Customer Reviews

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had this LP when I was a kid. It's still in pretty good shape, but dragging out the turn-table to play it is a pain! I'd been meaning to replace it with a CD for years...and then for a while this disc was not available. I'm glad I waited because now it is, and with unreleased tracks now included!

Leonard Rosenman's music for this mediocre film is fabulous! And it sounds great since (according to Rosenman in the interesting album notes) it has been remixed for this album. We get more of the male-chorus tracks. VERY cool.

I'm very pleased with this CD. I've been playing it as I'm re-reading THE TWO TOWERS right now. I hope the new LOTR movie does a better job than Ralph Bakshi's did! But again, no complaint about the music here!

First, I should point out that this is **not** the product page for Howard Shore's soundtrack for the new Peter Jackson-directed film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." This product page and this review are for Leonard Rosenman's soundtrack for Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated feature "The Lord of the Rings." Bakshi's film, which I regret never having seen, is hated by many fans of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, although it is widely acknowledged that the film has some virtues. On the evidence of this CD it would appear that to a great extent the film's incidental music is, in fact, one of its virtues.

Rosenman's score is quite a different listening experience from Shore's. This "Rings" is far more dissonant, revealing Rosenman's background as an avant-garde composer. There are fewer easily hummable melodies than in Shore's score, and choral singing is somewhat less prominent. There is, however, a lament sung in Lothlorien, and in scenes involving the Black Riders the chorus sings "Mordor... Mordor..." quite chillingly (arguably achieving a more frightening effect than Shore's choral theme for the Black Riders). During the Battle of Helm's Deep (the climax of Bakshi's film, a planned sequel to which was never made) the chorus sings a more elaborate Orc battle-song. Rosenman's score also contains fewer pleasant-sounding passages than Shore's, perhaps because the larger scale on which Jackson's version of "LOTR" is conceived allowed Shore to luxuriate over such pleasant stretches of the story as the sequences in the Shire and Rivendell.

Tolkien purists will find several reasons to criticize the lament and the battle-song, both of which, however, I enjoyed. The lament features a children's chorus and an adult one, both representing Elves of Lothlorien. An analysis of all of Tolkien's writings indicates that there would not have been nearly as many Elf-children in Lothlorien at the end of the Third Age as this chorus would have us believe. This can be forgiven: many of the writings in question were not published until the 1990's, long after the production of Bakshi's film, and the children's chorus tugs on the heartstrings in the intended way. More seriously, the lament is sung in English. In Tolkien's books and the various theatrical and cinematic adaptations thereof, English supposedly represents a fictional ancient tongue called the Common Speech, which most Elves of Lothlorien did not speak. In Shore's score a lament is sung in Lothlorien in two Elvish languages, which makes better sense. Moreover, Rosenman's statement in the liner notes that the lyrics (which he did not write) of the lament are "a true piece of poetry" is, in my opinion, an overstatement. I like the Tolkienian grandeur of the lines "...long may your name be sung / Through kingdoms of starlight / And realms of the Sun," but the concluding lines, "You will dwell in our hearts forever / Never more will we stand alone," seem to me too hackneyed to be moving (and are sung a little too loudly and forcefully).

What may infuriate Tolkien purists most, however, is that Rosenman invented the language for the Orcs' battle-song (except for the word "Mordor"). This seems quite inappropriate for a film set in a fictional world whose creator invented about fifteen languages for the use of its inhabitants. Shore's score is more linguistically faithful to Tolkien's creation; all the singing in Jackson's film is in one of Tolkien's invented languages or in English.

Nonetheless, the tremendous energy of the Helm's Deep sequence, including the singing of the Orcs, is one of the main attractions of Rosenman's score. This passage will be a tough act for Shore to follow when he scores Jackson's version of the Helm's Deep sequence in "The Two Towers"; however, I am certain Shore is up to the task. In any case, Rosenman's score is a work of high artistic integrity, full of enjoyable moments and fully worthy of Rosenman's illustrious record as a film composer.

Leonard Rosenman's original soundtrack was not one of the things that struck me when I saw Bakshi's "Lord Of The Rings" film, some 22 years ago. At the time, I was just "getting into" Tolkien, and though Bakshi's film wasn't entirely true to Tolkien's stories I still collected all the memorabilia related to the film, including this soundtrack.

