As you are all aware by now, the Oscar has been given to UP by Michael Giacchino on Sunday. I thought it would be nice to do a roundup of the oscar nominee scores we have reviewed. There’s only one missing: Fantastic Mr. Fox by Alexandre Desplat.

Here are the reviews of the 4 other nominees including the winner UP.

Soundtrack Review: Avatar by James Horner

“James Cameron has got the perfect score for Avatar, even though the score itself is not perfect.”

Read The full review Here

The Hurt Locker by Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders

“The experience of watching The Hurt Locker can’t be fully felt on the score album alone.”

Read The Full Review Here

Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer

“The 18 minute track is a wonderful beast of a cue and literally saves this score by itself”

Read The Full Review Here

UP by Michael Giacchino

“Up gives Giacchino’s typically flexible themes and vibrant orchestrations a beautiful undercurrent of poignant emotion.”

Read The Full Review Here

What do you think of the Oscars? Who should have won?

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Ok, maybe not a surprise, in fact it’s probably one of the least surprising wins ever. I knew it would win and it did. I think you all know my sentiments on that if you listened to the Oscore Noms podcast a couple of weeks ago.

Congratulations to Michael Giacchino are in order for winning Best Score. Although it was expected, it wasn’t an easy feat. He has aloready won everything there is to win so far this year and the Academy Award is the biggest. Here is his acceptance speech:

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UPDATE!

The auction is now over and it was sold for… *drumroll* US $3,060.00! Congratulations to the buyer, but who paid that much for this? Seriously! James Horner, it was you… wasn’t it?

UPDATE 2!

It has leaked already. That’s right. It’s downloadable right now. Here is the tracklist:

CD1:
1. ‘You Don’t Dream in Cryo” (6:27)
2. Quaritch Speech (2:04)
3. First Look (1:46)
4. Real Legs? (:31)
5. Jake Enters His Avatar World (5:49)
6. Into The Na’vi World (:54)
7. Thanator Chase 1 (2:03)
8. Thanator Chase 2 (3:27)
9. Pure Spirits of the Forest (4:19)
10. Jake Meets The Na’vi (10:42)
11. Na’vi Hometree Chant (:19)
12. Na’vi Hometree Chant 2 (:13)
13. Jake Sleeps (1:03)
14. The Plan (1:16)
15. The Plan (from cue 4M1) (:40)
16. The Village / Jake’s First Ride (2:11)
17. The Floating Mountains (End) (2:07)
18. The Floating Mountains (Middle 1) (1:09)
19. The Floating Mountains (Start) (1:50)
20. Becoming One of “The People” (3:16)
21. Night Iridescence (2:08)

CD2:
1. Climbing Up Iknimaya (3:00)
2. Jake’s First Flight (6:34)
3. Intro (:37)
4. Great Leonoptryx (2: 41)
5. A Man of My Word (1:11)
6. Mated For Life (4:36)
7. Scorched Earth (3:39)
8. Quaritch Pulls The Plug (3:40)
9. No Reasoning (3:24)
10. Quaritch Speech (from cue 1M4) (1:03)
11. Quaritch (4:37)
12. The Destruction of Hometree (7:10)
13. Shutting Down Grace’s Lab (2:57)
14. Escape From Hell’s Gate (3:19)
15. Help for Grace (2:26)
16. Bonding with Leonoptryx (1:39)
17. Funeral Chant (:33)
18. Prayers for Grace (2:55)
19. Grace’s Death (2:21)
20. Gathering all the Na’vi Clans for Battle (5:01)
21. Quaritch Takes Over (1:31)

CD3:
1. Battle Plan (1:22)
2. Jake Prays to Eywa (1:52)
3. War (9:19)
4. The Battle Continues (1:26)
5. Quaritch Down (5:10)
6. Fight To The Death (4:58)
7. A New Beginning (3:33)
8. Jake’s First Flight (End credit edit) (1:59)
9. Gathering All The Na’vi Clans (End credit edit) (1:33)

I had to put it up here for you all to see. 3 Discs of score from Avatar by James Horner. Over 2 hours of music! This can be yours for oh… I don’t know, 500 bucks?

Yes indeedy, sources say this For Your Consideration promo is indeed legit and it is now for sale on eBay.

Now if I was a rich man… you know how it goes. I’d snap this out faster than you can say “4-note motif” and lisgten to it until my ears fall off. I’m guessing (rather hoping) that this will hit the internet soon.

