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(1982)

As well as propelling a then little known Arnold Schwarzenegger into the mainstream, Conan the Barbarian did the same for director John Milius and his friend from college, composer Basil Poledouris.  The film tells the story of a boy’s journey from being a slave to being a king in the (fictional) Hyborean age.  It was successful enough to warrant a far inferior, but successful sequel two years later, Conan the Destroyer.

Producer Dino de Laurentiis had initially wanted Ennio Morricone to provide the score to the film (and indeed, Morricone would write the music for Red Sonja three years later).  Milius however, managed to get Poledouris the job, who would provide what is easily the best score of his career, and one of the finest examples of motion picture scoring in history, undoubtedly one of the most impressive film scores I’ve ever heard.

The score is full of the spirit of the masters of the Golden Age, most noticeably Miklós Rózsa, the master of the ancient epic.  Many of the cues are simply mind-blowing.  Milius told Poledouris that he wanted the music to be “operatic”, and indeed, the composer’s work contributes to a great extent the operatic depth that the film has, particularly through the prominent choral elements.  The single best cue is easily “Riddle of Steel / Riders of Doom”, and this album is one of the few ways to hear it in its full glory, as it is a piece that is regularly performed poorly in concerts that lack the necessary instrumentation.  An absolutely stunning piece featuring the full orchestra and chorus, the latter element providing the sense of horror particularly well.  The solo timpani performance is also a particularly noteworthy moment.

Following the harsh, percussion heaving prologue is “Anvil of Crom”, featuring a powerful performance by 24 french horns and percussion.  The strings then introduce the theme for Conan, which accompanies the character throughout the film, and is also further developed in the aforementioned “Riddle of Steel”.  “Mountain of Power” pays an obvious tribute to Rózsa’s music; in several places reminiscent of the composer’s Roman epic scores.  “Wolf Witch” is an entirely percussive piece, featuring some wonderful timpani performances.  “Battle of the Mounds” is a thrilling piece, epic in every sense of the word, which is just as well, because there’s nothing thrilling or epic about the scene it accompanies.

Given that few other scores contain as much wonderful action music as this one, it may be easy to overlook that the album contains so much more.  Cues that immediately spring to mind are “Atlantean Sword” with its majestic and heroic music, the sweeping love theme heard in “The Wifeing”, and “The Orgy”, which opens with the choral theme from “Riders of Doom”.  At 2:51, Poledouris introduces a simple bassoon melody, which was actually improvised by his then nine year old daughter on her recorder.  The cue slowly builds and builds to the climax, where theme is blasted forth by the entire French horn section.

Despite two album releases of the score, Poledouris was reportedly unhappy with the original performances of his score.  Therefore, in 2010, Tadlow Music and Prometheus Records released a re-recording of the complete score, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Nic Raine.  Recorded from the original manuscripts and careful assembly of the instrumentation, the album is absolutely everything that a film music fan could wish for.  Tragically, Poledouris passed away from cancer in 2006, but the music on this album remains a wonderful tribute to the genius who wrote it.

Aside from the complete score, this album also contains several “bonus” tracks, including alternate takes of a few cues, “Riders of Doom” minus the choir, and a selection of Poledouris’ music from the sequel, Conan the Destroyer (which Tadlow recently announced they will also be releasing a re-recording of).

This is easily one of the best albums released during 2010.  Of all the scores for sword and sorcery epics, Conan the Barbarian is possibly the single best of them all, and it’s wonderful that it can finally be heard as the composer originally intended.

