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

[Marian Schedenig 7,520]

 

Still fascinating how differently the Imperial March is treated in this score from its dozens of versions in ESB. And not just at the end. Approaching the Death Star is a brilliantly atmospheric cue operatically - almost tragically - built around the theme.

[Brónach 1,278]

I've only just discovered The Rise of Skywalker

[Naïve Old Fart 9,139]

13 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Approaching the Death Star is a brilliantly atmospheric cue operatically - almost tragically - built around the theme.

 

Along with "Brother/Sister Father/Son", "Approaching The Death Star" is my favourite cue, from RETURN OF THE JEDI.

[Marian Schedenig 7,520]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Along with "Brother/Sister Father/Son", "Approaching The Death Star" is my favourite cue, from RETURN OF THE JEDI.

 

I couldn't commit to that, there's so many… Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor, The Dark Side Beckons, Light of the Force (the original unused version)…

[Tom Guernsey 2,010]

Mr Skeffington by Franz Waxman. William Stromberg conducting the Moscow Symphony in a very fine recording of a classic Waxman score. However, I'm mainly posting so I can share, what I think we can all agree, is (alongside "Wanker" from Kamen's score to The Winter Guest) one of the best track titles of all time "Young Fanny, Diphtheria Montage". Really makes you wanna watch the film...

[Thor 6,777]

6 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Mr Skeffington by Franz Waxman. William Stromberg conducting the Moscow Symphony in a very fine recording of a classic Waxman score. However, I'm mainly posting so I can share, what I think we can all agree, is (alongside "Wanker" from Kamen's score to The Winter Guest) one of the best track titles of all time "Young Fanny, Diphtheria Montage". Really makes you wanna watch the film...

 

Great score and album! My favourite Golden Age composer by far.

[Tom Guernsey 2,010]

19 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Great score and album! My favourite Golden Age composer by far.

I don't think anyone will displace Herrmann for me, but my appreciation for Franz Waxman only ever increases, having oddly not been that much of a fan. Can't really work out why.

 

Now, gonna listen to that diphtheria montage again...

[Thor 6,777]

Herrmann was never really a Golden Age composer to me, although he was technically active in the period. But yeah - Waxman is a grower. Far more "modern" in sound than what he's given credit for. Outshines the Rozsas, Steiners, Tiomkins, Korngolds and Newmans of this world, as far as I'm concerned, although they're fine too.

[A24 4,177]

 

That theme ... Is this John Williams signalling us that Nixon is like Darth Vader?

[Thor 6,777]

I don't know, but it's a fantastic score. "Meeting With Mao" is one of my alltime favourite JW cues. Shame I can't access the CD-ROM material anymore (yes, I'm aware it's on YouTube), featuring JW in a rare yellow shirt.

[Tom Guernsey 2,010]

14 minutes ago, AC1 said:

 

That theme ... Is this John Williams signalling us that Nixon is like Darth Vader?

Yes, don't you remember the bit where Nixon demanded his shuttle to escape Watergate? Classic moment.

[crocodile 7,708]

25 minutes ago, AC1 said:

 

That theme ... Is this John Williams signalling us that Nixon is like Darth Vader?

He's also clearly duelling with fates.

 

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 9,139]

An absolutely superb score, by any standards.

[filmmusic 1,680]

Hope this is the next John Williams expansion!

[Andy 3,572]

You could track Turbulent Years into any Star Wars duel and it would work.  I do like the synth undercurrent on that one too.

[A24 4,177]

9 minutes ago, Andy said:

You could track Turbulent Years into any Star Wars duel and it would work.  I do like the synth undercurrent on that one too.

 

It's too military and thus too Empire sounding for a duel, those are often not scored anyway. 

[crocodile 7,708]

 Attack of the Clones. Despite never sounding too exciting or punchy, it is still among the finest SW albums out there. It's a strange deviation for the series because the kind of swashbuckling we associate with the series is mostly absent and giving way to the anxious minimalism we know from some of Spielberg's dystopian s-f films of that time. Yet, it is also the most unified of the nine, seems like it's going from one point to another and having only one central big theme definitely helps with that. I still believe Across the Stars is one of the great themes. I thought it back then and I still think that now. The action set pieces are also fantastic. Love or hate Williams' prequel style of writing, there are few things he's done this century that would match the Coruscant chase or the arena sequence in terms of scope and musical storytelling. In fact, the album programme is so good I am not even really that desperate for expansion (other than the possible sound improvement). Anakin's confession and the unused finale are probably the only two things I would like to have.

