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

[DreamTheater 131]

This is a fine album but as a score I'd love to have it expanded one day. Some good material missing.

I love the unsettling and mysterious atmosphere it creates in the film, which is underrated.

Oh Elliot, where art thou? I know you're still with us but I want you writing for film.

Mainstream Hollywood needs a good kick in the nuts, and you kicked it plenty back in the day.

I guess your nutt-kicking days are over and you just want to do your own thing without restrictions.

Fair enough. As long as you're writing, we shouldn't feel sad.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Good score. Film is a weird mix of good and laughably bad.

[DreamTheater 131]

I found it mediocre back then, I like the film more nowadays. It has plenty of stuff I totally dig in sci-fi.

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

A Beautiful Mind (Horner) -

[Uni 306]

L'Assassinat du duc du Guise—Most people, in thinking back to the silent film era, imagine oddly-speeded sequences of slapstick underscored by the music of a lone, rusty piano. They think "serious" film music began with the advent of talkies and the soundtrack on film. This score—widely considered the very first composed and distributed specifically for a movie—is proof they were taking even the earliest cinematic entries very seriously as a new forum for orchestral composition. It's an operatically-styled symphony that (for the most part) passes on the silly melodrama common to the day. Well worth a listen, and not just for the historical significance of the work.

Good score. Film is a weird mix of good and laughably bad.

It was a terrible adaptation of Crichton's best book. What a disappointment.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

Michael Giacchino - Tomorrowland

Love it all!

Hans Zimmer - Drop Zone

Haven't listened to this in ages. Love this brief period of Zimmer & Co adrenaline (see also: The Rock, Crimson Tide, Bad Boys, Face Off, Peacemaker, Broken Arrow, Armageddon).

But oi, what's up with the rap song integrated into the mix? Yikes!

[Uni 306]

This score—widely considered the very first composed and distributed specifically for a movie—

Wasn't that Steiner's King Kong?

Oh, hardly. There were a few during the silent era that were written to fit with a movie (rather than using the more common bibliokinotech method). The physical score was sent with the film so the bigger movie houses—which had pit orchestras to play along with the movie—could play music actually composed for the film, rather than a selection of appropriate library pieces.

Steiner's work for King Kong was the first full-length score for an American talkie, and the first to use themes and leitmotifs rather than just "setpiece" music.

[Incanus 5,716]

Lemminkäinen Legends and The Wood-Nymph by Jean Sibelius (Osmo Vänskä and the Sinfonia Lahti): This brilliant orchestral suite based on the Finnish Kalevala hero Lemminkäinen and one of Sibelius' enchanting and colorful tone poems could well be film scores, so sumptuous, thematic and lush they are and while they have a clear programmatic background they paint enormously enchanting images without any subtext on their own. The interpretation by Sinfonia Lahti under Vänskä's assured leadership (these people have recorded just about everything Sibelius has ever written many times over) is nothing short of flawless and I would go as far as to say Sinfonia Lahti has to my ears recorded the definitive version of the Lemminkäinen Suite. Film music fans should definitely check these pieces out!

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

[DreamTheater 131]

Hans Zimmer - Drop Zone

Haven't listened to this in ages. Love this brief period of Zimmer & Co adrenaline (see also: The Rock, Crimson Tide, Bad Boys, Face Off, Peacemaker, Broken Arrow, Armageddon).

But oi, what's up with the rap song integrated into the mix? Yikes!

You forgot Con Air, Twister, Speed 2: Cruise Control.

Drop Zone (and everything else you mentioned) has that uber-cool 90s Zimmer sound that was all the rage back then. I still love that sound now.

[Jay 37,374]

Yes, I also like Twister and Speed 2, however I would not consider Twister nor Speed 2 to be part of the same style as the others. Speed 1, yes.

Twister is a Mancina score through and through, and Speed 2 is classically orchestral and not synthy like Speed 1 and all these others.

Con Air - meh. I prefer Rabin's Armageddon by a mile.

