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| There are 528 Reviews Done |
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Abel Korzeniowski, Madonna - W.E.
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| Golden Globe 2012 Masterpiece. |
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Golden Globe 2012 de la meilleure chanson originale pour Masterpiece.
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0 of 3 found this review helpful |
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Jack Wall - Mass Effect 2
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| A wonderful soundtrack to one of the greatest games of all time |
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After composing the soundtrack for the first Mass Effect game,Jack Wall was chosen again by BioWare to take over the composition of the second game's soundtrack.
A very wise choice in my opinion.
The disc opens wonderfully with "The Illusive Man", a composition with a rather mysterious sound and an amazing violin accompanying the melody,dark and shady as the character himself. And then "The Humans are Dissapearing" is emitting emotions of determination to the player,that the mission you are tasked is not easy. "The Attack" throws you into the game's dynamic (a small part of the first game's track, "The Normandy" is also sampled in this track). "The Normandy Reborn" is just incredible, probably the most cheery track of the whole soundtrack.
The tracks with the names of the characters (Samara,Garrus,Miranda,Mordin,Jack,Legion,Tali,Jacob,Grunt and Thane) fit each character excellantly, it's like Jack Wall make a psycologic profile for each one and passed it into the music sheets.
There are also tracks named after places the player visits in game such as "Freedom's Progress", "Horizon" and "The Collector Base" which,if you play the game and hear the music again,you will instantly remember the places you have been.
The highlight of the soundrack is "Suicide Mission". Epic,dynamic,haunting with a characteristic melody, it undeniably becomes one of the best tracks written for videogame soundtrack. Even Jack Wall himself admited in an interview that this is his best composition.
"New Worlds" is a mix of "The Illusive Man" with the basis of the track on Mass Effect named "Uncharted Worlds". A refreshing melody,while using the game's Galaxy Map.
And finally, "Reflections" is Mass Effect 2's love theme. The piano is really touching and beautiful.
I recommend this soundtrack to every gamer. It is totally worth listentening.
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Thomas Bergersen - Illusions
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| Be Amazed |
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Illusions holds a special place in my playlists. It is the brainchild of Thomas Bergersen, who is also known for his work in Two Steps From Hell, one of the prominent trailer music producers.
The music is very similar: Sweeping epic orchestras will liven your imagination. The music is strong, full, and features many original melodies. It is trailer music, so it must be specifically tuned to appeal to a wide audience and stand out while the trailer plays.
There are some differences though that make this album stand out even more than TSFH's tracks. A weakness of trailer music is that it often lacks variation. Like pop has its standard setup of drums+guitars+singer, so has trailer music its setup of fast-strings+choir+a-random-instrumental-lead. Not so in Illusions, though. Thomas Bergersen chose for a more gradual build with some quiet/mysterious pieces among the hair-raising orchestra. It features a bit more solo singing and a bit less latin choir than usual. That's what makes Illusions the best. The tracks are also longer than common trailer music.
The second half of the album is better than the first half, in my opinion. Tracks to suggest are Merchant Prince, Immortal, Sonera, Reborn, Age of Gods, Illusions and Soulseeker.
Merchant Prince is a more 'standard' trailer track reminiscent of TSFH's Invincible album.
Immortal is likewise very much like Invincible, albeit a bit less famous since it didn't leak out before Illusions was released.
Sonera is a duet, with some great vocals and lots of different threads of music interweaved.
Reborn is slower, but hauntingly beautiful (my favorite).
Age of Gods has a great lead melody especially.
Illusions has some more electronic music interweaved, in synergy with the orchestra.
Soulseeker is the one that will spring to ear first since it is the most epic of the album and has a very loud refrain.
Enjoy listening! This album won't bore you quickly, I can promise.
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8 of 8 found this review helpful |
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Alex North - Rich Man, Poor Man
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| Rich Man, Poor Man |
| By: |
AveD
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| Date: |
19 Dec 2012 |
| Rating: |
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I couldn't possibly write as good a review as this score needs because I'm a huge AN so I am biased. Most don't get his particular genius & I don't quite understand it either. I only know I love his work. Below are the liner notes off the album describing each track. Thanks for reading. - AveD
RICH MAN, POOR MAN liner notes written by Alex North:
From my very first film score for A Streetcar Named Desire and through subsequent heavy assignments as Spartacus, Cleopatra, The Agony and the Ecstasy, & Death of a Salesman, I have never faced a challenge quite so unique as the commission to compose the music background for the 12 hour television version of Irwin Shaw's inspired novel, Rich Man, Poor Man. Roughly the equivalent in length to 6 two hour feature films, the treatment of the score called for a virtual musical anthology spanning 20 years in the lives of the Jordache family.
