Kong of Kongs, Lord of Rings

By: Randall D. Larson
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2005

THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS

This is definitely a week of must-haves in soundtrack new releases.

Despite having had only five weeks to conceptualize, compose, orchestrate, record and mix the score after stepping in to replace Howard Shore as composer, James Newton Howard's KING KONG is a first-rate effort in all respects. Released by Decca (B0005715-02), the soundtrack CD comprises 21 tracks and nearly 75 minutes. As expected, it's a very fertile and dramatic score, ranging from poignant passion to roaring savagery and chest-beaten dissonance. Opening with hushed strings that herald a powerful four-note downsurge of brass chords (Kong's Theme), the score sets the stage for both adventure and romance with a set of themes that are sweeping and melodic, and punctuated with a powerful element that is as yet undefined.

Comparison's with Max Steiner's 1933 score for the original film are pointless and unnecessary; John Barry's music for the 1976 embarrassment went in wholly different directions; and comparisons with the abandoned Howard Shore score are unfortunately not possible. But there are some basic conceptual similarities, mainly in the contrast between the bombastic, aggressive music (I Am Kong, Hear Me Roar and various battle scenes) and the innocent love music associated with Kong's discovery of his love for Ann that formed the core of Steiner's classic masterpiece.

A quiet piano riff that is almost Thomas Newman like portends Ann's meeting with movie mogul Denham ("A Fateful Meeting"), but it soon opens into a lush violin melody over strings as Denham convinces Ann to take part in the project, and the adventure is underway. The theme will become associated with Skull Island, although reflections will also recur as a love theme for Kong and Ann as in "Beautiful," where the mismatched couple share a sunset on the Island; the melody will recur in "Central Park" as a sublime piece for orchestra and piano, very warm and emotional, as the two share another private moment in a world far removed from Kong's homeland.

A cute and roundabout clarinet theme emerges midway through "A Fateful Meeting," lending an almost mischievous or playful attitude to the piece, eventually becoming sultry jazz, enhancing the comedy of the early scenes in the ship. The motif appears again in "Two Grand," almost sounding like caper movie music, but it lends an intriguing and curious tonality to the long lines of the other themes' melodies. It contrasts well with the Skull Island theme in "The Venture Departs," where it creates a mood of skullduggery, almost as if Dr. Smith had stowed away and will emerge at any moment to reprogram the Robot; but Howard's Skull Island theme re-emerges and maintains the menacing seriousness of the undertaking.

"Defeat Is Always Momentary" for a moment seems to riff off of PSYCHO's main theme in its furiously contrapuntal violin motif, but it quickly ventures into its own territory. "It's In The Subtext" revisits the Skull Island theme, and the fluidly flourishing violin theme resonates broadly with the sensation of Adventure. Howard's music for Kong's various battles are potent and assertive. "Head Towards the Animals" is pungent and percussive, raspy trumpets and echoing horns, the pulse of the pursuing dinosaurs' stampeding footfalls felt in the cue's rapid percussion. "Tooth and Claw" is furious battle music, its dissonant laced with snippets and echoes of the Kong and Skull Island themes.

The score concludes with five movements from "Beauty Killed The Beast," which are heralded by the lilting melodies of "The Empire State Building" which both suggest the freedom of Kong's Skull Island home that the skyscraper itself suggests, and portents the poignancy of the film's touching denouement. The melodic strains of "Empire State Building" grow stormy and ominous, and become entwined in growing discord and disharmony as snare drums invade the melody and intone with stark clarity the inevitable conclusion this final battle will surely encompass. The motif gradually grows more dissonant, more desperate, and more filled with passion and poignancy even in its most aggressive, as Kong realizes the hopelessless of his situation; and finally with the solo voice of boy singer Ben Inman echoing his heartbreak, the great ape lets go and falls to his death in the street far below. We are left with the pretty strains of the Ann and Skull Island motifs to soothe our sorrow, and the score and film alike culminate in a sensation of profound sadness, brilliantly played by Newton Howard.

