Cinemusic.net - Film Music and Soundtracks

Cinemusic.net is new again

2007-02-20T23:36:00.000-05:00

After some furious work, the newly redesigned Cinemusic.net is online. This blog will function as an archive of soundtrack news, etc. from the past year. Please visit the new site and say "Hi".

Oscar noms for Music categories in

2007-01-23T13:44:00.000-05:00

Music (Score)
Babel - Gustavo Santaolalla
The Good German - Thomas Newman
Notes On A Scandal - Philip Glass
Pan's Labyrinth - Javier Navarette
The Queen - Alexandre Desplat

Music (Song)
"I Need To Wake Up" - An Inconvenient Truth
"Listen" - Dreamgirls
"Love You I Do" - Dreamgirls
"Our Town" - Cars
"Patience" - Dreamgirls

Score one for the team

2007-01-08T13:06:00.000-05:00

The once-solitary job of film scoring is becoming a collaborative effort.
By Jeff Bond
Jan 5, 2007

(via The Hollywood Reporter) As most filmmakers will attest, making movies is an immensely collaborative process. While producers, directors and writers often end up getting the lion's share of the credit when a film succeeds, the reality is that great movies are never the work of one person. The same cannot be said of film scoring. The life of a film composer is frequently a solitary one, with weeks, months and sometimes years spent painstakingly writing and rewriting the cues and themes that can bring a movie to life.

Lately, however, the traditional view of a film composer slaving away all by his or her lonesome has changed, and it's more and more common to see multiple composers on a movie receive screen credit, whether they start out as composing teams or when extra hands are brought in to help out late in the process.

This year boasts a number of high-profile collaborations, some between composers and artists who might be considered outside the music world altogether -- namely, directors. Read more...

Thinking in Colors and Textures, Then Writing in Music

2007-01-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

By JON BURLINGAME
Published: January 7, 2007
(From The New York Times)

The trouble with Hollywood film scores these days is that so many sound as if you have heard them before. That’s less the fault of composers than of directors, who commonly prescore their films with temporary music during editing, then frequently expect the final score to emulate that “temp track.” So originality, when it occurs, can be startling, as when American audiences first heard the enchanting waltzes of Girl With a Pearl Earring in 2003, or the fairy-tale flutes and surging orchestral drama of Birth in 2004.

Both scores were the work of Alexandre Desplat, a 45-year-old Paris composer who also scored Syriana in 2005. His music for The Queen and The Painted Veil has raised his name as a potential Oscar nominee this season.

He wrote and recorded the score for The Queen in just three weeks, after Stephen Frears, the film’s director, decided another composer’s score wouldn’t work. “The first thing I said to Stephen was, ‘It’s very tricky,’ ” Mr. Desplat said on a recent visit to Los Angeles. “You can’t go too dark, too suspenseful, too funny or too sweet. What I felt was necessary was music with some grandeur and elegance, but still wit. It’s a witty movie.” Read more (subscription req'd)...

"Movie and music: It's a package deal"

2007-01-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

Director Tom Tykwer knows the score -- because he wrote it. His latest film is "Perfume."
By Richard Knight Jr., Chicago Tribune

"There are a lot of renowned collaborations between film directors and their favorite composers — Steven Spielberg and John Williams, Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, Tim Burton and Danny Elfman. But it's rare to find a film director who also serves as his own composer. Clint Eastwood is one; another is German-born director Tom Tykwer, whose latest movie, "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," opened in L.A. last week". Read more...

2006 "Best Music" Awards (so far...)

2006-12-29T13:18:00.000-05:00

Chicago Film Critics:
The Fountain - Clint Mansell

Phoenix Film Critics ("Best Use of Music"):
Dreamgirls - Various

San Diego Film Critics:
Babel - Gustavo Santaolalla

Las Vegas Film Critics:
The Good German - Thomas Newman

The Black Reel Awards:
Best Original Score
Akeelah and the Bee - Aaron Zigman
Dreamgirls - Harvey Mason, Jr. and Damon Thomas
Idlewild - Antwan Andre Patton
Inside Man - Terrence Blanchard
Something New - Lisa Coleman & Wendy Melvoin

Satellite Awards:
Babel - Gustavo Santaolalla

Critics' Choice Awards ("Best Soundtrack" & "Best Composer"):
Babel
Cars
Dreamgirls
Happy Feet
Marie Antoinette

Philip Glass - The Illusionist
Clint Mansell - The Fountain
Thomas Newman - The Good German
Gustavo Santaolalla - Babel
Howard Shore - The Departed
Hans Zimmer - The Da Vinci Code

Los Angeles Film Critics:
The Painted Veil and The Queen - Alexandre Desplat

New York Film Critics Online:
The Illusionist - Philip Glass

Annie Awards (Animation):
The Ant Bully - John Debney
Bah Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas - Gordon Goodwin
A Monkey’s Tale - Laura Karpman
Cars - Randy Newman
Ice Age: The Meltdown - John Powell

THR: 'Clef Notes'

2006-12-21T01:19:00.000-05:00

"Clef Notes", an interesting article from The Hollywood Reporter (appearing way back in November) on this year's scores predicted to get an Oscar push. Read more...

Tyler Bates' '300'

2006-12-19T22:49:00.000-05:00

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 free Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian slave army. Facing impossible odds, their valor and sacrifice ultimately inspired all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy to fight for democracy.

For this "Battle Epic" director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) engaged Tyler Bates to create a score that embodies expansive orchestral and choral themes that express a sweeping palette of color and emotion, while embracing a tonal palette unfamiliar to studio films of its nature.

In developing a sound that wouldn't betray the Frank Miller-inspired dark and stunning backdrop, the rugged stature of the Spartans, and the threatening characters they encounter on their quest to preserve freedom and democracy, Bates chose percussion as an effective foundation for much of the score. Bates explains, "My intent was to support the physicality of the actors, while staying true to the inspiration of this film and that of the Spartans -- freedom and will." Singer Azam Ali (Niyaz, Vas) served as both the voice of Sparta and the Persian threat. Orchestra and choir were recorded in London at Abbey Road studios, serving as the emotional canvas for the many colors and textures of Azam's haunting voice. Bates designed score pieces to incorporate Ali's many singing techniques in a broad range of emotions. Feeling it important to not color the story with specific words, yet to be bold and confident with voices throughout the score, Azam's vocal melodies were written in a phonetic language, as were all the choral parts. The guitarviol, an obscure electric bowed instrument, was used to create the crude melodies and much of the score's darker atmospheres, in addition to hand-crafted ambient sound design apparent in the music.

Bates comments, "The greatest challenge to writing and producing the music for 300, was to bead a musical thread throughout the film's ever-changing landscape of visual art and its ominous, horrific and mystical beings, while sustaining the epic and emotional qualities from which this film was made. I had to approach it in a style as inventive as the film itself." Warner Bros Records is distributing the score soundtrack album, comprised entirely of Bates' music, with the film's March 9th theatrical release. More: tylerbates.com.

Intrada: McKenzie's 'Blizzard'

2006-12-15T00:08:00.000-05:00

Intrada Signature Edition: Blizzard
Music by Mark McKenzie

Katie wanted only one thing: to ice-skate. While practicing on an outdoor rink, Katie is befriended by former Olympic skating champion Otto Brewer, who offers to teach her "proper skating." Under Brewer’s tutelage, Katie blossoms into a magnificent skater. When Katie’s family is forced to move to the big city, Katie is devastated. Meanwhile, at the North Pole, Santa and his elves are celebrating the birth of baby reindeer Blizzard. Blizzard possesses all three magical reindeer gifts: the ability to fly, the power of invisibility, and the gift of seeing with her heart. Using her empathic ability, Blizzard feels Katie's sadness and flies to Katie’s home, where these two strangers from different worlds help each other. Set in a post-war 1940s, BLIZZARD stars Brenda Blethen, Christopher Plummer and Kevin Pollack

McKenzie's score to Blizzard features a 100-piece orchestra and is a sweeping, colorful work in every robust, decadent Christmas sense. McKenzie received the assignment while orchestrating Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek: Nemesis, and was encouraged by the veteran composer to take on the project. Upon hearing McKenzie's results, Goldsmith said he admired the very tender, gentle, sweet, and pretty nature of the score. The powerful, exciting flying and skating sequences might even suggest a nod to Mr. Goldsmith.

This release is limited to 1000 copies.

Intrada Signature Edition - ISE1011 - In stock now
For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit intrada.com.

Also see: markmckenzie.org

Ennio, meet Oscar. Oscar, meet Ennio

2006-12-14T01:37:00.000-05:00

From The Associate Press...

Italian composer Morricone to get honorary Oscar
Wednesday December 13 9:11 PM ET

Italian movie composer Ennio Morricone, famed for his work on such "spaghetti westerns" as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "A Fistful of Dollars" will receive an honorary Oscar during the Academy Awards ceremony next February, organizers said on Wednesday.

Morricone, 78, has composed more than 300 motion picture scores during his 45-year career, but had never won an Oscar. He was nominated five times, for "Days of Heaven" (1978), "The Mission" (1986), "The Untouchables" (1987), "Bugsy" (1991) and "Malena" (2000).

The honorary Oscar, determined by the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, went this year to director Robert Altman, who died last month.

"The board was responding not just to the remarkable number of scores that Mr. Morricone has produced," said Academy president Sid Ganis, "but to the fact that so many of them are beloved and popular masterpieces."

Morricone's other credits include the scores for "Once upon a Time in America," "Cinema Paradiso," "Bulworth," "In the Line of Fire," "La Cage aux Folles" and the 2008 release "Leningrad."

The 79th annual Academy Awards will be held in Hollywood on February 25.

Your latest listening options

2006-12-06T23:46:00.000-05:00

Cinematic Sound is presenting a 3-hour tribute to Shirley Walker, in honor of her career. Including The Black Stallion, The Flash, Memoirs of An Invisible Man, Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, Space: Above and Beyond, Willard and more. View the playlist.

More listening...

Composer Hans Zimmer is the latest guest of On The Score at filmmusicradio.com. Spotlighted on the show will be Zimmer's romantic-comedy approach for director Nancy Meyers, beginning with Something's Gotta Give, and continuing now for The Holiday. Zimmer's lush music links the film's star-crossed characters from LA to London- a mult-faceted score that drew Zimmer to such collaborators as composer Heitor Pereira and singer Imogen Heap - as well as Zimmer's wife Suzanne. Head to www.filmmusicradio.com for more.

Shirley Walker, 1945-2006

2006-11-30T17:49:00.000-05:00

Shirley Walker, composer, conductor has died. She was 61.

This is truly sad news. And very personal for me. Many years ago I had the pleasure of talking with Shirley, and creating a website for her dedicated to her film music. Since then she made maintaining the site a pure pleasure. She was generous, supportive and thrilled that she had fans of her music - and they were many.

Shirley was a pioneer, but she was also an underdog. Her magnificent talents were often suggested by dreaming fans for every blockbuster assignment. Her music often proved more memorable than the films they were written for, a testament to her abilities and her enthusiasm for the art of film scoring.

I wish I could write more, but I am still shocked by this news. Shirley, I will miss you. My efforts on your website will never equal the memories and emotions you have given me both as a person, and through your music.

Ryan Keaveney

Vidgames: 'Untold Legend'

2006-11-22T14:30:00.000-05:00

Four-time Emmy award-winning composer Laura Karpman (EverQuest® II, Steven Spielberg’s TAKEN) has written the original music for Untold Legends Dark Kingdom, the action-RPG launch title for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The fantasy score was recorded in Prague with the FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir, with Karpman conducting. The lyrics sung by the choir were adapted by Karpman from portions of the medieval poetry text “William Wallace” in Middle Scots - the literary source for the legend of “Braveheart” - and woven into the score to complement the game’s intriguing narrative and dramatic storyline.

Glenn Stafford, Audio Director for Untold Legends Dark Kingdom at Sony Online Entertainment, said, “The score for Untold Legends Dark Kingdom was beautifully composed and recorded, including a full live orchestra and choir. The recording is exceptionally high quality and was recorded in one of the most acoustically perfect concert halls in the world - the Rudolphinum in Prague, Czech Republic. The music enhances and highlights the dynamic and changing moods throughout the course of this intense action/adventure RPG game, and is wonderful to listen to on its own as well.”

After writing music for Sony’s smash hit Everquest II, Karpman went on to become the resident orchestral composer of Sony Online Entertainment. In 2005 she received a Game Audio Network (G.A.N.G.) award for her video game music, which has been performed by orchestras internationally. For more information visit: www.laurakarpman.com.

Tuesday 11/21: New Releases

2006-11-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

It's new release Tuesday! Now available: Harry Gregson-Williams' broiling electronic Deja Vu (Hollywood Records / on iTunes)... Lakeshore Records has a handful of new titles: Various artists comprise Deck The Halls (with "Silent Night" performed by... The Deck The Halls Holiday Orchestra)... Michael Suby's chiller The Zodiac (no not the David Fincher movie Zodiac), and Home of The Brave by Stephen Endelman. Also released: Clint Mansell's The Fountain featuring Kronos Quartet and Mogwai (Nonesuch).

Each week, AOL Music streams new soundtrack albums, sometimes before they hit stores, as a "CD Listening Party". This week they've spotlighted Fast Food Nation (Various) and Babel (Gustavo Santaolalla, various).

"Welcome to my life" - HGW

2006-11-14T17:08:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from: "Blow it Up and Do It All Over Again"
Published in the New York Times, November 13, 2006
By Laura M. Holson

In October, ago Mr. Bruckheimer attended a music meeting for “Déjà Vu” at a studio in Venice. The meeting was to begin at 4 p.m., but he and Mr. Scott were late. The producer had spent the morning at a screening of “Déjà Vu” and, midday, had been whisked to the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, where he introduced Mr. Scott to an eager crowd of Disney movie executives who had gathered for their annual meeting. (Later that night he attended a charity event honoring Mr. Iger.)

