Customer Reviews

Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 2: Film & Television Music

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The liner notes and "This is Halloween Demo" on this compilation are well worth the CD price by themselves. Danny comments on each of the tracks on the CDs which is a rare and ego-free look at what a composer thinks of his own work.

Edward Scissorhands is magical, Black Beauty is a rollercoaster of emotion, and Dolores Claiborne makes me want to find the nearest piano. This is not a "Most Popular" compilation, rather it aptly showcases Danny Elfman's (and Orchestrator, Steve Bartek's) brilliance and wide range of style.

Every suite has an Elfman signature, such as the layered complexity which never sounds overdone, or the use of a choir as an instrument.

This (and Volume 1) are examples of the work of a modern day composer who consistently stands out as one of the best.

If you like this and have the spare cash, grab the individual scores from some of the movies he has worked on, including "Men In Black", "Spiderman", "Batman", "Batman Returns", "Nightmare Before Christmas", "Edward Scissorhands", "Mars Attacks" and so many more.

Danny Elfman's "Music for a Darkened Theater" is a brilliantly crafted masterpiece of music. His compositions hold a certain eerie theme, which makes them captivating. His music, ranging from Black Beauty to Edward Scissorhands, projects both fear and beauty, happiness and deceit. "Music for a Darknened Theater" was definitely worth the price I paid for it. Anyone interested in instrumental/soundtrack music will love the phenomenal creations of Danny Elfman.

This 2 cd set is a fabulous purchase, especially if you have eclectic taste in music. From Dolores Claiborne to Mission: Impossible to Dead Presidents, this set has it all. Some of the most lovely and disturbing music I've ever heard. Even if you have all of Danny's soundtracks, there is still some stuff on here that you can't find anywhere else. Plus, the demo of "This is Halloween" is not to be missed.

Elfman is amazing! I'm still waiting to get the first volume, and from the second album's scores, i know it will be worth the wait. He is my favorite composer for his haunting melodies! My favorite tracks were the EDWARD SCISSORHANDS themes, NIGHTMARE BEFORE X-MAS, BLACK BEAUTY and DOLORES CLAIBORNE! ALL of them kept me listening for more. I recommend this album not only for elfman fans, but anyone who enjoys a composers music who can feel the talent in his albums! Great job danny!

Danny Elfman is at it again, with this great 2-CD set. I was expecting a double-decker, but all it was was a single CD jewelcase with 2 compartments. Who cares? We're talking about the music here. All the tracks are generally easy listening, perfect to read to. You get over two hours of music for only $22.50. That's a great bargain. $11.25 per CD. The selection and length of tracks are just a tad too long. But it's Danny Elfman; all his music is enjoyable. But who cares about Sommersby or Dead Presidents? The best selections are the Batman tracks and the Edward Scissorhands tracks. Highly recommendable.

Years ago, watching peter Jennings cover the funeral procession of Princess Diana, my soul was captured by some hauntingly beautiful music that at times played in the background. So began my mission to find out what it was, who wrote it and how I could get it. After some correspondence with the network I was put in touch with the woman who "put together" that part of the programming. All she could remember is that it came from the movie "Black Beauty". THEN I found out how many versions of that had been made lol. With determination, I finally found it, and had a local music store order it for me.
There are no words to describe what this music does to me. I did try listening to some of the other tracks, but they didn't even come close. I rate this music right up there with the 1971 score for "Jane Eyre" by John Willams... and that's pretty high :D

I only realized who Danny Elfman was very recently and grabbed this CD right away. It's excellent, you won't be disappointed. If you like "The Nightmare Before Christmas", the creepy, the weird, the gothic or just cool musical arangements, get this. I highly recommend this one especially to people who are also fans of Tim Burton's work. Elfman has a talent of making his audience feel exactly what he's trying to convey. Fun to listen to and great dynamics. Great buy.

It's nice to be able to just pop two cd's in your player and hear the best of Danny Elfman all at once. Some of his greatest scores are present- like Edward Scissorhands and Batman Returns- plus some neat little excerpts from televison commercials and shows he worked for. Plus, you get to hear for yourself the genius behind the man as you hear the demo version of "This Is Halloween" (that track is actually why I bought the cd). However, some excerpts are plain boring or unintersting - like Sommersby, Dead Presidents and a few other individual tracks scattered around. All in all, the best part of the cd is the Nightmare demo and some of the TV exerpts, (plus it was nice to hear a few of my favorite scores again) which may or may not be worth 22 dollars.

I have been a fan of Danny Elfman since his days in Boingo, yet noghing they did compares with his mastery of clasical composition. Being very underrated and overshadowed by composers with more money and clout it seems that he'll never recieve proper recognition. Although all you have to do is look at how many pieces he does for many different movies every year, and you'll see that directors like him. They like him because no one can better make you feel the mood of a movie that Danny Elfman. Can you imagine Edward Scissorhands with music by James Horner? Let me ask you this: Can James Horner or any other music composer of our time even compare with the beauty of Edward Scissorhands or the music in Black Beauty. Didn't think so...

This Album Came Out 6 Years Ago, And Volume One came out 12 years ago. So with that Said Where is Volume Three? For All of you who Say the Sommersby music is bad, your sadly mistaken. It is the Most Wonderful Music ever composed by Danny Elfman ever. After Hearing this Music Over and Over, I had to buy the Soundtrack, but What's weird is I didn't like the soundtrack as much. For some reason the music sounded better on this Album. Yes I even think it's better music than Edward Scissorhands, call me crazy, but it is. Anyways with that said I'll get back to the Album. As Always the Tim Burton Movie themes are always the Best, with Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, & the Nightmare Before Christmas being among them. Dolores Claiborne is Haunting. To Die For is fun and I love the Guitar bits by Danny himself. Black Beauty is number 3 in `the Dramatic & Beautiful Film Scores from Danny Elfman Catagory' right after `Sommersby' & `Edward Scissorhands'. Mission Impossible is way better than Hans Zimmer score for Mission Impossible 2. It's Just More Exciting and Adventurous. Dead Presidents is Aight. Freeway is Bearable, but not the greatest. Shruken Heads is funny as hell. The Television Odds `n Ends are always fun too. The Amazing Stories Music from the episodes `Family Dog' and `Mummy, Daddy' are playfull and fun. The Nike Commercial is Unexpectedly clever. The Flash theme ranks right up there with `Batman' and `Superman' for all time great superhero themes, although it did sound a lot like the `Dick Tracy' theme. Try Humming both Separatly you'll see what I mean. The Pee-Wee`s Playhouse music is wonderfully weird and if you're a big fan of the `Face Like A Frog' music on the first album than you'll Digg it the most baby. Beetlejuice is a wonderful rendition of the Beetlejuice Movie theme. And the biggest treat is the `This Is Halloween' Demo all parts sung By Danny Elfman witch truly shows this mans wonderful talent for film composing and song writing. With all said and done where oh where is Volume Three Mister Elfman.