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Author	Topic: Newbie to score collecting, help!

John T Oscar® Nominee	I want to start a movie score collection and I need your help doing so. Here's what I have so far: Gladiator Pearl Harbor Titanic Psycho (the re-recording by Danny Elfman) And I don't want any comments about what I already own unless you have some intelligent insight into them. Thank you in advance.
posted 06-13-2001 02:54 PM PT (US)

Drixorial Oscar® Winner	it's a whole new world out there son! can't go wrong with some James Horner's Braveheart, Legends of the Fall, Glory among others. John Williams' Raiders of the Lost Ark, any of his Star Wars music. anything by Jerry Goldsmith god i'm going to be typing all night at this rate -- just grab me on AIM or ICQ if you want a whole bunch of samplers or something.
posted 06-13-2001 03:01 PM PT (US)

Camillu Oscar® Winner	Welcome to the community. First of all - which of the 4 that you have do you like most and why? (just trying to get some ideas about your tastes) I agree about the Horner and Williams suggestions, but watch out with Goldsmith becuase you might be disappointed if you start with some of his early weirder stuff. Dinosaur and Atlantis by James Newton Howard are another 2 that you're sure to like.
posted 06-13-2001 03:05 PM PT (US)

John T Oscar® Nominee	Thanks. I think the best one out of my collection is Titanic because it's really haunting. [Message edited by John T on 06-13-2001]
posted 06-13-2001 03:19 PM PT (US)

Camillu Oscar® Winner	If it's haunting you want, then I strongly recommend Glory, Braveheart, and if you can find the score album, Apollo 13. Danny Elfman's Edward Scissorhands is another beautifully haunting, can't-go-wrong score.
posted 06-13-2001 03:52 PM PT (US)

JJH Oscar® Winner	wow, a new collector. seems like your into newer stuff, though you have a copy of Herrmann's classic, Psycho. I think these are but a few of the ones you need, if you're new to this whole collecting thing. A different composer is represented, and all these should be readily available. Jaws, John Williams Conan the Barbarian, Basil Poledouris Field of Dreams, James Horner Edward Scissorhands, Danny Elfman The Edge, Jerry Goldsmith; big theme, action, suspense, jazz Ben-Hur, Miklos Rozsa Forrest Gump, Alan Silvestri Meet Joe Black, Thomas Newman Cinema Paradiso, Ennio Morricone Dances With Wolves, John Barry Dangerous Beauty, George Fenton
posted 06-13-2001 04:19 PM PT (US)

Hasta Oscar® Winner	I'd have to agree Titanic is the best score out of those 4, or at least my favorite... Horner is usually a good one to start out with, his stuff is all so thematic and enjoyable throughout the entire course of the album... Second Glory and Legends of the Fall... If you like Gladiator, you have to get some of Zimmer's other stuff.. Backdraft is a great action score, The Thin Red Line, while hard for some on CD, is his best work to date, and Prince of Egypt is simply awe inspiring. NP: Toys Expanded (Zimmer) Sweet stuff!
posted 06-13-2001 04:20 PM PT (US)

John T Oscar® Nominee	Thanks guys, keep em coming!
posted 06-13-2001 04:57 PM PT (US)

Hector J. Guzman Oscar® Winner	[Message edited by Hector J. Guzman on 06-14-2001]
posted 06-13-2001 05:02 PM PT (US)

Timmer Oscar® Winner	Oh dear, John T, you could well get blinded with science, so to speak, around here Lots of good suggestions above, but if Horner really tickles your fancy then I don't think you could go too far wrong with one of Horner's earlier scores (and available) KRULL...it's haunting, mystical, excilarating, powerfull and everything else a lot of scores nowadays are not! I would beware of people saying 'Anything by Goldsmith', A great composer...for sure, but not everything by him is great, in fact some of it is goddam awful! I would suggest listening to some good recommendations, and I'll start with...STAR TREK - THE MOTION PICTURE...I don't think there's a person here who'll disagree with that?!! Good luck in your new world of discovery...I envy you ...well, sort of
posted 06-13-2001 05:56 PM PT (US)