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Track Listing

Disc 1
1. Prologue – Film Version / Anvil of Crom (3:38)
2. Riddle of Steel / Riders of Doom (5:23)
3. The Gift of Fury (3:25)
4. Column of Sadness/Wheel of Pain (4:09)
5. Pit Fights* (2:45)
6. Prologue – Original Version (1:03)
7. Atlantean Sword (4:00)
8. Wolf Witch* (3:21)
9. Theology / Civilization (3:04)
10. The Street of Deviants */ Hopefuls at the Tower of Set* (1:28)
11. The Tower of Set* / Snake Attack* (Las Cantigas de Santa Maria) (5:21)
12. Infidels* (1:03)
13. The Tavern* (1:51)
14. The Wifeing (2:20)
15. In the Court of King Osric* (1:13)
16. Conan Leaves Valeria / The Search (6:03)
17. The Mountain of Power / Capture* (4:00
18. The Tree of Woe / Recovery (6:04)

Disc 2
1. The Kitchen / The Orgy (6:23)
2. Orgy Fight *(2:53)
3. Funeral Pyre (5:15)
4. Battle Preparations / Battle of the Mounds part 1 (5:59)
5. Battle of the Mounds part 2* (2:11)
6. Battle of the Mounds part 3 / Night of Doom (5:56)
7. Head Chop* (0:53)
8. Orphans of Doom / The Awakening (6:30)
9. Epilogue / End Titles* (5:13)

BONUS TRACKS
10. Theology / Civilization – Alternate Version (3:27)
11. The Tower of Set – Alternate Cues* (3:37)
12. Battle of the Mounds part 2 – Original Version* (2:11)
13. Chamber of Mirrors from CONAN THE DESTROYER (7:16)
14. Riders of Doom – Orchestral Version (4:05)

Credits

Music Composed by Basil Poledouris

Orchestrations by Greg McRitchie & Renato Serio

Conducted by Nic Raine

Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus

Album Produced by James Fitzpatrick

Awards

None

Insert Notes

Contains extensive information about the film and score.  It also contains several pictures of both the original recording of the score and this re-recording, and also of Poledouris conducting the score in concert.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Prometheus Records.

(2005)

The film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha took four years to debut, and had been a highly anticipated film in that time.  Steven Spielberg had acquired the rights and was set to direct the film, but as the years passed and Spielberg moved on to other films, this particular project was picked up by Rob Marshall.  John Williams, who no doubt was attached to score the film since Spielberg acquired the rights (indeed, this is the last film he has scored that was not directed by Spielberg), was among those who loved the novel, and said to Marshall that he had never in his career asked to do a film, but he was asking to do this one.

Williams’ extraordinary productivity during the year of 2005 is particularly admirable.  Aside from this film, he also wrote the music for Revenge of the Sith, Munich, and War of the Worlds (the latter two both directed by Spielberg).  This score and that of Munich earned Williams Oscar nominations, and he thus matched the record of forty five nominations that had been held by the legendary Alfred Newman since 1971.  This score won Williams virtually every other film music award, and so it was the hope of many film score fans that he would finally take home his sixth Oscar.  Sadly however, due to the fact that he was nominated twice in the same category, which would have resulted in the votes for Williams being split between his two entries, he lost to a remarkably undeserving Gustavo Santaolalla for his monumentally boring Brokeback Mountain.

Anyhow, moving on from discussion about those ridiculous awards.  For the score, Williams collaborated with two soloists with whom he had worked on previous film projects: Itzhak Perlman (Schindler’s List), and Yo Yo Ma (Seven Years in Tibet).  Unlike many of Williams’ finest scores, Memoirs of a Geisha doesn’t have a theme that you’d be likely to leave the theatre humming, but after a few listens on album, they become more memorable.  The primary one – “Sayuri’s Theme” – is dominated by Ma’s wonderful playing, which provides the lasting beauty to the piece.  “Going to School” is a particular highlight, performed by Perlman with a light backing of Japanese percussion instruments, as is “Becoming a Geisha”, which provides a series of beautiful variations of the main theme, and sees the composer at his very best.  Williams also makes use of the shakuhachi flute in “The Journey to the Hanamachi “, which will instantly remind the listener of virtually any James Horner score.  Horner however, uses that particular instrument in everything from Zorro to Willow to Red Heat to Legends of the Fall, whereas Williams uses it where it’s actually appropriate to the genre of the film.  “Confluence” is another beautiful piece, with a gentle flute solo opening the piece, which then becomes a fully orchestral performance putting the main theme through yet more wonderful variations.  “Sayuri’s Theme and End Credits” is a truly superb conclusion, featuring excellent performances from both the soloists and the full orchestra.

