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

[Smeltington 1,439]

Troy is so great! As long as you cut it off before the song, it's one of the best examples of an ideal OST "listening experience" that I can think of.

[Thor 7,493]

It's fine, but it drags a bit. Like many Horner soundtracks do.

[Jay 37,346]

Danny Elfman - A Simple Plan

 

Started playing this right as the first snowflakes started to fall this afternoon.  Lovely!  Nice blend of strings and guitar.  It's a fairly short album though, right when I was really feeling the groove, I was already at the end credits!  That track incidentally reminded me of the opening credits to Six Feet Under a bit, with a dash of Wanted and Men in Black.

 

The 3 pop songs after the score tracks are all completely pointless for me.

 

The picture of Elfman they put on the back cover is kinda funny.  Wait, is this the project where Elfman and Fonda met each other?

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

18 minutes ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

There is a complete score of that one?

 

No, not legally.

[Jay 37,346]

The only GIacchino scores that have received legal expansions you can buy are Medal of Honor: Airborne and his three Star Trek scores. 

[Thor 7,493]

 

"Nervous Angular Longhair" music, as Onyabirri calls it over on FSM. A young John Williams certainly gets his workout at the piano, with some wildly dissonant flurries.

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

It's interesting that JW worked for a contemporary composer that he'd eventually surpass.

[Thor 7,493]

I agree, but that's in the eye of the beholder, of course. You have Bernstein and Mancini too, and other contemporaries that JW worked for in those days. Whether he 'surpassed them' or not depends on one's definition, I guess.

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

10 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Indeed, many not so old ones aren't exactly great - I can understand when it was his early days doing things on a shoestring, but for some of those later ones, it's surprisingly he wasn't more demanding in this regard when he had the reputation and influence. 

 

Perhaps Morricone just didn't care about sound quality. Most of the concerts he conducted were amplified with horrible acoustics.

[Jay 37,346]

Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman - The Last of the Mohicans (OST)

 

The Trevor Jones cues (tracks 1-9) are pretty good!  Though admittedly, this is mostly because of the great main theme.  The underscore in between the big statements of the theme are not very memorable, IMO.  Track 8 featured a hilarious Carmina Burana reference!

 

The Randy Edelman cues (tracks 10-15) are also on this disc.

 

The Clannad song (track 16) is another dud

 

How did I randomly choose 3 albums to listen to today that all end with mediocre songs?

[Thor 7,493]

Ouch. Love that Clannad song. And the Edelman portion, I've always considered vastly underrated. They're not on Jones' "flashy" level, but gorgeous textures nonetheless.

 

I continue to be amazed by how big a crossover appeal that soundtrack has to people who aren't normally into film music.

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

8 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Perhaps Morricone just didn't care about sound quality. Most of the concerts he conducted were amplified with horrible acoustics.

I do wonder... I saw Morricone at the Barbican (I think) years ago but don't recall if it was amplified at all. I wouldn't have thought so as it was a lot of performers and the Barbican is setup for classical/orchestral music. But perhaps you're right. For someone who saw himself as artist, it seems surprisingly he let so many mediocre recordings come out. Still, TGTB&TU sounds great now... although I have yet to listen to the full mono score.

 

However, a score I have just finished listening to that does sound great and that's Elmer's adaptation of Herrmann's score for Cape Fear. I believe there's more adaptation here than in the Psycho remake, indeed it uses a few passages from the rejected Torn Curtain score very effectively. Kind of a strange re-recording, but certainly a vast improvement on the original sound quality wise and, I would say, a very fine performance.

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

The Randy Edelman cues (tracks 10-15) are also on this disc.

 

These are significantly improved on the Varese rerecording.

[Jay 37,346]

Oh yea?  How so?

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

Less synthetic, more orchestral, which suits the music well.

[Jay 37,346]

Interesting!

[Bespin 8,480]

Of course, the re-recording offers a unity which is missing on the OST.

 

Do you really think they re-record entire scores for no reason? 😜

[Thor 7,493]

28 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Less synthetic, more orchestral, which suits the music well.

 

God, no. The synths are one of the biggest reasons for why these cues work so well.