[DreamTheater 131]

Oh Con Air really gets my blood pumping too. Mancina's style is all over it, and Rabin's guitars rock.

[Jay 37,374]

Well, I do own the OST CD, so I'll revisit it soon just for you

[DreamTheater 131]

Wow, I'm honored...

Look at us two chicks going at it.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Sounds gay!

[Jay 37,374]

two chicks going at it.

[Not Mr. Big 4,642]

The Adventures of Tintin

War Horse

Is it too early to have nostalgia for these scores?

[Jay 37,374]

Yes!

[Not Mr. Big 4,642]

Star Trek: First Contact

[crocodile 8,020]

The Ghost and the Darkness

Avengers: Age of Ultron (Elfman only)

Tomorrowland

Empire of the Sun

Karol

[Incanus 5,716]

The Ghost and the Darkness

Avengers: Age of Ultron (Elfman only)

Tomorrowland

Empire of the Sun

Karol

Good stuff Karol, good stuff! I even like Tomorrowland now that I had a few more listens.

[publicist 4,643]

It's still not out in Germany...well, i stick to SIM CITY for now.

[Not Mr. Big 4,642]

Jupiter Ascending

Not very good

John Carter

Pretty good

The Book Thief

While I'd probably rank it last among JW's work from the 2010's, it still makes for a nice subdued listen.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

His score tend to work pretty well in the film. Thats not really the issue.

Actually, that is the issue!

All music that is composed form a film, is composed with the sole intent to support the film, so if a score sounds good in a film, all well and good. That means that it has done its job. That it sounds good on CD (or your prefered listening style) is just a bonus.

"POTA" is a fantastic score, but it's a bloody hard listen on its own. Doesn't stop me listening to it, though!

If people want a score that sounds good on a CD (or whatever) then go and buy something generic from RCP. I'll stick with scores that sometimes, don't sound as though they belong on record, as these are usually the ones that reward the audience by repeated, and dedicated, listening.

[publicist 4,643]

If people want a score that sounds good on a CD (or whatever) then go and buy something generic from RCP.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Yes, it makes sense, because...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

...because RCP makes (mostly) music-by-numbers, for films-by-numbers, so-called entertainment. It's third-rate music, for a second-rate audience.

MG might not be the very acme of film-score writing, but, at least, he tries to put something onto a 35mm strip of film that is entertaining, musical, and interesting.

People who have worked at RCP, have been infected by Zimmer-itis, and will, eventually, end up sounding alike.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

35mm filmstrips really aren't used that much anymore...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Yeah, I know. Shame. I just used that metaphorically. I miss celluloid.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

If people want a score that sounds good on a CD (or whatever) then go and buy something generic from RCP.

...because RCP makes (mostly) music-by-numbers, for films-by-numbers, so-called entertainment. It's third-rate music, for a second-rate audience.

Hmmm...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

As JWfan's exec. it is my duty....to point out alternatives.

[Brónach 1,302]

The Adventure Continues

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

Ostinato before it was cool!

[Incanus 5,716]

Seven Years in Tibet by John Williams: This is a score I come back to time and time again, not only for its sweeping main theme but also for the superb symphonic journey it takes the listener on. Williams fluidly combines the music West and East into a sort of orchestral allusion of time, culture and place and does so with supreme lyricism which is only enhanced by Yo-Yo Ma's sensitive playing, the soul of the score really. His themes both for Heinrich Harrer and Dalai Lama/Tibet are gorgeous creations but it is rather what he does with them is what marks him as a great composer as his musical ideas truly run the gamut of the emotional spectrum on the album. The introspective nature of the middle portion of the album might drive some away but this score often thrives in subtler details like the gorgeous duet of harp and cello opening the Quiet Moments and the delicate subsequent readings of the main theme on piano and cello on that same track or the shimmering reading of the Dalai Lama theme in Reflections or the sweeping solo instrument meditation on the main theme in latter half of Approaching the Summit or the almost hypnotic Tibetan percussion atmospherics of The Invasion. Again highly recommended and truly worthy of revisiting regularly!

