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

[Jay 37,280]

Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy IV

Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy V

Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VI

 

Man I love these.  IV is my all time favorite, perhaps partially due to it also being my all time favorite FF game.  V I still haven't played, but man, that main theme that pervades the whole score is just GREAT.  FF6 is another masterpiece, right up there with Chrono Trigger as the peak of SNES chiptune music.

 

Alan Silvestri - Predator 2 (Varese DE)

 

Love this score!

 

Mark Mothersbaugh - Thor; Ragnarok

Fun!

 

Yasunori Mitsuda - Chrono Trigger

Brilliance all around

 

Yasunori Mitsuda & Nobuo Uematsu - Front Mission: Gun Hazard

 

One of my favorite scores of all time, completely addictive and never gets old.  Great to have on during work, keeps you going.

 

Michael Giacchino - Star Trek Beyond

 

Not sure if its my favorite of his three Trek comes any more or not, all have various different highlights and lowlights.  But this one certainly has some great themes, and some great standout setpiece action tracks like Crash Decisions.  The Varese DE is long but doesn't feel too long.  Good stuff all around.

 

Michael Giacchino - Spder-man: Homecoming

 

As expected, I like the score even more now after seeing the movie.  One of my favorite scores of recent years, one of the most purely fun scores, too!

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

5 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Bridge of Spies - Thomas Newman

 

 

In chrono order, not OST order.

 

I was re-listening to "Homecoming" from BoS on my walk home from the gym and I was thinking about how this track especially is so similar in style to Shawshank and then I was thinking of Mark Rylance's great "Standing Man" speech, one of my favorite film monologues of recent memory, and I was struck by the thought that the speech could just as easily have been about Andy DuFresne, Tim Robbins' character in Shawshank.

 

Both BoS and Shawshank are movies I hold close to my heart, and maybe this is a key connection.

[Bespin 8,475]

What a nice review just to plug "on my walk home from the gym".

 

Pfffff.... Will you post a before/after pic? 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Psycho II - Jerry Goldsmith OST

 

I revisit this score a lot but seldom do I write about it. Generally, thriller scores have very little re-listen value, for a variety of reasons. Mainly because their fragmented construction makes for rather unappealing soundtrack album experiences and generally the music to thrillers tends to be unpleasant anyway. But of course, it depends on the talent and skill of the composer, and Goldsmith tackled Psycho II with an arsenal of orchestral and synthesised musical elements resulting in an undeniably attractive work of frenzy and hysteria.

 

It has the unenviable position of existing in the shadow of Herrmann's iconic score for the Hitchy-Ditch flick, but that score was never a good listen on its own. Goldsmith's score, however, is significantly more capable of standing on its own due to its expanded scope, its broader range of instrumentation, its oscillation between tenderness and suspense, and of course its deeper sense of melodrama. Most other thriller films, even really good ones, wish they had a score like this!

 

I've noticed people dismissing this score over the years as standard thriller music that fails to innovate or impress compared to Herrmann's screechy string opus, or bizarrely written off even as a Gremlins prototype. But it's so much more than that. Written in 1983, it represents one branch in a wonderfully productive year for the composer, which also included his other diverse career highlights Twilight Zone: The Movie and Under Fire. Try listening to these three albums together to gauge how gifted and versatile this bloke really was.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

4 hours ago, Baby Jane Hudson said:

I've noticed people dismissing this score over the years as standard thriller music that fails to innovate or impress compared to Herrmann's screechy string opus, or bizarrely written off even as a Gremlins prototype.

 

FAKE NEWS!

 

Goldsmith score for Psycho II has consistently been praised for a few decades now. This dismissal Drax talks about doesnt really exist,

[publicist 4,643]

It's not one of his strongest.

[Jay 37,280]

19 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

 

And yet you still haven't listened to Distant Worlds IV...

 

 

Remember: it features Battle With The Four Fiends! Plus it's available to listen for free on the official website and Spotify. No excuse for you not to listen to it!

 

Soon!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

How soon is now?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Well when exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone

[Wojo 2,453]

Even when the hope is gone, move along, move along like I knew you would. 

[Will 2,215]

This first cue is absolutely awesome, although the rest of the score is merely good:

 

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

10 hours ago, Stefancos said:

 

FAKE NEWS!

 

Goldsmith score for Psycho II has consistently been praised for a few decades now. This dismissal Drax talks about doesnt really exist,

 

If an item does not appear on our records, it does not exist.

[crocodile 7,982]

JFK

Angela's Ashes

The Book Thief

The BFG

 

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

Oscar and Lucinda by Thomas Newman

Family Plot by John Williams

 

The Lion in Winter by Richard Hartley

 

Eastern Promises by Howard Shore

 

A History of Violence by Howard Shore

 

Lust Caution by Alexandre Desplat

 

Young Sherlock Holmes by Bruce Broughton

 

Spider-Man: Homecoming by Michael Giacchino

[BloodBoal 7,538]

The days when Incanus was a loquacious, verbose fellow are long gone, aren't they?

