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

[crocodile 8,012]

I'm just about 6 minutes into it, so give me some time. But it's definitely better than anything he's done in the past 6 years or so.

Karol

[Jonesy 55]

Yes, it's pretty good.

[publicist 4,643]

Is it out? I see it listed as may 30?

[crocodile 8,012]

Well, the CD comes out today in the UK. It's bank holiday so it won't ship today. But you're getting a free mp3 rip as well, and that's available right now.

Some bits sound like James Horner fantasy music. And boy soprano parts, too.

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

I see. Of course i can't order anywhere but Germany...

[TheTennisBallKid 17]

Citizen Kane: Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann (cond. Charles Gerhardt)

Spellbound: Classic Film Scores of Miklos Rozsa (cond. Charles Gerhardt)

Complete, with the extra track for each from this CD.

Bliss, bliss, bliss.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Any good?

It's excellent.

[Faleel 5,347]

BATMAN fOREVER

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Any good?

If you check it out, let me know if it's worth grabbing.

[crocodile 8,012]

The Usual Suspects by John Ottman. I do appreciate how he ventured into big budget films, but none of his blockbuster scores really beats this one. It gave its film a sense of elegance and classiness, while also not undescoring the obvious. And while there are some traces of temp here as well (JFK, anyone?) the whole package is very enjoyable - both in film and on album. Ottman used to be really good with all those quirky mid-budget thrillers.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Any good?

If you check it out, let me know if it's worth grabbing.

I'm telling you it's worth grabbing!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Is it awesome?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

And brilliant!

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

I think I'll listen tonight. What I heard in the scoring session video didn't seem too engaging, but the fact that JNH spoke so confidently of it has me intrigued.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Can someone point me to whatever interview it was that Newton Howard gloated about this score? I am curious.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Any good?

If you check it out, let me know if it's worth grabbing.

I'm telling you it's worth grabbing!

He doesn't trust you!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Have faith!

Medal Of Honor: Soundtrack Collection

Yes, all of it. Fantastic day.

[Incanus 5,714]

Godzilla by Alexandre Desplat: While a highly competent and suspenseful and angrily action packed score, it still leaves me oddly slightly dissatisfied. Especially as I keep wondering what am I missing when half of film music fandom thinks this to be the 5 star second coming. But it has to be restated here, Desplat has some wicked orchestrational skills and a knack for interesting sounds and instrumental combinations. Monuments Men is still his best score this year despite its rather traditional and reverent doff of the cap to the greats of film music in there. The Grand Budapest Hotel and Godzilla march a bit behind as although they are singular they fail to entirely win me over on emotional department, be it quirkiness, fright, menace or just heart.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Maleficent - James Newton Howard

It's good.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Just good?

[Incanus 5,714]

I hope I'll get to listen to that one soon. It promises to be good.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

9/10 on the JNH scale

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Ah, then we are in agreement. I'll do a little plug and post a link to my review again.

[Incanus 5,714]

9/10 on the JNH scale

Damn! I really want to listen to it now. Is it on Spotify or Youtube at the moment?

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Ah, then we are in agreement. I'll do a little plug and post a link to my review again.

"a testament to how talented he his."

Welp, guess I can never trust a review from you again.

[publicist 4,643]

After skimming through it i recommend it for variety but i also say that it lacks a strong thematic idea - SNOW WHITE is much more satisfying in that regard. It's firmly anchored in the JNH-Disney-house style, meaning PETER PAN (without the nerve-wracking mickey mousing), TREASURE PLANET, WATER HORSE and such. The richness of the orchestration is clearly a big plus, if i were the director i would have pushed James for a stronger theme.

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

the first half of Empire Strikes Back for me. Never ceases to amaze and delight. Early on feels pretty relentless, Battle in the Snow and then Asteroid Field -stellar tracks and then the quiet, almost touching music for Yoda. Though odd bits still have my mind going: "That was in the Shadows N64 game"...when you played it as much as I did as a kid with the volume up...the same music tended to be drilled in ad infinitum

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Welp, guess I can never trust a review from you again.

I never did!

