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JWFan James Horner Listening Party


Jay

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Ahh I remember watching the Mask of Zorro as a kid and thinking how badass the music was. The opening was perfect. Few people could match Horner's instincts when it came to these things.

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Yes Brainstorm is one of my top 5 from him.

He also had a doctorate in musicology. His command of music and orchestra was formidable.

And he was no slouch with the synths, either. I've always wanted to hear his early concert music.

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I'm not familiar with Brainstorm, I don't think! I don't own the CD, at least. The OST is a re-recording, right? How about we get a 2CD set with the original film tracks + LP!

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Yes Brainstorm is one of my top 5 from him.

He also had a doctorate in musicology. His command of music and orchestra was formidable.

And he was no slouch with the synths, either. I've always wanted to hear his early concert music.

You mean Spectral Shimmerings?

It only had one performance...ever!

Though I wouldn't be surprised if we've heard portions of it

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Yes Brainstorm is one of my top 5 from him.

He also had a doctorate in musicology. His command of music and orchestra was formidable.

And he was no slouch with the synths, either. I've always wanted to hear his early concert music.

You mean Spectral Shimmerings?

It only had one performance...ever!

Though I wouldn't be surprised if we've heard portions of it

Indeed, that's one of them. Didn't someone claim to have heard it, and describe it as similar to the Genesis music from TWOK?

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Bought this CD just last week. And I actually enjoy this piece. You might say that Horner just recapitulated his film works in this. But then, liner notes point out that was exactly that got him this gig. They wanted him to write something like this. As it stands, Pas De Deux is now almost an elegy of sorts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHpElqeGFUY

Karol

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I'm not familiar with Brainstorm, I don't think! I don't own the CD, at least. The OST is a re-recording, right? How about we get a 2CD set with the original film tracks + LP!

The album recording was performed by the LSO and superbly recorded by Eric Tomlinson. No Horner collection is complete without it!

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Wow even used copies are up to $16 on Amazon!

I'll wait for a specialty label expansion. Hopefully Varese doesn't have perpetuity rights....

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Brainstorm earlier, which is just such an atypical Horner score or score in general. It's possibly the most Goldenthal-esque score that Horner wrote. 30 minutes is all we have, and it's stunning.

The Pagemaster, another underrated gem, though the total opposite of Brainstorm stylistically. It's very entertaining and very Willow-y in certain places.

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Somehow this score encapsulates many of the things human beings loved about Horner's music, the painterly approach, the long-lined themes, the splashing dramatics. This chamber version still has it all:

That one might have my favorite Horner themes. They're really exceptional.

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Been in my office with the music going all day. Since last night when I was first informed, I have played through selections from American Tail, Apollo 13, Avatar, Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Braveheart, Casper, Cocoon, Deep Impact, A Far Off Place, Glory, Land before Time, Legends of the Fall, Pagemaster, Rocketeer, Wrath of Khan, Titanic and Willow. His 80's output is still among my all-time favorites. Willow, Land Before Time, Star Trek, Krull. they are all absolutely magnificent. I've adored his animated scores and they have gotten possible more play than any of his other material. Perhaps because of perspective today, but Apollo 13 blew me away. It is magnificent. I fear I haven't really appreciated it all these years. Aliens is a killer action score, and is one of the first cd's I remember really having to hunt for. Unbelievable to think how much music we've lost now that he's gone. I think I'll be listening to his music pretty heavily for a while. Working my way to Fievel Goes West. Even the blatant Copland rip offs seem endearing today. I love having a place to come to with so many other who are just as affected as I am. Nobody else seemed to even care :)

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A friend of mine actively tries to get his coworkers to listen to film music all day. He texted me earlier saying they were exclusively listening to Horner.

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Krull

Awesome orchestral bombast, but man is it long! I've actually never listened to Horner's album arrangement; I might try that sometime!

Lovely themes. And the score fits comfortably in between Star Trek 2 and Star Trek 3, sharing some DNA with both scores.

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The 80s and 90s were just the best of times for me score-wise, and Horner made huge contributions in that period. I'm constantly revisiting his older stuff, which confirms that.

