Best of 2012

http://www.cinematicsound.net/the-best-scores-of-2012/

-Erik-

Unlike most (it seems) I didn't think 2012 was a terribly strong year. Only the top four on my list can compete with the best scores from 2011, IMO. I haven't yet purchased MIEL DE NARANJAS by Nuno Malo or DANS LA MAISON by Philippe Rombi, both of which would have had a good chance of making my top 10 I think. Of what I've heard, here are my favorites and why:

1. METSÄN TARINA by Panu Aaltio. This is wonderful. There are noble horn melodies, sweeping strings, and wonderful instrumental solos. It is in parts serene, in parts epic, sometimes playful, but nearly always interesting. Some of the middle tracks are low key, no doubt accompanying on-screen action that is less exciting. The last five tracks are fantastic. The finale is almost embarrassingly positive.

2. TSUNAGU by Naoki Sato. This is gorgeous. It's very string heavy, thematic, and melodic. It’s not as varied as Metsan Tarina, but it’s thoroughly lovely. The finale tracks reach some pretty grand heights. It's not easy to find cheap, however, and I'm not sure that it's worth paying the high price you'll probably have to shell out for it.

3. THE IMPOSSIBLE by Fernando Velasquez. Some of this score is just serious and solemn (and who would expect anything else?), but the main theme for the film is AMAZING. That theme is my favorite composition of 2012. I also really like the penultimate track.

4. THERE BE DRAGONS by Robert Folk. Imagine that Lord of the Rings was set in Spain rather than middle earth and you might have an idea of what this score sounds like. The themes aren’t as iconic as those written for Lord of the Rings, but it’s epic like that, and the addition of the wonderful Spanish guitar solos and trumpet fanfares over the top of the orchestra really elevate the score. The epicness of it all is relentless and gets a little old by the end of the album, but this is a strong score despite the constant dynamics.

5. LINCOLN by John Williams. While not as good as Williams’s similar sounding War Horse from 2011, this score is very dignified and noble. It’s Williams in that American mode that reminds me of the quieter moments of his scores for SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and THE PATRIOT.

6. RUBY SPARKS by Nick Urata. I just like it. It’s weird, but kind of great. It’s devoid of sentimentality, but very wistful. Also, some of the music sounds like it was recorded in a massive cathedral – the reverb is huge! Every bow strike seems to resonate forever. A couple of the tracks feature dialogue from the film, but it’s interesting and well delivered. My favorite track is the very closure-filled “Can We Start Again?” which features a very nice cello solo and reminds me Mark Isham’s A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT for some reason.

7. THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN by Geoff Zanelli. This is just nice. It’s kind of folksy with lots of acoustic guitar and piano. It probably won’t stay with you long or make much of an impression, but it just ended up being a stronger score than most of the others I listened to.

8. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN by James Newton Howard. It’s been a while since we’ve heard something from James Newton Howard that even borders on the quality of what he usually writes for Shyamalan’s films. This one touches that quality several times.

9. THE LORAX by John Powell. It's Powell. It's animation. That's a combination I just enjoy. And "Funeral For a Tree" is beautiful.

10. SALMON FISHING ON THE YEMEN by Dario Marianelli. This music is nice, quiet, and a little middle-eastern in parts. It’s kind of boring through the middle. “Hello Goodbye” is a lovely track.

Runners up: THE WORDS by Marcelo Zarvos, JOURNEY by Austin Wintory (a lot of it bored me, but there are some good things here, my favorite being "Apotheosis"), THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN by James Horner (the great theme alone gets it the honorable mention (the end titles being a slam dunk presentation of it), much of the rest of score didn't do much for me), LES JOUR DES CORNEILLES by Simon Leclerc (nice, though not memorable enough to make into my top 10), BRAVE by Patrick Doyle, and NHK SPECIAL HUMAN NAZE NINGEN NI NARETANOKA by Naoki Sato (which has some outstanding music in it, but is weighed down by some tracks I really dislike. I recommend "Transmigration," "Grief," and "Rest in Peace" very highly.)

Other individual tracks that I loved: "The Mission" from ARGO, "Mysterious Island Main Titles" from JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, "All Boundaries are Conventions" from CLOUD ATLAS, and "Omoi" from CARNATION ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 2 by Naoki Sato.

I have it listed as a 2012 score. It came out at the end of January 2012. But the film came out in 2011 and lots of people had the promo in 2011 but I didn't get around to it until the official release appeared so its 2012 to me. Semantics...I'm just interested in finding good stuff I haven't heard of yet, which you gave me with the Urata one

Btw, Christopher I like when you mention your favourite tracks here, and as you often do in the Now Playing thread. I always listen to them immediately on youtube when you and others list their favourites. I don't have the time and patience these days to listen to full scores, so this is a great help to find good music.

Peter

I'm not sure The fall will be your cuppa tea. It's basically just a cool, rhythmic action track. I'm not usually into action music, but for some reason this one appeals very much to my ears.

Herd reunion is a typical John Powell heart-warming and grand finale. It's the type of stuff I worship. That said, perhaps it doesn't reach the high level of his other famous finales, but even average Powell finales are still fantastic listens.




Lists where people explain why they like the scores they have chosen are great reads and can open one's eyes to new music. But I personally don't find the laundry list type very revealing.

Peter