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John Powell's HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2014) - 2022 Varese Deluxe Edition


Jay

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I haven't had much time to really listen to this new release yet due to a number of circumstances, but I am curious to see how little conversation this release has gotten here compared to the expansion of the first score.  Why is that?

 

Today I did take the shrinkwrap off my physical copy and listen to both discs all the way through.  The opening double-intro thing still bothers me just as much as it did on first listen and just as much as the HTTD1's expansion's same thing does.  The Jonsi song still doesn't work for me even with the Powell outro on the first one and Powell intro on the second one.  The demos don't do anything for me either.


But the score, the score is amazing!  There's so much choir and it all sounds so good! The constant juggling of themes is incredible, and especially how every theme from the first movie gets amazing new variations.  Damn, what a score.  I can't wait to really properly dig into it more when I have time, and to finally see the movie at some point!

 

I also can't wait to read the liner notes, which I'll do soon now that I've opened it.  I see that Lukas Kendall is credited for Production Assistance, I wonder what he did?

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1 minute ago, Jay said:

and to finally see the movie at some point!

 

I also can't wait to read the liner notes, which I'll do soon now that I've opened it. 

Careful, spoilers!

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>shrug< it's been obvious since I first heard the OST album that Stoick dies, and reading whatever the liner notes of this score album say about the movie's plot is not going to dampen my enjoyment of the movie any less when I see it

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1 hour ago, Holko said:

 

At least they're better than the first one's ones - all of them have slight differences here and there, mostly still bigger ones than on some incorrect album takes Mike includes.

Aside from the Timpani opening of Dragon Racing, what differences are there?

 

(I am still a little dissapointed JP didn't release some of the more significantly different demos we know are out there, such as the original HTTYD1 opening, See You Tomorrow alternate opening, the Drago's coming alt etc.)

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Funnily enough I was having a super crappy day at work and HTTYD scores are some of my happy place music choices and HTTYD2 definitely helped me through the rest of the working day.

 

I have bitten the bullet and relegated the alternate film version to bonus tracks. It definitely feels more of a false compared to the similar arrangement on the first score. However, as I've noted previously, I kinda wish JP had picked the version of the full cue he liked best for the main programme (even if it wasn't the final version) and put the other version as a bonus track, but as part of the full opening cue. I mean, it's quibbling, but that's what we're here for right?!

 

I'm amused by the fact that both the first two films have variants on the opening minute and a bit of the first cue. I wonder if he consciously wrote two versions for the filmmakers to pick?

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I'm amused by the fact that both the first two films have variants on the opening minute and a bit of the first cue.

 

I had the same thought when I saw the film. "Seriously? Again?"

 

You know a score is good when you keep changing your mind about your favorite tracks. (At the moment it's Off to Valhalla.)

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6 minutes ago, Counterparts said:

Three in the case of HTTYD1

 

2 for HTTYD2

 

1 for THW?

Yeah I think the third one is just as it is, although who knows, the expanded score may reveal something new. The opening to the third is a bit more of just underscoring an opening scene than an introductory passage (if that makes any sense) so I guess it's more tied to the scene than the others.

4 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

I had the same thought when I saw the film. "Seriously? Again?"

 

You know a score is good when you keep changing your mind about your favorite tracks. (At the moment it's Off to Valhalla.)

Haha quite! It is an odd editorial choice... nice to hear them both, but that's what bonus track sections are for! That is a lovely cue, but it's am embaressment of riches really. I will always love Dragon Racing as a super condensed summary of the first score, Flying With Mother (obviously - although mysteriously absent from his HTTYD2 suite... surely that's a centrepiece cue?!) and Battle of the Bewilderbeast which might just be my favourite JP action cue ever (depending on the day. Or the tide. Or the weather. Or my mood.).

 

Oh and I really love Where No-one Goes... easily my favourite of the three HTTYD songs, but probably because of the almost effervescent wafting of JP's material in and out of it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/03/2022 at 10:51 AM, Jay said:

l download edition won't arrive until Friday May 13th:

https://ffm.to/d2deluxe

 

 

And now it's here in any country where it's already Friday

 

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-music-from-the-motion/1620625398

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I'll go with an unpopular opinion: I think the double opening works! (Yes, I would rather have two complete tracks with one of them as a bonus.) The quieter film version crescendos into the big, bold original take.