Mr. Scott and Mr. Bruckheimer were to review music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams for several movie scenes. Mr. Bruckheimer tends to work with the same people; this was his fifth movie with the composer. Mr. Scott, dressed in a sweatshirt and shorts, sat in a chair and tapped his foot nervously, while Mr. Gregson-Williams fiddled with a few keys on a monitor to bring up the scenes on a large screen. Mr. Bruckheimer, prone to long silences, sat quietly on the couch.

The composer showed a car chase where Mr. Washington followed a killer to a hideout. The music was loud and unrelenting. "It would help us if we had a melody, maybe his melody," said Mr. Bruckheimer, referring to a leitmotif that signaled when Mr. Washington’s character was onscreen. “You zone out. You need something over it that distracts you.”

The exchanges were polite — Mr. Bruckheimer rarely spoke above a loud whisper — but Mr. Gregson-Williams seemed unnerved.

For another scene, Mr. Gregson-Williams had created a haunting melody, but left out the last notes. "You didn’t finish it and if you did, I’d be happy,” Mr. Bruckheimer said.

“All right," said Mr. Gregson-Williams, dejected. "I’ll have another go at that."

As Mr. Bruckheimer and the crew were leaving, the composer turned to a guest and smiled meekly. “Welcome to my life,” he said.

Mr. Bruckheimer said afterward it was up to him to remind the composer of the audience. “I know what I felt it should be, and when he got it there, he loved it,” he said. “You don’t just not do it.”

Quote of the Day: Jack Black

2006-11-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

"I loved Lord of the Rings, but I think Peter Jackson fumbled the ball a little bit there because he had so much good fuckin' Led Zeppelin and he decided to go with the Howard Shore classical music. Which I'm sure JRR Tolkien would have approved of, but I wanted the rock! That's a fuckin' movie I'd like to see - Led Zeppelin's Lord of the Rings." - Jack Black (via Guardian.co.uk)

Elfman's 'Charlotte's Web' on the web

2006-11-10T12:36:00.000-05:00

Sony/BMG has samples from every track of their upcoming (December 5th) release of Danny Elfman's Charlotte's Web. Listen to them here.

Also... In select theatres today is Night of The Living Dead 3D, with music by composer Jason Brandt. Lakeshore Records released the NOTLD 3D score album on iTunes and in stores on October 31st.

There will be a CD signing for Night of The Living Dead 3D at Dark Delicacies in Burbank on November 11, 2006 at 2pm. Night of The Living Dead 3D director Jeff Broadstreet & Jeff Brandt will be there to sign CDs & mini posters. More info at Dark Delicacies.

Basil Poledouris has passed away

2006-11-08T20:52:00.000-05:00

Basil Poledouris, popular and prolific film composer, has died. News of his passing has first appeared at Film Score Monthly's message board, via publisher Lukas Kendall.

Basil was 61. He penned some of the most enduring film scores of modern times, including Conan The Barbarian, Flesh and Blood, Farewell To The King, Robocop and The Hunt For Red October among many others.

Messages for his family can be left on his official website.

Update (11/09/06), from Yahoo! - "Emmy-winning composer Basil Poledouris, best known for his powerful music for action-adventure films of the 1980s and '90s, died of cancer in Los Angeles on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. He was 61.

Poledouris worked on the scores for the early Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicles "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) and "Conan the Destroyer" (1984), and his orchestral-and-choral compositions came to be considered high points in the genre of music for fantasy films.

His other feature credits included "The Blue Lagoon" (1980), "Robocop" (1987), "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), and "Free Willy" (1993). He won an Emmy in 1989 for his folk-based Western score for the miniseries "Lonesome Dove."

The Kansas City, Mo., native is survived by his mother and two daughters. No services are planned."

New Varese club titles announced

2006-11-06T11:53:00.000-05:00

Varese has announced their latest club titles. And they are:

Birdman Of Alcatraz, Music by Elmer Bernstein
Limited Edition of 3000 copies

Runaway: The Deluxe Edition, Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Limited Edition of 2000 copies

Lucas, Music by Dave Grusin
Limited Edition of 2000 copies

Seven Cities Of Gold / The Rains Of Ranchipur, Music by Hugo Friedhofer
Limited Edition of 1000 copies

Careful, He Might Hear You, Music by Ray Cook
Limited Edition of 1000 copies

For soundclips and to order visit varesesarabande.com.

Intrada brings Broughton's 'Eloise' home for 'Christmastime'

2006-11-02T11:51:00.000-05:00

Intrada Announces:

Eloise at The Plaza / Elouise at Christmastime
Music by Bruce Broughton
Intrada Signature Edition ISE1009

Eloise is a precocious six-year-old girl who lives at the New York Plaza Hotel. She roams its halls day in and out in search of adventure. In 2002 and 2004 Handmade Films brought ELOISE to the small screen in two live action adventures: Eloise at The Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime. Both were directed by Kevin Lima, who had graduated from such animated fare as Disney's The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Tarzan (which he co-directed). Actress Sofia Vassileva (Medium) brings the energy, sass, and shrewdness of the beloved children's book character to life in both sparkling adventures at the Plaza Hotel. Julie Andrews plays Nanny, a tolerant, motherlike figure to Eloise's who still appreciates her young charge's exuberance.

Composer Bruce Broughton and Lima were on the same page with regards to the musical approach -- the movies' quirky energy and frenetic pace called for high-energy music -- much like a cartoon score. In Eloise at The Plaza, Broughton graces the score with 1950s New York sophistication. He took two approaches to the score: the hotel, city, and romantic scenes are underscored by full orchestra, while the music associated with Eloise is performed by a playful nine-piece ensemble. The score for Eloise at Christmastime takes on even larger orchestral proportions. For a festive holiday feel, Broughton weaves elements of "The Nutcracker" into the score, going so far as to Nutcracker-ize some of his own themes. The end result are two effervescent, fun-filled scores...the closest thing to capturing a rambunctious childhood musically on CD.

Intrada presents both scores on this 2-CD set and is limited to 1200 copies.

For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit intrada.com.

Dooley skips the Moon & Jupiter, goes straight to 'Mars'

2006-10-30T14:15:00.000-05:00

UCLA Wind Ensemble to perform World Premiere of acclaimed 'Mars Underground' score as a suite-to-picture

Multi-talented composer of When a Stranger Calls, DreamWorks' First Flight short, SOCOM video game series and contributor to The Da Vinci Code and Pirates of the Caribbean also to appear.

James Dooley - established composer with a diverse and successful recent repertoire of feature films, animated shorts, video games, theatrical trailers and TV commercials- will appear on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall of Music. The UCLA Wind Ensemble will perform its first-ever live suite-to-picture performance of portions of Dooley’s original score from the 2005 landmark documentary, The Mars Underground.

The Mars Underground, directed by Scott J. Gill, is a CGI-driven documentary about the possibilities of colonizing Mars. The film focuses primarily on Dr. Robert Zubrin and his grassroots push for human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. James Cameron was quoted as calling the film “the manifesto of the new space generation.” The film will be screened along with the live music.

The score itself has been critically acclaimed as well. Dooley was given the challenging task of writing music for numerous scenes of the “camera” panning across projected CGI landscapes of Mars and keeping the viewer interested while the landscape races past the screen. His contemporary approach produced a much greater musical presence for The Mars Underground than would normally accompany a documentary, but this was required given the distinct visual journey of the film.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the event, please see the UCLA Event website at calendar.ucla.edu/ or ticketmaster.com.

Samples of James’ scores can be heard on his official website jamesmichaeldooley.com.

New releases 10/24/06

2006-10-24T14:51:00.000-04:00

Okay, enough slacking. Let's look at today's new soundtrack releases.

The Nightmare Before Christmas
Walt Disney Records / Music by Danny Elfman
Re-released to coincide with Walt Disney Pictures' limited 3D release of the film, disc one is a straight re-issue of the '93 OST while a second disc of all new material features four Elfman demos ("Making Christmas", "Oogie Boogie's Song", "Kidnap The Sandy Claws" and "This Is Halloween", an alternate version of the demo that was previously released on Elfman's Music For A Darkened Theater Vol. 2 set) and five interpretations of Elfman's songs by Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, Fall Out Boy, She Wants Revenge and Panic! At The Disco.

Also new and Elfman related is Lakeshore Records' Nacho Libre, which features dialogue clips, Elfman's "Ramses Suite", tracks from Beck, the immortal "Religious Man" from Mr. Loco and a couple of library tracks (!) from John Cameron and Allan Hawkshaw.

Destroy All Humans! 2
Lakeshore Record s/ Music by Garry Schyman, various
Following the popularity of the original game and score, Lakeshore Records releases 12 tracks of Garry Schyman's evocative (and orchestral) throwback score mixed with period tunes performed by contemporary music acts. Equal parts Herrmann and Barry (by way of Bond).

The perks of being a U.S. iTunes customer: Download Chris Young's The Grudge 2 several weeks early (the disc streets November 7th).

BuySoundtrax: 'Lifeforce'

2006-10-13T15:16:00.000-04:00

'Lifeforce' 2CD set to be released by BuySoundtrax. Limited edition expanded soundtrack contains over two hours of music composed by Henry Mancini and Michael Kamen

BuySoundtrax Records will be releasing a 2CD set of music from Lifeforce, composed two legendary composers, Henry Mancini and Michael Kamen. The package will contain the complete original score composed by Mancini, the additional music by Kamen, the Film Version of "Grandson of The Web of Destiny", in addition to the original soundtrack album.

Lifeforce was the film adaptation of the novel The Space Vampires, by Colin Wilson. Director Tobe Hooper, took some liberties with the story to tie it in to the reappearance of Halley's Comet. A space shuttle mission investigating the comet inadvertently brings back a race of space vampires to London who seek to transform the populace into zombies. Cannon Films, felt the title Space Vampires seemed too low budget and the film was renamed Lifeforce.

In 1985 when the vampire science fiction film Lifeforce was in need of a composer, the Academy Award winner Henry Mancini seemed an unlikely choice. But when Hooper's first choice, James Horner, hot off the heels of his work with the first two Star Trek sequels, proved unavailable, Mancini was brought on board.

Henry Mancini may best be recognized for his work with more lighthearted film fare, like Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther film series, but earlier in his career Mancini was a member of the music department at Universal Pictures. As such he composed the scores for numerous horror and science fiction films like It Came From Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Monolith Monsters, which led Hooper to see if Mancini was interested in revisiting the genre.

Mancini composed a provocative, dramatic and dynamic orchestral score, an hour and forty minutes of music, which mostly fell victim to the cutting room floor. When Mancini did not want to go back and compose new materials for the film, itself now 20 minutes shorter, Michael Kamen was called in to fill in the musical blanks. Kamen was an up-and-coming composer, having already completed scores for David Cronenberg and Terry Gilliam.

BuySoundtrax Records presents a limited edition release (3,000 copies) of Lifeforce, featuring Henry Mancini's complete score as recorded in sequence, along with Michael Kamen's additional tracks. The package also includes the original soundtrack recording and a special bonus track, the film version of "Grandson of The Web of Destiny" performed with choir.

Lifeforce-Expanded Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on BuySoundtrax Records is available for pre-orders at www.buysoundtrax.com, and will be in stores on October 17.

Intrada: 'The Pick-Up Artist'

2006-10-10T09:45:00.000-04:00

Intrada Announces:

The Pick-Up Artist
Composed and Conducted by Georges Delerue

Sherlock Holmes In New York
Composed by Richard Rodney Bennett
Conducted by Leonard Rosenman

Intrada Special Collection Volume 37

In this installment of the Intrada Special Collection, Intrada presents two New York-based 20th Century Fox film scores. The 1987 romantic film The Pick-Up Artist features Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey, Jr., telling the tale of a womanizer who eventually finds the right girl and is confronted with having to change his dastardly ways. The 1976 telefilm Sherlock Holmes In New York features none other than Roger Moore as Holmes up against his archnemsis Moriarty (John Huston).

Although Delerue wrote a concise 25-minute score for The Pick-Up Artist, most of it was deleted from the film. The score is both wistful and hopeful, conjuring up a spirit that could have lifted the film to an entirely different level if the score had been left intact. Director Ken Russell once described Delerue's gift for enhancing a director's work this way: "If you wanted to evoke a beautifully sunny day and it was raining, Georges' music could bring the sun out. Not many people can do
that. Only God and Georges Delerue." This score is evidence of just that.

In Sherlock Holmes In New York, Richard Rodney Bennett was fresh off Murder On The Orient Express and wrote a compelling adventure score, filled with suspense, unfulfilled romance, and excitement for what was his first American television project.

Both scores were assembled from pristine sounding stereo elements. This release is limited to 1200 units.

For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit Intrada.com.

Eastwood: 'Flags of Our Fathers'

2006-10-05T15:07:00.000-04:00

Milan Records will release the score to Flags of Our Fathers featuring music composed by director Clint Eastwood. The soundtrack is due in stores 10/17, while the movie will hit theatres on 10/20. Now for the press release...

Milan Records releases music from the motion picture Flags of Our Fathers, featuring an original score composed by Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, previously Golden Globe nominated as a composer for his work on Million Dollar Baby. Along with his score, his son Kyle Eastwood also provides re-recordings of classic music from the period. The Milan soundtrack features nostalgic standards arranged by Kyle including works by Irving Berlin, Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne and John Philip Sousa, as well as original recordings by Dinah Shore and Artie Shaw and His Gramercy Five. Milan releases the soundtrack on October 17.

In addition to directing and acting in his films, Clint Eastwood has a long history of involvement with film music, dating back to Escape from Alcatraz. For Bronco Billy, Tightrope and Hearbreak Ridge, Lennie Neuhaus would write the score while Eastwood would write the songs. Starting with Unforgiven and continuing through Space Cowboys, the two wrote the scores together, resulting in a series of successful works. Eastwood has since written the scores to Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby on his own; the latter was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2004. For Flags of our Fathers, Eastwood writes, and Lennie Niehaus continues to orchestrate and conduct.

