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


Ollie

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Class Action (James Horner) - Low key, synth led effort that I can't really say set my world on fire, but still with enough Horner musical thumbprints to make it interesting.

 

My Week with Marilyn (Conrad Pope) - You can usually hear a bit of JW in Pope's writing, but it's more like finding a previously undiscovered JW cue than a riff on anything particular. Here there are some particularly fine scherzo style scores such as Colin Runs Off to the Circus. The charming main theme is by Alexandre Desplat and actually hints at something like Stanley and Iris without being a clone; although a shame they relied on Desplat as Pope is perfectly capable of writing his own themes. The songs and big band cues work fairly well alongside the more low key sections of underscore.

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15 hours ago, Jay said:

Yea that To Die For suite is cool too.  The OST album is easily found

 

Black Beauty is gorgeous!

 

Sommersby will probably get an expansion eventually

 

Freeway is ok

 

I noticed that some cues on the compilation are edited "suites", do we have the breakdown of them?

 

By example, Batman Returns as a "Trouble suite", what it's made from?

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I've never seen breakdowns posted anywhere, but it's easy enough to figure out - it's entirely material on the OST albums

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1 minute ago, Jay said:

I've never seen breakdowns posted anywhere, but it's easy enough to figure out - it's entirely material on the OST albums

 

Yes, I'm sure it's easy to guess, it must be like two little cues merged together, but I asked anyway!

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6 hours ago, crocodile said:

It was about the only score in the saga that wasn't butchered in the film (TLJ being second)

 

My opinion may change when we finally get a full release of the score proper, but what always troubled me about the TLJ score was that much of it in the film sounds to me like it was *written* in a similar way as some of the other scores were butcher-edited, i.e. rather abruptly jumping from a statement of one theme to another one, without a proper transition, and both in arrangements that sound like we've heard them before.

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30 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

My opinion may change when we finally get a full release of the score proper, but what always troubled me about the TLJ score was that much of it in the film sounds to me like it was *written* in a similar way as some of the other scores were butcher-edited, i.e. rather abruptly jumping from a statement of one theme to another one, without a proper transition, and both in arrangements that sound like we've heard them before.

That's another issue, yes. There are some passages that must be literally copying the temp-track. Williams clearly wasn't asked to provide a lot of fresh material which, of course, is unfortunate. Having said that, the score as presented in the film in terms of editing and mixing reflects very much what Williams wrote and recorded. The changes (trims etc) are relatively minor as compared to other scores. All of which lets the music breathe more. I reckon the final act segment is most satisfying in terms of dramatic impact and flow (regardless of originality). I often watch the final segment of the film with isolated score on.

 

Karol

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4 minutes ago, May the Force be with You said:

I only regret the absence of My Heart will go on

 

 

I inserted the song into the track listing in my digital copy.  It's part of it!

 

I also switched out the "intended" Portrait cue to the bonus tracks and put the piano version in the main presentation.

 

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3 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

 

I inserted the song into the track listing in my digital copy.  It's part of it!

 

I also switched out the "intended" Portrait cue to the bonus tracks and put the piano version in the main presentation.

 

That's indeed better. Now I just have to play it again with those two added ;)

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23 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Am I the only one who avoids My Heart Will Go On every time I listen to Titanic?

Nah I know people who can't stand Celine Dion either.

I'm personnaly only like this one (mainly for Horner's music), Ashes (from Deadpool 2) and I'm Alive (best use of Celine Dion in a movie for Sur la piste du Marsupilami)

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Disliking the song is such a common opinion among nerds that it's pretty much a cliché.  I probably wouldn't like the song if not for its association with the movie, and with the movie being a huge pop culture milestone of my childhood.  But it does have those associations, so I like it!

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2 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Am I the only one who avoids My Heart Will Go On every time I listen to Titanic?

 

You talk about the "Additional Track"? :lol:
 

image.png

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Just now, Naïve Old Fart said:

"My heart will go on"? What does that even mean?

 

It's about losing someone you love, still living your life but not forgetting them.  I'm not saying the lyrics are amazing, but it's a nice enough message.

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Alexander Courage & John Williams - Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (LLL)

 

Great score

 

 

Various - Music From The Films of Harrison Ford

 

A surprisingly nice album from Silva Screen recorded and released in 1994, covering scores from films with Harrison Ford in them.

 

The album contains 4 synth tracks performed by Mark Ayres

  • Allie's Theme from The Mosquito Coast by Maurice Jarre
  • End Titles from Blade Runner by Vangelis
  • Walking Talking Man from Regarding Henry by Hans Zimmer
  • Building The Barn from Witness by Maurice Jarre

1 track by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nic Raine (recorded 1993, so probably from a prior album)

  • Suite from Hanover Street by John Barry

and the rest are by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Bateman

  • Main Title from Star Wars by John Williams
  • March from Force Ten From Navarone by Ron Goodwin
  • Han Solo and the Princess from The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams
  • March from Raiders of the Lost Ark by John Williams
  • The Forest Battle from Return of the Jedi by John Williams
  • Nocturnal Activities from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom by John Williams
  • Building The Barn from Witness by Maurice Jarre (an orchestral version to contrast to with electronic version also on the disc)
  • End Credits from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by John Williams
  • End Titles from Presumed Innocent by John Williams
  • Electronic Battlefield from Patriot Games by James Horner
  • It's Over from The Fugitive by James Newton Howard

 

And all of that is presented in a nice order that flows well.  Pretty cool album.  It was nice to get a rare recording of the 1980 Han Solo and the Princess arrangement, not to mention getting any Temple of Doom music re-recorded is rare.  The Nocturnal Activities cut is incidentally just the cue 5m3 Nocturnal Activities; The one that's the first 2 minutes of the 6 minute OST track by the same name

 

 

Greatest Sci-Fi Movie Themes

 

:folder:

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7 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Am I the only one who avoids My Heart Will Go On every time I listen to Titanic?