 

This score is so good. Excuse me while I go play Where No One Goes Reprise very very loudly.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anybody have any recent thoughts on this album?  I'm sort of waiting to see the film before I delve back into it, and haven't found time to do that yet

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8 minutes ago, Jay said:

Anybody have any recent thoughts on this album?  I'm sort of waiting to see the film before I delve back into it, and haven't found time to do that yet

 

It's amazing. It's Powell's Empire Strikes Back. 

 

Seeing the film: the first one is emotional and funny and exciting. The second one feels like a WORLD. (And they try to split the difference in the third one and miss on both counts.) 

 

The animation is a serious step up on every level. There is a strong Miyazaki influence and it shows. 

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Weirdly I haven't listened to it much. Maybe I overplayed 1. But it makes new listens feel more special!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know most aren't fans of him here but Christian Clemmensen made an indepth update to his lackluster original review. Great read.

 

https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/how_dragon2.html

 

I can't get enough of this scores, so many great variations of olds themes, wonderful new ones, constant thematical statements. Pure genius.

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I agree about the review, but Clemmenson displays his usual zero tolerance for non-traditional sounds, describing Where No One Goes as:

 

Quote

highly obnoxious blend of trance and new age trash that may reduce Powell's material to a drug-induced hallucinatory stupor for some

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5 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

I agree about the review, but Clemmenson displays his usual zero tolerance for non-traditional sounds, describing Where No One Goes as:

 

Soundtrack fans always have had a venomous hatred for whenever even one song is included on the album. 

 

Whereas I’m the guy that put Weird Al’s Jurassic Park at the end of my JP playlist. 

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He used to be harder on newer, RCP-style scores, but after being berated by Zimmer on social media for not wanting to listen to Junkie XL's 4-hour Justice League album, he... kinda gave up on film music reviews?

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53 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

He used to be harder on newer, RCP-style scores, but after being berated by Zimmer on social media for not wanting to listen to Junkie XL's 4-hour Justice League album, he... kinda gave up on film music reviews?

 

He took a lengthy break, but he came back! (I wouldn't say he was berated, but bullied...)

 

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Does James Southall fit the bill?

 

Indeed he does. My #1 favorite film music reviewer. :) 

 

Yavar

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Reviewing score albums is possibly the least interesting activity invented by humankind.

 

To quote a person in the news:.

" I. Will. Not. Do it"😉

6 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

He took a lengthy break, but he came back! (I wouldn't say he was berated, but bullied...)

 

 

Indeed he does. My #1 favorite film music reviewer. :) 

 

Yavar

Low bar😉😜

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2 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

Reviewing score albums is possibly the least interesting activity invented by humankind.

 

Nah, James makes it super interesting by including a lot of weird humor!

 

Yavar

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20 hours ago, Edmilson said:

The film music world sorely lacks a middle ground between Broxton's "I love every Giacchino and Balfe scores!" and Clemmensen's "I hate everything that uses synths!".

 

I find that middle ground in impartial analyses, which explore the score's themes and where they appear and any editorial notes, but refrain from preaching about whether the score is any good. Because I can usually tell within 15 minutes on Spotify whether I like a score, and a reviewer's opinion on whether it's a good score is irrelant to whether I enjoy it.

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Clemensen is the only one who goes to the trouble of explaining all the ridiculous album situations, though, and that's why I stick to him. I don't need anyone to tell me if something is good or bad anyway, I'm just interested in his opinion and will listen after that regardless.

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19 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

(I wouldn't say he was berated, but bullied...)

Yeah, bullied is a more accurate description of what happened between him and Zimmer.

 

Still, I thought he gave up because I haven't seen his posts on social media. Good to know that he still updates his website.

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I admit I don’t hear much of a difference between the original album and this release in terms of sound quality (whereas HTTYD1’s Deluxe was a much more apparent improvement), but happy for ya’ll anyhoo!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...
3 minutes ago, Jay said:

This week I didn't feel like listening to podcasts while commuting, so I listened to this album.

