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Member since:08.03.2001
Reviews:254
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Four And Ten Pounds From Ben to HMV, Seven Pounds from the Dodgy Market Stalls, Nine Character inlays to Collect, One CD with Bonus Features Multimedia Exclusives via Internet links. One Special Edition also available, for 22 pounds, One Inlay to bring the credits, and on the paper write them In the Thank-you list where the Irrelevant Names lie.
I’m not sure if you’re aware of this low budget movie that’s doing the rounds. It involves a load of midgets going to a volcano because one of them has a dodgy ring. Maybe the heat will do it some good, eh? Anyway, this film - I can’t remember the title for the life of me - there’s a soundtrack of it, see? And I done gone did a review of it and everyfink (screws literate head back on).
***I hope you have some time to spare, this is a biggie!***
So, I assume we’re all pretty much up to speed on a certain sword & sorcery epic? No, not Dungeons and Dragons the movie. I said EPIC not PATH-EPIC. To add a spot of musical credence to the proceedings, Peter Jackson decided the only man for the job was Howard Shore. Mr Jackson clever. Ben like. Shore has worked on many a film by “unusual” (i.e. very good) directors before, including one Mr David Cronenberg. So, with the knowledge that Shore had experience in providing suitable ambience for extraordinary things happening to ordinary characters, I withdrew my hard-earned ciao payment and hop-skip-jumped to HMV. Attracting some rather odd looks along the way, they don’t like you moving around that much in a taxi. And I kept banging my head.
Anyway, £13.99 later and I was giggling like a ten year old after 10 packs of Smarties. I got home and c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y removed the damn blasted “Security Protection” sticker, which I feared would damage the other sticker on the front telling me about the Enya tracks. Fortunately, all was well, the sticker was removed and I clicked open the case.
Balls.
Not only was the inlay card all dog-eared, the spindly bit (I’m so technical) that holds the CD in place was smashed to bits. I’d not yet binned the receipt, so took the whole kaboodle back to HMV the next day. They swapped it, no worries. Back home once again, to find the new case STILL in the same state of disrepair! Third time was a charm, and I breathed steadily as I placed the gold/silver CD into my PC.
Auto-run kicked in and I was presented with a quick burst of Enya and a black background Internet Explorer page with a montage of Frodo, Saruman, Gandalf and Arwen. Some sparkly blue dots wheeled around the page before combining into a button that read “Click here to access bonus content”. If I were on the phone at home, I surely would – but I’m not. However, I understand that you get exclusive movie scenes, wallpapers and some other desktop customisation malarkey, so worth a peek for the desktop-changing brigade.
The web page duly closed, I was ready for the music. Are you ready to read what I thunk? Okay…
***THE TRACKS***
Track #1 – The Prophecy The orchestra
fades in quietly, with a choral accompaniment singing in Elvish (the fictional Elf language Tolkien created for his works). Rising gently to a fairly standard introductory piece, which is easy to imagine going along with the action in the movie. Towards the end of the track, the mood is that of a warning being issued, the choir singing the Elvish for “Listen! It speaks to those who were not born to die – The Ringspell”. We are then led back into the calming introductory theme. A great summing up of the mood for the movie – moments of serenity amongst dark tidings.
Track #2 – Concerning Hobbits One of the many nods to the chapter titles in the first book, as most track names are taken from them. This starts with “the soothing sound of the pan pipes” before continuing in a kind of Olde England theme with some Celtic flourishes. It brings forward a sense of all being well, and happy times in Hobbiton. It did remind me a little of Titanic’s music for some reason, more on which later. There are also strains of Enya’s main song, which features in a few of the other calmer tracks.
Track #3 – The Shadow Of The Past The first thing I thought as this kicked in was “Star Wars”. It has the flavour of some of the work John Williams did for The Phantom Menace. Creeping danger seems to be present as the gentle sway lurches into a booming refrain with the choir returning, seemingly with the same warning as before. Then tight Psycho-like strings creep into a steady rhythm of drums before easing down into the calm once more. You’re not clear yet, though, as the sound builds higher again, and back once again. Obviously a scene involving a lot of turmoil, this is one of my favourites.
