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

[Bespin 8,480]

Summer nights: Fantastic Journey, Battle of the Atlantic Suite, Great Composers - George Delerue, Goldsmith conducts Goldsmith.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Haven't heard the Battle of the Atlantic Suite. How is it?

[Bespin 8,480]

Well, it's a composition about Atlantic, it's musical and... marine!

[Edmilson 7,393]

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

The Great Fantasy Adventure Album (Kunzel compilation) - A typically great compilation from Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnatti Pops with quite a diverse track of selections, including a couple I'm not sure I'd put as "fantasy adventure" (El Cid and Doyle's Henry V, for example... The Hunt for Red October?! Then again, it doesn't appear on many compilations so nice that the Hymn gets an outing, even if I always found it a trifle disjointed) but which are still a treat. It has a great version of Herrmann's 7th Voyage of Sinbad prelude, lots of energy and a very tight performance. About the only tracks I'd change would be using the opening titles music from both Conan the Barbarian and Total Recall, neither of which really constitute the best music from their respective scores. This is especially true of Total Recall given that, to an unfamiliar listener, based on the opening titles you might conclude the whole score is a cheeky sci-fi knock off of Conan rather than just the titles as an intentional homage that is nothing much like the rest of the score (emphasising the clanking metallic percussion like the Anvil (of Crom) only emphasises how much it sounds like a bit of a rip off. The fact that the Total Recall track is somewhat less interesting than the Conan original doesn't help. Having said that, it comes off better here than on the Goldsmith Frontiers compilation where the total lack of any synths to drive it forward are sorely missed.

[Jay 37,287]

Nice, one of the first film score CDs I ever owned!

 

Good point about Total Recall!  Indeed, if they had recorded Clever Girl instead, that would have been a massive improvement

[publicist 4,643]

 

JNH in his most derivative, functional mode. Meh. 

 

 

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Nice, one of the first film score CDs I ever owned!

 

Good point about Total Recall!  Indeed, if they had recorded Clever Girl instead, that would have been a massive improvement

Yeah... although I wonder if Total Recall really lends itself to a concert arrangement. It's a great score and enjoyable as a listening experience away from the film, but hard to appreciate a single bit of it in the same way as the other Goldsmith that tends to get programmed for concerts.

31 minutes ago, publicist said:

 

JNH in his most derivative, functional mode. Meh. 

 

 

Have to admit that Outbreak never did a great deal for me either to be honest, but maybe I need to give it another spin. I mean, it ought to be the soundtrack to the last year...

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,429]

Great expansion for a really nice musical. One issue though, the interviews between the music, it would have been better to have them at the very end of the album

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

The Abyss (Alan Silvestri) - I find it hard to dispel the feeling that the exceptionally strong material near the end gives a much better impression of the score than a lot of the underscore which can be a bit aimless at times. I'm not sure that Close Encounters style dissonance is really Silvestri's forte and the brief bursts of action are relatively simplistic. Then again, cues like Bud's Big Dive are very effective, but the deluxe edition does start to outstay its welcome. There's probably a good compromise album presentation that's longer than the original album but cuts some of the less interesting sections of the full thing. Still, Bud on the Ledge is one of the best things Silvestri has ever written.

 

Police Academy (Robert Folk) - Tunefully enjoyable comedy score. Why did I never notice how much the Police Academy March sounds like Patton before?!

 

The Horse Whisperer (Thomas Newman) - Surprised to discover I'd only listened to this a couple of times (according to iTunes at least) despite it being what I would probably have considered to be a favourite Newman score. Definitely needs more frequent rotation. I do rather wish he could go back to a slightly more diverse range and style of drama scoring sometimes.

 

A Simple Twist of Fate (Cliff Eidelman) - I remember being disappointed at all of the intimate drama scores that Eidelman scored when I first got into film music. When your benchmark score for a composer is Star Trek VI, you kinda hope you might get something else. I mean, if your introduction to James Horner was Star Trek II, you'd be pretty happy with Krull, Willow or The Rocketeer if you wanted more of the same. For all that, A Simple Twist of Fate is really quite lovely, with a charming main theme. Definitely encouragement to dig more into Eidelman's back catalogue.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

18 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Police Academy (Robert Folk) - Tunefully enjoyable comedy score. Why did I never notice how much the Police Academy March sounds like Patton before?!

 

I know! I was thinking about making a poll about those two.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,429]

Nice score. I wouldn't have give it an Oscar though but otherwise it is well constructed with a good atmosphere. I particularly liked the tracks Shenzhou and Gravity

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,429]

A terrific score from one of my favourite movies. The sound quality is crazily good and that's a real pleasure!!!

