Neccesary Scores

[arathornion33 0]

Hello Everybody,

I was wondering if anyone could give me their "absolutely neccesary" score/soundtrack list. I love film music, and have a very modest collection, and there are many, many I would like to get, but if you guys could help me prioritize, that would be great! Here is a list of what I already have:

Doyle: HPGOF

Eragon

Sense and Sensibility

Giacchino: Star Trek

Gregson-Williams: Narnia - Prince Caspian

Newton Howard: The Village

Ottman: Superman Returns

Rosza: Ben-Hur (2-cd set)

Shore: Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King Complete Recordings box sets (My Holy Grails)

Williams: E.T.

Empire of the Sun

Harry Potter 1-3

Indiana Jones 1-4 (Music of Indiana Jones box set)

Jurassic Park

Minority Report

Saving Private Ryan

Schindler's List

Star Wars Ep. 1-6

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

War of the Worlds

Preference is for Williams (of course...) but I also like Newton Howard and Giacchino's sound. I generally dislike synthesizers and anything written by Hans Zimmer. I don't own any Goldsmith (gasp) so a list perhaps of his best would be nice, too. Thanks so much in advance to anybody who responds. BTW, this is the best message board on the internet.

P.S. I am a poor incoming collegiate freshman...

[Datameister 2,044]

Hook is one Williams score that everyone seems to agree is a must. I'm fairly new to the score, but I'm glad I invested in it. Might want to wait a bit, though - there are rumors of an expanded or complete release on the way.

If you're into Giacchino, you should definitely invest in at least one of his LOST soundtracks. (There are currently five, with a sixth most likely on the way.) The music will be more meaningful if you're into the show, but it's still fantastic regardless. Probably best to just start with season 1, I'd imagine. And if you want more of his jazzier side, The Incredibles is great fun.

If you're willing to venture outside the world of film music, as I occasionally am, my top recommendation is Stravinsky's "The Firebird" - either the 45-minute ballet or the shorter 1919 suite. Really fantastic, evocative, interesting music that sounds like it could be from a really good film score.

A couple of JNH scores you might like are Dinosaur and Atlantis...those have some really great moments.

[arathornion33 0]

I'm actually a classically trained musician, and my classical music collection is pretty large. Your right the Firebird is a great piece. Thanks for the suggestion about HOOK, though. Yeah, everyone pretty much says that one is a must. Thanks again.

[Datameister 2,044]

Oh, haha, never mind then!

If you want to explore some Goldsmith, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Alien seem to be pretty widely revered, among others...

[John Crichton 4]

Giacchino: Medal of Honor

Goldsmith: Star Trek- The Motion Picture

Doyle: NOT GoF. Henry V would be a great pick.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Jaws

Superman: The Movie

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[filmmusic 1,843]

I would definitely suggest Goldsmith's Legend too! I consider it to be his best, and has a Daphnes and Chloe quality!

[indy4 155]

Newton Howard: Signs (IMO, this is one of the best scores ever written), Lady in the Water, and Dinosaur

Giacchino: Up, Incredibles

JW: Hook, Catch Me If You Can, Artificial Intelligence, The Cowboys, Far and Away, Home Alone, The Terminal

[Romão 2,274]

I would suggest you to listen to Golden Age film music, and for that there is no better introduction that the fantastic Classic Film Scores series by Charles Gerhardt. I would particularly recommend these:

The Sea Hawk - The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Citizen Kane: The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann

Sunset Boulevard: The Classic Film Scores of Franz Waxman

Spellbound: The Classic Film Scores of Miklos Rozsa

Captain from Castille: The Classic Film scores of Alfred Newman

This is really some of the absolute greatest film music ever composed

[Trent B 337]

Well for my input these would e for the complete scores but if OST's are only available...

The Matrix

The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Revolutions

Back To The Future Parts 1-3 (get the Intrada version for BTTF 1)

Independence Day (definitely get LLL's set!)

The Mummy

The Mummy Returns

Air Force One

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (especially the FSM!!!)

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek: Nemesis

All though for Star Trek III, Mike Matessino recently posted a blurb about it on FSM basically confirming they're working on it. Hopefully it'll be released at Comic Con this year.

Again most of these are just my opinion and if you can get a hold of the complete versions definitely do it.

[Datameister 2,044]

Oh, yes yes, Star Trek II is an absolute must. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best score to anything in the Star Trek franchise. And the competition is rather fierce.

[Red 75]

Thanks for the suggestion about HOOK, though. Yeah, everyone pretty much says that one is a must. Thanks again.

I would go as far as to say that Hook is Williams' most essential, not necessarily because it's the best but because it so well represents the man's whole musical spectrum.

[Datameister 2,044]

I disagree, but it is an excellent score.

[Trent B 337]

I gotta be with Joe on Hook...it's definitely not Williams best but it's a good score.

[ChuckM 1]

If you're into Giacchino, you should definitely invest in at least one of his LOST soundtracks. (There are currently five, with a sixth most likely on the way.) The music will be more meaningful if you're into the show, but it's still fantastic regardless.

I would disagree. Only get the Lost soundtracks if you've seen at least some of the show. I found the music incredibly boring before watching it. After watching it, the music makes sense however.

[Datameister 2,044]

Fair enough - heck, I didn't even like the LOST scores until after I'd been watching the show for a season or two. Your mileage may vary.

[Trent B 337]

Superman: The Movie

For this arathornion, I would recommend getting the FSM Superman Blue Box set, if you have the money to spare for it. The Blue Box is definitely worth the purchase, especially for the complete remastered version of Superman: The Movie alone.