Now that I've read the LOR trilogy a dozen or more times, I find that there is no music fit to accompany this pasttime other than Rosenman's terrific score. From the spritely and adventurous music of the "theme" to it's reprise in "Voyage To Mordor," there are many terrific passages that evoke a feeling of "being there." Much of this soundtrack is ominous or threatening in tone, but there are moments of sublime calm and frolic as well.

The standout piece is obviously "Mithrandir," an elegy for the fallen Gandalf as sung by the elves of Lothlorien. An exquisite arrangement that includes both a children's and an adult chorus, the harmonies and golden voices intertwine, building to a moving climax. It is an unforgettable piece that can alternately raise goosebumps or move you to tears.

While the music is expertly performed and intricately arranged, there is a slight "sameness" to much of this recording. This is not a drawback, at least for those of us who are reading as we listen. Though the music follow's Bakshi's film and moves along much more rapidly than any reader could follow with text, this disc can be played over and over.

As anticipation of the live-action films for LOR grows, this soundtrack is a great way to 'refresh' your memories of earlier 'visits' to Middle Earth. Or perhaps it would prove to be an excellent complement to your first literary excursion into Tolkien's fantasy classic.

-Mic

Though the animation in Bakshi's film version of "The Lord of the Rings" looks a bit archaic compared to the standards of today, this film score certainly holds its own. The small booklet includes composer Leonard Rosenman's own notes on the motifs and composition of the film score. The music is vast, grandiose, and epic, which is perfect for a film version of Tolkien's trilogy. According to Rosenman's notes, this CD is a remixing and remastering of the original recording, which he calls "small and pinched." The result is a soundtrack album superior to the original LP release. Definitely recommended!

This is one of the richest orchestral works I have ever heard. Not only because of the impressive number of instruments used but also because of the variety of styles. Like Rosenman says it stands alone as a musical work, but if you enjoyed the soundtrack when viewing the film you will love this. There is much more to be heard in this digital, stereophonic version! Oh yes, this is a marvelously orchestrated score. And you can actually understand what the male choruses are singing: Mooorrr-dooorrr... Very creepy indeed. Those who appreciate contemporary classical music will be pleased as well. To top it off, the sound quality is top notch. Oh yes, this CD is awesome: if this is tempting you in the least bit, DO NOT HESITATE! You will be blown away.

I've heard the soundtrack to Peter Jackson's "The Fellowship Of The Ring" by Howard Shore today; the latter doesn't even come close to capturing the feelings, moods, textures, and themes that Rosenman's score to the 1978 Bakshi version of "The Lord Of The Ring" achieves. Quite frankly, every Rosenman score I've ever heard has strong similarities to his score for "The Lord Of The Rings"--both scores before and after, with choice repetition of bits and pieces here and there. "The Lord Of The Rings" oddly enough seems to be a culmination of the best of Rosenman's characteristic passages. There are definite themes throughout this score that are emotive and memorable, and are strongly characteristic to the scenes and characters they are employed by.
For the most part, Rosenman's score is busy and loud and stirring; but there are times when he uses a more delicate touch. The music is a combination of orchestra and chorus, drums and percussion, and eerie sounds. Rosenman does deliberately borrow a strong melody from Gustav Holst's "The Planets" (Jupiter) for the chorale passage "Mithrandir" that the Lothlorien Elves sing, but I don't hold this against him, as the melody works splendidly. At times, Rosenman's score does sound a bit "tinny" and cold; but overall the music achieves its goal in complementing the film, and creating passages that are more than mere background music.

All of the reviews I read on the page about the Soundtrack reviewed the MOVIE, instead! At least, the ones I bothered to read.
Concerning the SOUNDTRACK, Rosenman's score compares VERY favorably to Howard Shore's scores for Peter Jackson's films. I actually prefer Rosenman's score over Shore's for one simple reason ... there are tracks on THIS soundtrack that I can hum along with. They're MEMORABLE, compared to Shore's.
Now, don't get me wrong ... I LIKE Shore's three soundtracks ... just not as much as I like Rosenman's. It's just that there are few tracks on all three of Shore's works that I think to myself, "You know, I'd really like to hear such-and-such track (May It Be, Gollum's Song, and Into The West being notable exceptions)." Very few of the tracks evoke a memory or an emotional response from me, by which I gauge an exceptional soundtrack. Rosenman's soundtrack DOES!
Best Tracks being: Mines of Moria, The Battle In The Mines: The Balrog, Riders of Rohan, Helm's Deep, Dawn Battle; Theoden's Victory, and Mithrandir.
Shore's LotR Soundtracks would get 4 stars each. Rosenman's, 5 stars.
Just my take on the matter. I hope it helps.

