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Bear McCreary's The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)


Chen G.

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I think the issue is that he is following in the footsteps of something truly masterful. There are plenty of things he could have done to have been more in line with Shore. It was always doomed to be “less than” but it could have been more than this “less than”

 

I think its a little crazy not to compare them. I listen to Johan de Meij’s LOTR symphony and never compare it to LOTR by Shore, they are completely different adaptations. But this is clearly intended to look close enough to be connected, to invoke Jackson, to invoke Shore. Why else Main Title it? McCreary just emulated it in the most shallow of ways, I think. Choir = elves. Male choir = evil. I expected television writing but I was hoping that the source material would inspire him to do more than just his job earning a paycheck. This could have been and should have been Bear’s chance to do an opera that didn’t succumb to modern scoring techniques. There’s no place for them in Middle Earth. And I would hope he’d agree. I was excited when I heard him announced but disappointed when the singles dropped. Im still listening to it, hoping something will click but honestly, its just depressing me how far from what I wanted this is.

 

I am not even as upset with the show choices as many others but man, when Galadriel and Sauron dropped, I suddenly felt the truth: that this would be nothing like what I wanted to hear. If it was a concept album of music Bear just felt inclined to write, I might place it on a pedestal near videogame scores or Two Steps but as a piece of LOTR music, it holds no artistic value for me. I have never been more disappointed in the reality of a scoring assignment. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. I wish Bear had taken the full extent of that opportunity and not just done “well enough”

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You've got to take these 'same universe' scores more on their own terms otherwise you're going to drive yourself crazy with lamenting over how the composer somehow didn't realise its full potential.

 

I honestly expected something far more modern or RCP flavoured (at least before he was announced) given some of the stuff in the trailers, so I'm thrilled with what we got.

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6 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

You've got to take these 'same universe' scores more on their own terms otherwise you're going to drive yourself crazy with lamenting over how the composer somehow didn't realise its full potential.

 

I honestly expected something far more modern or RCP flavoured (at least before he was announced) given some of the stuff in the trailers, so I'm thrilled with what we got.

I don’t have to do anything. If you’re happy with settling for this, stream away. But saying it is good because it could be worse is odd, like your abusive parent saying “some kids get hit everyday”

 

And yes, I am being melodramatic. I’m allowed that as well. Chen made a good point about Star Wars copying more of a golden age sound which makes offshoots of it more palatable. I can handle a unique voice in a world I am familiar with. Im merely balking at the lack of intellectuality and proliferation of modernism in a musical world I care about very much. They wanted me to compare it to Shore, that’s clear. So that’s what I’m doing. It is not my fault he didn’t do better here. I can only react

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Except given the many comments where people appreciate it on its own terms, does it actually evoke Shore much? Given the possible nature of his involvement being very last minute, would the instruction have really been to be close to the sound? Especially if the general visual aesthetic of the show is purposefully slightly different for likely legal reasons.

 

It just feels like an accidental case of hypocrisy where it's damned for not being enough like Shore, yet apparently still evokes it in enough of a capacity that it's written off as a very weak attempt at an imitation.

 

(I almost was tempted to say Giacchino-esque, but I think some of you would've liked a full blown Rogue One style rip off more. :P)

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7 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

Given the possible nature of his involvement being very last minute, would the instruction have really been to be close to the sound?

 

Shore's involvement is hardly last minute. As for whether Bear was compelled to try and emulate Shore's sound, we don't know but if he was it was never done beyond the surface-level of using some of the same colours.

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I think the score is wonderful. It is not close to Shore's level of mastery and far more modern in composition, but I never came into the score expecting McCreary to do anything different. I think there are some good themes, terrific use of vocals, and he captured Middle Earth in his own distinctive way. Some of the criticism like he used a lot more percussion than Shore doesn't make sense to me. It is like saying the hobbits are now more diverse in casting. Yes because it is a different team, different take, this is not a remake of the films.   

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8 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

I think the score is wonderful. It is not close to Shore's level of mastery and far more modern in composition, but I never came into the score expecting McCreary to do anything different. I think there are some good themes, terrific use of vocals, and he captured Middle Earth in his own distinctive way. Some of the criticism like he used a lot more percussion than Shore doesn't make sense to me. It is like saying the hobbits are now more diverse in casting. Yes because it is a different team, different take, this is not a remake of the films.   

