JAMES HORNER

I had it for months and got the Varese album yesterday.

Da Da Da Daaaaah! <--- Lots of that!

-Erik-

The bits I heard sounded good and thematic......as long as you enjoy scores like Four Feathers, Black Gold...

That is, if you like scores by James Horner?

Yeah, all that seems to be filtered with Avatar, doesn't it? As I said, I haven't heard the whole thing yet.

I love The Four Feathers... Black Gold... not so much.

-Erik-

I would go for The Missing. So beautiful!

Save yourself some money and just play the scores you already have.

-Erik-

Well no new film music is really produced anymore. Might as well get the one that sounds good at least.

Well what have you heard in essence the last couple of years that is actually new? It's all variations of Inception, Tron and Zimmer's Batmanisms these days, in mainstream projects at least. And other great guys like Silvestri or JNH are on auto pilot at best. With the exception of Horner, Desplat and the usual bunch of younger composers like Korzeniowski, the Spanish gang, etc. But mainstream Hollywood pictures are all sounding exactly the same...you disagree?

Well not to my ears; very few exceptions and they're mostly non-American.

gah gaaag mougaa gaa kiii booooooo!!

I'll still get this one. At this point, a Horner score is like a warm blanket: familiar but comfortable.

That's how I feel. I'm still happy to hear Horner reuse familiar themes, techniques and motifs. I know I'm going to enjoy this one.

Perhaps not so much the Four Note Danger Motif. That's like living next to a subway; you hear it all the time, it's not particularly pleasant... but you get used to it.

It does seem that there tends to be a split in opinions when it comes to film music being composed by composers (and not just with James Horner). Some people want to hear continuous development of a composer, delivering something new. And they are disappointed when something too familiar is heard.

Or there are those who don't mind so much when a composer doesn't particularly push themselves to compose something that is new or different for them. They are content when familiar devices re-appear again and again, seeing them more as re-statements of a particular composer's style.

I tend to fall into the latter category: familiarity through the use and re-use of devices, motifs (if I like them) is fine. And can be highlights in an otherwise disappointing "departure".

And if they work why not use them?

Sometimes composers just tire of a particular sound and move on and, to some extent, re-invent themselves. Didn't John Barry take the positive step of moving away from the "James Bond sound" once he was finished with them and developed his sound?