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


Ollie

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"The Edge" - Jerry Goldsmith

Absolutely love this score. Its probably my favorite Goldsmith from the 90's.

"Return to Oz" - David Shire

Lovely score from a composer I'm not terribly familiar with.

"Family Plot" - John Williams

Didn't love this score initially, but its grown on me over the past several months.

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Cinderella - Patrick Doyle

It makes for a lovely listening experience outside the movie. It's not nearly as overblown or theatrical like his Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire score, but rather more subtle when it needs to be such as "Ella and Kit" and "Courage and Kindness". "Pumpkin Pursuit" is the closest thing to an action cue here, whereas the majority of the score is more low-key but beautifully magical and romantic when it needs to be. Lily James and Helena Bonham Carter's covers of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" are also pretty excellent, better than the originals IMO.

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:music: Jupiter Ascending by Giacchino. I can indeed one of his finest, large chunks of it are among the best stuff he's ever created. Rough around the edges in other parts. I don't necessarily think of pieces like The Shadow Chase as the finest orchestral writing under the sun but it's more exciting than many similar setpieces from this composer. What makes it win me over in the end then? It does feel like a score that's written by Giacchino which... is supposed to sound like Giacchino. I like it on album and I liked it in the film (the two are not necessarily one and the same).

Karol

For me there is something lacking with this score. I can't quite put my finger on it. All the elements are there, themes, big orchestral sound, excitement and unabashedly melodramatic mood yet there is something missing that would make it entirely enjoyable. I still find some of Gias past efforts, even John Carter, more enjoyable and emotionally engaging that Jupiter.

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I think Karol did a pretty good 70 minute+ arrangement for the album which worked quite nicely but still on the whole the score didn't quite set my world on fire.

Empire of the Sun (Expanded Archival Edition) by John Williams: Eclectic mix of styles and moods that befits the story and which I find to be a mesmerising listening experience on its own. I know I am starting to sound like a broken record when I sing this score's praises. Williams ties much of the score together with the use of choral voices with surprisingly subtle thematic development (for a Spielberg film) running through the entire score while it focuses more heavily on individual set pieces and gives each of them a unique feel. The mood of the whole score seems to be, despite moments of absolutely ravishing light, of elegy, of lost innocence, of a childhood remembered and the harrowing experiences of the main character and the world around him go through. The La La Land set is a brilliant one with in-depth liner note essay by Mike Matessino and the actual music presentations first offers the complete score on disc 1 which is all the fuller experience for the added music (I know many would disagree) and a collection of interesting alternates on disc 2. Of these pieces the alternate version of Return to the City is undoubtedly a highlight as it presents quite a different take on the same lengthy scene and most other pieces reflect smaller musical changes made throughout the scoring sessions.

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For me there is something lacking with this score. I can't quite put my finger on it. All the elements are there, themes, big orchestral sound, excitement and unabashedly melodramatic mood yet there is something missing that would make it entirely enjoyable.

I feel the same way. I think part of it has to do with the lack of a clear narrative structure. The album arrangement feels totally random. It goes from one track to the next without any logic and as a result, it feels like there is no a connective tissue to bind everything together (the lack of a strong, really present main theme reinforces that. Sure, there's Jupiter's theme, but it doesn't appear in a lot of tracks). Of course, the fact that two thirds of the music found on the album was recorded before anything was shot has a lot to do with that, too.

I realized all that while trying to come up with another arrangement for the album. It fixes that problem, but only partially.

I didn't think it had a strong narrative through line either... But then I saw the film and now I think it does. Interesting we'd feel opposite on that.

I think the order of tracks is well thought out and makes sense to me

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James Horner - For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada

I actually listened to this one twice this week, and can't seem to get a grasp of it. I think its lacking a strong main theme to bind it together. There's some interesting ideas, notably the use of choir, which reminds me of Elfman a lot in spots. Has Horner done that kind of choir before? Strangely, I remember there being more spanish guitar in the score before than there is.... weird.

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:music: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Karol

That's one score that I'll never find dull.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by John Williams

Was it the OST or an expanded fan edit? Personally listening to the expanded (well mine anyways, lol) version of the score is much more enjoyable. A lot of good bits left out of the OST.