 

34 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I do wonder... I saw Morricone at the Barbican (I think) years ago but don't recall if it was amplified at all. I wouldn't have thought so as it was a lot of performers and the Barbican is setup for classical/orchestral music.

 

His concert at Telenor Arena here in Oslo in '19 was one of the worst-sounding I've ever heard. The whole orchestra was pinched into these speakers above the stage. Sounded like lo-fi mp3 files. The Royal Albert Hall concert in 10 was much better, largely due to little amplification. So yeah -- there's a history of bad-sounding concerts there.

[Bespin 8,480]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

However, a score I have just finished listening to that does sound great and that's Elmer's adaptation of Herrmann's score for Cape Fear. I believe there's more adaptation here than in the Psycho remake, indeed it uses a few passages from the rejected Torn Curtain score very effectively. Kind of a strange re-recording, but certainly a vast improvement on the original sound quality wise and, I would say, a very fine performance.

 

Bernstein had to adapt the score of Cape Fear for the remake of Scorsese in 1991, because Scorsese really wanted the original music of Bernard Herrmann.

 

I read somewhere that Elmer Bernstein used the music originally used for some scenes in the original movie, in a totally different context in the remake, and that in some way, it improved the impact of Herrmann's music.

 

Honestly, I never compared with the original score... But it's an idea I love! And that's why this score of Cape Fear's remake is in my CD collection!

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

10 hours ago, Thor said:

God, no. The synths are one of the biggest reasons for why these cues work so well.

 

I obviously disagree. I'm sure the Edelman cues would have been recorded with a proper orchestra in the first place if time had allowed.

 

I don't mind synth elements in an orchestral score if well integrated, but in this case I think most of those elements make the score sound cheap. I didn't really like this score before listening to the rerecording.

[Thor 7,493]

Yes, I'm afraid we disagree there. This is very much in line with a lot of the homophonic synth/orchestral combo things Edelman did at the time. I don't think it would have been recorded with a full orchestra even if they had had the time. Moreover, it's more in the Clannad style that relies on those ethereal, electronic underpinnings to begin with. It's a style of music, not just samples pretending to be something they're not. That's not to say you can't adapt it to a purely orchestral idiom, but you take away some of the pieces' soul in the process.

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

IMO, the orchestral arrangements add more than they take away.

 

The OST also has a very flat sound.

[publicist 4,643]

Edelman's abilities as orchestral composer are more than limited, so Mohicans is actually a good example of what he's able to deliver. The sound isn't very good, but the (pop) aesthetic is in line with Edelman in general.

[Thor 7,493]

Absolutely. I actually love that kind of Edelman - light, poppy stuff. Not that I can't get pleasure from his more purely symphonic affairs too, like DRAGONHEART, but he found a niche for himself in that particular style. Other favs within the same general aesthetic include DAYLIGHT, THE QUEST and especially SIX DAYS, SEVEN NIGHTS. And yes, LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

[publicist 4,643]

I wouldn't call Dragonheart 'symphonic', orchestral is a more precise and less grandiose term for that kind of writing.

[Thor 7,493]

I suppose. DRAGONHEART, GETTYSBURG, TALL TALE.....they're all predominantly orchestral, but of the very simplistic, transparent kind. I can get pleasure out of that, but I prefer Edelman when he taps into his pop background more, like in MOHICANS.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Amazing Stories (Williams only) by John Williams

Love this one. There some Desert Chase like cue here that really make my day. And the Main Title... great, never seen the show but I have to say that the score make me want to!

[publicist 4,643]

28 minutes ago, Thor said:

I suppose. DRAGONHEART, GETTYSBURG, TALL TALE.....they're all predominantly orchestral, but of the very simplistic, transparent kind. I can get pleasure out of that, but I prefer Edelman when he taps into his pop background more, like in MOHICANS.

 

Today they wouldn't force pop composers so much into the 100-piece-orchestra template, but back then it was unavoidable if you were gonna make it in big studio pictures.

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

1 hour ago, publicist said:

I wouldn't call Dragonheart 'symphonic', orchestral is a more precise and less grandiose term for that kind of writing.