Harry Gregson-Williams' score for THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE opens with the catastrophe of London's World War II blitz and the ensuing musical dissonance that chaotic destruction insinuates. A tender

piano and violin motif, "Evacuating London," resounds tenderly as a respite, as the children flee the terrors of the blitz and voyage to the safety of the countryside, escorted by a lightly lyrical folk melody sung by featured vocalist Lisbeth Scott. Track 3, "The Wardrobe," commences the score proper, and Gregson-Williams introduces his mysterious theme that will later be expanded into the motifs for Narnia. A children's choir echoed behind the orchestra, underlying the enchantment of the world the children discover on the other side of the wardrobe. The choir also suggests the dangerousness of the time in which the have entered Narnia, since it is under the cruel yoke of an ice witch ("A Narnia Lullaby" is a terrific cue for choir, morphing into the malicious musical strains of "The White Witch").

The score is more complex than the comparatively simple melodies and measures of KING KONG. It's somewhat more modernistic in flavor, while still managing to evoke the magic and the wonder of the Narnia and the creatures that live there. The Children's Theme dominates the score, since their activities and predicaments propel the storyline in nearly every scene (it is beautifully stated in "Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus" which incorporates through its quietude and hushed choral backing both the wonder of the girl's discovery of the talking faun and the gentle friendliness of the character); it is contrasted with the Theme for Aslan, the heroic lion who rules Narnia with a graceful majesty. Peter eventually emulates the noble lion and the same theme assumes his character as well. But the score is not predominantly a heroic score, at least we don't

revisit the heroic themes every other track; Gregson-Williams develops the music carefully and with calculation, and much of it is less soaring and triumphant than it is quietly reflective. At least on the CD, the music tends toward the contemplative than it does the vividly bombastic (of course cues like "To Aslan's Camp" remain unabashedly romantically in their penchant to soar heroically; but even this cue resolves and becomes quietly thoughtful after a minute). "The Stone Table" proceeds in unusually unheroic fashion, becoming a haunting rhythmic tonality that is laced with whispers of the score's heroic measures. It's this sense that makes the NARNIA score quite interesting an remarkable, since it neither reflects the expected kind of heroic fantasy adventure of this kind of story nor gives in to characteristic sensibilities of typical action/adventure scores of the day. Unlike the familiar pounding chaotic cacophony of many battle scenes (even KONG's massively orchestrated dissonances are in part traditional in their approach), Gregson-Williams centerpiece, "The Battle," constructs a mixture of orchestra and choir built over a rhythmic riffing, on top of which are intoned elements of themes and motifs, the fusion of it all driving a subordinate heroic measure that builds to a gloriously magnificent triumphal crescendo that is both fresh and compelling in its approach The score resolves with a return of the Childrens' Theme, infused with a portion of Aslan's Theme, now fulfilled in its eloquence, for the buoyant "Only The Beginning of The Adventure," closing out both film and score with the reminder that there are six more adventures to come.

There are four songs on the CD in addition to the score but the 13 score tracks top out at more than 50 minutes, so it's pretty solid score-wise. The quartet of songs from the film (as distinct from the "Inspired by" songs that appear on a separate CD) include Alanis Morissett's "Wunderkind" and "Where," sung by score vocalist Lisbeth Scott, which incorporates Gregson-Williams' Childrens' Theme. Disney has released the score in both a standard edition in customary jewel case (61374-7) and a Special Edition (5008 61373-7) in a fold-out walletlike faux-leather keepcase that includes a DVD with film and concept art, trailer, behind the scenes featurette, and a collection of music "inspired by the film."

Howard Shore's inaugural score for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING not only launched the composer on a 12-hour musical saga that would eclipse his previous film work in a notably epic fashion, but resulted in a cycle of film scores that are among the finest of the last decade, and likely so among the last

quarter century. Initially released in 2001 along with the first film, Shore's FELLOWSHIP score received a scanty single-disc soundtrack release with 17 score tracks and Enya's End Title song (a limited deluxe edition contained no new music, but the same disc with an exclusive 24-page book in a leather box; the deluxe editions of the second two LOTR soundtracks would contain more interesting music-related extras). With the four-disc THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING The Complete Recordings (Reprise 49454-2) we are presented for the first time with the complete score to the extended (DVD) version of the film more than 180 minutes of music on three CDs, plus the entire score in 5.1 surround sound on DVD-Audio. These are the complete score recordings conducted by Shore and performed by the London Philharmonic; in some cases, those cues were edited down for the film's theatrical cut or extended for the expanded DVD release. The release is bound in a leather book styled package and includes a new 48-page book with comprehensive notes that exhaustively describe the music, its scope, textures, and thematic unity.

