I wont be writing any new ops because I dont have the time to produce ops to the quality that I want...
I wont be writing any new ops because I dont have the time to produce ops to the quality that I want, and I cant churn them out fast enough as well. Apologies, Ill still read ops though. DAN
Member since:29.07.2001
Reviews:16
Members who trust:7
When you think of a composer for a film you will always think of John Williams. The man responsible for some of the most famous tunes from many famous films. For example he was the person tasked with scoring the entire Starwars saga to date and other highlights of his 30 year career include Jaws, Harry Potter, all three Jurassic Parks and the Rugrats Movie (why did he stoop so low?) with such movies under his belt, Williams was probably odds on favourite to score the up and coming Lord of the Rings trilogy. So it was with great surprise when Howard Shore was announced as the films composer. Looking through IMDB.com at Shore’s career he provided music to some high profile films over the past few years. These include Dogma, Se7en, Philadelphia and Existenz. I have been trying to remember what I thought of the score for each of these films and I can’t really remember apart from Se7en as they were nothing special. Now anyone that has not heard the soundtrack yet may be slightly concerned with this fact as lets face it you don’t want to hear a second rate score accompanying the film adaption to one of the greatest literary pieces ever written now do you?
Many times during the listening of this soundtrack I was shivering and tingling as the score is spot on. Howard Shore uses a mixture of instruments to bring this soundtrack to life. From the At times it is sinister, then the next heart warming sometimes simple the next grand and epic. A couple of the tracks reminded me of Irish tunes, especially those that seemed to focus on the Hobbits (tracks two and six). My favourite track has got to be track eight – ‘The Flight to the Ford’ as it starts out simply with an orchestra and a single female voice, gradually growing darker and more epic and then it dwindles away at the end, coming in a close second is track seventeen ‘The Breaking of the Fellowship. Also featured on the soundtrack are two tracks that have been composed and performed by Enya. Having liked her ‘Book of Days’ song on the Far and away soundtrack these tracks are very similar to that, as are every other song that Enya has ever done. Good songs but not great songs.
The soundtrack can be purchased in many different covers. The cover’s that I have seen seem to be focussing on one character, I bought the CD with Saruman on the front purely because it looked creepy. Others that I saw were Frodo, Arwen, Gandalf and the entire Fellowship on the front. Opening the case up the CD has a subtle picture of the ring pictured on it and lifting the CD out of the case reveals a map of middle earth. The price of the soundtrack is £13.99 although there is a limited edition version that cost £19.99 and a special edition (the difference being that the packaging is a book not a case) and that will set you back £17.99. Both limited and special edition didn’t really look that different from the bog standard version so I opted for the standard.
Having been a firm believer that a cracking soundtrack to a movie can make the whole movie going experience a better one it is with great relief that Howard Shore’s score for the film is indeed a cracking one. Listening to the score has raised my expectation for the film (can it get any higher?) as it has stirred many images and feelings as to how the film will be portrayed on the silver screen. I can’t wait to hear this music against the film, roll on December 19th!!!
Tracklisting: -
1. The Prophecy; 2. Concerning Hobbits 3. The Shadow of the Past 4. The Treason of Isengard; 5. The Black Rider; 6. At the sign of the prancing pony; 7. A Knife in the Dark; 8. Flight to the Ford; 9. Many Meetings 10. The Council of Elrond 11. The Ring Goes South 12. A Journey in the Dark; 13. The Bridge of Khazad Dum; 14. Lothlorien; 15. The Great River; 16. Amon Hen; 17. The Breaking of the Fellowship; 18. May it Be
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Been listening to this nonstop in the house and in the car since I bought it. Fantastic isn't it? I've never been a big fan of Enya but I think she's done some really nice ones here - Aniron is really mystical and shivery and May It Be makes me a bit tearful! The one the boy sings as well, all about 'we will walk in dreams again' and stuff. Sniff!! Great stuff, I love movie scores and this is one of the very best. Jess x
Judgee 13.12.2001 16:32
I'll see what it's like when I view the film , but no doubt it will be added to my CD collection some time in the near future!
Advantages: Atmospheric and very evocative of the film - matches the vast, sweeping scenery and the darker moments well Disadvantages: A few iffy singing moments, some of the tracks end rather abruptly, not enough flow between tracks
Dec 5th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
