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

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Ottoman's boring Williams/Horner pastiche is insipid and would had no place in MoS.

[Jay 37,374]

6 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

What kind of error?

 

 

Quote

When I first purchased this CD, something about it bothered me. It lacked space, and bass. I put it down to the possibility that the CD had been mastered in one of those short-lived spatialising tools such as RSS or QSound. I dragged the CD out recently, and this time I ran it through a phase-correlation meter, and saw massive phase error. The two channels are 180 degrees out of phase throughout the CD!

What this means is that when the left speaker is pushing out on a bass hit, the right is sucking in, which leads to sound cancelling out in mid-air! The upshot is that the mix sounds vague and centre-less, and unlistenable in headphones. I phase-reversed the right channel in SoundForge and presto, one sparkling and vibrant soundtrack... In simple terms, this is a flawed product spoilt by a school-boy error in mastering, and should be avoided unless you can rip it and phase-invert it. Otherwise sadly, it really is a cracking score. The end-titles are amazing...

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

29 minutes ago, The Big Man said:

Ottoman's boring Williams/Horner pastiche is insipid and would had no place in MoS.

It's what I meant!

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

2 hours ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

It's what I meant!

re Superman Returns - I quite enjoy it, but it's certainly got lots of temp track seeping in and the bland (and kinda naff) reharmonisation of the love theme is really off-putting (I can't believe Ottman did it by choice but it sounds so wrong)... FSM did a really good podcast about it at the time of release which makes some good observations about the score. As scores based on a Williams classic or a non-Williams scored sequel/spin-off, I think I get more mileage out of than certainly the first Jurassic World score, but it's not done with as much skill as Solo, Jurassic Park III or Superman IV.

[Jay 37,374]

John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra - The Hollywood Sound (1996)

 

Immediately I was into this album when the first notes of Lawrence of Arabia began.  Ah, that's the Lost World theme reference I'd always heard about!

 

What I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed was some suites from musical films (Wizard of Oz, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast) - I don't really watch or listen to musicals but these melodies are all aces

 

ET, Jaws, and Star Wars sounded great, though it's not like I haven't heard similar arrangements and performances endless times.  I almost would have preferred an album without any JW material!

 

Dances with Wolves sounded great, but was too short.  A longer arrangement would have been MOST welcome

 

A Place In The Sun was interesting, as I'd never heard of this score before, but this arrangement made me think that this is where Williams drew a lot of Catch Me If You Can inspiration from!

 

Most of the other tracks didn't leave much of an impression on me.  

Overall, a super fun album, and I wish JW had done more of these types of things (with the LSO I mean, obviously he did a bunch of albums like this with the Pops)

 

The liner notes by Michael Medved informed me of some interesting stories I didn't know about, such as the controversy surrounding The Godfather's Original Score Oscar nomination!

[Bespin 8,484]

Thomas Newman - Meet Joe Black

Thomas Newman - Passengers

John Williams - The Post

 

 

3 hours ago, Jay said:

ET, Jaws, and Star Wars sounded great, though it's not like I haven't heard similar arrangements and performances endless times.  I almost would have preferred an album without any JW material!

 

It's the best version of SW Main Theme!

 

It's the only modern version conducted by Williams himself, where the famous first triple notes are not played too slow (they are, a bit, but not like the other recordings, on Star Wars Trilogy by example).

 

I always prefered the versions where the tempo is not too much slowed down (like the original recording).

[Jay 37,374]

I did notice that the end of the Star Wars track felt a bit rushed

[Holko 9,532]

I wasn't a fan of that album when I listened - something about the sound and performance, and it felt a bit disjointed.

 

 

Taras Bulba - this is great! Why don't I listen to it more?

[Jurassic Shark 12,091]

It's arguably Waxman's greatest achievement, and that says a lot!

 

The Ten Commandments 

 

 

[Jay 37,374]

The London Symphony Orchestra - John Williams A Life In Music (2018)

 

Damn, the performance and recording on this album are hella good.  Sure, they picked nothing but pieces we've heard a million times, but they all sound GREAT here.