The music, as I have already noted above and in my original reviews of each score, is tremendous, incredibly heart-felt and moving, brilliantly arranged and organized and developed into a wondrous musical canvas, rich in evocation, sonic beauty, and meaningful subtexts. The Complete Recordings is the year's most important soundtrack release, expanding and preserving one of the finest fantasy scores. The plethora of unreleased material on this beautifully packaged edition is mouth-watering at the least, and the sonic dynamic achieved on the 5.1 surround sound DVD of the entire 180-minute score is simply astonishing.

Space prohibits a more exhaustive analysis of The Complete Recordings release for that, I would instead refer you eagerly to Mike Brennan's excellent and thorough exegesis posted at: www.soundtrack.net  

Crime and Dissonance is a strange and wonderful and completely bizarre collection of material from Ennio Morricone, released by Ipecac Recordings (ICP66). Eschewing the composer's gift for rich melodies and intense musical beauty, this collection harvests some of Morricone's most unusual, experimental, and weird material (and the maestro wrote plenty of it). Two CDs taken from more than twenty mostly rare European soundtracks from the '60s and '70s "a realm of driving spooky scores,

wordless and haunting vocals, angular string passages, spaced-out sounds, dark rhythmic structures and eerie whistling," states musician and Morricone interpreter John Zorn in the liner notes. This is a far cry from the lyrical melodies of his adventure dramas or the snappy verve of the signature Italian Western music, but in its own way, despite its lack of easy accessibility, this is provocatively intriguing material, the result of an extremely gifted creative mind unleashed to experiment with new ways to make music or new sensibilities to convey through music. Prepare to be blown away. The CD comes with a 24-page booklet which is mostly a gallery of shiny color images from the films (L'ANTICRISTO, VERUSCHKA, IL SERPENTE, BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and the like) which are as visually striking as the music is sonically. Oh, and by the way, you might turn the volume down before you play the CRYSTAL PLUMAGE tracks if you have close neighbors only Morricone could make female orgiastic moans sound as dramatically musical as he did in this score. www.ipecac.com

FILM MUSIC NEWS

Film Score Monthly has already pointed out that, despite having his score rejected, Howard Shore appears onscreen in several shots of KING KONG, conducting the pit orchestra at Kong's New York unveiling. Luckily, Shore was saved the indignity of miming to the replacement score by James Newton Howard, as the themes played by the pit orchestra are Max Steiner's from the original 1933 film. One of the members of the FILMus-L email listserver attended the premiere of KING KONG last Sunday, and during the Q & A session that followed (featuring Jackson, Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Andy Serkis, Adrian Brody, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh), he asked Jackson at what point did they decide to use part of Steiner's score. "He answered that it was actually screenwriter Boyens' idea (she is credited as composer of two songs in RETURN OF THE KING), but he didn't specify when she came up with the idea," wrote Dennis Kear in the email posting, then added, "Another audience member asked Jackson about the change of composers, and he pretty much echoed the official statement, except to imply that the tight post-production window was a factor."

Speaking of Howard Shore, Music from the Movies reports that he is composing the music for Martin Scorsese's THE DEPARTED, the prestigious director's upcoming remake of the highly acclaimed 2002 Hong Kong film INTERNAL AFFAIRS. Scorsese's version stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin. In this version, the story focuses on an Irish-American gangster who infiltrates the Massachusetts police force while, simultaneously, a young police officer infiltrates the gang. Shore has previously scored Scorsese's AFTER HOURS and THE AVIATOR and also had his composition "Brooklyn Heights" featured in GANGS OF NEW YORK.

Intrada's latest Special Collection, set for release on December 20th, features a 1950s double-header from the vaults of 20th Century Fox. WARLOCK (1959) boasted an all-star cast that included Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, Anthony Quinn, and Dorothy Malone. The plot seems simple enough at first cowboys from the nearby San Pablo ranch regularly terrorize the frontier town of Warlock (it's a Western not a horror movie about a male witch, dang...). Leigh Harline provided a striking and dramatic main theme and underscores the action with a brooding intensity. The robbery plot of VIOLENT SATURDAY (1955) provides the backbone for a story about everyday life in a small-town America. Three crooks (Stephen McNally, J. Carrol Naish, and Lee Marvin) plan a cunning weekend heist which will have dramatic repercussions for many in the Arizona town. Ultimately, they are all caught up in the chaos and death associated with the robbery kind of a desert RESERVOIR DOGS? Hugo Friedhofer wrote a sparse and complex score, deliberately choosing which scenes to accompany. Both scores are presented in stereo directly from the original stereo session elements. This Intrada Special Collection release is limited to 1200 copies.