[DreamTheater 131]

Tibet is a gorgeous one, and I revisit it regularly.

This is great! A superb theme makes all the difference. Jerry understood this. Modern film composers rarely do.

To craft an entire score around one theme and make it sound as interesting as possible is something Jerry excelled in, even in the early years.

The recording and performances are first-rate. There's a concert suite of The Red Pony as a bonus. James Fitzpatrick knows his stuff.

Seeing I bought this on a whim this turned out to be a nice surprise. Heard the main theme track performed and then ordered it.

[Incanus 5,716]

Tibet is a gorgeous one, and I revisit it regularly.

This is great! A superb theme makes all the difference. Jerry understood this. Modern film composers rarely do.

To craft an entire score around one theme and make it sound as interesting as possible is something Jerry excelled in, even in the early years.

The recording and performances are first-rate. There's a concert suite of The Red Pony as a bonus. James Fitzpatrick knows his stuff.

Seeing I bought this on a whim this turned out to be a nice surprise. Heard the main theme track performed and then ordered it.

It is one of my favourite JG Western scores. The main theme is awesome and there is not a wasted note in the score. At times sparse, rambunctious at others it is flavourful and intelligent piece of work. I just ordered the Tadlow re-recording last week.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

His score tend to work pretty well in the film. Thats not really the issue.

Actually, that is the issue!

All music that is composed form a film, is composed with the sole intent to support the film, so if a score sounds good in a film, all well and good. That means that it has done its job. That it sounds good on CD (or your prefered listening style) is just a bonus.

"POTA" is a fantastic score, but it's a bloody hard listen on its own. Doesn't stop me listening to it, though!

If people want a score that sounds good on a CD (or whatever) then go and buy something generic from RCP. I'll stick with scores that sometimes, don't sound as though they belong on record, as these are usually the ones that reward the audience by repeated, and dedicated, listening.

While I do not condone the generalized RCP ignorance, I do share the (unpopular?) opinion that film music should be judged only by its effectiveness in the film. This notion of scores needing to "stand on their own" is very silly indeed. As you say, some lend themselves to that, and some don't, but that is not a way to judge which is better. That's the product of a film music culture where what people *really* want is music that paints some sort of dramatic picture and is thus easy and gratifying to listen to, and whether that music happens to serve a film is an afterthought. Just look at how often and the manner in which people here and elsewhere talk about a score's effectiveness in its film. Like I said, an afterthought.

[Not Mr. Big 4,642]

Lincoln

While I may have problems with its use in the film itself, the album flows beautifully. Probably the best stand-alone experience of John Williams' post-2010 scores.

[Jay 37,374]

War Horse flows amazingly well on album!

[Incanus 5,716]

War Horse flows amazingly well on album!

Very true! While I do not agree with JW on his microedits on the tracks it all flows terrifically.

[Jay 37,374]

The War Horse music really functions better as album material than as support in the film. It's often overbearing there.

[Incanus 5,716]

The War Horse music really functions better as album material than as support in the film. It's often overbearing there.

As croc has mentioned, and I concur, that it is really scored with very old styled sensibilities, where the music is supposed to be that overbearing, like the old melodramas from the Golden Age. The approach really feels too heavy handed for modern audiences but I guess both JW and Spielberg none the less followed this aesthetic to a large degree. But I agree that the score works splendidly as an independent musical journey.

[Uni 306]

While I do not condone the generalized RCP ignorance, I do share the (unpopular?) opinion that film music should be judged only by its effectiveness in the film. This notion of scores needing to "stand on their own" is very silly indeed. As you say, some lend themselves to that, and some don't, but that is not a way to judge which is better. That's the product of a film music culture where what people *really* want is music that paints some sort of dramatic picture and is thus easy and gratifying to listen to, and whether that music happens to serve a film is an afterthought. Just look at how often and the manner in which people here and elsewhere talk about a score's effectiveness in its film. Like I said, an afterthought.

