What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)

[Jay 37,319]

Continuing to go through my physical collection:

 

Lena Raine - Celeste (physical 3CD edition)

 

This is one of my favorite scores of all time, and I was elated when it finally got a physical CD release a couple years after it came out, and that on top it if it included her later DLC score, and the main program was reimagined to include some bits from the "Madelaine's Grab Bag" EP, and included everything else from that release as bonus tracks.

 

The newly expanded main program is nice, though I wouldn't necessarily say it's a unequivocal improvement over the original main program.  The new additions are so short, though, they don't really change the flow too much.

 

The DLC score I've never fully warmed up to, but that could be in part due to the fact I haven't played the DLC level yet.  It's fine, just not an instant classic like the main score.

 

Lena actually wrote liner notes for this CD edition, which is wonderful, except that she doesn't really say much in them, and kind of shills for her solo albums more than talks about making the music for Celeste.

 

The biggest bummer with the CD set though is they manufactured it wrong, there's a 2 second gap between every single track, even when two tracks overlap with each other.  Rookie mistake!

 

Overall though, still a fantastic score that any fan of the genre should check out, available free on all the streaming services or her BandCamp page.

[Matt C 452]

 

I like the Philharmonia Orchestra's performance here (especially the choir), but this is not a suite per se. It's just a re-recording of the last bit of "Phoenix Rises" and "The Last Stand".

 

Powell could've arranged a nice 15 minute compilation with the film version of "Opening Credits" (film version), "Whirlpool of Love", "Attack on Alcatraz", plus the previous two tracks. Kind of a wasted opportunity.

[Jay 37,319]

James Horner - The Legend of Zorro

 

Possibly my first time listening to this score, not sure; I've had the score to the first film since it came out and always liked it, but never saw this sequel movie and never picked up this OST album until I found it used in a Newbury Comics or Amoeba Records or something a few years back.  Well, it's good!  Very similar to the first score, honestly if I had both albums combined on shuffle I'd have no clue which film any random track was from.  I like the sound he uses for these 2 scores, and I welcome expansions of both!

 

Michael Giacchino - The Family Stone

 

We watched this movie over the holiday season, my first time seeing it since it came out.  I honestly can't say I noticed the score that often during the film, but the OST album listen this morning was nice.  This is a fun album to play around the holidays every year!

 

 

James Newton Howard - Dinosaur

 

I think this is my first time listening to this OST album.  I was rudely shocked when track #2 ended up being an absolutely terrible pop song, really soured my mood!  But after that was finally over, the score that follows is pretty damn good!  There's some really cool action music here, and lots of nice string and brass work in the more emotional parts.  And the main theme is good too, it has a nice amount of optimism to it! 

I can't believe it took me so long to check this one out!

[Bespin 8,480]

Good, good.

[Jay 37,319]

Michael Kamen - Mr Hollands Opus (Score album)

Ooof.  This is a pretty decent 48 minute score album, bloated to 67 minutes by the inclusion an 11 minute Beethoven piece and an 8 minute Bach piece placed in between score tracks.  Why they do this!?  The score itself is pretty good, but the album crawls along getting through those classic pieces until the narrative can resume.  The album wraps up with a Julian Lennon song that is based on the one of the main themes, which is decent.

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

13 hours ago, Jay said:

I never heard any of the old editions of The Swarm so don't know what the sounded like, but the LLL edition truly sounds great.  Neil and co really worked some magic on it, apparently!

 

Yea some of the recurring themes in Back In Action were nice.  I really enjoyed Debney's finale cues too

 

I dunno if you saw the news, but MV specifically said that TND almost happened last year but is now on indefinite hold.

Yeah, it sounds a lot better than the older release. It was pretty clear, but quite raw and abrasive sounding (not sure how best to describe it). Although it does make you realise just how crappier some other scores from the period sound relatively, even with remastering efforts (Williams' Dracula for example - much improved, but hardly as crisp and vibrant as The Swarm).