For tracklist, cover art and audio samples visit milanrecords.com

'Stargate' now, not 'Star' get later

2006-10-03T09:27:00.000-04:00

Lots of new releases today on the (U.S.) iTunes store, many before their street dates:

Stargate: Deluxe Edition, David Arnold (Varese)
Lost: Season 2, Michael Giacchino (Varese)
Flyboys, Trevor Rabin (Varese)
Operation Stormbreaker, Alan Parker (Milan)
Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Beginning, Steve Jablonsky (Varese)
The Little Mermaid: 2 Disc SE, Alan Menken (Disney Records)

Also in stores but not on iTunes:

Serenada Schizophrana, Danny Elfman (Sony)

Has Horner lost his mind?

2006-09-26T08:29:00.000-04:00

Daniel Schweiger host of "On the Score" sends word on his latest show... My question is did Horner know the interview was being taped?

Tune in to a new edition of On the Score at Film Music Radio for an in-depth and ultra-rare interview with composer James Horner.

In this extensive, on-demand show, Horner gives a candid and completely frank interview about his career, scoring All the Kings Men and the controversial music decisions of Troy and The New World. It's an interview that you'll only find at Film Music Radio, the show and station that listens to the words and music of today's top composers.

Brian Tyler's website has an update on his 2007 slate:

Brian has four projects lined up for 2007 -- Time to Kill starring Nicholas Cage as a hitman in Thailand, directed by brothers Danny and Oxide Pang (The Eye), Alien Vs Predator 2 for 20th Century Fox, directed by 'The Brothers Strause' (Colin and Greg Strause) set for a Christmas 2007 release, Rogue starring Jason Statham and Jet Li as bitter rivals in a mysterious action thriller directed by Philip G. Atwell and a third collaboration with director Justin Lin for his mockumentary comedy Finishing the Game about Bruce Lee's unfinished film.

In memory of Sir Malcolm Arnold

2006-09-25T10:14:00.000-04:00

Sir Malcolm Arnold, who composed over 130 film scores in his successful career, including his Oscar-winning effort The Bridge on The River Kwai, has died. He was 84. More at BBC News.

Preview: Elfman's "Serenada"

2006-09-21T13:20:00.000-04:00

Danny Elfman's career as a film composer truly is a unique one. Completely self-taught, an instant hit and the scorn of his peers for a decade. Now, over $8 billion in worldwide box-office receipts later, after Grammy, Golden Globe, Emmy and Oscar nominations, Efman has branched from the cult pop-rock of Oingo Boingo, to the gothic grandeur of Batman to the concert hall, with his first commissioned piece, "Serenada Schizophrana".

Written for orchestra, female voices and electronics, "Serenada" was first performed in New York on February 23rd, 2005 at Carnegie Hall by the American Composers Orchestra, the piece received a positive review from the New York Times ("Mr. Elfman gave us music comfortable in its own world and highly professional in its execution ... The composer of this piece has an ear for symphonic colors and how to balance them.", Bernard Holland). It was later performed in San Francisco by the Redwood Symphony, before finally being adapted for the IMAX film Deep Sea 3D.

Elfman then took time to tinker with the piece before the score for Deep Sea 3Dwas recorded in Los Angeles. During additional sessions Elfman re-recorded the revised version of "Serenada" with John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the FOX Newman Scoring Stage. It is this slightly revised "Serenada" that will hit stores on October 3rd from Sony Classical.

Here are clips from each of the 7 movements, plus an additional original piece "Improv For Alto Sax".

1. Pianos
2. Blue Strings
3. A Brass Thing
4. The Quadruped Patrol
5. I Forget
6. Bells and Whistles
7. End Tag
8. Improv For Alto Sax

Billboard Film & TV Conf

2006-09-21T11:53:00.000-04:00

The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film & TV Music Conference will be taking place on November 14 and 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. At last year's conference, leading composer and electronica musician BT and innovative director Rob Cohen discussed their collaborations on such films as Stealth and The Fast and the Furious. In addition to last year's guest speakers, award-winning director Paul Haggis and award-winning composer Mark Isham discussed their collaboration on Crash.

For a schedule of events and to register visit www.billboardevents.com.

"Give the Solar System an enema"...

2006-09-19T10:31:00.000-04:00

Intrada Announces:

Saturn 3
Composed and Conducted by Elmer Bernstein
Intrada Special Collection Volume 36

The late 70s and early 80s were a renaissance period for the science fiction genre, spurred on by the remarkable success of Star Wars. One such entry was the 1980 film Saturn 3. The remote Saturn 3 botanical research station, named after its location on Saturn's third mood, finds Adam and Alex (Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett) enjoying solitude and romance, until bad guy Benson (Harvey Keitel) shows up to wreak havoc and turns the station's robot, Hector, against them. Soon the thriller switches into high gear as Hector is stalking Adam and Alex through the botanical station's warren-like biomechanical corridors.

Composer Elmer Bernstein, who had scored sci-fi early in his career(Robot Monster, Cat Women On The Moon), had not scored a horror film per se. Saturn 3 plays as much horror as it does sci-fi, a sub genere revitalized the year before with Alien. Bernstein's brilliant effort went largely unheard in the final film. He wrote for a massive orchestra including extra brass, divisi string parts, a stunning array of percussion players, large male chorus, solo soprano, piano, xylophone, and harp. The score ranges from complex, experimental writing for strings to explosive percussion riffs, from delicate harp arpeggios and haunting solo soprano lines to powerful brass fanfares and dynamic hammer-and-anvil rhythms. Saturn 3 was probably the most challenging score in Bernstein’s impressive repertoire.

This Intrada release features the complete score to Saturn 3 in the original chronological sequence that was intended, mastered from the original stereo two-track masters. This release is limited to 2500 copies.

For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit Intrada.com.

Anticipating Intrada and more

2006-09-18T08:34:00.000-04:00

Not much going on with film music these days... Everyone is just waiting to hear wha the next limited Intrada release will be... And buy it before it disappears as fas as Inchon did.

Danny Elfman was featured in last Thursday's issue of Variety as a "Billion Dollar Composer". Three articles from the issue are available at Variety's website (subscription req'd).

Milan Records will release Alexandre Desplat's score for The Queen (no, it's not about the rock band), on September 26th. The have added a preview of the album to their website.

Happy Birthday...

2006-09-12T14:06:00.000-04:00

... Hans Zimmer, who turns 49 today.

'Inchon' gone

2006-09-06T07:09:00.000-04:00

Just as soon as Intrada announced their re-issue of Jerry Goldsmith's Inchon, the title, limited to 1500, has already sold out.

Katie Couric recently debuted at the CBS Evening News anchor desk. James Horner's theme trumpeted her debut. Read about how Horner landed the gig at the Wall Street Journal.

Mikael Carlsson at Film Music Magazine has reported that John Ottman is off Night At The Museum and is now on The Visiting, the third remake of Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Danny Elfman passed on the picture, and now Alan Silvestri will score Night At The Museum.

Intrada introduces 'Inchon'

2006-09-05T11:37:00.000-04:00

Intrada Announces:

Inchon
Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith
Intrada Special Collection Volume 35

The 1982 epic war opus Inchon chronicles the massive force invasion of Southern Korea led by General Douglas MacArthur. The film had all the right ingredients: a cast that included Ben Gazzara, Jacqueline Bisset, and none other than Sir Laurence Olivier in the role of MacArthur; James Bond veteran director Terence Young at the helm; and a world class composer -- the unequaled Jerry Goldsmith, who gave the film its spirit. Nonetheless, the production was plagued with both natural and man-made troubles, resulting in a film that cost over $44M, was cut from its original 140-minute length to 105 minutes when it went into "wide" release in September 1982, closed relatively quickly, and fell into obscurity.

The film may be forgotten, but what lives on is Jerry Goldsmith's dynamic, colorful and percussive score. The lively score features an augmented percussion section, including snares, bass drum, cymbals, timpani, triangle, xylophone, woodblocks, boo bams, and many others. At the time of the release, Goldsmith had artfully assembled a 38-minute album capturing the highlights and delivering an irresistible listening experience. In 1988, Intrada released an expanded edition that featured the complete score, without all the unique assembly of the LP.

Now, Intrada presents the definitive release of Inchon. This 2-CD set features the original LP presentation as Goldsmith had initially presented his score, plus a second disc featuring the score in chronological order, remixed and remastered for optimal sound. The score, recorded in a church wine seller with musicians crowded around and sitting on crates, has never sounded better.

This release is limited to 1500 units.

Intrada Special Collection - Volume 35. In stock now. For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit Intrada.com.

This is Hallowe-emo

2006-08-30T12:54:00.000-04:00

Walt Disney will release a special 3D formatted Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas into select theaters this October. To capitalize on the 13 years worth of growth of the film's rabid fanbase, Walt Disney Records will also re-issue the originalNightmare songs and score in a 2-disc set, with the second disc comprised of cover songs from the film performed by MySpace creations, and reportedly major Elfman fans, Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco among others. More info at MTV.com.

A 'Web' of a different kind

2006-08-29T08:36:00.000-04:00

Host Claude Brodesser-Akner of The Business on KCRW, a Los Angeles area radio station, has interviewed Danny Elfman. Elfman goes through the oft-told story of his time in the business, but unique to this interview, demos a cue from his upcoming Charlotte's Web score. Listen to the interview.

She Was A Real Lion

2006-08-24T09:23:00.000-04:00

Taffy, one of two Keaveney family cats, passed away last night. She was nineteen years old. She would have been twenty in November. She will be missed.

Please download "She Was A Real Lion" from Patrick Doyle's Secondhand Lions as an audio tribute to this much-loved little oddball who loved roasted chicken, sleeping under a wheelbarrow and drinking pool water.

Shearmur Emmy 'Master'

2006-08-21T08:33:00.000-04:00

58th Annual Creative Arts Primetime Emmys winners for music:

Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music:
Masters of Horror, Edward Shearmur

Outstanding Music Composition For A Series:
24 ("6:00 AM & 7:00 AM"), Sean Callery

Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special:
Into The West, Geoff Zanelli

AFM applies smackdown

2006-08-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

Shocking news via www.filmmusicmag.com...

US Musicians union threatens $50K fines against AFM composers and other members participating in scores recorded in Seattle

"In a Notice to Members, the U.S. Musicians Union (AFM) has threatened fines of up to $50,000 against AFM members who perform services including composing, arranging, orchestrating, copying, and other services related to film and television scores recorded in Seattle after October 1, 2006. The complete text of the AFM "Notice to All Members" is located at http://www.afm.org/public/press/seattle.pdf."

'Pulse' fails to quicken

2006-08-14T08:38:00.000-04:00

There are no more loyal fans than those horror fiends, the gorehounds. They lovingly cherish even the most rank cinematic terror turds.

This weekend I had the rare opportunity to witness back-to-back the wide spectrum of horror product currently being churned out. Two movies, about a year old, one made a year ago and released in the UK to great acclaim, the other made a year ago and shelved as per studio (Dimension) policy.

The first is The Descent, a harrowing nightmare about a group of cave-diving women who literally descend into hell, falling victim to a race of hairless, pasty underground mole-people with an appetite for human innards (i.e., a metaphor for the destructive nature of men in these women's lives). Directed with a wheelbarrow-down-hill pace by Neil Marshall and scored by David Julyan, The Descent is truly top-notch horror filmmaking. I actually thought to myself while watching: "This is a real horror movie with a real horror movie score!" No synth loops, no atmospheres, no recording the orchestra and mixing it back in reverse. No gimmicks! Just pure orchestral terror.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Pulse, the Wes Craven scripted remake of a J-horror "classic". From the opening scene -- a bar filled with college students, each and every one on some kind of cellphone or PDA -- you have to scream, "Okay, I get it -- we're all dependant on these technologies and it will be our doom!" Pulse is an horror film about the internet presumably made by people who have never used the internet. We're told a virus has been scripted to destroy a ghost permeating into our world from newly discovered frequencies. What we are never told is why our female lead's friends start to disappear one by one and all anyone can do is ask "Hey have you seen so and so?" "No, he didn't come to class today". Someone then will dial a cellphone, someone won't answer. No one actually gets off their ass to actually check in on that person.

Elia Cmiral's score isn't much better. Generating few thrills, it's the manipulated orchestra variety that seems to be appearing more often in horror pictures (Stay Alive was one recent example). Cmiral's synths and drones just add to the disconnect Pulse has with it's audience. This is disappointing because Cmiral's Wrong Turn was a solid horror score that effectively essayed the bumpkin terrors onscreen.

The Descent is now on CD from Cooking Vinyl.

Weekend listening

2006-08-10T10:10:00.000-04:00

An update from Erik Woods at Cinematic Sound:

The On-Demand Show for this week is now on-line.

On the program this week we will be listening to music from Lady In The Water (Howard), The Lake House(Portman), United 93 (Powell), Cars (Newman), Abominable (Schifrin), The Omen (Beltrami), Evil (Shaw), The Sisters (Morse), The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (Tyler), and more. View Playlist.

In other audio news...

The latest Film Score Monthly podcast is online. Doug Adams, Al and Jonathon Kaplan discuss the M. Night Shyamalan/James Newton Howard collaboration, from The Sixth Sense to Lady In The Water. Details at the FSM Message Board.

Naked Vampires From Space!

2006-08-09T00:03:00.000-04:00

Henry Mancini fans can safely stow their copies of Lifeforce, the infamous nude Vampire babe thriller from Tobe Hooper, as BSX (BuySoundtrax) Records will release a two disc set featuring Mancini's complete original score (26 tracks), plus Michael Kamen's additional score (as 10 never-before-released tracks) and the complete original Lifeforce album presentation (11 tracks).

