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

[JTN 2,040]

Wow, you are hardcore. 

[Bespin 8,484]

For it's different takes on "Hook", "Born on The Fourth of July" and it's excellent suite from "The Rare Breed", etc, etc.

 

And because it was John William's 92th birthday yesterday of course!

 

 

And this one of course, Happy Birthday John Williams!

[JTN 2,040]

I’m reminded again that Elliot Goldenthal is one of the most original “sounds” in film music. 

[Bespin 8,484]

KEEP CALM

AND

LISTEN TO
THOMAS NEWMAN

 

 

[crocodile 8,018]

I had no idea this even existed!

 

 

Karol

[Thor 7,518]

 

It's been many years since I played this classic. Warm nostalgia as Grusin nurtures sitcom stylings, combined with contemporary pop elements and his usual jazz/blues. Underrated production values (love those basslines and tinkering synths).

[Thor 7,518]

 

After the "tease" on the superb Ghent/WSA compilation, I decided to give the full album a go again, after many years. It's still a great score; I prefer the slow and chromatic stuff over the jubilant orchestral fanfares, but that's just my taste these days. By the way, Maximilian Schell really reminds me of Kenneth Branagh in this photo.

[Tallguy 3,401]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

By the way, Maximilian Schell really reminds me of Kenneth Branagh in this photo.

 

I thought it was Sam Neil.

[filmmusic 1,838]

 

I haven't seen this film, though I want to, because the score is masterful.

Strings heavy with a great opening theme.

I see at this site that the composer has only one credit:

https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/composerdiscography.php?composerid=1029

Weird!

[Thor 7,518]

 

So rare now, I can't even find a proper-sized cover online. But anyways, this score has been with me since my early film music days (early 90s) -- it remains my favourite Yared, I think. Also displays his underrated skill as an electronic composer, with beautiful, chilly textures. Kinda Vangelis in places.

[filmmusic 1,838]

3 hours ago, Thor said:

it remains my favourite Yared, I think

Really? I should listen to it then.

In the meantime, I listened to another Yared masterpiece:

 

 

 

[Thor 7,518]

WINGS OF COURAGE is fine, but not in my top 10 Yared, I think. To be honest, I feel pretty sure you won't like MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART. Too electronic and textural, if I know your taste right.

 

 

A lot of people will probably find this 2008 effort too "samey", but I can stay in Debney's slow, moody, middle eastern landscapes forever, whether it's this, PASSION OF THE CHRIST, THE YOUNG MESSIAH or anything else.

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

30 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Really? I should listen to it then.

In the meantime, I listened to another Yared masterpiece:

 

 

 

Gosh I remember watching Wings of Courage in the Imax cinema at Futuroscope (near Poitiers in France) when I went for a “day trip” with my mother during the summer holidays after I finished school. This was before the days when “proper” movies were made in imax.

 

Poitiers turned out to be a whole lot further from where we were based near St Malo than we realised so we ended up staying the night. My A level results were announced the next day and I got them from my dad who I called from a pay phone by the Loire on our drive back. As you do. I got the grades for my first choice uni where I met Mr Southall.

 

I don’t actually remember anything about Yared’s score. But hey. Have a semi related anecdote  

[Thor 7,518]

 

Great 1967 score by Schifrin that is mostly romantic, suave, and pastoral (love those woodwinds!). Very "longhair". It's directed by Mark Rydell, btw, who's still around at 94. Wouldn't one final Williams/Rydell collaboration be something, eh? Eh?

[JTN 2,040]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

it remains my favourite Yared

How do you like CAMILLE CLAUDEL? That’s his favorite of his scores.

[Thor 7,518]

2 minutes ago, JTW said:

How do you like CAMILLE CLAUDEL? That’s his favorite of his scores.

 

Great score. THAT's a top 10 candidate.

[Thor 7,518]

 

Young was never very complex, but extremely colourful. Great restoration work by John Morgan for this fine album.

[filmmusic 1,838]

14 hours ago, Thor said:

To be honest, I feel pretty sure you won't like MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART. Too electronic and textural, if I know your taste right.

 

you're right. I didn't like it very much.

By the way, Camile Claudel is one of my favorites too. The love theme is sublime and I think it has Mahlerian influences.

14 hours ago, JTW said:

How do you like CAMILLE CLAUDEL? That’s his favorite of his scores.

Has he mentioned it in an interview? I didn't know...

[JTN 2,040]

57 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Has he mentioned it in an interview?

Yes, in my interview with him. If I remember correctly, he had been listening to a lot of Mahler before he started composing CC, and it had a great influence on his writing. But I’ll check our conversation later and quote him. 

[JTN 2,040]

I’ve been obsessed with this score for more than a week now, listening to it over and over again, can’t seem to get bored of it. It’s Jerry’s late masterpiece, one of the greatest scores of all time. 