The end of an era, the closing of a volume.

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Somehow this score encapsulates many of the things human beings loved about Horner's music, the painterly approach, the long-lined themes, the splashing dramatics. This chamber version still has it all:

That one might have my favorite Horner themes. They're really exceptional.

I think it's one of his best and most effective summations of his sentimental/"sappy" sound.

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I think it's one of his best and most effective summations of his sentimental/"sappy" sound.

There is a moment when Marky Mark dies, he floats on the waves within the giant storm and he's remembering his girlfriend with this really bad Hollywood line 'There's no goodbye, only Love' while Horner swells his expansive fishermen tune to a schmaltzy climax, letting it linger into the ozone with this long horn/string coda as the camera pans from the doomed Wahlberg. This shouldn't work in any raw reality but i swear when i saw this in the cinema grown people were choking up.

And yet i understand the bad reviews it got back in 2000 - it's really a strange kind of gift for us few select people who can appreciate this kind of larger-than-life approach even in these postpost-modern times.

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Man, got to Wolf Totem now (his most recent film score release, in case you don't know). It's a really solid score. Great one even, especially by today's standards. And one terribly well assembled album as well. It was already in my top 2015 lists (if I were to make one right now). :(

Karol

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Man, got to Wolf Totem now (his most recent film score release, in case you don't know). It's a really solid score. Great one even, especially by today's standards. And one terribly well assembled album as well. It was already in my top 2015 lists (if I were to make one right now). :(

Karol

Wolf Totem is Horner's final masterpiece.

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Braveheart

Titanic (my first film score)

Back to Titanic

The Amazing Spider-Man (I think this often gets overlooked but it's quite a nice little score. The relationship between Peter and Gwen gets a lovely theme and I love his main theme for Spidey. A much better effort than the monstrosity the second film received. Wish they had brought back Horner)

Has anyone got a chronological order for Titanic based on the material that's been officially released? I think the score would sound even better than it does in the correct order. It does have a great narrative.

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Wolf Totem is Horner's final masterpiece.

And you haven't even heard Living In The Age Of Airplanes, Southpaw, or The 33.

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Wolf Totem is Horner's final masterpiece.

And you haven't even heard Living In The Age Of Airplanes, Southpaw, or The 33.

I suppose I don't expect any of those films to allowed Horner the freedom to conjure up the power of Wolf Totem, but I am optimistic about them, if optimism is still possible at this point.

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Before I left for work I put some to my phone, chiefly his expanded Clear & Present Danger score and selected tracks from Back to Titanic. For the former I've always like the main theme, stirring, purposeful and then there was the Ambush. Ratcheting up the tension as the motorcade went on and then as all hell broke loose, the heroic sound towards the end never fails.

And with the expanded, I get the "Woodroom/Finale" which again builds and then boom, the heroic/courageous/Jack gets out music. Quite fond of that track.

With Back to Titanic it's mostly A Building Panic I like -capturing the hopelessness and desperation of that night as the end drew nearer.

--

then selected from Apollo 13 -The Launch/Master Alarm/Into the LEM/Darkside of the Moon and Re-entry. All have at their heart the heroic (that word again) and determined nature of the men who flew these missions, not just Lovell/Haise/Swagert but also the spirit of Kennedy when he said at Rice about it not being easy but because it is hard. The near joyous nature of the launch as Apollo 13 launches and clears the tower giving way to the drama of the explosion, the chaos, the unthinkable happening. Darkside of the Moon is always a favourite because for the most part it's quiet, inching along then the theme comes in as Lovell and the others resolve to get home, no matter what.

And back to joy as after a long silence, Lovell's voice breaks out over Mission Control. Again, it never fails to stir or capture the heart.

Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock boils down to Enteprise Clears Moorings/Epilogue/Stealing the Enterprise for the moment.