Intrada has also announced a second volume of Amazing Stories television soundtracks. The line-up consists of:

BOO! (Jerry Goldsmith)
WHAT IF... (Billy Goldenberg)
DOROTHY AND BEN (Georges Delerue)
THE MAIN ATTRACTION (Craig Safan)
SUCH INTERESTING NEIGHBORS (David Newman)
THANKSGIVING (Bruce Broughton)
HELL TOUPEE (David Shire)
ONE FOR THE ROAD (Johnny Mandel)
REMOTE CONTROL MAN (Arthur B. Rubenstein)
THE GREIBBLE (John Addison)
NO DAY AT THE BEACH (Leonard Rosenman)
SANTA '85 (Thomas Newman)

Ordering info is available at intrada.com.

Bendiksen: 'Greatest Good'

2006-08-08T07:25:00.000-04:00

I was watching HD PBS last night, like I often do, and caught a great doc on the history of the U.S. Forest Service titled The Greatest Good.

There's a lot of great programming on PBS, and a lot of it has great music. Most of it is scaled down orchestral meat and potatos, but it is often very uplifting, melodic and pleasant to listen to.

The Greatest Good features a score by Norwegian/American composer Lance Bendiksen and is available at CD Baby (w/ clips available). While the dominant main theme leans into Legends of The Fall / Wyatt Earp territory, the score is appropriately evergreen and Americana.

In the hundreds-of-channels-universe, filled with pounding stock action music library tracks, PBS remains one of the last places you'll find consistently good orchestral music on TV.

Goodnight, and Good Luck

2006-08-03T12:31:00.000-04:00

It's a slow day when this is all the news you have to report...Proving that CBS will spare no expense to launch Katie Couric as there national news anchor, the net has hired James Horner to compose the new musical theme for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, which debuts on Tuesday, Sept. 5 (6:30-7:00 PM, ET). The musical theme is expected to be integrated into other CBS News programs over time. No word on whether the theme will be more Apollo 13/Balto/"Whistler's Theme" from Sneakers or Searching For Bobby Fisher/A Beautiful Mind/The Missing.

Rabin's 'Gang' on 9/12

2006-08-02T14:50:00.000-04:00

Varese has announced three new titles: Trevor Rabin's Gridiron Gang, John Debney's Idlewind and Marcelo Zarvos' Hollywoodland. All are due in stores on September 12th. More info: varesesarabande.com.

Silva will repackage older re-recordings with a handful of recent re-recordings from titles like King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia for Greatest Cinema Choral Classics, a 2CD set due in the fall.

A note about updates: new reviews are ready to add to the site. The editor (me) is extremely busy with his day job. Ready and waiting: Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Superman Returns, Curse of The Werewolf, Breakheart Pass and True Grit. My apologies to all interested parties for the delay in getting these online!

Lennertz and 'Supernatural'

2006-08-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

Cinescape's Randall D. Larson has interviewed Christopher Lennertz regarding his Emmy-nominated music for Supernatural. Read the interview...

Danny Elfman's 8-minute original piece to be given it's World Premiere at the Hollywood Bowl in September now has a name: "Overture To A Nonexistant Musical". Elfman says its: "a big, fun, boisterous and slightly crazy piece written to bid goodbye to one of film music's biggest supporters. I imagined it as a grand overture to something that doesn't actually exist. Many themes... as if taken from a larger work... some kind of imaginary musical or ballet."

Joel Goldsmith will score the videogame Call of Duty 3. Previous installments of the series were scored by Michael Giacchino (1) and Graeme Revell (2).

A bilingual official website for Georges Delerue has been launched.

'Mercs 2' Tilton's playground

2006-07-31T18:22:00.000-04:00

Assignment news: Chris Tilton (Mercenaries, Black) has signed to score Mercenaries II for Pandemic Studios. He previously collaborated with Michael Giacchino on the original Mercenaries game, but will score the follow-up himself.

Cmiral still has 'Pulse'

2006-07-31T13:46:00.000-04:00

Composer Elia Cmiral scores 'Pulse'
Composer Elia Cmiral scores Pulse for director Jim Sonzero and The Weinstein Company/Dimension Films. Inspired by a popular Japanese film, the Wes Craven-penned thriller tells the story of young computer hackers who channel a mysterious signal that opens a doorway to another world, full of forces looking for a portal to cross over in order to wreak havoc. Starring a hot young cast that includes Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder and Christina Milian, the film opens August 11. This is Cmiral's second collaboration with Craven, having scored Wes Craven Presents: They in 2002.

For Pulse, Cmiral crafted a contemporary electronica/modern orchestral score. Using an ISDN connection from his home in Los Angeles, he conducted seventy minutes of score with a sixty piece orchestra located in his native Czech Republic. With three programmers to handle the huge amount of sound design and five orchestrators, he used extensive synths and percussion programming, a programmed choir and live voices including his own. "The work was intense," he says, "(director) Jim Sonzero made me explore every possible or impossible musical and sonic corner."

Born in Czechoslovakia, Elia Cmiral quickly established himself as one of Europe's leading young composers after graduating from the prestigious Prague Music Conservatory. He wrote scores for several European films and three ballets before coming to the United States to attend USC's famous Film Scoring Program, after which he was hired to produce tango-based music for Apartment Zero, composing a now-classic full length score in a scant ten days. By the mid-1990s, Cmiral had garnered a reputation with Hollywood executives, and after scoring the successful Nash Bridges television series, he was selected to score John Frankenheimer's suspense thriller Ronin starring Robert DeNiro. Following the success of Ronin, Elia has continued to provide highly original and evocative scores for major Hollywood studios as well as independent filmmakers, including Stigmata, Battlefield Earth, Bones and Species 3.

This year, in addition to Pulse, Cmiral scored the dark drama Journey to the End of the Night, directed by Eric Eason for Millennium Films, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Sony sells 'Serenada'

2006-07-28T11:09:00.000-04:00

Danny Elfman's first concert work "Serenada Schizophrana" in stores October 3rd on Sony

Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated composer of music for over 100 films and tv series – Batman, Spiderman, Beetle Juice, "The Simpsons"

Work premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2005, with American Composers Orchestra conducted by Steven Sloane – music later featured in IMAX’s Deep Sea 3D

Adding another facet to an already brilliant life in music, Danny Elfman steps out from his career-defining role as a Grammy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated composer of original music for film (Batman, Spiderman, Beetle Juice, The Nightmare Before Christmas) and television ("Pee-Wee's Playhouse," "The Simpsons," "Desperate Housewives") with the release of Serenada Schizophrana, his first orchestral composition written specifically for the concert hall.

The world premiere of Serenada Schizophrana at Carnegie Hall on February 23, 2005 drew ecstatic reviews across-the-board from both classical music and pop culture critics. It subsequently received worldwide exposure as the featured music in the soundtrack to the IMAX film Deep Sea 3D which was narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. The Sony Classical recording is conducted by John Mauceri, best known for his sixteen years as conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

The genesis of Serenada Schizophrana was a commission from the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), a new honor for Elfman and a challenge that he welcomed. Without the usual visuals to drive his orchestral music, he writes, "I began composing several dozen short improvisational compositions, none of them related. Slowly, some of them began to develop themselves until I had six separate movements that, in some abstract, absurd way, felt connected."

Serenada Szhizophrana was scored for large orchestra, electronics, two pianos, and female voices, with Steven Sloane conducting the ACO, joined by the ACO Singers, directed by Judith Clurman. "With six movements, rolling piano solos ... and the charming hoots and chirps of eight female voices," wrote Bernard Holland in the New York Times, "Mr. Elfman gave us music comfortable in its own world and highly professional in its execution ... The composer of this piece has an ear for symphonic colors and how to balance them."

"In keeping with the piece's title," Mac Randall also noted at the time in the New York Observer, "the music veered madly from Ellingtonian whimsy to Bernard Herrmannesque agitation ... The tortured swing of the third movement conjured up the image of a jazz band on a storm-tossed raft, with trash-can cymbals acting as the crashing waves. And the furious horn-stoked climax and surprising last-second resolution of the closing movement made for a rousing finish."

For Elfman, a self-taught musician who had never heard any of his orchestral music performed live on stage, it was a "thrilling experience." Highly influenced by the work of such mid-20th century film composers Bernard Herrmann, Nino Rota, Dimitri Tiomkin, Max Steiner and Erich Korngold, among many others, Elfman's music is also tempered by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Orff and Bartók, as well as early Duke Ellington. "I am forever attached to the music of the early 20th century," Elfman writes. To this mix, he adds his recent discoveries of Harry Partch, Philip Glass and Lou Harrison.

Serenada Schizophrana is a ‘gumbo' of all these styles and influences, as conjured up by the imaginative and often surreal pen of Danny Elfman. A prolific composer for more than a quarter-century, Elfman has written music for over a hundred films and TV series. He is well-known for his collaborations with equally eccentric director Tim Burton on a partnership that began in 1985 with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and went on to include Big Top Pee-Wee (1988), Beetle Juice (1988), Batman (1989, whose theme won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), TV's "Family Dog" (1993), Mars Attacks! (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Planet Of the Apes (2001), Big Fish (2003), Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (2005), and Corpse Bride (2005).

For most of this time (until about a decade ago) Elfman was a mainstay of the beloved Los Angeles-based group Oingo Boingo, which was originally assembled in the late-'70s by his older brother, writer-director Richard Elfman, to provide the music for his first movie Forbidden Zone (1980). The group flourished (over the course of eight albums) but also became ubiquitous on movie soundtracks through the '80s: Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982), Bachelor Party (1984), Weird Science (whose title song became a pop hit, 1985), Something Wild (1986), Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Teen Wolf Too (1987), and Ghostbusters 2 (1989), to name a few.

Meanwhile, as his working friendship with Burton grew in the '90s (and Oingo Boingo eventually disbanded), Elfman focused on what turned into a string of some 50 signature movie soundtracks, among them: Dick Tracy (1990), Sommersby (1993), Dolores Claiborne, Dead Presidents, and To Die For (all 1995), Mission Impossible (1996), the Men In Black franchise (1997, 2002), Good Will Hunting (1997), Spy Kids (2001), Chicago (2002), Hulk (2003), and Nacho Libre (2006). Upcoming projects include Disney's animated Meet the Robinsons, Paramount's adaptation of Charlotte's Web, and a reunion with his brother Richard on The Sixth Element.

Sony Classical, RCA Red Seal and deutsche harmonia mundi are labels of SONY BMG MASTERWORKS. For e-mail updates and information regarding Sony Classical, RCA Red Seal and deutsche harmonia mundi artists, promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit www.sonybmgmasterworks.com.

Memories of A Ubeda

2006-07-26T15:12:00.000-04:00

Check out photos from the Ubeda Film Music Festival (via Film Score Monthly message board).

That's it!

MSM comes home to 'Roost'

2006-07-25T10:08:00.000-04:00

MovieScore Media presents

The Roost
Original Motion Picture Score
Also featuring music from Joshua

Music composed by Jeff Grace

Exploring even darker territories, composer Jeff Grace moves from Middle-Earth and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy to the world of zombies and vampires in the acclaimed cult horror film The Roost, directed by Ti West. Grace, who worked as an assistant for Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore on numerous scores including all three Lord of the Rings soundtracks, is now pursuing a film composition career in his own right. His refreshingly modern horror score for The Roost, written for a string quartet using many experimental avant garde techniques, is a very impressive work that ranks among the best of scores written in the low budget horror
genre.

Jeff Grace is a classically trained composer who, besides film scores, has among other things was selected for American Opera Projects' 2005-2006 Composers and The Voice Series. He has also worked with composer Robert Ruggieri on his ballet scores and as an orchestrator for trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

The Roost: Original Motion Picture Score will be available exclusively from iTunes on July 25, 2006, with wider digital distribution to follow.

Visit http://www.moviescoremedia.com to check out our catalogue of recordings.

Let's go to the Expo

2006-07-23T23:10:00.000-04:00

The Composer Expo
Friday, August 4, 2006
The Academy Ballroom / The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Register today at: http://www.tcmcomposerexpo.com

On Friday August 4, Turner Classic Movies and Film Music Magazine present The Composer Expo, a special event that brings together the best and brightest composers and other industry professionals to focus on the state of the art, craft, technology and business of instrumental music for film, television and video games.

Featured at The Composer Expo will be a full day of panels and networking activities featuring top VIP industry professionals focusing on all aspects of instrumental music for film, television and video games. More info...

Spin it again!

2006-07-20T23:17:00.000-04:00

It's Friday, and frankly I can't think of anything you'd rather be reading about than this...

Remember this old tune?

Oh-ee-yeah (Tale Spin)
Oh-ee-yoh (Tale Spin)
Friends for life, through thick and thin
With another tale to spin
Oh-ee-yeah (Tale Spin)
Oh-ee-yoh (Tale Spin)
All the trouble we get in
With another tale to spin

(Spin it!)
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ...
(Spin it again!)
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ....

It's from the early '90s Disney animated series Talespin which ran for one year.

Music for a handful of episodes was composed by the late Christopher Stone.

So why the hell am I posting about TailSpin? Well, Intrada has a copy of the ultra-rare promotional disc of Stone's music from the series for sale. The price to enjoy this much desired material? A mere $249.99.

iTunes: Keyword Fun!

2006-07-19T23:44:00.000-04:00

Ever search your iTunes library with keywords? Sometimes the search results create interesting "themed" compilations. Let's give it a whirl and see what we come up with (via searching over 9000 tracks)...

Keyword: "Finale"
Results: 44

Some titles include...