 

HOLY HELL, this score is good, eh?  I think one of the things that makes it so great is that is is, to me, a PERFECT sequel score.  It pays respect to the first score, and comfortably lives in the same world, yet just kinda kicks everything up a notch in all the right ways.  There's so many new and different ways to change up the old themes so it never feels like its retreading old ground, and it also has so many cool new themes, that both feel similar enough to not feel like an entirely different project, but different enough to not feel like leftover.  Everything just feels so inspired.

 

I'm glad I revisited this, it increased my hype for the Deluxe of 3 even more!

 

The only other sequel score I can think of that does this as well is, of course, The Empire Strikes Back. You never feel like the composer is tired of "the old stuff". It's not a new world, it's just that the whole thing gets more expansive. (Not necessarily "bigger".)

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Aye, good call

 

I also forgot to mention that the song has grown on me too. I didn't skip past either version of it, I listened to the entire DE as presented (well, no demos afterward).  The first instance of the song ... ok, it's not great, it's not bad, but it's also short. But then the reprise at the end... the first minute and half is like, just a good Powell cue with fun pop-song instruments included.  Then when the singing starts, the vibe is so set, it worked for me, finally.  MUCH better than the song from the first movie.

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11 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

The only other sequel score I can think of that does this as well is, of course, The Empire Strikes Back.

MV5BZGMxZTdjZmYtMmE2Ni00ZTdkLWI5NTgtNjlm

don-davis-matrix-reloaded-disc_1_adf3bd4

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Did anybody here make a custom edit of this DE?  Joining together tracks that are separated here, separating cues that are joined here, etc?

 

Is there anything on the OST or FYC album that isn't here, besides the album version/mix of the Jonsi song?

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I think all I was was recreate the proper film Dragon Racing and put the album version after the song, and joined Off to Valhalla and Riding to Drago's, there are no other "annoying" cue separations where they were very obviously meant to be joined. The first score had a few small opening extensions in the movie/FYC that probably utilised the stems, a held string note lead-in here, an extended percussion overlay there, which weren't recreated for the DE. I don't think this score has anything like that, it should be all here, and even more (with the unused unreleased unleaked unFYCed Dragon's Lair).

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22 minutes ago, Jay said:

Did anybody here make a custom edit of this DE?  Joining together tracks that are separated here, separating cues that are joined here, etc?

 

Is there anything on the OST or FYC album that isn't here, besides the album version/mix of the Jonsi song?

Just some early alternates, that only exist in demo form IIRC, and were used in one of those "see a preview of the first few minutes of the film!" videos

 

For example:

 

Where No One Goes Demo

Drago's Coming Demo

 

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4 minutes ago, Holko said:

I think all I was was recreate the proper film Dragon Racing and put the album version after the song, and joined Off to Valhalla and Riding to Drago's, there are no other "annoying" cue separations where they were very obviously meant to be joined. The first score had a few small opening extensions in the movie/FYC that probably utilised the stems, a held string note lead-in here, an extended percussion overlay there. I don't think this score has anything like that, it should be all here, and even more (with the unused unreleased unleaked unFYCed Dragon's Lair).

 

Cool, thanks!

 

 

1 minute ago, Presto said:

Just some early alternates, that only exist in demo form IIRC, and we're used in one of those "see a preview of the first few minutes of the film!" videos

 

For example:

 

Where No One Goes Demo

Drago's Coming Demo

 

 

Ah yeah, I remember you talking about that before.

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4 minutes ago, Holko said:

I think all I was was recreate the proper film Dragon Racing and put the album version after the song, and joined Off to Valhalla and Riding to Drago's, there are no other "annoying" cue separations where they were very obviously meant to be joined. The first score had a few small opening extensions in the movie/FYC that probably utilised the stems, a held string note lead-in here, an extended percussion overlay there. I don't think this score has anything like that, it should be all here, and even more (with the unused unreleased unleaked unFYCed Dragon's Lair).

Didn't the first score have a missing bit of music right before Astrid Goes for A Spin?

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