You’re right. It is clearly intended to be a prequel in almost every aspect. Again, if they didn’t want me to compare then why use Shire to establish the soundworld? The production team begged comparisons when they let the first ninety seconds be the true sound of Middle Earth

 

The fact that it has choir and strings and an occasional whistle isn’t enough

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1 minute ago, blondheim said:

You’re right. It is clearly intended to be a prequel in almost every aspect. Again, if they didn’t want me to compare then why use Shire to establish the soundworld? The production team begged comparisons when they let the first ninety seconds be the true sound of Middle Earth

 

Obviously you can compare, but the "true sound" is just nonsense. Shore's music is the sound of Middle Earth in the films. McCreary's is the sound in the series. Middle Earth is not a real place. People can interpret what the music should be based on the material. This is the same problem I have with Star Wars fans. Not every Star Wars film/show needs to have music like John Williams. It is fictional universe and characters, atmospheres, and tones are products of imagination.  

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5 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

Shore's music is the sound of Middle Earth in the films. McCreary's is the sound in the series. Middle Earth is not a real place. [...] This is the same problem I have with Star Wars fans. Not every Star Wars film/show needs to have music like John Williams. It is fictional universe and characters, atmospheres, and tones are products of imagination.  

 

Ideally, you'd want all the entries in a media series to fit together. Does that really seem like such a ludicrous request?

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3 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

 

Obviously you can compare, but the "true sound" is just nonsense. Shore's music is the sound of Middle Earth in the films. McCreary's is the sound in the series. Middle Earth is not a real place. People can interpret what the music should be based on the material. This is the same problem I have with Star Wars fans. Not every Star Wars film/show needs to have music like John Williams. It is fictional universe and characters, atmospheres, and tones are products of imagination.  

I would agree with this statement if Shore wasn’t involved at all. But he is. And Bear clearly tried to do surface level associations. He made many of his choices based on what we expected because of Howard Shore. If that weren’t true, then maybe I could agree. But the work is clearly trying to emulate Shore, it’s just not doing it well enough for me.

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I don't get why you're so convinced that the score is trying to emulate Shore - it has McCreary written all over it. Have you listened to Outlander? Lots of stylistic similarities there, from sweeping orchestra, solo instruments and rhythmic elements.

 

And you may have misinterpreted my opinion above, I'm not 'settling' for this - I'm thrilled with this score. I honestly can't relate to your sentiments that Bear somehow didn't do the job he was required to do. Or is it the job you required him to do in a few months after Shore spent literally years on his work?

 

Hence I'll say this again: move a franchise away from its original composer and the new composer has been set a completely impossible task because everyone will expect something different of them. Veer too close to the original and they'd better emulate it perfectly; move away and they've betrayed the franchise's sound.

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1 minute ago, Chen G. said:

 

Ideally, you'd want all the entries in a media series to fit together. Is that really such a ludicrous request?

 

Yes. Movies and shows in the same universe can have different cinematography, writing, direction, tone, and intent. Why would the music not change as well? 

 

Look at it from the opposite musical perspective. Take Hans Zimmer's Dune. He chose not to use the orchestra, the opposite of LOTR. I actually like the music quite a bit in the film, but are you saying that every film/series in the same Dune universe needs to forfeit the orchestra and use the same soundscape? Of course not. Different composers, different take, different intent.

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3 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

Movies and shows in the same universe can have different cinematography, writing, direction, tone, and intent. Why would the music not change as well? 

 

Of course they're not going to exactly the same: if they were, they wouldn't be different parts of a bigger whole - they'll be the same part, repeated.

 

Nevertheless, we expect all the parts of the whole to be of-a-piece.

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4 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

I don't get why you're so convinced that the score is trying to emulate Shore - it has McCreary written all over it. Have you listened to Outlander? Lots of stylistic similarities there, from sweeping orchestra, solo instruments and rhythmic elements.

 

And you may have misinterpreted my opinion above, I'm not 'settling' for this - I'm thrilled with this score. I honestly can't relate to your sentiments that Bear somehow didn't do the job he was required to do. Or is it the job you required him to do?

 

Hence I'll say this again: move a franchise away from its original composer and the new composer has been set a completely impossible task because everyone will expect something different of them. Veer too close to the original and they'd better emulate it perfectly; move away and they've betrayed the franchise's sound.