"Finale Pt1", "Finale Pt2" - X3: The Last Stand (Powell)
"The Big Empty Finale" - The Big Empty (Tyler)
"Finale" - Curse of The Werewolf (Frankel)
"Finale" - The Jungle Book (Poledouris)
"Finale/Hallelujiah" - The Robe (Newman)

Keyword: "Chase"
Results: 48

Danny Elfman has written at least 6 cues with "Chase" in the title, including "The Chase" for Dick Tracy, Sleepy Hollow and Men In Black, "Studio Chase" for Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, "D's Memories/Chase" for Men In Black and "Stairway Chase" for Midnight Run. Chris Young also titled four of his cues from Hard Rain with "... Chase".

Keyword: "Battle"
Results: 83

Plenty of "Battle" to be found here, including such noteworthy titles like "Final Battle" from Van Helsing (Silvestri), "Rain Battle" from The Greatest Game Ever Played (Tyler), "Space Battle" from Serenity (Newman), "Leviathan Battle" from Atlantis (Howard) and the artful "Night Battle" from First Knight (Goldsmith).

Keyword: "Journey"
Results: 24

No we're not talking about Trevor Rabin's old rock band. You'll find "Journey" in: "Journey To The Cradle of Life" from Tomb Raider 2 (Silvestri), "Night Journey" from Dracula (Williams), "Boat Journey" from Half Light (Rosenberg), "Journey Backwards" from The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (Tyler), "Buddy's Journey" from Elf (Debney) and "Journey To Nepal" from Raiders of The Lost Ark (Williams) among others!

How much fun is this?

Soundtrack Preview: 'Monster House'

2006-07-18T23:45:00.000-04:00

This is the fifth entry in the ongoing soundtrack preview series. Wipe your feet on the welcome mat and step inside Monster House, Douglas Pipe's big orchestral score for Imagmover's latest mo-cap CGI-fest. Despite two of cinema's biggest visionaries behind-the-scenes in Spielberg and Zemeckis, director Gil Kenan stayed loyal to his composer Pipes, bringing him along for the ride. The result is one of the most infectious major debut scores since Burton and Elfman and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Using full orchestra, choir and a touch of theremin, Pipes proves he has what it takes to score major features.

Firmly in the spooky-kids-mode, Monster House slots nicely in the niche currently occupied by Elfman's Beetlejuice, Debney's Hocus Pocus, Horner's Casper and Goldsmith's The 'Burbs. Of the scores mentioned, Pipes' Monster House snarls loudest, with significantly bombastic scoring for a seriously pissed off domicile.

Here are five clips from the album, available in stores now from Varese Sarabande.

1. Opening Titles
2. Eliza's Song
3. Awesome Kite/Bones Tossed Out/Construction
4. The Battle
5. End Titles

Links: Purchase Monster House / Varese Sarabande Records

Previous previews: Lady In The Water / The Omen / Cars / X-Men: The Last Stand

Tuesday is Buying Day

2006-07-17T22:50:00.000-04:00

Two big soundtrack releases today:

James Newton Howard's Lady In The Water on Decca Records (in case you missed it, you can listen to five clips right here on the blog) and Douglas Pipe's big orchestral score for Monster House on Varese Sarabande.

Varese also begins shipping their latest club releases and La-La Land Records ships Farscape Classics - Volume Two and the immortal Rock 'N' Roll Nightmare. Yeah, dude!

Armstrong handles 'WTC'

2006-07-16T22:45:00.000-04:00

Craig Armstrong scores Oliver Stone's controversial 'World Trade Center'
Soundtrack release from Sony Classical August 8th

(Hollywood, CA) Golden Globe winning film composer Craig Armstrong delivers a haunting score to Paramount Pictures' World Trade Center. Oliver Stone directs the true story of John McLoughlin and William Jimeno, two police officers who became trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Nicholas Cage and Michael Pena star as the two officers. The film opens August 11th, and Sony Classical releases the score August 8th. This is the first time Stone and Armstrong have worked together.

Craig Armstrong, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, has composed, arranged, produced, and performed a multitude of respected works. He began his professional music career with the group The Big Dish, performing on keyboard, writing, and arranging; this led to arranging assignments for artists including Massive Attack, U2, and Madonna. Later, Armstrong became composer in residence at Glasgow's Tron Theatre Company, writing commissioned pieces for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

In the last ten years, Armstrong has composed extensively for film. He won a Golden Globe and was named AFI's Composer of the Year for his score to Baz Luhrman's musical Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. His work on the Ray Charles biographical film, Ray, earned him a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack Album. His other credits include The Quiet American, Plunkett and Maclean, and Love Actually.

In addition to his film scores, Armstrong has released three solo albums: "The Space Between Us," "As If To Nothing," and "Piano Works." Most recently, his new musical trio "The Dolls" released its first self-titled album. Currently, his music can be heard as part of an exhibit at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. He will perform with a full orchestra October 19th in Belgium at the 33rd Flanders International Film Festival, incorporating several of his popular film scores.

Review: 'Superman Returns'

2006-07-13T23:33:00.000-04:00

Superman Returns
Music Composed and Produced by John Ottman

So, Superman has returned. Neat. His first appearance in 1979 was all that was really needed. Richard Donner’s original still stands as the definitive film version of Superman… (as was his original version of The Omen the definitive version of THAT franchise.) New Superman Brandon Routh does a nice Christopher Reeve impersonation, and Kevin Spacey is a believable Lex Luthor, but it all still doesn’t add up to much. This is mostly the fault of Bryan Singer and his team creating a film that has little excitement and suspense despite some nice special effects, and try as it might (with a cute Super-son), can’t create any sort of emotional involvement for the viewer. As a kid, I was much more upset about Lois Lane “dying” in the original and was slightly startled at Superman’s grief and rage upon discovering her body. Now, as an adult, in the new version, I couldn’t have cared less what happened to her. “Eh… let her drown. Oh wait. Here comes Superman. Yay.”

But I digress. So upon Bryan Singer getting the Superman Returns gig (after about a dozen other directors), it was pretty apparent who was going to be scoring it. Kudos to Singer for being loyal to his editor/composer John Ottman and not hiring John Williams to write a new Superman score. Of course I would’ve loved to hear Williams’ take on his classic score nearly 30 years later, but loyalty in Hollywood is a rare thing and should be respected. And like Marco Beltrami and the remake of The Omen this year, John Ottman shouldn’t be taken to task for the insane tightrope act he had to perform with this score. Use the Williams themes, but don’t use them too much. Make it sound like Superman, but don’t sound like you’re just copying Williams. Write a new theme or two, update the sound of the original… the list goes on and on with conflicting demands.

The final score, unfortunately, is a mixed bag. Ottman takes quite liberally from John Williams’ original, often using complete passages of the score, or taking themes and changing them in new ways… which isn’t exactly a good thing. Harmonically or melodically changing themes that were perfect to begin with is like putting old wine in a new bottle… a really weird looking bottle. The main theme, fanfare, Kent family theme, Krypton theme, and “Can You Read My Mind” all make appearances, but often are changed ever-so-slightly. The titles, incidentally are exactly the same as the original… except with an oddly altered final chord.

Full review coming soon...

Goldenscores.com launches

2006-07-12T23:02:00.000-04:00

Here's the lowdown on a new filmmusic website...

After many months of work and planning Tom Kiefner and Bregt DeLange have created a new website at www.goldenscores.com.

While Golden Scores will focus a lot of attention to those older classic scores and recordings it will also keep you up to date on the current news and scores. There will be something for everybody! In addition to reviews there will be a column and forum. Look forward to some contests with prizes as well as all sorts of surprises. I have had nothing to do with the look of the site other than an opinion or two, all of the effort and praise is to be given to Bregt for his fine effort. We hope all of you will take the time to see what we have come up with. My effort will be directed toward some good solid content that will show my enthusiasm for soundtracks. Since we are in are early stages of development all suggestions are extremely important to us. Our goal is to make this the #1 site for soundtracks on the web and without your support it will never happen. Adam Anderrson who has written excellent material for scorereviews is joining our staff and will share his opinions. Please join us for our for a fun adventure! You won't be disappointed.

MSM: Rosenberg's 'Half Light'

2006-07-11T22:48:00.000-04:00

MovieScore Media presents
Half Light
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Music Composed by Brett Rosenberg

Australian composer Brett Rosenberg's score for the supernatural thriller Half Light starring Demi Moore made a strong impression on its audience: an online petition resulted in hundreds of people expressing their interest in a soundtrack release of the music. In answer to this petition, and proudly introducing yet another exciting new name to the film music community, MovieScore Media releases the Half Light score. It's the company's ninth online release since the launch of the label in January.

Brett Rosenberg's score for Half Light is a dark and romantic orchestral score filled with beautiful themes that are contrasted by eerie suspense writing, colourfully orchestrated by Nicholas Dodd and performed by first rate London session players recorded in the magnificent Air Lyndhurst Studios. The film has been described as an "Hitchcockian thriller with a supernatural twist", and Rosenberg's score has its Herrmann-esque moments and a lot of moody atmospheres that recalls some of Christopher Young's finest genre works.

Half Light: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be available exclusively from iTunes on July 11, 2006, with wider digital distribution to follow.

MovieScore Media is an online soundtrack label devoted to make high quality film music available on the internet. Visit http://www.moviescoremedia.com to check out our catalogue.

'Breakheart' is no 'Pass'

2006-07-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

Breakheart Pass
Music Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith
La-La Land Records (LLLCD 1044)

Just when you think they’ve released every worthwhile Goldsmith score in the late composer’s filmography, another month passes, and a new excellent Goldsmith release is ready for shipping. As of this writing, the latest gem is La La Land’s release of Breakheart Pass, one of the many dynamite Westerns that Goldsmith scored in the first two decades of his career. The plot involves Charles Bronson and a train (I believe the original tagline read, “Get these mother-f^%#ing Charles Bronsons off this mother-f&*ing train!”), which is about all you need to know to get a feel for the score. In other words, the music is stoic and ballsy, racing with train-like momentum (though never in any obnoxious or obvious way) and pushing the adrenaline button as only Goldsmith could.

Interpretations of this score seem to vary in the film score community; I’ve seen it score described as a straight-out action thrill ride by some, and as a slow burning suspense piece by others. Both arguments have support – sometimes the music is balls-to-the-wall action, and sometimes it barely whispers with nervous suspense. Most of the time, however, the music is somewhere in between, racing with momentum, but restrained and uneasy. I’d have a hard time qualifying a cue like “On The Move / Runaway” as either straight action or straight suspense, and I don’t see any purpose in trying. Suspense and action feed off each other in this score, making for a nail-biting and riveting listen – that’s all that matters to me. Goldsmith’s general formula is to play with tension, play with extreme tension, and then when it seems like we can’t take any more tension, BAM, whip out the main theme and commence the Bronsonian ass-whoopin. Repeat as necessary, and you more or less have the score. The formula sounds banal and repetitive on paper, but you’d be surprised how many fresh and surprising ways Goldsmith can apply this formula throughout ¾ of an hour. - Paul Cote

Full review coming soon.

Ottman: "Don't screw this up."

2006-07-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

A Reuters/Billboard interview with John Ottman re: Superman Returns is available online at Yahoo! Movies.

Q: Why did you incorporate John Williams' classic "Superman" theme in "Superman Returns?"

A: It (was) a bittersweet process for me because it's always great when you can write your own theme, and that really gives you the impetus to write the rest of the score. I vacillated between that and "Hey, this is a great opportunity to keep alive one of the greatest themes ever written." My ego squashing the greatest theme ever would be tragic. I completely understand the fan mentality, and I would be one of the rioters in the street if we didn't use his theme.

Read the entire interview.

58th Annual Emmy Noms

2006-07-06T11:14:00.000-04:00

Outstanding Music Composition For A Series(Dramatic Underscore)

Masters Of Horror, "Dreams In The Witch House"
Music by Richard Band

Rome, "Triumph"
Music by Jeff Beal

Stargate: Atlantis, "Grace Under Pressure"
Music by Joel Goldsmith

Supernatural, "Pilot"
Music by Christopher Lennertz

24, "6:00 AM - 7:00 AM"
Music by Sean Callery

Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Dramatic Underscore)

The Dive From Clausen’s Pier
Music by Bruce Broughton

Human Trafficking, "Part 1"
Music by Normand Corbeil

Into The West
Music by Geoff Zanelli

Sleeper Cell
Music by Paul Haslinger

The Water Is Wide
Music by Jeff Beal

Soundtrack Preview: 'Lady In The Water'

2006-07-04T23:05:00.000-04:00

This is the fourth entry in the ongoing soundtrack preview series. This time I've got James Newton Howard's Lady In The Water, M. Night Shyamalan's swimming pool thriller. It's no secret that Howard does his best work musically enhancing Shyamalan's films, and while the movies have slowly gotten worse, Howard has never wavered.

Lady In The Water is structurally not that different than Signs. It's a slow burning build to the climax, anchored by a strong, circular theme (first heard in "Prologue" and given weight in "Charades" before exploding in "The Great Eatlon"). Howard wrote about 75 minutes of music for the film, with about 40 of those making Decca's album (in stores July 18th). Here are five thirty second clips from the score.

1. Prologue
2. Charades
3. The Blue World
4. The Healing
5. The Great Eatlon

Links: Purchase Lady In The Water / Decca Records

Previous previews: The Omen / Cars / X-Men: The Last Stand

The day we fight back

2006-07-04T09:30:00.000-04:00

I'm Canadian, so I took the long Canada Day weekend off. But I know a lot of Americans, so I'm taking off Independence Day as well. Happy July 4th! See you Wednesday.

Review: Frankel's 'Curse of ...'

