The Christopher Young Appreciation Thread

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Fewer notes, the better. Got it.

[GerateWohl 4,328]

1 hour ago, karelm said:

The simple answer is directors don't ask for it.  I once scored a project and for the opening scene gave a theme.  They said it had too many notes, reduce the notes.  So I simplified and they wanted it simpler still.  By the end, it was just a drone and they loved it!  If directors want themes, they'll get themes.  One of the biggest reasons why directors don't want themes so much is they do a lot more drop ins...like the composer gives them quite a few options and they'll drop it in where it feels right to them rather than having the composer score to the scene (*cough* Chris Nolan *cough*).  In effect, they're getting a more generic score that lets them have more flexibility around placement and use which they'll then edit.  Second, more films are concerned with momentum (tempo and rhythm) then melody to keep you from surfing the web or flipping channels so you get faster tempos and scoring throughout (*cough* Chris Nolan *cough*) and these are what modern directors expect a good score sounds like so that's what they ask for.

What you write makes absolutely sense. Ok. So much for the art of musical storytelling.

I remember watching a documentary about film scoring and they showed a scene from E.T. and the commenting lady said, see in that scene how much room Spielberg gives to the music. And I though, yes, that's probably it. It does not just depend on the composer also on the director. Anyway, I remember watching some Spielberg movies, where I though, he just made the movie to let JW write some music to it. Hook was for me the perfect example. Or in a way the Indiana Jones sequels. Since films visually are less depending on music to lift up the pictures they often dispense on it in a way. 

The biggest effect of film music that I can remember was at watching the first "planet of the Apes" for the second time. At the scene in the forrest when the ape riders apear first chasing the humans I thought, without music you would just see a ridicilously costumed group of people running between trees. But the music managed to create an illusion of other-worldliness.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Underrated film score right here. 

[gkgyver 1,645]

On 9/14/2020 at 5:28 PM, GerateWohl said:

Yes, since you mention it, there are really big similarities in the music of Chris Young and Hans Zimmer, even though Chris Young at least from time to time has themes. I don'T want to start bashing Zimmer here. I am sure that Zimmer mostly dispenses on themes on purpose. So, no issue with that. But a quote from John Powel on John Williams brought after their collaboration on Solo brought it really to the point (if I remember it correctly): "He really writes polyphonic music. Nobody does that anymore. Composers today rather work like songwriters." And in my simple words I understand it this way, that today film composers mostly start with a sequence of chords and put a melody on it. John Williams actually starts with the melody and afterwards put dozens of chords under it what ever might be required for the current scene mood or whatever. And everyone admires that. So, why does hardly anyone work like that anymore then? 

 

They can't. 

[Edmilson 7,385]

It'd be great if Sam Raimi hired Christopher Young for Doctor Strange 2. But that isn't very likely, unfortunately  .

[Matt C 452]

I've been on a Young kick recently.

 

Listening to his two Monkey King scores -- just beautiful and rowdy in a fun way.

[crocodile 7,983]

2 hours ago, Matt C said:

I've been on a Young kick recently.

 

Listening to his two Monkey King scores -- just beautiful and rowdy in a fun way.

I like both although second one is to me bit better. In fact it might be my favourite Christopher Young album.

 

Karol

[Thor 7,465]

No HARD RAIN thread appeared in a search. 

 

Nils Jacob Holt Hanssen reviews the new release of HARD RAIN:

 

http://celluloidtunes.no/hard-rain-christopher-young/

[GerateWohl 4,328]

Young to me is as a film composer somehow on the edge between classical fim composers like Jerry Goldsmith and the new Zimmer generation. 

When the movie came out I was at the highpoint of my Chris Young interest. I experienced the score as the usual solid action stuff he did Plus these harmonica parts. Therefore, I was surprised, that the harmonica is mentioned so late in the review, because that was more or less the only thing that made this score different from his others. 

[bruce marshall 1,314]

Just arrived!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Great score!

[bruce marshall 1,314]

I always want to see the film also, so I requested the library order the DVD of HAUNTED SUMMER.

They just approved it!

[Jay 37,283]

Quote

Christopher Young to Score Oliver Park’s ‘Abyzou’ & Erlingur Thoroddsen’s ‘The Piper’

Christopher Young (Hellraiser, Spider-Man 3, The Hurricane, Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Shipping News, Drag Me to Hell) has revealed during a recent composer panel hosted by Dread Central that he is currently composing the music for the upcoming horror thriller Abyzou. The film is directed by Oliver Park and stars Nick Blood, Emm Wiseman, Allan Corduner, Paul Kaye, Daniel Ben Zenou and Jodie Jacobs. The film is set in a Hasidic community and follows a family struggling with unresolved trauma which finds itself at the mercy of an ancient demon bent on destroying them from the inside. Hank Hoffman wrote the screenplay based on a story by himself & Jonathan Yunger. Yunger is producing the Millennium Media production with Jeffrey Greenstein (The Outpost, Security), Les Weldon (The Expendables series, The Hitman’s Bodyguard) and Yariv Lerner (Angel Has Fallen, Hellboy). Abyzou is currently in post-production. No word yet on a release date.

