If you think he's clearly developed different styles, which do you like the best?

To my ears, he's got a number of scoring methods, identified by scores that most successfully display each sound. There's the beautiful Little Women sound, sweet and lofty; the earthy folk twang of Flesh and Blood or The War; the American Beauty tinkerings; the long drawn-out heavyweight strings of The Shawshank Redemption; the rough edge of Jarhead.

Suggestions above are by no means complete - there are likely more categories. I am throwing this out there to get something going on Thomas Newman. I like his scores... never tire of 'em.

You?

Here's a guide

I do like AMERICAN BEAUTY a lot, and there's some other snippets of "quirkier" material that I've liked (ERIN BROCKOVICH, for example). And I have the utmost respect for T. Newman for taking on stuff like JARHEAD in an atypical manner, or earlier scores like THREESOME, THE LINGUINI INCIDENT, etc. (A guy/gal's gotta stretch in any creative endeavor he does.)

But for me: SHAWSHANK, ROAD TO PERDITION, HORSE WHISPERER, GREEN MILE, ANGELS/AMERICA. These are vintage and perfect Newman.

I have a particular fascination with Newman scores. I love Elfman and Burwell; those two were my first two fave composers (besides Williams) as I grew up and started figuring out what movie scores were about, that there was a fan base for them, what the styles of different composers was like, etc.

I think Burwell's stuff (i.e., in the ROB ROY and FARGO vein) helped paved the way for what I love about Newman.

I can't get enough of Thomas Newman. I play his music pretty much every day, in some form or another, be it while I read, write, or simply relax with a mocha ice blended. I've had a hard time trying to introduce people to his music; most of my friends are fairly resistant to "that movie music I listen to," and don't quite hear what I hear in Newman's work. I know nothing about scoring or composing beyond a very layman's view, but I know that in Newman's scores I hear a texture that I just find utterly moving and inspiring and relaxing. Whenever I see a poster or trailer and Newman's name pops up, the thought of a new score of his is one of life's little pleasures, I tells ya. To the point where, say, JARHEAD comes along and I was actually a tad disappointed it wasn't in the vein of some of his more serious, lyrical work; it tended toward the quirky and the offbeat, but that is EXACTLY what that movie called for, tonally. On the other end of the spectrum, I loved FINDING NEMO quite a bit, and while the voice talent, writing, and animation were all wonderful, I have to say that Newman's music was often key to my emotional connection to the film; I hope in the future more animated filmmakers take a cue from FN's use of music.

I truly cherish Newman's body of work so far, and greatly anticipate how he'll utilize his signature blend of swelling strings or quiet piano to continue to move me (and, no doubt, others).

For sheer power and scope, one can't top Williams or, on his best days, Horner.

But when I'm in need of a moment of solace, to be inspired or calmed, for my money, the two best composers working in the "mood" mode today are Thomas Newman and Cliff Martinez (with Desplat rather quickly inching his way up onto that list).

OK, I've spouted off enough. Thanks for listenin'... Now, back to my IPod Thomas Newman playlist.

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Originally posted by nuts_score:
Thomas Newman is such a tough sell to me. I greatly enjoy his past works like Shawshank, Green Mile, and Meet Joe Black because the music is so much more enriching there than what movie scores were at that time; in essence, they felt whole.

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Oh, I don't know about that.

1994—Shawshank Redemption: The Shadow (Jerry Goldsmith), Wyatt Earp (James Newton Howard), On Deadly Ground (Basil Poledouris), Legends Of The Fall (James Horner), Beyond Rangoon (Hans Zimmer), Star Trek: Generations (Dennis McCarthy).

1998—Meet Joe Black: Star Trek: Insurrection (Jerry Goldsmith), One True Thing (Cliff Eidelman), Quest For Camelot (Patrick Doyle), Small Soldiers (Jerry Goldsmith), Shakespeare In Love (Stephen Warbeck), The Mask Of Zorro (James Horner), Antz (John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams), Merlin (Trevor Jones), Les Misérables (Basil Poledouris)!!!, As Good As It Gets (Hans Zimmer), The Prince Of Egypt (Hans Zimmer), The Thin Red Line (Hans Zimmer)!!!.

1999—The Green Mile: The World Is Not Enough (David Arnold), The Sixth Sense (James Newton Howard), Sleepy Hollow (Danny Elfman), The Matrix (Don Davis), The Phantom Menace (John Williams), Angelas's Ashes (John Williams), Deep Blue Sea (Trevor Rabin), Snow Falling On Cedars (James Newton Howard)!!!, The 13th Warrior (Jerry Goldsmith)!!!.