2006-06-29T22:51:00.000-04:00

Curse of The Werewolf
Music by Benjamin Frankel / Conducted by Carl Davis
Rating: * * * * 1/2

I’ll confess that Benjamin (street name, “Ben Jammin”) Frankel was not always a composer I had any particular fondness for. In the past few years, I’ve made multiple attempts to enjoy my copy of the compilation, Benjamin Frankel – Music for the Movies. Sadly, every new listen put me straight to sleep. Maybe it was a poor cue sequence, maybe it was a weak recording, maybe it was a bad performance, but it left me with the impression that Frankel was a bland and forgettable composer. Rest assured, this is decidedly not the case with Naxos’ new recording, Curse of the Werewolf And Other Film Music by Benjamin Frankel. How short I sold you, B. Jammin’ (his other street name)! In this compilation, we hear a Frankel who is uniformly brilliant, classy, and blisteringly dynamic – quite the opposite of my first impression, and quite a necessity for your CD library.

The complete score for Curse of the Werewolf headlines the album, and it doesn’t take long to realize that the score is a long over-looked masterpiece of the genre. This is broad and epic horror scoring, the type that’s entirely absent from the genre today. What’s perhaps the most amazing is that despite the score’s use of 12-tones scales, dissonant harmonies, and passing shades of Bartok, the music isn’t ugly or unpleasant to listen to at all. Though dissonant, the music never actually moves into grinding tone clusters, and a clear melodic line is almost always discernable. Aside from a short three-note motif threaded through the carnage and the occasional respite from a love theme, there really aren’t any major themes, but that’s hardly an issue here. Frankel’s score plays more like abstract concert music than traditional film music – it follows its own whims and harmonic developments, rather than fastidiously marking each hit with a leitmotif. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a close and meaningful relationship between the on-screen drama and the music, only that the music doesn’t take the easy route of marking of every individual action and stabbing every individual shock stinger. It plays more like a violent tempest raging above the action, thundering over the full moon as it watches over the carnal ecstasy of the beast. Not that it’s all Sturm und Drung. There are also expertly crafted subtle moments of rising suspicion and dread that build to horrific realizations – the grand dynamic statements don’t come out of nowhere, they’re earned. And the aforementioned love theme is exquisite (“Pastoral”), so perfectly orchestrated and so beautifully bittersweet that it makes me wonder how I possibly could have dismissed Frankel’s romantic writing in the past (especially as that cue was in the other Frankel compilation). The finale is by far the standout, moving from a thrilling chase that recalls Herrmann’s stunning “The Hunt” from On Dangerous Ground into a breathless assault until it finally resolves into a triumphant conclusion (once upon a time all movies, no matter how dark, got a rousing upbeat musical finish). - Paul Cote

Full review coming to the site soon...

The Schwartz is with us

2006-06-28T23:13:00.000-04:00

Coming soon from La-La Land Records...

The Dog's Master, Carlo Siliotto
An original composition from renowned film composer Carlo Siliotto (The Punisher, Fluke). Mr. Silotto re-invents Italian folk music with beautiful orchestra and vocals.

Spaceballs, John Morris
La-La Land Records proudly announces it’s 50th release – composer John Morris’ complete score to the Mel Brooks classic Spaceballs! First official score release ever! Limited Edition of 3000 units.

Tango & Cash, Harold Faltermeyer
First release ever of Harold Faltermeyer’s complete, hard-driving electronic score to the beloved 80’s actioner starring Sly Stallone and Kurt Russell. Limited Edition of 3000 units.

A Name For Evil/The Unknown, Dominic Frontiere
Premiere release of two Dominic Frontiere scores – from the 1973 horror feature A Name For Evil and The Unkown, a score for a television pilot that eventually was broadcast as an episode of The Outer Limits entitled “The Form of Things Unknown.”

For more info, visit La-La Land Records' website.

MovieScore Media is 'Evil'

2006-06-27T22:04:00.000-04:00

MovieScore Media presents the Ivor Novello Award-winning score from the Academy Award-nominated film...

Evil
Music Composed and Conducted by Francis Shaw

Available exclusively on iTunes.

Nominated for a 'Best Foreign Language Film' Oscar at the 2004 Academy Awards, Swedish drama Evil featured an elegant and beautifully constructed orchestral score by British veteran composer Francis Shaw. Recently, the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters acknowledge Shaw's Evil score - it received the 2006 Ivor Novello Award for 'Best Original Film Score' in competition with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Pride and Prejudice.

Evil: Original Motion Picture Score will be available exclusively from iTunes on June 27, 2006, with wider digital distribution to follow.

For soundclips and more info visit MovieScore Media's website.

Rabid collectors devour CDs

2006-06-26T22:28:00.000-04:00

ScoreNotes recently interviewed Brian Tyler about his latest, The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and previous assignments. They've presented the interview in Real Audio and MP3 so you can use your ears instead of your eyes! Check out ScoreNotes.

In rabid collector news... As expected several of Varese's CD club releases sold out within a single day. The titles announced:

Gloria, Bill Conti (2000 copies)
The War of The Roses, David Newman (2000 copies)
An Unfinished Life, Chris Young (1000 copies - Sold Out!)
Sky Bandits, Alfi Kabiljo (1000 copies - Sold Out!)

Both An Unfinished Life (Young's rejected score) and Sky Bandits (a reissue of of the 1986 LP) sold out by Monday evening.

I went for Sky Bandits, War of The Roses and Silvestri's Romancing The Stone.

FSM Bern-ing up wallets...

2006-06-25T21:58:00.000-04:00

Recently released is Film Score Monthly's massive 12-disc Elmer Bernstein's Filmmusic Collection. Complete with a 136-page hardcover book, this set covers the series re-recording LPs Bernstein conducted and released in 1974-1979. The cost, a hefty $200 U.S. Available now at Screen Archives.

Composers in the news... Elizabeth Snead, of the L.A. Times writes:

"Composer Hans Zimmer just tried the new updated Pirates ride and called it “a thrill” to hear snippets of his Pirates score during it. Disney chairman Dick Cook revealed plans to update the ride again for the premiere of the third Pirates, as yet untitled, skedded for May 25, 2007."

Yes, that's right -- Disney's classic-animatronic ride "Pirates of The Caribbean" has been retrofited with characters from the films and music from Hans Zimmer's score (and perhaps a note or two from the score credited to Klaus Badelt for contractual reasons...)

By the time you read this... Varese will have announced their latest club discs and one or two of them may have sold out. The titles will be/were revealed on their website at 12AM Monday, June 26. Go get 'em!

Ottman: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!

2006-06-23T21:59:00.000-04:00

Why go out in the sun this weekend when you can sit inside and check this out...

Superman Returns composer and editor John Ottman will appear this Sunday, June 25th, on KGO 810 AM. Beginning at 1 a.m. PST, the five-hour radio show will focus extensively on Superman Returns and the Superman phenomenon, including music from Ottman's score for the film and a one-hour live interview with Ottman. The interview airs at 2:05 a.m. PST. Those outside of KGO's Los Angeles to Canada coverage area can hear the broadcast live at http://www.kgoam810.com/listenlive.asp. The enhanced score CD for "Superman Returns," release date June 27th from Rhino Records, contains behind-the-scenes video footage that includes Ottman's scoring session for the film. To listen to track samples, go to Rhino Records' website.

Cinematic Sound: 06/22 show

2006-06-23T00:03:00.000-04:00

From Erik Woods of Cinematic Sound...

June 22, 2006 Update:

The On-Demand Shows for this week are now on-line.

...to hear the “Superman Returns and Amazing Stories" program. On the program this week we will be playing music from Steven Spielberg’s mid-80’s TV series Amazing Stories. Intrada Records is planning on releasing a 6 CD, 3 volume anthology of music from this series and on the program this week we will be playing music from the first volume. You will hear music from such composers as John Williams, James Horner, Bruce Broughton, Danny Elfman, Geroges Delerue, Billy Goldenberg, and more. Plus, we will be featuring music from John Ottman’s score to Superman Returns. Click here for playlist.

Also check out the "Suspense Thriller and Spy Films" program.

During this show we will be playing music from such films as Eye of The Needle (Rozsa), Mission: Impossible (Elfman), The Bourne Supremacy (Powell), The Tailor of Panama (Davey), Ronin (Cmiral), True Lies (Fiedel), Johnny English (Shearmur), Sneakers (Horner), and Spy Game (Gregson-Williams). Click here for playlists.

Review: Beck's 'The Sentinel'

2006-06-22T01:22:00.000-04:00

The Sentinel
Music Composed and Produced by Christophe Beck
Disc Rating: ****

The hybrid film score is now the norm in Hollywood. Hybrid scores, of course, are the fusing of electronic elements with acoustic elements… more than just a drum loop thrown in here and there. A real hybrid score by a talented composer contains equal measures of both electronics and orchestra, living together in harmony… uh pun hopefully not intended. Christophe Beck is quickly becoming one of the best in the business at taking these two worlds and fusing them together. 2005's Elektra was one of the best examples of a great hybrid... now we have The Sentinel.

The Sentinel isn't a film that needs a memorable theme, or big orchestrations. It's The Fugitive meets In the Line of Fire meets 24 (why did Kiefer Sutherland agree to be in this film? Did someone trick him by moving him in his 24 trailer onto the Sentinel set?) In these films about a man on the run (Michael Douglas in this case), the rhythm of the score is really the most important aspect. It has to keep running, just like the protagonist. Beck accomplishes this with steady rhythmic loops and percussion, layered on top of each other, swimming around like some well-choreographed water ballet. The production on this score is top notch and often quite hip and inventive, and should be experienced through good speakers.

The acoustic instruments are a sizeable string section and brass section. For a film about the Secret Service, a lot of patriotic trumpet lines are employed, especially in tracks like "Cars and Guns."

Highlights on the album, for me, are "The Mall" which contain some rhythmically interesting string/electronic grooves (reprised again in "The Sentinel"), "Garrison's Polygraph" with some great analog synth patterns, "Fingerprints," "Assassin Down," the list goes on and on. By using new electronic elements from track to track, this album never gets boring, or too repetitive (it does sag slightly in the middle).

Granted, The Sentinel isn't for everyone. If you detest electronic grooves and effects with your orchestra, this album is not for you. This is not your typical Media Ventures hybrid score, though. Ed Shearmur is quoted as saying "It's as much a compositional idea to sit down and be tampering with audio as it is to sit in front of a piano and be writing a melody." (On the Track, Karlin & Wright, p. 374) And he's absolutely correct. A lot of care and "tampering" went into the electronic elements of this score. True, you won't go into your local Tower Records and see piano sheet music for "Theme from the Sentinel" sitting among the John Williams and James Horner offerings, but if you're interested in hearing something fresh and hip, and composed with care, you should give The Sentinel a try.

Review date: June 14, 2006 (to appear on site in next update)

Steiner: BYU's 'Dark Victory', more...

2006-06-21T16:37:00.000-04:00

Various bits of news today...

The Independent's David Thomson on Bernard Herrmann... Read article.

From Ray Faiola, posted at Film Score Monthly's website:

Just a note to my fellow film fans that Chelsea Rialto Studios' latest classic film score release, Dark Victory, is now available for ordering from Screen Archives Entertainment.

Dark Victory features an exquisite musical score by Max Steiner and this new CD features virtually the complete score, including the song "Oh Give Me Time For Tenderness," as restored from the composer's personal acetate disc collection.

Licensed from Warner Bros. and presented by the Brigham Young University Film Music Archives, the album contains a full-color 32-page booklet with a complete production history as chronicled by renowned film historian Rudy Behlmer (Inside Warner Bros.).

To order, please visit Screen Archives.

Varese Sarabande has announced they will release John Debney's score for the CG-animated Ant Bully (starring the voice talents of Bruce Campbell!) on August 1. They are also set to release another round of Club CDs. Here's the cryptic blurb from their website:

Save the date ... it's CD Club time! To kick off the summer in CD Club style, we will announce the next four releases in our series on June 26. Don't miss the date. Some releases may drift away before the next summer night!

Intrada: new Small twofer

2006-06-20T02:00:00.000-04:00

Intrada Announces:

The Driver/The Star Chamber
Composed and Conducted by Michael Small
Intrada Special Collection Volume 33

Intrada is proud to present another Special Collection volume dedicated to the music of Michael Small. Following Intrada's recent release of his score to Black Widow are two more thrillers from the vaults of 20th Century Fox.

The Star Chamber (1983), written and directed by Peter Hyams, tells the tale of an idealistic, albeit disillusioned, young judge Steven R. Hardin (Michael Douglas). A colleague (Hal Holbrook) persuades him to join a secret society of like-minded jurists: the Star Chamber, meting out rough justice to criminals who, they believe, have slipped from the righteous clutches of the law. Initially willing to go along, Hardin swiftly feels his integrity challenged and his doubts building — and when he balks -- finds himself a target of the robed vigilantes.

The Driver (1978, from writer/director Walter Hill), stars Ryan O’Neal as a laconic getaway specialist whose expertise is stunningly displayed in three dazzling car chases through the mean streets of downtown Los Angeles. Hot on his trail is a rogue cop (Bruce Dern), who concocts an elaborate scheme to trap the wheelman. Assisted by two mysterious women, The Driver is forced to use his wits as well as his reflexes to keep a car-length ahead of the law.

Michael Small puts his painstaking, eccentric all into both scores,producing his trademark musical juxtapositions: shivering strings, bursts of echoing brass, the synth used as no one else could manage — it's all here. In The Star Chamber, Small introduces a stately, measured judicial fanfare as the wheels of justice turn, which he then subverts as those wheels come off the rails. In The Driver, he takes a chance remark (Bruce Dern referring to Ryan O ’Neal as "a cowboy") and spins it into a lovely musical trope: a delicately countrified theme for the character of the Driver that tenderly uses keyboards with a touch of slide guitar.

While producing this album, CD producer Nick Redman discovered far more music than was utilized in the release versions of the either film. In THE STAR CHAMBER, much of the music is dialed-down to the point of almost subliminal effect. In THE DRIVER, Small's score has been trimmed to virtual non-existence.

Intrada features The Star Chamber from the original stereo elements in excellent condition, and The Driver in its original mono format.

