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JWFan James Horner Listening Party


Jay

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This is a wonderful thread, thanks everyone for sharing.

Here is a cue that is not mentioned very often, but in my opinion is one of the finest that James ever wrote. A heart-pounding and extremely emotional cue to the most heartbreaking scene in the film. The music captures the emotions of the scene perfectly. Sublime.

Brilliant cue. Horner was a master of gut-wrenching tragedy and he wasn't afraid to go over the top to convey it.

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:music:House of Sand and Fog - Kind of a listless, wandering score. It has some beautiful pieces in it ("The Waves of the Caspian Sea," "Kathy's Night," "We Have Traveled So Far. . . ."), but I wouldn't say this is his best. In its usual wisdom, the Academy chose to nominate this while overlooking so many other works that better showcased his abilities.

I think the lack of thematic direction beyond Behrani's theme is part of what makes it such an effective score. Also, I think it's his best use of synths ("An Older Life" and "The Dreams of Kings" are gorgeous.) Really, I love every track on the album except "Break-In."

And it may be brilliantly effective in the film. I haven't seen it. Doing so may alter my impression of the music (it often does!). I'll have to give it a watch.

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That's the thing with Horner stuff... His rehashes are only rehashes if you've heard them before! Since I loved Aliens for however long before I heard Star Trek 3, it's rehashed don't bother me. Ditto for Sneakers and Apollo 13. It all depends on which one you heard first.

Anyways I've listened to Brainstorm one time now, in sure I have many listens to come!

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This is a wonderful thread, thanks everyone for sharing.

Here is a cue that is not mentioned very often, but in my opinion is one of the finest that James ever wrote. A heart-pounding and extremely emotional cue to the most heartbreaking scene in the film. The music captures the emotions of the scene perfectly. Sublime.

Brilliant cue. Horner was a master of gut-wrenching tragedy and he wasn't afraid to go over the top to convey it.

You got that right. This is the next cue that comes to mind for gut-wrenching tragedy, although it doesn't quite have the raw, primal energy of the previous one.

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Going through Horner's scores so much lately, and I am really coming to appreciate his cymbal crashes. I think cymbal crashes are such a cliche at this point, that I usually hate them, but Horner uses them for maximum impact. Just look how he uses to introduce that main theme of sorts in Legends of the Fall. Sublime.

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How about Flightplan? It's pretty interesting.

As were most of his 2005 scores.

But i have to say, with so many people now falling over themselves with praise for Horner's genius and all these scores i wonder why there was virtually no discussion about them apart from ST 2, KRULL, TITANIC and maybe THE LAND BEFORE TIME. Me and croc formed a pretty solitary club.

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48 Hrs.

Wow. I'd totally forgetten about this. This is early Horner? It's so different from his big symphonic voice. It's very eighties and it sounds at times like Michael Kamen took a few hints from this score a couple years later for his first Lethal Weapon. Fun stuff.

An American Tail

Animated scores can often be a highlight in a composer's work and An American Tail follows suit. I'm not a big fan of the songs, but the music is jolly, exciting and I dig the main theme. The end title song is nice as well, although the kids singing the film version don't quite have the reach needed for it.

Willow

Everything about this score screams ADVENTURE! and I love it. I rarely listen to this album (it's so painfully short!), but it actually made me want to see the movie again. I saw it once about ten years ago and I don't remember it being that great, so the score making me want to see the film isn't something I'd say lightly. I'd love to hear this in full someday.

Vibes

A funky little late eighties score, that sees Horner deviate from his usual ways again. A nice oddity, but it's no great hidden gem or something.

The Land Before Time

I didn't see this movie many times over when I was young (many people my age did), but the music (the song in particular) always lingered. And the score is gorgeous. The music sounds like it's from a lost time in more ways than one. They don't score like this anymore. In fact, it seems like they stopped scoring like this in the nineties already. It's an old-fashioned adventure score with big romantic music. Another true eighties Horner score.

Next up: Cocoon: The Return

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Listening to The Spiderwick Chronicles right now, which is at the same time great (each time I listen to it) yet doesn't remain memorable for some reason. Maybe I should be more attentive; or it's too generic for Horner.

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Willow is painfully short? Its a 70+ minute album!

For dull music, 70 minute albums can be way too much.

For great music, the same length is painfully short.

Willow is my most wanted now, complete and remastered.

Grand Demon Parade from We're Back! - an amazing dark Horner piece in full-on maniac waltz Schittke mode. Wish there was a link to share it!

That is also very good Horner. The circus track is hilarious fun.