Simply put, no better film score was released during 2005, a year that was easily one of the best of the decade for film music.  Memoirs of a Geisha is a powerful, touching work, and an absolutely exquisite film score that shouldn’t be missed by anybody.

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Track Listing

1. Sayuri’s Theme (1:31)
2. The Journey to the Hanamachi (4:06)
3. Going to School (2:42)
4. Brush o­n Silk (2:31)
5. Chiyo’s Prayer (3:36)
6. Becoming a Geisha (4:52)
7. Finding Satu (3:44)
8. The Chairman’s Waltz (2:39)
9. The Rooftops of the Hanamachi (3:49)
10. The Garden Meeting (2:44)
11. Dr. Crab’s Prize (2:18)
12. Destiny’s Path (3:20)
13. A New Name… A New Life (3:33)
14. The Fire Scene and the Coming of War (6:48)
15. As the Water… (2:01)
16. Confluence (3:42)
17. A Dream Discarded (2:00)
18. Sayuri’s Theme and End Credits (5:06)

Credits

Music Composed, Conducted & Produced by John Williams

Violin Solos by Itzhak Perlman

Cello Solos by Yo-Yo Ma

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Score (nominated)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Won)

BAFTA Award for Best Music (Won)

Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album (Won)

Insert Notes

Includes no information about the score or the film.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Sony Classical

(1995)

The release of Toy Story by Disney & Pixar in 1995 would revolutionize animation for ever. It was the first film to be completely computer generated. It was however, more down to the fact that it was such a genuinely wonderful film that it was such a success. Since (at the time of writing), Pixar have released another eleven films (including two sequels to this film), and they haven’t made a bad one yet.

The established Disney composer of the time was Alan Menken, who at the time was working on Pocahontas (and would rob Randy Newman of a Best Song Oscar the following year). The studio however, instead selected Randy Newman to provide the music for Toy Story. Newman, an established film composer since the early 80′s, would go on to provide the scores for five other Pixar films to date, earning at least one Oscar nomination for all of them and winning for his song compositions for Monsters Inc and Toy Story 3.

If you’re looking for a Toy Story score to buy because of its orchestral score, then it isn’t really this one. The scores for both the second and third films are superior in that regard. The main highlights of this album are of course, Newman’s songs. “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is easily one of the classic film songs and should have earned Newman an Oscar in 1996. The other two, “Strange Things” and “I Will Go Sailing No More”, are equally as enjoyable.

In terms of the score itself though, there are only two cues that really stand out. The first is “Andy’s Birthday”, where strong influences by Elmer Bernstein are clear in the Western themed rhythms. The second is the final orchestral track, “Infinity and Beyond”, a rousing, action filled finale, and easily the best orchestral cue on the album.

However, regardless of how the score is heard on album, the impact it has on the film is absolutely brilliant. As already mentioned, the soundtracks for the second and third Toy Story films are superior in terms of their scores. This album however, is still worth buying simply for the songs, which offer Newman’s talents at their best.

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Track Listing

1. You’ve Got A Friend In Me

2. Strange Things

3. I Will Go Sailing No More

4. Andy’s Birthday

5. Soldier’s Mission

6. Presents

7. Buzz

8. Sid

9. Woody And Buzz

10. Mutants

11. Woody’s Gone

12. The Big One

13. Hang Together

14. On The Move

15. Infinity And Beyond

16. You’ve Got A Friend In Me – performed by Randy Newman & Lyla Lovett

Credits

Score Composed & Conducted by Randy Newman

Orchestrated and Produced by Randy Newman & Don Davis

Songs Written & Performed by Randy Newman

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Score (nominated)

Academy Award for Best Original Song for “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (nominated)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (nominated)

Insert Notes

Includes lyrics, but no additional information.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Walt Disney Records.