 

Debney did a good job finishing the score. I suppose it helps that it's quite an eclectic effort that you don't notice the joins that much.

 

I had heard about TND. Shame... but never say never (again). As it were.

11 hours ago, Matt C said:

 

I like the Philharmonia Orchestra's performance here (especially the choir), but this is not a suite per se. It's just a re-recording of the last bit of "Phoenix Rises" and "The Last Stand".

 

Powell could've arranged a nice 15 minute compilation with the film version of "Opening Credits" (film version), "Whirlpool of Love", "Attack on Alcatraz", plus the previous two tracks. Kind of a wasted opportunity.

Agreed that the Last Stand suite could have been longer, it would have been nice had he done slightly fewer, longer suites. As mentioned elsewhere, I had similar feelings on the HTTYD2 suite, missing off Flying With Mother (or Stoik's Ship) seems like a strange choice given that it's a pivotal moment in the film and a fine standalone track. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

@Tom Guernsey,

The Prometheus edition of THE SWARM sounded as if it was recorded and mixed through a pillow. It was terrible, and even worse than the 1978 vinyl. It had very little dynamic range, or natural reverb. The new edition sounds fantastic.

[crocodile 7,988]

Looney Tunes: Back in Action by Jerry Goldsmith (and John Debney). Cartoon music is not my thing usually but this is definitely better than I expected. While it's a really scattershot score by design, as expected, Goldsmith thankfully never allows it devolve into complete chaos. There are some ideas that bind it all together. I'm absolutely amazing by the sheer energy on display. It certainly doesn't sound like it's been written by someone with grave illness. It might not be something I'll be listening too often but I do appreciate the effort and care that went into creating and restoring this score (as detailed by enjoyable liner notes).

 

Oh and the extras as presented on the first chunk of CD 2 are really fun with all the studio chatter etc. It makes it more engaging than usual and it's a nice historical record of the recording process behind Jerry's final score. Really nice touch. 

 

Karol

[Bespin 8,480]

I'm listening to Taxi Driver Expanded ed., while sipping a bourbon.

 

Nice.

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

You talkin' to me?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The Prisoner of Zenda - Henry Mancini

 

My favorite Mancini mode is his "old-timey" mode where he shows his love for turn-of-the-20th-century light music like waltzes, rags, marches, operettas, and popular songs.  Where he can create a stew of Strauss, Victor Herbert, Percy Grainger, Sousa, Tin Pan Alley, etc.   The Great Race is still the best example I've heard, but Prisoner of Zenda sure is great fun!

[Jay 37,319]

I gotta check that score out, usually every time I check out a new (to me) Mancini score, I end up liking it!

[Holko 9,499]

Conan the Barbarian (Prometheus) - great rerecording of a great score.

 

HP1-3 - I still have to pinch myself sometimes to believe we got official expansions. All 3 are great but Azkaban especially. I can't think of a single cue that's not a highlight in some way.

 

 

 

 

The Grim, maybe.  But it has the alternate with that string line.

 

Babe (Varese Deluxe) - Great edition of a lovely little score for a lovely little movie.

 

The Thing - I've already heard pieces on the Morricone set, but I listened to the whole OST for the first time on Saturday and ordered the Quartet midway through. Love it.

[Bespin 8,480]

Jerry Goldsmith - The Russia House OST

James Horner - Searching For Bobby Fischer OST

Danny Elfman - Dolores Claiborne OST

[Jay 37,319]

Jake Kaufman - Double Dragon Neon

 

Holy hell, this was fun, a retro 80s score complete with four 80s soundalike songs.  What a hoot! https://virt.bandcamp.com/album/double-dragon-neon

 

 

John Williams - 1941 (OST album)

 

Wow, it'd been a long time since I checked out the OST album.  Talk about an album that simply does not do justice to an 80 minute score, only containing 34 minutes of it.  It's almost all action highlights with a lot of the nuance of the score gone.  And there's not only cannon sound effects in 3 tracks, but dialogue in one of them too.  No thanks!

