Spent a lot of money on beer whilst holidaying back in Scotland, but I had some cash left for a minor CD hunt. I was going for bargains, but I did pay full price for -

THE OMEN (expanded - Jerry G): Magnificent.

Got CLOSE ENCOUNTERS (Johnny W) as a birthday present: Brilliant of course, but I'm not throwing away the old LP. I actually find the full rendition of "When You Wish Upon A Star" embarrassing. But it's a very small blot on the aural landscape.

More John W: the two-CD sets of the original STAR WARS trilogy, going for ten pounds each. I've only got through A NEW HOPE so far. Interesting to hear the original film versions as opposed to the re-recorded stuff. Fascinating track at the end of Disc One - five takes on the Main Titles, only one of which uses the legendary blasting chord opening (three of them lead in with a kind of upward glissando, and one of them starts off with the chord played by a considerably smaller ensemble). Classic scores.

Here's an interesting rarity I got for a fiver - MARK OF THE DEVIL/ MARK OF THE DEVIL 2. I got this mainly for the three Don Banks tracks. Banks was second only to James Bernard in output for Hammer films, and his scoring here is pleasingly reminiscent of those scores. There is also one track by John Scott (unmemorable moodiness), one by Tony Tape (unmemorable moodiness again), one by Eric somebody (can't remember either his name or the music - must have been unmemorable moodiness), two by Sam Sklair ("famous" for his score for CONFESSIONS OF A WINDOW CLEANER) which are just awful, and a whole slew by Michael Holmes, who seems to have been some German Eurovision Song Contest star. Absolutely dreadful, like Richard Clayderman meets Pinky and Perky. I can't recommend this CD at all, but as a curiosity it has its place.

Frontiers (Goldsmith): meh...I like the idea that Goldsmith conducted this, but there is just no better representation of Capricorn One than what's on the Silva compilation. Not what I expected.

Children of Dune - really good. Surprisingly good - makes me interested in hearing some of the other musical attempts to put this world on film by Revell and Toto.

Furious Angels - stunning. When 'One and the Same' came around I was nearly in tears. Very potent and extremely well thought out.

Red Dragon - not a patch on Zimmer's take on the good Doctor's universe. That score truly transcended the film it was written for (though I do admire Scott's filmmaking as always) - this one seems happy to occupy the same uninteresting place on my shelf where the film would go. Elfman does give some deliciously macabre passages though, and you've got to love the theme.

Wings of a Film - disappointing. And these were the best ones performed on the night! I did appreciate the MI2 passage.

The Mummy - Go Jerry!!!!

We Were Soldiers - Needs a more considered listen.

Mercury Rising - I did wonder after listening to this if the film really was a thriller. It sounds like a sequel to Somewhere in Time!

Finding Nemo - Excellent work from Newman, though it does feel a little choppy as an album.

Doctor Zhivago - my boring review of this Ludovico Einaudi contribution can be found elsewhere.

S.W.A.T - Goldenthal: has a few good moments, but really too loud and themeless for me.

Haunted palace/Premature Burial (Ronald Stein) Wonderful, excellent, fantastic...(Get the idea? )

Monstrous Movie Music (various)Wonderful, excellent, fantastic...(Get the idea? )

Minority Report (waiting for my copy to arrive from e-Bay but I'm sure it will be wonderful, excellent, fantastic...(It is Mr. Williams after all!! Get the idea? )

Gae

P.S. As you can see I go for "Quality" over "Quantity"

1)The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman (Jones)-One word: Addicting. Its certainly nothing earth shattering, but I can't seem to stop listening to it. The action is just relentless to a level that I've never really been accustomed to.

2)Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life- Another surprise. Silvestri composed some really fascinating stuff here. Makes you dislike Bruckheimer in the worst way. Anyhoo, the track "Cradle Of Life" is extremely moving and beautiful. So is anything with the chorus. Action wise, he pulls out the stops for "Flower Pagoda Battle" and "Shark Attack".