 

Young is also attached to score another Millennium films production, The Piper written and directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen. The horror movie follows a young composer who is given the opportunity of a lifetime when she is tasked with finishing her late mentor’s concerto, but soon discovers that playing the music summons deadly consequences. Yunger, Weldon, Greenstein and Lerner are producing the project with Bernard Kira and Tanner Mobley. No production start date has been announced yet.

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2021/05/19/christopher-young-to-score-oliver-parks-abyzou-erlingur-thoroddsens-the-piper/

[bruce marshall 1,314]

On 9/16/2020 at 6:17 AM, Koray Savas said:

Underrated film score right here. 

Just acquired this!

Love the new age/ambient vibe. Much superior to GOTHIC.

 

Bat-21 also has that dreamy synth feel I like.

 

[crocodile 7,983]

 

Karol

 

[thestat 342]

If anyone doubts Young can still ace it:

 

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

Yeah, that cue is terrific.

 

Young just hasn't gotten projects the last few years where he can show his Hellraiser muscles. I hope the Nosferatu thing gets an official release. Sounds very cool.

[GerateWohl 4,328]

3 hours ago, thestat said:

If anyone doubts Young can still ace it:

 

This track sounds more like an average Korzeniowski track to me than like a Young one.

[karelm 2,903]

10 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

This track sounds more like an average Korzeniowski track to me than like a Young one.

What a schmuck thing to say.  If you want to play that game, Korzeniowski sounds like average Marianella to me.

[GerateWohl 4,328]

9 hours ago, karelm said:

What a schmuck thing to say.  If you want to play that game, Korzeniowski sounds like average Marianella to me.

Probably you are right. When these guys have a lazy uninspired day, they all tend to this minimal average motif in a loop over four or eight repeating chords pattern. But somehow in my mind this is saved as typical Korzeniowski.

But anyway, they all do much better, when they are really inspired.

[thestat 342]

Man, if you knew your Young well you'd know that many of the chord progressions and harmonic ideas in that track are total Young since, at the very least Flowers in the Attic from 1987, from 2:00 below

 

[thestat 342]

Man, the Young here is idiosyncratic and so creative, the harmonica is a Young touch.

 

[Anthony 572]

Young's horror stuff is great, but it's the few occasions where he's scored action-thriller type movies where I get really excited!

 

 

 

And somebody already posted it higher on this page, but Mantle Passage from The Core. 

 

The orchestra always sounds so "full". Everything just sounds "right".

[Jay 37,283]

Christopher Young's score to the new film "The Offering" is up on some digital sites (more tomorrow):

 

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/the-offering-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1660308794

https://tidal.com/browse/album/267006571

 

And Notefornote is selling a physical CD edition:

 

https://notefornotemusic.com/products/the-offering-by-christopher-young

[filmmusic 1,823]

Is this a horror film again?

I wish he didn't do so much horror. My favourite score of his is Murder in the First. I'd like to hear him more on dramas...

[DangerMotif 1,037]

 

[crocodile 7,983]

A little clip from Nosferatu performance:

 

 

Karol

[Jaaaackified 81]

How come there is no soundtrack release for Young's Echo 3? I love the guitar motif in the series. 

[karelm 2,903]

41 minutes ago, Jaaaackified said:

How come there is no soundtrack release for Young's Echo 3? I love the guitar motif in the series. 

There is no soundtrack release for Spidey 3 either.  Lots of his scores don't have a soundtrack release.  Composers aren't the ones who own the material and for each of his projects, he produces a soundtrack and submits it but the studio might say no if a film tanks or something.  Sometimes the composer has a clause in their contract that after a period of time, the rights to a soundtrack go to them but this is usually not the case in big budget studio films.  

[crocodile 7,983]

Looks like Nosferatu release might be in the works. Apparently, Chris Young mentioned this on Facebook (as reposted on FSM board):

 

Quote

OH MY GOD I so very much wish that all of you that I know and have had the opportunity to love all these years were there for the premiere performance of Nosferatu in Zürich back in February!

Outside of the birth of my kids, this was a very very bright moment in my life, which would have been heaven on Earth if I could have been able to share it with all of you.

I was absolutely shocked at the beyond magnificent performance that the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich managed to pull off in a very short period of time under the excellent guidance of conductor Frank Strobel.

The team that made this happen - I’m indebted to for eternity. It started with the great Paul Talkington, (fixer, contractor, film music aficionado extraordinaire). It was he who went out of his way to make this happen because of his never-ending belief in my music.

To the rest of the team involved, including Fernando and Ekkehard, having the opportunity to be asked to do this means that I’m bound to them for life.

And to top it off…my kids were there - Molly & Gil!!!

