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

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Nobody likes WONDER, Thor.

It was godawful.

Can't remember what it was even about.

Music wasn't good either.

[LSH 968]

5 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Why are JNH's fingers so short?

 

He's a notoriously fast worker. All that playing must take its toll on your hands.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

MY BRILLIANT FRIEND - Max Richter.

 

 

I like it.😊

Anyone seen the show? What's it about?

[KK 3,307]

The score is Richter on auto-pilot, but it works wonders in the show. And the show is absolutely fantastic. Can't wait till season 3.

[Thor 7,504]

10 hours ago, bruce marshall said:

Nobody likes WONDER, Thor.

It was godawful.

Can't remember what it was even about.

Music wasn't good either.

 

Actually, most of my colleagues loved it. But I was lukewarm. I totally disagree with publicist in that the score is 'meaningless drones', however. Yes, it's textural, but it's texture with SKILL and MEANING and DEPTH. With content.

 

3 hours ago, KK said:

The score is Richter on auto-pilot, but it works wonders in the show. And the show is absolutely fantastic. Can't wait till season 3.

 

Totally agreed. It's Richter on autopilot, and limited interest on its own. Never seen the show.

 

 

A delightful, consonant affair from one of the Golden Age's less heralded (but no less interesting) composers - tapping into the various geographical locales through the music. This was one of his last scores.

[Jay 37,364]

Jerry Goldsmith - Forever Young (La-La Land expansion)

 

Wow!  I have never seen this film - didn't even know what it was about - and never heard this OST album or this expansion.  It was this morning's pick off the pile of un-listened-to-CDs, and based purely on the cover art I was expecting a subdued romantic drama type score.  Imagine my surprise when the opening track (Test Flight) was a really great little quasi=militaristic action banger!  The action in the finale tracks (She's Alive and Reunited) was really great too (some Total Recall-esque writing)

 

Everything in between was also really nice (and nicely paced, too - I was at the end before I expected it), but then the "Love Theme" concert arrangement acting as like an end credits finale to the whole thing was spectacular (really nice cue, that one)

 

The subsequent bonus tracks were also really cool, because it was kind of a like a quicker, shorter run through the whole story again with another big finish.  

 

Good stuff - I'm glad I finally know this score!

[filmmusic 1,829]

Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

 

Searching for scores with celesta, so I listened to this too.

I have seen the movie but don't remember anything of it.

Nice score, optimistic one, with good textures (mostly from strings) and an ethnic - at times - flavor.

 

[Thor 7,504]

7 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

 

Searching for scores with celesta, so I listened to this too.

I have seen the movie but don't remember anything of it.

Nice score, optimistic one, with good textures (mostly from strings) and an ethnic - at times - flavor.

 

 

I love that score. Still their best work. I'd call it more wistful than optimistic.

 

Another one of those unheralded Horner scores from the 2000s (2003, to be exact) that doesn't get the love it deserves. A little bit of Americana, but it's both broader and more intimate than that.

 

[GerateWohl 4,369]

Rebecca - Franz Waxman

 

Re-recording by the Slovak Radio Orchestra.

 

Independant of the composer so far I have a 100% hit rate with soundtracks of Hitchcock movies. Recently Miklós Rózsa's Spellbound, the Herrmann scores anyway.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

The Blue Max (LLL) by Jerry Goldsmith

One word: INCREDIBLE!

I was quite surprise to see that it's from 1966 because it surely doesn't sound like the other scores from this period (guess it's also due to the fantastic restoration of this edition)

[Thor 7,504]

54 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

Rebecca - Franz Waxman

 

Obviously a brilliant, classic score, but my favourite recording remains the Joel McNeely/RSNO one.

[Jay 37,364]

James Horner - For Greater Glory (OST)

 

Hehe.  If this is one of the first Horner scores you've ever heard, it must be amazing, as there's so many cool ideas in here. But if you're familiar with the bulk of his work before hearing it, it's bound to be disappointing because so much of it comes from his prior scores.  There's the danger motif, Zorro-esque guitars, a Search For Spock-esque theme, Braveheart throughout.... If you look past the re-use, it's still a perfectly fine and functional late-era Horner score that is satisfying - and nicely programmed for this OST album.  If you can't get him revisiting his old works, this album will probably annoy you.  It doesn't re-use yet also elevate in the way that Wolf Totem or Black Gold do.  But I still like it!

