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

[blondheim 1,157]

The disappointment is just really fresh and massive. I really thought Bear would want to walk behind Shore and be respectful of that masterwork and continue it. He definitely didn’t have to. I just didn’t realize until I heard Galadriel how much I was counting on him to.

 

In time I may be kinder to it. Who the hell knows. But man, it truly hurts to hear people talking about how great it is when I can’t hear it. Because that means the decision is validated on some level and the work will probably continue in that vein.

 

I am listening to The Hobbits again and they are fantastic.

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

4 minutes ago, blondheim said:

Who the hell knows. But man, it truly hurts to hear people talking about how great it is when I can’t hear it.

 

De gustibus non est disputandum

[blondheim 1,157]

2 minutes ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

 

De gustibus non est disputandum

 Too true. I must let the cycle of violence end. I couldn’t help it. I was butt-hurt.

[Bofur01 245]

I may as well throw a few of my thoughts into the ring.

 

When the Galadriel and Sauron themes were first released as singles, I was a little disappointed - I hadn’t heard much of Bear’s work before and was expecting something more like Shore’s scores. 

 

Having listened to the full album, though, they’ve both really grown on me. I love that the Galadriel theme is all over the score in many and varied statements.  I very much like the Khazad-Dum material too, as well as the Numenor theme.

 

I think “In the Beginning” is a brilliant piece of music, and can’t wait to hear it in context. Some of those statements of the Galadriel theme are amazing.

 

I’m less fond so far of the Halbrand and Stranger themes - but I may yet change my mind on them.

[Stark 306]

To my ears, this is a great score on its own merits in almost every way. As a follow-up to Shore’s music, Bear seems to be aware of how Shore’s music “sounds” and Bear certainly put some effort into replicating those sounds (in his choir and so on) and Shore’s method of building his score (the many themes and how they interlock), but at the same time he did not try very hard to replicate Shore’s own style. I would therefore consider this respectful of Shore but not an attempt to replicate Shore.

 

Of course, one must wonder if any of that would have happened differently if Bear had access to Shore’s themes…

[artguy360 1,842]

6 hours ago, blondheim said:

The disappointment is just really fresh and massive. I really thought Bear would want to walk behind Shore and be respectful of that masterwork and continue it. He definitely didn’t have to. I just didn’t realize until I heard Galadriel how much I was counting on him to.

 

In time I may be kinder to it. Who the hell knows. But man, it truly hurts to hear people talking about how great it is when I can’t hear it. Because that means the decision is validated on some level and the work will probably continue in that vein.

 

I am listening to The Hobbits again and they are fantastic.

Does it honestly hurt you to know that other people are enjoying the music and do not share your opinion of it?

 

Also, how is the music not "respectful" of Shore's scores?

[Mephariel 451]

2 hours ago, artguy360 said:

Does it honestly hurt you to know that other people are enjoying the music and do not share your opinion of it?

 

Also, how is the music not "respectful" of Shore's scores?

 

He used ostinatos and percussion...the arrogance...should apologize to Shore immediately...

[toothless 963]

Does it sound like shore? No. Is it as good as the LOTR scores? No. Was there any chance the answer to these two questions would be yes? No. Does it make this score bad? No. 

 

I find this score to be very very solid and  I would gladly sign for every TV show, hell, even most of movies to have such quality material. Sure we can debate about the sound mix and the most modern colors here and there. 
 

But we are clearly listening to something that was well prepared and well thought out. I will wait for the show to see how it works in context. 
 

I was highly skeptical when I first heard the two themes released a while ago but I’m in a way more positive state of mind now that I listened to the whole album. 
 

It’s not perfect for sure but still. I think McCreary did a good job on this one (way WAY better than in Foundation).

 

Of course and despite saying the contrary, they are trying to sell this show as part of the same vein as the Peter Jackson movies. But it’s not. We just have to accept it’s not and judge everything on its own.

Im optimistic about the music treatment.  And very very cautiously optimistic for the show despite some eye rolling stuff I saw in the trailers. 

[blondheim 1,157]

7 hours ago, artguy360 said:

Does it honestly hurt you to know that other people are enjoying the music and do not share your opinion of it?

 

Also, how is the music not "respectful" of Shore's scores?