[Thor 7,518]

Still my alltime favourite Jerry, that one.

 

 

Holdridge was such a force to be reckoned with (he's not dead, but he seems off the grid these days) - always with these big, orchestral forces doing trad stuff with oodles of energy and colour. Not really a sound I gravitate towards anymore, but I did at one point. And this is old enough (1983) to ignite some of those old passions. Strong score, with - predictably - superb performance from the LSO.

[Tallguy 3,401]

1 hour ago, JTW said:

I’ve been obsessed with this score for more than a week now, listening to it over and over again, can’t seem to get bored of it. It’s Jerry’s late masterpiece, one of the greatest scores of all time. 

 

Man. I hear this from so many people. Maybe I need to try and get into this. It's not like I don't love Jerry.

[JTN 2,040]

You definitely should. Scores don’t get much grander than that. Amazing themes, rich orchestrations, classic romanticism, thrilling action writing, it’s got it all.

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

39 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

Man. I hear this from so many people. Maybe I need to try and get into this. It's not like I don't love Jerry.

 

It's got all the action and excitement a theme-packed late 90s action adventure can muster. Add the sublime elegance of The Caravan and the crazy metre changes and head-banging syncopation of My Favourite Plague (2:18-end) as cornerstones, and you get one of the best scores of its kind:

 

 

But Goldsmith's last masterpiece remains Hollow Man.

[JTN 2,040]

I wrote late, not last.

[Bespin 8,484]

Somewhat begrudgingly, as it seems there won't be a proper extended version announced of The Phantom Menace to mark its 25th anniversary... let's listen to this peculiar disc, which should be taken somewhat like an "Isolated score," but on CD. In the absence of bread, one resorts to cake, as my grandmother would say!

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

13 minutes ago, Bespin said:

In the absence of bread, one resorts to cake, as my grandmother would say!

 

Your grandmother was Marie Antoinette?

[JTN 2,040]

[Thor 7,518]

 

Great and under-appreciated Donaggio score from 1987, mostly lithurgical (nice, but small choir employed), with a little bit of weirdness here and there. The cover could use some work, though. Terrible borders.

[JNHFan2000 2,967]

I really love this score!

Main theme is fantastic and the action cues always bring me a lot of joy!

 

Smaller cues like Robicheaux Reunion, A Bear In People's Clothes or The Deserter are beautiful.

Final cue Seven Riders is so cool how Horner theme is played with the rhythm of Bernstein's theme.

I feel it's all glorious stuff.

 

 

[Thor 7,518]

 

Somehow, I didn't care for this in the 90s. Don't understand why, maybe because it wasn't action-heavy enough for my restless youth spirit. It's adorable.

[Trope 527]

I listened to Memoirs of a Geisha for the first time 3 days ago and it's been running through my head non-stop. What a fantastic main theme. My favourite track is the End Credits - I love the accompanying minimalistic textures and how Johnny plays around with the rhythm of the melody and the underlying harmony.

[Thor 7,518]

 

Nothing like a little Karaindrou/Angelopoulos when you're hung over -- slow, sneaking, discrete soundscapes for an aching body and mind.

[Thor 7,518]

 

Dominik Scherrer, who has delivered one of 2024's most interesting scores so far in BOAT STORY (and who previously impressed me with his score for MISS MARPLE) really blasted on to the scene with this excellent 2007 score, fusing electronics, orchestra and voices. 

[Thor 7,518]

 

Such a beautiful score. Primarily synths, true, and sometimes synths mimicking acoustic ensembles (which is usually a no-no), but somehow I like this. Only 22 minutes, though, which is too little.

[filmmusic 1,838]

3 hours ago, Thor said:

Such a beautiful score. Primarily synths, true, and sometimes synths mimicking acoustic ensembles (which is usually a no-no), but somehow I like this. Only 22 minutes, though, which is too little.

A religious soundtrack you hadn't suggested to me? 

I should listen to it then, although I'm a bit allergic to synths.

 

* * *

 

As I remembered, it didn't "say" anything to me at all.

On the other hand, I find the Silence of the Lambs a masterpiece!

[Thor 7,518]

12 hours ago, filmmusic said:

A religious soundtrack you hadn't suggested to me? 

I should listen to it then, although I'm a bit allergic to synths.

 

Yeah, it's because of the sound and the instrument choices I didn't recommend it to you. I don't think you'll like it.

[filmmusic 1,838]

 

Listened to the score only, without the classical pieces.

Well, I think the main theme is my favorite non-Williams theme of the last 20 years (together with Korzeniowski's A Single Man).

The rest is mostly drone and sustained music, but of the good kind, if there is such a thing.