As in Salesman, my modus operandi was to resort to the leitmotif, a term stemming from Wagner's later operas, in which basic themes were used to represent the personalities of the roles acted upon the stage.
In listening to this recording you will hear themes which are identifiable with the important characters -- very often these themes are varied and modified to reflect the interpersonal relationships and dramatic conflicts of the characters.
Aside from these brief descriptive commentaries in the program, I hope most sincerely that the music will speak for itself. - Alex North
MAIN TITLE:
Axel, as the hard-working German emigre striving to fulfill "the American dream" for his wife and two sons, is reflected in this slightly flavored Americana theme.
JULIE:
A thematic portrait of a lovely adolescent girl, her desires and sensual curiosity. As stated here, the music is both naive and times richly textured.
RUDY:
Rudy, as the Rich Man, with an insatiable hunger for success and the rewards of achievement, musically expressed by a rather sophisticated waltz.
JULIE'S FIRST AFFAIR:
Rejection and disappointment in Rudy's puritanical behavior, July founds momentary satisfaction as she is wooed and seduced by the wealthy Boylan. A bittersweet melody underscores this experience.
AXEL AND TOM:
A tortured treatment of the German folk tune which is identified with Axel provides sharp contrast to Tom's bluesy, virile, and jazz-oriented "carnal" music.
TOM AND CLOTHILDE:
The thematic treatment here is intended to convey the tender, compassionate side of Tom in his first love encounter with Clothilde, an opposite to the music used for his more earthy moments.
RUDY AND GINNY:
A light somewhat elusive piece meant to underscore Rudy's zealous opportunism as he has a quasi-flirtation rendezvous with the daughter of his boss.
JULIE AND RUDY:
Having endured the flirtations of her unhappy marriage to Walter, Julie finds a moment of contentment and the rekindling of her youthful crush on Rudy, who she meets after a lapse of many years.
RUDY AND TOM:
Tom, unable to locate his father Axel to repay the "bail-out" money ha advanced, insists on giving it to a reluctant Rudy -- a partial reprise of Rudy's and Tom's musical motifs.
TOM'S DESPERATION:
Rejected and restless after Teresa leaves him and takes their son, Wesley, Tom has a lustful escapade with the wife of a gangster-backed big-time boxer, Joey, who seeks revenge. Joey is beaten to a pulp and Tom escapes to sea as a longshoreman to avoid retaliation. The music here is heavy, forceful and dramatic.
JULIE'S REMORSE:
Ignored and at a low ebb, Julie has a bitter experience with Falconetti and returns to Rudy. The music in this sequence mirrors her guilt and refers in retrospect to former romantic moments they shared.
TOM, DWYER AND FALCONETTI:
Bullied by Falconetti aboard ship who implies an abnormal relationship between Tom and his friend, Dwyer, Tom gives him a thorough beating. Again, the scene is underscored in vivid tones and strong orchestral colors.
DENOUEMENT:
Rudy's humiliation after his defeat, his angry assault on one of the protesting students, a brief reflection of his romantic past, Falconetti's revenge in the stabbing on Tom and Rudy's farewell to Tom at his bedside just before his death --all of these forces are expressed in this statement by the full orchestra.
END TITLE, END CAST:
Tom's ashes are thrown to the sea, which he loved so much, as his beloved Clothilde, son Wesley, friend and partner Dwyer, Rudy and Julie sorrowfully look on. I hope the music recreates this touching and final scene of the story.
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Wojciech Kilar - September Symphony; Lament
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| The Rock |
| By: |
kourou
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| Date: |
15 Dec 2012 |
| Rating: |
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Bonne orchestration mais.... toujours les mêmes suites harmoniques, une batterie omniprésente, des contretemps persistant à la mode Zimmer. Invention à peu nulle et bruitage en fond absolument sans intérêt. Ici, la musique crée l'imager au lieu de l’accompagner. Véritablement assommant.
