[Closed] Now Playing XLIX

Craig Armstrong - The Incredible Hulk

Thanks, Edmund, for having me finally listen to it! I am updating my knowledge of Craig Armstrong very slowly. It's a really cool score, even if a bit MV/RCP at times and of course the 2 CD is a bit too much. But it's still very good!

The 2-CD album is nice to have but yeah, overkill as a listening experience. A lot of Bourne influence in there for sure ("The Flower") but it has that Armstrong sense of drama and as I said, the octave motif is absolutely spot-on and just screams "Hulk smash!"

No, indeed. I shall add: every other major spbg film

I have a 45-minute playlist from that score that works wonders. It's my favorite "album" from the entire MCU so far.

Pls Share!

1. The Arctic (2:47)
2. Main Title (2:39)
3. The Flower (2:50)
4. Favela Escape (3:36)
5. That is the Target (5:34)
6. Bruce Goes Home (1:25) (for the quote of Joe Harnell's "Lonely Man" theme)
7. They're Here (3:07)
8. Give Him Everything You've Got (6:07)
9. I Can't (2:15)
10. Abomination Alley (3:56)
11. NYC Cab Ride (1:17)
12. Sterns' Lab (4:17)
13. Harlem Brawl (3:51)
14. Are They Dead? (2:40)
15. Hulk Smash (2:25)

Total Time: 48:36

You can optionally append the "Hulk Theme" and "Bruce and Betty" theme suites to bring it up to nearly an hour, but personally I find the bulk of the score to be more interesting than the dedicated arrangements, so I skipped them to minimize redundancy. You still do get a bit of repetition (especially going from "The Flower" to "Favela Escape", but I like both tracks too much to cut either and I don't want to lose chronological order), and it's more heavy on the action than anything else, but it's definitely a leaner and meaner listen than the full two CDs. Let me know what you guys think!

NP: Questa Specie d'Amore - Ennio Morricone

At times like these scores such as this raise the spirits. Track after track of beautiful music. "Roma Baldracca" is one of my favourite Morricone pieces.

(And I just want to keep afloat the idea of talking about music.)

It can't be 2 days since anybody listened to anything?

NP: Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman

Not listened to this for a while. Enjoying hearing early Elfman's 'fantasy sound' in all its glory.

Still the best example of the sound, in my opinion.

Too busy replying to off topic matters I think.

Henry Jackman - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

This assignment was, at best, controversial. The Uncharted series, essentially some of the best console games I ever played, had Greg Edmonson writing some brilliant music for it in the first trilogy. The games, to those who didn't play, are action adventures about a treasure hunter/thief called Nathan Drake on trail for legendary treasure ranging from El Dorado to Shangri-La, Atlantis of the Sands and eventually the pirate utopia called Libertalia.

Edmonson wrote some great stuff indeed, including the franchise's musical theme, called Nate's Theme, which is a great sort-of fanfare for strings and brass. There aren't too many woodwinds, quite a bit of ethnic writing (Among Thieves', which is part two, erhu writing is downright exquisite) and a sense of romantic adventure (the string writing!) throughout.

And suddenly (probably partly due to the creator's, Amy Hennig's, departure from the company) Edmonson is gone and the hiring of, of all people, Henry Jackman brought a lot of controversy even among game composers who used the opportunity to criticize film composers being hired for games. So what Edmonson had earlier film experience and probably it was Firefly (of which Hennig is a huge fan of) which got him the gig, but the discussion was strong on Twitter.

While not better than parts two and three, I do think that Jackman's score is slightly or even a bit more better than part one. Wholly orchestral (though only with some ethnic woodwinds rather than orchestral, which is not far from what Edmonson did in the first place), it is an RCP score due to the ostinati, but mostly it is a bona fide (if restrained) adventure score harkening sometimes at James Newton Howard and the anthemic/action bits are more firmly rooted in the more melodic Media Ventures sound than the recent Remote Control outings. Cut to the Chase is very good and I think The Twelve Towers is some of the best material of Jackman's career.

Not a very thematic (and a more somber, decidedly non-heroic twist on Nate's Theme is recurrent in the score, moreso even than in Edmonson's own scores) score, but definitely quite melodic and harmonious, a bit on the long side. For Better and Worse, a delicate and simple love theme works wonders in a very reflective moment in the gameplay.

Generally, some of the best material Jackman ever wrote. I hope he'll now get dramas and comedies to develop more of a personal style. But definitely he can write for an orchestra.

Apollo 13 - James Horner

It's working for me. Love the timing in "All Systems Go."

And the celebratory second half of "Re-entry and Splashdown" sounds like Morricone!
In a good way. This is not an accusation.

Really? If you hear that, that's great, but to me it sounds like a classic Horner 'resolution' cue. Beautiful.

Both cues are amazing and compilation worthy. I also love Master Alarm, a superb exercise in suspense. Uses the same couple of motifs over it's 3min duration but never sounds boring. He even employs his trademark 'ticking' texture around half way through, which is a really clever device as it is the only element which clearly outlines the 4/4 time signature and, when it arrives, actually gives the illusion of the piece speeding up when in fact it maintains the same tempo throughout. He truly was an expert in this area.

For me it's the main title, love it.