Absolutely. It's great to have a good listening experience available, sure, but to expect a composer in the process of writing for a film to stop in the midst of creation and think, "Y'know . . . this music is perfect for this scene, but it just doesn't seem like it'll be a fun listen on the album. I should change this. It won't be as good for the movie, but hey, I've got fans out there, right?" Ludicrous. It's music designed and written for a specific purpose, and that purpose is not pleasing a very small and esoteric portion of the audience who actually buy the music for listening apart from the movie it was composed for.

[Brónach 1,302]

It's not that it has to be pleasant outside. It's that it has to be good.

The Fantastic Mr Fox

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

While I do not condone the generalized RCP ignorance, I do share the (unpopular?) opinion that film music should be judged only by its effectiveness in the film. This notion of scores needing to "stand on their own" is very silly indeed. As you say, some lend themselves to that, and some don't, but that is not a way to judge which is better. That's the product of a film music culture where what people *really* want is music that paints some sort of dramatic picture and is thus easy and gratifying to listen to, and whether that music happens to serve a film is an afterthought. Just look at how often and the manner in which people here and elsewhere talk about a score's effectiveness in its film. Like I said, an afterthought.

Absolutely. It's great to have a good listening experience available, sure, but to expect a composer in the process of writing for a film to stop in the midst of creation and think, "Y'know . . . this music is perfect for this scene, but it just doesn't seem like it'll be a fun listen on the album. I should change this. It won't be as good for the movie, but hey, I've got fans out there, right?" Ludicrous. It's music designed and written for a specific purpose, and that purpose is not pleasing a very small and esoteric portion of the audience who actually buy the music for listening apart from the movie it was composed for.

Indeed.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Surprisingly engaging despite the 70 minute running time.

Holkenborgs enthusiasm maked up for his somewhat limited musical vocabulary.

This isn't the type of score i need a lot of in my collection, but this is a good one to have.

[Incanus 5,716]

While I do not condone the generalized RCP ignorance, I do share the (unpopular?) opinion that film music should be judged only by its effectiveness in the film. This notion of scores needing to "stand on their own" is very silly indeed. As you say, some lend themselves to that, and some don't, but that is not a way to judge which is better. That's the product of a film music culture where what people *really* want is music that paints some sort of dramatic picture and is thus easy and gratifying to listen to, and whether that music happens to serve a film is an afterthought. Just look at how often and the manner in which people here and elsewhere talk about a score's effectiveness in its film. Like I said, an afterthought.

Absolutely. It's great to have a good listening experience available, sure, but to expect a composer in the process of writing for a film to stop in the midst of creation and think, "Y'know . . . this music is perfect for this scene, but it just doesn't seem like it'll be a fun listen on the album. I should change this. It won't be as good for the movie, but hey, I've got fans out there, right?" Ludicrous. It's music designed and written for a specific purpose, and that purpose is not pleasing a very small and esoteric portion of the audience who actually buy the music for listening apart from the movie it was composed for.

Indeed.

Of course film music's first and foremost duty is to fit the film and accompany it, what ever concept the composer and film makers have chosen for it. This of course does not limit its lifespan to the film only though, not by a long shot. But it is also natural that some scores work better outside their original surroundings than others.

[DreamTheater 131]

Some could claim it's all over the place, and a poor imitation of Silvestri's powerhouse style.

You won't hear that from me. I say it kicks ass and is an exciting orchestral romp, which I don't hear too often anymore.

Yep, it's a guilty pleasure of mine. Ashamed about this fact I feel not.

[Jay 37,374]

Uh oh. We disagree on that one. I just couldn't get into it at all. I felt he didn't capture the spirit of Silvestri's great originals.

[DreamTheater 131]

Holy shit, we disagree on something!!!

The universe will tear itself apart at the seams and our lives will never be the same again.