Track #4 – The Treason Of Isengard The first 30 seconds of the track are barely audible, until a brief build into an evenly paced background piece, with no real surprises and another appearance of the Enya refrain. This is a real challenge to the Star Wars tune, especially as 2 minutes in the music kicks up a gear with a big orchestral push, similar to the one in the previous track. The choir burst into their lament once more, but the booklet provides no answers to what they may be singing, frustratingly.
Track #5 – The Black Rider An introduction that is almost like that of a Western gives way to a playful yet hurried pace, similar again to John Williams and his Spielberg output. When the dramatic chords kick in, all becomes quiet. Then, a riff that is *very* similar to Jaws… until the choir returns, this is obviously where the Black Rider is nearly upon the Hobbits and they must flee… the pace quickens again, with big dramatic bursts of brass instruments blending with the increasingly shrill choir… then the danger seems to pass and all is silent. An excellent dramatic piece of music.
Track #6 – At The Sign Of The Prancing Pony Another one of the “hobbits at rest” tracks initially, with a small amount of tension behind it about 1½ minutes in… the drama then builds and the choir returns, there is obviously more danger ahead, as the same vocals return, building slowly - and that Jaws rip off comes in again! From there, no great surprises, metallic clangs give way to a slow build down. A little similar to what has gone before, but not losing any marks!
Track #7 – A Knife In The Dark Lots of terror and sharp, high pitched strings, appropriately enough! This sets me on edge every time I hear it, you can almost feel dark shapes standing behind you ready to attack, their fetid breath on the hairs at the back of your neck… More metallic sounding drums BOOM THUD BOOM their way in, before a sad, high refrain towards the end… it seems some kind of tragedy has occurred… No time to weep as the big action cues crash back in, and the clangs get louder and LOUDER… then out to quietness.
Track #8 – Flight To The Ford Beginning in a tranquil mood, easy to imagine a peaceful journey taking place… then a rumbling begins, cymbals crash and the dark tones of the brass section are back… something is approaching. The sounds rise to crescendo again; whatever was on its way is now upon you, the choir (getting their money’s worth!) are back, suggesting the same horrors as before are present again. Then, an almost heroic difference in mood, as a confrontation may be looming, a big sweep of cymbals and all fades into the same mood from the track’s beginning.
Track #9 – Many Meetings The choir, in a more serene mood, sing high above harps and the familiar refrain. It feels like we are in a safer place now, the meetings of the track title are obviously taking place and we’re given time to relax.
Track #10 – The Council of Elrond The mood stays fairly similar to the previous track, with a slight amount of foreboding behind it now. Then, there is Enya’s first vocal contribution, “Aniron”, the theme of Arwen and Aragorn. Enya isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but her lilting, gentle voice fits in perfectly here, singing as she does in Elvish to incredible effect. If only she had provided the singing in Titanic, instead of Celine-effing-Dion. There seems to be something important occurring after Enya’s vocals cease, with the Celtic flavour noticeable again, as well as the epic strings stirring things up.
Track #11 – The Ring Goes South Nothing to really set this apart from the other tracks, there seems to be some urgency around the 1 minute mark, with volume increasing – maybe something important being revealed or an epic landscape honing into view. It feels like a journey is taking place.
Track #12 – A Journey In The Dark All is not well. The low strings and choir are back, with some muttering from the male vocalists and little being given away. The mood builds somewhat towards the end, but never really taking flight. It seems by the end something else important has come to light, but this is almost identical to the cue at the end of the previous track. Then, action music, something must be amiss… the strings quicken, sharp sounds pitch in again, there might be an attack of some sort, then CRASH! It all goes away.
Track #13 – The Bridge of Khazad Dum The Western style refrain appears again, with some very obvious trouble afoot in the accompanying movie scene – urgent drums pound in the background as the strings rise and rise to a sudden stop. The choir perform a kind of Aborigine chant, something terrible may be approaching as manic bursts of strings stab in, and the chanting quickens. Of all the music that has introduced fear, this is evidently the score for a much larger threat than the previous ones. Every time things seem over, a more dramatic burst of music appears, until a sombre mood prevails, as in Track 7.
Track #14 – Lothlorien A reflective, poignant beginning leads briefly to a more urgent refrain before the choir break into a beautiful Elvish song. The tone is that of trying to accept something difficult. It’s hard to follow the Elvish vocals with the lyrics in the booklet, but the desired effect was had on me. A very downbeat song, but beautiful in its execution.