 

I thought the standout highlight tracks were The Flying Theme, The Flight to Neverland, and Hymn to the Fallen, but literally every track was great

 

The booklet features quotes from a bunch of LSO members talking about Williams which I didn't know about before they were nice to read

 

And the booklet also has this quote from JW

 

"Writing a tune is like sculpting.  You get four or five notes, you take one out and move one around, and you do a bit more and eventually, as the sculptor says, 'In that rock there is a statue, we have to go find it.'"

[Jurassic Shark 12,091]

What do you think of the tempi?

[Bespin 8,484]

A great album to introduce any new fan to John Williams's music.

[Jay 37,374]

Yea, it's probably the best starter album that exists right now.  50 minutes of easy to ingest highlights and great recording and performance quality

[Jay 37,374]

Michael Giacchino - Medal of Honor: Underground

 

This is a good sequel score!  You get a brand new main theme (since the main character is different), but the enemy themes return to tie it together.  And the new theme is hella good, and I love that the album is bookended by different concert arrangements of it.  In between there's so much good action and suspense music, with unique orchestrations really standing out.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Captain America: The First Avenger (Recording Sessions) by Alan Silvestri

This score just show how little new materials Silvestri did composed for Endgame. I mean appart from Portals and Thanos' Theme everything is already here!

 

Anyway it's still very nice.

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

The River Wild - Maurice Jarre's rejected score - this really is quite lovely. I've only listened to it a couple of times, having naturally tended towards Jerry's final effort, but Jarre's is great. Guess it was just a bit OTT for the movie. Makes a great album though.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

22 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

 (I can't believe Ottman did it by choice but it sounds so wrong)...

 

It's because he's not very good and he's a complete nut on Facebook.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

John Carter by Michael Giacchino

I've seen the movie something like five years ago and I wasn't that thrilled about it. That's probably why I never decide to listen to the score before and it was a mistake. The score is quite good, there are really nice theme here, kinda reminds me the atmospher of Jupiter Ascending.

Guess I'll have to listen to Tomorrowland now to complete the outcast Giacchino's score!

 

[Jay 37,374]

John Williams - The Reivers

 

Damn, this ost album is so much fun!  I love it all.  It's SO freaking short though.  30 minutes is not enough Reivers!

[Edmilson 7,473]

2 hours ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

Thanos' Theme

 

Thanos's theme was composed for Infinity War, Silvestri just re-used it in Endgame. 

 

The new themes for the fourth Avengers movie are only the Portals theme (used in Arrival and Main on Ends on the OST) and a new family theme for Tony Stark (used in Totally Fine and The Real Hero).

[Disco Stu 15,495]

14 minutes ago, Jay said:

John Williams - The Reivers

 

Damn, this ost album is so much fun!  I love it all.  It's SO freaking short though.  30 minutes is not enough Reivers!

 

The Reivers is a top 10 Williams score for me.  I want that Matessino produced edition so freakin' badly.  As much for the remastered OST as for the complete score (gimme both please!).

 

17 minutes ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

 

Guess I'll have to listen to Tomorrowland now to complete the outcast Giacchino's score!

 

 

Gia's best score of the last 10 years.

[Jay 37,374]

I honestly have no idea if elements even exist in a vault anywhere for it to be expanded

 

Looks like the film was made by National General Pictures, which got sold to WB in 1973.  Did they bother to transfer soring elements to WB's vaults?  Who knows!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_General_Pictures

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

9 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

 

Thanos's theme was composed for Infinity War, Silvestri just re-used it in Endgame.

Yes of course. I personnaly consider the two as one movie that I usually call Endgame my bad!

1 minute ago, Jay said:

I honestly have no idea if elements even exist in a vault anywhere for it to be expanded

 

Looks like the film was made by National General Pictures, which got sold to WB in 1973.  Did they bother to transfer soring elements to WB's vaults?  Who knows!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_General_Pictures

I better hope so. That's one of the only score that I don't own. I want it!!!!

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

1 hour ago, The Big Man said:

 

It's because he's not very good and he's a complete nut on Facebook.

What an obnoxious thing to say.