I think doing it the other way would be more respectful. I didn’t say what he did was disrespectful. There is a difference. And yeah, it stings a bit. Because if everyone else likes this, it means it will continue.

 

 I really don’t think my opinion is that ridiculous. The LOTR is a masterpiece of film scoring. This is just there. But if people start calling this “epic” “amazing” “ground-breaking” “massive” “soaring thematic content” “complex” “interwoven tapestry” then I just think its a sign that this kind of writing is “good enough” for people and it will continue

 

If I have any begrudgement towards other people liking it so much, it is literally only that. Otherwise, I am happy for y’all.

2 hours ago, toothless said:

I find this score to be very very solid and  I would gladly sign for every TV show, hell, even most of movies to have such quality material. Sure we can debate about the sound mix and the most modern colors here and there. 
 

But we are clearly listening to something that was well prepared and well thought out. I will wait for the show to see how it works in context. 
 

I was highly skeptical when I first heard the two themes released a while ago but I’m in a way more positive state of mind now that I listened to the whole album. 
 

It’s not perfect for sure but still. I think McCreary did a good job on this one (way WAY better than in Foundation).

Talk like this. I would not be happy if more films and television series had this kind of writing. It isn’t as good as you are all making it out to be.

 

Quantity does not equal quality. Sometimes I think you guys are just happy if someone uses an orchestra and fifteen themes just so you have something to dissect and write time stamps for, whether the music is actually good enough or complicated enough to deserve that scrutiny is another matter.

[TolkienSS 405]

2 hours ago, blondheim said:

Quantity does not equal quality. Sometimes I think you guys are just happy if someone uses an orchestra and fifteen themes just so you have something to dissect and write time stamps for, whether the music is actually good enough or complicated enough to deserve that scrutiny is another matter.

 

This statement is too accurate to be funny.

 

When I heard the initial two released tracks, what bothered me immediately was that both themes apparently use the same chordal transition to segue into the final statement of the theme.

Having heard the other themes now, too, some of them also use that same chordal transition.

 

What I find just lacking about this is that it doesn't distinguish between what should be diametrically opposed figures. 

 

Nobody has talked yet about the fact that distinct elvish harmony from LotR is gone entirely. And there is no reason for it other than either nobody cared, or wanted it, or the aversion to sounding slightly ethnical. 

And again, nobody asked Bear to copycat LotR or break copyrights, but nobody has a copyright on the phrygian scale or a flat 6th or chromatic mediants.

 

There was conscious decision to drop all of it.

And it's entirely fair to question it.

 

At the same time, just because I see this brought up a lot, just writing a dozen themes doesn't mean anything. They have to have meaning. This has *nothing* to do with the series narrative. Tolkien's world existed long before that, and everyone who knows it can judge to which degree these themes encapsulate certain characters.

A dozen themes are superfluous if you can capture the world in only two. There is little reason to have themes for certain things if they don't connect with the world and more or less exist as mere melodies.

They are then also superfluous as storytelling devices, if they are not entirely recognizable. 

It's one thing not recognizing themes because they are cleverly veiled, it's another not recognizing them because they can't exist outside their original full setting.

 

 

[toothless 963]

3 hours ago, blondheim said:

Sometimes I think you guys are just happy if someone uses an orchestra and fifteen themes just so you have something to dissect and write time stamps for, whether the music is actually good enough or complicated enough

 

That's not what I said and that's not how I think about scores . It's my first post in this topic since the score has been released and I love reading different opinions on scores. It's actually fascinating to read everyone's opinion in here and you can feel the passion revolving around the LOTR scores and movies. But I would love for us not to be too judgmental with each other just because we like a specific score or not.

 

3 hours ago, blondheim said:

The LOTR is a masterpiece of film scoring. This is just there. But if people start calling this “epic” “amazing” “ground-breaking” “massive” “soaring thematic content” “complex” “interwoven tapestry” then I just think its a sign that this kind of writing is “good enough” for people and it will continue.

 

Completely agree on this! 

[Richard Penna 3,662]

3 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

Nobody has talked yet about the fact that distinct elvish harmony from LotR is gone entirely. And there is no reason for it other than either nobody cared, or wanted it, or the aversion to sounding slightly ethnical. 