I like Dragonheart, lovely main theme but, as with quite a bit of Edelman's work, there's too much synth padding of the mid range textures which makes it sound a bit amateurish. To be fair, it's more or less what Hans Zimmer does now with his more orchestral scores, but it's clearly meant to ramp up the impact in his scores whereas Edelman is more just because the orchestration is somewhat basic. If he'd worked with a Nicholas Dodd type orchestrator, I think it might have helped some of his more symphonic type scores sound richer and more interesting. My favourite of his scores otherwise are probably the two Beethoven scores which are delightful and a super infectious main theme.

 

Rango (Hans Zimmer etc.) - I don't actually mind the narration and mixture of songs although I'm sure it's not everyone's ideal presentation of the music. However, it kinda works as an extension of the quirkiness of the film itself. The hispanic Wagner is great fun too.

 

Kung Fu Panda 2 (Hans & John Powell) - Great themes, fun action and effective use of regional instruments.

 

Quo Vadis (Miklos Rozsa) - Love the Tadlow version but gave the Royal Philharmonic recording conducted by Rozsa himself a spin, and which sounds glorious. Obviously not complete, but a great "tone poem" style arrangement of the highlights that makes a great companion to the full thing.

 

Jane Eyre (Bernard Herrmann) - Original tracks are naturally not the best sounding, but still pretty good for what's available. Lovely dark, romantic Herrmann. The Adriano re-recording is fine enough, but I think there's room for improvement.

13 hours ago, Bespin said:

 

Bernstein had to adapt the score of Cape Fear for the remake of Scorsese in 1991, because Scorsese really wanted the original music of Bernard Herrmann.

 

I read somewhere that Elmer Bernstein used the music originally used for some scenes in the original movie, in a totally different context in the remake, and that in some way, it improved the impact of Herrmann's music.

 

Honestly, I never compared with the original score... But it's an idea I love! And that's why this score of Cape Fear's remake is in my CD collection!

Thanks for the info on Cape Fear @Bespin. I've not seen either the original or the remake and don't have the original score (not even sure it's available?) but this is a great presentation even if it's adapted and contains other material so isn't a straight re-recording.

[Thor 7,493]

 

I have this because of the Williams connection, but I can't really hear him anywhere, and I have no idea which parts he arranged. The sound quality is rather shrill, and the opening dialogue is annoying. So ideally, and in terms of sheer listening pleasure, I would like to get the Tadlow rerecording, and then try to playlist it to fit this OST as much as possible.

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

Too bad the Tadlow is OOP.

[Thor 7,493]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Too bad the Tadlow is OOP.

 

Yes, I just noticed.

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Too bad the Tadlow is OOP.

https://uk.7digital.com/artist/the-city-of-prague-philharmonic-orchestra/release/the-guns-of-navarone?f=20%2C19%2C12%2C16%2C17%2C9%2C2 I feel like I posted this the other day... but anyway, available for download but disappointingly not lossless.

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

Thanks, but I'm an old-fashioned guy.  

[Thor 7,493]

3 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

https://uk.7digital.com/artist/the-city-of-prague-philharmonic-orchestra/release/the-guns-of-navarone?f=20%2C19%2C12%2C16%2C17%2C9%2C2 I feel like I posted this the other day... but anyway, available for download but disappointingly not lossless.

 

Thanks, Tom. I'm sure I can request a digital promo version from Tadlow, but then I feel like I should review it as well. I'll give it some thought!

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

5 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Thanks, Tom. I'm sure I can request a digital promo version from Tadlow, but then I feel like I should review it as well. I'll give it some thought!

 

You could ask Tadlow if they're planning to re-release it, as it goes for quite high prices on the secondhand markets!

[Bespin 8,480]

On 2/13/2021 at 7:49 AM, Bespin said:

This morning I attack the Gerhardt 12-CD boxset.

 

According to a secret algorithm (which wins to remain secret), I'll start with these two CDs:

 

• CD01-Erich Wolfgang Korngold-The Sea Hawk
• CD08-Franz Waxman-Sunset Boulevard

 

Program for today:

• CD10-Miklós Rózsa-Spellbound
• CD04-Max Steiner-Gone With The Wind

[Thor 7,493]

According to a guy on FSM, Williams arranged the "Yassu" theme on NAVARONE. Wow, I didn't know that before (I knew he arranged something, but not which cue, exactly).

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

I thought he just worked as an orchestrator on the score.