This release is limited to 1200 units. In stock now. For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit Intrada.com

Devil boy, death dealers and cowboys!

2006-06-19T00:44:00.000-04:00

Here's more Marco Beltrami than you can shake a sacrificial dagger at...

The Omen
Remakes are becoming the bane of Hollywood these days. One after another after another seems to be coming out of the studio system. Rarely is the re-make ever really better than the original film, yet they mostly bring in high box office numbers on that first weekend, so they keep getting made. It's unfortunate that today's talented young composers have to find a way to score these remakes, so as to pay homage to original, yet still work with the new film and stay true to the composer's own voice. Continue reading review...

Underworld: Evolution
Vampires. Marco Beltrami has no lack of experience scoring films with vampires, what with Dracula 2000 and Blade II under his belt (though, none of them had Kate Beckinsale in skin-tight leather to provide inspiration!). Beyond vampire films, though, Beltrami seems to have been almost typecast as a horror/action horror specialist. This makes a film like Underworld: Evolution fall right up his alley. Continue reading review...

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
In principle, I have always firmly believed that a film score can eschew a Western orchestra and still carry the dramatic depth and heart that cinema demands. In practice, I rarely find scores that support this theory – more often then not, non-orchestral film scores float like generic deadweight and only serve to fuel the previous generation's argument that modern film music is dead. But every once and a while, a score comes along to prove my principle. At the moment, that score is Marco Beltrami's Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Continue reading review...

Tyler's too 'Fast' too 'Furious'

2006-06-16T01:17:00.000-04:00

Brian Tyler's official website has been completely redesigned top to bottom just in time for his latest, The Fast and The Furious Tokyo Drift. Speaking of which, there are five insanely exciting clips from his score also on the site. The album is due out June 27th from Varese Sarabande. Head over to the site and check out those Furious clips. briantyler.com.

It's Marco Beltrami week!

2006-06-15T02:04:00.000-04:00

We've got a triple dose of Beltrami for you this week with reviews of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Underworld Evolution and The Omen set to hit the site in the next day or two. For now, here's an advance look at The Omen...

"Goldsmith’s score to Richard Donner’s original, of course, is a classic, and is one of my favorite Jerry Goldsmith scores. It works incredibly well as an album, and it adds so much to the film- in fact, many scenes are saved because of it. The Latin-chanting choir influenced an entire generation of horror scores that followed. Perhaps if was wise, then, of Beltrami not to take the new Omen score in a new direction, or to try and mimic exactly what Goldsmith did. Beltrami is not the type of composer who deals with clichés. However, by not crafting a score as audacious as Goldsmith’s, and creating one that merely serves the film as a routine horror flick (which this film definitely is), he has made himself into a sacrificial lamb of sorts. Indeed, the critics have blasted the score in most reviews of this update. The tense moments are there. The sweet family music is still there. But there’s no choir… just little nods to what Jerry did. The result, is a score without the gravitas and fire of a typical Marco Beltrami horror score, and one that gets unfairly scrutinized against one of the most brilliant horror scores of all time."

And an excerpt from Three Burials...

"I’ve always been sort of hot and cold with Beltrami as a composer. I admire the fact that he’s managed to craft a distinct and recognizable musical voice (far more than most film composers of his generation have achieved), but something has always seemed just a bit muted and distant about his large-scale orchestral works, impressive as the best of them are. Three Burials changes that perception for me. If you’re one of the many who adamantly love his orchestral pyrotechnics from the likes of Hellboy and I, Robot, you’ll likely be disappointed with this one as it’s an entirely different animal, but if you’re like me, you’ll relish its off-kilter mingling of and heat-stroke induced hallucinations and heartfelt lyricism. Like the excellent film it accompanies (Tommy Lee Jones’ contemporary revisionist Western is very likely the best film Beltrami has scored to date), Beltrami’s score is a quirky and often brutally macabre animal, but it carries an affecting human touch throughout and is touching as it is perverse."

More soon...

Label: Perseverance Records

2006-06-14T00:19:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard of Perseverance Records, check out their website . This small (their word!) soundtrack label is gearing up for a big year.

Currently available: Dennis Dreith's score for the horror film Gag; due up this summer: Craig Safan's '80s cult-favorite Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins, Phillip Lambro's Crypt of The Living Dead, a re-recording of Lambro's rejected score for Chinatown and David Williams' The Prophecy.

Ordering info and more available at perseverancerecords.com.

Elfman returns 'Nacho' combo

2006-06-13T01:25:00.000-04:00

Update! With word on Nacho (see below), I emailed Richard Kraft, Danny's agent to ask whether the news was true and if he could shed some light on the subject. He replied with:

"Ryan,

Danny Elfman has not removed his name from Nacho Libre. He elected not to take a "Music by" credit.

Danny Elfman was brought in to do a replacement score on for the film. The final mix of the movie includes about 2/3rds of the score Elfman composed with the other third comprised of music retained from the first score (composed by Beck) as well as other music. For this reason, Elfman chose not to take a "Music by" credit on the film or advertisements. Instead, he decided to take credit for the cues he composed in the End Titles to properly identify his contributions to the final film."

Last night... According to info posted at composer/orchestrator Steve Bartek's website, and at the elfman.filmmusic.com msg board:

"Danny Elfman has taken his name off of "Nacho Libre." Apparently the studio decided to nix a few main cues they spent a lot of time on, and replaced them with music Danny didn't want to be associated with. Consequently, Elfman has withdrawn his name from the credits, though much of his score will still be intact in the film."

And you thought everything would go smoothly for this summer's film scores?

Holst: "Am I not merciful!?!" No.

2006-06-12T01:26:00.000-04:00

While I couldn't verify the report with any online news source, word around the film music msg boards and discussion lists is that Hans Zimmer is set to do battle with the Holst Foundation and publishers J Curwen & Sons. According to one post, which cites the London paper the Daily Mail (and please allow me to copy this with a tip of the hat to 'NH'):

"Mr Zimmer admits in the CD sleeve notes that people find the pieces similar, but says he used 'the same language, the same vocabulary, if not the same syntax'. But he will resist the legal claim. His lawyer said, 'Mr Zimmer's work on Gladiator is world-renowned and is not in any sense a copy of Mars. Just listening to the two works is enough to tell any listener the claim has no merit.'"

I'm sure this has absolutely nothing to do with the Gladiator soundtrack being a huge seller and Hans Zimmer being richer than God...

Trevor Jones in da howze!

2006-06-09T12:58:00.000-04:00

From the folks at Soncinemad:

The Soncinemad Trevor Jones symphonic concert will take place at the Teatro Monumental, Madrid, in the 1st of July, 2006, at 20:00. The spectacular 120-piece RTVE Simphony Orchestra and Choir will perform a wide selection of suites from Trevor Jones works on a total duration of 120 minutes. The orchestra and choir will be conducted by the composer himelf.

He was recently in Madrid supervising the technical details for the concert and the first orchestra rehearsals.

Programme
1. Cliffhanger
2. Merlin
3. For Roseanna
4. Aegis
5. The Last Place on Earth
Intermission
6. The Last of The Mohicans
7. The Mighty
8. Fields of Freedom (Premiere Mundial)
Finale
9.The Dark Crystal
10. Encore I
11. EncoreII
12. Encore III

The tickets for Soncinemad Symphonic Concerts are now available for purchase. You can acquire the tickets for the Trevor Jones’ and Harry Gregson Williams´ two different concerts, online via www.telentrada.com, by this phone number 902-10-12-12 or through any Caixa Catalunya branch. Additionally, you can purchase the tickets from www.soncinemad.com.

Concert Details:
Trevor Jones Symphonic Concert (RTVE Simphony Orchestra)
Date: Saturday 1st July
Time: 20:00 P.M
Place: Teatro Monumental (Madrid)
Prices: 25-35-40-45 €
Trevor Jones in concert

Intrada: new McKenzie album

2006-06-07T00:20:00.000-04:00

Intrada Announces:
In From The Night / Silver Bells
Composed, Orchestrated and Conducted by Mark McKenzir

For this Signature Edition release, Intrada showcases two sensitive,beautiful scores for Hallmark Hall of Fame productions. In From The Night (2006) tells the story of a writer's carefully ordered life that is turned upside down when her 16-year-old nephew, Bobby, unexpectedly arrives at her doorstep. Bobby is an ominous creature, and the center of an ongoing family tug-of-war.

In Silver Bells (2005), Anne Heche plays a lonely widow who unexpectedly and reluctantly finds love. She takes on a 16-year old photography student who had run away from his father while visiting New York. Single father and son reunite a year later, and father falls in love with the lonely widow. Based on Luanne Rice's best selling novel, Rice wrote the novel as a love letter to the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.

When Mark McKenzie scored these films, he latched onto the common themes of unconditional love in family life. For In From The Night, McKenzie underscores the childlike simplicity of Bobby's traumatized character and the unconditional acceptance he received from his aunt. In Silver Bells, McKenzie infuses the movie with a sense of wonderment amidst the loneliness and family conflict that surfaces around the holidays. Both are warm, orchestral scores and a perfect complement to each other.

This release is limited to 1000 copies.

In stock now. For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit
Intrada.com.

Soundtrack Preview: 'The Omen'

2006-06-05T00:18:00.000-04:00

The Devil made me do it! Beware 6/5/06! Yes, another preview. Check out five samples from Marco Beltrami's score for The Omen remake opening this Tuesday, aka 6/6/06. Beltrami, who studied under Jerry Goldsmith (quick history lesson: Goldsmith won his one and only Oscar for the original The Omen) pays homage to the master in his end title track "Omen 76/06" (referencing "Ave Satani", and "The Killer Storm" among others), and quotes Goldsmith's serene "The Piper Dreams" theme from the original The Omen in "The Adoption" and "The Nanny's Noose". Don't think that Marco rests on the emotional resonance of the original's material (unlike say, that upcoming caped crusader score) to get the job done. True to form, Beltrami unleashes highly entertaining thrills worthy of the Son of Satan in cues like "Ambassador Gets Fired", "Dogs In The Cemetery" and "Alter of Sacrifice". Strangely enough, the signature sound of the original score, the chorus, is not a major feature of Beltrami's score. He does utilize a light choir, but the chorus only appears in the end title track. Enjoy the clips. It's all for you, Damien!

1. The Omen Main Titles
2. A Cross To Bear
3. Dogs In The Cemetery
4. Alter Of Sacrifice
5. Omen 76/06

Links: Purchase The Omen / Varese Sarabande Records

Previous previews: Cars / X-Men: The Last Stand

It's hard out here for a OST pimp

2006-06-01T01:03:00.000-04:00

It's summer. The air is gettin' hot (even here in Canada - believe that), the ladies are wearing less and above the A/C din you've got... Zimmer's The Da Vinci Code booming!? My friend, what are you thinking? Deep, liturgical basses, cellos and mournful female vocals do not cut it when the grass needs to be cut. Retreating from the heat and cruising the food court at the mall listening to Morricone's Lolita is not recommended.

While there's some interesting soundtrack material out there -- the orchestral thrills of Caine Davidson's An American Haunting (horror score for jiggling furniture, not mammaries!), Naxos' re-recording of Benjamin Frankel's Hammer Horror Curse of The Werewolf (time to get those hairy backs waxed, guys) and the insistent throb of Cinematic Underground's Brick (to go along with those, ahem, other throbs you feel at the beach?) - none of it manages to match the moods and colours of our sweltering surroundings.

The problem is that summer just isn't good for film music, despite being the season when most of the year's favorites are released. There's just too much going on to underline it all with percolating synths, bombast or soaring choirs (unless there was an Elfman Spider-Man score being released, of course).

This will be the hardest summer yet, since 1989, for this soundtrack fan. True confession: I'm listening to less and less film music when not listening to film music, these days. I think for a lot of people who approach this genre through emotional connections -- and I'm not talking about nerds and dweebs who love Star Wars, Star Trek or Joss Whedon's [insert cancelled title here]. And I'm certainly not talking about people who squirrel away duplicate copies of Varese Club discs because they expect to sell it for Starlog subscription money. I'm talking about the people who love movies implicitly, who have always felt that there was the right soundtrack for any moment. An exciting score can perk you up, or, if you're wallowing in misery, a good emotionally gutting score can let you simmer in sadness. But I've found other, non-OST music satisfying these emotional needs, and doing it better. And, since it's summer, I don't have to listen to it with the windows rolled up. Yes, you know what I'm talking about. Next time you see a sweaty nerd suffering inside his Corolla, windows rolled up with the sun broiling him in his Family Guy t-shirt, he may just be soaked in sweat and soaking in "Kyrie For The Magdalene". Dude, take the summer off. Those soundtracks will be there in September! - Ryan Keaveney

Soundtrack Preview: 'Cars'

2006-05-31T00:17:00.000-04:00

Following the success of the X-Men: The Last Stand preview, Cinemusic brings you five clips from Randy Newman's score for Disney/Pixar's Cars, in stores June 6th on Walt Disney Records. Like his previous scores for Pixar's Toy Story (1 and 2), A Bug's Life and Monsters, Inc., Cars is thoroughly Randy Newman effort - zippy, brightly colored and infused with plenty of personality. Unique for Newman is an infusion of rocking drums and electric guitars (think James Newton Howard's Space Jam), which will surely thrill Nascar fans more than film music purists! Walt Disney Records tops up Newman's 20+ minutes of score with a stable of inoffensive family-friendly radio acts like Sherly Crow, Racal Flatts, James Taylor and John Mayer.

1. Opening Race
2. New Road
3. Dirt Is Different
4. McQueen and Sally
5. The Big Race

Links: Purchase Cars / Walt Disney Records

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Caps: 'BB Mountain' & more

2006-05-30T17:27:00.000-04:00

A new batch of capsule reviews was added to the site on Monday. This was a great way to catch up with titles we missed in '05, among them the Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain and the fan-favorite Hostage. I know what you're thinking: "Capsule reviews. So what?!" Well, each one has a soundclip to go with. This is the only place you'll find that, Mr. Crabby McSoundtrack! Click here to read 'em (and listen!).