Anyway if you want this gem, you have 4 more days to bid on this thing. Current high bid is $202.50 at the time of writing.

Go fetch!

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Movie Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the motion picture score: She, A Chinese by John Parish.

“She, A Chinese isn’t your average Hollywood score.”

She, A Chinese is an indie movie written and directed by Xiaolu Guo and starring Lu Huang as the main character Li Mei. It is the story of a young woman who escapes from he Chinese Village to travel West, and I mean West, like London West. However she is not long in paradise as entrapment is very much the case in London as well. A limited release all over and not scheduled for USA as of yet this movie might be hard to come by but it has already won a few prices at Hamburg Film Festival for Best Screenplay and a Golden Leopard at Locarno International Film Festival. The soundtrack is being released by Dreamboat Records and the composer is John Parish.

Track List

01. Li Mei (****)
03. Banjo X (****)
04. Li Mei Makes a Break (****)
05. Drone X (**)
06. Li Mei & Brother Qiang (***)
09. Snake at the Docks (****)
10. Spikey’s Place (**)
11. Spikey’s Death (***)
13. Rachid (****)
14. Unseen/Mr. Hunt (****)
15. Li Mei & Rachid (*****)
16. Link X (***)
17. November (****)

John Parish is a British musician and producer best known for his work with singer and songwriter PJ Harvey. He has however worked on many soundtracks including Batman Forver, The Crow: City of Angels and The Sum of All Fears. She, a Chinese is a movie most people have never heard of, but hey we don’t always have to review the famous ones right? I thought it would be fun to do this one since it’s not my usual kind of soundtrack. I had no idea what to expect and that was a perfect starting point.

Not Your Average Hollywood Score

She, A Chinese isn’t your average Hollywood score so let just get that out of your system right away. It’s very much in the alternative section, and I was afraid that I would hate it, but luckily I didn’t. It has a very grunge, indie rock vibe going on closely following Li Mei’s journey through the movie. It felt like a road movie kind of score and made me a believer after the second listen. The first time it was kind of off-putting because I usually don’t listen to this kind of music but it grew on me. Parish has created a very interesting soundscape with lots of guitars that sounds like they been through hell. There’s a very varied mix of instruments, but it’s mainly focused on the guitar.

Li Mei’s journey starts with the title theme ‘Li Mei’ which is mostly a lonely guitar playing describing the character and what she is like. It makes me want to meet her as she sounds kind of twisted, but in a fun way. ‘Rachid’ is another character with a cool guitar theme, but this time more rock style. It’s really hard to describe the sound until you have heard it, so make sure you listen to the sample below. My favorite cue on the score is ‘Li Mei & Rachid’ which is a potent mix of percussion and guitar and it even has a more mainstream theme at the end which doesn’t happen a lot here. It all ends with ‘November’ which is another guitar theme played on a rusty guitar and that’s pretty much it. It’s twisted but fun stuff.

Conclusion

She, A Chinese grew on me as I didn’t like it much the first time. I have come to appreciate it and want to see the movie. John Parish will probably never be a mainstream composer, but this is his style and I applaud him for it. It’s always interesting and fun to take a look at scores not produced in Hollywood and She, A Chinese to be fair would probably not fit in there. I like this, I really do, but I think this is a score for a special time and a special mood.

Listen to She, A Chinese by John Parish below:

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Movie Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the motion picture score Leap Year by Randy Edelman.

“The Irish tones are unmistakable, but there’s a lot more to Leap Year.”

Leap Year: A year containing an extra day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. That means February has 29 days instead of 28 this year. It only happens once every 4 years. The movie is set in Ireland as the main character, played by Amy Adams, is set to propose to her man on February 29. Of course things don’t go as planned and she is hurdled across Ireland in a funny and romantic comedy. Randy Edelman is the composer and with the Irish roots we should expect something great.

Track List

01. Anna’s Theme (*****)
02. Hymn to a Faery King (*****)
03. The Slea Head Cliffs (*****)
04. Declan’s Walk (****)
05. Ballycarbery Castle (****)
06. Stirring the Pot (***)
07. An Early Sunrise (****)
08. A Leap Year Promise (*****)
09. Stoney Road to Dublin (****)
10. Racing for the Train (****)
11. Morning on Boston Common (****)
12. Bed and Breakfast (***)
13. A Steep but Beautiful Climb (****)
14. Dingle’s Senior Citizens (***)
15. Crossroads (****)
16. Cross Bow (****)
17. A Texas Oasis (***)
18. Stormy Seas Meet a Peaceful Shore (****)
19. Cozy Quartet (****)
20. Faddle Fiddle (***)
21. Arrival in the Big Bad City (****)
22. One too Many Martinis (****)
23. Irish Schnitzel (***)
24. One Long Bluesy Night (***)
25. A Father’s Wish (****)
26. Home to a Welcome Village (****)
27. Don’t Mind the Black Cat (****)
28. V.O. Lyle (****)
29. Love and Warmth o’er Yonder (****)
30. A Stinging Truth (*****)
31. Right Time.. Wrong Guy (***)
32. Settling the Bill (****)
33. Offering the Claddagh Ring (****)

