Popular Post A. A. Ron 1,742 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 6 minutes ago, Drew said: This is the first soundtrack of 2022 that I wanted to buy right away and now there is no way of purchasing it right now. Are you kidding me? Same. Would’ve even splurged on high res. The bastards at corporate marketing strike again! Tydirium, Drew and Boreli 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew 590 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 I always get the high-res option when buying digital, for future-proofing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Penna 3,688 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 What sort of fucked up new age release strategy is this? Drop a new album but only allow streaming, and then announce a CD is coming in a few months with a few more tracks.... I mean either they've droppped it early and something's gone wrong with distribution, or these marketing people really are idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chewy 2,391 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 So there are already 4 different editions for this soundtrack: the standard digital release, the Amazon digital release and the two Mondo releases on CD and vinyls and none of these releases have the same tracklist. Here's a quick spreadsheet we've just made with @Holko that makes it a bit easier to understand: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pc2505rCFwq0W2rHfmsdaPdyQy4WPVrAbv2NXfrlgHM/edit?usp=sharing Dave, crumbs, Holko and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Holko 9,526 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 So compared to a unified master tracklist, the digital release has 5 missing tracks. The amazon release has 1 full exclusive and 3 missing tracks. The CD has 3 full exclusives and 4 missing tracks. The LP thankfully has no exclusives and 21 missing tracks. If you want everything available, you need the CD and the amazon release. If you want everything except 1 track in better than mp3 quality, you need the CD, the digital and the amazon. Chewy, Nick1Ø66, enderdrag64 and 2 others 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TolkienSS 407 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Not even Amazon has the full soundtrack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Not unless the CD tracklist is wrong or some cues cover edits or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Drew 590 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 It's also absolutely idiotic from a financial standpoint. Streaming gives the rights holders mere pennies compared to purchases. Tydirium, crumbs and Boreli 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WampaRat 1,105 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 About half way through my first listening. I enjoy it. It’s really great. It sounds nothing like Shore. And that’s ok. It’s more “nimble” if that makes sense. Lighter/fleeter. A moment or two actually remind me of Powell in it’s use of percussion and world instruments. It’s a terrific fantasy score that will probably be among the best of the 2020s. Sure I miss that heavy sustained “breathing quality” and the dark hues of Shores orchestrations for Tolkiens world. Shore wrote a long-forgotten ancient opera of sorts and completely succeeded. This is very much high-quality contemporary film music. It isn’t the “sound of middle earth” to me yet. But It’ll grow on me. Damning with faint praise? Perhaps. Divorce it from the show if need be. But it’s well done Monoverantus and Boreli 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1Ø66 4,714 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 I don't buy a lot of TV soundtracks, but to me it seems like a 39-track, 2.5 hour initial release for a full-season score seems really generous? Is this typical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post michael_grig 472 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 3 minutes ago, WampaRat said: It sounds nothing like Shore. I disagree, in some places it sounds like Shore, especially the themes fit very well in the LOTR world. In some places it's more modern, but that's not a bad thing! I love the album already, although I must honestly say that the first half (and especially the theme tracks) is much better than the second, which seems a bit weak and dull. DarthDementous, Taikomochi and WampaRat 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Incanus 5,714 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 Damn I have become truly allergic to modern film scoring stylings. I can't get into this music at all. Bear McCreary has always been very hit-or-miss for me and this is unfortunately a miss. Having Howard Shore's Middle-Earth scores for comparison doesn't really help but even judged on its own this isn't my cup of tea at all. Boreli, blondheim, TolkienSS and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bilbo 3,709 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Holko said: So the digital release has 5 missing tracks. The amazon release has 1 full exclusive and 3 missing tracks. The CD has 3 full exclusives and 4 missing tracks. The LP thankfully has no exclusives and 21 missing tracks. If you want everything available, you need the CD and the amazon release. If you want everything except 1 