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

[Andy 4,138]

Sky Pirates - Brian May

 

Not every score needs to be sophisticated, and Sky Pirates is clearly just for fun.  I didn’t really arrive at Brian May the usual way through The Road Warrior, but instead through his Cloak and Dagger score.  He has a fun, light on the feet style with, as Roger Fiegelson pointed out, “he uses LOTS of triangle”

 

May is scoring this Raiders Ripoff by appropriately ripping off the Raiders March. But in this case, the B-Theme of Williams’ composition.  And then a descending figure reminiscent of Lee Holdridge’s Beastmaster (itself a lift of Stu Phillips’ Battlestar Galactica).  It gets repeated a lot, so you’ll be humming it long after.  There’s a bit of underdeveloped romantic material too, but this is one I see myself returning to when I just need some light fun.  It accomplishes what it’s supposed to.  4/5

[GerateWohl 4,370]

3 hours ago, Thor said:

But for me, Korzeniowski hasn't really been on fire since ROMEO & JULIET, and that's a looooong time ago now (and yes, I've sampled everything he's done since).

I have recently come across TILL and found it a very fine score. That is the kind of minimalism that I really like.

On the other hand Romeo and Juliet and Copernicus Star never did much for me. Found them rather superficial.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

His Emily from 2022 is also very good. 

 

[Thor 7,508]

 

I like how moody the songs are, for this 1998 movie. Not a lot of aggravating vocals, just running smoothly along. Rahman always has those gorgeous chord modulations.

[Thor 7,508]

 

1999, and Rahman is developping into more lush landscapes, even though this is a song-driven soundtrack too (at a generous 65 minutes!). I think maybe this is the score that foreshadows his later work, whether in Bollywood or Hollywood (cemented in LAGAAN two years later).

[Matt C 454]

Seaquest DSV: Deluxe Edition 

 

This is a delightful 1990s Debney score if folks find Cutthroat Island overblown and Hocus Pocus hard to find. It’s a bit campy but the theme is enjoyable— Debney gets a lot of mileage with rearranging and playing with thematic fragments. Very good listening experience, wish they included the Don Davis scores too.

 

Actually sounds bigger than Varese’s Films of 1985 re-recording if I’m honest.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Tom Sawyer

Often gets overlooked in favor of JW's original works or the more acclaimed Fiddler on the Roof.  Despite not being as well researched as Fiddler, it feels more through and through JW to me, with lots of stylistic callbacks (or call forwards in this case) to his Americana sound. 

 

By virtue of being an original musical rather than Broadway adaptation, there's also a lot more room for Williams' voice to shine through in the songs.  The brass interlude in Hannibal Mi Zoo Ree brings to mind a similar moment from Exhultate Justi.  The sentimental reharmonization of the "Tom Sawyer" song in "Aunt Polly's Soliloquy" is basically hinged entirely on JW's layered string work.

 

The Sherman Brothers' songs are solid with only a couple stinkers (How Come & "If N I Was God").  Hannibal, Freebootin, Gratifaction, and A Man's Gotta Be are great upbeat, audience pleasing songs, with the first three getting fantastic renditions in JW's overture and exit music. 

River Song is the most emotionally impactful, written from a nostalgic, omniscient POV (perhaps an elderly Tom Sawyer or maybe God).

 

Despite having no original JW melodies and only a couple underscore tracks, it feels like a decent entry into the JW "canon" as it's one of the only from-the-ground-up musicals he worked on. 

[Thor 7,508]

The surprising thing is how much suspense music there is in Williams' score. I didn't expect that in a TOM SAWYER film, but then it's been ages since I saw the film, or any other Tom Sawyer adaptation.

 

I've made my own playlist that includes the song-driven OST on disc one and a 20-something minute suite of the score cues on disc 2 (which plays like an American Gothic). Works great.

[Jay 37,369]

Yasunori Mitsude - Chrono Trigger

 

One of my favorite scores of all time.  A couple years ago I finally ordered a physicaly copy in a splurge of Japanese video game OST album purchases, and I finally opened that up and listened to it this week.  I forgot how short of a score it is; Though it is sold as a 3-disc set, they're short enough it COULD have fit on two discs, I think.  And it's funny that each disc break had wind noises before and after.  I really liked the Akira Toriyama art throughout the oversized booklet - SUPER COOL!  The combination of the art and music kind of made me want to play the game all over again.  Anyways, great score!

[Thor 7,508]

 

This is an impressive work from 2004, before he broke through. Korzeniowski's post-minimalist romanticism amplified ten fold, due to orchestra size, choir and a cathedral-like reverb. It's HUGE, but I like the calmer parts better. I don't believe it has a commercial release yet (sadly), but selections were available on his website some years back.

