And as I said before, I can't see how it could be much different - you either get a rough overall vision with lots of samey stuff by the team, or you get striking individual self expression, but then it's probably going to be all over the place.

 

Outlander is still much better than Game of Thrones, of course, which is what the bit you quoted of my post was most directly aimed at. So yes, it's primarily the modus operandi I've been commenting on, but that specific bit was also a stab at the style and taste (or, imho, skill) of the composer.

 

 

[crocodile 8,017]

Receieved a very generous gift voucher so picked some things up:

 

 

Karol

[Amer 2,110]

Nice. I wonder if the EMPIRE de-master edition had fixed those channel phasing errors?

Also not a fan of this artwork. The STAR WARS LP was rather nice.

 

Anyways, I'm still glad I have Sony Vinyl edition set with the original artwork reproductions.

[Andy 4,138]

Odd choice of artwork for the Empire LP. It is vintage art original used for fast food promotional posters. 
 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,539]

You're being put into Carbon Freeze.

Why?

To make you behave.