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

[Bespin 8,487]

Listening to 'A Gathering of Friends' by John Williams: Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Edwin Outwater (associate conductor), Pablo Sáinz-Villegas (guitar), Mindy Kaufman and Robert Langevin (flutes), Jessica Zhou (harp), Eric Huebner (piano).

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

One word, Bes:

 

Spoiler

THUMB

 

[Knight of Ren 789]

I've been listening to some Horner scores I hadn't yet discovered, by decades. So far, I've listened to a bunch of his 80's works:

 

Brainstorm

The Journey of Natty Gann

*batteries not included

Dad

 

All four of them are great scores in their own way, but perhaps my favorite is Natty Gann. I just love Horner's melodramatic style, especially when coupled with the folksy instrumentation. Also, really enjoyed parts of the surprisingly dark Brainstorm!

 

What other 80's Horner scores would you recommend I listen to before I move on to the 90's?

[GerateWohl 4,396]

30 minutes ago, Knight of Ren said:

What other 80's Horner scores would you recommend I listen to before I move on to the 90's?

I would recommend Aliens and Willow.

 

I used to have a crush on Krull, because it was my first Horner score, but in the meantime the high pitched arrangements go a little on my nerves. It is as if Horner had the ambition to include permanently the highest notes, that you can get out of trumpets, violins and human voices.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

1 hour ago, Knight of Ren said:

I've been listening to some Horner scores I hadn't yet discovered, by decades. So far, I've listened to a bunch of his 80's works:

 

Brainstorm

The Journey of Natty Gann

*batteries not included

Dad

 

All four of them are great scores in their own way, but perhaps my favorite is Natty Gann. I just love Horner's melodramatic style, especially when coupled with the folksy instrumentation. Also, really enjoyed parts of the surprisingly dark Brainstorm!

 

What other 80's Horner scores would you recommend I listen to before I move on to the 90's?

 

If you haven't already heard them, ST: II, ST: III, KRULL, ALIENS, AN AMERICAN TAIL, and COCOON are a must.

I've got a really soft spot for GORKY PARK, THE NAME OF THE ROSE (his bona fide magnum opus), the absolutely beautiful SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, and the the aforementioned *batteries not included.

[Jay 37,415]

1 hour ago, Knight of Ren said:

What other 80's Horner scores would you recommend I listen to before I move on to the 90's?

 

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Krull (1983)

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)

Aliens (1986)
Willow (1988)

 

All top 10 Horners for me.

[Thor 7,546]

1 hour ago, Knight of Ren said:

What other 80's Horner scores would you recommend I listen to before I move on to the 90's?

 

Extremely subjective, of course, but for me 5 favs from the decade are WILLOW, AN AMERICAN TAIL, ALIENS, THE LAND BEFORE TIME and THE NAME OF THE ROSE.

 

If it's "folksy" instrumentation from the 80s you're after, which you seemed to indicate, you could do worse than check out RASCALS AND ROBBERS: THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER AND HUCKLEBERRY FINN (gee, what a title!).

 

 

[filmmusic 1,844]

21 minutes ago, Thor said:

THE NAME OF THE ROSE

Odd choice!

[Andy 4,152]

Cocoon might just be the ultimate representation of 80s Horner.  Absolutely essential.

 

I'll second Thor's recommendation of Rascals and Robbers.  It isn't as delicate and melodic as Natty Gann, but it's good fun.

 

Star Trek II and III are superb and should not be missed.  Battle Beyond the Stars is a must if you enjoy those.

[crocodile 8,027]

40 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Odd choice!

It's an unique score though. I hope some label will pick it up soon. It is missing from my collection.

 

Karol

[Knight of Ren 789]

So many great recommendations! I already know Willow, Cocoon and ST, as well as his animation works, and I really like them a lot, but I will surely check out some of the other recommendations. Thanks!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

3 hours ago, filmmusic said:

Odd choice!

 

To like THE NAME OF THE ROSE, I guess you have to either weird, or me. Fortunately, I qualify on both counts 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, crocodile said:

It's an unique score though. I hope some label will pick it up soon. It is missing from my collection.

 

Karol

It's available from momox for £16:93, which is pretty reasonable.

[Jay 37,415]

Michael Giacchino - Super 8

 

Wowzers, I hadn't listened to this in YEARS, and I forgot how much I liked it!  The Abrams/Giacchino collaboration was so fruitful for so long!  Shame it seems to be over (and Abrams barely makes films any more)

 

 

James Horner - Sneakers (OST album)

 

Wanted to listen to the old album one last time before I get the expansion.  Boy, another score I had forgotten how much I like it.  Album has great flow too!  I'm looking forward to the expansion very much!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

"... and give him hee...elp, whenever he asks for it".

[Marian Schedenig 8,217]

Be a beacon in his sad and lonely life.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

"'Be a beacon'?"

[Jurassic Shark 12,106]

Be a bacon.

 

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,217]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

"'Be a beacon'?"

 

"Give him head?"

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

10 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Be a bacon.

 

 

 

You really are a complete feckin' eejit (and we love you, for it ).

[Bespin 8,487]

Music from the LAST HP movie? 

 

[Edmilson 7,491]

I still need to do a playlist for that one, removing some boring stuff here and there.

[Bespin 8,487]

4 hours ago, Edmilson said:

I still need to do a playlist for that one, removing some boring stuff here and there.

 

ChatGPT suggested me this selection for a short program, but I don't know the OST enough to judge it:

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

1 hour ago, Bespin said:

Music from the LAST HP movie? 

 

Well, half a thumb is better than no thumb, I suppose.