[Thor 7,508]

 

Thomas Dybdahl is primarily known in Norway for his melancholic pop music, but for this 2018 film, he really branced out into dark synth landscapes, and some other experimental elements. Love it.

[Thor 7,508]

 

One of Gaute's best scores, I think, although there are a couple of "modern" elements I could be without. But the way he plays around with certain Swedish folk music tropes amidst a rich, orchestral drama score is wonderful. We nominated it for a Harpa award in 2019 (the Nordic film music prize), which it subsequently won.

[Thor 7,508]

 

Another Colin Nutley production, from 1994. Isfält's music is lyrical and warm, like it always is. Just gorgeous. It's a shame neither the first ÄNGLAGÅRD (a nostalgic fav of mine) nor the third have a soundtrack release, AFAIK, but at least the main thematic material is captured in this second film in the series. Why Isfält's name is not on the cover, however, is a mystery.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,534]

7 hours ago, Thor said:

 

 

Starring David Tennant, and Annette Benning.

[Andy 4,138]

Don’t judge a score by its cover. 
 

 

Holy shit, if you don’t have this, get it!  
 

I saw the film when it premiered. I may have watched it again on cable to get another look at Leah Thompson’s panties.  So I recalled the romantic theme after all these years. 
 

But WOW this score is a terrific John Barry sampler! The heroic theme for Howard will have you humming it for hours.  There’s some noir, some jazz, Bond pastiche, and uplifting action music as only Barry can.  Then you get all the Thomas Dolby songs and the ones sung (for real) by Leah Thompson.  This is a fantastic package.  
 

I’ll be honest, my first listen through a very popular recently released Deluxe Edition for a modern animated film left me underwhelmed and wanting, well, fewer notes.  This was precisely the cure. Digestible, approachable, velvety John Barry.  This is soundtrack comfort food for me.  Chef’s kiss. 5/5

[filmmusic 1,829]

I have seen the film once or twice, but honestly I don't remember a thing about Barry's score.

I am not sure I even noticed it in the film.

[Andy 4,138]

3 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

I have seen the film once or twice, but honestly I don't remember a thing about Barry's score.

I am not sure I even noticed it in the film.

It’s Barry. I mean, you know mostly what you’re getting, but this one has great themes and superb arrangements.   If you like Barry, I highly recommend it.  Part of why you might not remember it in the film is some of it was rescored by Sylvester Levay. And then there were the Cherry Bomb pop songs. So it may have been easy to miss the entirety of what Barry delivered, but given this presentation with all the alternates, I’d say he gave it his all. 

[Thor 7,508]

I don't like the Barry much, but I like some of the Levay (and the songs). Saw the film as a kid, and loved it then - despite the negative buzz it received. Haven't seen it since, though.

[Edmilson 7,466]

David Arnold - Godzilla

 

 

Between this and Williams' The Lost World, monster music was kicking some serious ass in the late 90s. This one has everything I like in an Arnold score: massive, furious, complicated action music.

 

And the best part: it's FUN! It's so much fun! I miss when even the scores back in the day were entertaining before the "darkness and disturbingness" (who is the guilty one? I bet in Powell/Bourne and Zimmer/Nolan).

 

Nowadays, if it's a "serious" Godzilla movie it gets a sad and depressing score (G - 1) and if it's a dumb Godzilla movie it gets an equally dumb score (GvK). Sigh...

[Andy 4,138]

Hell yes to all of that @Edmilson  Godzilla was a first time listen for me a month or two ago, and I already want to return to it.   It is so damn fun.  Urgent, without being oppressive, daring instead of dour, and just a thrilling good listen!  Love that one too. 

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Howard Shore - The Hobbit Trilogy (Special Editions)

 

I love these scores!! There are some truly phenomenal themes here. Sometimes it's a bit too much maybe. Especially on the 3rd album with 6 cues of battle music. But because Shore does so many interesting and cool things with his themes and the orchestra it remains a joy throughout!

 

My personal favorite cues from all 3 albums:

Spoiler

My Dear Frodo

The World Is Ahead

Warg Scouts

Over Hill

Brass Buttons

 

Flies And Spiders

Feast Of Starlight (this is to me one of the most beautiful things he's ever written)

The Forest River

Thrice Welcome

Inside Information

Beyond The Forest

 

Shores Of The Long Lake

Mithril

The Clouds Burst

Battle For The Mountain

Ravenhill

Courage And Wisdom

Ironfoot

 

[JTN 2,030]

James really knocked it out of the park with this one. It’s my second favorite PP score after Hook.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,534]

Good score, lousy film.

