board77

Well that can only mean one thing: TTBK is not in his room surrounded by his shrine repeatedly bumping his head on the floor in an act of worship to Howard Shore and his score.



Well? Review?

I take the unbridled celebration to mean that It Has Arrived....

Congratulations, ttbk! Enjoy!!!!!!!

I'm very interested in the PDF (which won't download for me, either -- I'll check back on it again in a few days), because I have been dying to see the score -- and they are putting it out as a FREE download!!!!

Also, I'm (im)patiently waiting on Mr. Adams' book. I had wondered for a while whether the booklets in the recordings were going to "replace" the book, but one of the reviews ttbk linked and the blurb from the liner notes make it sound like the book will appear sometime around/after the ROTK recordings.

I plan to buy the FOTR set, but not now. Hopefully after Christmas, when our family finances will look a little bit better.

Considering that the thing is 78 hours long, you might wanna give him some time to review it.

Magnificent.


I'll say more later, probably after listening again...


And the pdf file seems to be up now, I haven't had a chance to look at it yet though...



ttbk

The PDF is not what I would call a "score," despite what they called it. It is, I'm guessing, a copy of the booklet included with the recordings, and is basically "program notes" to the music, along with the texts and translations.

How long is this thing exactly?

Impatiently awaiting the review.

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How long is this thing exactly?

COMPLETE TOTAL TIME: 3:00:34


Jude, there is one short onscreen menu that you have sit through, but it's mercifully short. There is no FBI warning.


I'll have a bloody long review up later.



ttbk

That's not a score. In the music world, a score is printed music. I got my hopes up thinking they might have done that. I'll have to hope that one day they do...though I doubt it.

All the lyrics at the end is very cool though!

Yeah...it's just a track by track rundown...still nice though...and we have some new lyrics.


Happy owner:


In comparision to a regular CD case:


Inside:


The booklet:



That's the packaging. My only nitpick would be that there are no track times listed anywhere.


The booklet itself is a very insightful thematic analysis by Doug Adams, he details the musical nature of each thematic strain (some even I hadn't realized were themes before now ), and also what element of the story it relates too. What's in that pdf seems to be a companion to it, I assume it'll come together, with more, in the book. It's very cool.


As to the music itself...



It's the entire score to the film. It's awesome.

The previously unreleased highlights:

• The History of The Ring theme at the film's opening
  The Fellowship theme over the title card
  Gandalf humming/singing "The Road Goes Ever On..."
  The extended variations on the hobbit theme
  "Flaming Red Hair" (the party music)
  Bilbo letting the Ring go
  Gandalf's search through Minas Tirith's archives, and a dark choral passage
  The Passing Of The Elves
  Journey To Weathertop
  Aragorn's theme as he rescues the hobbits at Weathertop
  Extended choral passage in "Flight To The Ford"
  A grand fanfare as Gandalf escapes Orthanc
  The council members arriving at Rivendell
  "By the blood of my people, are your lands kept free..." Gondor theme
  The Fellowship leaving Rivendell
  The Cadahras sequence
  The Watcher in the Water cue
  The lovely rendition of the Shire theme during Gandalf's conversation in Moria with Frodo
  The fight with the cave troll
  Mourning Gandalf, the full choir swelling...
  Silver Trumpets in Lothlorien...
  Farewell to Lothlorien
  And, oh heck...the entire finale sequence
  Humming boys choir rendition of the hobbit theme over the end credits
  And more...

It flows much better as a complete score, the repetitions of the Ringwraith's theme don't jar as much with a little more time between them, and there aren't three big statements of the Fellowship theme in seven minutes...the whole thing has more room to breathe.

But this isn't achieved by adding dull underscore. This is not a boring album; if you loved the one disc set, you should like this one too.

One of the best things is how much more the Ring theme is here; the OST only has the one full statement in The Great River. Here, it is the main theme. And rightfully so.

I believe the sound mix is better, as I'm hearing details I haven't before, even on just the CDs. But I'm no audiophile, so...

I have two nitpicks:

The first is the inclusion of Ian Holm's reprise of "The Road Goes Ever On". Gandalf's rendition is directly related to the underscore, here Holm is singing over the first fragment of the Fellowship theme.

Second; using the film version of the end credits with May It Be followed by what is the end of the original album, and then In Dreams followed by the edited together piece from the film that uses parts of Many Meetings and the Fellowship theme from the end of The Council Of Elrond. It flows much, much better on the original album.