[Incanus 5,713]

1 hour ago, BloodBoal said:

The days when Incanus was a loquacious, verbose fellow are long gone, aren't they?

Well I am rather busy these days with other things. I'll have to try to set aside some time to write something lengthier about film music.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

On 10/28/2017 at 7:09 AM, Baby Jane Hudson said:

Psycho II - Jerry Goldsmith OST

 

I revisit this score a lot but seldom do I write about it. Generally, thriller scores have very little re-listen value, for a variety of reasons. Mainly because their fragmented construction makes for rather unappealing soundtrack album experiences and generally the music to thrillers tends to be unpleasant anyway. But of course, it depends on the talent and skill of the composer, and Goldsmith tackled Psycho II with an arsenal of orchestral and synthesised musical elements resulting in an undeniably attractive work of frenzy and hysteria.

 

It has the unenviable position of existing in the shadow of Herrmann's iconic score for the Hitchy-Ditch flick, but that score was never a good listen on its own. Goldsmith's score, however, is significantly more capable of standing on its own due to its expanded scope, its broader range of instrumentation, its oscillation between tenderness and suspense, and of course its deeper sense of melodrama. Most other thriller films, even really good ones, wish they had a score like this!

 

I've noticed people dismissing this score over the years as standard thriller music that fails to innovate or impress compared to Herrmann's screechy string opus, or bizarrely written off even as a Gremlins prototype. But it's so much more than that. Written in 1983, it represents one branch in a wonderfully productive year for the composer, which also included his other diverse career highlights Twilight Zone: The Movie and Under Fire. Try listening to these three albums together to gauge how gifted and versatile this bloke really was.

 

I've never been a fan of this score. I remember the opening titles, but nothing else ever stood out. I tried listening outside of the movie and I was bored.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

18 hours ago, Will said:

This first cue is absolutely awesome, although the rest of the score is merely good:

 

 

Agreed.  I feel the same way about Desplat's Valerian and its similarly quirky first track.  

[BloodBoal 7,538]

1 hour ago, Incanus said:

Well I am rather busy these days with other things. I'll have to try to set aside some time to write something lengthier about film music.

 

There was a time when you were busy writing about film music and had to try to set aside some time to do other things...

 

The good ol' days really are long gone... 

[Will 2,215]

You know, speaking of Valerian, I returned to it this week ... and it's grown on me! (previously I'd really only bothered to return to the brilliant "Big Market")

 

"Pearls on Mul" is really beautiful (it's a bit derivative in its main melody of "Dreamsand Miracles" from Rise of the Guardians, but I adore that cue so I don't care!)

 

And "Final Combat" has some really kickass action writing in the second half, plus a sublime closing with the main theme on celesta. 

 

The main Valerian theme is still the score's biggest weak point IMO. I remember really liking it when I first heard it in the "Valerian's Armor" preview track, thinking that it was a really great one-off action motive. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the main theme, a role it is not all that well suited for (although it's still good). 

[crocodile 7,982]

53 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

There was a time when you were busy writing about film music and had to try to set aside some time to do other things...

 

The good ol' days really are long gone... 

I thought brevity was supposed to be the soul of wit?

 

Karol

[BloodBoal 7,538]

I never said he was witty. I said he was loquacious.

[Incanus 5,713]

9 hours ago, crocodile said:

I thought brevity was supposed to be the soul of wit?

 

Karol

 

8 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

I never said he was witty. I said he was loquacious.

Thanks BB. Thanks Karol. Now I'll never write again.

 

 

[Jay 37,280]

I listened to Valerian again recently too - still like it a lot!  I really can't wait to see the movie when it comes out on home video!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,343]

Poltergeist is my favorite score by my favorite composer, therefore my all-time favorite film score and Carol Anne's Theme is my favorite theme in the world next to Jurassic Park and Gremlins.

 

Sorry. I don't have any analytical chops on me. Favorite is just a delightful word to type. Carry on, kids. 

[Jay 37,280]

Michael Giacchino - Coco

 

Meh, a disappointment on first listen.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

It leaked, I take it?  I might wait until it's officially available, I dunno.  Hope I feel differently than you.

[Faleel 5,328]

@TheGreyPilgrim 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Paul J. Smith.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

My favorite Disney score, hands down.

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Yeah, it's brilliant.  If I had any ties with Disney (or any clout at all) I would push very hard to lead a top shelf rerecording and release.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I remember taking a piss in the bathroom near Space Mountain and hearing the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea theme playing.