[Jay 37,359]

Godzilla by Alexandre Desplat: While a highly competent and suspenseful and angrily action packed score, it still leaves me oddly slightly dissatisfied. Especially as I keep wondering what am I missing when half of film music fandom thinks this to be the 5 star second coming. But it has to be restated here, Desplat has some wicked orchestrational skills and a knack for interesting sounds and instrumental combinations. Monuments Men is still his best score this year despite its rather traditional and reverent doff of the cap to the greats of film music in there. The Grand Budapest Hotel and Godzilla march a bit behind as although they are singular they fail to entirely win me over on emotional department, be it quirkiness, fright, menace or just heart.

I like Godzilla but I think Monuments Men, Maleficent, and maybe HTTYD2 are better scores this year.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Maleficent - JNH

Taxi Driver - Bernard Herrmann

2010: The Year We Make Contact - David Shire

[nightscape94 965]

The richness of the orchestration is clearly a big plus, if i were the director i would have pushed James for a stronger theme.

If only because Sleeping Beauty was anchored on a Tchaikovsky melody. But that's a bit hard to match.

[Incanus 5,714]

Godzilla by Alexandre Desplat: While a highly competent and suspenseful and angrily action packed score, it still leaves me oddly slightly dissatisfied. Especially as I keep wondering what am I missing when half of film music fandom thinks this to be the 5 star second coming. But it has to be restated here, Desplat has some wicked orchestrational skills and a knack for interesting sounds and instrumental combinations. Monuments Men is still his best score this year despite its rather traditional and reverent doff of the cap to the greats of film music in there. The Grand Budapest Hotel and Godzilla march a bit behind as although they are singular they fail to entirely win me over on emotional department, be it quirkiness, fright, menace or just heart.

I like Godzilla but I think Monuments Men, Maleficent, and maybe HTTYD2 are better scores this year.

Actually I find it difficult to get through the Godzilla album in one go. Sad but true.

Violin Concerto - The Red Violin by John Corigliano: This piece or at least the opening movement of Chaconne has cinematic roots, being comprised of the central ideas of Corigliano's Oscar winning 1999 score Red Violin. After the dramatic and exciting opening 17 minute movement the piece takes another route however and only fragments of the motivic elements from the score appear here and there in this work but otherwise it is a completely new piece. The second movement Pianissimo Scherzo contains an off-kilter and skittish waltz, like broken-up and askew merry-go-round music before a sizzling and pin prick sharp coda. The third movement Andante Flautando presents a lyrical, pensive and fragmented take on the main theme of the score and develops these fragments into a supremely wistful elegy. The fourth and final movement, Accelerando Finale, opens full of aggressive orchestral convulsions and violin cries and builds into a series of energetic outbursts from violin and the orchestra alternating with serene calm of the appearances of the main theme, culminating in the Fate chords of the film score full of inexorably immovable force but with the manic violin having the last word in the end. Again Corigliano mixes primal with lyrical and the results are magnificent.

[publicist 4,643]

The richness of the orchestration is clearly a big plus, if i were the director i would have pushed James for a stronger theme.

If only because Sleeping Beauty was anchored on a Tchaikovsky melody. But that's a bit hard to match.

He should have called Horner for some tips how it's done...

[crocodile 8,012]

How To Train Your Dragon 2

Karol

[KK 3,307]

Listening to Maleficent right now. It's good, but the memorability component is sadly lacking. The colours are really nice though.

Favourite Horner-ish moment so far: 3:50 at "Aurora in Faerieland"

[crocodile 8,012]

Calvary by Patrick Cassidy. Some of the chord progressions recall The Dark Knight Rises finale, but the whole thing is really pretty actually - especially the vocal work.

Karol

[Jay 37,359]

John Powell - How To Train Your Dragon 2

Fun, action powerhouse score. It's almost relentless in it's huge, sweeping, dramatic action cues. But what impresses me most is the choral work. There's just a ton of choir in this score, and the choir is used by Powell in every imaginable way. Good thing this score wasn't recorded in LA, or the OST would have been 30 minutes long!

Alexandre Desplat - Monuments Men

Still love this. What makes it great is that not only is the main theme a strong, memorable one, but there are 2 more additional strong, memorable themes in the score as well. When was the last time that happened?

Joel McNeely - A Million Ways To Die In The West

Wee, this was fun! It's a very short OST (or at least it felt that way), but it was enjoyable from start to finish, full of up-beat, western fun. Some nice quiet moments too.