[Thor 7,493]

1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I thought he just worked as an orchestrator on the score.

 

No, also as pianist, AFAIK. I wonder if he arranged anything other than "Yassu", though. Probably not. His orchestration work for this film was fairly minimal, from what I've heard.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I like how the Gerhardt version has a percussive thump that's so hard and dynamic, it blows my woofers.

[Jay 37,346]

Lolita Ritmanis - Blizzard of Souls

Huh.  There was some really lovely music here, the whole first part of the album is fantastic and soothing and a bit mysterious.  Then unfortunately there's a really long stretch of very uninteresting music until the final couple tracks wrap things up nicely.  This is a 75 minute album that feels like a 2 hour one.

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

Hard Rain (Christopher Young) - Got the new LLL edition in the post so had to give it a spin. The best 90s Goldsmith score he didn't write?! Great action, decent main theme and the harmonic touches work well.

Johnny English Reborn (Ilan Eshkeri) - Not as memorable as Ed Shearmur's original (which has a super catchy main theme) but Eshkeri usually delivers the goods and a nice addition to anyone craving a Pierce Brosnan era David Arnold style Bond score.

[Romão 2,274]

6 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

 

 

Quo Vadis (Miklos Rozsa) - Love the Tadlow version but gave the Royal Philharmonic recording conducted by Rozsa himself a spin, and which sounds glorious. Obviously not complete, but a great "tone poem" style arrangement of the highlights that makes a great companion to the full thing.

 

 

 

I adore that album. And the summation of the Petronius related material in Petronius Banquet, Meditation And Death is an absolute highlight that I always miss when listening to the Tadlow re-recording.

 

 

 

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

6 minutes ago, Romão said:

 

 

I adore that album. And the summation of the Petronius related material in Petronius Banquet, Meditation And Death is an absolute highlight that I always miss when listening to the Tadlow re-recording.

 

 

 

Yeah it’s a really terrific album. I hadn’t noted that particular difference but good to have both versions. I think I almost enjoy it more than Ben-Hur. But it’s all classic Rozsa!

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

2 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Hard Rain (Christopher Young) - Got the new LLL edition in the post so had to give it a spin. The best 90s Goldsmith score he didn't write?! Great action, decent main theme and the harmonic touches work well.

 

How relevant is the expansion? When it was announced, I dug out the old album again (I've always liked it, but I rarely play it) and was surprised that it is quite long already. (I'll probably end up getting the new one anyway, unless it sells out too quickly)

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

How relevant is the expansion? When it was announced, I dug out the old album again (I've always liked it, but I rarely play it) and was surprised that it is quite long already. (I'll probably end up getting the new one anyway, unless it sells out too quickly)

To be honest, I don’t know the score well enough to say how much the additional tracks add. If you exclude the bonus tracks (some of which are just the album versions) then the expanded score is only about another ten minutes. So kinda depends how much you like Young channelling 90s Goldsmith really! But I guess for the casual collector the original album may well be sufficient. It’s certainly not like, say Air Force One, where you’re getting three times as much music as the original album!

[Bespin 8,480]

Bernard Herrmann / arr., adap. and conducted by Elmer Bernstein ‎– Cape Fear (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack)

 

6 hours ago, Bespin said:

 

Program for today:

• CD10-Miklós Rózsa-Spellbound
• CD04-Max Steiner-Gone With The Wind

 

Every time I listen to a Rózsa's score, I feel like it's a Jesus movie's score. 

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Congo (Intrada) by Jerry Goldsmith

Amazing, I didn't see the hour pass.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Mulan (FYC) by Harry Gregson-Williams

Soul (FYC) by TR&AR and Jon Baptiste (don't care I will credit him)

Alien: Resurrection (LLL) by John Frizzell

 

Haven't seen Mulan's remake now but the music was quite dissapointing after Goldsmith's masterpiece, it's nice but that's it. Although it's funny that HGW is rebooting again one of my favourite Goldsmith's score after Total Recall.

 

Soul is great of course, the best part being the Jazz's one where Jon Baptiste was involved. Still can't understand why they didn't includ him for the Globes nominees. That's a shame.

 

Resurrection is great like the first three other Alien's movie. Really enjoyed Frizzell work here even if I don't recall any of his other work.