Jerry Goldsmith's STAR TREK: NEMESIS score
© 2002 Varese Sarabande

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NEMESIS: Good Music, Mediocre Journey; TWO TOWERS: Two for Two

This Week's RecommendationS

It's a [IMG3R]shame that Trevor Jones' fine score to the original 2-hour miniseries of DINOTOPIA hasn't been released on a major commercial label, but at least it has been released, on Contemporary Media Recordings (CMR-2002-2) and available from the Dinotopia Store at www.dinotopia.com. It's a splendid orchestral score in all respects. Built around a flourishing, lyrical, ascending main theme that is full of fanciful atmosphere, the score is romantic and adventurous. Jones creates a consistent tonality of nobility for this land where intelligent (and intellectual) dinosaurs co-exist with humans, and while there are suitable dissonances where necessary ("T-Rex Attacks" and "Swampland Mososaurs," for example) the overall emphasis in the music is one of dignity and majestic grandeur. This is accomplished splendidly throughout the disc, which is also enhanced by a fine performance by the London Symphony Orchestra, and a stimulating digital recording. (This score was to have been released by Varese Sarabande, but the composer's contract to score the miniseries included the soundtrack album rights, which Jones reportedly wished to release on his own label.)

And speaking

Jerry Goldsmith's STAR TREK: NEMESIS score

© 2002 Varese Sarabande

Howard Shore [IMG4R]revisits Middle Earth and mirrors the excellence of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING with his new score for THE TWO TOWERS, released last week by Reprise (48379-2). As with the first LORD OF THE RINGS score, the soundtrack has been issued in three versions a standard jewel case version (with five different covers, each containing one of five exclusive 2-sided trading cards) containing 19 tracks on an enhanced CD that comes with a bunch of notable extras, including a score music video and score documentary, screensavers, buddy icons, and so forth. The second version is packaged in a gold foil embossed, dark blue leatherette CD wallet containing a 20-page CD booklet, and includes the previously unheard bonus track, "Farewell to Lorien," featuring Hilary Summers from the special extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring. This Limited Edition package contains all the enhanced CD elements of the jewel case package plus these enhanced exclusives: a Two Towers image gallery, two exclusive online trading cards, as well as lyrics and poems. The third edition, labeled "The Internet Limited Edition," is available only online from http://www.lordoftherings-soundtrack.com/editions.html and includes the same features as the second version plus exclusive-for-die-hards only enhanced CD features: printable maps of Middle Earth and of Rohan & Gondor, a print & color set, and two online trading cards.

The score itself is wondrous and magical, developing the myriad themes Shore gave to the first film the delightful Hobbits motif, the overarching Ring theme, the dark musics for Sauron and Mordor. Shore's composition which is being designed as one single work developed through all three films, rather than three individual albeit related film scores is a truly monumental work well deserving of the Oscar it earned him for FELLOWSHIP. The effort with which Shore has illustrated the world and peoples of Middle Earth is with a musical detail befitting that of Tolkien himself. The score for THE TWO TOWERS is rich with lyricism, mysterioso, and a pervading sense of delight and magic. It is heavy with orchestra and choir, and solo voices (including Sheila Chandra and Emiliana Torrini). The songs are subtle, and more musical than they are songlike, with orchestral patterns with vocal accompaniment sung in Tolkien's original languages, sublimely invested with passion and power and poignancy. Score another Oscar-potential for Howard Shore.

British composer Clint Mansell (former vocalist/guitarist/keyboard player for the band Pop Will Eat Itself) entered the film music world a couple of years ago. His latest effort, for the Stephen Gaghan thriller ABANDON, has been released by Silverline (281120-2). The score is a moody and richly tonal composition that is musically beautiful yet laced with disturbing elements that keep the viewer unsettled, enhancing the uneasy effect of the film. Mansell's score is comprised mostly of lovely symphonic melodic passages that contrast with overlayed electronic dissonances and counterpoints that combine together to create a quite haunting and disturbing effect.