[Romão 2,274]

Wonderful score, that one. One of my favorites as well

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I also highly recommend this contemporaneous score Paul J. Smith wrote for the Disney documentary "Secrets of Life."  Great stuff ("Under the Sea and Along the Shore"/"Honey Bees" especially)

 

 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Munch 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

1 minute ago, Not Mr. Big said:

Munch

 

Anything's better than Munich.

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

Rummaged into my Intrada's and listened to Meteor, Clear and Present Danger and Hunt for Red October

 

no matter how often I listen, "Woodroom/Finale" from CAPD just does the trick. The way it builds and keeps going. Almost a shame it ends. Until I got the expanded score, "Ambush" was my favourite track. Again how it built and built until the attack on the convoy started. Meteor, as much as the film was bad, isn't too bad musically. "The Russians Arrive" always chimes in my mind like a track from a Western when it starts, it has a Williamseque sound in parts which I might be reaching for after reading that Williams was offered Meteor but recommended Rosenthal. 

 

And Red October, well, personally...always enjoyable. The hymn of course but "Ancestral Aid" (largely for the scene it coincides with, Connery's performance catching the cup just before Red October is traced by the torpedo as the sub banks and being damn calm when hell's a popping) or "Nuclear Scam", "Kaboom!" and others. 

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Link - Jerry Goldsmith

Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman

 

Gettin' in the Halloween spirit 

[Incanus 5,713]

Signs by James Newton Howard

 

The Good German by Thomas Newman

 

Nerakhoon (The Betrayal) by Howard Shore

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug by Howard Shore

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The Neverending Story OST, Moroder & Doldinger

 

This might be one of the earliest film scores I remember noticing as a... two-year-old? Especially that Ivory Tower theme, which freaked me out as an infant. Why did they get Moroder to compose such a piercingly haunting theme when Doldinger's music was more than enough? Anyhoo, Moroder is barely represented on the mainstream OST, and some of his most memorable cues aren't even present on the album.

 

Doldinger fares much better, and that flying theme of his is amazing. Apparently there's a German version of the soundtrack that includes more of his material from the original version of the film. I've been hunting for it on eBay.

 

And that song, who doesn't love it? Probably gets overexposed through too much radio play, but it helps keep the film in the public ear. Or else, it might descend into the 'Nothing'!

[nightscape94 965]

Star Wars - John Williams

 

 

It's that time again.  With The Last Jedi on the proverbial horizon, I have begun my Stars Wars listening experience, where I will be listening to Star Wars through The Force Awakens, ramping up to watching the new film, first showing, in the theater on December 14th.  I will listen to the scores to and from work, repeatedly, for about two weeks each.

[publicist 4,643]

[Sir Hilary Bray 235]

Towering Inferno and the Paper Chase, Williams. 

 

Trapped Lovers and Planting the Charges always assured favourites of the former. 

[Fancyarcher 350]

Listening to a lot of random themes, via my mom's spofity, as I passed out candy today. I've heard Corpse Bride, Vertigo (not really horror), The Fog and a John Carpenter anthology suite in general, Alexander Nevsky, Psycho, and some random classical pieces like Night on Bald Mountain, and Toccata & Fugue. Good stuff. 

[publicist 4,643]

 

A new Wintory, eclectic as usual but more melodically based (and jazzy). It has the kind of fine-honed orchestration you wish regular Hollywood composers would employ more often.

[crocodile 7,982]

 The Snowman by Marco Beltrami. Good score.

 

 

Karol

[Disco Stu 15,495]

[Jurassic Shark 12,022]

On 4/11/2017 at 2:09 PM, Disco Stu said:

Previn Conducts Korngold

 

Specifically the Captain Blood suite which is just hitting the spot for me this morning.  Korngold + coffee will put a spring in your step!

 

In my opinion, the Gerhardt, Newman, Stromberg, and Gamba recordings of Korngold's film music are much preferable over the Previn ones, as Previn is waaay too slow... Of course, the best recordings are the originals conducted by the man himself. When will we get a proper release of the original recordings of The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Elizabeth & Essex? The old Tsunami releases applied too much noise reduction.

[Marian Schedenig 8,171]

Nah, Gerhardt's are the best, even when you include the original recordings. But of course he only did suites, so Gerhardt isn't enough to cover everything. Official releases of the originals are of course very much needed. And HD releases of the films, too.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

10 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Nah, Gerhardt's are the best, even when you include the original recordings. But of course he only did suites, so Gerhardt isn't enough to cover everything. Official releases of the originals are of course very much needed. And HD releases of the films, too.

Yeah does the guy who runs Tadlow just not like Korngold or something?  Or maybe it's a licensing issue.

 

Stromberg at least re-recorded Prince and the Pauper (and Robin Hood of course) but I'd love somebody to give Captain Blood that treatment, it's my personal favorite Korngold.