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Julian Nott) - Never going to go down as high art, but easily one of my favourite scores. I remember being quite annoyed at Hans Zimmer's name being stamped all over the music given that Nott is a very fine composer in his own right. Does anyone know if Dreamworks imposed Zimmer/Remote Control on the production? I know some Remote Control composers are credited with additional music. Did Nott struggle to write a larger score in the available time? Interesting comparing the album with the recording sessions as the album is considerably more edited than I realised. It's almost reminiscent of the way Williams puts together an album; a few judicious edits and some combining of tracks for a more satisfying listening experience. Still, the full thing is great fun and there's rarely a dull moment.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Julian Nott) - Never going to go down as high art, but easily one of my favourite scores. I remember being quite annoyed at Hans Zimmer's name being stamped all over the music given that Nott is a very fine composer in his own right. Does anyone know if Dreamworks imposed Zimmer/Remote Control on the production? I know some Remote Control composers are credited with additional music. Did Nott struggle to write a larger score in the available time? Interesting comparing the album with the recording sessions as the album is considerably more edited than I realised. It's almost reminiscent of the way Williams puts together an album; a few judicious edits and some combining of tracks for a more satisfying listening experience. Still, the full thing is great fun and there's rarely a dull moment.

 

An interesting post. When I watched the movie years ago I was not compelled to purchase the album, but I bought it recently to play it safe when it seemed to go OOP. Alas, my current impression of the score is mainly negative: it doesn't contain many highlights, there's some weird, unmusical turns in some tracks, and some lost opportunities that would have made the music more interesting. But I'll keep it for the classic march by Julian Nott. Btw, the main composer credits are given to Nott and Rupert Gregson-Williams, if I remember correctly.

 

3 hours ago, May the Force be with You said:

A terrific score from one of my favourite movies. The sound quality is crazily good and that's a real pleasure!!!

 

And for $20 it's a steal!

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

21 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

An interesting post. When I watched the movie years ago I was not compelled to purchase the album, but I bought it recently to play it safe when it seemed to go OOP. Alas, my current impression of the score is mainly negative: it doesn't contain many highlights, there's some weird, unmusical turns in some tracks, and some lost opportunities that would have made the music more interesting. But I'll keep it for the classic march by Julian Nott. Btw, the main composer credits are given to Nott and Rupert Gregson-Williams, if I remember correctly.

 

 

And for $20 it's a steal!

 

That's a shame, I think it's a lot of fun, with loads of memorable tunes. I certainly didn't find any of the tracks especially unmusical; OK some have little surprises, but they work in context for me. I think Nott is the main credit composer, everyone else is just additional music. I'm still curious as to whether Dreamworks pushed Zimmer's team on the production or if Nott wanted it.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

5 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I think Nott is the main credit composer, everyone else is just additional music.

 

It's a bit difficult to say from the back cover how much the others contributed. I don't have the album available now so I can't check inside the booklet.

 

8 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I'm still curious as to whether Dreamworks pushed Zimmer's team on the production or if Nott wanted it.

 

I've also been wondering about this.

[Jay 37,287]

Ludwig Göransson - The Mandalorian Season 2 (both OST albums back to back as if it was one long OST album)

 

Damn, I really dig this score!  There's no way I'll ever think of it as being a big improvement over Season 1's great score, but it's a completely decent followup.  Who knows how much better or at least different it might have been had covid not impacted the ability to record with live musicians, but the score we got is still pretty damn great.  I like the dubstep for the Dark Troopers and all the music for the spiders on the ice planet, plus some interesting new takes on season 1 material.  Looking forward to season 3!

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

5 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

It's a bit difficult to say from the back cover how much the others contributed. I don't have the album available now so I can't check inside the booklet.

 

 

I've also been wondering about this.

Interesting! I have a sneaking suspicion mine was a promo in a cardboard slip case (from when I did my website) but I don't recall the credits on the back, but it is clearly labelled as a group effort, although Nott's musical stamp is in evidence in the melodic material at least. I am fairly certain in the film he is the sole credited composer in the opening titles, but with a Hans getting a music production credit after Nott's credit as per the soundtrack (which is what rankled me when I watched the film!). I can certainly hear quite a bit of the Remote Control animated score style in a number of the cues but it still has plenty of Nott's quirky charm. I remember reading/seeing an interview with Nott where he was very gracious about how Hans and co helped him with shaping the score for the feature length. Perhaps he simply didn't feel experienced enough to score a full length feature and appreciated the assistance.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

3 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Perhaps he simply didn't feel experienced enough to score a full length feature and appreciated the assistance.

