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

[Edmilson 10,517]

Two older action scores from the past: First Blood by Jerry Goldsmith and Die Hard 2: Die Harder by Michael Kamen.

 

As someone who came of age in the 2000s/2010s, it's actually incredibly odd to see action flicks being scored like this, with expressive orchestral music, making full use of the orchestra rather than treating it as something to get twisted and distorted with electronic manipulations.

 

These are amazing scores written by composers who actually understand the orchestral language. The fact that they were written for present tense action films makes them almost alien in today's context.

 

Nowadays, all music for action movies are headache-inducing crap stuff sounds like the Tenet score... Damn you Nolan!

[Edmilson 10,517]

Two sides of Michael Giacchino: him at his darkest with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and at his most optimistic with Tomorrowland.

 

Both are great scores, among the best things he did in his career. Apes is harsh and agressive, with some brutal action tracks (Gorilla Warfare being my favorite).

 

Meanwhile, Tomorrowland is bright, optimistic and sunny. The themes are some of the best Gia wrote. If his Fantastic Four score is 50% as good as this, it'll be already great.

 

The albums may be a bit too long though. And it can get tiresome listening to 75 minutes of this. 

[Tallguy 5,653]

As at least something of a Giacchino fan (certainly not a hater) when it comes to Tomorrowland I feel like all of my friends got to go to a party and I wasn't invited. 

 

Maybe I need to listen again, but I remember it feeling like someone said "Give me a Michael Giacchino score!" Nowadays we'd say it was AI. (No, not THAT AI.)

[Edmilson 10,517]

Tomorrowland is definitely a bit too long on the album*, but it has such an infectiously positive energy that always brings a smile to my face,

 

*I'd say I'm becoming Thor if I weren't praising Giacchino 

[Marian Schedenig 10,155]

On 24/05/2025 at 4:31 PM, filmmusic said:

Decent to lovely. I don't understand though why to re-record these particular scores.

I guess they are for Goldsmith completists, but I bet there are many masterpieces out there in need of a re-recording.

 

Not everything must be a masterpiece to deserve being preserved. Anyway, I routinely buy all these Goldsmith unearthings, even if I rarely find the time (or motivation) to dig into them more deeply, with all the other music I have to listen to (and all the great Goldsmith stuff I'm more familiar with. As I said elsewhere, it's all good, and all worth having, but to me most of it doesn't stand out enough to actively spend more time with it over all the other classic Goldsmith I'm neglecting already.

 

This though, after one listen (I haven't yet had time for more) seemed quite gripping, and more immediately accessible/exciting than some other stuff. Plus Bumper to Bumper has Goldsmith using a riff from Shostakovich's 1st piano concerto some 30 years before he would revisit it for Basic Instinct.

On 29/05/2025 at 1:09 PM, Tom Guernsey said:

Terminal Velocity. Fun 90s Joel McNeely effort which I always remember being reviewed in one of the old film music review books along the lines of "...with hints of John Williams, but then it breaks out some electric guitar riffs. John Williams never did that!" (Until he did, unexpectedly, in Attack of the Clones).

 

It always reminds me more of Goldsmith than of Williams - but much less so than some other, more obviously derivative works by McNeely. It's possibly my favourite score by him.

[crocodile 9,206]

Total Recall

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Lady in the Water

The Fury

Sinners

The Four Feathers

 

 Percussion Concerto/Wunderkammer (Elfman)

 

Karol

[filmmusic 2,633]

 

Charming but I hear the film is quite bad!

Also, the song was a bit annoying...

[Edmilson 10,517]

Put on the new A Little Princess by Patrick Doyle. I didn't know what to expect. It was mostly Indian music mixed with pretty waltzes and some annoying songs. Not my kind of music.

 

So I decided to put on Doyle's Carlito's Way. Now that's better. Melodramatic elegies for strings in the same style of his wonderful Goblet of Fire, plus some surprisingly powerful action moments.

 

I know I sound like a broken record, but... I miss when crime/thriller/suspense movies had orchestral scores like this and not just tense droning synths.