For cover art, track listing, and sound samples, see: http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT67745/it.A/id.4572/.f  

Recognized as a pioneer of combining non-Western sound sources with orchestral and electronic minimalism in film music, composer Mychael Danna has recently scored CAPOTE for director Bennett Miller. Danna's score sets the tone for the inspirational true-life story of novelist Truman Capote, who has decided to investigate the murders of the Clutter family in Kansas as a possible subject for a non-fiction novel after being tired of writing fiction. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener and is directed by Bennett Miller. In the film, Philip Seymour Hoffman portrays Truman Capote's emotional and psychic dissolution during the period of investigation about Clutter murders and creation of the book In Cold Blood. The complex love-and-hate association between Truman Capote and the murderer Perry Smith shows the slow erosion of Capote's personality as the film develops. According to Hollywood Reporter, "Mychael Danna's muted score, relying heavily on the piano, never intrudes but only amplifies the dramatic content." Danna is noted for his work with director Atom Egoyan, Mira Nair, and Joel Schumacher. His latest score was for Egoyan's WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, released on CD recently by Varese Sarabande.

According to news posted on a Bernard Herrmann message board, the composer's "Scenario Macabre" from Alastair Reid's 1971 psychological thriller, THE NIGHT DIGGER, has been completely re-mixed and remastered for release on a Hybrid Super Audio CD in early 2006. The album will feature approximately 6 additional minutes of music (previous releases from Label-X Records on CD contained the seven-movement "Scenario Macabre"). John S. Lasher, the album's producer, completed work on the album (his second SACD production) at Sony Music Mastering in August. The album will be available through soundtrack album specialists, selected record stores, on the internet, and direct by mail order.

For an excellent overview of the NIGHT DIGGER score, see: www.uib.no/herrmann/articles/liner/ndigger/

On December 18th, The Film Music Society will release The World War II Documentary Music of Dimitri Tiomkin as a limited edition of only 1,000 copies available to members (some of the usual retailers are also carrying limited supplies). The CD collects nearly 79 minutes of previously unreleased recordings of eminent film composer Dimitri Tiomkin's scores from four historically significant World War II

documentary features, the Army orientation films of producer Frank Capra - "The Battle of Russia" (1943), "Tunisian Victory" (1944), "The Negro Soldier" (1944) and "San Pietro" (1945) - ranging in style from inspiring military marches to themes that underpin the despair of war, from American gospel and jazz to traditional Russian folk melodies, from the modern beat of the big band to the classical strains of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. The recordings in this collection originated from 16 inch acetate transcription discs owned by Tiomkin, which were transferred to 1/4 inch magnetic tape in the mid-1980s by innovative recording engineer Bob Auger. The tapes remained in the possession of Tiomkin's wife Olivia until earlier this year when they were transferred to digital format for restoration and inclusion on this CD. Accompanying these recordings is a deluxe 16-page booklet containing never-before-seen photographs and authoritative liner notes by Tiomkin expert Warren Sherk. www.filmmusicsociety.org  

iTunes is offering an online download of Michael (THE INCREDIBLES) Giacchino's previously unavailable score to THE FAMILY STONE, a 2005 heartfelt comedy about family relationships from the producer of SIDEWAYS. iTunes is offering 23 tracks (44 minutes), all score for $9.99 another example of a trend for online music sources to offer exclusive film score material however, like Fox Music's downloadable soundtrack to FIREFLY, it won't be exclusive for long Varese Sarabande Records has just announced they will release the score on CD on January 31st (as they did a month or two after Fox began offering their online "exclusive" score to FIREFLY; with FIREFLY, the Varese CD contained more music than was on the downloadable version from Fox Music; track listing for the FAMILY STONE CD has not yet been listed on the Varese web site for comparison purposes.