Review: Powell's 'Ice Age 2'

2006-05-29T00:10:00.000-04:00

Ice Age The Meltdown
Music Composed, Arranged and Produced by John Powell

There are only so many ways of saying that John Powell's career is going up-up-up, that he gets better with each score, and that 2006 is his biggest year yet, so let's just pretend that I already found a fresh way of making that observation and move on. The fact that his grand-scale comedic romp for Ice Age The Meltdown is destined to be his least significant work this year only emphasizes how far the man's come from his early days as one of Hans Zimmer's many lackeys. Continue reading review...

Review: Zimmer's ' Da Vinci Code'

2006-05-26T00:33:00.000-04:00

The Da Vinci Code
Music Composed, Arranged and Produced by Hans Zimmer

The Da Vinci Code. Whether you've seen the movie, or read the book, or both, or neither, you're sure to have heard something about it. Given that Ron Howard was chosen as director for the screen adaptation of the novel, the choice of Hans Zimmer to pen the film's score was an interesting one, given Howard's tendency to work with James Horner and, more recently, Thomas Newman.

It was a risky choice that paid off, however. Zimmer has crafted a score that aptly fits the dark and religious tone of the subject matter. Continue reading review...

Varese: another trip through 'Stargate'

2006-05-25T01:18:00.000-04:00

Varese Sarabande announced a pair of upcoming releases, first up in stores on July 20th is Brian Tyler's The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Varese sez:

"...The propulsive score for The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift was composed by Brian Tyler. It packs an explosive and exhilarating energy which allows the composer to also show off his virtuosity with both the guitar and percussion. Joining Brian on guitar is none other than Slash (Guns N’Roses, Velvet Underground). This is a furious dose of adrenaline that makes for one of the most thrilling CDs of the summer!..."

Also due from (curiously) label is David Arnold's Stargate (aka the first film of my young adult life that I truly hated). Previously available from Milan Records, Varese promises:

"...The Deluxe Edition treatment in this newly mastered and expanded special soundtrack release...This is the Stargate CD everyone has been waiting for!"

More info: varesesarabande.com

Review: Powell's 'X-Men 3'

2006-05-24T01:04:00.000-04:00

X-Men: The Last Stand
Music by John Powell

It has taken three attempts by three different composers to get the music for the popular X-Men franchise right. Michael Kamen's score to X-Men, with all due respect, made no sense to me. There were no big themes to grab hold of. The X-Men series, which crams as many superheroes into a two-hour film as can be attempted by man, would kill any composer trying to assign a leitmotif for each of the major characters. But one strong, memorable theme is absolutely necessary to represent the whole X-Men team. Continue reading review...

Vidgames: 'Lineage II' concert

2006-05-23T15:31:00.000-04:00

NCsoft Announces “Lineage II: The Concert” -- Award-winning composer Inon Zur to be honored at first symphonic game music concert in Korea.

Renowned composer Inon Zur will be celebrated in a special live symphony concert presentation of his music for the computer game Lineage II: Chronicle V: Oath of Blood, to be performed by the Mostly Philharmonic Orchestra at the AX-Hall in Seoul, Korea on May 30th, 2006. Internationally recognised as one of the A-list composers in the video games industry, Zur was commissioned by NCsoft Korea to compose the game’s original score based on his award-winning dramatic music for film, television and video games.

Mr. An Yong Jin, Sound Supervisor at NCsoft Studio E&G and organizer of Lineage II: The Concert, said, ”Inon has written some of the most emotionally charged and ethereal music heard in a computer game to date. His music for Lineage II is perfectly suited for a live symphony concert setting and more importantly it matches our vision for this epic game and upgrades the fantasy to a whole new level!”

For the recording of the Lineage II: Chronicle V: Oath of Blood original game score, Zur recently conducted and recorded with the 70-piece Northwest Sinfonia at the Bastyr University Chapel in Seattle. The score was mixed at Zur’s project studio in Los Angeles.

Commenting on his music for the game and the upcoming live concert performance in Seoul, Korea, Inon Zur said, “I’m very proud and honored to take part in the legendary Lineage series. I hope my music will add to the Lineage heritage and bring some new elements to this magical world. I had an extremely fascinating experience working on this game and I look forward to sharing this music with the players and fans. It is a dream come true to have my music performed live in concert.”

For more information please visit www.inonzur.com.

Hot 'X' preview at Cinemusic

2006-05-17T00:45:00.000-04:00

Cinemusic loves you. To prove it, here's a sneak peek at John Powell's upcoming score for X-Men: The Last Stand, in stores on May 23 on Varese Sarabande Records. The score, written for mammoth orchestra, chorus and electronics, is Powell's biggest to date. Stepping into the third film of a franchise, John delivers several highlights including a completely new theme for the X-Men gang (heard prominently in clips 3 and 5) as well as some show-stopping anvil work and a bass-thumping groove mixed with his main theme ("The Last Stand")! Enjoy...

1. Whirlpool of Love
2. Dark Phoenix's Tragedy
3. Attack on Alcatraz
4. Phoenix Rises
5. The Last Stand

Links: Purchase X-Men: The Last Stand / Varese Sarabande

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'Alias' ended

2006-05-16T01:49:00.000-04:00

After five seasons, Alias, the spy-action-drama that helped lift ABC out of the ratings gutter is retiring. Series composer Michael Giacchino and company pulled out all the stops, recording thirty-plus minutes of music for the series finale, utilizing a larger orchestra than usual in a whirlwind four hour session yesterday at Paramount in Los Angeles. The final eps will air later this month. Viewers in the United States can watch the final episodes for free at ABC.com the day after they air.

Caps: 'Jarhead', 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'

2006-05-15T00:25:00.000-04:00

Jarhead
Music Composed and Conducted by Thomas Newman
Decca Records, B000598302, 25 Tracks, 61'21"
Rating: ***

Thomas Newman has done some of his best work for Sam Mendes, but Jarhead was always going to be a tricky project to handle musically. It's a film about a war whose ground soldiers really didn't get to do anything, and Mendes refuses to make any commentary either for or against the military that would obstruct the film's attempt at an honest portrayal. This does not leave the composer much to work with, so we should give Newman credit that the score is as entertaining and intelligently crafted as it is. An eclectic slew of rock, percussive, Middle Eastern, and whatever other elements Newman sees fit to toss in, the score creates convincing musical approximation of the frustration and pent-up aggression of a group of a soldiers stuck in a war that they aren't allowed to fight. Newman keeps the momentum consistent, and despite the lack of an orchestra or any presence in the emotional foreground, the music is consistently engaging throughout. Make no mistake, this is decidedly the Newman of The Player and American Beauty – if you were hoping for his bittersweet orchestral sweep, you will most definitely be disappointed. Still, while it's hardly one of his best, it's the best possible score a film like this could hope for. - Paul Cote

Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Music Composed by John Powell
Lakeshore Records, LKS33828, 19 Tracks, 43'54"
Rating: ****

John Powell has established himself as the front-runner in scoring hip contemporary thrillers in the past several years, seemingly growing better with each successive project. To date, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is the best of the bunch and by far Powell's best solo project to date. In fact, this may be damning with faint praise, but this may be the best score I've heard from the genre, period. Best described as techno-tango-flamenco action music, this is a score with style, wit, and energy that never lets up. The Spanish dance element would be a gimmick in lesser hands, but Powell turns it into a source of genuine inspiration and manages to score the entire film from this angle. He uses an orchestra, but merges it seamlessly into the Spanish and electronic ensemble, creating an organic sound that never sounds trapped in any particular world. Miraculously, the album never runs out of steam, as virtually all of the scores in this genre eventually do – Powell keeps the momentum running throughout the score's entirety. There few scores that you could impress your friends with (even when those scores are for would-be-hip thrillers), but Mr. and Mrs. Smith may be one of the first. I doubt you'll hear it in the club circuit, but I wouldn't be surprised if pieces from the score emerge as staples of the contemporary dance stage in years to come. - Paul Cote

'Amazing' 10 year wait worth it

2006-05-12T02:51:00.000-04:00

Intrada raised the bar last night with the announcement of their latest release. This is a huge fan favorite (yes, I've already ordered my copy) and should go a long way with pleasing those of us who grew up in the '80s glued to the T.V.

Intrada Announces:

Amazing Stories
Music by John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, and More
Intrada Special Collection Volume 32

In 1985, Steven Spielberg launched an ambitious anthology series called Amazing Stories. Spread out over two seasons were good-natured, colorful tales of the fantastic. Stories about a cartoon wheel on a world war II plane, a phantom train, a ghoulish school teacher, magnetized kids, mummys and hair pieces gone wild...anything the imagination could conjure. To bring these outlandish tales to life, Spielberg assembled an amazing line up of directors including himself, Clint Eastwood, Danny DeVito, Robert Zemeckis, Joe Dante, Martin Scorsese and many more. Musically, Amazing Stories featured some of Hollywood's biggest talents -- a roster of composers never seen before or since on a single television series.

Within the next few months, Intrada will be releasing three 2-CD sets featuring the stunning music composed for Amazing Stories. Some of the highlight episodes included on these three sets are John Williams' "Ghost Train" and "The Mission", Jerry Goldsmith's "Boo", James Horner's "Alamo Jobe", and music by Bruce Broughton, Michael Kamen, Leonard Rosenman, Georges Delerue, Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestri, Craig Safan, David Shire...the list goes on. Each represented episode is complete, and each disc features a different version of the Amazing Stories theme. Also featured is Williams' Amblin logo theme.

The music was mixed from the original multi-track masters and result in stunning stereo sound throughout. Liner notes are by Jon Burlingame. The first set is available now and is limited to 3000 copies.

Intrada Special Collection - Volume 32
In stock now
For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, please visit Intrada.com

Great Scott 'On The Score'

2006-05-11T01:32:00.000-04:00

Daniel Schweiger, host of On The Score, posted this at FSM, so I swiped it to post here...

John Scott is the new guest at On the Score, the show that listens to the words and music of today's top composers. So tune in to www.filmmusicradio.com to hear Scott discuss a legendary career that includes such scores as Greystoke, The Final Countdown and The Costeau Voyages.

Scott will also talk about his upcoming concert on Thursday, May 18th at Royce Music Hall, a show that will show the influence of classical music on such scores as Logan's Run, Scott of the Antartic and Greystoke and guests that will include Michael York (Logan's Run) and Samantha Eggar (The Collector).

And be sure to tune in for a chance to win a pair of tickets to Scott's concert, with a pair given away every day through Saturday. Just go to the Trivia site on the left of the Main FMR page to enter.

Thanks for listening to a Score that celebrates the esteemed career of John Scott at www.filmmusicradio.com

Capsules: 'Punisher' and 'Penguins'

2006-05-10T01:07:00.000-04:00

The Punisher
Music Composed and Conducted by Dennis Dreith
Perserverance Records, PRD 006, 39 Tracks, 79'22"
Rating: ***

This was news to me too, but apparently last year's forgettable Hollywood adaptation of Marvel Comics' The Punisher was actually the vigilante's second big-screen outing. The first was this 1990 Australian (?!) production, scored by Dennis Dreith (no, I hadn't heard of him either). One might reasonably enter this sort of score expecting the worst, but Dreith's music is surprisingly involving. The 80s pop elements certainly haven't aged well, but the score contains some surprisingly sophisticated action writing that recalls the most relentless music that Jerry Goldsmith was writing around this period (I'm thinking of Total Recall in particular). Granted, the hideous synthesizers occasionally recall some of the worst music that Jerry Goldsmith was writing in this period, but the grand orchestral passages are sizable and rich with genuinely interesting musical ideas. Anybody searching for a memorable theme is going to go home empty handed, but the album is well worth the risk for more adventurous listeners. - Paul Cote

March of The Penguins
Music Composed and Produced by Alex Wurman
Milan Records, M2-36131, 12 Tracks, 41'31"
Rating: ****

Alex Wurman's charming score for the little Penguin movie that could is one of 2005's highlights for me. In a year filled with bombastic, over-orchestrated thrill rides featuring classical music performer guest stars, Wurman's score singles itself out as quaint, and stunningly beautiful in it's simplicity. From the calming chord progressions in "The Harshest Place on Earth", which opens the Milan soundtrack album, to the tear-jerker "Going Home for the First Time", Wurman's quasi-new-age, quasi-orchestral score emphasizes micro ideas voiced on an assortment of solo instruments, primarily shimmering flutes, light strings and piano, and soft electronic pads that make for a comforting, and satisfactory listen. I realize this may not be everyone's idea of epic scoring, but the film never demands more in terms of volume, and in this case, an overtly aggressive approach would have steamrolled the delicacy of the story and our connection with those loveable penguins. There are many highlights here, including the insistent harp and vibes in the middle of "Walk Not Alone", which give away to a jaunty piano line and assorted percussion and gongs ("The March"). The idea here is movement and determination, and Wurman conveys this clearly. The composer's main theme is also repeated frequently, for those pesky theme buffs. The album is breathlessly sequenced, with tracks transitioning seamlessly into each other. The entire experience is an emotional transportation - a mix of heart-wrenching beauty ("Found Love") and sweet melancholy ("Walk Through Darkness"). One of 2005's best scores. - Ryan Keaveney

Tyler 'Furious' with SoundtrackNet

2006-05-09T01:24:00.000-04:00

Does that headline make it seem like there's some sort of scandal? Well, if it does, great! Nothing like a little made up heat to bring things to a boil around here. In reality, it's another installment in the SoundtrackNet remote podcast series, this time with Brian Tyler, live from mixing sessions for his The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift score. To listen, head to SoundtrackNet.