[Edmilson 10,517]

Band of Brothers.

 

One of Michael Kamen's finest scores. It may be a little too slow and mournful, but I like it. The Suite One is one of his best compositions ever.

[crocodile 9,206]

 The Missing. For whatever reason, this is one of my favourite James Horner albums. Always enjoyed the journey it takes me on and the album recording/mixing. Find it quite immersive.

 

By the way, this might one of my favourite action cues from Horner (love the rattly chair percussion!):

 

 

Karol

 

[Tallguy 5,653]

2 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Band of Brothers.

 

One of Michael Kamen's finest scores. It may be a little too slow and mournful, but I like it. The Suite One is one of his best compositions ever.

 

It's so moving I have a hard time listening to it.

[Edmilson 10,517]

Mars Needs Moms

 

This score, which I never gave much attention to (I think I heard it once years ago...?), has been brought back by Powell fans thanks to the main theme finding its way on the new HTTYD score. @PrayodiBA posted the end credits suite on the Dragon thread, I pressed play... and I was amazed with how wonderful that track is.

 

So of course I had to listen to the entire score. I listened to everything about 3 times, both the OST and the bootleg recording sessions. The End Titles remains the best track (I think it's a top tier Powell composition), but the rest of the score is not only great but also filled with everything I love about JP's music.

 

So yeah... When he decided to reuse the main theme from this movie into the Dragon remake, it made me rediscover this little gem of a score. It's in the upper echelons of John Powell music.

[PrayodiBA 865]

5 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Mars Needs Moms

 

This score, which I never gave much attention to (I think I heard it once years ago...?), has been brought back by Powell fans thanks to the main theme finding its way on the new HTTYD score. @PrayodiBA posted the end credits suite on the Dragon thread, I pressed play... and I was amazed with how wonderful that track is.

 

So of course I had to listen to the entire score. I listened to everything about 3 times, both the OST and the bootleg recording sessions. The End Titles remains the best track (I think it's a top tier Powell composition), but the rest of the score is not only great but also filled with everything I love about JP's music.

 

So yeah... When he decided to reuse the main theme from this movie into the Dragon remake, it made me rediscover this little gem of a score. It's in the upper echelons of John Powell music.

 

Glad you feel the same. It's indeed one of the best Powell's scores.

And it's really quite a feat, considering that this was a rush job by Powell. 

 

So you must understand my frustration when Powell decided to reuse MNM theme, of all the themes Powell composed :/

[Tallguy 5,653]

Just listening to the end credits it sounds like Kung Fu Solo. (Which is not bad.)

[Bespin Copilot 9,626]

Luc Besson's Dracula will be released soon, music by Dany Elfman, so it gave me the idea to revisit some scores about our beloved Classic Monsters...

8 scores... because 8 represents... infinite... 

• John Williams – Dracula

• Alan Silvestri – Van Helsing

• Danny Elfman – The Wolfman

• James Horner – Wolfen

• Patrick Doyle – Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

• Danny Elfman – FrankenWeenie

• Jerry Goldsmith – Hollow Man

• Wojciech Kilar – Bram Stoker's Dracula

[Tallguy 5,653]

40 minutes ago, Bespin Copilot said:

Luc Besson's Dracula will be released soon, music by Dany Elfman, so it gave me the idea to revisit some scores about our beloved Classic Monsters...

 

From IMDB: "After his wife dies, a 15th century prince renounces God and becomes a vampire."

 

I mean... You can hear the sitcom theme song, right?

 

[Jurassic Shark 14,994]

46 minutes ago, Bespin Copilot said:

Luc Besson's Dracula will be released soon, music by Dany Elfman, so it gave me the idea to revisit some scores about our beloved Classic Monsters...

8 scores... because 8 represents... infinite... 