And again, nobody asked Bear to copycat LotR or break copyrights, but nobody has a copyright on the phrygian scale or a flat 6th or chromatic mediants.

 

There was conscious decision to drop all of it.

 

To start with, I have no idea what you're talking about with harmony 

 

But it seems to me that you're referring to some sort of specific compositional device or technique used by Shore. McCreary was hired to put his own take on this universe - why should he copy Shore's structure and language?

 

As for the argument (not stated by you) that this music simply isn't good or complicated enough... well that's highly subjective. If you don't enjoy the music as you're too familiar with techniques you feel he shuld have used, then how about you just don't listen to it, and let those who do enjoy discussing it? I just stay out of threads regarding scores I didn't like.

[blondheim 1,157]

I wasn’t specifically calling you, toothless out, I was generalizing the feel I get here sometimes.

 

The only statement of yours, and I tried to quote it, was the “I would be happy if more films and TV had this kind of score” because I… wouldn’t be.

 

and I use passionate language because I am a passionate person but I truly don’t think less of people who like this score. Merely confused by how much everyone seems to like it. The comments that are variations of “well how often do we get this many themes/this much music” or “it could be worse” also bother me but I’m not judging anyone past being reasonably confused.

 

If this score didn’t have LOTR attached to it, I still wouldn’t like it all that much. Minute by minute it just doesn’t sound fresh or exciting for me at all. This would be average for me no matter what

[HunterTech 982]

5 hours ago, blondheim said:

But if people start calling this “epic” “amazing” “ground-breaking” “massive” “soaring thematic content” “complex” “interwoven tapestry” then I just think its a sign that this kind of writing is “good enough” for people and it will continue

 

I would not be happy if more films and television series had this kind of writing. It isn’t as good as you are all making it out to be.

 

Quantity does not equal quality. Sometimes I think you guys are just happy if someone uses an orchestra and fifteen themes just so you have something to dissect and write time stamps for, whether the music is actually good enough or complicated enough to deserve that scrutiny is another matter.

 

That's the thing though. The general public has been very content with using these terms for much more simplistic music. Why else would some here have gotten worried about someone like Balfe getting this particular assignment with his recent resume skewing heavily towards fantasy?

 

I've been paying a lot of attention to how people have discussed television scoring over the years, and it's become super apparent to me that so much of television didn't sound like this at all. This year has yielded far more discussions about the work a lot of fresh hires have done, in addition to some of the veterans still going at it. Sure, I suppose it brings to mind someone like Christian Clemmensen, where he definitely can be too positive on an orchestral score these days for doing basically the bare minimum. But when so much else is going for the same tired RCP rip off aesthetic, can you blame people for appreciating something with genuine life to it?

 

I can understand that people will be harsher on the newer generations of composers because they're more inspired by their idols than they are the people said idols studied, leading to less opportunities for genuine creativity. But if we live in an age where HZ's Dune (which mind you, I do think has its good points) is supposed to be the big great thing from the medium today, then perhaps you really ought to keep your expectations in check.

[blondheim 1,157]

So it is simply good because other things are worse? I don’t subscribe to that kind of thinking, as an artist. The lesser of two evils. What a sad state of affairs.

 

If it is masterful, it is masterful. If it isn’t, it isn’t. We each get to make that choice. I definitely agree there are worse things out there than this but that attitude you expressed above, of settling, of tempered expectations… it takes people breaking away from that for us to get better art. Not succumbing to an unfortunate corporate reality. I have said I am certain Bear and his bosses are pleased, many of you are pleased. I have no problem being one of the odd men out here, treading a lonely path. It’s average at best to me and I stand by that. Comparing it to worse TV is basically irrelevant. Is the music fun to listen to? Not for me. I woke up today and threw it on, wondering if maybe I was super harsh just because it wasn’t Shore but I truly do not engage with this music. In the Beginning, a track which has been lauded here… I couldn’t wait for it to be over. There’s nothing interesting in Galadriel’s theme for me other than one chord progression. Not enough to save the track. Im not being a contrarian. When I started posting, I expected more people to hear what I was hearing. Incanus and Nick and Chen and TolkienSS seem to. When others didn’t, I was stunned. I expressed that.

