| ||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Track Listings
| 1. A Storm Is Coming |
| 2. Hope And Memory |
| 3. Minas Tirith |
| 4. The White Tree |
| 5. The Steward Of Gondor |
| 6. Minas Morgul |
| 7. The Ride of the Rohirrim |
| 8. Twilight And Shadow |
| 9. Cirith Ungol |
| 10. Anduril |
| 11. Shelob's Lair |
| 12. Ash And Smoke |
| 13. The Fields Of The Pelennor |
| 14. Hope Fails |
| 15. The Black Gate Opens |
| 16. The End Of All Things |
| 17. The Return Of The King |
| 18. The Grey Havens |
| 19. Into The West |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Product Description
Customer Reviews
The third of Howard Shore's soundtrack albums to the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy is, like the film itself, the best of the best. The albums for both "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" were superb, stunning orchestral storyscapes that perfectly caught Tolkien's Middle-Earth and were wonderful individual listening experiences on their own, away from the films. The perfect music to read Tolkien by.
But this is the big one. This is the masterpiece. This is some of best film music of the last decade. Shore surpasses himself in every way on this score.
The new major theme for the score is the Gondor Theme, heard in fullest expression in the inspiring track "The White Tree" (actually, this is the music for the lighting of the beacons of Gondor) and also in "Minas Tirith" and the lonely, sad track "The Steward of Gondor," where Billy Boyd provides a haunting song to accompany a massacre. (Boyd's voice is a real surprise -- he sounds professional).
The other themes from the early films return, with Shore adapting them and changing them in surprising ways. You'll thrill to hearing the Rohirrim theme in "The Ride of the Rohirrim" as well as the way the theme introduces the real stand-out track of the album, "The Fields of Pelennor," a masterpiece suite describing various aspects of the battle around Minas Tirith. This track achieves almost a sublime level of action and power (screaming chorus, driving brass, and Shore's characteristic delayed resolution to build suspense) and is the musical highlight of the three albums. (I stood up cheered at the end the first time I heard it, even though I was alone.)
"Shelob's Lair" is also an amazing track, filled with jabbing, crazy strings and a sense of rising panic. You can hear the giant spider moving around in the music and it will make you as afraid as Frodo himself was.
Shore pounds the story into an orchestral rage for "The End of All Things," which is the story's climax and an overwhelming track of rapidly shifting emotions and explosions of choral fury. It will quite wring you out the same way the movie does at this point.
For quieter moments, there are beautiful and inspiring tracks like "Twilight and Shadow" (dealing with Arwen) and the lengthy ten-minute track "The Return of the King," which sums up all the major themes and at last brings us full circle to the sprightly Hobbiton theme first heard back in "The Fellowship of the Ring." Shore ends it all with grace and quiet beauty in the subtle and sad track "The Grey Havens," which uses a theme that had grown throughout the score. This theme then becomes the soft and soulful Annie Lennox song, "Into the West," the perfect conclusion to the album.
I've come across few soundtrack albums as well put together as this. Anyone who loves Tolkien, film music, or great orchestral music, MUST buy this album.
My only complaint? There's so much more music in the film than they could fit on a single CD. A big deluxe double CD with more of the music would be appreciated in the near future.
I'd hoped to do a track-by-track analysis, but I simply don't have room, so I'll share some of this CD's better tracks.
Track 3 (3:38): It starts out with dangerous overtones, as Pippin attempts to steal the Palantír from Gandalf, and the terrible consequences of his deed. Gandalf takes him to the city of Gondor, and we hear the premiere of Shore's theme for the City of Kings. (Actually, we first heard a sampling of the Gondor theme in the first movie, when Aragorn is first spoken of as the exiled king, and again in the motion picture preview released earlier in 2003) A wonderful choir makes way to the splendorous, magnificent theme for Gondor, perfectly capturing all the wonder and awe of the city. Awesome. Actually, the solo by Ben Del Maestro, I have concurred, is the part that plays when the White Rider dashes out onto the planes to challenge the Nazgűl.
Track 4 (3:25): A solemn tune, with distinctive Death of Boromir overtones, then the theme for Gondor again, just as grand as before. I believe (I'm big on figuring out which part of the soundtrack goes to which part of the movie) that this is the glorious music that plays as Gandalf rides through the citadel of Gondor, to the very top level of the city.
Track 5 (3:53): Not EXACTLY one of my favorite picks, but I had to comment on this one since it is the one with Billy Boyd's solo. In the beginning, it is primarily flute, along with other, somber-sounding instruments mixed in. Gondorian theme again, quieter this time. This, I have figured out, is the sad music that plays as Faramir leads his troops out onto the field. At 2:35 on the CD counter, Billy Boyd begins his quiet, dirge-like solo which provides the background theme for Faramir's suicide charge on enemy ranks. And yes, it is a very lovely, though somber and sad song. Billy Boyd sings it very well.