[Andy 4,138]

So it’s been a few decades…

 

 

…And if you remove some of the context, or baggage if you prefer, this is a fucking beautiful masterpiece all its own. 
 

I’ve not seen the film nor listened to the score in ages.  But I gave the film presentation of the 4CD set a listen.  At first, I wasn’t feeling it with the synth and the contemporary sound of the Gaelic stuff for the port sequences.  So I told myself to forget about Enya, and listen as though she never existed.   But then the score shifts into Rose territory, and I told myself to forget about the Celine Dion song which eclipsed everything during the original Titanic mania.  Then, with the action pieces, I felt more comfortable in familiar Horner territory. 
 

And then…

 

It was An Ocean of Memories which crystallized everything.  Goodness, that was beautiful.  And it gave the Port Themes a proper orchestral presence. And that’s when the synth choices earlier in the score made sense to me.  The flashback… it’s not real. It’s the past. The score’s synthetic nature is consistent with the digital technology necessary to recreate the Titanic in her glory.  What’s real is the memory. And the authenticity of orchestration with “real” instruments is, like the memory, eternal and more lasting, more tangible than the digital recreation.   An Ocean of Memories is SO… EARNED.  I teared up. 

 

I loved this listening with fresh perspective, and I can’t wait to dive into the bonus material. 

[LSH 969]

 

First listen of the expansion... and I'm having a whale of a time. This is excellent.

[Thor 7,508]

20 hours ago, Andy said:

.  The flashback… it’s not real. It’s the past. The score’s synthetic nature is consistent with the digital technology necessary to recreate the Titanic in her glory.

 

I think that was the idea, yes. TITANIC is a masterful score for a masterful film. I know it's "hip" to dislike such a massive hit, but if that's the case, I embrace my "un-hipness" with much joy.

[Andy 4,138]

Yes precisely. I made a conscious effort to check my baggage at the door this time.  I don’t think I’ve ever been hip, but sometimes a little time and distance allows the dust to settle so one can appreciate a piece without cynicism. 

[bollemanneke 3,349]

I'm listening to the 2CD set of Apocalypse now. It's a fascinating experience, but what was the point of doing it this way? I mean, it sounds like the film, verbatim. Why not just give people a VHS? I thought I was the only person who ever put film sound on CDs because I didn't need the visuals.

[Thor 7,508]

APOCALYPSE NOW was never a good listening experience on CD to begin with, IMO (I adore the film, don't get me wrong, and also the way music is used in it -- both existing and original), but I remember trying to create a playlist once. Take away the songs, and omit some of the more zithering, experimental elements in Coppola's score. Doesn't leave a lot, but the ethereal, mystical cues are great.

[JTN 2,030]

21 hours ago, Andy said:

…And if you remove some of the context, or baggage if you prefer, this is a fucking beautiful masterpiece all its own. 

I watched TITANIC in the theater in 1997 and loved it. I watched it several times in the past 27 years and still loved it. I think it's James Cameron's last truly great film. Since TITANIC the last great "event film" was The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King that also deserved 11 Oscars. 

 

My ranking of Cameron films:

1. The Terminator

2. The Abyss

3. Aliens

4. T2: Judgment Day

5. Titanic

6. True Lies

7. Avatar

8. Piranha 2: The Spawning

9. (I haven't seen Avatar 2)

[GerateWohl 4,370]

Just listening to Desplat's "Deathly Hallows Pt. 1". And when you got over the fact, that this is not on a level with the Williams HP scores and that the score has hardly something that you could call "themes" like there are so many in Williams' HP scores, then this is really a good moody listen. A lot of ostinato, a lot of drama and emotion. 

I am already happy listening to a Desplat score, that I can enjoy musically.

[JTN 2,030]

I haven’t heard this in a long time and what a pleasant surprise.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

That bad, eh?

[JTN 2,030]

 

[Thor 7,508]

 

Sarde really knows his way around period tropes, and infusing them with various interesting, contemporary elements (other examples would be LE BOSSU or MANGECLOUS, for example). This 1994 effort is one of the best in that regard.

[Thor 7,508]

 

Really delightful score that I'm listening to again now, after a few years, beautifully curated at 35 minutes. I obviously wish the sound quality were better, but it's not so bad it becomes alienating. You can argue that there's not a lot of complexity in Young's writing, but his scores always sound so full-bodied, and with perfectly balanced orchestrations.

[filmmusic 1,829]

8 hours ago, Thor said:

 

Sarde really knows his way around period tropes, and infusing them with various interesting, contemporary elements (other examples would be LE BOSSU or MANGECLOUS, for example). This 1994 effort is one of the best in that regard.

Just listened to this too.