 

Speaking of which, of all the things they could actually improve in the films is to ask Williams to score the final reels. Now, that would have been a worthy upgrade, for once.

 

Also, those alternate covers were absolutely hideous.

 

Karol

[Tallguy 2,552]

Even before I knew I hated the film I could not get into Attack of the Clones. I mean, it was OK. But...

 

25 minutes ago, crocodile said:

I still believe Across the Stars is one of the great themes.

 

It is one of my favorite pieces of John Williams music, period. Let alone Star Wars. Like Anakin's Theme in the film before it, you wish the characters it is written about are as good as the music.

[Jurassic Shark 11,123]

30 minutes ago, crocodile said:

I still believe Across the Stars is one of the great themes. I thought it back then and I still think that now.

 

Agreed.

 

33 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Anakin's confession and the unused finale are probably the only two things I would like to have.

 

What if there's alternates for Across the Stars? Cue saliva...

 

34 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Speaking of which, of all the things they could actually improve in the films is to ask Williams to score the final reels. Now, that would have been a worthy upgrade, for once.

 

What was the background here?

[crocodile 7,708]

5 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Agreed.

 

 

What if there's alternates for Across the Stars? Cue saliva...

 

 

What was the background here?

Williams only scored the film until the end of monster fight during the arena sequence and then from the moment they start chasing Dooku into the hangar. The entire clone sequence was unscored because it was finished after the recording sessions. Everything in there is tracked from The Phantom Menace. So you might say the score is unfinished.

 

Karol

[Marian Schedenig 7,520]

7 hours ago, AC1 said:

That theme ... Is this John Williams signalling us that Nixon is like Darth Vader?

 

That's just the trailer.

 

4 hours ago, crocodile said:

 Attack of the Clones. Despite never sounding too exciting or punchy, it is still among the finest SW albums out there. It's a strange deviation for the series because the kind of swashbuckling we associate with the series is mostly absent and giving way to the anxious minimalism we know from some of Spielberg's dystopian s-f films of that time. Yet, it is also the most unified of the nine, seems like it's going from one point to another and having only one central big theme definitely helps with that. I still believe Across the Stars is one of the great themes. I thought it back then and I still think that now. The action set pieces are also fantastic

 

The action set pieces are maybe the best in the prequel trilogy. And Across the Stars is fantastic - it's been somewhat eclipse by Rey's theme since, and probably deservedly, because that theme is just very special - but AtS is different enough that it doesn't even really have to compete.

 

Yet I haven't listened to the score in a long time. The album just feels off to me - disjointed, incomplete. And the annoying thing is that a complete release will probably still feel incomplete.

[filmmusic 1,680]

 

I don't know, but although I'm into other composers' extended harmony scores, it seems I'm not into Bernstein's much.

That said, I kind of like the main theme that opens the film, and how it develops in the ending cue.

 

[Brónach 1,278]

14 hours ago, crocodile said:

Speaking of which, of all the things they could actually improve in the films is to ask Williams to score the final reels. Now, that would have been a worthy upgrade, for once.

 

I'm always ambivalent about changing movies because sometimes it seems justified and most of the time it doesn't, but this should have been a no-brainer at the time, with the perfect excuse of "it's unfinished" which is the one that makes the most sense. Unless JW would have said no, on the basis of the film being ass, or being busy, or whatever.

[Bespin 7,944]

I'm not in Cannes, So I'll be there in music today!

[A24 4,177]

 

The sound quality of 'The Album' version (Thor's version) (on CD 2) is surprisingly good.  

[filmmusic 1,680]

 

Robin and Marian (unused score)

This was strings heavy, and really plays like concert music more than film music.

I haven't seen the film, nor have I listened to Barry's score, but I believe it wouldn't fit at all, so it was a wise decision to discard it.

[Bespin 7,944]

An official album called "John Williams - The Greatest Hits Vol.2 (1999-2023) would probably be a bit different... but... not too much...

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,139]

On 18/05/2023 at 4:20 PM, AC1 said:

 

The sound quality of 'The Album' version (Thor's version) (on CD 2) is surprisingly good.  