• John Williams – Dracula

• Alan Silvestri – Van Helsing

• Danny Elfman – The Wolfman

• James Horner – Wolfen

• Patrick Doyle – Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

• Danny Elfman – FrankenWeenie

• Jerry Goldsmith – Hollow Man

• Wojciech Kilar – Bram Stoker's Dracula

 

You forgot Franz Waxman and Philip Glass.

[GerateWohl 5,959]

10 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

You forgot Franz Waxman and Philip Glass.

And this:

 

 

[Jurassic Shark 14,994]

26 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

And this:

 

 

 

Never seen the second one.

[crocodile 9,206]

Mission: Impossible

The Dark Crystal

Cliffhanger 

Sinners

Gladiator

 

Karol

[GerateWohl 5,959]

24 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Never seen the second one.

Never seen any of them. Just have the digital album. 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,648]

A heads up, guys.

BBC Radio 3 is celebrating 50 years of JAWS, at 16:00 bst.

[filmmusic 2,633]

 

Highly sophisticated music, and I've read somewhere it was the first 12-tone score.

It's listenable though..

But the thing with most atonal scores, is you can't grab onto something..

[Tom Guernsey 3,280]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

A heads up, guys.

BBC Radio 3 is celebrating 50 years of JAWS, at 16:00 bst.

Cool... there's a corresponding article in the latest BBC Music Mag, although I'm not sure I'd ever describe the score to Jaws as "blood curdling", but good to see it recognised as the classic it is by mainstream classical music (but not Classic FM mainstream, that doesn't count, they like any old shit ;-)

 

On a semi-related note... I've started going through Radio 3's Building a Library series, not because I need to build a classical library (I have more classical music than I know what to do with) but just out of interest. Was amused/annoyed that they obliquely referenced the opening of the last movement of Dvorak 9 as making you think of a certain shark movie... I mean, I do get that they both start with ominous semitones, but that is about it. I still don't know why the third movement starts like the scherzo from Beethoven 9. Which, of course, they failed to mention.

[thestat 496]

Trevor Jones' The Mighty - great encapsulation of the score, going from the Hollywood approximation of Irish/Scottish music showing of the 'ethnic' flair that Jones used to be recognised for and in all fairness did very well and in ethical ways, to the full-blown London Symphony Orchestra for the finale that is very Merlin in scope (composed at the same time). 

 

 

[crocodile 9,206]

On my way today from Berlin:

 

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

The Perfect Storm

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 

Sneakers

The Mask of Zorro

 

Superman: The Movie

 

Karol

[HunterTech 1,510]

[Matt C 539]

Superman IV- Quest for Peace (Williams/Courage)

 

The first time I’ve listened to this and what a wonderful surprise it is! It feels like a Goldsmith score with the chord progressions and orchestrations (not surprising). Courage manages to weave in, build upon and deconstruct a LOT of Williams’ themes without sacrificing the overall flow of the score. 

[Matt C 539]

Stargate - David Arnold

 

My favorite Arnold score — still feels fresh and timeless. So unabashedly major key, several fantastic motifs, a great main theme (so good they used it in the SG-1 series). I don’t mind the expanded edition, it makes it a richer listening experience.

 

I’ll take this over Independence Day and Godzilla any day of the week.

[Tallguy 5,653]

50 minutes ago, Matt C said:

Stargate - David Arnold

 

My favorite Arnold score — still feels fresh and timeless. So unabashedly major key, several fantastic motifs, a great main theme (so good they used it in the SG-1 series). I don’t mind the expanded edition, it makes it a richer listening experience.

 

I’ll take this over Independence Day and Godzilla any day of the week.

 

James Horner's Lawrence of Arabia.  (I love Stargate.)

[HunterTech 1,510]

[filmmusic 2,633]

 

I think this is Kamen's magnum opus.

Although Kamen is one of those composers that doesn't do much to me, this one is exceptional!

Oscar nomination worthy material!

 

 

I don't remember the score inside the movie, and I'm sure it does wonders, but outside of it, is in a genre that is not my thing I'm afraid.

Funky jazz is it?