It’s always good to have Randy Edelman back. I remember in the early days of Soundtrackgeek back in January 2008 I reviewed a romantic comedy score by Edelman called 27 Dresses. I found it a bit lacking, but there were signs of the old Edelman who could compose some of the best themes in the world. Now it’s 2010 and Leap Year apparently, and this time he doesn’t skimp on the theme, nor the score. The Irish tones are unmistakable, but there’s a lot more to Leap Year.

Hopeless Romantic

On an emotional level it hits me and being the hopeless romantic that I am, I find Leap Year both charming and lovely. I used to live in Ireland a few years ago and this score brings me right back to the shores of that beautiful country. It’s amazing how a score can touch you like this, but Edelman has done it with Leap Year. He mixes some traditional Irish music with Hollywood orchestras and themes that not only sound great, but have a clear purpose. The parts that give me goosebumps are the orchestral parts that truly shows Edelman’s skills as a composer. He is truly given us more than we ordered this time.

‘Anna’s Theme’ introduces us to the main theme which we will hear more times throughout the score. It is both uplifting and beautiful. The light piano played upon an underscore of guitar is just what the doctor ordered. Despite the complexity of the theme it’s as simple as only Edelman could do it. It is made to play you on an emotional level and it succeeds. In ‘A Leap Year Promise’ is played on a much slower temp, but still just as beautiful. I mentioned that it has some traditional Irish sounds as well. You can hear it mixed with Edelman’s orchestral theme in ‘Stoney Road to Dublin’. He doesn’t go half-assed into it as ‘Racing for the Train’ and ‘Cross Bow’ bpth show. It really sounds properly Irish, and not quite like a Hollywood movie.

Conclusion

Yes Edelman has succeeded on almost every level. A wonderfully romantic and charming score that is deeply tied with Irish roots. What more can you ask for? It is a long score and it has 33 cues so naturally not everything is great, but what is great is more than worth it in my opinion. I love Leap Year, I really do and I’m glad Randy Edelman still has what it takes to keep up with the Hollywood favorites.

–>Get Leap Year From Amazon<–

Listen to Leap Year by Randy Edelman below:

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Movie Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the documentary score Between The Folds by Gil Talmi.

“It is really growing on me and the captivating main theme is truly a force to be reckoned with.”

Between The Folds is about the world of paper, but that’s only scratching the surface. It’s about advanced mathematics and it’s about origami. Origami is an ancient Japanese artform in that you fold paper and make it look beautiful. These days Origami is a lot more. It is used in various scientific appliances and this documentary directed and written by Vanessa Gould takes the scientific aspect of this very seriously. We follow a few scientists from MIT and NASA who seemingly spend all their day folding paper. It’s a fascinating story about science and humanity itself. The score is by Gil Talmi who you might recognize from my review of Forgotten Ellis Island.

Track List
01. What Do You See? (*****)
02. The Colors of Life (*****)
03. Petite Choses (****)
04. The Wait Op. 1 (****)
05. Harmonic Ratio No. 1 (****)
06. Birth of a Thought (*****)
07. Sailing Through Time (****)
08. The Push and Pull (*****)
09. Light Patterns (****)
10. Born from Chaos (**)
11. The Wait Op. 2 (****)
12. Understanding Peace (*****)
13. Making Life Happen (****)
14. The World we Share (*****)
15. The Wait Op. 3 (****)

Gil Talmi’s style is soothing, in fact it’s a zen experience every time I listen to his scores. In Forgotten Ellis Island, a documentary about Ellis Island and the brave women and men of medical profession who treated immigrants, his style is fully orchestral and very unobtrusive. I liked that one, and in Between the Folds he continues on the same path, but with a more scientific approach. I’ll get to that in a minute, but I have to tell you that if you didn’t enjoy Forgotten Ellis Island, this might not be for you. Gil Talmi is in my opinion very talented and has in the last couple of years produced around 15 scores, which is quite impressive.