I only saw this film to hear the music, and it was well worth it. Leonard Rosenman is a fantastic composer who sadly seems to have stopped writing film music. I'm glad to see that he wrote the linear notes about the tracks in this album, but I wish he's still composes. The music is always filled with action and plenty of eeriness, and I love to listen to it all the time. They don't release too many soundtracks by Leonard, and that is really quite upsetting. Made three years after his winning his first Oscar for Barry Lyndon, and two years after his second one for Bound For Glory, Rosenman continues to intense the action in films. My favorite tracks are tracks 8 and track 11. About track 8, I think that it's one of Leonard's most advanced music I've ever heard, with its continual percussion, and trumpets flying off all over the place, it almost even sounds like a rock-and-roll piece. I think that this album should definitely be bought to be part of any Leonard Rosenman collection.

The animated 1978 Lord of the Rings movie disappoints in almost every aspect of its production except the music. Rosenman is able to capture almost as well as Shore the spirit of Tolkien. Unfortunately it doesn't always ring true, because unlike the recent LOTR trilogy scores, Rosenman doesn't use actual elvish and dwarvish in his chorale pieces. This detracts somewhat from the overall listening experience. Rosenman's main theme is enchanting and my only criticism of that, is that it is underused. The other problem Rosenman has, is that this score does resemble some of his other work most noticebly Star Trek IV. Overall this is a fine score, not a great one, but it is enjoyable.

Howard Shore's score to "The LOTR: The Fellowship Of The Ring" doesn't even come close to capturing the feelings, moods, textures, and themes that Rosenman's score to the 1978 Bakshi version of "The Lord Of The Ring" achieves. I'm in no way a fan of Leonard Rosenman. Quite frankly, every Rosenman score I've ever heard has strong similarities to his score for "The Lord Of The Rings"--both scores before (except his jazz-tinged scores) and after, with choice repetition of bits and pieces here and there. "The Lord Of The Rings" oddly enough seems to be a culmination of the best of Rosenman's characteristic passages. There are definite themes throughout this score that are emotive and memorable, and are strongly characteristic to the scenes and characters they are employed by.

I highly recommend this particular remix (released in 2001, with a cover of Bakshi stills from the film of an imposed and bound Merry and Pippin being prodded along by Orcs over the Bridge Of Khazad-dum--which is obviously for effect, as this never happened in the book nor the film) of Rosenman's original score as it has been remastered and remixed and sounds BRILLIANT. A great deal of subtle chorus and instrumentation has been made louder and more effective in this mix, creating an even more diverse and avant-garde palate of incidental music. There's certainly a great deal going on in this score! One stand out piece of instrumentation worth noting that has been brought up in the mix of the passage, The Battle Of Helm's Deep, is a giant sheet drum held right up to the mic creating a loud, primitive, ominous, almost electric sound. Another stand out is the ominous male chorus passages that accompany the Black Riders in Bree and at The Ford Of Rivendell.

For the most part, Rosenman's score is busy and loud and stirring, as befits the scenes for which it accompanies; but there are times when he uses a more delicate touch. The music is a combination of orchestra and chorus, drums and percussion, and eerie sounds. Rosenman does deliberately borrow a strong melody from Gustav Holst's "The Planets" (Jupiter) for the chorale passage "Mithrandir" that the Lothlorien Elves sing, but I don't hold this against him, as the melody works splendidly. In the old mix, Rosenman's score sounds a bit "tinny" and cold. However, in the this new mix those aspects are now "meaty" and warm. I simply cannot believe how gorgeous and clear this score sounds!

Overall Rosenman's score achieves its goal in complementing the the scenes in Bakshi's film, and creating passages that are more than mere background music.

If you have the old soundtrack recording but not the new, are a fan of original soundtracks, and/or are a fan of "The Lord Of The Rings", do yourself a big favour and treat yourself to this new, spectacular remixed soundtrack. You and your ears will be forever delighted.