 

Oh, and I almost forgot: There is one unique aspect of this score, that I don't recall hearing in any prior Horner scores (I can't say I've heard them all, though): Elfman-esque choir!  I was really surprised when that came up!

[crocodile 8,012]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

Oh, and I almost forgot: There is one unique aspect of this score, that I don't recall hearing in any prior Horner scores (I can't say I've heard them all, though): Elfman-esque choir!  I was really surprised when that came up!

Dunno...Casper maybe?

 

 Silverado. I haven't heard this score in ages. Together with Young Sherlock Holmes, it is Bruce Broughton at his very best. For some reason I don't ever listen to his music much...and whenever I do I keep wondering why that might be. In any case, the themes and western stuff are both good (or great even) but I mostly dig the jagged and brutal action and suspense passages. Good stuff! Intrada album comes highly recommended.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,364]

The choir bits in Cristiada are different from Casper's!

[crocodile 8,012]

I can't really remember. I've heard it only once or twice and that was when it first came out. And you said Elfman-esque so immediately thought Casper. 

 

Karol

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

The Great Escape 

 

Miles better than The Mediocre Escape.

[GerateWohl 4,369]

14 hours ago, Jay said:

Oh, and I almost forgot: There is one unique aspect of this score, that I don't recall hearing in any prior Horner scores (I can't say I've heard them all, though): Elfman-esque choir!  I was really surprised when that came up!

Different than the choirs in Krull?

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

On 4/1/2021 at 7:38 AM, KK said:

And the show is absolutely fantastic.

 

But is it brilliant?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

[Thor 7,504]

More phone screenshots. Are you Bruce Marshall, Big Man?

 

I've never listened to music on my phone in my life. I have an old iPod from the late 2000s. That's as close as I get.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

You were lucky. I've never listened to music.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

What's music?

[Thor 7,504]

 

Not so much lyrical this time (well, there is some of that too), but a fairly jaunty comedy score from 1980 with a host of cool instrumentational details. Morricone was such a master arranger as well. Haven't seen the film, but it appears to be a sort of Italian LIFE OF BRIAN, made around the same time.

[Jay 37,364]

Yes, very different from Krull choir

[publicist 4,643]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Yes, very different from Krull choir

 

Casper is full of Elfman choir. The choir in FGG is closer to his bulgarian chants in Troy etc. It's a special key they're singing in, but i don't see much, if any, connection to Elfman's work.

[Jay 37,364]

Interesting, I forgot about the choir in Troy!

[Thor 7,504]

 

One more before I move on to non-Morricone. The theme for this 1991 movie is one of the loveliest, pastoral things Morricone has ever written (you wouldn't believe that from looking at the cover). It's like a Geoffrey Burgon piece. But perhaps repeated a bit too often.

[publicist 4,643]

Jeez, take that cover down!

[Bespin 8,481]

Thomas Newman - WALL-E

Thomas Newman - Finding Nemo

 

Better and better this collection!

 

[Thor 7,504]

 

One of the greatest television scores composed in the 2010s. Just seek it out on Spotify or wherever and listen for yourself! I miss this Jusid; he's been bogged down in things he's not particularly comfortable with, or talented in, these last few years.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

57 minutes ago, Bespin said:

Thomas Newman - WALL-E

 

Better and better this collection!

 

I'm curious, what are your five favourites among those?

[Jay 37,364]

Shawshank, American Beauty, Road to Perdition, WALL E, 1917

[Bespin 8,481]

2 minutes ago, Raiders of the SoundtrArk said:

I'm curious, what are your five favourites among those?

 

Let's see... my Top 5?

 

1-Less Than Zero

2-Shawshank Redemption

3-1917

4-American Beauty

5-Passengers

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Haven't heard yet American Beauty (but seen the film though) and Less Than Zero. Might try that latter...

As far as I'm concerned mine would be:

1. Shawshank Redemption

2. Passengers

3. Skyfall

4. Finding Nemo

5. WALL-E

[Jay 37,364]

Brad Fiedel - The Terminator ("The Definite Edition")

 

Yea, they didn't call it "Definitive", they called it "Definite"!  This score is great; Some research has told me that this release was made from Ford Thaxton supervising a team that made their own new mixes from the original 24 track, and all cues aren't included; A later Milan reissue has another new mix (but this time supervised by Fiedel) and more music that wasn't available when this was made (though sad omits some music that is here, which is weird).

