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A score that isn't mentioned often enough in my opinion. Very good, and a powerhouse of a film as well.

Are you talking about the sounds themselves or the equipment?

I am talking about the sounds themselves - which surely means the choice of equipment too?

For example (and I have mentioned this a few times already), I was always drawn to Jean Michel Jarre's early work rather than the music of Vangelis because Vangelis' 'sound' was always a bit too harsh for my ears, almost cacophonous. Jarre's style was usually the opposite: much less brash.

Don't get me wrong, there was much to enjoy in Vangelis' work - Albedo 0.39 was a firm favourite of mine. But, the tracks of his that I like(d) tended to be reduced down to a less busy and more 'catchy' quality. If that makes sense.

A lot of the best synth scores are coming out of videogames these days. A score that IMO is even superior to DESYNC is Douglas Holmquist's PINOUT from last year (or was it the year before?). I've gone on here and touted that several times lately.

Another pretty good one is FURI (various), at least once you weed a couple of tracks out. All of these have been recommended to me by Alan, so I appreciate that. Keep 'em coming, you probably know what appeals to me at this point.

Backdraft - Hans Zimmer

The full score was unofficially leaked several years ago, and this is how it appears in the film. And I absolutely love this edition for all the added material of one of Zimmer's most powerful and thematic scores. The original 30 minute release (minus the songs) can easily co-exist with this one, because their mixes are vastly different. The official album for a more powerful mix and focus on the highlights, this one for completeness sake, obviously. I have a hard time saying which one I prefer though, because both versions are equally brilliant. And it's still surprising this hasn't been released for real, because this presentation shows how much more fantastic music wasn't available on the 1991 album.

Yes it is interesting and the differences are sometimes subtle, sometimes not. So what exactly is the reason that the 1991 album sounds so different from the cues as they appear in the film?

Maybe they wanted the score to seem more orchestral so that it was more palatable to a general audience? (How times have changed...)

Hearing it live is great as well. I heard "Genesis" here live in the Netherlands.

BTW that movie is really messed up :P

Doctor Strange Michael Giacchino

My head says 2015 was a better year for Giacchino. But I return to his three 2016 scores more often. I can't get enough Giacchino.

GIACCHINO RULES!!!!

Watching the film greatly improved my connection to the score, especially considering the final moments of the film, Watching Over Me. It's no masterpiece, but you'll be surprised how much you'll like it (and I'm sure you'll also get the overt references to The Night of the Hunter).

Oh you.

The male one.

Denial - Howard Shore

A bit of a throwback to the sound and tone of his much earlier dramatic scores but its a long way short of his best work of this type like Silence of the Lambs for example. Turgid and dreary might best describe it.