3)Basic Instinct (Goldsmith)-Extremely errie and evil. The main titles sum up most of the score, but there is some good action here as well. "Roxy Loses" is especially pulse pounding.

4)Gremlins 2 (Goldsmith)-WHOA!! Where did this come from?! I was expecting an entertaining score, and instead I get blown away. Using nice nuances, and ingenius use of themes from the first film, Jerry composed one of his best comedy scores ever. Outshines the first in everyway.

5)Twilight Zone The Movie (Goldsmith)-Moving, exciting, and wonderous. Any album that closes with Rod Serling's classic narration is OK in my book, but the score is taken to another level with some of the things written here. "Nightmare at 20,000 feet" and "Kick The Can" are the highlights. Both cues are complete opposites, and exhibit the diversity of this very unique score.

6)The Usual Suspects (Ottman)-Pure film noir. Very subtle, but piercingly effective. "The Greatest Trick"'s finale sends chills everytime. The final note that just drags on after Spacey utters "...he's gone" has to be one of my favorite score moments.

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Originally posted by Alexborn007:
4)Gremlins 2 (Goldsmith)-WHOA!! Where did this come from?! I was expecting an entertaining score, and instead I get blown away.

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Originally posted by Marian Schedenig:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by Alexborn007:
[b]4)Gremlins 2 (Goldsmith)-WHOA!! Where did this come from?! I was expecting an entertaining score, and instead I get blown away.<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh yes, one of my Goldsmith favourites - Pot Luck in particular.[/B]

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X-Men (Michael Kamen)

Still giving this a good old listen to. There's definately a "theme" in there that keeps cropping up in various guises.

Vampire Circus:The Return of Dracula

Wow....I picked this CD up for a fiver on E-Bay and its fantastic with some great music by composers whose music I'd never heard before e.g. Chuck Cirino, Jonathan Elias, Daniel Licht, Richard Stone, Mark McKenzie.

Other Highlights are Robert Cobert's suite to "Dracula" and David Whitaker's prologue to "Vampire Circus"

A great CD and at a generous 76 minutes, a bargain to boot!!

Here are the track listings from "Soundtrack Collector"

1. THE RETURN OF DRACULA (1958) (02:07)
Gerald Fried - "Overture"
2. VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1971) (09:13)
David Whitaker - "Prologue"
3. FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) (03:53)
Brad Fiedel - "Come To Me"
4. TRANSYLVANIA TWIST (1991) (07:23)
Chuck Cirino - suite
5. VAMP (1986) (02:56)
Jonathan Elias - "The Vampire Coven's Prayer"
6. CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT (1992) (03:36)
Daniel Licht - "The Blood Sucker's Ball"
7. THIRST (1979) (04:47)
Brian May - "Vampire Ceremony and Initiation Ritual"
8. TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000 (1985) (07:37)
Lee Holdridge - suite
9. FOREVER KNIGHT (1992) (01:28)
Fred Mollin - main title/theme
10. TO DIE FOR (1989) (09:30)
Cliff Eidelman - suite
11. SON OF DARKNESS: TO DIE FOR II (1991) (03:17)
Mark McKenzie - "Finale"
12. THE HUNGER (1983) (03:46)
Leo Delibes - "Seduction"
13. DRACULA (1973) (11:29)
Bob Cobert - suite
14. SUNDOWN: THE VAMPIRE IN RETREAT (1989) (05:43)
Richard Stone - "Redemption of the Damned - Finale"

Gae

New:
Tora! Tora! Tora!
The Sand Pebbles
Patton/Flight of the Phoenix
The Challenge
Logan's Run

All top notch scores by the man.

Tora has a very malign and evil feel to it. Its seems to be one of his somewhat overlooked scores.

NP-Fellowship Of The Ring (Shore)

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Originally posted by ManOfSorrows:
Les Miserables

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Alex - TORA TORA TORA has got a great following amongst film score nuts, I think. You're not alone in your appreciation. Brilliant music.