The SoundCast Vault - James Horner and the 80s w/ Doug Adams

So are you loving our "Best of the Decade" series of podcasts?  Believe it or not...as long as they have been, there are bits that don't make the final edit, so to wish you a Happy New Years, we offer you this almost-13 minute section where Doug Adams joins the SoundCast crew to talk about his feelings about James Horner's scores from the 80s.

So if you like these cool bits of edited goodness, please let us know and will crank out more of the same.

As always, you can find our full SoundCast episodes here

And connect with us over on SoundCloud directly!

SoundCast #37 - The 80s: Raiders is 21? Guest: Doug Adams

Episode 37 - The 80s: Raiders is 21?

Doug Adams (The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films) joins the crew to discuss their favorites scores from the decade of the 80s. We read your tweeted faves, play our first voicemail and hit THE GIRL IN THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE HUNGER GAMES, and PROMETHEUS in our WHYBLT and Sidetrack segments.


Episode Highlights

00:00 — 80s Montage
00:38 — Intros and Welcome
02:43 — WHYBLT? (What Have You Been Listening To?): Hugo, Organ music manuals,The Artist
06:08 — WHYBLT? - Skyrim and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
14:00 — WHYBLT? - W.E. and Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
18:35 — WHYBLT? - Arthur Christmas, The Awakening, Moneyball
22:30 — SideTracks: Helen sees and hears Hanna, and runner-up, Drive
26:58 — SideTracks: James Newton Howard on The Hunger Games
32:06 — SideTracks: Marc Streitenfeld on Prometheus
37:42 — SideTracks: 10th anniversary of Fellowship of the Ring
46:22 — Main Discussion: The Best of the 80s


Select Music

03:27 — "The Artist Ouverture" (The Artist) by Ludovic Bource
06:14 — "Theme" (Skyrim) by Jeremy Solule
07:11 — "I Can't Take It Anymore" (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
14:50 — "Romanian Wind" (Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows) by Hans Zimmer
19:03 — "Seeing Through Ghosts" (The Awakening) by Daniel Pemberton
19:46 — "One out away" (Moneyball) by Mychael Danna
20:31 — "The Show" (Moneyball) perf. by Kerris Dorsey
23:27 — "The sandman" (Hanna) by The Chemical Brothers
24:49 — "Skull Crushing" (Drive) by Cliff Martinez
37:47 — "Prologue- One Ring to Rule Them All" (Fellowship of the Ring) by Howard Shore
39:46 — "The Shire" (Fellowship of the Ring) by Howard Shore
45:43 — "The Strength of the Righteous" (The Untouchables) Bill Conti
47:40 — "Anvil Of Crom" (Conan The Barbarian) by Basil Poledouris
48:36 — "Gabriel's Oboe" (The Mission) by Ennio Morricone
50:03 — "The Untouchables" (The Untouchables) by Ennio Morricone
55:55 — "Main Title (I Had A Farm In Africa)" (Out of Africa) by John Barry
60:08 — "Main Theme"(The Last Starfighter) by Craig Safan
61:32 — "Call to Arms" (Glory) by James Horner
63:44 — "To Cairo" (Raiders of the Lost Ark) by John Williams
64:44 — "The Dark Crystal Overture" (The Dark Crystal) by Trevor Jones
66:55 — "Back to the Future" (Back to the Future) by Alan Silvestri
71:20 — "Training Hard" (The Karate Kid) by Bill Conti
77:22 — "Theme from Chariots of Fire" (Chariots of Fire) by Vangelis
83:16 — "The Show" (Moneyball) perf. by Kerris Dorsey

Download the episode here

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Puss in Boots (Soundtrack) by Henry Jackman - Review

"Panache in Boots"
Review by Helen San

PUSS IN BOOTS is a prequel in the SHREK series that tells of the title character’s adventures and misadventures before meeting Shrek for the first time in SHREK 2. It is more than a children’s animated parody about stealing the Golden Goose from the Giant in the clouds with a girl cat and Humpty Dumpty; it is also a story of deception and betrayal, conscience and honor, friendship and sacrifice. Voiced by Antonio Banderas, Puss in Boots is a Spanish cat through and through. With Salma Hayek voicing the leading lady cat, Kitty Softpaws, it is clear PUSS IN BOOTS would have as strong a Spanish flavor as KUNG FU PANDA had a Chinese one.