[HunterTech 994]

On 2/1/2021 at 8:12 AM, Tom Guernsey said:

re Superman Returns - I quite enjoy it, but it's certainly got lots of temp track seeping in and the bland (and kinda naff) reharmonisation of the love theme is really off-putting (I can't believe Ottman did it by choice but it sounds so wrong)... FSM did a really good podcast about it at the time of release which makes some good observations about the score. As scores based on a Williams classic or a non-Williams scored sequel/spin-off, I think I get more mileage out of than certainly the first Jurassic World score, but it's not done with as much skill as Solo, Jurassic Park III or Superman IV.

 

It's a score I'll always have a soft spot for, since it's one of the few I would've noticed in-film growing up. There was a point in time where I could consider it my favorite Superman score, but Williams's original is ultimately too good to beat. I do prefer it to IV, since I find it does a lot more to distinguish itself in comparison. I haven't heard any scores that you might be referring to it temp tracking (besides the plane rescue likely using a bit of HP3), so that could be interesting to discover.

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

26 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

 

It's a score I'll always have a soft spot for, since it's one of the few I would've noticed in-film growing up. There was a point in time where I could consider it my favorite Superman score, but Williams's original is ultimately too good to beat. I do prefer it to IV, since I find it does a lot more to distinguish itself in comparison. I haven't heard any scores that you might be referring to it temp tracking (besides the plane rescue likely using a bit of HP3), so that could be interesting to discover.

I would give the FSM podcast a listen if you can find it as it outlines the various influences (think they found bits of Legends of Fall amongst others here and there). The most insightful comments related to how Ottman uses loud, tutti orchestration (i.e. almost everything playing at once - or near enough) whereas in the Williams you can hear the different sonorities of the various instrumental groups in the orchestra far more clearly, which means there's greater variety and interest for the listener. They also noted how the chords that Williams uses for the main theme use the same building blocks as the love theme, which provides a unity that Ottman's effort just can't match. It's much more a patchwork of his ideas, Williams and temp track influences, so it doesn't fully develop its own identity. Having said that, I still find it an enjoyable listen!

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

The Phantom of the Opera by Roy Budd

That's AWESOME!

Why didn't have heard of it before. Thanks a lot @Jurassic Sharkfor this great suggestion

[Jurassic Shark 12,091]

26 minutes ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

The Phantom of the Opera by Roy Budd

That's AWESOME!

Why didn't have heard of it before. Thanks a lot @Jurassic Sharkfor this great suggestion

 

It's my pleasure! Now, on to Lady Jane...

[Holko 9,532]

Indy 4: KOCS (OST)

By far my least hated Indy OST. The only one I can listen to and genuinely enjoy, actually. I'm self-aware enough to know that must be at least partly because I never bothered to put any energy into getting to know the full score, never tried the sessions, certainly haven't seen and not planning to see the movie enough times to know what's in there... but maybe a year ago I tried the OST with @Nick Parker, repeated that shared listen a couple times... and goshdarnit this just has too many interesting textures and engaging action tracks not to be liked! I usually dislike when JW just alternates high and low energy cues but I like it here, I also like that eh gathered the concert pieces or concert-like edits in front as an extended overture then just jumps right into the fun part; he also managed to include the climax and present it in the climactic spot - that must be a very very hard thing to do because he rarely manages it.

 

So after years of not caring and dismissing and not even listening... I love this, more please! It certainly won't be the overlooked boring stepchild in the eventual complete box!

[LSH 969]

BEYOND RANGOON - HANS ZIMMER

 

Haven't listened to this in years (the ongoing events in Myanmar actually reminded me about it).

 

It's a beautiful score though.

[Jay 37,374]

John Powell - How To Train Your Dragon (Deluxe Edition)

Well a foot of snow overnight meant Jay had to go outside and snowblow the driveway on lunch break, and the damn thing is so loud I can't listen to podcasts, so music it was.  I tried to find the loudest score I happened to have on my phone and this was it.