It’s my own opinion and my own expectations, that goes without saying. I have already qualified statements such as “I am sure his bosses and him are pleased.” I am not pleased and that’s all that matters to me. It could have sounded different and been fine. I will repeat a previous statement I made: it was inevitably going to be less than, merely by being placed next to such a monumental achievement, but I hoped it would be more than what we got, which is less than what I wanted.

 

I say he is clearly trying to emulate Shore because you can hear that he is, if he wanted to do something truly different would the Hobbit music sound this way? The fact that he has used that music in Outlander is basically irrelevant. There is a sound for Hobbits, Shore defined that, he tapped into that sound, thus he is trying to emulate Shore. Emulate does not mean “sound exactly like” That word would be imitate.

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Just now, Nick1Ø66 said:

Well look, Amazon invited these comparisons when they hired Shore to do the theme, John Howe to do the art, filmed in New Zealand, hired a cast of people who look like their film counterparts, and created a production and creature design that looks like the films.

 

Quite. You won't hear, I imagine, either myself or Blondheim or anyone else compare Leonard Rosenman's music to Shore's because they clearly worked on separate, different projects with different styles; which is NOT the case here.

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10 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

 

Yes. Movies and shows in the same universe can have different cinematography, writing, direction, tone, and intent. Why would the music not change as well? 

 

Look at it from the opposite musical perspective. Take Hans Zimmer's Dune. He chose not to use the orchestra, the opposite of LOTR. I actually like the music quite a bit in the film, but are you saying that every film/series in the same Dune universe needs to forfeit the orchestra and use the same soundscape? Of course not. Different composers, different take, different intent.

If Dune Part two hired a different composer and it was a totally different approach, it would be a problem. If they do a prequel series and it sounds nothing like Zimmer, I would be less concerned but still raise an eyebrow.

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2 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

 

Of course they're not going to exactly the same: if they were, they wouldn't be different parts of a bigger whole - they'll be the same part, repeated.

 

Nevertheless, we expect all the parts of the whole to be of-a-piece.

 

What you are asking for is non-sensical. When you have different directors and writers, it is inevitable that artistic direction will change. Look at the 4 Thor films that are released. Each one has a different way of telling the story with a continuing character and each one has a different composer and different style of music. Look at the predator movies. Franchises can go 60+ years. You are not going to get the same style of music every entry. Just like you won't get the same cast, costume design, cinematography. 

 

If I decided to make a horror film in a Star Wars universe between Episodes I and II, do you expect that film to have John Williams' style music? Of course not.

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2 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

Look at the 4 Thor films that are released. Each one has a different way of telling the story with a continuing character and each one has a different composer and different style of music. Look at the predator movies.

 

Those are anthologies.

 

The Lord of the Rings (and, to a lesser extent, Star Wars) is a cycle.

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4 minutes ago, blondheim said:

If Dune Part two hired a different composer and it was a totally different approach, it would be a problem. If they do a prequel series and it sounds nothing like Zimmer, I would be less concerned but still raise an eyebrow.

 

Why? You don't even know the prequel is about? It may not be as dark or much more comedic. It may have nothing to do with the main line films 

Just now, Chen G. said:

 

Those are anthologies.

 

The Lord of the Rings (and, to a lesser extent, Star Wars) is a cycle.

 

How does that change any of my points? The LOTR TV show is set way before the films and really has nothing to do with the films directly. They already modernized the show in other ways. No reason why the music needs to stay the same. 

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1 minute ago, Mephariel said:

 

Why? You don't even know the prequel is about? It may not be as dark or much more comedic. It may have nothing to do with the main line films 

And if the music didn’t succumb to television writing and shallow modern scoring techniques, I’d probably give it a great big chance, just like I am still giving this. Nick put it perfectly: Amazon filmed in New Zealand, hired all the same concept artists, they want us to feel like we are returning to something beloved. Shore will be heard at the beginning of every episode. That’s what they wanted. I just wish the music did more to that effect than just being “epic”

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9 minutes ago, blondheim said:

Amazon filmed in New Zealand, hired all the same concept artists, they want us to feel like we are returning to something beloved.

 

To further this point, look at the wideshot of the Numenorean palace:

 

RPAZ_S1_FG_104_00025314_Still001_R1.jpg

 

What's that statue there holding?