Love it! Moving and melancholic.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Found a track from this in a YouTube playlist and listened to a chunk during a couple of drives yesterday. It's music that has craft and talent in it; the sort of thing that makes me not give a damn if Derrick isn't using some fancy, clever chords or musical devices - it's absolutely beautiful; very reflective for a countryside journey.

 

I've alread got Soule's scores for Oblivion and Skyrim and will certainly be looking to check out anything else from this series.

 

[crocodile 8,018]

The Haunting and Hollow Man by Jerry Goldsmith. Two delicious, somewhat spooky, late scores from Goldsmith. It strikes me just how elegant and alluring these two are.

 

Karol

[Richard Penna 3,694]

I love The Haunting; it fits the setting like a glove and highlights Goldsmith's knack at capturing an atmosphere. Never struck me as a score that needed deluxifying yet here it is and it's a great hour or so of spooky, psychological music.

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

I love the main theme from The Haunting (not the circus one), but the rest of the score never did much for me. The theme and overall atmosphere are good enough to give it a spin every once in a while though.

[Edmilson 7,470]

James Horner - The Spitfire Grill

 

 

Pretty and delicate, though a little... how do I say... unsubstantial? Paradoxically, I like how this score avoids overt melodrama and instead is just content in being small and intimate. It reminded me a bit of Bernstein's To Kill a Mockingbird. A nice companion for other Horner "drama-but-not-that-melodramatic" scores like Dad.

[Trope 527]

36 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

James Horner - The Spitfire Grill

 

 

Pretty and delicate, though a little... how do I say... unsubstantial? Paradoxically, I like how this score avoids overt melodrama and instead is just content in being small and intimate. It reminded me a bit of Bernstein's To Kill a Mockingbird. A nice companion for other Horner "drama-but-not-that-melodramatic" scores like Dad.

How good is "The Trees"? I love James' twinkly piano and synth textures. And those beautiful horn solos.

[Thor 7,518]

I love practically all of Horner's scores like THE SPITFIRE GRILL. In fact, that's the type of Horner I gravitate towards these days over the big and rambunctious orchestral thingies.

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

7 hours ago, Edmilson said:

James Horner - The Spitfire Grill

 

 

Pretty and delicate, though a little... how do I say... unsubstantial? Paradoxically, I like how this score avoids overt melodrama and instead is just content in being small and intimate. It reminded me a bit of Bernstein's To Kill a Mockingbird. A nice companion for other Horner "drama-but-not-that-melodramatic" scores like Dad.

I have to say that The Spitfire Grill is pretty much my favourite low key Horner score. I played it to death when it first came out and it still stands apart in that section of his catalogue. I especially love Reading the Letters which I played over and over when I first got it and still find absolutely gorgeous. If there was ever a score that sounded like its cover, this is it - folksy, autumnal, with the musical sounds of the forest.

 

One thing that always struck me is that it doesn't much sound like anything else he'd written previously. Where I find a few of his low key scores a bit interchangeable, The Spitfire Grill stands out and I can't think of any obvious antecedents (happy to be corrected!). It felt very fresh when it came out and still does to me. Even subsequent scores don't hugely lean on it - perhaps The New World at times - and it  stands apart to a greater extent than most of his other scores.

 

Complete random coincidence time... I was watching an episode of Seinfeld* where they go to the cinema and, next to the poster for the fictional film they were watching, it featured the real poster for The Spitfire Grill in the foyer which inspired me to give it another listen just a couple of days ago and reinforced my love for this score.

 

*the one where Jerry becomes an "auteur" movie bootlegger recording films on a camcorder. I remember watching a movie like that with some friends in London when I was a kid. I guess if people can enjoy watching a movie or TV show on their iPhone, they can enjoy watching a video of a film at the cinema with audience noise, as well as terrible picture and sound. Somehow.

[Thor 7,518]

 

One of my favourite Artemiev scores. Ethnic-flavoured New Age moods before it was fashion in film music (1991), very skillfully done. 

[JNHFan2000 2,967]

This is such a beautiful album!

Wonderful arrangements and the performances by the orchestra and the great Itzhak Perlman are fantastic.

I really feel there's no one like Perlman and that he's one of the best violinists there have ever been.

 

 

[Jay 37,372]

The Far and Away track on that album is awesome

[JNHFan2000 2,967]

Yes, brilliant.

 

It's been a while since I heard it and I just put it on without much thought and then the 3rd cue (Papa, Can You Hear Me) had me crying.

Far And Away was a total thrillride

The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg was again gorgeous. Just as Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse and Black Orpheus.

 

And Schindler's List & Cinema Paradiso never fail to make me cry.

 

So yeah, it was quite the rollercoaster, but so much beauty.

I think I'll do the second album somewhere this week