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

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

The animated water looks fantastic.

[publicist 4,643]

 

It's slow-moving, majestic, repetitive and the melody is an earworm...pure Barry, so to speak, warts and all.

[crocodile 8,027]

 The Wolfman. This is the kind of score I was hoping Elfman would write more frequently later in his career. It would be a natural progression of his early fantasy works, but weightier and more grounded. Yes, there are some Kilar references but they are mostly relegated to the opening track. The remaining material is some of Elfman's finest writing in 21st century outside of his concert work. There's no silliness and it moves with purpose.

 

On a side note, I would be very interested to find out what was the role of Lindgren and Shearmur on this project. It sounds quite seamless to me.

 

Karol

[Tom Guernsey 2,290]

8 minutes ago, crocodile said:

 The Wolfman. This is the kind of score I was hoping Elfman would write more frequently later in his career. It would be a natural progression of his early fantasy works, but weightier and more grounded. Yes, there are some Kilar references but they are mostly relegated to the opening track. The remaining material is some of Elfman's finest writing in 21st century outside of his concert work. There's no silliness and it moves with purpose.

 

On a side note, I would be very interested to find out what was the role of Lindgren and Shearmur on this project. It sounds quite seamless to me.

 

Karol

I’ll have to give this another listen. I only there was additional music by Conrad Pope but didn’t know there were even more involved.  

[crocodile 8,027]

16 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I’ll have to give this another listen. I only there was additional music by Conrad Pope but didn’t know there were even more involved.  

The booklet credits both gentlemen on four tracks as "additional composers". Think it is the two action tracks and two transformation tracks (tracks 6, 10, 13 and 16, I think?). But I wonder whether they actually wrote the cues from scratch or where merely adapting existing sketches by Elfman to new cuts or something like that. Or wrote only some parts of these cues. After all, this film was a bit of a nightmare and it's not surprising really. But these tracks also sound very much like Elfman so it's really hard to say. Whatever it was, their collaboration works very well.

 

Karol

[Tom Guernsey 2,290]

6 minutes ago, crocodile said:

The booklet credits both gentlemen on four tracks as "additional composers". Think it is the two action tracks and two transformation tracks (tracks 6, 10, 13 and 16, I think?). But I wonder whether they actually wrote the cues from scratch or where merely adapting existing sketches by Elfman to new cuts or something like that. Or wrote only some parts of these cues. After all, this film was a bit of a nightmare and it's not surprising really. But these tracks also sound very much like Elfman so it's really hard to say. Whatever it was, their collaboration works very well.

 

Karol

Aha, I guess that’s the downside of having all your music on iTunes and the CDs safely stored away! Interesting but yeah it was quite a mess as a production from what I recall. Looking forward to revisiting it later. 

[Jay 37,416]

30 minutes ago, crocodile said:

The booklet credits both gentlemen on four tracks as "additional composers". Think it is the two action tracks and two transformation tracks (tracks 6, 10, 13 and 16, I think?). But I wonder whether they actually wrote the cues from scratch or where merely adapting existing sketches by Elfman to new cuts or something like that. Or wrote only some parts of these cues. After all, this film was a bit of a nightmare and it's not surprising really. But these tracks also sound very much like Elfman so it's really hard to say. Whatever it was, their collaboration works very well.

 

Karol

 

 

This is the original score Elfman recorded:

 

1. 0m01a (4:28)

2. 0m01b (6:04)

3. 0m02 (1:34)

4. 0m03 TJ (4:07)

5. 1m01-2 (3:28)

6. 1M03r (1:55)

7. 2m03a (3:04)

8. 2M03b (3:04)

9. 2m04alt (5:27)

10. 2m04org-t586 (1:56)

11. 2M05 (1:24)

12. 3m01 (1:11)

13. 3m02 (2:38)

14. 3m04 (3:51)

15. 3m08 (1:40)

16. 4m02-3 (4:14)

17. 4M04 (3:28)

18. 4m05alt (0:50)

19. 4M05b (0:46)

20. 4M05 (3:10)

21. 4M07 TJ (4:08)

22. 4m08 (2:42)

23. 5m01 (8:50)

24. 5M04a (2:38)

25. 5m04b TJ (2:29)

26. 6m03 (1:40)

27. 6m04alt (0:59)

28. 6m04 (3:40)

29. 6M05 (4:54)

30. 7m03 (0:50)

31. 7m05a-ALT (0:55)

32. 7M05a (2:16)

33. 7m06alt1 (1:28)

34. 7m06 (4:38)

TOTAL TIME: 1:40:26

 

 

These are the Pope re-writes:

 

01. 1M2 Opening Attack Fix (0:25)

02. 1M3 Gwen's Letter (01:02)

03. 1M5 Ben's Body (0:32)

04. 1M6 Mysterious Moon (0:36)

05. 1M7A Fountain (0:55)

06. 1M10 Funeral (0:43)

07. 2M11 Gwen Leaves - Take Warning (01:28)

08. 2M16 Healing Montage Pt. 2 (0:54)

09. 2M18 Aberline Arrives (0:57)

10. 3M21 Lake (02:19)

