Annie Lennox, Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
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Free Music Notes for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Free Music Review: Unlike anything else.
Hit: 5 Stars
The album is fantastic in its own right (as over 100 people have already mentioned). The themes are beautiful, easy to remember, and used well. However, that's been true of the previous two soundtracks. What I think is really wonderful about this album in particular is the way that Howard Shore uses themes from the earlier films. He takes time to develop them, use them as fragments, juxtapose them with other ideas. The wildly creative extent to which he takes these themes wouldn't be possible if he were scoring just one film (you need the whole movie just to get to a point where you recognize everything!). Here, he takes advantage of the fact that he's working with material that will be familiar to the audience, and is very clever and creative. I've never heard anything like it. I think Shore took advantage of a unique opportunity and did great things with it.Also, off the top of my head, I can't remember if Shore did the orchestration himself or not (many film composers don't), but I'd like to especially mention the fantastic orchestration. There are some wonderful moments in this soundtrack, like the opening of "Minas Tirith" (the horn solo playing the theme of Gondor over really eerie, dissonant, strings) and "Minas Morgul" (really, really strung-out woodwinds getting this incredible effect that recalls the Witches' Sabbath from Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique"). So crunchy and nasty and perfectly cool.
Free Music Review: Hail Howard Shore
Hit: 5 Stars
It seems that anything to do with "Lord of thr Rings" is large, grandiose and unabashedly epic. But everything to do with Peter Jacksons' incredible trilogy is permeated by a sense of earnestness and sincerity that wrench at our heartstrings and makes up love "Lord of the Rings" that much more. Composer Howard Shore is no exception. His score is cinematic and musical gold, the perfect musical vision of Tolkeins' mythical Middle Earth. Shore with his final entry in the trilogy shows just why he was chosen for such a project, as he has on "Fellowship" and "Towers." His theme for Gondor has as much brassy power as the Rohan while the cut "Shelob's Lair" captures Frodos' sense of terror as he encounters the giant spider. On every track, Shore finds the emotions within the listener to reveal what is happening in the story. "Ride of The Rohirrim" gloriously envisions 6000 calvalry in full gallop, "The Steward of Gondor" watches the suicidal mission of Faramir to recapture Osgilliath while his father sits in luxury. But not to be outdone, Annie Lennox lends her contributions to the hopeful and luminous "Into the West," which combines her otherworldly vocals with soft acoustic guitar, harmonic horns and beautiful lyrics to sieze the feeling of seeing the Elven ships pass into Valinor, the undying land. This score is a triumph. Howard Shore is a master.Free Music Review: Step aside John Williams!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
No disrespect intended to Mr. Williams, the great composer of movie classics, but Mr. Howard Shore has assumed the mantle of Composer Extraordinaire with his accomplishment of "The Return of the King", making him in my book the new king of soundtrack composers. This music is absolutely moving at moments and epic at others (MAYBE BOTH!!!) I am such a lover of good soundtracks for allowing us to revisit the movies through the inspiring music that is an integral part of them. Howard Shore's masterpiece of a score here (actually all 3 movies of the Lord of the Rings music) is just as magnificent as Peter Jackson's trilogy altogether. Get this CD- it's one that will never collect dust on your shelf- you'll be popping it into the stereo too much!One more thing- I am such a fan of great,rousing music- if you want something awesome to listen to while drivin' down the highway, try listening to Track 4 - "The White Tree". You can't help but feel the scene in movie as the beacons light across the majestic mountains of Gondor toward Rohan. POWERFUL!!! INSPIRING!!! FANTASTIC!!!!!! This is the best soundtrack I've bought since... hmmm.... The Two Towers!!!
In a nutshell, I'd say if you had the original Star Wars Trilogy soundtracks and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy soundtracks- we're talkin' time capsule here folks- they'll be listening to this music a a hundred years from now- it's classic stuff.
Free Music Review: How does Shore do it?
Hit: 5 Stars
Where to begin? I'm just stunned by the way Howard Shore managed to top his previous score for each new part of the trilogy. Not many people had heard of him before but now he's got so many fans. In the first score he managed to bring strings, brass, and chorale together in an amazing compilation with some incredibly ingenius harmonies and melodies. In the second score he introduced the Rohan theme, carefully integrating it with the previous themes and variating the meoldies and harmonies slightly. However, the newest addition to the the trilogy is definitely the most impressive. Subtle key changes give the themes such a minor feel that they almost seem entirely different. Beginning the themes with the same phrases but widening them into a new variation gives the listener a pleasing familariarity yet doesn't bore them by repition. The most impressive twist in the ROTK soundtrack I think lies in his clever overlapping of melody and harmony that were previously seperate, musically representing the interwoven plots the movie depicts. His integration of the talents of Viggo and Billy is a nice touch for fans of the trilogy but I wish he'd kept using Enya throughout instead of switching to Lennox...however, kudos to him for using Galaway on the flute! Overall my favorite theme is Concerning Hobbits and I was delighted so see it present in all three scores and expanded on with variations!Free Music Review: Another masterpiece!!
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is just as good, if not a bit above the other two soundtracks. With The Return of the King, Shore did much more than just make a copy of his first two scores. He composed another wonderful score that has a character all to its own. You can actually see the white walls of Minas Tirith in the third, fourth, and fifth tracks, see the battles on Pelennor on the thirteenth track, and hold your breath as the fate of Middle Earth is decided as Frodo and Gollum fight for the One Ring in the later tracks.My personal favorites are The Steward of Gondor, The Grey Havens, and Into the West. In The Steward of Gondor, Billy Boyd shines through with his amazing talent that is mixed in with eerie and ominous strings as Faramir's riders go on the suicide mission to attempt the recapture of Osgiliath. In The Grey Havens, you can feel the Hobbits' sorrow as they realize Frodo and the rest of the last Ringbearers on Middle Earth, Bilbo, Elrond, Galadriel, and Cirdan, must leave for Valinor.
And Annie Lennox does an absolutely outstanding job with Into the West. It is the perfect song to fall asleep to, or just to light candles and relax.
Overall, this album is definately worth every single penny. The other tracks are just as good as those that have received mention (but have slipped my mind at the moment. Heh.). An enjoyable CD for any Lord of the Rings/Howard Shore fan.