The Sound of Paper

Paper, now there’s a medium I haven’t dabbled to much with, but paper has a sound like everything else. If you take away the folding sound, what kind of music would you associate with it? I would say a fleeting music, almost like wind. Gil Talmi’s score makes paper sound interesting as it is just floating on the surface of your mind. It is not a score that makes you lose your footing, but you might lose yourself in it. It is captivating and beautiful in it’s own right and lovely as a musical wallpaper for the movie.

We can divide this score into two parts, one scientific and one emotional side. The main theme presented in the cue ‘What Do You See?’ represents the emotional part which at first sounded ambient and dull, but the more I listened to it, the more I found to love. It is floating in my mind and is a true piece of art. You can hear it in cues like ‘The World We Share’. It’s quality lies in the suggestions and let you decide the thoughts. Nice touch with the folding paper as well. The scientific side can be heard in the more hurried cues ‘The Colors of Life’ and ‘The Wait Op. 1’. It has a very different mood from the main theme. It has more speed and usually fast percussion and for me it represents the advances in science. There’s one really experimental cue called ‘Born From Chaos’ which the title suggests is very chaotic. Not getting used to that, but then again I am being spoiled here with a wonderful emotional theme mixed in with life itself.

Conclusion

The first time I listened to Between The Folds, I didn’t really get it. It was nice, but what would it represent? As time goes by and I listened to it again my mind suddenly turned on and it was another experience. It is really growing on me and the captivating main theme is truly a force to be reckoned with. That’s my favorite part, I can probably do without the scientific blips here and there, but they too are part of the life experience. If you liked Between The Folds, and you like haunting, fleeting music then I suggest you get Between The Folds. It’s another home run by Gil Talmi.

–>Get Between The Folds From Amazon<–

Listen to Between The Folds by Gil Talmi below:

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Dark Void Game Music Review

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Movie Soundtrack Review: This is a review of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna.

“It’s a challenging score made for your brain cells to consider and analyze.”

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an amazing tale about a man, Dr. Parnassus, who made a bet with the devil himself and won immortality. Only that’s not enough, so he trades immortality for youth against his first born’s soul when he or she becomes 16. 16 years later and Dr. Parnassus meets the devil again who is willing to make another bet. The first man/devil to consume 5 souls will get the possession of Dr. Parnassus’ 16-year-old daughter Valentina. Intriguing indeed and with Terry Gilliam as director anything can happen. A star-studded cast with Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell and John Waitts joins as well. Mychael & Jeff Danna are composing the score.

Track List

01. One Upon a Time (*****)
02. The Imaginarium (****)
03. The Tack (*****)
04. Tony’s Tale of Woe (****)
05. The Monastery (****)
06. Book & Story (****)
07. Sympathy for the Hanged Man (*****)
08. The First to Five Souls (****)
09. Escape from the Pub (****)
10. The River (****)
11. Suicide Attempt (****)
12. Tango Amongst the Lillies (****)
13. Victory in the Lillies (***)
14. Four Through the Mirror (****)
15. The Ladder World (****)
16. We Love Violence (***)
17. Top of the Wagon (***)
18. We are the Children of the World (***)
19. Tony’s World Collapses (****)
20. The Devil’s Dance (***)
21. Tony’s Salvation (****)
22. Parnassus Alone (****)

After the slight disappointment that was The Time Traveler’s Wife and the slightly better (500) Days of Summer, Mychael Danna rejoins his brother Jeff. Not since the excellent Lakeview Terrace in 2008 have they collaborated, but this is sure to test the mind and grab many by the ear. The movie itself is exciting, but what boggles the mind more is the possibility of a great score. There’s nothing like these fantasy movies that test the mind. Mychael and Jeff has a great reputation for collaborating and usually come up with something good. One also has to consider Tideland from 2005, which Gilliam wrote and directed and had Jeff and Mychael Danna write the score. It turned out to be a great relationship so here’s hoping they are able to recapture the magic.

Imaginative and Entertaining

From the early samples, you only got a glimpse of what was to be the full score which runs 47.5 minutes. It’s certainly imaginative and entertaining, fitting a fantasy movie of this scale, but is it enough? My feeling is a bit off on this one, it has to be said, because I don’t know what to feel. This is your typical intellectual score, feeding off your mind and your imagination. It’s not an emotional score, which is definitely my favorite sort. The mind needs to be fed as well however, and I love the analytical mind being given a workout now and then. This is a score that requires a few listens and each time I listen to it I find new exciting details. It’s a powerful orchestral score that any old school film music fan should enjoy right off the bat.