Track #15 – The Great River No prize for guessing what the theme of this song is. Oh okay, take anything you like from the bottom shelf, but don’t tell the boss. The grand Western-style theme runs for a moment before rolling drums lead into a slow tune, obviously there to reflect the beauty of the huge stretch of water. Seeing as hobbits are not big fans of the old H20 (not the crap film with Jamie Lee Curtis), this perfectly sums up the wonderment they must feel at seeing so much of it, and the landmarks around it. The same amount of wonderment people felt seeing so much of Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places? Er, probably…
Track #16 – Amon Hen No, this is not about a praying chicken. Another action cue builds up, more problems may well lie in wait, with a steady drumbeat echoing rapid heartbeats. This is a huge piece, with the metal sounding drums coming back in, suggesting a large battle. Then all at once, there is nothing but drums… and a more sedated mood. Has another tragedy occurred, or has danger passed?
Track #17 – The Breaking Of The Fellowship Not to worry, the track title hasn’t spoilt anything for you like the ones used for the Phantom Menace soundtrack did. The mood here is not one of loss, as you may except from the title, but of business as usual, the mood similar to those used in the “journeying” tracks before it. It sounds very much like a track you’d hear as the end credits roll, with Edward Ross’ vocal coming in after some more pan pipes. He sings of things lost but hope continuing:
“We will walk in bitter rain/But in dreams/I still hear your name/And in dreams/We will meet again”
There are some echoes of the score from Titanic once more, but with a lot more classy than that terrible Dion warbling. I *really* can’t stand her voice!
Track #18 – May It Be Enya’s second and last contribution to the soundtrack, and a very good one it is at that. Forget all that “Sail Away” stuff from the charts, that was aeons ago. Instead, imagine the sheer panic, the copper taste of fear in the back of your throat if Celine Dion crept her OTT style into the mix. Enya’s voice is haunting and affecting, a very fitting end to a magical soundtrack. The theme of the song is the same as the preceding song, loss and hope. It’s definitely the tune that will play over the final credit, by which time you’ll probably be weeping into your empty nacho tray, making the remnants of your cheese sauce go all runny.
* * * * *
I bought this before I had seen the movie, and it struck me as a superb piece of soundtrackery, not something I usually buy (unless it’s a David Lynch film). This has everything one might expect from such a huge production, moments of huge sound, the token love them and so on. What it does NOT have is a typical sensibility, sounds crashing in with no warning, and moods changing very rapidly within a track. Taken as something to whet your appetite for seeing the film, this is a solid gold assurance of quality. If you’ve seen the film and loved it, this will be a welcome addition to your collection, listening back to the songs after seeing the movie is nearly as good as going back and seeing it again. Plus, the covers are all collectible! Why not spend £125 and buy all 9 cases!? At the very least buy 2 copies in case one gets worn down through over-playing…
Each case carries a different picture (mine is Bilbo holding the Ring), and there is also a lush red book-bound effect limited edition CD which would not fit in your CD rack. Still, I’d hardly dare touch it if it were mine, looks far too fancy! The regular booklet is of the fold-out variety, with the Black Riders on horseback in full chase mode as you open it out. More folding reveals the lyrics and Elvish translations for the songs, and some liner notes from Peter Jackson and Howard Shore who explain their motives and techniques. You also get yer standard shots from the movie across the top and bottom of the booklet, and a map of Middle-Earth in the back of the case, under the CD.
So, not just for Tolkien completists, this is a fine soundtrack, and surprisingly easy to listen to over and over again. Nearly flawless, I would have liked some more notes on what the choir was singing about, as it seems only a selection of lyrics have been included. Mind you, this is a minor quibble that doesn’t affect my wholehearted recommendation of this work.
good ops... interesting style of writing i must say... cheers =)
tepu 13.04.2002 01:38
I like the movie as much as the soundtrack. It´s not a kind of music I can listen to each day, but if I listen to it, I really enjoy it while thinking of the movie.
Have a nice weekend, tepu
jess0910 11.01.2002 12:05
I love this - I've been listening to it nonstop at home, in the car and even in the bath as well. It's got to the point where I can start the CD at any point, and within about two minutes I can say 'This is the bit where Merry and Pippin do this'. Sign of a good score, when you can visualise the story it's telling! Jess x
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
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
Jan 9th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