Not only do you get a remastered version of the complete score for Superman: The Movie but also complete scores for the Superman II-IV, music from the Animated Series by Ron Jones and alternate and other unreleased material including source cues.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I would suggest you to listen to Golden Age film music, and for that there is no better introduction that the fantastic Classic Film Scores series by Charles Gerhardt. I would particularly recommend these:

The Sea Hawk - The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Citizen Kane: The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann

Sunset Boulevard: The Classic Film Scores of Franz Waxman

Spellbound: The Classic Film Scores of Miklos Rozsa

Captain from Castille: The Classic Film scores of Alfred Newman

This is really some of the absolute greatest film music ever composed

I implore you to follow Merkel's lead, the CFS series is amazing. And his Star Wars/CE3K is great as well.

[Diego 21]

Some essential Elfman: Batman, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Some essential Goldsmith: Poltergeist, Star Trek, The Omen.

[Delorean90 42]

Hang on before you get Poltergeist, though, because Film Score Monthly has a new complete release with improved sound coming later this year.

[PIANOMUSICIAN1991 0]

I would say,

Erich Korngold's 'The Sea Hawk' and even such soundtracks as Disney's Snow White, and anything Bernard Herrmann and John Williams

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Let's not confuse "necessary" with "favourite". I'm sure that some people would list every J.W. score, and screw everybody else. A score should not need to sound great on a c.d. (although it is an advantage if it does) but should enhance the film that it acommpanies. On that basis, I nominate:

"Citizen Kane"-Bernard Herrmann,

"Bride Of Frankenstein"-Franz Waxman,

"The Sea Hawk"-Erich Korngold,

"Gone With The wind"-Max Steiner,

"Forbidden Planet"-Louis and Didi Barron (I think!),

"Ben-Hur"-Miklos Rosza,

"Vertigo"-Herrmann,

"Psycho"-Herrmann,

"Goldfinger"-John Barry,

"West Side Story"-Sondheim/Bernstein,

"The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly"-Ennio Morricone,

"The Graduate"-Paul Simon,

"Planet Of The Apes"-Jerry Goldsmith,

"The Lion In Winter"-John Barry,

"The Omen"-Jerry Goldsmith,

"Star Wars",

"Saturday Night Fever"-various,

"Midnight Express"-Georgio Moroder,

And here my list ends. I do not think that anyone has taken film music forward in the last 30 years. Yes, there have been great scores, but it's really all window dressing, combined with "variation on a theme". I hope that this list helps you differenciate the good stuff, from an essential purchase.

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

I would suggest you to listen to Golden Age film music, and for that there is no better introduction that the fantastic Classic Film Scores series by Charles Gerhardt. I would particularly recommend these:

I implore you to follow Merkel's lead, the CFS series is amazing. And his Star Wars/CE3K is great as well.

Absolutely.

With Goldsmith, there's tons of great stuff, some purely orchestral and some others which are equally great but do have lots of synths. I recommend starting out with the (mostly) orchestral ones, like The Great Train Robbery, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Omen, The Blue Max, Alien, First Knight, Rudy... the rest should follow naturally. And don't forget that Williams himself uses quite a lot of synths, though in a different way.

And as for Doyle... Much Ado About Nothing is a must.

[Jay 37,374]

Hello Everybody,

I was wondering if anyone could give me their "absolutely neccesary" score/soundtrack list. I love film music, and have a very modest collection, and there are many, many I would like to get, but if you guys could help me prioritize, that would be great! Here is a list of what I already have:

Doyle: HPGOF

Eragon

Sense and Sensibility

Giacchino: Star Trek

Gregson-Williams: Narnia - Prince Caspian

Newton Howard: The Village

Ottman: Superman Returns

Rosza: Ben-Hur (2-cd set)

Shore: Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King Complete Recordings box sets (My Holy Grails)

Williams: E.T.

Empire of the Sun

Harry Potter 1-3

Indiana Jones 1-4 (Music of Indiana Jones box set)

Jurassic Park

Minority Report

Saving Private Ryan

Schindler's List

Star Wars Ep. 1-6

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

War of the Worlds

Preference is for Williams (of course...) but I also like Newton Howard and Giacchino's sound. I generally dislike synthesizers and anything written by Hans Zimmer. I don't own any Goldsmith (gasp) so a list perhaps of his best would be nice, too. Thanks so much in advance to anybody who responds. BTW, this is the best message board on the internet.

P.S. I am a poor incoming collegiate freshman...

Necessary scores that you don't already own:

James Horner - Star Trek 2

John Williams - Hook

David Arnold - Independence Day

Danny Elfman - Batman

Danny Elfman - Edward Scissorhands

James Horner - Aliens

Jerry Goldsmith - Alien

Jerry Goldsmith - Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Jerry Goldsmith - Total Recall

Jerry Goldsmith - Basic Instinct

Jerry Goldsmith - the Omen trilogy boxset

Jerry Goldsmith - Twilight Zone: The Movie

Jerry Goldsmith - Poltergeist (but wait for the upcoming FSM release if you're gonna buy it)

John Williams - Superman

BTW, this is the best message board on the internet.

Thanks, I think so too!

[Trent B 337]

Well Star Trek 3 has been officially announced so get that FSM disc too along with Star Trek 2!

[Melange 446]

Neccesary Scores

Jason and Argonauts ~ Bernard Herrmann (CD Link)

- Bernard Herrmann (CD Link)

BTW, this is the best message board on the internet.

We can't be bought that way

[gkgyver 1,645]

Henry Mancini, Nino Rota.