track in better than mp3 quality, you need the CD, the digital and the amazon. gotta recoup the vast amount of money they’ve sunk into this shit somehow! crumbs, Incanus, Nick1Ø66 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artguy360 1,843 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Cross-posting my impression of the Shore track as I posted in the wrong subforum! The first track by Howard Shore definitely sounds like his Hobbit music, very ethereal and Elfish mixed with some more Dwarfish stuff. Not bad, but very brief. It's almost like an extended fanfare more than anything else. Not very developed, but perfectly A-Ok. Sounds like something he might have written but left out of the Hobbit. Listening to the rest of the score now. The textures are all reminiscent of Shore's LOTR music. I just wish there were stronger melodic hooks that grab me. Monoverantus and WampaRat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WampaRat 1,105 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 18 minutes ago, Michael Grigorowitsch said: I disagree, in some places it sounds like Shore, especially the themes fit very well in the LOTR world. In some places it's more modern, but that's not a bad thing! I love the album already, although I must honestly say that the first half (and especially the theme tracks) is much better than the second, which seems a bit weak and dull. I’ll give you that. From Shores opening title to the first Bear track was a nice transition. The quieter moments and some of the vocal work starts to tap into Shores style I suppose. I’ll need to listen some more. I think as the score goes a long it becomes a bit more “modern” as the action ramps up. I LOVE the Valinor theme. Very beautiful. And the Khazadum theme I confess is already an ear worm for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew 590 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Shore must have been forced to write something generic-is for the theme. McCreary's "Galadriel" theme is already better than Shore's theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Incanus 5,714 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 Howard Shore's theme has very much a TV series main title theme, meaning that it appears as a curtain opener and not in the underscore. It is such a brief tantalizing snippet with little time to develop but really makes me wish that he had actually scored the entire series. Hearing sort of proto-versions and explorations of many of his themes would have been fantastic. 7 minutes ago, Drew said: Shore must have been forced to write something generic-is for the theme. McCreary's "Galadriel" theme is already better than Shore's theme. Shore's theme really feels like a small snippet that doesn't have much time to breathe or develop. Sadly. On the other hand I found McCreary's Galadriel theme cloying and try-hard from the first listen unfortunately. Not his finest tune by any means. But I leave you to discuss this music in peace. I have nothing especially glowing to say about it so I stop now. KK, Boreli, Chen G. and 5 others 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DangerMotif 1,037 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 No use of the ring theme right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Penna 3,688 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 I guess sometimes the style clicks and sometimes it doesn't I'm loving Bear's melodies, and particularly how he's put his themes right at the start and then used them throughout the score. Personal highlights: Galadriel, Khazad Dum, The Stranger, Numenor, Nobody Goes Off Trail, A Plea to the Rocks, Sailing into the Dawn, For the Southlands. No doubt more from the second half but I haven't listened properly to it yet. And no, zero use of Shore's themes that I noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DangerMotif 1,037 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 If Lucasfilms team did Rings Of Power: "Music in Lord Of The Rings is just absolutely essentially identified with Howard Shore -- I mean, bow down-but we're going in a whole other direction. We needed an entirely new vocabulary. We're making a new visual vocabulary, a storytelling vocabulary; a new casting vocabulary, all these things. We're going to make a new musical vocabulary," the showrunner explained. "Bear Mccreary was not only available but interested. Bear is just one of the premiere composers of the moment right now. He's just on fire, and he's inspired." Bear Mccreary: When I started up on this project, we weren't sure that we were going to be allowed to use the Howard Shore themes. Patrick [McKay] was saying to me, "I think we need to score the show as if we're not going to be able to use them." Howard Shore watched the whole show, and he granted permission for his themes to be used in episode six WampaRat, Drew, Tydirium and 3 others 1 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monoverantus 363 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Does anyone here care about spoilers, because there's a lot of plot/character details revealed here. I don't expect so, but just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chen G. 3,949 Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 1 hour ago, artguy360 said: The first track by Howard Shore definitely