YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE FILM SCORE ALBUMS!!!

Could be!

I'll have to give it a think, because I think I could make a list. There are amazing scores with bad albums and not-so-good scores (in terms of film etc.) with great albums.

1. Star Wars – Return oft he Jedi – John Williams (Arista)

OK, OK then!

Jedi Is my favourite STAR WARS score because it brings the themes of the previous films plus a number of strong new themes to a wonderful synthesis. There are so many striking moments that I won't begin to point them all out here. I will just hint at the climactic "Noooo" moment that possibly is William's finest one.

The Arista album is my preferred presentation of the score as a listening experience. The original presentaion was poor. The MCA/Sony presentation is great, if not fully satisfiying in terms of sound. I often turn to this release to listen to special cues, but I never listen to the whole thing.

Nostalgia in abundance. "Jedi" was the second score I bought on vinyl more than a quarter of a century ago. The first one was "Chariots of Fire".

Volker

Well. That was...a list.
Of 50 items.

Riveting reading.





I've always been very much against mere 'list topics'. I am always looking for the story behind a choice.
That's why I so enjoy Alan and Tom's countdown scores.

Great potential, this thread!
...I'm not clear though on whether it's in any particular order, Tim?
No. 50 for Conan seems....exceedingly low!
(If you started by one, I think I may agree, actually! )

Yup! Numbers 1-10 first and foremost so I can work out the "lesser*" scores. ( Martijn, I'd have thought you knew just how highly I regard Conan? )

*"lesser" scores fer cripes sake ....I'm sure everyone knows what I mean without having to spell it out.

Conan the Barbarian is 7th for me. Is that good enough for Crom?

PLEASE NOTE

EVERYBODY is welcome to put up their favourite album but I would kindly suggest they start at their NUMBER ONE ( 1 ) CHOICE like I have and work their way down ( ONE. AT. A. TIME. Are you paying attention mein Capitan? ) , I want to know other peoples choices too rather than everyone have their own "sticky"

And Thor, c'mon man, do you really want to have to comment on 49 releases by John Barry, hmmmm?

Great idea for a thread though! Lists are great when they're qualified.

He, he...I hadn't thought about that.

But to be perfectly honest, I have never made a list of my top 50 soundtrack albums. I think I made a Top 10 not too long ago, that's about it. So I'll chime in with my own when you get to Top 10.

I really like this thread. This will give me a chance to revisit all my favorite scores. Great idea, Tim.

My favorite score is (and has been for 16 years) James Horner's GLORY. It was my second score purchase, so I listened to it over and over as my collection grew very slowly. Familiarity bred whatever the opposite of contempt is. I've loved it ever since! I love the theme and the many orchestrations of it (choir, soft strings, solo trumpet, woodwinds, solo french horn, huge orchestra, etc). It's true that the theme is in nearly every track, but it is presented so differently each time that I never get tired of it. The final four tracks are magnificent. They're such a wonderful conclusion, telling the story of the film perfectly. This score just brings me great joy.

I hope many will contribute. Tim, would it be alright if I kind kept track of everyone's answers in view of seeing which scores are most highly regarded by our community as a whole?

I've noticed you say favorite ALBUM, not score. I think those are two different things, because there are great scores, and then there are great albums. A great album is, in my book, something that's enjoyable from start to finish, and has no weak tracks. Also it is something that you can listen to over and over again, and not get tired of. So with that in mind, here's my top 3:

Danny Elfman's Batman is my favorite score album (AND my favorite score). Many reasons really, but in short it was the score that got me interested in film music (and the movie that made me a film geek). Had never seen an American movie in a theatre before, so this blew my socks off! Just the opening scene alone with the bat logo and the Batman theme did the trick. So obviously there's a level of nostalgia to it as well The album hasn't got a single bad cue on it... it's just a perfect album... unlike the expanded version that came out a couple of years ago, which did very little for me. I guess I'm just so happy with the original release, that everything sounded out of order with the new added tracks

Of course there are better composers out there than Elfman; John Williams for instance. And he's a close 2nd when it comes to albums: Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom... it's just a magnificent musical ride from start to finish... love that album! And again, the expanded version from the box set, although it contains some great new tracks, also have some less interesting tracks. Which makes the original album a much better listen.

My no. 3 favorite album, is from my favorite composer, Michael Giacchino. Although he's surely done more creative and original work than this score, I have to say that the Mission Impossible 3 album is an action packed blast from start to finish. One thing I really like about this score, is that every scene seems to have it's own unique sound/musical idea, something I think John Williams also practises in his scores. Come to think about it, I think he only uses the famous Mission Impossible theme once in the score, apart from the main titles and end credits. I think other composers would have abused the hell out of that theme

I disagree. Even though it's a clear rip off it still fits in nicely with the rest of the album.

And Glory's main theme is basically a rip off of Prokofiev's IVAN THE TERRIBLE.

Anyway, great score. Great album!

-Erik-

I'm not sure I really have a single favorite score album. Jurassic Park, Beyond Rangoon, Mighty Joe Young, The New World, Phantom Menace, Return of the Jedi, Fellowship of the Ring and PotC: At World's End would be strong candidates. Maybe I'll write some about my most personally meaningful score albums at some point.

Why not? Sounds like a great idea.