[Schilkeman 969]

What a perfect thing. 

 

[Thor 7,546]

 

Has some really strong tracks, some not so much. But it's a fascinating dive into early Badalamenti (the film is from 1987) that has nothing whatsoever to do with the Lynch sound.

[Thor 7,546]

 

Such a brilliant, brilliant score, the film being one of the launching pads for the term 'cinema du look' (which I've sometimes dubbed 'cinema du Luc'). Serra at his synth and pop best.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

Any Serra is good Serra... yes, even GOLDENEYE 

[Thor 7,546]

59 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Any Serra is good Serra... yes, even GOLDENEYE 

 

Indeed. My favourite Bond score. Everyone is free to react with shock now.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

It's certainly top-5, for me.

 

Yes, you bawl all you want, Bruce; it doesn't change the fact that GOLDENEYE is a good score.

[Thor 7,546]

 

One of my favourite Grusin soundtracks, even if - yes - some of the songs and tracks have a an air of hokiness about them. But it's got Chris friggin' Thompson, for Chrissakes (one of my alltime favourite singers)!  It also has "T.J.'s Theme", which are my initials and sometimes nickname, so that's cute.

[Jurassic Shark 12,106]

12 hours ago, Thor said:

 

Indeed. My favourite Bond score. Everyone is free to react with shock now.

 

Goldeneye is a great song.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

... and so is the rest of the score 

[Thor 7,546]

 

It's an uneven album, but the best parts are really good, including the typewriter ideas. Post-minimalist romanticism, which Marianelli really excelled at there, in the mid and late 2000s, before he became a bit boring eventually.

[Edmilson 7,491]

Elegy for Dunkirk and Denouement are two of the best cues Marianelli composed, not only on the album but also in context. The ending of the movie, with Marianelli's powerful score, has left a big impression on me since I saw it.

[Bespin 8,487]

Currently listening to the 13th CD of 'The Legend of John Williams' box set, featuring music from the Oliver Stone Tryptich. Exceptional compositions that beautifully complement Oliver Stone's films.

 

[Thor 7,546]

 

I've been on a Geffray binge ever since I discovered her score for the 2023 film SPLIT and have gone through her back catalogue on BandCamp. This 2015 film, which I presume takes place in 1994, is another great testament to her skills. Beautiful and dreamy, but keeping the playfulness that can only come from France and Jean Michel Jarre's legacy. Only 20 minutes long, but all solid.

[thestat 352]

Serra's version of Carmina Burana (I mean, why not)> still good stuff:

 

Love that he put his little synth pads in the background (but this is seriously good shit - Serra has some massive capacity but gets lost in that experimental nonsense):

 

[Andy 4,152]

 

There are cues in Howard Blake’s score for Flash Gordon (the orchestral score, not the music by Queen) that remind me very much of the somewhat somber sound of Walking in the Air.  It’s almost Barry-esque, and makes me wonder if he had the chops to do a Bond score back in the day. 

[Schilkeman 969]

 

A very nice score for an underrated movie. I've heard somewhere that Jerry had to write this one in a hurry. It's a little simple, but his usual building blocks approach to scoring is compelling for the run-time of the ost.

[Thor 7,546]

 

Johnny Pate turns 100 friggin' years old today! He's the oldest living film composer in the world. So I celebrate him by playing his most famous soundtrack (and also to honour Richard Roundtree, who passed away a few weeks ago), this awesomely funky affair from 1972, when he was already almost 50 years old.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,584]

He's a bad mutha- 

Shut your mouth!

But I'm talkin' 'bout Shaft.

 

 

[Thor 7,546]

He also orchestrated SUPER FLY, so he crossed off the two major blaxploitation properties there.

[Bespin 8,487]

Perfect selection of music from Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones films!

 

[Jay 37,415]

I dunno, do you really want the full Raiders March, AND Temple of Doom end credits AND Crystal Skull end credits on the same disc?  There's a way to program highlights of those 4 scores without duplicating the main march arrangement of the main theme so many times

[Faleel 5,375]

Hook

 

[Thor 7,546]

 

Classic Norwegian film from 1989 (remade abroad a few times), with a wonderful score by legends Geir Bøhren & Bent Åserud. True, some of the synth suspense cues are a bit heavy on the ear (and air), but those gorgeous oboe(?) solos are to die for, as well as some of the more explorative synth textures underwater.

 

And on to...

 

 

Another great effort for this 1996 Oscar-nominated film, this time a straight-up chamber ensemble score, with - again - some great woodwind writing (they're always brilliant with woodwinds).

[MedigoScan 325]

 

This came out today and I had to have it. I've been wanting this music ever since I was a kid and its still sounds amazing and a perfect fit for the setting.

Each episode has its own feel, but thats what really what you can expect from the TAS universe.

[Thor 7,546]

 

I love how B&Å plays around with tropes in this one, including Americana when Henie gets there. A Euro/US crossover-type score that is quite lush and delightful. This was a 1995 TV documentary on the famous Norwegian figure skater and actress. One of our biggest Hollywood exports to this day.

[Thor 7,546]

 

Last B&Å for the day, this 1995 film starring Robert Mitchum, among others (always great to get Hollywood stars to do Norwegian films) is part light, part dark - sometimes relying on mid-European classical tropes, sometimes using more contemporary tonal language. Good stuff.

[GerateWohl 4,396]

Amazon proposed to me today again to purchase Horners Avatar OST for 5 euros. So, I gave it another listen on Spotify. But then these pseudo etno vocals... like at "Jake's First Flight"

 

No sorry.

I really cannot stand this score.