Even in 1978, the sound quality of the OST was astoundingly good. It's a great shame that JW never captured that sound, again.

[Tom Guernsey 2,010]

9 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Even in 1978, the sound quality of the OST was astoundingly good. It's a great shame that JW never captured that sound, again.

Agreed and better than Superman which was recorded under similar conditions around the same time (even if, from what I recall, the "leftover Superman sessions used to record The Fury OST" thing was debunked... or at least didn't happen quite like that). I'm always struck how different The Fury and Superman sound compared to Star Wars. All of which still sound better than Dracula, which still sounds kinda fragile (don't know how else to describe it) - despite Mike Matessino's efforts. To me it still sounds worse than Empire.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,139]

Wasn't SUPERMAN recorded at Anvil, and THE FURY at All Saints Church, Tooting Bec?

[Tom Guernsey 2,010]

14 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Wasn't SUPERMAN recorded at Anvil, and THE FURY at All Saints Church, Tooting Bec?

Blimey, you're right... maybe my impression of them having similar sound (recording wise) is entirely fictional based on the aforementioned leftover Superman recording sessions myth. However, Star Wars was also Anvil and it sounds quite different to Superman despite the same venue, orchestra and Eric Tomlinson behind the desk.

[Edmilson 6,205]

Willow by James Horner

 

One of the best fantasy scores of the 80s, and whoever disagrees is wrong, plain and simple . The LSO gives such an athletic and energetic performance, it's impossible not to put a smile on the listener's face.

 

Knight and Day by John Powell

 

Say what you want about Powell, but man the guy knows how to make fun albums with fun music. This is a rock/pop score that just happens to feature an orchestra which may annoy some purists, but overall there are still enough Powellisms to keep fans happy. If you like scores like Mr and Mrs Smith or Paycheck you'll probably like this.

[Jay 35,282]

21 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

from what I recall, the "leftover Superman sessions used to record The Fury OST" thing was debunked... or at least didn't happen quite like that

 

 

On 17/02/2023 at 9:12 AM, Jay said:

I just grabbed my specialty label versions of The Fury, Jaws 2, and Superman off the shelf.  These are the dates they list

 

January 16,17,18 1978 - The Fury film tracks @ 20th Century Fox Scoring Stage

February 9,10 1978 - The Fury album tracks @ All Saints, Tooting, London

May 1,3,4,5 1978  - Jaws 2 @ 20th Century Fox Studios

July 6,7,10,11,13,14 - Superman @ Anvil Film and Recording Group, Inc, Denham, Middlesex, Bucks

September 9,10,11 - Superman @ Anvil Film and Recording Group, Inc, Denham, Middlesex, Bucks

October 6,15,24,31 - Superman @ Anvil Film and Recording Group, Inc, Denham, Middlesex, Bucks

November 4 - Superman @ Anvil Film and Recording Group, Inc, Denham, Middlesex, Bucks

 

The Fury LLL booklet also contains this story:

 

The Fury features two discs: first the music as recorded for the film at Twentieth Century Fox, and the second a remastering of the 1978 album, re-recorded in London with Williams at the podium, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.  The latter came about, as Williams would say, by "a fortuitous accident": he was in London preparing to record the score for Superman. "We were able," he would remember, "to get the LSO for two days, so we did the score in Tooting (South London)."  Williams took a more symphonic approach for this recording, combining several cues and adding a decidedly Hermann-esque string-only "Epilogue." Both incarnations confirm The Fury as one of Williams' most titanic achievements: a score that stands, all on its own, for the ages.

 

The liner notes in the LLL Superman booklet, meanwhile indicate:

1. Williams signed on to score the film in August 1977
2. While in London in February 1978, he conducted a concert with the LSO at Royal Albert Hall on February 16, and Donner attended
3. Williams saw a rough cut of the film for the first time in early March 1978 at Pinewood Studios
4. He spotted the film with music editor Bob Hathaway in early May 1978
5. He composed the first 16 cues between May 27 and June 20 1978. and starting recording those on July 6

 

So there you go.  He hadn't even seen Superman yet when The Fury album was recorded, and wouldn't begin composing Superman until 3 months later...... but he WAS in London because of Superman when The Fury album was recorded.... just for prep, not intending to record.