We’re working on getting this released on CD & perhaps Blu-ray/DVD. It’s 93 minutes of nearly continuous music so you’re gonna have to buckle up for safety!!

Thanks everybody,

Love,
Chris

Credit: Beate Warkentien - EFPI

 

Karol

[HunterTech 987]

Made the rather pleasant discovery that the score to The Monkey King was made available on streaming recently, after a redux of the movie was apparently made last year:

 

 

It's also part of some augmented reality game, since it's mostly the soundtrack for that (as well as some original tunes that are decidedly less inspired).

 

I sure hope this means we'll get the sequel on streaming soon as, despite being weaker as a whole, it really holds some strong highlights within.

 

(Admittedly, this also makes me wonder if there ever was a soundtrack made for the third one, since that didn't seem to get a release on account of being by a much more obscure composer. Would there be an assembly for it if they get that far with these?)

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

A suite of Young's score for Noseferatu.

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid07xMGExUm3TfgJwNsx91ja7nVCmekWMGPtWciCv6b1ag7sLfsq1GUFej8oRaq73ZWl&id=100009270102966&sfnsn=mo

[crocodile 7,983]

I love this.

 

Karol

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

I listened to the suite again just now. I really hope a full release is incoming because this is fantastic. It's the best thing Young has written since Priest imo.

 

It has hints of Drag Me To Hell & Hellraiser and it's just glorious. Grand gothic horror, fully orchestral, of the highest order.

This is the stuff I want Young to write on a yearly basis.

I love it!!

[karelm 2,903]

3 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

I listened to the suite again just now. I really hope a full release is incoming because this is fantastic. It's the best thing Young has written since Priest imo.

 

It has hints of Drag Me To Hell & Hellraiser and it's just glorious. Grand gothic horror, fully orchestral, of the highest order.

This is the stuff I want Young to write on a yearly basis.

I love it!!

 

You should find a way to tell him.  He frequently suffers from self doubt and I'm sure this would mean the world to him even if he didn't respond.  Assistants handle lots of his social media accounts but I'm sure a very positive message would find its way to him.  This project must have been very personal to him because I don't think there is any dialog, so the music has full reign.  

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

Really, I didn't know that. I see if I can do that

[Edmilson 7,385]

Seems like the Chris Young score I've been waiting to hear since Priest! I'd love it if this music was officially released.

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere, but are the 30th anniversary releases of his two Hellraiser scores (plus the third by Randy Miller) worth getting? I have the boxed set of all three scores but seems like 30th anniversary releases might be worth the upgrade. Any thoughts?

 

The main theme is a current earworm (mostly from listening to a radio sitcom set in Hell... It's called Old Harry's Game and is on Radio 4 and well worth a listen. Seriously, it's great).

[karelm 2,903]

3 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere, but are the 30th anniversary releases of his two Hellraiser scores (plus the third by Randy Miller) worth getting? I have the boxed set of all three scores but seems like 30th anniversary releases might be worth the upgrade. Any thoughts?

 

The main theme is a current earworm (mostly from listening to a radio sitcom set in Hell... It's called Old Harry's Game and is on Radio 4 and well worth a listen. Seriously, it's great).

It has good audio because it's a remaster so that alone should make it worth getting.  

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

6 minutes ago, karelm said:

It has good audio because it's a remaster so that alone should make it worth getting.  

For sure, but not all remasters are created equally plus the relative lack of discussion about these releases made me wonder that's all... I'm sold, they are great scores!

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

The sound quality of the anniversary releases is fantastic. It's definitely worth it

[Thor 7,465]

I don't know, but HELLRAISER is one of the best horror scores ever written. Just wanted to nudge that in there.

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

Could this be a release for Nosferatu?!?!

 

 

[Thor 7,465]

Possibly. He shared a 10-minute live suite from it on Facebook.

[Jurassic Shark 12,025]

Just now, Thor said:

Possibly. He shared a 10-minute live suite from it on Facebook.

 

Link, please. 

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

10 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Link, please. 

 

Here you go

 

On 06/05/2023 at 10:51 AM, JNHFan2000 said:

A suite of Young's score for Noseferatu.

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid07xMGExUm3TfgJwNsx91ja7nVCmekWMGPtWciCv6b1ag7sLfsq1GUFej8oRaq73ZWl&id=100009270102966&sfnsn=mo

 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

5 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Could this be a release for Nosferatu?!?!

 

 

He bought a new car

[Jurassic Shark 12,025]

He got a new calendar. 

[karelm 2,903]

That's wonderful news!  I'm excited to hear his Nosferatu!

[thestat 342]

I mean, just the idea of someone as talented as Young being in any way insecure about his work is so fundamentally wrong. The Nosferatu score would be amazing and not dissimilar to this ignored masterpiece (I was very glad I was able to tell him about this being my 2nd LP ever and the impacts it had on my life - he was much more than gracious):