sounds like his Hobbit music, very ethereal and Elfish mixed with some more Dwarfish stuff. Not bad, but very brief. It holds that the piece should exhibit strong Elven shadings: it’s a Paean to Elvendom at its height! But it contains antecedents to most of Shore’s Middle Earth music: the “Dwarven” fifths, the “Hobbit” scale, the modal colouring associated with mankind, the Ring’s halfstep. Just about the only thing missing is the “nature” progression. Now I’m just left hoping McCreary would incorporate this theme into the underscore in Season Two, while Shore is hopefully scoring Rohirrim. artguy360 and WampaRat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WampaRat 1,105 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 5 minutes ago, Monoverantus said: Does anyone here care about spoilers, because there's a lot of plot/character details revealed here. I don't expect so, but just in case. Mmmm… Id love them to be hidden at least (for now) But I’m in the minority I feel as far as excitement for the show. Just finished listening all the way through. Solid 4 stars. The last half did just kinda wash over me after a while and nothing in particular stood out. Right now I’m sure there’s a solid 70 min album in there. Curious as to what the exclusive tracks are and if they add much variety sonically… sidebar: Is it the particular way that Bear mixes/records this 90 piece orchestra that makes some of the brass sound synthetic at times? Or is it his orchestrations? I’ve noticed this sound in most of his other scores… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Monoverantus 363 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 Well, in classic Tolkien Gateway tradition, I'm making a tracklist with all the themes timestamped. Which, as you might guess, would spoil some stuff. Should I make it a separate topic, or is there a way to hide text? Chen G., JNHFan2000, Bofur01 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew 590 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Part of why the music sounds so unlike Shore in some areas is not because of the music itself, but because of the recording and mixing. This score uses a disgusting dry Ramin Djawadi-style mix. blondheim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WampaRat 1,105 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 6 minutes ago, Monoverantus said: Well, in classic Tolkien Gateway tradition, I'm making a tracklist with all the themes timestamped. Which, as you might guess, would spoil some stuff. Should I make it a separate topic, or is there a way to hide text? Oh very cool. I’d check that out for sure after the show comes out . If it’s as considered and involved as your other work maybe a separate thread might be better? Looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monoverantus 363 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 11 minutes ago, WampaRat said: If it’s as considered and involved as your other work maybe a separate thread might be better? Hardly, I don't even know if there's much more to do than list themes. But yeah, probably best to do a separate thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enderdrag64 624 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 2 hours ago, Holko said: So the digital release has 5 missing tracks. The amazon release has 1 full exclusive and 3 missing tracks. The CD has 3 full exclusives and 4 missing tracks. The LP thankfully has no exclusives and 21 missing tracks. If you want everything available, you need the CD and the amazon release. If you want everything except 1 track in better than mp3 quality, you need the CD, the digital and the amazon. What a fucking mess - I thought the soundtrack industry was over this shit. Doesn't making track lists overcomplicated like that just put off consumers/encourage piracy? I mean I'm happy for the extra music but why not just put it all on the same release Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artguy360 1,843 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Hearing Shore's main title makes me wonder what a generic Star Wars show main title from JW would sound like. His Kenobi theme is very specific to the character at that point in his life. Shore's main title sounds like "here's 90 seconds of LOTR sounding music". I want the JW SW equivalent of that. I don't love Shore's main title right now, but I think it is an interesting piece evoking all things LOTR in a single, short, undeveloped cue. Edit: the closest we have is the Galaxy's Edge theme which has a kind of generic SW adventure sound. Drew and Bilbo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TolkienSS 407 Posted August 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2022 2 hours ago, Incanus said: Damn I have become truly allergic to modern film scoring stylings. I can't get into this music at all. Bear McCreary has always been very hit-or-miss for me and this is unfortunately a miss. Having Howard Shore's Middle-Earth scores for comparison doesn't really help but even judged on its own this isn't my cup of tea at all. Many tracks and themes delve into those standardized drum loops and plucked guitar (?) rhythms that remind me of Narnia or Prince Of Persia in a very non-good way. The music for Numenor is heartbreaking, this absolutely is not in any shape or form a precursor to Gondor music from Return of the King. It's surprising that @Doug Adams doesn't even promote the official release of Howard Shore's title theme. Is there personal grudge there? I mean aside from dissapointment that Amazon didn't allow Howard Shore to do more. blondheim, Boreli and Incanus 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1Ø66 4,714 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Monoverantus said: Does anyone here care about spoilers, because there's a lot of plot/character details revealed here. I don't expect so, but just in case. I've read that the last two tracks contain spoilers, Spoiler regarding the origin of a certain dark lord. I haven't listened that far (or closely) yet, so I can't really say. But careful listeners beware! