Rings of Power Bear McCreary's The Rings of Power APPRECIATION thread

[Chen G. 4,716]

Just now, TolkienSS said:

It's like saying people "instinctively" know there is a difference between John Williams Jurassic Park and Giacchino's Jurassic World.

 

With the added distinction that Giacchino made a score to an actual sequel, and therefore could and did use the John Williams themes.

 

Bear isn't really doing that, and indeed cannot do it.

 

[KittBash 296]

I was super happy to get the 2 Disc edition of this score for Christmas this year and wow am I happy with it. 

 

These scores always seemed like the more sophisticated bigger sibling to Bear's Masters of the Universe work which I seem to keep spinning over and over again so I'm down for as much of both properties he wants to give us... and that Gladrials theme, I swear won't get out of my head since this score dropped in 2022. So every time I want to get some Gladrial Theme hit in my system that Sheet @Jay did with all the theme placements has been my guide!  

[Holko 10,396]

I finally started preparing for making an edit from the episode albums plus the OST... and then stopped a couple episodes in.

There would definitely be fat to trim, but there's also just way too much good and great stuff to keep, the edit would be at least 4-6 hours long, which I'd never listen to in one sitting. Also, the score is written to be very episodic, would get repetitive mushed together and wouldn't have that much of a satisfying arc for all the threads, and I came to the conclusion that it just works perfectly if I instead dedicate a week to listen to an episode a day, check in daily to get a big threatening Sauron ostinato and planted Galadriels, some mystery, some tension, some action material, get to see how the Khazad-Dum/Númenor/Harfoot (pick 2) -related themes are doing this episode, be reminded of the blandest theme (Bronwin/Arondir), then wrap up nicely at the end.

Or the other solution would be to edit it down very severely to the highest of highlights... which has also already been done with the OST.

 

 

It's really really nice to have the option for both officially and immediately. Thank fuck for Bear!

[Richard P 4,267]

The one thing that perhaps might be a curious mini project would be taking the model of the OST and using episode album material to open out a few sequences, similar to using CR material to expand a few sections of the LotR OSTs.

 

For example I think the full Southlands battle works a treat, whereas having the two representative tracks out of order on the OST is a bit weird. You could in theory make an alternative OST which takes the content of the OST, perhaps drops some minor cues and expands other sections, similar to what I did to make alternative LotR OSTs.

 

But I'm not in a hurry. Bear's curation and presentation is superb here across the board.

[bespinGPT 8,853]

I started the TV series yesterday. I just realized that the series is set thousands of years before the events of LOTR, as Sauron hadn't forged the rings yet. From now on, Mr. Bear's music seems very appropriate, and its praise seems well deserved.

[Dr. Rick 1,207]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Season One - 10CD Box Set

 

Looks like a really well done set, and $150 isn't too bad at all.

 

https://mondoshop.com/products/lotr-rop-10cd-box-set

 

Mondo, in partnership with Amazon Studios and Sparks and Shadows, is proud to present the Complete Soundtrack Collection from the Amazon Original Series THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER - Season One.

An expanded version of our previous 2xCD soundtrack, this 10xCD box set is presented as a numbered edition of 1000, comes housed in a 
gold-embossed, leatherette-bound slipcase and includes the 136-page booklet “A Composer’s Journey” by Bear McCreary. (Packaging Design by Jordan Christianson.)

And as a special thank you from Bear and his team, 200 copies from this numbered run are offered with an exclusive Bear McCreary autograph card inside... only at MondoShop.com.

Official Release Date: April 26, 2024.

[Jay 39,755]

Cool!  I wonder why it took so long.

 

Shame that it includes the OST album too, since they already sold that physically separately (and I bought it).  Now I'll have two copies of that for no reason.

[crocodile 8,610]

Cool! Ordered instantly. Very reasonably priced actually.

 

Karol

[Richard P 4,267]

I'd lost all hope! What a random time to do it - could this prove to studios that they don't need to tie score releases to other dates any more?

 

It works out around £40 or so more than downloads but it looks great with a nice book and I didn't expect a set like that to come with a hard copy of the original 2-disc set - I never got that physically so that's a nice extra thing to justify the overall cost.

 

Man, I came sooo close to buying them all digitally, but something was keeping me back.

[Holko 10,396]

This looks amazing... but with the high price I already paid for the OST, this is not quite the score I'd want to bother with the US shipping and huge VAT and customs and handling fees bullshit for.

[Richard P 4,267]

I appear to have paid just $17 for shipping, but there was a $30 something option which I suspect may have been the actual int'll cost. I hope they don't notice 

 

I doubt I paid more than £10 for the OST and I've barely gotten any LE releases the last 3 years so it's worth it.

 

The page now says it's Almost gone. Maybe this thing really has enough fans to get rid of 1000 copies in just a few hours.

[Jay 39,755]

This is what they charged me in the USA

 

Subtotal	$150.00
Vinyl Only Shipping	$8.95
Sales Tax	$9.38
Total	$168.33

[Richard P 4,267]

Ah, you got 'Vinyl only shipping' too - that's what made me suspicious. Actually, you got taxed and I didn't, so despite overseas shipping I paid around $1 less!

[Jay 39,755]

I was also charged "Vinyl Only Shipping" when I placed an order in 2022 for TROP OST, Dune 1 OST, and Don't Worry Darling OST.

 

Then in 2023 when I ordered The Batman OST from them, I was charged "Domestic Standard".  No idea what the difference is or why they choose one over the other.

[crocodile 8,610]

16 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

Ah, you got 'Vinyl only shipping' too - that's what made me suspicious. Actually, you got taxed and I didn't, so despite overseas shipping I paid around $1 less!

Never paid anything extra when ordering from Mondo to the UK. Your cheaper option will be just fine, don't worry.

 

Karol

[Richard P 4,267]

Ah cool. I've never ordered from Mondo before, and thankfully they have a status thing based on your email and order #. I tried to register but their recaptcha thing is either broken or impossible to pass.

 

And no waiting to hear the music in this case - quite the opposite. It'll encourage me to listen to some of the episodes more 

[crocodile 8,610]

Their orders are not the fastest to start ship but, other than that, no issues there.

 

Anyway, looks like this is selling fast as the label "almost gone" is now visible!

 

 

Karol

[Richard P 4,267]

I saw that while I was in a waiting room earlier this evening and got a tad concerned about whether this would actually sell out before I got back home.

 

1000 units feels low for a score for this sort of franchise - it won't just be the McCreary fans.

[crocodile 8,610]

And it's gone.

 

Karol

[Sylvan 13]

Interesting that Mondo didn’t limit the number you could buy as they do with many of the editions they sell 

[Edmilson 9,124]

7 hours ago, Jay said:

Now I'll have two copies of that for no reason.

Sell the spare copy on Ebay or whatever.

[Jay 39,755]

Now available on Amazon US

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYLVSSQ5 

[tomsmoviemadness 3,618]

I'm not sure what it is or why exactly, but Old Tom Bombadil makes me weirdly emotional. It's just triggers something in me.

Maybe it's because my dad would've also really liked this song. He didn't really listen to film music, only when I was, but he always liked these folksy kind of songs and it just makes me feel really close to him somehow.

[Jay 39,755]

I like it a lot!  And I'm kind of surprised I do, because it seems like the kind of song/style I wouldn't be into at all.  Yet, this one really works!  I hope the character is cool in the show.

[tomsmoviemadness 3,618]

I'm super impressed with the way McCreary uses choir and voices in S2. It's really excellent. And as someone who loves a good choir, this is just phenomenal stuff.