Scorro Oscar® Winner	PeterK has got a cool feature on this site, which can be found on any review page here. Below the 'Rate Me' button is a 'view all ratings' which lists all scores from highest rated on down. You may want to peruse that list, listen to some sound samples, read some reviews, and perhaps spend a few hours in a used CD store if you have a good one near you. When I first got started listening to film scores I visited our used store many times to find out what I liked the most. I'll ponder what scores to suggest in light of what you like to date and get back with you later. Enjoy, _Sc [Message edited by Scorro on 06-13-2001]
posted 06-13-2001 06:10 PM PT (US)

John T Oscar® Nominee	Listened to clips of these and liked them: The Patriot The Perfect Storm Legend's of the Fall Glory Pleasantville Conan the Barbarian Braveheart The Mask of Zorro Jurassic Park and The Lost World Schindler's List Jaws American Beauty Superman Forrest Gump Dances With Wolves The Thin Red Line more later, i'm still listening to clips. All this cd buying is gonna burn a hole in my wallet. [Message edited by John T on 06-13-2001]
posted 06-13-2001 07:23 PM PT (US)

JJH Oscar® Winner	quote: more later, i'm still listening to clips. All this cd buying is gonna burn a hole in my wallet. welcome to the collecting world. your love of music is gonna cause much financial pain, but it's so worth it. NP -- The Song of Bernadette, Alfred Newman
posted 06-13-2001 07:52 PM PT (US)

jonathan_little Oscar® Winner	Hey John T, welcome to the club! Check out Cutthroat Island by John Debney. One of my favorites from the '90s. Chicken Run is a fantastic score that came out last summer. I'm a wicked big Goldsmith fan, and currently a big slice of my soundtrack collection are by him. Silva's Essential Goldsmith re-recordings will give you an overall view on many Goldsmith scores. It also contains some tracks from scores which are out of print or haven't been released at all. The Rambo discs are very good:1, 2, and3. Small Soldiers and The Mummy are two of his better efforts from the late 90s. The Russia House is a fantastic jazzy score and only $10! Rudy is very enjoyable with a very pretty theme. NP: Cutthroat Island (how about that ) (NP means Now Playing, by the way. Some of us use this to let others know what we're listening to.)
posted 06-13-2001 08:24 PM PT (US)

Shaun Rutherford Oscar® Winner	No disrespect to Jonathan, but that Silva Goldsmith disc isn't very well recorded/put-together. In my opinion, it's just not Jerry unless it's Jerry. Get someone here with a big-arse Goldsmith collection to make you a starter kit. Shaun
posted 06-13-2001 09:44 PM PT (US)

Lou Goldberg Oscar® Winner	These are great classic albums and most are price friendly budget CDs. Goldsmith: The Blue Max (cannot go wrong with this one) Star Trek-The Motion Picture Morricone: Ennio Morricone-The Legendary Italian Westerns Herrmann: Bernard Herrmann-The Film Scores (conducted by Salonen) Barry: Dances With Wolves John Barry-Moviola Rozsa: El Cid Jarre: Lawrence of Arabia Waxman: Sunset Boulevard-The Classic Film Scores of Franz Waxman Give these a listen if you can clips--all are available at the MM store. Only $1 postage for a limited time too.
posted 06-14-2001 02:58 AM PT (US)

Scorro Oscar® Winner	John T, A couple of scores came to mind that I don't think have been mentioned and you may like. Waterworld (James Newton Howard) <- one of his most popular adventure scores The Ghost And The Darkness (Jerry Goldsmith) <- beautiful 90's African epic, great music Enjoy! _Sc
posted 06-14-2001 09:33 AM PT (US)

John T Oscar® Nominee	Any other suggestions guys?
posted 06-15-2001 07:37 PM PT (US)

Big Bear unregistered	A new collector's first Goldsmith album? Hmm. Other people will say Star Trek - The Motion Picture. It's great and all, but... I say Total Recall. Given what you have already, I think you will find it a revelation.
posted 06-15-2001 07:48 PM PT (US)

Lou Goldberg Oscar® Winner	Anyone want to take up a collection for our Newbie here? I just bought something that I had on CDR. I could send him the CDR. Anyone else want to make a disc or two for this guy?
posted 06-15-2001 08:02 PM PT (US)