 

but I would like to reiterate that I really hate the idea of tempering expectations for art because of what’s en vogue. The good art might not survive now but maybe it will be dug up later. But it takes brave artists to break away from the norm. We shouldn’t uncategorically praise people for doing the best they can in a broken environment because it is all we can reasonably expect.

 

I mean you certainly can, I just vehemently disagree.

[HunterTech 982]

The big issue that I tend to have with a lot of people complaining about artists doing the bare minimum now is the simple question of: at what point do you actually get satisfied?

 

So often I have seen folks keep banging on about the work composers do now, without really delving into at what exactly would make a work particularly appealing to them. You say in another thread that McCreary's work colors too within the lines, but then still insist it needed to be more like Shore, which sounds like the same thing but in a different form.

 

There are just times when I can't tell if people really dislike the work because it's flawed in how it was put together, or if the sound is an immediate turn off in spite of how proficient it might be in a few areas. I might really dislike how much the Hollywood system banks on the music needing to manufactured in the most laziest way possible, but can still pick up on the nuggets in ingenuity here and there.

 

Is it really freshness that you want, or did you honestly want more of the very same that only got to be achieved a select number of times?

 

Hell, I think this score had to have done something good if one of the people I'm referring to with these statements actually liked it.

[JNHFan2000 2,938]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lord-rings-rings-power-soundtrack-140000897.html

 

Apparently there should be a full score album for each episode of LOTR rings of power.

 

"After each episode, Amazon Music will drop a weekly soundtrack album with the full score for that episode. Additional bonus tracks will be available on Amazon Music exclusively.'

[blondheim 1,157]

The problem with this argument as Nick pointed out is that we can’t argue this about taste after a certain point. I don’t put forth a lot of theory on here because as Richard Penna put it, he “don’t know what you mean about harmony.” That’s not a read. I just assume that most people are going to qualify their statements as like or dislike in general terms. I tried to mention intervals a few times because music is mathematical. Whether you can tell what you are hearing or not there are definitive patterns that, like math, you can point to and say “this sounds this way for precisely (this reason or that)” That applies to all music but it is very apparent in LOTR. People didn’t understand what made it sound so fresh, most of them, but it was the math of it. It all added up. It’s smart music. But on top of that it’s soulful, stirring gorgeous music as well with stepwise motions and all kinds of beautiful, glistening figures in the melodies. The dense Orffian structures of the Nazgul. I reiterate: the math, the brain was what made it fresh.

 

So to bring us to ROP: All of that was mostly thrown out the window for more broad choices like whistles = hobbits. Choir = elves. Etc. but even those broad choices aren’t totally tonally consistent with LOTR.

 

Now I am not saying that he had to do exactly the same math that Shore did. There are multiple ways to divide the number six, for example. But there are things he could have done that didn’t totally disregard that previous brilliant creation.

 

I recognize that these might not be a dealbreaker for someone. But a lot of the tracks follow very similar, predictable progressions that because the math isn’t quite there for me leaves it sounding stale and average. Not terrible mind you. Just average. But average LOTR music almost pisses me off more than an utter failure. Who knows why. Mediocrity has always done that for me.

 

However, it is totally valid for me to say the math, the brain, the head of this music isn’t enough. The last thing I want to do is say “only uneducated listeners like it” I don’t think that’s true. What stimulates us musically is so subjective. This music just doesn’t do it for me. It doesn’t add up to much in my ears. 

[TolkienSS 405]

3 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

 

To start with, I have no idea what you're talking about with harmony 

 

But it seems to me that you're referring to some sort of specific compositional device or technique used by Shore. McCreary was hired to put his own take on this universe - why should he copy Shore's structure and language?

 

Hold on a second. I know that's a popular standard phrase, but Bear McCreary wasn't hired to "put his own take on this universe". 

He was hired to make music that goes well with the picture, and to deliver quality music according to demands and according to deadline. Like any other composer.

 

You're reading too much into this PR crap that surrounds such productions these days, where they're nicely dressing up the fact that somebody got the rights to a big franchise, and wants to milk it for all it's worth, and needs people in the production that are well known and well versed in the medium, that can work fast, that also don't come way too expensive, and that don't cause too much trouble. 

Bear McCreary was most likely hired because he's the prominent TV composer (team) to get, and whose working method is modern.

 

That sounds all horrible, but someone like Howard Shore maintains a level of quality by maintaining a level of old school composing, and I can absolutely see that as a reason against hiring him.