Don’t get put of by the first cue ‘Once Upon a Time’ which was really hard to get into. The deep string intro is a tough one, but once you get past that, it’s an easier listen. It’s a very string driven score, but it holds a few surprises up it’s sleeve. I love the way ‘Once Upon a Time’ changes from 1:15 onwards into a more fantastical theme made for a fantasy movie just like this. The highlights are not that many, but there’s a couple of cues which are truly spectacular. ‘The Tack’ is an impressive powerhouse of a track and is a great fantasy cue. It starts off like an action cue with all the trimmings, but changes into a more heroic and lighter theme around the 0:50 mark. ‘Sympathy for the Hanged Man’ is another wonderful cue that is much calmer than other cues on the album. I like it because it is quite simple but is a good change of pace just when the score needs it. There are many great moments sprinkled throughout, but it doesn’t have the consistency to properly engage me the way I want to be engaged.

Conclusion

I have a feeling this score will be great on film and a lot more powerful than it is as a standalone experience. While it has the potential to make you laugh and cry, this was something that I didn’t find when I listened to it. Like I said, it’s more a challenging score made for your brain cells to consider and analyze. All in all I’m happy with this score, it’s better than the samples I heard a few months ago.

->Get The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus from Amazon<-

Listen to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna below:

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Hey everyone, it’s been a while since I’ve done a podcast session with Christopher Coleman of TrackSounds.com, but we decided to get together with Tom Hoover of ScoreNotes.com and composer and TrackSounds.com reviewer  Marius Masalar to discuss the Oscar nominations this year for best score. So I hope you enjoy it and feel free to comment in the comments section below:

[See post to listen to audio]

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Daniel Schweiger over at Film Music Magazine has a new podcast featuring an excellent interview with Hollywood composer legend Harold Faltermeyer. In it he talks about his past, his sound, and that is something everyone should listen to.

What is even greater is the following line I read before I started listening to the interview:

“Credit uber geek director and 80’s film score fan Kevin Smith, who had the cojones to pull Faltermeyer back into the game with a score that sounds like he never left it. At once retro and vibrantly fresh, “Cop Out” has everything that a Faltermeyer fan has been craving, from its immediately catchy theme-bounce to rhythmic comedy and a Latin beat.”

Did that just make you go all Axel F?

It’s hilarious when he talks about the story of the Top Gun theme with Tom Cruise, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer just shouting to him to play the theme, and he just had the basic rhythm. Harold was sweating and when he was done with the short motif, he didn’t know what to play because he hadn’t thought of a middle part yet. He was singing and playing while waving all hands and feet! He just made it up on the spot and it worked great. Jerry told him so, but also told him to get the guitar sounds ready now. Harold said no problem I will do it tomorrow and Jerry said: I meant now. It was midnight!

Imagine Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer and Harold Faltermeyer getting back together? Harold Faltermeyer said in the interview that he would love the chance to work with Jerry again.

Fascinating stuff where he talk about the score to Cop Out being a mix between his old synths and new Hollywood style ane mentions many themes and cues. Can’t wait! Oh and he also has 2 new offers for movies and he says he will take 1 months rest (at least), then decide what to do.

Listen to the interview here: Interview With Harold Faltermeyer

I’m wondering if Cop Out becomes a success, can it bring back the legends of synth Giorgio Moroder, Jan Hammer, Vince DiCola or Paul Herzog?

I promised you some Cop Out soundtrack information so here it is:

It will be released from Watertower Records on February 23rd and will feature a full score by Harold Faltermeyer and a Harold Faltermeyer produced song performed by Patti LaBelle.

Here is the track list:

Tracklist

1. Cop Out
2. Po Boy Is Bad
3. Mangold & Hunsacker
4. Dave
5. Vicious Drones
6. Gabriella’s Story
7. Cool Cops
8. Jealousy Part 1
9. Shoot’em
10. Jealousy Part 2
11. Brooklyn Car Chase
12. Night Stakeout
13. Muy Safe-O
14. I Love You
15. Soul Brothers – Patti LaBelle

Harold talk about the main theme Cop Out, the bad guy theme Po Boy is Bad, the Cool Cops theme and the Jealousy themes in the interview. Sounds great!

What is the anticipation level like?

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