 

Sounds plausible.

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

5 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Sounds plausible.

...and/or not in the time available. I imagine that, relatively, the W&G shorts have a fairly decent amount of time for him to write the music before they come out whereas a feature would be somewhat less forgiving, time wise.

 

Still a shame there isn't a compilation of all the music from the W&G shorts. I don't imagine it would run to more than half an hour, but there is some great music there. I have a promo from somewhere which has some of the best material, notably the train chase from The Wrong Trousers and the sheep motorbike chase and cute Thunderbirds parody from A Close Shave.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,499]

Cracking scores, Gromit!

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

58 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Still a shame there isn't a compilation of all the music from the W&G shorts. I don't imagine it would run to more than half an hour, but there is some great music there. I have a promo from somewhere which has some of the best material, notably the train chase from The Wrong Trousers and the sheep motorbike chase and cute Thunderbirds parody from A Close Shave.

 

Yeah, I've been wondering why those scores haven't gotten a release. Perhaps something for Quartet Records?

 

 

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Yeah, I've been wondering why those scores haven't gotten a release. Perhaps something for Quartet Records?

 

 

Maybe... perhaps there just isn't enough material for one or no market?

 

Must re-listen to Hop. Seem to remember it being fun. Listened to the crappily titled Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero by Patrick Doyle earlier. Charming animated score with some surprisingly dramatic cues. Well worth a listen.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

6 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Must re-listen to Hop. Seem to remember it being fun.

 

Much of it felt like I'd heard before and I kind of dismissed it, but it's growing on me.

[HunterTech 987]

5 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Does anyone know if Dreamworks imposed Zimmer/Remote Control on the production? I know some Remote Control composers are credited with additional music. Did Nott struggle to write a larger score in the available time?

 

Boy did they ever. Nott was actually rejected from taking the job on Chicken Run, despite the crew really being in favor of him. It's within that where Zimmer allegedly told Julian in a meeting that Hollywood doesn't tolerate the old school sound anymore, and that he's wasting his time continuing to go with it. So it doesn't surprise me that Were-Rabbit had a touch of MV imposed on it, though at least they were gracious enough to let Nott take the leading role on the project (likely because he's heavily associated with the franchise already).

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

Just now, HunterTech said:

 

Boy did they ever. Nott was actually rejected from taking the job on Chicken Run, despite the crew really being in favor of him. It's within that where Zimmer allegedly told Julian in a meeting that Hollywood doesn't tolerate the old school sound anymore, and that he's wasting his time continuing to go with it. So it doesn't surprise me that Were-Rabbit had a touch of MV imposed on it, though at least they were gracious enough to let Nott take the leading role on the project (likely because he's heavily associated with the franchise already).

Well that sucks mightily. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love what John Powell and HGW did on Chicken Run, but Nott is a fine composer in his own right. It's a rather stupid point of view saying the music is old fashioned, it matches the films! Plus, it's not like Nott was trying to break into Hollywood and plenty of movies have scores that aren't contemporary so why would you try and impose a modern score on an old fashioned movie?!

 

I seem to recall reading that the overall relationship between Dreamworks and Aardman wasn't great and I don't think they are associated any more? It all feels a bit like that typical big player comes in and tells a successful smaller player how to do their thing and rather missing the point of what made their work special. Still, it's a fun movie and they still make the odd short. Plus the Shaun the Sheep movies are great although a shame Nott didn't do them...

[publicist 4,643]

On 5/23/2021 at 9:06 PM, Tom Guernsey said:

Have to admit that Outbreak never did a great deal for me either to be honest, but maybe I need to give it another spin. I mean, it ought to be the soundtrack to the last year...

 

Relevance doesn't help this case. 

 

 

 

A long-lined theme, which is a case for celebration in these barren times - it makes its first appearances in tracks 6 and 7 (though it's not one of Doyle's highlights, it's respectable addition to his repertoire).

 

 

 

[Thor 7,471]

1 hour ago, publicist said:

A long-lined theme, which is a case for celebration in these barren times - it makes its first appearances in tracks 6 and 7 (though it's not one of Doyle's highlights, it's respectable addition to his repertoire).

 

I thought that was his best score in many, many years. Going back to the old Branagh root sound.

[Bespin 8,480]

1979!

 

An Alien, a Vampire, a Vulcan and Wild Bill Kelso!

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,499]

Brilliant, Bes!!!

Add THE BLACK HOLE, and MOONRAKER, to that little lot, and you've got yourself one hell of a collection of soundtracks, from a remarkable year in film music.