Track 7 (2:09): The action-oriented muster of Rohan's troops. As you could expect, the theme of Rohan from The Two Towers prevails in a heroic and magnificent way. In the middle, there is a quiet moment where Shore makes use of the generally-saved-for-hobbits Celtic-sounding flute. The track picks back up triumphantly before it ends.
Track 10 (2:35): Quiet beginning, with Rivendell overtones. Another tune begins, a very royal and glorious as the sword of kings is reforged anew. The end transitions to the creepy Paths of the Dead theme.
Track 13 (3:26): Slow beginning, then a very drawn-out tune of hopefulness. Rohan's arrival to Gondor's aid? Then the stunning, dramatic theme for the Ringwraiths is blasted out by the incredible choir Howard Shore commands. It may be the bad guy theme, but it is still incredible to hear. The track is too short, in my opinion.
Track 15 (4:02): The last desperate stand of Aragorn's troops before Mordor's endless ranks. At the same time, the quiet flute plays as Frodo works against all odds to climb the mountain of doom. This track and the next are the themes for the most powerful, poignant moments in the movie, and are NOT to be missed. (Referring to the music, but the movie too!)
Track 16 (5:13): Terribly desperate, frantic choir plays during the final moments of the climax at Mt. Doom and the Black Gate. A silent moment appears, with a slow solo by Renee Fleming, as Aragorn faces down the Eye of Sauron. Shore makes brilliant use of the choir - well, pretty much any time he uses them for his Lord of the Rings film score, but especially in this case.
Track 19 (5:48): Of the three songs (May it Be, Gollum's Song, and Into the West) that Howard Shore has featured on his soundtrack, I nominate this one as the best. It is sung by Annie Lennox, whose voice credit-viewers may recognize from Apollo 13's end credits. Her voice in this sounds somehow a little less feminine, and a little more like a male with a high-pitched voice, but that's just an observation, not a complaint. The song itself is really great. It sings in very poetic, descriptive terms basically of Heaven. For anyone, but particularly believers in Jesus like me, it is an especially inspiring and thrilling song of hope for the World to Come; of heaven. Beautiful. And as usual, the end credits song also includes a bit of the film score after the song.
Folks, Howard Shore's soundtrack abilities remain unequaled. For fans of the film, the music is an excellent way to relive parts of the movie when silly things like, say, real life prevent you from going to the theater. For people who haven't seen the movie, this music is awesome no matter which way you dice it. Please, please buy this CD.
When I first heard, quite a while ago now, that Howard Shore had been selected to write the music for "The Lord of the Rings" films, I wasn't sure what to think. I liked Shore's music well enough from movies like "Silence of the Lambs" or "Seven," but I wasn't sure how he would handle the epic nature of something like this. Three times over now, Shore has proven to me (and to many others) that he is quite capable of expressing everything that makes "The Lord of the Rings" such a grand story in his music.
The score for "Return of the King" is the most grand and sweeping of the three scores, which is as it should be, since the events of the story are of the largest scale. And yet, somehow the music finds moments of intimacy and soft beauty, even amidst all the epic movements and operatic themes.
Each of the different tracks on the album is recognizable for its theme: "The White Tree" is a powerful and noble theme for Gondor, "Shelob's Lair" is a terrifying piece for its namesake, "The Steward of Gondor" is a softly moving march accompanied by panflute, with a surprisingly-moving vocal piece by Billy Boyd (Pippin in the film), and "Minas Morgul" is an even more intense repriese of the recurrent theme for the Nazgul. "The Fields of the Pelennor" will rouse you right out of your seat, and "Twilight and Shadow," with the incomparable Renee Fleming lending her gorgeous voice, will make your eyes tear up.
The track that will rip your heart out, though, is definitely "Into the West," with Annie Lennox singing vocals. Such a beautiful, powerful, emotional song is the perfect coda to these films, and an excellent summary for all that has gone before. The first time I heard this song, before I even saw the film, I was left with tears rolling down my cheeks. Of the three songs which play at the end of each film, "Into the West" is easily the best one, the most moving, and the most deeply-felt.
If you get the Special Edition version of this soundtrack, the DVD that accompanies it has some pretty interesting stuff, but it's mostly for movie music buffs. If you're into the process of creating music for motion pictures at all (I definitely am), then the short documentary shown on this DVD is an excellent one. Other than that, the other interesting features are an extra music track ("Use Well the Days," again performed by Annie Lennox) and a long "supertrailer" for the three films. Both are worth seeing, but the documentary was the best part for me, and the real selling point of the extra DVD edition of the soundtrack.
The point of it all is that this is It. From the Fellowship theme to the music of Rohan, from the violent strains of the Dark Lord's minions to the gentle tones of the Shire, this soundtrack brings it all together. It is operatic in scale but intimate in effect. Whether you want to relive the film itself or just find a good accompaniment to read the books by, Howard Shore's music for "Return of the King" provides the perfect musical companion. It is unquestionably a masterful acheivement, and should be required listening for any fan of the films, or any fan of the works of Tolkien.
I could listen to this soundtract over and over. Read more
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Music > Pop
- Music > Soundtracks
|