And now, onto Glory- there's been stuff said about Charging Fort Wagner but when I first saw the film it caught me, that relentless drive from when Broderick is killed ("Roberrrrrrrrt!") to when the 54th reach the Rebel guns. Or indeed, Preparations for Battle when the 54th march down to the beach passing their comrades and then: "Give 'em hell, 54th!" of his scores, Glory always seemed the most emotive. TWOK/TSFS still have that but less so compared to Glory and Apollo 13.

And though not one I listened to today, I watched Enemy at the Gates yesterday and it has its moments. River Crossing to Stalingrad capturing as much as it can the chaos and horror of that battle but "Betrayal" that sound when we see Sacha's body hanging from the lamppost.

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I listened to the wonderful Cocoon tonight, before browsing through individual tracks to select five (plus one) highlights to put up on Twitter. I ended up with these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRdkSpXq2tA

Now I've moved on to A Far Off Place.

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Played Cocoon in full.

Also Project X, a very underrated Gem.

A little Journey of Natty Gann for the lovely Americana.

Then hit random on all his works that I own.

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I have never seen or heard "The Land Before Time" before but this is fantastic music! Full of melody, structure, brilliantly creative touches, etc. Great solo oboe, tubas, etc. To me, this is the closest he got to writing a great ballet score. Lots of Prokofiev in this but with Horner's touches. Loving it!


Tracks like this are what made Horner the best dramatist in the industry.

Gorgeous stuff for sure!

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I predict I'll be buying more Horner scores in the weeks and months to come.

Me too. I'm realizing just how many great ones I don't have. I've already ordered An American Tale and The Perfect Storm.

The Amazing Spider-Man (I think this often gets overlooked but it's quite a nice little score. The relationship between Peter and Gwen gets a lovely theme and I love his main theme for Spidey. A much better effort than the monstrosity the second film received. Wish they had brought back Horner)

Agreed. "Lizard at School!" in particular is such a fantastic action cue.

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I also think "The Amazing Spider-Man" is overlooked. The way that Spider-Man's theme explodes with the french horns toward the end of the track "Saving New York" was brilliant.

On a separate note, I think my favorite Horner cue ever is "Jenny" from "The Rocketeer." It was not used in the film in any significant way but is an absolutely beautiful theme on the album.

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The first Horner I remember noticing as a kid. Made a big impression on me at the time and I still have a soft spot for it. Especially this cue which was the first one I went back to when I heard the news yesterday.

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I actually don't think I can visit any of his works right now - that will make me think of this incident more than the quality of the tune. Though I have to add that the "End Credits" cue from Braveheart was the first piece of music that came to my mind upon hearing the news. I guess listening to that score won't feel the same from now on.

On a side note, all this time I was hoping Horner would turn up in his office any moment, grunting that his damned parachute got stuck to some ***damned tree all this time, etc, etc... if only... It is going to take a good while for me to get over this.

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I've been meaning to fill in some important gaps in my collection for ages now (this, Casper, Sneakers, Balto, Might Joe Young, The Pagemaster, The Four Feathers, even the actual Black Gold CD). But with Intrada/LLL re-releasing stuff (and we know that more is coming) I never place an actual order.

Karol

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Cocoon

After the heavy orchestrations of Horner's early fantasy scores, Cocoon strikes an excellent balance. It's a great score that showcases the composer's abilities quite nicely.

The Journey of Natty Gann

A nice piece of Americana, although I secretly prefer Elmer Bernstein's rejected score.

Amazing Stories: Alamo Jobe

I have never seen this episode, but the music makes me want to. They don't score TV like this anymore!

Aliens

One of the penultimate action scores. Its quiet moments slowly build up your adreneline, while the big moments releases all of it at once. I love how quiet the score starts and how it builds into this massive action thing at the end. Bishop's Countdown is an all-time classic. One of Horner's best scores and one of the greatest action scores of all time!

The Name of the Rose

Well, this is something else. Quiet, slow, heavy on choir and synth textures. Listening to this right after Aliens emphasises Horner's versatility. It's an entirely different score and I love how out there it is with its Gregorian choir music and lingering atmospheric pieces. Nice for a quiet evening.

Next up: 48 Hrs., which I somehow missed the first time around.

Only halfway through the eighties and there's already so much good stuff...

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