 

zoikfcqdi9h91.png?auto=webp&s=de5db21783

 

To me it looks like one thing and thing only:

 

4440510fb3e0c05dd3ecdf8fce980ae1.png

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2 minutes ago, blondheim said:

And if the music didn’t succumb to television writing and shallow modern scoring techniques, I’d probably give it a great big chance, just like I am still giving this. Nick put it perfectly: Amazon filmed in New Zealand, hired all the same concept artists, they want us to feel like we are returning to something beloved. Shore will be heard at the beginning of every episode. That’s what they wanted. I just wish the music did more to that effect than just being “epic”

 

That is on Amazon not McCreary. McCreary doesn't work for Sales Marketing.

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8 hours ago, Mephariel said:

 

That is on Amazon not McCreary. McCreary doesn't work for Sales Marketing.

He isn’t stupid. He knew they were flirting with the idea of using Shore himself even. He isn’t totally to blame, sure, but he isn’t blameless

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16 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

The LOTR TV show is set way before the films and really has nothing to do with the films directly.

 

It furthers the same central conflict: its effectivelly an expanded retelling of the prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring. We even know that's how it was pitched!

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2 minutes ago, blondheim said:

He isn’t stupid. He knew they were flirting with the idea of using Shore himself even. He isn’t totally to blame, sure, but he isn’t blameless

 

What did he do wrong? Bear McCreary was hired to write music and he wrote music. In my opinion, it is wonderful music. In your opinion, obviously not. We can debate the quality of the music but what exactly are we blaming him for? The show and the music are probably going to be massively successful and life goes on.  

2 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

 

It furthers the same central conflict: its effectivelly an expanded retelling of the prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring. We even know that's how it was pitched!

 

Which doesn't refute any of my points. None of that means artistic interpretation cannot change. It is a new team, new director, new writer, etc. It has nothing directly to do with the films. 

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He did nothing wrong other than produce a score that a few people obviously don't like, in a way that someone might not like a particular composer's style.

 

The similarities to Outlander, TWD, etc, are all there. He was hired as they liked his sound, but knew he could still write for orchestra and choir.

 

I don't even know what the hell 'television writing' is supposed to mean, and if 'modernisations' just mean a few string ostinatos then you're cementing the notion that how Bear does action isn't for you.

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I agree completely with these comments about style. I think what he did wrong was assume he could treat Middle Earth as just another one of his projects. If that’s all that you think was required of him, standing in that massively long shadow he had to see all around him, then we can sure agree to disagree. As a composer, I do not envy him his position. But I do resent that he did not do more to make it work in the operatic sound world of Shore that I love so so much. I would have. I guarantee I wouldn’t have been able to produce something on Shore’s level. But what I would have done is study the musicology of the cultures and characters to make sure that I was writing something that could devolve into what we know. Isn’t that more thrilling for the audience? Isn’t that what Amazon wants? For us to imagine that this Galadriel grows into the one we know. How much more impactful to hear music that is doing that in reverse? It seems like such an obvious thing. The un-obvious thing to me is to produce something this modern that is set before what we know.

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I don't blame Bear one bit. He's a talented guy, and one of the best in the business (i.e. TV scoring). He was an obvious choice. Now he's doing a job he was given to do, and a tricky one at that. He must have known, from the beginning, that his work would be compared unfavourably to Shore's...how could it not be. As far as I can tell, he put a lot of thought into the score (even if it's really not my cup of tea). 

 

And I frankly don't think Amazon was doing him any favours by having Shore write the theme.  That was purely a marketing thing, and I don't think it's doing the show or Bear any favours. Of course it's always nice as fan to hear Shore return to Middle-Earth, but the show really didn't need it.

 

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I have to ask again: does McCreary actually invoke Shore in any way, or does the latter simply elevate the regular fantasy sound that much to where anything lesser is immediately perceived as aping it?

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“I could have done more”

 

-not Bear McCreary

40 minutes ago, blondheim said:

I say he is clearly trying to emulate Shore because you can hear that he is, if he wanted to do something truly different would the Hobbit music sound this way? The fact that he has used that music in Outlander is basically irrelevant. There is a sound for Hobbits, Shore defined that, he tapped into that sound, thus he is trying to emulate Shore. Emulate does not mean “sound exactly like” That word would be imitate.