Absolutely!

I don't think I've ever willingly listened to it.

Why?

Because it is such a great melody. I don't want words intruding .

I don't want to think of the lyrics everytime the instrumental plays.

Crazy?

Maybe😗😝

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1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I don't see what's so good about his King Kong.

It's because you have to listen to it not see it... ;)

But for me, I think it was the epic lyricism that really impressed me. I have the same feeling with Wyatt Earp like if both were simple, beautiful, long suites that you just let flow

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4 hours ago, May the Force be with You said:

Haven't listen to it yet, but surely will

You should. It's a fantastic score.

 

5 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Signs is his finest score, btw.

Possibly his second finest.

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John Williams - Dracula (remastered OST, 2018 expansion)

JNH - Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

LSO - John Williams: A life in Music (2018)

John Williams - Saving Private Ryan (2018 release)

John Williams - Schindler's List (2018 release)

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Dumbo (2019) - Danny Elfman

 

Ya know, this one has grown on me over the last 3 years.  There's some good stuff here.  Not on the level of the classic Burton collabs, but it's definitely way stronger than Dark Shadows/Frankenweenie.

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Dark Shadows is one of the biggest deception in Elfman's most recent works. I remember loving the score when I watched the movie but when I played the album few months later I found it so insipid and lifeless, miles away from what I recall of the movie. While Dumbo is totally on the opposite side, didn't noticed it in the movie but really liked the album

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Hans Zimmer - Drop Zone (Quartet)

 

I listened to this on my work commute yesterday.  I'm lucky I didn't get pulled over for speeding!

 

 

Bill Broughton & The Orchestra of the Americas - Final Frontier

 

Mostly meh re-recording album of all the usual hits - Star Wars, Superman, ET, Jurassic Park, Batman, Alien, 2001, etc.  Interesting from 2001 it doesn't just have Also Sprach Zarathustra, but the Blue Danube Waltz as well.  And the album ends with the finale and end credits from The Rocketeer, which might be the best track on the album.  Why are Horner re-rerecordings so rare?

 

The Star Wars medley here is interesting - it's an arrangement I've never come across anywhere else!  The credited arranger is James H. Burden, and it begins with the full Main Title, including the actual ending per the original film that's usually skipped past in concert performances to segue to the end credits instead.  Except even the ending is cut short, to segue to a quiet passage that includes the Force theme that I didn't specifically recognize as being from any of the scores, then it goes into the Throne Room cue and end title.  It was kinda interesting.

 

The ET "Main Theme" track was also a completely different arrangement than I'd ever heard before, credited to John Cacavas.  It begins with a quiet statement of the call theme, before going into the usual "Adventure on Earth" stuff, except after a while, it becomes different, playing with the themes in an original way and including some snare drum stuff that is never used in the actual score.  It was... strange.

 

Also the Jurassic Park theme is a transcription of the OST track by that name, not the standard concert arrangement heard a million times, so that was actually interesting too.

 

Overall, a decent "beginner's" film score album covering a lot of the big classic stuff, but nothing particularly remarkable for anyone with all the original recordings aside from few interesting arrangements to check out.  Sadly this album does not appear to be on streaming services or youtube

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Catching up on some recent listens I haven't mentioned here yet

 

 

John Debney - Elf

 

Listened to this score for the first time ever around Christmastime.  I didn't care for it

 

 

Elmer Bernstein - Ghostbusters (complete)

 

I own the Varese and Sony editions on physical CD, but in this instance I listened to a nice edit a fan put together combining everything on both.  I removed the source music because I like having them as bonus tracks but feel they are a detriment to the main program when included.  This is the best way to listen to this score now, and what a fun score it is, I really like it.

 

 

Basil Poledouris - Starship Troopers (Varese Deluxe)

 

As much as I love this presentation, it bothers me a lot now that there's a bunch of music recorded that isn't here, including a bunch of stuff that is used in the film.  I'd buy a Complete Edition in a heartbeat.  The did one for The Matrix, it's possible!
 

 

John Williams - The Adventures of Tintin (OST)

 

Wonderful!

 

 

James Horner - Field of Dreams (OST)

 

First time ever hearing this.  I liked it!

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2 minutes ago, AC1 said:

Born On The Fourth Of July

 

0069f4cb.jpg

 

I forgot that more than half the album is a bunch of old hits. :folder:

 

The John Williams score is on the B-Side of the LP, yeah.

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I also returned to many of my absolute favorite recent discoveries to start the year with work listening.  Amazing video game scores that I have listened to more than anything else over the past couple years, rarely going too long without returning to them.  Though in this case, I actually hadn't heard any of these in a while, with all the holiday scores, and end of year scores and catalog releases I wanted to explore.  So when I returned to these this month, would I still love them as much as always?

 

Revo - Bravely Default

 

Various - Xenoblade Chronicles II

 

Various - The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild

 

Christopher Larkin - Hollow Knight

 

Yasunori Mitsuda & Nobuo Uematsu - Front Mission Gun Hazard

 

 

Turns out yes, I still love all of them, and probably won't go long without listening to each one again soon!

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8 minutes ago, AC1 said:

Born On The Fourth Of July

 

0069f4cb.jpg

 

I forgot that more than half the album is a bunch of old hits. :folder:

This is one of the few soundtrack albums where I actually enjoy listening to the songs. It is for me one of the best songs plus score highlights OSTs.

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