James Newton Howard - Maleficent

Another gem of 2014. A great return to traditional orchestral scoring here. There is some modern percussion, but it's mostly an old fashioned score. It's lacking a strong main theme, but so many other aspects of this make up for that in spades. Many great solo passages, melodies, choir work, action riffs, and so many other things. Good job, JNH!

[Jonesy 55]

Earth Days by Michael Giacchino

Speed Racer

[Jay 37,359]

How is Earth Days? I still haven't listened to that one because there's no physical release.

[Jonesy 55]

Earth Days sounds like Lost. It shares similar ideas, but it lacks of the emotional touch from Lost.

[nightscape94 965]

I'm not trying to be in anti-Giacchino mode today, but.......

[crocodile 8,012]

The Next Three Days: More Elfman like this, please.

Karol

[crocodile 8,012]

The Peacemaker by Hans Zimmer

I was quite surprised when I read in the latest expansion album's credits old Hans has actually composed it all, except for one score cue and trailer music. What can I say? It's my favourite vintage action Zimmer, probably in my top 5 by him (if I was ever to make one). I know original album by heart, so I was curious how this complete presentation compares to it. It's actually probably even better, fleshing out the material and adding depth to many elements from the album. Zimmer composed many themes for this film (7 or 8, by my count) and they are actually given some variations throughout. There are woodwinds here as well. And while some might argue some of the choir/masculine writing recalls Crimson Tide, I'd say The Peacemaker is more varied and interesting elaboration on this style - taking care of the action, but also providing the story with a rich and emotional human core (glad to hear more of Dusan material). The synths are obviously a bit dated, but cute in Goldsmith kind of way. Just a perfect and memorable thriller music that actually did a great deal to enrich the film. Zimmer never outdid this one in the action department.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The trailer music is hilarious. Like a Casio keyboard version of the main theme.

[crocodile 8,012]

Yeah, that's true. Quite dated. But fun. Blame Harry Gregson-Williams for this one.

What do you think of this one, Koray?

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's classic 90s Zimmer. Above Crimson Tide but below The Rock.

[crocodile 8,012]

What separates The Peacemaker from those two is that it feels more intimate among all the testosterone. I like his use of ethnic music in this one, feels quite authentic. Or at least feels right.

Oh and Dies Irae rears its ugly head, too!

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

Is the sound any better?

MALEFICENT - James Newton Howard

After giving this a few more spins i have arrived at my definitive final verdict on this: it is a very good score that like so many others before it suffers from being misrepresented by an overlong album that overshadows its delicately woven sound tapestries and most welcome impressionistic touches with generic LOUD! dramatic scoring - cues like Maleficent is Captured and Path of Destruction are easily the musical low points. Shaving off other inconsequential cues like Three Peasant Women, Go Away and The Iron Gauntlet would unveil a now-strident mixture of dark and more poetic cues that perfectly balance the more cute Disney house style with surprisingly varied darker stuff that forms the real heart of the score: a cute and easily digestible flirring piece like MALEFICENT FLIES finds its shadow in the decidedly more sinister The Christening or parts of The Spindle's Power, that utilize harmonically more adventurous impressionistic shadings, surprisingly well-orchestrated for the post-2000's. Make no mistake though: MALEFICENT is no second LEGEND, it's all very anchored in JNH's typical new Hollywood style that nevertheless gets a welcome makeover here.

The lack of a dominant theme may be a blessing-in-disguise: JNH works with very flexible motifs, that are short and harder to spot, which enrichs subsequent listenings The perfect opposite is the long-lined Tchaikovsky waltz from the old animated movie, that Lana Del Rey croaks in a fitting somber mood. I secretly would have wished for exactly this kind of unusual theme from JNH but maybe shouldn't press my luck. MAELFICENT is a welcome addition either way.

[crocodile 8,012]

Yeah, this is a pretty levelheaded assessment.

I Am Legend. I'm not sure whether the whole score qualifies as great but the theme JNH has crafted is absolutely gorgeous.

Karol

[Matt C 454]

X-Men: Days of Future Past - John Ottman

When he's not following a Zimmer temp-track, Ottman's new music is quite welcome. "Join Me" is beautiful and quite poignant, and whether by temp-track or conscious effort, I like how he referenced Jackman's Magneto First Class theme in "Time's Up". And aside from his X2 theme being reprised at the beginning and end of the film, it was nice to hear a newly arranged version of it.