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNHFan2000 2,961 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 I'm curious to.see what the Main Title looks like. And if it enhances the music and the other way around. I would presume, based on the music, that the actors will be credited by their characters species. That would be cool. To have the actors who play Elves, Dwarves, Humans credited together with the music in the background Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monoverantus 363 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 11 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said: I'm curious to.see what the Main Title looks like. And if it enhances the music and the other way around. Though I guess it would surely be accused of being derivative, if any show would benefit from a Game of Thrones-style map intro, it's probably this. LotR basically invented the fantasy-map. Spoiler (citation needed) Bofur01 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artguy360 1,843 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 On my second listen of the album, I like it! There are some solid themes and overall lush orchestrations. The jaunty pirate stuff is fun. So far, nothing puts me to sleep or sounds like generic TV show music. This is the most I've liked any McCreary music since BSG. Monoverantus and Boreli 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chen G. 3,949 Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 2 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said: I'm curious to see what the Main Title looks like. And if it enhances the music and the other way around. I was thinking that: will this theme play against quite abstract visuals, or will it be synching up against certain visuals within the opening credits? JNHFan2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TolkienSS 407 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 There are plenty of themes. But none have a distinct sound or harmonic quality that makes them anything more than pleasant dramatic music. The sharp IV scale Shore uses in his Main theme - starting in lydian and later in kind of Hungarian minor - has more identifiable quality than the rest of themes. Boreli 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephariel 451 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 12 hours ago, Drew said: Shore must have been forced to write something generic-is for the theme. McCreary's "Galadriel" theme is already better than Shore's theme. Yeah Shore's theme is probably the weakest part of the score. Why was he even invited to write this? McCreary could have provided a much better theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artguy360 1,843 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 The choral work throughout is quite nice and very much in sync with Shore's use of chorus in his two trilogies. Water and Flame has an epic, dramatic sound not dissimilar to Shore's Mt. Doom stuff. Been listening to the album all day and I'm finding more and more to like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post blondheim 1,157 Posted August 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2022 I really wish I could enjoy this as others are but it sounds worlds away from Shore’s sound-world. Literal worlds. I do not hear the similarities that others are suggesting. All massive orchestral music is written for mostly similar instruments and orchestrations but Shore somehow managed to sound different than anything else on the market at the time. His use of intervals and unique instruments and vocalists is key there and clearly that is a skill outside either McCreary’s ability or desire to do. Galadriel simply sounds nothing like the Elven world we know and not in a good way. It sounds like Elven pop music written hundreds of years after the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring. When it should have sounded proto-Elven. The Elves were in decay when we heard what we heard. Intellectually, the music I have heard is relatively barren. The word epic being applied here only makes it worse, as if anything written for forces like this has to be good just because it exists. Are we that desperate for orchestral fantasy music? Incanus, Nick1Ø66, Bofur01 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chen G. 3,949 Posted August 20, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2022 I agree insofar as it sounds so different to Shore. There had been an attempt to emulate his palette: so we have male vocals for Dwarves, aethereal sounds for Elves, mock-Celtic