The Mummy :music:

Under Fire :music:

The Mummy Returns :music:

Haven't heard "Under Fire" but love both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. Hopefully either Intrada or La-La Land can get those two released in complete form.

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Images (Williams) - How did I just find out about this? Anyway, although in parts it's excellent, and on par with the best of the master's works, there are some rather iffy parts that take away from the overall experience, namely the occasional breathing and groaning inserts that just sound terrible. Also, this score is now featured in one of the weirdest coincidences in my life: just yesterday, I was working on a string quartet piece that hit me; today, I'm listening to Images, and a section of "Blood Moon" is almost identical to the opening of the piece I was working on, and I've never heard the score before or seen the movie. Très bizarre...

I currently listen to it on Deezer, it's totally new for me, I never listened to this soundtrack before.

I just discovered that the album was reissued for digital download by BSX Records in 2012.

Wiki disco updated!

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Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by John Williams

Was it the OST or an expanded fan edit? Personally listening to the expanded (well mine anyways, lol) version of the score is much more enjoyable. A lot of good bits left out of the OST.

Expanded fan edit of course. The soundtrack album just leaves out so much good stuff.

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Images (Williams) - How did I just find out about this? Anyway, although in parts it's excellent, and on par with the best of the master's works, there are some rather iffy parts that take away from the overall experience, namely the occasional breathing and groaning inserts that just sound terrible. Also, this score is now featured in one of the weirdest coincidences in my life: just yesterday, I was working on a string quartet piece that hit me; today, I'm listening to Images, and a section of "Blood Moon" is almost identical to the opening of the piece I was working on, and I've never heard the score before or seen the movie. Très bizarre...

I currently listen to it on Deezer, it's totally new for me, I never listened to this soundtrack before.

I just discovered that the album was reissued for digital download by BSX Records in 2012.

Wiki disco updated!

The track Blood Moon is very interesting, the rest is a bit too strange for my tastes!

I wonder why it never appeared on a compilation.

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in honour of what would have been Ron Goodwin's 90th birthday this week: Battle of Britain with bits from Force 10 from Navarone, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, 633 Squadron, Miss Marple (theme), Where Eagles Dare, Frenzy and Monte Carlo or Bust.

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Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by John Williams

Was it the OST or an expanded fan edit? Personally listening to the expanded (well mine anyways, lol) version of the score is much more enjoyable. A lot of good bits left out of the OST.

Expanded fan edit of course. The soundtrack album just leaves out so much good stuff.

Coolio.

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No, the Revenge of the Sith OST included all the music cut and paste from The Empire Strikes Back and the stuff after The Throne Room from Star Wars. It covered all the best bits.

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The Da Vinci Code - Hans Zimmer

I miss this side of Zimmer. This score shows he's capable of writing beautiful and enjoyable film music, but last several years haven't really allowed him to do it to the extent that Code does. A lot of his Nolan scores needed something like this, not sonic wallpaper.

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The Da Vinci Code - Hans Zimmer

I miss this side of Zimmer. This score shows he's capable of writing beautiful and enjoyable film music, but last several years haven't really allowed him to do it to the extent that Code does. A lot of his Nolan scores needed something like this, not sonic wallpaper.

With Hannibal and Interstellar, it forms a trio of my favorite Zimmer scores

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Journey :music:

I appreciate the ambient textures Wintory creates but the score isn't really for me. Perhaps I'll revisit it again when I'm in the right mood...

Play the game to get the full intended effect.

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Journey :music:

I appreciate the ambient textures Wintory creates but the score isn't really for me. Perhaps I'll revisit it again when I'm in the right mood...

Journey > Star Wars > Mr. Big > Kanye West

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:lol:

Interstellar doesn't do a thing for me. The organ is a nice touch (one that Zimmer hasn't used often), but it doesn't engage me emotionally and there's another issue: the music drowning out the dialogue.

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:lol:

music drowning out the dialogue.

It's now well known that that was the point.

:lol:

Interstellar doesn't do a thing for me. The organ is a nice touch (one that Zimmer hasn't used often), but it doesn't engage me emotionally

So... that makes it "sonic wallpaper?" There are plenty of scores that don't do anything for me that I wouldn't categorize so dismissively.

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