 

You don't honestly believe that the people producing this show care about what exactly McCreary does with his music on a meta level?

Or that he puts "his stamp on this world"?

He is a different composer than Howard Shore, so by nature, he inevitably will put his own mark on the music. But that is not an excuse to neglect an entire franchise.

 

As it comes with big productions like this one, it is seen by some, if not many, of its crew as a chance to make a name for themselves and put themselves in the spotlight. Not a bad thing by itself, but it's a killer for the larger artistic result.

To be sure: I'm not accusing Bear of being selfish, but it's products like this one that makes me appreciate the mindset of Michael Giacchino or John Powell, who absolutely will bend their music to the franchise, if only out of pure fandom.

And to be sure there too: Giacchino doesn't have the skill to sound exactly like John Williams, but he damn well tries.

 

But to argue to the actual point, what makes Rings Of Power different from Star Wars, James Bond, Jurassic Park, Batman, Star Trek, Indiana Jones as part of a large franchise? Why is it not only accepted but wanted and *expected* from composers to adhere to a certain aestetic and musical language when there is a new Star Wars or Bond movie, but with McCreary, it's suddenly unreasonable and synonymous with asking to "copy"?

 

There is no second Howard Shore in the world; instead of feeling pressed or threatened by Shore's creation, and trying to distinguish approaches (and listening to Numenor, one could get the impression McCreary deliberately went against the established World of Men music), he would have fared better accepting that his music will still sound like his music, even if he carefully adapted some tropes here and there, if only for his themes.

 

I'm sure people who have written music before know what I mean when I say you can pay hommage to someone without losing your own ideas.

 

Unfortunately, it all comes down to a very broad term, which is artistic integrity and artistic choice. There is not much about this show that says artistic integrity, but Bear McCreary had the opportunity to attach his name to a stunning, entire whole by expanding upon it. Instead, he chose to go up against it and chose to be measured by it.

 

Many say, he couldn't compete with Shore so he created something else and succeeded. To me that's false. He chose to not expand upon that world, so now he's measured against it even harder than had he chosen to adhere to it.

 

[artguy360 1,842]

Honestly, the posts on this page just make trying to discuss this soundtrack on this forum tiresome and dull. That's alright though, there are other people and other places I can discuss this music without the oddly personal, highly speculative, unfounded comments rife in this thread.

[HunterTech 982]

I will admit this has become my monkey's paw for wishing that more people could actually bother with modern soundtracks to make proper assessments instead of immediately jumping to conclusions 

 

Though I suppose it was inevitable with a franchise this big, so @artguy360 maybe just listen to enjoyers only in this instance

 

It's been fun reading this particular page if you're gonna stick to your guns still:

https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=113082

[blondheim 1,157]

The comments on Filmtracks are positive to the point of hysterical.

[artguy360 1,842]

9 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

I will admit this has become my monkey's paw for wishing that more people could actually bother with modern soundtracks to make proper assessments instead of immediately jumping to conclusions 

 

Though I suppose it was inevitable with a franchise this big, so @artguy360 maybe just listen to enjoyers only in this instance

 

It's been fun reading this particular page if you're gonna stick to your guns still:

https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=113082

I generally have no issue sharing opinions about music on this forum, both regarding John Williams music and non-John Williams music. What I find odd is when people phrase their opinions in oddly personal terms like the music is a slight towards them, or when they malign composers for not meeting their personal expectations, or when posters hold rigid views about what music should sound like, for example LOTR music and Howard Shore or Star Wars and John Williams.

[HunterTech 982]

Oh I absolutely agree as someone who tends to not be particularly attached to any franchise that isn't superhero related (which really only goes as far as some heroes), but I usually don't try to voice my mind on these matters too strongly, since in a way I am continuing to refine my growing taste palette (currently more a fan of Williams smaller efforts than his big ones, for instance).

 

I think it just fascinates me much more here, because I've been in a community that is fairly cynical about the current state of film music outside of like one or two peeps. And the fact they're largely positive on Bear's efforts, yet there still remains detractors here is inherently interesting to me. I haven't been getting angry even (especially since the Hobbit book is my only real connection to the franchise), and more just in the mood of wanting to know why someone would still feel the way they do in spite of some of the opposition.