 

3 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

I have to ask again: does McCreary actually invoke Shore in any way, or does the latter simply elevate the regular fantasy sound that much to where anything lesser is immediately perceived as aping it?

 

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But so many comments have praised it for its own distinctive qualities that I now have to risk accusing someone of trying to force comparisons that don't quite work if Shore and McCreary were very much separate entities here.

 

(And I don't think anyone knows enough to say with certainty yet as to the full extent of HS's involvement with when he came in and how much he did.)

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22 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

 

I can see that we're not agreeing on the most basic of elements because there's no basis for you to assume that he just treated the project as another job.

 

I suspect that you just resent that Shore wasn't able (or didn't want to) do it and no other composer was going to do a good enough job for you without basically imitating him and changing their style for this project. That's not a fair thing to ask a composer to do.

That really isn’t the case. I was as excited by Bear’s announcement as anyone, I imagine. I think he is a talented composer. I simply disagree with his choices here.

 

I think trying to modernize or John Powell the sound of LOTR is folly. The very definition of trying to have your cake and eat it too. That’s my personal opinion. Ostinatos are not good enough for me here. Just having theme suites isn’t enough. I didn’t assume Bear was going to write the score this way when he was announced. I heard the singles and now the score. It’s not bad music. It’s inherently wrong sounding after the first ninety seconds. To me. I had to listen in stints because it kept making me angry. That he got this assignment and this was good enough for him to place next to Shore’s sound world. If this were a completely different looking production, say a stop-motion animation, with an artstyle that didn’t mimic the films and no Shore involvement, I would probably like it better. But it is part of Shore’s Middle Earth and its incongruousness is glaring.

 

I may soften to the larger work in time. Who knows. I am still going to watch the show. But as of now it is a disappointment because I thought Bear would want to approach it the other way. More musicological. More intellectual. Maybe he wanted to and they wouldn’t let him. I doubt it but who knows. What we have simply sounds simple, as in just smart enough.

 

I will admit to being a fan of Shore’s work. Who wouldn’t be? What Bear did is fine. The just above mediocrity of it though appalls me, as both a composer and fan.

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It always comes back to the percussion with Powell being more modern, doesn't it? I don't even think it sounds particularly processed compared to like Elfman's stabs at it in the early 2000s.

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11 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

It always comes back to the percussion with Powell being more modern, doesn't it? I don't even think it sounds particularly processed compared to like Elfman's stabs at it in the early 2000s.

Planet of the Apes sounds much more authentic than this. If this had Planet of the Apes percussion, I’d be chill as hell ;) It would be a weird choice, but it wouldn’t be what sounds like drum-set cymbals

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1 hour ago, HunterTech said:

(And I don't think anyone knows enough to say with certainty yet as to the full extent of HS's involvement with when he came in and how much he did.)

 

Well no one knows that beyond the headlines we saw that Shore was in talks for some sort of role.

 

But that's enough for some to decide that it's now part of Shore's world and that deviating from his sound is unacceptable, or to suggest with no basis that he was in the running to score the entire thing, and that Bear has stolen the gig from him.

 

I personally think Shore's work on the Hobbit was itself a significant step down, so I find that any suggestions rather silly that Bear's work is not good enough to inhabit this world.

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2 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

I don't get why you're so convinced that the score is trying to emulate Shore

 

Because McCreary said he would respect Shore's world he created. There would be half as much dissapointment if people associated with productions like these didn't make Statements like the above that they know to be at least partially false.

 

And you are right, Shore spent the good part of a few years on the Rings scores. So what?

Nobody asked McCreary to do an act of creation on the same level. The creation already exists. He merely had to follow in the footsteps.

You make it appear more dramatic than it actually would be. Howard Shore's music is quite unique and recognizable, but it's not too complicated to borrow from.

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11 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

 

Well no one knows that beyond the headlines we saw that Shore was in talks for some sort of role.

 

But that's enough for some to decide that it's now part of Shore's world and that deviating from his sound is unacceptable, or to suggest with no basis that he was in the running to score the entire thing, and that Bear has stolen the gig from him.

 

I personally think Shore's work on the Hobbit was itself a significant step down, so I find that any suggestions rather silly that Bear's work is not good enough to inhabit this world.


Did anyone say it was stolen from him?