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

@Jay, a good assessment of 1941, a score which currently resides at #4 in my all-time top-ten Johnny list.

Back in December, 1979, the O.S.T. was all we had. I listened to in incessantly, having bought it in London, along with ST:TMP.

[Jay 37,319]

It's all good music from start to finish but man, there's just so much more to the score that simply isn't on there...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

That's what I thought when I saw the film at the cinema.

[Bespin 8,480]

Danny Elfman - Batman returns OST

[Jay 37,319]

Jerry Goldsmith - The Wind and the Lion (2007 Intrada 2CD)

 

Never heard this score before.  The main presentation on CD1 is great!  Fun percussion writing and an interesting narrative journey.

 

The OST on Disc 2 didn't fair as well; Too focues on similar cues, not nearly the variety the complete score offers.  Plus, the sound quality is noticeably different (especially without headphones and playing disc 2 immediately after disc 1) - and worse.  

 

The bonus source material arranged by Alexander Courage is a long 20 minutes, but some fun stuff.  It was interesting to hear a completely different take on The Battle Cry of Freedom than the Lincoln version

[GerateWohl 4,343]

The 3 Worlds of Guliver - Bernard Herrmann, re-recording by Joel McNeely with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

What a beatiful score. I just heard a suite before on a Herrmann sampler. But to really enjoy the score you must listen to the whole thing. Really. It starts with some 18 century Joseph Haydn style march, then after some track turs to the beautiful love theme and the music for the tiny people with a lot of woodwinds and high strings afterwards for the giants deep and bassy eerie sound. Really wonderful music ride closing the circle at the end nearly where it started. Herrmann wrote this score directly after his avant garde score for Psycho. Unbelievalbe what a range of music writing skills Herrmann had. Big recommendation. 

 

 

 

[Brundlefly 2,385]

25 minutes ago, Jay said:

The OST on Disc 2 didn't fair as well; Too focues on similar cues, not nearly the variety the complete score offers.  Plus, the sound quality is noticeably different (especially without headphones and playing disc 2 immediately after disc 1) - and worse.  

There are some overlays as well that aren't on disc 1.

[Jay 37,319]

John Debney, Joel McNeely, and Andrew Cottee - The Orville (Season 2 OST album)

 

Phew, that's a lot of music!  I heard so much good stuff here, I can't wait to really dig into this and get to know the music better.  I think there are less memorable episode-specific themes here than in the Season 1 OST album, but there is certainly lots more grand action music.  Cool stuff!

[crocodile 7,988]

Listening to this now. I had no idea this even existed:

 

 

Karol

[Bespin 8,480]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

Jerry Goldsmith - The Wind and the Lion (2007 Intrada 2CD)

 

Hmm, I purchased this release, it would be a good idea to listen to it! 

 

I purchase too much for my listening capacity. That's the sad truth.

[Jay 37,319]

15 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Listening to this now. I had no idea this even existed:

 

Karol

 

I shared my thoughts here.

[crocodile 7,988]

Heart of the Island theme doesn't seem to be represented at all. Big fail, it's one of the finest themes. But otherwise quite a strong playlist minus the talking. 

 

Karol

[Jay 37,319]

Aye, wonderful performances and selection ruined by including talking in the tracks

[Bespin 8,480]

Talking, breathing, bombing in a track.. Come on, always provide a clean version on an expanded release.

 

Mercy.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration Vol. 3

 

Hands down my favorite Williams album recorded in the last 10 years.  I’ve even gotten used to the shorter Hymn, although I prefer the longer version still.  The performances and recording are so flawless I’m still newly impressed even after dozens of listens.

[Edmilson 7,395]

Elliot Goldenthal - Sphere (bootleg)

 

The complete score has some boring suspense music, but the final tracks are great!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Made a smart playlist of ends of film scores to put on shuffle.