FLYBOYS, an upcoming action adventure starring James Franco and Jean Reno, will get an original score by Trevor Rabin. The composer, who recently won acclaim for his large orchestral score for John Dahl's THE GREAT RAID, also has Disney's basketball drama GLORY ROAD coming out in January 2006. Tony Bill (UNTAMED HEART, MY BODYGUARD, CRAZY PEOPLE) is the director of FLYBOYS, and Dean Devlin (INDEPENDENCE DAY, STARGATE, GODZILLA) produces. The film is based on a theatrical play by Blake Evans and tells the story about the Lafayette Escadrille which consisted of American pilots who volunteered for the French military during World War I. via musicfromthemovies.com  

In addition to scoring SPIDER-MAN 3, Christopher Young is scheduled for GHOST RIDER, an action thriller based on a Marvel comic book from by DAREDEVIL director Mark Steven Johnson, starring Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze alias Ghost Rider. Young will also compose the music for THE GRUDGE 2, the American version of the Japanese ghost film of the same name. The sequel is being directed by Takashi Shimizu who also helmed the first American entry (which Young scored) as well as the Japanese original it emulated (follow?). America's GRUDGE 2 is scheduled for release in October next year.

Italy's GDM will soon release Sound Dimensions: Music for Images and Imagination, a 6-CD boxed set containing evocative music from various films composed by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai. The label is also preparing additional Italian Western releases, including CLINT IL SOLITARIO by Nora Orlandi and BALLATA PER UN PISTOLERO by Marcello (SABATA) Giombini. www.gdmmusic.com  

Varese Sarabande will release the score from Eli Roth's grisly horror offering, HOSTEL, on January 24th. Called "the scariest American movie in a decade" by Ain't It Cool News, the film is Roth's follow-up to his hit debut, 2002's CABIN FEVER. More grisly than Roth's feature bow, HOSTEL is a mixture of many of the most terrifying things about human nature and the world at large, culled from many impossible-but-true stories of human trafficking, international organized crime, and sex tourism. Relentlessly graphic and deeply disturbing, the film is sure to shock even the most hard-core genre fans. The film's evocative score was composed by newcomer Nathan Barr (CABIN FEVER, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD). Scored for full symphony orchestra, the music is at turns both beautiful and frightening. www.varesesarabande.com  

The film based on the popular Silent Hill computer game will get an original score by Canadian composer Jeff Danna (RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE). The film, scheduled to premiere next April, is directed by Christophe Gans (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) and stars Sean Bean and Radha Mitchell. The "Silent Hill" of the film's title is a ghost town in a parallel universe, a place where a mother trying to find a cure for her dying daughter gets lost in the Darkness. According to executive producer Andrew Mason, Jeff Danna is currently working on the score and the film will also incorporate elements from the original computer game score by Akira Yamaoka. musicfromthemovies.com  

IT'S AWARDS SEASON

This years Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Original Score was awarded to

Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi's HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. The award will be shared with Youmi Kimura, who wrote the film's theme song. The 55-year old composer, whose other scores include SPIRITED AWAY, PRINCESS MONONOKE and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (all of them directed by HOWL'S creator Hayao Miyazaki), is the first composer to be announced a 2005 award winner - the award seasons now kicks off with the Golden Globe nominations being announced this week (see below). www.lafca.net  

The Golden Satellite Award nominations were revealed by the International Press Academy. Nominees for best original score are:

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Gustavo Santaolalla)
THE CONSTANT GARDENER (Alberto Iglesias)
THE CORPSE BRIDE (Danny Elfman)
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Harry Gregson-Williams)
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA (John Williams)
SIN CITY (Robert Rodriguez, John Debney, Graeme Revell)
www.pressacademy.com  

The nominations for the latest Grammy Awards have been announced, including the following film music related categories:

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
BEYOND THE SEA
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
NO DIRECTION HOME: THE SOUNDTRACK - BOOTLEG SERIES, VOL. 7
RAY
SIX FEET UNDER VOLUME 2 - EVERYTHING ENDS

Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
THE AVIATOR - Howard Shore
THE INCREDIBLES - Michael Giacchino
MILLION DOLLAR BABY - Clint Eastwood
RAY - Craig Armstrong
STAR WARS EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH - John Williams

Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Believe - Glen Ballard & Alan Silvestri, from: THE POLAR EXPRESS
Cold Wind - The Arcade Fire, from: SIX FEET UNDER VOLUME 2 - EVERYTHING ENDS
Million Voices - Jerry Duplessis, Andrea Guerra & Wyclef Jean, from: HOTEL RWANDA
Square One- Tom Petty, from: ELIZABETHTOWN
Wonka's Welcome Song - John August & Danny Elfman, from: CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Best Instrumental Composition
Anakin's Betrayal - John Williams, from: STAR WARS EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH
The Ferry Scene - John Williams, from: WAR OF THE WORLDS
The Incredits - Michael Giacchino, from: THE INCREDIBLES
Into The Light - Billy Childs
Journey Home - Maria Schneider