[Marian Schedenig 10,155]

1 hour ago, filmmusic said:

 

I don't remember the score inside the movie, and I'm sure it does wonders, but outside of it, is in a genre that is not my thing I'm afraid.

Funky jazz is it?

 

Funky 12-tone jazz, to be precise. It's amazing!

 

I think it's pretty prominent in the film, but it's been a while. It's certainly prominent in the trailer:

 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,648]

A fantastic score, from a fantastic film!

"Gesundheit."

[Andy 5,997]

I haven’t seen the film. But I sampled the soundtrack and it just blew me away with it’s relentless velocity. 
 

Just got it from Quartet for keeps. 
 

I love certain funky jazz scores from the 70s, and probably should have done a deep dive into Schifrin by now. 

[filmmusic 2,633]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

I haven’t seen the film.

You should! It's great!

[HunterTech 1,510]

[Naïve Old Fart 11,648]

Great artwork.

[Edmilson 10,517]

The Musketeer by David Arnold

 

Listening to Kamen's Three Musketeers expansion made me want to check this other Musketeer score. If Kamen is a blend of traditional Hollywood and baroque pastiche, then this is just full-on swashbuckling fun. 

 

A great action score from the Arnold/Dodd duo that shouldn't be overlooked. It's like their equivalent to Debney's Cutthroat Island.

[Jurassic Shark 14,994]

I find both these Musketeer scores quite anonymous. There's not much memorable material in any of them (except for the song).

[Naïve Old Fart 11,648]

On 17/06/2025 at 3:12 AM, Andy said:

I love certain funky jazz scores from the 70s, and probably should have done a deep dive into Schifrin by now. 

If you like ... ONE TWO THREE, check out Chris Boardman's PAYBACK, and Elia Cmiral's RONIN.

9 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I find both these Musketeer scores quite anonymous. There's not much memorable material in any of them (except for the song).

Legrand's ... THREE..., and Schrifin's ... FOUR... are both great.

[filmmusic 2,633]

Just listened to both the US and German editions of The Neverending story.

I, of course, prefer the latter, which has an orchestral score.

Synth scores in my opinion, don't fit such fairy tales. They need orchestral scores.

Fortunately, something remained from the Doldinger score in the US version.

 

 

[Holko 11,397]

Doldinger's score already has prominent synth elements. And most of his score remained in the actual film, only a few smaller replacement cues and additional cues were done (for scenes Doldinger didn't score), plus album pieces. The US album is not greatly representative of it.

[filmmusic 2,633]

I'm not a fan of vocal classical music, that's why I wasn't a fan of this.

I stopped it halfway through..

(Though, it was something different from Schifrin to be honest)

 

[filmmusic 2,633]

 

After having listened to the complete filmography of Jerry Goldsmith, I took on his TV works.

I liked this quite much!

Goldsmith doesn't fail to deliver even on TV.

[Matt C 539]

On 15/6/2025 at 1:08 AM, HunterTech said:

Fingers crossed we get a LLL official release and expansion late next year/early 2027.

[Jay 42,445]

Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VI

 

Opened up my physical CD edition of the original score and man, I forgot how many great moments this score has!  This isn't a score where I love every track from start to end like Final Fantasy IV; There are times when my mind wandered and I wasn't noticing the music much.  But then when certain melodies came in wow, just great stuff.  Fascinating how well he pivots from this score, sort of the culmination of the 16-bit era, to Final Fantasy VIII in not that long of a time!

[Bespin Copilot 9,626]

The 50 most-listened-to tracks composed by John Williams on Spotify.

 

Quickly, here are the scores that are most represented (no surprise here):

1. Harry Potter 1 (14 tracks)
2. Harry Potter 3 (4 tracks)
3. Home Alone (4 tracks)
4. Star Wars 3 (4 tracks)
5. Star Wars 7 (4 tracks)

 

 

[HunterTech 1,510]

[filmmusic 2,633]

 

(blu-ray isolated score)

 

A fresh and cool James Newton Howard score, mainly for strings, woodwinds and guitar.

Liked it to spend a summer afternoon..