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1 of 1 found this review helpful |
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James Horner - Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
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| Underrated! |
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While many in the soundtrack listening community rightfully praise Horner's star making turn on the Wrath of Khan, for album listening, I much prefer the further development of the music on The Search for Spock. Maybe Horner had more time to work on the film, maybe he had matured a bit as a composer and orchestrator in the intervening time, maybe he just had more time over the years for ideas around the themes to percolate, or maybe it's just that the film had more time for thoughtful music. Besides, the expanded STII score has all the short horror-y cues which don't make for good listening for me, and the recording quality was much better on STIII.
Anyway, to sum up - better quality recording, more developed themes and orchestration, less short creep cues for me = better listening experience as an album. Plus, you can't beat the grandeur and constant tension building of 'Stealing the Enterprise.'
Final Note: While I adore the scores for STII & STIII, I can't bear to listen to anything else the guy has done. :)
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3 of 3 found this review helpful |
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Various Artists - Funny Face
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| A Wonderful Hollywood Musical |
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I love Fred Astaire, I am not afraid to say it. For a man who "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance some." He really can make a good movie. This is one of his best. I wasn't born when this first came out, but I did manage to see it in the theater when a local art house did an Audrey Hepburn film festival. It was worth it. The sets, costumes, and cinematography are lovely. Paris is definitely a co-star in this movie it's so integral to the plot. And then there was the music.
I've been singing this music all my life. From Funny Face, the titular song, to 'S Wonderful, I love it all.
The movie is about the fashion world and trying to find the new look for a magazine after hitting a rut. (Think Pink!) In their search, Maggie (the editor played by the wonderful Kay Thompson) and Dick (the photographer played by Astaire) encounter bookshop clerk Jo (Hepburn) while on a fashion shoot. When Dick gets back to the dark room he sees something and realizes that Jo is the new look they are searching for (Funny Face).
They convince Jo to go with them to Paris and she agrees. Not because she wants to be a model, but be cause she wants to meet her idol who lives there. They arrive and each goes their separate ways (Bonjour Paris!). Various antics ensue including Maggie and Dick having to crash an intellectual party as a couple of folk singers from the U.S. (Clap Yo Hands). The movie ends in true Hollywood fashion with a happy ending ('S Wonderful).
There are lots and lots of singable songs on this soundtrack and the movie is a must if you are a fan of either Astaire or Hepburn.
This is a movie I love and a soundtrack I love to sing.
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1 of 1 found this review helpful |
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Naoki Sato - X TV OST, Vol. 2
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| If it weren't a gift, I wouldn't own it |
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I have quite literally 8 copies of this ST.
It was a gift from company and to an anime con I worked for. They sent me 100 CDs I still have 8 left.
After listening to this album, I know why they were so willing to give them away. Compared to the first OST this one doesn't measure up.
There are few good tracks - Here are my favorites
1. Beautiful, Yet Sadly Painful Fight - This is one of my favorites. I love the Asian flute and new age feel to this song. It's pretty. But it's also repetitive.
3. Feelings - Standard Anime background music played on strings. If it sounds familiar it's because you've watched a lot of anime.
5. Requiem - I like most tracks entitled "Requiem" for some reason. This starts out almost chuchlike then goes into a lovely piano piece.
12. Last Battle - Epic. This track is epic. And would fit right in with a Final Fantasy battle music.
13, eX Dream - This is essentially the opening song played on a string quartet with the Violin filling in for the singer. It is pretty but okay.
14. Suite (Dragons of Earth) - Oddly techno initially then it segues into rising strings with piano counterpoint. It's almost like a canon in that the same theme keeps getting played over and over in different ways.
Many of the rest of the tracks are very jarring or unmemorable. I'd skip them, frankly.
I'll be honest, I am Meh about this ST. There are good tracks but not enough to make me buy it. If I didn't have 8 copies i couldn't give away, I wouldn't have cracked one open to listen to all of those years ago.
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Alex Wurman - March Of The Penguins
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| March of the Penguins (French : La Marche de l'empereur ) |
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The original version uses an original experimental soundtrack
by electronic music composer Émilie Simon, whereas the English language version replaces it with an instrumental score by Alex Wurman.
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Toto - Dune
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| Dune soundtrack |
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I agree with SiriusCreations - I would love to hear the opening prologue as well!
Great soundtrack regardless.
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0 of 1 found this review helpful |
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