11. 3M22 Bleeding Lip (01:23)

12. 3M24A Pint Of Bitter Please (0:37)

13. 3M25 Mother Statue Reveal (0:27)

14. 4M33 London Rampage Patch (0:21)

15. 5M35 The Kiss (0:54)

16. 6M46 Final Fight (01:17)

17. 6M50 Gorge - Face To Face (0:33)

18. 6M50A Wolfman Shot (01:29)

19. 6M51 Finale (02:12)

20. 6M51 Finale (Alternate Ending) (02:13)

21. 6M52 Epilogue (0:51)

Total Duration: 22:19

[HunterTech 994]

Given this would've been around the time Elfman started employing extra composers regularly (Lindgren would come back for Real Steel shortly afterwards, plus work on his subsequent scores), I think it's safe to say TJ and Shearmur were employed early on rather than at a later stage. Especially since all their material is on the Elfman bootleg (also the former's initials are in some of the cue numbers).

 

Of course, given the nature of the film production itself, even looking through BMI and ASCAP for who exactly did what might be tricky, since we lack too much of a frame of reference without proper titles to work off of (the ones that exist being a mix of OST and made up names).

 

Not helping matters is the film seemingly having bits that aren't on either bootleg, so suffice it to say that it's just all one big headache.

[Bespin 8,487]

This Wolfman score interest me... 

[Jay 37,416]

It's not bad!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

Yeah, it's a good listen. It seems to be pitched somewhere JW's DRACULA, and Kilar's BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA, but with very few of the Elfmanisms that we've come to know and love. It might not be a mature score, but it's a fun ride.

[Bespin 8,487]

OK, now that I have a "decent" Danny Elfman CD collection... A good idea would be to listen to them (seriously with headphones I mean)!

 

After John Williams, Danny Elfman is really my second best.

 

Let's start this backward!

 

Danny Elfman - Dumbo OST (magical!)

Danny Elfman - The Girl in the Train OST (ambiant, weird and almost uncomfortable! I love that!)

Danny Elfman - Goosebump OST (while watching the movie I wondered, I like that music... it's just fun and efficient, who wrote that? Entertaining!)

Danny Elfman - Fifty Shades of Grey OST (so good it was barely used in the movie!)

 

[publicist 4,643]

 

Exquisite late Barry jazz (mixed in with a handful of Chet Baker originals for good measure). I've never seen the movie it was mostly rejected from, but it sure suffered by it. There's a brooding melancholy to it which is so typical of John Barry's harmonic grammar which gets a real shot in the arm when it is transferred to the more agile jazz idiom instead of languid strings.

 

And there's jazz harmonica, too, and if that late recall of 'Midnight Cowboy' isn't enough to convince you, nothing is. Sadly, the Decca album is hard to come by. Brilliant recording by John Richards, great playing by Chris Botti, Mike Lang, Dan Higgins and Tommy Morgan, all the great veteran LA players).

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

Agreed with every word, @publicist. This is a gem of a score, a late-flowering masterpiece, from a woefully underrated film.

31 minutes ago, publicist said:

Sadly, the Decca album is hard to come by.

I've just seen the Decca cd on Amazon, for £6.11 . There are three copies in stock, and they are supplied by a store that I have been buying from, for two years.

[Bespin 8,487]

Danny Elfman Fest - Part Deux.

 

Frankenweenie OST

Alice in Wonderland OST

Terminator Salvation OST

Milk OST (The Score part)

[Tallguy 3,406]

On the 110th anniversary:

 

Titanic (1997) - James Horner.

[A24 4,352]

 

 

[Thor 7,553]

 

By 2016, when this series came out, I had patiently waited for Paul Haslinger to do a score within his TD roots. And lo and behold, it happened for this TV series. Great stuff! The vol. 2 is fine too, although not on the same level. More of this, please, Paul, rather than the non-descript genre stuff.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

Ooh, Paul Haslinger. His work with TD is great. UNDERWATER SUNLIGHT is a fine record.

[Bespin 8,487]

Danny Elfman Fest - Part III.

 

Hellboy II OST

Wanted OST

Standard Operating Procedure OST

Charlotte's Web OST

[crocodile 8,027]

King of Kings

The Gospel of John

The Passion of the Christ

 

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

Great stuff, @crocodile.

[crocodile 8,027]

17 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Great stuff, @crocodile.

I decided to finish the day with Ben-Hur. But listening to the two LP volumes of highlights as recorded by Erich Kloss.

 

Karol

[JNHFan2000 2,974]

Atlantis: The Lost Empire - James Newton Howard

 

Another magnificent score from Howard for a Disney film. I am still in disbelieve that they didn't add the opening cue from the film and the5-minute final battle cue to the album.

I found a promotional release a while back and made my own edit with these cues edited into the album + I added the film version of The Submarine. I think these 3 cues make the score even better.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

A very good score, from an underrated film.

[Marian Schedenig 8,218]

The Final Conflict

[crocodile 8,027]

8 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Atlantis: The Lost Empire - James Newton Howard

 

Another magnificent score from Howard for a Disney film. I am still in disbelieve that they didn't add the opening cue from the film and the5-minute final battle cue to the album.