But these are two very small points that don't take much away from what I consider the greatest release of a film score ever. (no hyperbole involved)




Feel free to ask questions.
ttbk

So the thing they have online isn't the booklet that comes with the CDs? Interesting.

I really want this...but we're already spending so much money for Christmas and our trip and I'm not working.



I do want to get back into the score discussion...go back to all the tracks I missed out on. Won't happen until 2006 though. Sorry.

TTBK.

I HAVE to get this soon.

Eru, whenever you get time, I'll be ready and waiting.

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Quote:

http://skynet.theblank.org/ubb/dc/lotr.mp3
Here is a clip of the music in question.. it is unlike any music i've heard in the score. It seams to fit as Flight to the Ford music but I'm not convinced. I think I remember it in another documentary under the scene when the ringwraiths get into the Prancing Pony Inn & stab the hobbits beds.

And yes, the EE menu does present a longer version of the Descending Thirds Motif so I am also interested as to why this version was not included.

Good question and good ears.

This is indeed the unused Flight to the Ford music, with a *draft* of the choral music Shore composed for this version of the composition. Since the choral music was never *completely* recorded, it wasn't used for the boxed set. Still a possibility for a rarity someday, though.

More answers later. Almost done with holiday insanity!

-Doug

PS - By the way, any release dates currently listed for TTT and ROTK are noting more than fan rumors at this point. I just spoke with HS last Monday, and he's still deciding when best to release the next set. That said, production has begun to trickle on Two Towers.

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>>>On that subject, can anyone confirm that what is heard as the Prologue was actually recorded as such? Upon listening to it without the film, it does sound as though the first half of the Prologue (until the choral Ringwraith theme at least) is possibly made up largely of takes from Lothlorien (possibly The Mirror of Galadriel?) and Parth Galen. Is it an editorial creation or did HS simply re-record sections that worked with the scene without making any significant changes. Either way, this is by no means meant as criticism.>>>

The music heard in the Prologue was indeed ALL composed and recorded specifically for the Prologue. It’s similar to be certain, but there are slight differences in the conductor’s scores… mostly rhythmic in nature, but it’s difficult to tell with such sustained, horizontal writing.

>>>Thanks for the news, Doug. I am assuming that the production for TTT & ROTK won't take as long since they already have the template for the packaging, look, feel, etc. I hope they already have the music picked out for these releases. >>>

Honestly, I don’t know what the release schedule will be, so I’m not being coy here. But I don’t know how much Fellowship’s precedent is going to expedite the process for TTT and ROTK. It’s not so much the conceptualizing that takes time on these things, it’s the pure brute effort of editing 3-plus hours of music; physically designing and choosing the specific artwork; and writing, designing and editing a mini-book each time out of the gate. We’re trying to get an early start on TTT so that the schedule doesn’t get crushed at the end, but best laid plans… (Incidentally, the “crush at the endâ€

I am hoping to get this set for my birthday, in May. And I checked the web link, and lo and behold, at long last, the words of the "Moth song" squeeeee!!!! and the official wording of the departure of Boromir. Be still my heart!
Without you TTBK, I might never have learned of the existence of this box set, so many, many thanks!!!!

Nice photos, Fuzzi.

But what happened to that monster post you promised? The minute by minute analysis, the gushing, the "why the heck didn't they put this bit in the soundtrack?"?

I'll definitely have to try and get this sometime (if theatre tickets and college don't bankrupt me first ).

Lacey, be sure to tell me when you get it. And yes, getting the words to "The Moth At Isengard" was one those things that made me really happy.


Mossi,
Note-by-note analysis

Gushing? Only so much I can say...it's the Lord Of The Rings...told entirely by the music. Shame on thee for having it yet! College and Broadway be darned!

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the "why the heck didn't they put this bit in the soundtrack?"

Everything worthy of note is either there, on the original album, or in one case, the EE credits...




ttbk

The Tennis Ball Kid wrote:

Mossi,
Note-by-note analysis

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Quote:

Broadway be darned!

BLASPHEMY!

Well, it's ordered...

I so can't wait to get this. I saw it while on my trip back to England and was drooling in the shop, but knew I had to be patient.

It is all the more exciting with there being a DVD-Audio version - question for TTBK, is the entire 3 hour score packed onto a single DVD-A disc?

I also hope TTBK is right that it is mixed better, as I always felt the original CDs didn't reveal enough detail - i.e. plucked strings are not very prominent in the mix and are hard to pick out.

One more question, what is the cheapest place to get it from?

Barnes&Nobles is pretty cheap...

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is the entire 3 hour score packed onto a single DVD-A disc?

Yup.



ttbk