[Edmilson 6,205]

Balto - James Horner

 

After Saberspark's video, I had to revisit this magnificent score. For my money, it's Horner's best score for an animated kids movie, followed by The Land Before Time. TLBT is great, but a little too "classical music-y" if that makes sense where Balto is a more mature and dramatically satisfying work. 

 

1995 was probably the best year of his career, with one great score after the other. But it was also one of the best years ever for scores for kids flicks: Menken's Pocahontas, Newman's Toy Story, Westlake's Babe and, of course, Horner's Balto, Casper and Jumanji.

[Thor 6,777]

 

One of my absolute favourite scores of 2017. I long for this Forget to return. My review here, for anyone interested (Google translated for your convenience).

[GerateWohl 3,701]

On 18/05/2023 at 5:20 PM, AC1 said:

 

The sound quality of 'The Album' version (Thor's version) (on CD 2) is surprisingly good.  

This cover to me always looks to me like the VHS cover of a Dario Argento movie from the 80s.

[crocodile 7,708]

It does indeed look very Argento. But then, I suppose the film also feels a bit like one of his. 😉

 

Karol

[filmmusic 1,680]

 

I think this is one of @Thor's favorite Williams scores?

Anyway, the problem with these early scores of his for me is that half of it plays like source cues, and half of it like cartoonish slapstick film music.

That doesn't mean it's not good, it's that it's not great in my book like his later scores.

You can pass a good time though listening to it, doing something else. (I was house-cleaning and body-shaving  )

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,339]

Oblivion by Anthony Gonzalez & Joseph Trapenese

 

Simply mindblowing. One of my favourite score from last decade with Waking Up and Supercell being true highlight

[filmmusic 1,680]

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

Oblivion by Anthony Gonzalez & Joseph Trapenese

 

Simply mindblowing. One of my favourite score from last decade with Waking Up and Supercell being true highlight

I see there is a deluxe edition with 30 tracks? Is it complete?

It isn't mentioned here though:

https://www.soundtrackcollector.com/title/99745/Oblivion

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,339]

The Deluxe isn't complete to my knowledge but it has some essential cues that were left from the album like Supercell and Fearfull Odds.

But if you get the blu-ray too you can get a pretty comprehensive edit combining the isolated score and the Deluxe edition

[filmmusic 1,680]

Just now, May the Force be with You said:

The Deluxe isn't complete to my knowledge but it has some essential cues that were left from the album like Supercell and Fearfull Odds.

But if you get the blu-ray too you can get a pretty comprehensive edit combining the isolated score and the Deluxe edition

Oh, it has an isolate score? Great.

Although, and please I apologize since you love the score, I sampled some cues, and it doesn't seem to deviate much from the regular remote control scores.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,339]

I can see what you mean. While it has some RCP vibes I find that they succeed like Jablonsky did to have a richier use of the various themes and the orchestration are richier too compared to Balfe and some other RCP guys.

On the other hand I really like some of the RCP composer like Harry Gregson-Williams, Nick Glennie-Smith and few Balfe's score

[GerateWohl 3,701]

Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams

 

When I feel like listening to Raiders (like now) I always put on the left one Silva Screen from 1995. No matter what additional treasures the Concorde album might contain, the left one has the Desert Chase film version.

[Marian Schedenig 7,520]

51 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams

 

When I feel like listening to Raiders (like now) I always put on the left one Silva Screen from 1995. No matter what additional treasures the Concorde album might contain, the left one has the Desert Chase film version.

 

I find Washington Men absolutely indispensable. Until a definitive Mike Matessino edition is released, I usually play my own edit that combines the Concorde tracks with the Silva Desert Chase.

[Andy 3,572]

Indy Rides the Statue is awesome too. That’s new to the Concorde isn’t it?

[Marian Schedenig 7,520]

32 minutes ago, Andy said:

Indy Rides the Statue is awesome too. That’s new to the Concorde isn’t it?

 

Yes. Those two at least are significant gaps on the Silva, but I've always considered the introduction of the ark motif in Washington Men one of the score's most fascinating moments, so that's the one I always point out.

[Jurassic Shark 11,123]

The Silva release is already long enough. 

[Presto 4,723]

I thought it was DCC?

[Marian Schedenig 7,520]

1 minute ago, A Farewell to Kings said:

I thought it was DCC?

 

Same thing.