Kyriacos S Oscar® Winner	I think that you should also buy some scores by Alan Silvestri.He is.............WOW!!! (well,you DO get the picture) I would buy The Mummy Returns,one of his latest outstanding efforts! [Message edited by Kyriacos S on 06-15-2001]
posted 06-15-2001 10:43 PM PT (US)

Beatty Oscar® Winner	It's less about collecting - any kid with a mayonnaise jar with air holes in the lid can collect - but about listening. These opinions and suggestions you've gotten are all swell, but you need to hear the music first.
posted 06-15-2001 11:35 PM PT (US)

Crono/Kyp Oscar® Winner	Anything by David Arnold! Last of the Dogmen Stargate Independence Day Tomorrow Never Dies (007/Expanded Edition) The World is Not Enough (007) --Brian NP: Evolution Suite
posted 06-15-2001 11:59 PM PT (US)

Hector J. Guzman Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by Beatty: It's less about collecting - any kid with a mayonnaise jar with air holes in the lid can collect - but about listening. These opinions and suggestions you've gotten are all swell, but you need to hear the music first. EXACTLY NP. Star Wars Main Theme(Johnny boy)
posted 06-16-2001 09:34 AM PT (US)

SCimmerian Oscar® Winner	Hi there! Let me start your education with some of the best film scores of all time. 1. Miklos Rozsa: BEN-HUR,EL CID,IVANHOE. 2. Bernard Herrmann: THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD,JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS,MYSTERIOUS ISLAND,VERTIGO,NORTH BY NORTHWEST,BENEATH THE 12-MILE REEF,OBSESSION,BATTLE OF NERETVA,JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, 3.Jerry Goldsmith: THE BLUE MAX,PLANET OF THE APES,PATTON,THE WIND AND THE LION,STAR TREK;TMP,POLTERGIEST,FIRST KNIGHT,THE 13th WARRIOR. 4.John Williams: STAR WARS,THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK,SUPERMAN,RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK,CLOSE ENCOUNTERS,and of course JAWS. 5.Eric Wolfgang Korngold: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD,THE SEA HAWK,CAPTAIN BLOOD 6.Max Steiner:KING KONG,THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. 7.Franz Waxman: PRINCE VALIANT,THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN,THE SPIRIT OF ST.LOUIS,TARAS BULBA. 8.Elmer Bernstein: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN,THE GREAT ESCAPE,TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. 9.Benjamin Frankel: BATTLE OF THE BULGE. 10.Bronislau Kaper: MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY
posted 06-17-2001 09:38 PM PT (US)

shrubber Oscar® Winner	Welcome to the circus, John T - may it give you much enjoyment. I was going to list some all-time classics to start you off but I see SCimmerian has already included most of the stuff that I was going to put forward. Best advice I can give you is to listen to as many different clips of a score as you can before actually buying - you may like one track but hate everything else on it (my problem with Gladiator). A good and cheapo-cheapo source for listening to clips is www.radiofreevirgin.com's Cinematique channel, which plays score soundtracks 24/7, and shows you a picture of the CD they're playing. Also, one caveat: some scores have been recorded several times by different labels (Cutthroat Island is one example) and the difference can be huge - check the usual review websites for advice. There's been a trend recently for re-recordings of classic scores - these are mostly an improvement on the original, but not always (Varese's Jaws travesty!), so beware. Happy hunting!
posted 06-23-2001 05:21 PM PT (US)

Marc Flake Oscar® Winner	Here's my suggestion John T. Think about your favorite movies. See if you can remember the music from them. Spend hours (days, weeks or months) searching for a copy of the score of CD. When you go to a movie, listen for the music. If you like the music, go bug the nearest CD emporium until they stock a copy of the movie's score. Then buy it.
posted 06-23-2001 07:24 PM PT (US)

charben Oscar® Winner	More recommendations: Hunt for Red October Conan the Barbarian Waterworld Rocketeer ID4 Stargate anything from Babylon 5 Star Trek II & III (both by Horner) Batman (Elfman) Hook Aliens Deluxe Editon (also Horner) All of the previous posts have excellent suggestions as well. IMO, all of the Star Wars titles are must-have CD's. Chris Harben Atlantic Beach, FL
posted 06-23-2001 08:44 PM PT (US)

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