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Troy

The Boy in the Stripes Pyjamas

Willow

I'm pretty certain that while Willow has the most famous and purest rendition of the 4 note danger motif, the one score where it's used the most is actually Troy.

It saddens me that after 2015 we will never hear it crop up anymore in a new Horner work.

Rest in peace, 4 note danger motif. :worship:

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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.

If I'm not mistaken, a few of the released tracks contain music from two different parts of the film in the same track - then again, maybe it just seemed that way do to editing and tracking in the film..... so a true chrono order as intended might be difficult.

Regardless, this is a common chrono order I've seen. This would be for Horner's score only (I don't care about any of the source stuff or the Celine song)

OST 12 A Life So Changed (2:13)

OST 02 Distant Memories (2:24)

OST 03 Southampton (4:02)

BTT 05 Jack Dawson's Luck (5:39)

OST 05 Leaving Port (3:26)

OST 06 Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch (4:31)

OST 04 Rose (2:53)

BTT 04 The Portrait (4:43)

OST 07 Hard to Starboard (6:53)

BTT 06 A Building Panic (8:09)

OST 08 Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave (3:57)

OST 09 The Sinking (5:05)

OST 10 Death of Titanic (8:26)

OST 11 A Promise Kept (6:02)

OST 01 Never An Absolution (3:03)

OST 13 An Ocean of Memories (7:58)

OST 15 Hymn to the Sea (6:26)

Bonus suite

BTT 01 Titanic Suite (19:05)

BTT 09 Lament (4:36)

BTT 10 A Shore Never Reached (4:28)

BTT 13 Epilogue - The Deep and Timeless Sea (12:37)

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Not really. I saw his post from earlier but still posted my list anyway because its better.

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Not sure if this was already posted but Willow's 73 minute album is painfully short.

I want ... nay, NEED all of it.


The Celine Dion song was written by James Horner and contains his theme for the film, so it should be included!

Agreed, I never listen to the score without the song. That would be blasphemy.

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Willow is painfully short? Its a 70+ minute album!

For dull music, 70 minute albums can be way too much.

For great music, the same length is painfully short.

Willow is my most wanted now, complete and remastered.

Not sure if this was already posted but Willow's 73 minute album is painfully short.

I want ... nay, NEED all of it.

:)

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Not really. I saw his post from earlier but still posted my list anyway because its better.

I beg to differ. A list that puts OST track 1 right before OST track 12 is definitely not better. See Bloodboal's post for the link to our chronological score thread :)

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I'm pretty certain that while Willow has the most famous and purest rendition of the 4 note danger motif, the one score where it's used the most is actually Troy.

I dunno . . . It's fairly omnipresent in Enemy at the Gates (though not as a centralized "theme"), and you have to consider how many times it's repeated—especially in buildup fashion—as Khan's theme in TWOK.

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I'm pretty certain that while Willow has the most famous and purest rendition of the 4 note danger motif, the one score where it's used the most is actually Troy.

I dunno . . . It's fairly omnipresent in Enemy at the Gates (though not as a centralized "theme"), and you have to consider how many times it's repeated—especially in buildup fashion—as Khan's theme in TWOK.

In Troy it's the main action motif and used a lot in every battle cue. Had I started to add them up I would've lost count. :D

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It only appears twice in TWOK.

Khans theme is NOT the 4 note danger motif

You can call it a development of danger motif. But it's not a danger motif itself.

What's funny, Klingon's theme is also similar to it somewhat.

Karol

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I always admired how coherent and professionally done this score is

Especially compared to Yared's. ;)

Credit where credit is due. Yared's rocks hard!

I think this is all beside the point.

Anyone who can crank out 2 hours of coherent music in 9 days is a true badass.

What's funny, Petersen ultmately ditched both for Elfman's Planet of the Apes in the end. ;)

Karol

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I'm pretty certain that while Willow has the most famous and purest rendition of the 4 note danger motif, the one score where it's used the most is actually Troy.

I dunno . . . It's fairly omnipresent in Enemy at the Gates (though not as a centralized "theme"), and you have to consider how many times it's repeated—especially in buildup fashion—as Khan's theme in TWOK.

In Troy it's the main action motif and used a lot in every battle cue. Had I started to add them up I would've lost count. :D

I actually gave that project serious thought once—I mean, catalogue every instance of the danger motif in all of Horner's released works. A daunting task, to say the least (though it wouldn't surprise me if someone out there on the interwebs has already done it). I got distracted by other things at the time and never followed through. Perhaps one of these days. . . .

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