[Closed] Now Playing XLVII

Playlist ≠ Album.

When I read comments like that of Steven and Edmund, I feel a bit like the early supporters of film must have done in the late 1800s and early 1900s when they tried to communicate the art of the medium to a people who only perceived it as cheap 'laughs and gimmicks' at fairs and vaudeville shows.

Well, you inspire me.

Geoff Knorr -- a rather funny name. I keep thinking of soup, for some reason.

But a good composer.

Ha, ha....no, it was more about not viewing album production as an artform (suggesting that the creation of a personal playlist equals the creation of a conceptual album), just as those early folks didn't perceive film as a legitimate artform. It seems to be a somewhat unfortunate trend that has appeared in this digital age of ours.

Interstellar - HZ

Very good. One of the year's best and one of Zimmer's best.

THE IMITATION GAME | desplat

I really like this one. The main theme is very Desplat-like, reminding me of his earlier "Hollywood" scores. The last track, Turing's Legacy, is one of the best tracks of 2014. There's something about the busy "computer" music (the low but fast-paced, electronic? music) that is really attractive. What a bunch of really good music he has written again this year. I'm sure he'll win the World Soundtrack Awards.

The most heavily marketed score since The Dark Knight Returns and Inception.

Howard Shore - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (DeLuxe)

My copy arrived early today, so I just finished disc 1.

Picking up right where The Desolation of Smaug ended, you'd be forgiven to double check if you really started with disc 1, and didn't mistakenly put in the second one first. So yes, opening track Fire and Water could've easily ended the previous score, resuming Smaug's menacing battle music, and it's setting the tone for much of this first disc. With its dark and heavy orchestra, it's a bit ironic Shore himself emphasizes in the booklet that The Hobbit is first and foremost conceived as a children's tale, sometimes coming awesomely close to his heavy brass from The Cell.

But it's far from the bleak, 'colorless' doom and gloom of The Hobbit 2. While many decried that previous score lack of thematic development, building it up slowly, this is just wall-to-wall thematic awesomeness, with at least 90% of the music representing a theme either from The Hobbit series or returning from the original trilogy (mostly Smaug, Lake Town themes and the elves in bad-ass variations, but also a return of the In Dreams theme from Fellowship), with many performances of the choir to liven things up and restore Middle Earth's fantastical sound.

For those hoping this score to return to the sound of the original Lord of the Rings style, there's much to love here, but it's still very much its own adventure. So still no vocal soloists (even though the male-only, female-only and full on choirey goodness all have their moments for diversity), and the presented tracks are are once again of the film version kind instead of nice concert suite structures we got from the original trilogy albums. But right before the end of disc 1, finally a moment of grand, awesome beauty that's been lacking here for quite a while. For a hardcore fan of Howard Shore's Middle Earth music, that was pure bliss and exactly the kind of moment I was hoping to get one last time before it all ended. Brief, though, so let's hope this is representative for the second half.

And now, for the grande finale, Disc 2...

Same here.

... Disc 2

Both delighted and slightly disappointed by its conclusion.

Yes, even more returning themes from The Lord of the Rings, mainly the Hobbit material obviously, and more choir backing to the orchestral battle music, but instead of ending with grand thematic statements, it simply slips into the Hobbiton themes towards the end (and one final appearance of the Ring theme) before Billy gets to sing his farewell song (lovely, but it's still weird to me Shore had no involvement in any of these closing songs, and once again it shows - although less so than with the previous scores, this one reminding a bit of Annie Lennox closer to Return of the King in orchestration).

In general, this third score from this trilogy could be summed up as one major action cue, with its only variation moments of contemplation in between with returning themes in solo performances. And yes, this means less of a narrative than just A Main Event stretched out over its duration, with little real emotional weight. As such, you will find little standout moments to return to later, instead being one big symphony of its own (once again due to the lack of a concert suite kind of presentation, it simply thunders along).

This is very much a continuation of the second score, weirdly ignoring any of the themes set up in An Unexpected Journey. And while the original trilogy had a flawless balance in its thematic development, each film with its own sound, identity and unique themes, here this is clearly not as thought out. It wasn't untill the final track, Ironfoot, that I really got the hang of this new theme, similar to Beyond the Woods with the previous score.

But ultimately, this isn't a reworking of The Lord of the Rings. It's its own trilogy, and it's great to have this different take on Shore's middle earth music to appreciate on its own. Even though it will never rival its big brother.

You could say The Lord of the Rings is supposed to be one book too, but Peter Jackson still managed them to be wildly different . He also shifted with events between the books and films a bit for a better fit.

I think the main reason here is the fact these films were originally constructed to be two films, and it really shows. With An Unexpected Journey having a completely different feel (and sound) as opposed to parts 2 and 3, you can see how these films were originally conceived as two films with each its own identity. To have it this way is breaking up the balance. I think the break between Smaug and Battle is just weird, ending on such a cliffhanger, and feels forced (also in terms of musical storytelling: score 2 represents too much buildup, while 3 is too much battle - but people will complain less over this third one since the orchestra and choir get a much more heavy workout).

This second trilogy is, in all respects, just a victim of its own success. Which doesn't mean I'm not enjoying the final result, but I'm convinced it would've been a lot better in its original two-part form. I'm sure someone down the line will edit soundtrack versions for these films as if it were two motion pictures, and this might be the perfect representation of this story. Heck, I might just do it myself.

Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies - Shore

Hmm.