 

I think it’s naive to say they don’t want this to connect to the films. Every decision they make says that. I think it’s WILD to think otherwise.

 

I wanted Bear to get this assignment. And the music is fine. I’ve used some intense language like “appalls” because I’m freshly disappointed. With the Cloverfield films under his belt, I thought he was perfect for this. I merely hoped he would do better than what we got. I’m not mad at all of you for liking it. I’m just being a fanatic on a fan forum. Shrug. So sue me.

 

This was THE scoring assignment of a lifetime. I wasn’t too mad when it was someone other than Shore because I just assumed certain things wouldn’t happen once Bear got involved, like too much ostinato. I had a lot of hype for this musically and as we know, hype is a reality killer.

 

Being so disappointed is just where I’m at with it. I can’t help that. And I can’t help but thinking there were ways to do this score without some of the things that bother me.

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11 minutes ago, TolkienSS said:

 

Nobody asked McCreary to do an act of creation on the same level. The creation already exists. He merely had to follow in the footsteps.

You make it appear more dramatic than it actually would be. Howard Shore's music is quite unique and recognizable, but it's not too complicated to borrow from.

 

This is the thing - I still don't understand what part of this score doesn't live up to Shore's world! Yeah, he used a few ostinatos, but apart from those we've got oodles of themes and rich orchestrations.

 

Hence my confusion about why you guys don't like it - I was enthralled from my very first listen.

 

7 minutes ago, blondheim said:

This was THE scoring assignment of a lifetime. I wasn’t too mad when it was someone other than Shore because I just assumed certain things wouldn’t happen once Bear got involved, like too much ostinato. I had a lot of hype for this musically and as we know, hype is a reality killer.

 

He's used ostinato in a couple of tracks. As said above, I don't understand what it is about the rest that is so anti-Middle Earth.

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4 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

 

This is the thing - I still don't understand what part of this score doesn't live up to Shore's world! Yeah, he used a few ostionatos, but apart from those, we've got oodles of themes and rich orchestrations.

 

Hence my confusion and why I really like the score - I was enthralled from my very first listen.

Galadriel and Sauron both sounded cheap and far too modern and I was hoping it wouldn’t be the whole thing. I was upset over the singles even. Like I said above, this is a style and taste thing on some level. I can’t imagine anyone LOVING Galadriel or Sauron, as a cue. Liking, sure, but that’s where the mediocrity and “just good enough” feelings come from for me. None of the new material released, even though much of it is better than those two cues, is good enough for me to not be disappointed in it.

 

I am having the experience I imagine some people had with Rogue One, as per comments I’ve read. I didn’t hate Rogue One. I liked it. I don’t hate Rings of Power but I don’t like it either.

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TBH I didn't like either of those two singles when I first heard them. But they opened up when I listened to the album.

 

Now I really like both, but particularlyGaladriel.

 

Unfortunately I think it does just come down to taste though, and I think you should take more care not to conflate taste with a composer's effort. I absolutely feel Bear has produced a career highlight here.

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Just now, Richard Penna said:

TBH I didn't like either of those two singles when I first heard them. But they opened up when I listened to the album.

 

Now I really like both, but particularlyGaladriel.

 

Unfortunately I think it does just come down to taste though, and I think you should take more care not to conflate taste with a composer's effort.


No, I still stand by my opinion that Bear was aware of the shadow Shore cast. He had the choice to follow in those footsteps or carve his own way. I assumed it would be the former because the production is clearly geared that way. But he chose to carve his own way, somewhat. Emphasis on somewhat. He made broad choices, where Shore was very specific and did other things like modernize that have been mentioned ad nauseum. He had that right. I am allowed to dislike his choice to not go the first route. Because as a composer and fan, I would have. His comments even sound like he did and so maybe it’s just not good enough music for me. I hear elevated trailer music.

 

Water and Flame is a perfect example. It sounds like a videogame. A good videogame. Which imho is still wrong for a production that is clearly trying to connect to the films and is using Shore to introduce us to this world every single week for ten weeks. I am allowed to opine that his choice was the wrong one. I believe it was.

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Its a very nice score, if one manages (and not all would succeed) to divorce oneself from the Howard Shore sound.

 

Except all the Harfoot stuff: that stuff is so saccharine, the album should not be administrated to diabetics!

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