 

Anyways, it's a classic score for reason.  That being said, I do think Terminator 2's score basically one-ups this one in every way

 

My CD had a "Footlight Records" sticker directly on the jewel case - any other JWFan elders remember that place!?  I must have ordered this from there, and this must have been back in the day before CDs were always shrinkwrapped (or maybe they were in the US at the time, but this is a German pressing so maybe they weren't doing it there)

[Thor 7,504]

I could never listen to anything else than the TERMINATOR theme alone. I've tried -- repeatedly -- to gain pleasure from listening to the soundtracks, but have never succeeded. That being said, they are absolutely GENIUS in the movies themselves. One of those great scores where sound effects and score merge to become a higher entity.

[Jay 37,364]

James Newton Howard - Hidalgo (OST)

WOW!  This is an undiscovered gem by JNH for me.  I'd heard it before, but had largely forgotten all about it in the 17 (!) years since it came out.  I love the big, sweeping epic nature of it all.  It's grand!

[Thor 7,504]

4 minutes ago, Jay said:

James Newton Howard - Hidalgo (OST)

WOW!  This is an undiscovered gem by JNH for me.  I'd heard it before, but had largely forgotten all about it in the 17 (!) years since it came out.  I love the big, sweeping epic nature of it all.  It's grand!

 

That was a surprise for me a few years ago, when I finally acquired it. I had expected something lyrical and calm, like those BLACK BEAUTY scores. You know, horsie stuff and everything. Instead, it was (mostly) a full-on action score. Same experience I had with Arnold's THE LAST OF THE DOGMEN, which people had described as broad and Barry-ian, but which was rather aggressive through and through.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

I wanted to like the score to Hidalgo, but it never really clicked with me.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

 

 

 

 

This is a great listen!

6 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

 

 

59 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I wanted to like the score to Hidalgo, but it never really clicked with me.

 

Agree.

 

Goldsmith would have been perfect for this.film

 

JNH missed a great scoring opportunity.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

The Post (FYC) by John Williams

[Jay 37,364]

I like the OST program better, the jazzy source cues really spruce things up

[Thor 7,504]

 

I have very nostalgic relationship to this game from 1997. At first, I thought they had just reused Vangelis' music, but it appears Klepacki has painstakingly recreated the sounds and themes to an extent I've never heard before. His own music is great too -- perfectly organic with Vangelis. Klepacki, of course, is a legend in game music, with hits such as DUNE II and the COMMAND & CONQUER series.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

Is it without dialogue?

[Thor 7,504]

Yes, thankfully.

[Jay 37,364]

Trevor Jones - Dark City (OST)

 

Ha!  I had forgotten the score tracks were preceded by pop & rock songs; There's the 2 jazz standard sung in the film "by" Jennifer Connelly, and the film's trailer cue... and 3 then tracks that are soooooooooo 90s alt-rock it made me smile (none of these became hits - I never even heard them on the radio once)

 

Jones' score is fun!  The main action theme is a banger and it gets used well in the 3 tracks it appears in.  The score portion of this is short and sweet.  I'd enjoy hearing the complete score some day

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

So it might be the superior listening experience then?

[Thor 7,504]

1 minute ago, Jay said:

Trevor Jones - Dark City (OST)

 

Ha!  I had forgotten the score tracks were preceded by pop & rock songs; There's the 2 jazz standard sung in the film "by" Jennifer Connelly, and the film's trailer cue... and 3 then tracks that are soooooooooo 90s alt-rock it made me smile (none of these became hits - I never even heard them on the radio once)

 

Jones' score is fun!  The main action theme is a banger and it gets used well in the 3 tracks it appears in.  The score portion of this is short and sweet.  I'd enjoy hearing the complete score some day

 

Fantastic score for one of my favourite films from the 90s. I rewatched it just a few months ago, and it held up beautifully. The score is lush and dark. "Delicious darkness", as I call it.

 

1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

So it might be the superior listening experience then?

 

Not really. The Vangelis OST is almost perfection, except for the dialogue.

[Bespin 8,481]

Two "average" scores.

 

John Williams - Raiders (OST)

John Williams - Rise of Skywalker OST (for Easter)

[Thor 7,504]

2 minutes ago, Bespin said:

Two "average" scores.

 

John Williams - Raiders (OST)

John Williams - Rise of Skywalker OST (for Easter)

 

RISE, yes. RAIDERS, no.