 

It's definitely more civil than most online discussions these days, that's for sure.

[TolkienSS 405]

49 minutes ago, blondheim said:

The comments on Filmtracks are positive to the point of hysterical.

 

Maybe we should face a reality in which many people didn't understand how special the OT was in the first place, and looked at it as "just" great music.

In which case they're easier to please with this Soundtrack.

 

[HunterTech 982]

Okay, now you two are actually starting to sound like elitists at this point. Shouldn't good music just be allowed to stand on its own merits, divorced from its original context? You're making it fairly easy to set up a newcomer to disappointment with how aggressively highly you're talking up Shore's work. I already have to hold back saying anything everytime I think a SW score does nothing for me outside of a few highlights.

[blondheim 1,157]

I don’t think my comments are elitist. I’ve explained very cogently why it’s not for me and made it clear that it is personal. I don’t think liking this is stupid, if anything it’s enviable. I don’t enjoy not liking this. I am still going to watch the show.

 

People have been bashing the show for weeks on here about every little thing. Costumes. Production. Interview comments. And I’m not even bashing the music. I’m calling it plain and average. Underwhelming based on what I personally wanted and expected. This is two and a half hours of something I don’t like that I was very excited for. This website is for fans, both for and against. I’m not calling anyone names. If anything, I have gone out of my way many times to clarify that it is just personal disappointment.

 

I’m not mad that you guys like it, but you all seem upset that I don’t. I took time to explain my reasons so I would not look elitist.

 

The comment about Filmtracks was merely pointing out exactly what I had feared earlier when I listed all the phrases and adjectives being thrown around in reference to something I find plain and average. There is so much love for this score everywhere. Forgive me for balancing the scales a little with my personal opinion about why its closer to three stars and not five.

 

I hope that doesn’t sound elitist to you.

[Mephariel 451]

3 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

 

Maybe we should face a reality in which many people didn't understand how special the OT was in the first place, and looked at it as "just" great music.

In which case they're easier to please with this Soundtrack.

 

 

This is absolute nonsense. Lord of the Rings (the 3 albums) rank firmly in my top 10 scores of all time and probably very close to #1. And I love this score by McCreary. 

 

The notion that you and a few others are the only people who "get" the brilliance of the original LOTR scores is pure egotism. 

[TolkienSS 405]

20 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

 

This is absolute nonsense. Lord of the Rings (the 3 albums) rank firmly in my top 10 scores of all time and probably very close to #1. And I love this score by McCreary. 

 

The notion that you and a few others are the only people who "get" the brilliance of the original LOTR scores is pure egotism. 

 

I'm not interested in a conversation as venomous as your reply implies. 

 

Just to point something out: your constant getting offended by well put criticism and derision of such is way worse than anything anyone has said about the Soundtrack.

Your satisfaction with it is not any more valid than someone's dissatisfaction.

[Gollum Cat 24]

I consider Lord of the Rings the greatest score ever written, but I have to admit, Rings of Power is growing on me. I did not expect much coming into it and consider it a major missed opportunity that Bear did not proactively seek to build on Shore's world - legal hand-tying notwithstanding. (Side gripe: The Harry Potter franchise was also a missed opportunity the size of a truck.) Would've been great to honor the instrumentation/vocalization for each group of people. Would've been great to honor certain intervals and patterns. It's possible that Amazon ghosted Shore like they ghosted Peter Jackson. Who knows. (Doug's reaction/s or lack thereof seems to imply that more went on than meets the eye, but maybe that's just me reading into things.)

 

While this score doesn't live up to the levels of Shore's work, it honestly does seem to me to be a very concerted effort in the right direction, complaints notwithstanding. There are portions of the score that are genuinely beautiful in their own right. I'm hoping that they do actually release weekly full-score albums for each episode. My listener experience improved quite a bit once I realized the first major chunk of the existing album was suites.

 

The most bizarre thing to me so far is the use of what basically amounts to folksy hobbit-stumping music for . . . Durin???

[Bofur01 245]

The most bizarre thing for me is the song. I really like the score on the whole, but “This Wandering Day” is such a dud to me. Anyone else?