Gordon Goodwin was nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement for The Incredibles' "The Incredits," while William Stromberg was nominated for Best Classical Crossover Album for his re-recording of Max Steiner's THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN. www.grammy.com  

The Hollywood Foreign Press has announced their annual Golden Globe nominations. The nominees for the music categories in 2006 are as follows:

Best Original Score - Motion Picture:
Alexandre Desplat - SYRIANA
James Newton Howard - KING KONG
Gustavo Santaolalla - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Harry Gregson-Williams - THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA
John Williams - MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"A Love That Will Never Grow Old" - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Music by: Gustavo Santaolalla; Lyrics by: Bernie Taupin

"Christmas In Love" - CHRISTMAS IN LOVE
Music by: Tony Renis; Lyrics by: Marva Jan Marrow

"There's Nothing Like A Show On Broadway" - THE PRODUCERS
Music & Lyrics by: Mel Brooks

"Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA
Music & Lyrics by: Dolly Parton

"Wunderkind" - THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA
Music & Lyrics by: Alanis Morissette

The 63nd annual Golden Globe Awards will air live on NBC, Monday January 16th at 8:00PM Eastern www.hfpa.org  

GAME MUSIC NEWS

Following his work on the dramatic orchestral music for the cinematics in Prince of Persia Warrior Within, award-winning composer Inon Zur recently recorded the east-meets-west flavoured orchestral score for Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, the third volume in the acclaimed Prince of Persia® franchise from Ubisoft. Zur applied his film and television scoring background to create an epic soundtrack worthy of the silver screen and conducted the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra at the Eastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.

Simon Pressey, Artistic Audio Director for Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, said, "Inon has really out done himself; his music brings to life the dramatic emotion of the Prince of Persia's epic story, seamlessly blending the powerful majestic beauty of the symphony with evocative, exotic eastern ethnic instrumentation that's totally authentic for the world of the Prince. The Hollywood Studio Orchestra, unlike any other in the world, has an innate sense when interpreting music for picture. The result is spectacular and moving in the same instance. The professionalism of the crew at the Eastwood scoring stage is unparalled, and the sound indescribably beautiful." Additionally, Zur collaborated with Stuart Chatwood, who composed the music for Prince of Persia® The Sands of Time. By combining Zur's cinematic orchestral and unique ethnic instrumentation with Chatwood's own distinct rhythmic styles, Prince of Persia The Two Thrones is said to deliver the most cinematic and immersive audio experience in the franchise to date.

For more information visit www.princeofpersiagame.com  

After their successful collaborations on Alias, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and The Incredibles gamescores, the composing duo of Michael Giacchino and Chris Tilton are working together again, this time on the upcoming Electronic Arts and Criterion Games project, Black. The first-person shooter game is described as "one of the most destructive shooters we've ever seen" by gamespot.com The recording sessions will take place this month and the game is set for release in spring, 2006 for PS2 and XBOX.

Sumthing Else Music Works has released the soundtrack to the computer game,

Perfect Dark Zero. The soundtrack features original musical compositions and arrangements by David Clynick who is best known for composing the cinematic music in the first Perfect Dark® with Grant Kirkhope. Clynick has combined epic sci-fi soundscapes with a hypnotic, electronic dance feel that sets the pace and tone for the game. The CD also includes rock tunes written exclusively for Perfect Dark Zero by the cutting-edge band MorissonPoe and San Francisco house music DJs, Kepi and Kat, and selected by album producer Nile Rodgers to synergize their music with the immersive gameplay action, beautiful graphics and breathtaking special effects. www.sumthing.com  

Former editor/publisher of CinemaScore magazine, Randall Larson was for many years senior editor for Soundtrack Magazine and a film music columnist for Cinefantastique magazine. He is the author of Musique Fantastique: A Survey of Film Music in the Fantastic Cinema (Scarecrow, 1984) and Music from the House of Hammer (Scarecrow, 1995). In addition to Soundtrax and Music News for Cinescape.com, Randall reviews soundtracks Music from the Movies, writes for Film Music Magazine, and in many other fields.

Recommended Soundtrack sources:
www.buysoundtrax.com  
www.intrada.com  
www.screenarchives.com  
www.footlight.com  
www.arksquare.com/index_main.html (Japan)
www.intermezzomedia.com/ (Italy)
www.moviegrooves.com  
www.moviemusic.com  

For questions or comments, contact the author at Soundtrax@cinescape.com