While Sarde isn't great in my book like let's say John Williams, with easily recognizable melodies, he never fails to deliver good music.

[Andy 4,138]

@Thor @filmmusic
 

I wouldn’t mind exploring Sarde, beyond his American films (Ghost Story, Tess, Quest for Fire, Manhattan Project) but it’s hard to navigate when he’s so prolific and I don’t speak French, nor do I know the films. 

[Thor 7,508]

41 minutes ago, Andy said:

@Thor @filmmusic
 

I wouldn’t mind exploring Sarde, beyond his American films (Ghost Story, Tess, Quest for Fire, Manhattan Project) but it’s hard to navigate when he’s so prolific and I don’t speak French, nor do I know the films. 

 

Here are some of my favs, for starters:

 

Allons z'enfants

Deux hommes dans la ville

Dis-moi oui

Fort Saganne

Harem

Hellé

J'ai épousé une ombre

La fille d'Artagnan

La princesse de Montpensier

Le Bossu

L'Ours

Mangeclous

Sister Mary Explains It All

 

Tess you're already familiar. I also dig his Le Cinema de Georges Lautner compilation.

 

I think many of these are available on streaming platforms. Good luck -- he's a composer well worth exploring. Not all are equally great, and he repeats himself a few times, Horner-style, but nothing that will ruin the journey.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,534]

30 minutes ago, Andy said:

@Thor @filmmusic
 

I wouldn’t mind exploring Sarde, beyond his American films (Ghost Story, Tess, Quest for Fire, Manhattan Project)

 

Don't forget PIRATES 

[Andy 4,138]

I wonder if this is a good entry level purchase?

 

Philippe Sarde Box Set

[Thor 7,508]

Looks like a great box, if you ask me. Even beyond "entry level". Most of his other compilations are director-centered anyway.

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

1 hour ago, Andy said:

I wouldn’t mind exploring Sarde, beyond his American films (Ghost Story, Tess, Quest for Fire, Manhattan Project) but it’s hard to navigate when he’s so prolific and I don’t speak French, nor do I know the films. 

 

Pirates is a must!

[Andy 4,138]

28 minutes ago, Thor said:

Looks like a great box, if you ask me. Even beyond "entry level". Most of his other compilations are director-centered anyway.

Thanks, Thor. I was eyeing those director compilations as well. Although I have yet to check how much of those are duplicated on the box set. 

[filmmusic 1,829]

 

Magnificent main theme, and a very good score overall, albeit short.

Unfortunately only an LP has been released.

 

[Jay 37,369]

John Williams - Minority Report (LLL)

 

This listen convinced me that this is one of Johnny's masterpieces.  The blend of brooding introspection, unreachable memories of happier times, thrilling action and chase music, and vocals crying for justice is unparalleled in any other scores I've heard.  I love how you can tell from listening that this fits right in between his prequel and Harry Potter scores, and is very post-AI pre-War of the Worlds, yet doesn't feel like it steals from any of those, its its own thing.  And its fantastic from start to finish, especially the main program of the LLL edition.  I forgot how much I like the alternate openings to The Crime and Freezing Water, so I'll probably swap those with their main program counterparts next time around.  What a score!

[filmmusic 1,829]

 

A facebook friend of mine said that this was Kilar's Dracula 2, a masterpiece, the best score for a TV production ever.

I am not sure if it holds up to that title, but it sure was great, with Dracula-like chorus pieces, minimalistic of course as always with Kilar's music.

 

 

In Kilar mode again. The vocal theme was sublime.

[Thor 7,508]

Good stuff, all of those. On to DEATH AND THE MAIDEN and THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY next?

[Marian Schedenig 8,200]

The Ninth Gate is probably my favourite Kilar film score.

[Holko 9,526]

First ever listen to El Cid (Tadlow), never seen the movie or heard anything besides highlights from it. I don't know how Rózsa did it but his 2.5 hour scores just don't feel their length, they flow well, take needed breaks from loud action and fanfares, tell a story.

Of course inevitably comparisons with Ben-Hur started popping up with the references/"ripoffs" in there, and of course that one comes out on top with its massive and diverse but easily identifiable and emotionally clear theme library and perfect structure with every cue doing something with those themes for the narrative, but there's not many scores it could lose against. Cid's a bit more "film score-ey" - "hey let's put a minute of music here too" "sure I'll do some fanfare and reprise a theme" "whoops dropped it, it was just some throwaway anyway".

I really love the hero themes and the love theme and their development, but on this first time couldn't latch onto others even by reading along with the booklet - but this was the first time, I'm sure they'll come. There are definitely highlights outside those main themes that stand out like Entry of the Nobles and especially the material for the twins!