stuff for Hobbits. But the way its composed and orchestrated makes it sound irrecovably different, with any similarities seemingly more a matter of coincidence than anything else. I think it would be a perfectly nice soundtrack (the saccharine nature of the Hobbits' material notwithstanding) if we weren't inclined to compare it to Shore, and its a comparison we're all the more drawn to make because Shore provided the opening credits. We've seen other composers entering a pre-existing sound world before with Star Wars - where some composers (namely John Powell) fit in very well while others not so much. Nevertheless, in the Star Wars case the general sound is this very familiar, late Romantic "Golden Age Hollywood" sound that all film composers had been reared upon, whereas Shore's orchestrations are anything but; and so McCreary's score was bound to sound incongrous with Shore's. Incanus, Nick1Ø66, WampaRat and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TolkienSS 407 Posted August 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2022 2 hours ago, Mephariel said: Yeah Shore's theme is probably the weakest part of the score. Why was he even invited to write this? McCreary could have provided a much better theme. Given the rest of the Score, no, he could have not. Despite his promise, there is no indication that McCreary is able to capture Howard Shore's sound. I know this sounds like nitpicking, but one thing that puts me off about the score is McCreary's use of percussion. It's ironically one of the things that I find most un-Shoreian about the music. The Lord Of The Rings uses a very limited amount of percussion, that is very precisely placed, and doesn't ever come to the foreground. It's for the most part deeper percussion that blends well with the mid-low range of the orchestra. Shore rarely uses smaller cymbals that stick out as clichėe classical music. He mostly uses tam-tam or gong, which add to the weight, and underline the music almost subconsciously. Whenever I hear those small crash cymbals, or the very close-mic plucked harp or such, I immediately think "that's not right." Bear McCreary sounds a lot more like standardized orchestral classical music, and less like Shore's Middle-Earth. I think some people still don't understand how unique Shore's music is and how recognizable it is. It would really not have been hard to sprinkle more in there. For instance, it's not hard to get more of those wonderful aleatoric backings in, or some of those thick divisi strings. Max, Monoverantus, Nick1Ø66 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post blondheim 1,157 Posted August 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2022 I don’t have the luxury of living in a world where I don’t have to compare this to Shore. Although I will agree that if I did, I might look on this more kindly. This isn’t just another fantasy score: this is attached to what I consider to be the greatest musical act achieved so far in my lifetime. I would not envy any person in Bear’s position. I understand he has a job and bosses, and I am sure they are very happy and he feels he has done his job, but it isn’t enough for me. This music needed more brain. It has heart but doesn't everything have some of that? It’s almost impossible to write something you don’t care about. The LOTR was smart. This isn’t and that’s what hurts the most. It’s regular, it’s expected, it’s just there for me. Happy for those who hear more but having other people praise it this much does sort of sting. Sauron sounds like such a joke to me, not menacing at all. I wanted so much to like it. I have continued to play it. I just cannot get into the feel of this score. I feel like I am trying to have sex with someone I am not attracted to. Nick1Ø66, Bofur01, artguy360 and 4 others 3 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TolkienSS 407 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 I would go one step further and say, it's impossible to be given the opportunity to write a sort of Tolkien opera and not have some heart in it. All composers have more or less personal voices, and I think Bear McCreary has enough skills as a composer to understand Howard Shore's music and carry over if not all, then at least some tapestry of his. So there is only the question how willing he is to do so. I also think McCreary is a smart enough guy to understand that Fans expect, if not outright themes, then at least a type of music for certain things. Again, when people wondered what kind of theme Numenor would get, I don't think anyone thought "some egyptian music would be great". The thing is, Shore's music rarely goes into pure underscore-mode. There is rarely just pure unrelated underscore. With this score, mostly also because the themes have relatively standardized language, there is tons of boring underscore. Nick1Ø66 and Incanus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Penna 3,688 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Sauron's theme is indeed IMO the weakest part of the score. I don't dislike it by any means but given all the material they had, I'd have chosen perhaps Khazad-dum as the other track to release in that EP. What's certainly noticeable is that the recording for the more action-oriented or dramatic tracks isn't very vibrant. It doesn't as full and strong as Shore's