Damn, this score is good, like hella good.  I remarked this time how often the score is playing one of the many themes, and how he always makes every instance of each theme sound fresh.  Back in the day I think a lot of these theme instances flew over my head

 

The one thing I can say about this score is the lack of a full end credits suite like Williams would do would really tie everything together at the end.  Coming Back Around is a great finale cue, but following that with a 5-7 minute wrapup would be exquisite.  Maybe I'll cut one together myself.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Krull by James Horner

The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini

Indiana Jones 3 by John Williams

Only great scores

[Tom Guernsey 2,287]

Monte Carlo or Bust (or Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies by Ron Goodwin) - A really fun, tuneful score, although hard to listen to The Schickel Shamble without expecting to hear Humphrey Lyttelton (RIP) or Jack Dee giving Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden or Tim Brooke-Taylor (also RIP) silly things to do...

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Jurassic Park I (La La Land) by John Williams

 

I love this score. Probably one of my favourites. The theme reminds me so much of my childhood. Star Wars and Jurassic Park made me love cinema and film music. I owe this one so much!

My only disappointment with this edition is that there not enough music (even if it is pretty much complete I think)!

 

John Williams if you hear me, please come back for Dominion!!!!!

[GerateWohl 4,373]

6 hours ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

Krull by James Horner

The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini

Indiana Jones 3 by John Williams

Only great scores

Krull was my first Horner score. The LP just contained six tracks. Still I am struggling with it. Why did he permanently put that shrill trumpet in front of the orchestra? But the main theme and Widow's Web and Widows Lullaby are still great. And yes, good love theme. Yeah, it is a good score...

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

The Lost World (LLL) by John Williams

I don't know which of the two I prefer. The first one sounds more poetic while the second breathes adventure. It always amaze me how JW succeed to renew his sequels with that many new materials to bring a totally different musical journey to the listener. Guess that's why he's the best!

[Jay 37,374]

Howard Shore - The Fellowship of the Ring (Complete)

 

Perfection

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

On 2/2/2021 at 4:06 PM, Jay said:

 

 

The one thing I can say about this score is the lack of a full end credits suite like Williams would do would really tie everything together at the end.  Coming Back Around is a great finale cue, but following that with a 5-7 minute wrapup would be exquisite.  Maybe I'll cut one together myself.

Use the concert suite?

[Jay 37,374]

What's that?

[Holko 9,532]

It's on that new Powell concert suites album.

[Jay 37,374]

That's what I thought but wasn't sure if he was referring to something older

[publicist 4,643]

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

*Batteries not included (Intrada) by James Horner

HTTYD by John Powell

Never hear the first one before, nor seen the movie but I needed to listen to it, after six Community seasons and this enormous poster in Abed's room I'd got to find out. It's been a nice surprise even if Horner's scores always are safe bet. I especially like the track A New Family/End Credits which, I think, perfectly resume the whole score in one last beautiful track.I specially like the End Credits which I found, perfectly resume the whole score in one last beautiful track.

 

[Jay 37,374]

John Williams adapting Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick - Fiddler on the Roof (30th Anniversary Edition)

 

Meh.  This solidified for me that I just don't like musicals.  It doesn't matter how good the music is (and the melodies here are all nice), I just don't enjoy this style of singing - and the lyrics here were really nothing special at all.  The album also features lots of backing voices and talking which is distracting too.

 

The sound quality is nothing special and does waffle a bit throughout - the final demo song is also noticeably rougher than everything else.

 

It's also very, very long.  All the best songs are all up front too, and the midway is lopsided; The end of act 1 and entr'acte tracks occur well beyond the halfway point of the album.

 

Just not my cup of tea!

[Bespin 8,484]

59 minutes ago, Jay said:

John Williams adapting Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick - Fiddler on the Roof (30th Anniversary Edition)

 

Do like me and stick to the highlights.

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

A playlist of highlights without "Do You Love Me?"  Madness!

[Bespin 8,484]

You really want my answer? 

 

I was inspired by the "John Williams Signature Ed." published score.

 

[Jay 37,374]

This shows the same thing I experience, that all the best songs are up front and the second half of the album is much weaker than the first

[Bespin 8,484]

In the movie, they lost me everytime in the nightmare sequence...

 

Life is short, I don't have to watch and hear "things" like that.

 

GEEK FACT: Charles Aznavour wrote great french lyrics (originally for Dalida) of "If I was a Richman". His version is far better than the official french translation of the play.

 

 

[Jay 37,374]

I'll watch the film at some point, as I plan to watch every film Williams scored, but damn -- it's 3 hours long!?