 

Any other common word used for finales I should maybe include in the rules? (since I used 'contains' the End Credit/End Title options would include the plurals of those [End Credits/End Titles])

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

It that iTunes?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The Application Formerly Known As iTunes, yes.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

Never used it.

[Faleel 5,340]

Epilogue? Main on End? The End? End Cast?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

6 minutes ago, Spider-Fal said:

Epilogue? Main on End? The End? End Cast?

 

Epilogue and End Cast are good catches.  "Main on End" I feel like is more of a technical "inside Hollywood" term that doesn't get put on commercial soundtrack releases much.  Although it does appear in session leaks, so also a good suggestion!

[Edmilson 7,395]

15 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

"Main on End" I feel like is more of a technical "inside Hollywood" term that doesn't get put on commercial soundtrack releases much

 

The end title for the Avengers: Endgame OST is called "Main on End":

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

17 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

doesn't get put on commercial soundtrack releases much

 

[Edmilson 7,395]

There's also those cases in which the name of the end title track is the actual name of the movie:

 

 

 

 

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,176]

29 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

There's also those cases in which the name of the end title track is the actual name of the movie:

 

Good luck setting up a generic filter for those.  

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020)- Christopher Willis

 

As someone who was touting the talents of Christopher Willis even before The Death of Stalin, it's very gratifying to hear him blossom into one of the best composers working in film today.  It's an interesting approach to use the sound of American "post-minimalists" like Michael Torke and John Adams for a story of 19th century Britain, but he does so with aplomb!  More JWFans need to check this out!

[Jay 37,319]

I found Death of Stalin incredibly overrated - both film, and score!  I'll probably see this flick eventually anyway though

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

2 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020)- Christopher Willis

 

As someone who was touting the talents of Christopher Willis even before The Death of Stalin, it's very gratifying to hear him blossom into one of the best composers working in film today.  It's an interesting approach to use the sound of American "post-minimalists" like Michael Torke and John Adams for a story of 19th century Britain, but he does so with aplomb!  More JWFans need to check this out!

Double thumbs up. It’s a great score. I’m quite disappointed to not be able to find anything else by him other than those two scores. Unless I’m missing something?!

[GerateWohl 4,343]

The Happening - James Newton Howard

I would say, this score is quite underrated, since it is not so spectacular like The Village or Signs and I think, the movie is pretty bad. Haven't seen it, but the score is really a joyful musical experience. I think, I like it better than Lady in the Water. 

[Jay 37,319]

Nubuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy IV

 

Great!

 

 

Blake Neely - Flight Attendant

 

Fun!  Every time I listen, I can't believe how fast the 76 minute album flies by!

[Marian Schedenig 8,176]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

I found Death of Stalin incredibly overrated - both film, and score!  I'll probably see this flick eventually anyway though

 

I didn't - neither - but Stalin is still the only Willis I've heard, so I really should look into more of his stuff.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Double thumbs up. It’s a great score. I’m quite disappointed to not be able to find anything else by him other than those two scores. Unless I’m missing something?!

Nope there’s nothing else I know of in terms of soundtrack releases.

 

I first discovered him 5 or 6 years ago because my oldest started watching these new Mickey cartoon shorts on YouTube and after a while I began to notice that the music was way above average for that kind of thing, to the point where I actually took note of his name from the credits.

 

The culmination of his work on the Mickey shorts is this one, which is entirely 100% music with no SFX at all.  It’s a masterful and very funny pastiche of Tchaikovsky and others.

 

 

[KK 3,307]

5 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020)- Christopher Willis

 

As someone who was touting the talents of Christopher Willis even before The Death of Stalin, it's very gratifying to hear him blossom into one of the best composers working in film today.  It's an interesting approach to use the sound of American "post-minimalists" like Michael Torke and John Adams for a story of 19th century Britain, but he does so with aplomb!  More JWFans need to check this out!

 

Excellent score. Talented composer. Needs more work!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]