GNP Crescendo has compiled more than two dozen cues from Roger Bellon's exquisite music from the USA Network's HIGHLANDER TV series, called The Best of HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES (GNPD 8078). Each episode of the show, based on the feature film series, contained its own score, and each score held its own unique musical identity (series exec. producer Bill Panzer was adamant that each episode be thought of as a mini-feature and asked Bellon to compose each one accordingly). Bellon has made available two volumes of music from the series on his web site (www.bellchant.com); this recording collects the best cues from those volumes. The music is as wondrous as it is varied in style. Recorded by a small ensemble, the music sounds effectively spacious, owing to the expansive melodies and orchestrations of the composer. There's plenty of highly attractive music here, topped off with three cues from HIGHLANDER: A CELTIC OPERA, Bellon's 1999 Lloyd Webber-like operatic musical based on the series.

SOUNDTRAX NEWS

Composer Stanley Black, [IMG5L]veteran British composer whose efforts included Jimmy Sangster's BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE and THE CRAWLING EYE (both 1958), MANIA (THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS, 1959), THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (1961), and CITY UNDER THE SEA (1965), has died in London at the age of 89. One of Black's earliest assignments was serving as musical director for Norman Lee's 1948 adaptation of W.W. Jenning's classic story, THE MONKEY'S PAW. Black scored more than sixty films in his career, and also was noted as a concert and symphony recording conductor, including a number of film music and other compilations for London Records. For more information on Stanley Black, see http://www.spaceagepop.com/black.htm.

Jerry Goldsmith's score for STAR TREK: NEMESIS holds the distinction of being the very first original motion picture soundtrack to be recorded using the latest DSD recording technology. On February 11^th, 2003, Varese Sarabande will follow-up on this month's release of the NEMESIS soundtrack when they issue a hybrid SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) Special Edition that will allow the composer's apocalyptic score to be heard in enhanced audiophile quality. (The new Super Audio Compact Disc format, created by Sony and Philips, provides unprecedented sound quality in stereo and discrete multi-channel surround. To achieve its sonic performance, SACD employs DSD, a radically new digital encoding technology. DSD samples the musical signal at a phenomenal 2.8 million times a second, 64 times the amount of a traditional CD. The result is an extremely smooth digital waveform with unparalleled frequency response and dynamic range. This stereo/multichannel hybrid SACD can be played on any standard compact disc player.) It is presumed the content of the disc will be the same as this month's release, with only a tremendous improvement in the sonic dynamic.

Also coming up in February of 2003, EMI-Capitol will re-release all 16 of the James Bond film scores on CD, including substantial expansions of some of the best scores - ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE expanded to 75+ minutes, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER expanded to 75+ mins including alternate takes, LIVE AND LET DIE (complete score), GOLDFINGER (4 extra cues from the British LP added), THUNDERBALL expanded to 75+ minutes, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (complete score, 73 mins). The other scores will include the same content as that of either the original LPs (DR. NO, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, MOONRAKER, A VIEW TO A KILL) or the same as the Rykodisc 1998 reissued CDs. GOLDENEYE will be reissued with no changes by Virgin. According to Film Score Monthly, the discs will feature the original LP tracks followed by the additional cues, as on Rykodiscs's expanded Bond CDs. Vocal demos from GOLDFINGER, THUNDERBALL, and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE that were featured on the James Bond 30^th anniversary set will not be included, however.

Monstrous Movie Music has announced that their next two much desired and extremely long awaited CDs will tentatively be released in January of 2003. THIS ISLAND EARTH will feature Herman Stein's score to the big-budget '50s sci-fi flick, as well as music from Ron Goodwin's score to THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, Walter Greene's main title from WAR OF THE SATELLITES, and Daniele Amfitheatrof's theme from EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS. MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, a disc-length tribute to Ray Harryhausen, will feature music from Roy Webb's score to the 1949 Oscar-winning ape film, as well as music from 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (rerecordings of Mischa Bakaleinikoff's original cues plus library music) as well as Paul Sawtell's music for Harryhausen's stop-motion dinosaur sequence for Irwin Allen's THE ANIMAL WORLD. Audio samples and more information available at www.mmmrecordings.com.