Two of those are in my respective top-5.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,429]

A terrific, fun score. The Mono presentation is real delight

 

A crazy Goldsmith score like I love, there's really smart reuse of previous materials and traditional arrangement. Too bad that this movie never get a sequel, it would have probably been the best musical trilogy for Goldsmith.

[Jay 37,287]

John Williams - Hook

 

An amazing masterpiece

 

John Williams - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

 

Another amazing masterpiece.  I listened to the "Parade of the Slave Children" track from the Spielberg/Williams album directly afterward and holy hell, I had never noticed HOW. MUCH. SLOWER. the tempo is compared to the original film cue!  Not a fan of the tempo, but the performance otherwise is pretty good.

[Marian Schedenig 8,174]

56 minutes ago, May the Force be with You said:

A crazy Goldsmith score like I love, there's really smart reuse of previous materials and traditional arrangement. Too bad that this movie never get a sequel, it would have probably been the best musical trilogy for Goldsmith.

 

Top 5 Goldsmith contender for me.

[Holko 9,499]

I gave Chicken Run another try after listening to Powell's Film Suites album. Aaaaaand... it still fails to grab me. Somehow I'm just not really feeling his voice in it and become somewhat bored by the middle from the lack of clear thematic throughlines and engaging variations. To me, Powell is at his best when soaring, then intimate, then bombastically evil, whatever he can do, anything goes. Chicken Run mostly just feels... too grounded for me. I know that kind of makes perfect thematic sense but it still failed to sweep me away. Maybe it's HGW

[bruce marshall 1,315]

8 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Brilliant, Bes!!!

Add THE BLACK HOLE, and MOONRAKER, to that little lot, and you've got yourself one hell of a collection of soundtracks, from a remarkable year in film music.

Two of those are in my respective top-5.

Black Hole?

Pretty good score to a horrible film.

MOONRAKER?

Pretty great score to a lousy film

 

C

[Thor 7,471]

 

That's Yugo Kanno's GUNSHI KANBEI from 2014, for those of you who don't read Japanese. It's one of those costly and annual Taiga television dramas in Japan that are always high quality. The music is no exception - broad, big, muscular and symphonic; would no doubt appeal to many here. And it got lots of raves back when it came out. 76 minutes long, but there's so much music in this show, it needs to be that length in order to be representative (plus, it's only Vol. 1).

[bollemanneke 3,337]

Listening to the FSO Star Wars compilation. This might be the only Star Wars album I'm ever going to buy. (Preparing myself for reactions.)

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

There's no law against bad taste!

 

[crocodile 7,984]

The Land Before Time

An American Tail

The Secret of NIMH

 

For my money, these are some of the best ever scores written for animation. 

 

Karol

[Edmilson 7,393]

 

Beautiful and uplifting score by Jerry!

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

I prefer the score to Forrest Gump. 

 

[Thor 7,471]

 

Quite lovely. Soft, strumming acoustic guitars and pianos, perhaps with a hint of Williams' downkey scores. Has kind of a Thomas Newman vibe too.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Huh, didn't know JW had written a recent telly soundtrack.

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

Don Quixote (Richard Hartley) - Only halfway through but this is great, tuneful and exciting score for the TV version of the classic story starring John Lithgow and Bob Hoskins. Hartley did a number of enjoyable scores for Hallmark (I think?) miniseries in the 90s, but this is perhaps my favourite.

[Jay 37,287]

Christopher Larkin - Hollow Knight (OST Album and Gods & Nightmares OST album)

 

A favorite of mine, hadn't listened to it in ages.  Was nice to revisit, though also made me sadd that Silksong probably won't be out this year all over again

 

 

Theodore SHaprio & Craig Wedren - Wet Hot American Summer

 

One of my favorite comedy scores.  Higher and Higher is a banger

 

 

Daniel Pemberton - Ocean's 8

 

One of my favorite scores of the 2010s.  I think it's every bit as good as David Holmes' original trilogy scores

[Thor 7,471]

 

Summer weather is approaching us here in the North, so appropriate with this lovely, breezy pop-jazz score from the ever-fascinating Vic Mizzy.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Yummy.

[publicist 4,643]

It's a shitty May here, so i make mine a sicilian holiday, by way of Carlo Rustichelli's impossibly mellow trifle for Billy Wilder's relaxed 1972 comedy of culture collision.

 

 

[Thor 7,471]

 

One of the best Norwegian scores of 2014; Bjerknes occasionally tapping into broad, beautiful, chilly Vangelis-like textures. Good children's movie too.