I found a promotional release a while back and made my own edit with these cues edited into the album + I added the film version of The Submarine. I think these 3 cues make the score even better.

True, although the final battle is mostly just a rehash of what we hear in Leviathan cue anyway. It should be there dramatically, true, but wouldn't add much musically.

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

 

A wonderful sweeping/mushy theme that holds its own against things like 'Out of Africa' and the patented Barry underwater music from 'Thunderball' and 'The Deep'. Skip tracks 3-8 and enjoy Easter Sunday.

[crocodile 8,027]

To round off my Easter playlist I went with The Passion of the Christ Symphony and The Last Temptation of Christ. It's funny how the latter ended up being a blueprint for virtually everything written in the early 00's.  It's a damn fine album to this day. I wouldn't mind one label getting crack at assembling the film version of this.

 

Speaking of boutique label wishes, I would like this one as well:

 

 

It's safe to say I feel completely Jesus-ed out this weekend! 

 

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

8 hours ago, crocodile said:

The Last Temptation of Christ.

 

 

I assume you mean PASSION, by Peter Gabriel? It's a great score, and a damn fine record, in its own right.

 

8 hours ago, crocodile said:

The Last Temptation of Christ. It's a damn fine album to this day. I wouldn't mind one label getting crack at assembling the film version of this.

 

It would be nice, wouldn't it, but I suspect that Gabriel won't want to farm out anything on the Real World label.

[Thor 7,553]

 

This was such a nice discovery in 2020. Both to rediscover Vidal again after many years, and the wonderful, smooth synth score that is no doubt anachronistic (even without having seen the show, I know that it is), but extremely melodic, cool and funky all at the same time.

[Bespin 8,487]

Today's program: Anakin Skywalker's Passion

 

A New Hope - The Special Edition

Empire Strikes Back - The Special Edition

Return of the Jedi - Anthology '93 + inserted tracks from the 4th CD

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

Bes, you're missing out on some fabulous stuff, by not playing ROTJ: SE.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,434]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow by Blake Neely and others

Always was curious about those scores, well they're a lot of fun

[Thor 7,553]

 

Amazing score, still Serra's best. Either the impressionistic, Ravel-ian orchestral colours, or the ethereal synth tracks like the gorgeous "In the Kingdom of Spirits", or the two pop tracks. This is the score to slam on the table when people get into Serra-bashing over GOLDENEYE or whatever.

[Thor 7,553]

 

Still Henrik's best score, IMO -- yes, it's post-minimalist romanticism back when it was fresh (2014), but this is of the better kind. The sheer elegance and momentum of a track like "Grasse" is great.

[Jurassic Shark 12,111]

An interesting composer for sure, but I prefer Snøfall.

[Thor 7,553]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

And interesting composer for sure, but I prefer Snøfall.

 

Yes, that's good too, but his most traditional. I like the "in-between" Skram. If something like CRESTFALLEN -- with its static, ambient nature -- is his most experimental, and SNØFALL the most traditional, I like those that are between there somewhere. Like BALLET BOYS or 90 MINUTTER. 

[Bespin 8,487]

Danny Elfman Fest - Part IV.

 

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride OST

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory OST

Spider-Man 2 OST

Big Fish OST (the score part)

 

[LSH 969]

 

Boy I haven't listened to this in a good while but it's really quite superb. One of Badelt's very best efforts before he disappeared into relative obscurity.

 

The Princess / Love / whatever it is (?) theme is utterly gorgeous and has some lovely variations throughout.

 

Overall, an undeniably strong score for a mid-tier Zimmer protégé.

[Tallguy 3,406]

Not only nice to remember not only when these kind of CDs came out every year but also to remember when there was this much film music that I wanted to listen to! Mr. Holland's Opus seems oddly absent, looking back.

[Jay 37,416]

Probably because it came out in 1995...

[Tallguy 3,406]

1 minute ago, Jay said:

Probably because it came out in 1995...

 

Ohhhh, just barely. And it isn't on Hollywood '95 either, wise guy.

[Jay 37,416]

It should have been!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,589]

33 minutes ago, Jay said:

Probably because it came out in 1995...

Nobody likes a smart arse.

[thestat 352]

I really wonder about that Elfman score for Wolfman - he is not someone to pillage Kilar to that extent......

 

Anyways, later day Elfman is brilliantly encapsulated by this:

 

 

Patrick Doyle, on fire, in the early 1990s, unbeatable:

 

[Tallguy 3,406]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Nobody likes a smart arse.

 

Of course we like you, NOF. 😉

[thestat 352]

Shore's massive snare drum escapade

 

There are great things shared by us all. This is one of them>

 

[Thor 7,553]

 

Preparing for a Christopher Gordon interview in a few weeks, I need to familiarize myself with a few holes in my discography, including this music for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in 2006. Big, lush and melodic as one would expect from Gordon. I suppose things like this are somewhere between score and concert music. "Event music".

[Jurassic Shark 12,111]

Tell him from me that Master and Commander is a great score.