Trauma Records has release Cliff Martinez' score from the remade SOLARIS (74040). Dreamworks has issued John Williams' music for the Spielberg drama, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (450410). Nicola Piovani has scored Roberto Benigni's recent live-action version of Pinocchio. A soundtrack CD is out on Virgin (80358).

Music From the Movies (www.musicfromthemovies.com) reports that Marco Beltrami (SCREAM, BLADE II) has been hired to score TERMINATOR 3: THE RISE OF THE MACHINES.

Screen Archives (www.screenarchives.com) is working on a two-disc CD of the classic London-noir film NIGHT AND THE CITY, which will feature both Franz Waxman's score for the American release of the film, and Benjamin Frankel's music for the British prints. They recently released Alfred Newman's score for the Vincent Price thriller, DRAGONWYCK.

A new label named Perseverance Records has been launched in Los Angeles. Its inaugural release is an expanded release for 1997's PRINCE VALIANT, composed by David Bergeaud. The CD features over 40 minutes of original music from the action/adventure film inspired by the long-running cartoon strip by Hal Foster. This CD was produced as a promotional item for the composer and is not available in stores. The label's next release is sure to whet the appetite of horror fans - John Gale's DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN (1972), followed by Denny Zeitlin's evocative score for Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. Many considered the movie superior to the '50s original, and it remains the composer's sole work in film, making it completely unique. Each disc features an 8-page booklet containing movie stills and artwork, as well as comments from the producer, director and composer, together with liner notes by film music critic Paul Tonks. See the label's web site at http://www.6942.net/pr/.

Prometheus Records of Belgium has announced the first-ever release of Basil Poledoruris's splendid score for Donald Wrye's 1987 miniseries, AMERIKA, as well as the long-awaited (on CD) soundtrack to Irwin Allen's THE SWARM, by Jerry Goldsmith. Specific release dates have not yet been set, but keep checking www.buysoundtrax.net for news.

FILM MUSIC ON DVD

The four-DVD extended edition of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING from New Line is probably the most massive and feature-filled DVD we've seen yet. Not only were special sequences filmed to bridge the new and old material, but composer Howard Shore composed and recorded new musical segments to accompany these bridges. The DVD's many extras include Shore breaking down his themes and describing his intentions for the overarching trilogy of films that will make up the complete LORD OF THE RINGS, plus additional commentary from Shore on one of the audio tracks.

Kino, the [IMG6R]master restorer of silent and classic world cinema, has tackled one of the greatest silent films of all time, Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS. The company has reissued the timeless speculative fable to theaters with a stunning visual and aural restoration. The new version is said not only to polish the film's still breathtaking visuals to a lustrous clarity, but it also restores the original 1926 score composed in Germany by Gottfried Huppertz that was intended to accompany showings of the silent film. Working with the Munich Film Archive and the Huppertz estate, the score can now be seen with its original orchestral score. A DVD release is planned for February. For information about the restoration and the music, see http://www.kino.com/metropolis/.

Kino will [IMG7L]also reissue an extended edition of Lang's 1929 WOMAN IN THE MOON (FRAU IM MOND), accompanied by a new piano score by Jon Mirsalis, and currently in release is Lang's epic 1924 series, DER NIEBELUNGEN, based on the Wagner opera and filmed in two parts (SIEGFRIED and KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE). Like METROPOLIS, this 291-minute DVD has been restored with the original Gottfried Huppertz score performed by the Munich Radio Orchestra.

Soundtrax is our bi-weekly Movie Soundtrack column.