[Gollum Cat 24]

5 minutes ago, Bofur01 said:

The most bizarre thing for me is the song. I really like the score on the whole, but “This Wandering Day” is such a dud to me. Anyone else?

 

It feels very overproduced. All the character vocalizations feel too perfect like somehow they all took singing lessons.

 

One observation - is it just me, or do the trailer music pieces actually sound more Shoreish than the actual score?

[Richard Penna 3,662]

I'm not a massive fan of the song really, but it's harmless.

[Jay 37,249]

22 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lord-rings-rings-power-soundtrack-140000897.html

 

Apparently there should be a full score album for each episode of LOTR rings of power.

 

"After each episode, Amazon Music will drop a weekly soundtrack album with the full score for that episode. Additional bonus tracks will be available on Amazon Music exclusively.'

 

I missed this news until now - pretty cool!

 

Though, it REALLY makes you wonder why they didn't just make the OST album 75 minutes long and mostly comprised of the theme suites (and actor-sung songs I guess) instead of 150 if they were gonna do this.

[blondheim 1,157]

58 minutes ago, Gollum Cat said:

I consider Lord of the Rings the greatest score ever written, but I have to admit, Rings of Power is growing on me. I did not expect much coming into it and consider it a major missed opportunity that Bear did not proactively seek to build on Shore's world - legal hand-tying notwithstanding. (Side gripe: The Harry Potter franchise was also a missed opportunity the size of a truck.) Would've been great to honor the instrumentation/vocalization for each group of people. Would've been great to honor certain intervals and patterns. It's possible that Amazon ghosted Shore like they ghosted Peter Jackson. Who knows. (Doug's reaction/s or lack thereof seems to imply that more went on than meets the eye, but maybe that's just me reading into things.)

 

While this score doesn't live up to the levels of Shore's work, it honestly does seem to me to be a very concerted effort in the right direction, complaints notwithstanding. There are portions of the score that are genuinely beautiful in their own right. I'm hoping that they do actually release weekly full-score albums for each episode. My listener experience improved quite a bit once I realized the first major chunk of the existing album was suites.

 

The most bizarre thing to me so far is the use of what basically amounts to folksy hobbit-stumping music for . . . Durin???

 You seem to agree with some of the points I raised. So I am curious which sections are the ones you find genuinely beautiful? If you found a way in, I would love to know what did it for you

[Richard Penna 3,662]

1 hour ago, Gollum Cat said:

The Harry Potter franchise was also a missed opportunity the size of a truck.

 

Given the discussion recently about which franchise we'd have preferred JW had continued, then yes, an all Williams Potter mammoth would've been fantastic, and there are lots of other examples of single composer mammoth works that were not to be.

 

But I really feel that in the vast majority of cases that's just not realistic - it's either asking a heck of a lot of one comoser to commit to so much work, or asking another composer to take major liberties with their style and technique, limit their opportunity to write themes, etc.

[DangerMotif 1,037]

1 hour ago, Gollum Cat said:

The Harry Potter franchise was also a missed opportunity the size of a truck.

^^^

[TolkienSS 405]

2 hours ago, Gollum Cat said:

 

It feels very overproduced. All the character vocalizations feel too perfect like somehow they all took singing lessons.

 

One observation - is it just me, or do the trailer music pieces actually sound more Shoreish than the actual score?

 

It's certainly misleading that the final trailer opens up with the Rivendell arpeggio.

But it's hardly a new practice to lure people in with something beloved, and then give them the product that's basically something completely different.

 

I'm certain they hired Shore for the opening purely to be able to slap his popular name on the tin.

 

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

5 hours ago, Gollum Cat said:

(Side gripe: The Harry Potter franchise was also a missed opportunity the size of a truck.)

 

The Harry Potter franchise wasn't a missed opportunity b/c subsequent composers failed to build on it (though there is that), but because JW didn't do all of them. Which makes it the biggest missed opportunity in film score history.

[JNHFan2000 2,938]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

 

I missed this news until now - pretty cool!

 

Though, it REALLY makes you wonder why they didn't just make the OST album 75 minutes long and mostly comprised of the theme suites (and actor-sung songs I guess) instead of 150 if they were gonna do this.

 Indeed, if they are releasing weekly album, why not release a themes album like The Wheel Of Time did. 

Who knows, maybe this album is themes and music from the first 2 episodes premiere.