scores did. Bear's action style is noticeable and similar to some TWD material. I think someone else has pointed out that one of the themes is dangerously close to one of Djawadi's GoT themes, and another one (the bagpipes one) is very similar to Veil of Time from Outlander. However, anyone downgrading the score due to thematic similarities really should have better stuff to worry about. However, I've had the themes going through my head all day, and the tracks that focus more on the orchestra and choir and thematic content absolutely soar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monoverantus 363 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Now that I've started to break down the actual themes used in the score, I do see a few worrying trends: Too many ostinatos. It's endemic of the times that modern composers can just invent a nice one-bar rhythmic phrase and then copy-paste it through the whole cue. Think of all the different accompaniments Shore made use of, and how seldom they stagnated (just Concerning Hobbits uses 4!), while Galadriel, Sauron, Khazad-dûm, Halbrand and The Stranger all have 1 accompanying idea each that undergo no change. Weirdly superfluous elements. As Bear has explained, “Each of the themes had an A section, a B section, an intro, a development”. Indeed, all the first tracks (the suites) are built this way, and that's great, but where are these sections in the rest of the score? I know I've not had the time to go through it all more than once, but all I hear are the A themes. Mostly character themes. Of course it makes sense to have themes for Galadriel, Halbrand, Elrond, Sauron, Nori, The Stranger etc, but so far the only "culture" themes I can make out are Khazad-dûm, Valinor and Númenor. So how do we represent Celebrimbor or Gil-Galad? There's a Bronwyn/Arondir love theme, but how do we portray the Southlands? Where are the abstract/conceptual themes? Remember themes like Weakness and Redemption, Minas Tirith, A Hobbit's Understanding, Grey Havens (or even the intricate red thread of the Good and Evil intervals)? Is there no place in this era of Middle-earth for themes relating to hope, corruption, loyalty, impending doom? Chen G. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Penna 3,688 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 I think you're making the unfair act of comparing anything to the tapestry Shore created which was a one in a generation level of thematic detail. Most scores would kill to have the level of thematic content and detail displayed by Bear. michael_grig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post blondheim 1,157 Posted August 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Richard Penna said: I think you're making the unfair act of comparing anything to the tapestry Shore created which was a one in a generation level of thematic detail. Most scores would kill to have the level of thematic content and detail displayed by Bear. It hasn’t even been out long enough to say that. What makes this any better than say, a Two Steps to Hell album? Or any recent videogame score thats lauded, like those of Jeremy Soule? Is this better than Debney’s Lair? I don’t think any of us can tell if its a good score until we hear it in context, thats least of all. but it isn't unfair to compare to Shore Its just an unfortunate reality. Life isn’t fair TolkienSS, Van_Etten, Nick1Ø66 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TolkienSS 407 Posted August 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2022 2 hours ago, Richard Penna said: I think you're making the unfair act of comparing anything to the tapestry Shore created which was a one in a generation level of thematic detail. Most scores would kill to have the level of thematic content and detail displayed by Bear. The issue is less with themes, and more that McCreary did little to speak the language of Shore's music. blondheim, Bilbo and KK 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew 590 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 9 hours ago, Mephariel said: Yeah Shore's theme is probably the weakest part of the score. Why was he even invited to write this? McCreary could have provided a much better theme. Shore probably wrote a lot of different ideas and the filmmakers went with this generic one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jay 37,363 Posted August 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2022 So let me get this straight -Bear makes a 37 track, 149 minute album that is the most common one, available on the widest variety of digital platforms -On Amazon streaming, you get 39 tracks instead, the same 37 as the normal album, plus "Find The Light" and "The Promised King". OK, annoying but I get it -On physical CD we get 38 tracks, but its not the standard album with one bonus track - it drops 3 tracks on the standard album available everywhere ("Cavalry", "The Broken Line", "Where The Shadows Lie"), adds one of those Amazon mp3 exclusives ("The Promised King"), and then also adds 3 tracks you can't get anywhere else ("In Defiance of Death", "Riding at Dawn", "The Breaking of the First Silence"). I guess you couldn't fit all 42 total tracks onto two CDs but man, this is all very frustrating... Mr. Who, enderdrag64 and TSMefford 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now