But to me it looks more like a sort of theme album, which then has a few cues added to showcase the themes in the score.

 

Then, when the weekly albums are released, we might get 30 tot 45 minutes of scores a week maybe. That would be A LOT of music. I really have to see that happen before I believe it. Would be damn cool thought

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

On 21/8/2022 at 7:04 PM, JNHFan2000 said:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lord-rings-rings-power-soundtrack-140000897.html

 

"After each episode, Amazon Music will drop a weekly soundtrack album with the full score for that episode. Additional bonus tracks will be available on Amazon Music exclusively.'

 

Hmmmm. I wonder if by "Amazon Music" they mean Prime Music, which is included with the Prime subscription (and the current OST is available on), or "Amazon Music", which is their Spotify-like paid tier. 

[WampaRat 1,105]

Don’t ask me why, but “Bronwyn and Arondir” is giving me total “The Russia House” vibes 😆. Just a tragic swoony-type love theme you don’t hear much these days. I think it’s an oboe(?) that plays at the beginning of the cue. It almost sounded to me like the saxophone Jerry employed in his score. I’m sure It’s definitely just me. Lol

 

Also I really enjoy “scherzo for violin and swords”. Kinda comes outta nowhere. Wonder if that style will appear more throughout the show.

[DangerMotif 1,037]

30 minutes ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

The Harry Potter franchise wasn't a missed opportunity b/c subsequent composers failed to build on it (though there is that), but because JW didn't do all of them.

 

Which tragically makes it the biggest missed opportunity in film score history, and a major loss for culture & civilization in general that I'm not sure we'll ever recover from.

 

Here a scene from DH2 a scene with very minimal music but when Williams' Voldemort theme is added it becomes so much better. whoever didn't want him back is an idiot

[blondheim 1,157]

While I agree that having Williams back would have been a total boon, Doyle and Desplat’s efforts are wonderful.

 

And I have grown to like Hooper’s for what they are as well.

[Chen G. 3,940]

2 hours ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

The Harry Potter franchise wasn't a missed opportunity b/c subsequent composers failed to build on it (though there is that), but because JW didn't do all of them.

 

And that Williams chucked out much of his musical ideas for the piece two entries in certainly didn't help...

[HunterTech 982]

Oh yeah: I have issues with the notion of losing out on JW doing the later HP movies, given the sudden shift PoA is, plus two following directors that most likely would've clashed with his sensibilities hard. It just would not have been a particularly cohesive musical saga if one entry was to still be the odd duck out in this super idealized scenario (that forgets the demands Yates likely had with Hooper and Desplat). 4-8 would need to be completely different films, really.

[Mephariel 451]

17 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

 

I'm not interested in a conversation as venomous as your reply implies. 

 

Just to point something out: your constant getting offended by well put criticism and derision of such is way worse than anything anyone has said about the Soundtrack.

Your satisfaction with it is not any more valid than someone's dissatisfaction.

 

I think everyone on this board knows that none of what you said is true. 

 

My reply wasn't venomous at all. What is venomous is saying McCreary needs to be "blamed" and that he was not respecting Shore's work, and accused him of not  taking the project as seriously as he should have, and then implying that "many people didn't understand how special the OT was in the first place" just to bring down others' opinions. 

 

Nowhere was I "constant getting offended." Nor have I said my satisfaction is more valid than someone's dissatisfaction. 

 

[TolkienSS 405]

White Leaves sounds like something you would hear in a Tiktok motivation video.

[artguy360 1,842]

Listening to the album more, the Galadriel theme track itself is a little monotonous in it's structure and presentation of the theme. But in the latter half of the album her theme really shines in a number of different guises and contrasted against different music surrounding it. It has a kind of clearing-the-air quality when played in big, heroic tones.

[Knight of Ren 775]

Yeah, I think some themes benefit from their appearance in the score cues, as opposed to their suite presentation. For example Bronwyn and Arondir is a good track, but I really enjoy a lot more everytime the theme appears in the proper underscore, being some of my favorite moments the ones in For the Southlands.

 

And Galadriel's theme is definitely one that benefits from all the different variations it goes through in the score. I particularly love it on Sailing Into the Dawn, and how it's intermingled with the Númenor theme, and Elendil and Isildur's theme.