When we think of Spanish music, we think of the classical guitar and the flamenco. To be sure, composer HENRY JACKMAN, included ample amounts of both. There are more than a few hints of JAMES HORNER’s MASK OF ZORRO in here, no doubt a parodied nod to Banderas’ portrayal of the rogue Spaniard who inspired Puss’ personality. (Puss even swooshes out a “P” with his sword, like the famous “Z” by Zorro.) A Bad Kitty (1), is probably the most notable homage to MASK OF ZORRO, with a similar flamenco opening.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Johnny English Reborn (Soundtrack) by Ilan Eshkeri

"Parodisiacal"

Review by Richard Buxton

The last decade has been a decidedly erratic one for the parody film genre, with the likes of the SCARY MOVIE franchise, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, VAMPIRES SUCK and KUNG FU HUSTLE all sitting at wildly varying positions on the critical scale. Being a source of whimsical imitation at best, the parody genre is one that never has the weight of great expectations placed upon it and is therefore one that can occasionally surprise in a number of areas. JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN is certainly not one the greatest entries the genre in recent years, but the genre it aims to imitate and satirize is one that provides ample room for a musical score to excel. If anything, parody allows a composer to truly let loose and exploit the clichés within the themes of a film, and this is certainly prevalent throughout ILAN ESHKERI’S score for JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Composers Partner with Sweet Relief for Benefit Album - Novum Initium

TOP COMPOSERS PARTNER WITH SWEET RELIEF FOR
MUSICIANS BENEFIT ALBUM "NOVUM INITIUM"

BioShock®, Call of Duty®, Dead Space™, Dragon Age™, God of War®, Mass Effect™, Medal of Honor™, Prince of Persia®, World of Warcraft® Composers Unite for Benefit Album; Proceeds to Provide Financial Assistance to Healing Musicians in Need

Los Angeles, CA - December 5th, 2011 - Many of the video game industry's leading music composers, producers and songwriters have joined forces to create "Novum Initium" (New Beginning), a benefit album dedicated to supporting working musicians in need of financial assistance. Partnering with the music industry charitable organization Sweet Relief, all proceeds from the album will be donated to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund which provides financial assistance to career musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems. "Novum Initium" will be available for digital download via Bandcamp, CDBaby.com, Amazon MP3, iTunes and 7digital on December 6th.

Featuring all-new original music by composers of such blockbuster titles as Call of Duty®, Dead Space™, Dragon Age™, God of War®, Mass Effect™, Medal of Honor™, Prince of Persia®, World of Warcraft®, with cover art by illustrator Aurelien Police commissioned especially for the project; twenty limited edition CDs of the album will also be signed by the composers and auctioned for sale on eBay here: http://xfer.me/nieb.

Composer Sam Hulick, co-producer of the "Novum Initium" album project, commented: "There are many musicians who struggle with medical bills and making ends meet during tough times after dealing with unexpected health issues. We wanted to put together a special project to help our peers who are on that stressful road after recovery."

"We reached out to our friends in the video game industry and were overwhelmed with the response," explains composer and album co-producer Jason Graves. "This is obviously something everyone can relate to. As full-time composers, we are self-employed contractors and there's no such thing as 'time off' or 'paid vacation.' If we don't work, we don't get paid. Medical bills can add up quickly. That's the whole impetus behind the album."

Tracklisting with Artists' Previous Credits:

"Lionheart" - Sam Hulick (Mass Effect™)
"Adagio Coda" - Brian Tyler (Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3)
"Adrenaline" - Jason Graves (Dead Space™)
"Awakened" - Otto Cate (MAG) & Aubrey Ashburn (Dragon Age™)
"Underwood" - Inon Zur (The Lord of the Rings: War In The North)
"The Maelstrom" - Singlefrequency & Chad Seiter (Legend of Zelda™ 25th Anniversary Symphony)
"Shadows And Light" - Trevor Morris (Army of Two™)
"Chrysalis" - Neal Acree (World of Warcraft®)
"Trouble In Chinatown" - Tom Salta (Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands™)
"Dancing Outtakes" - Garry Schyman (BioShock®)
"Versailles" - Ed Lima (Doom® 3)
"Consequence" - Neil Goldberg (Shift 2: Unleashed™)
"Lacus Turbatus" - Gerard Marino (God of War®)
"Espionage" - Mark Griskey (Star Wars™: The Old Republic™)
"House Of The Vine" - Mick Gordon (Shift 2: Unleashed™)
"The Left-Hand Path" - Cris Velasco & Sascha Dikiciyan (Warhammer® 40,000®: Space Marine®)
"Bullseye" - Christopher Lennertz (Medal of Honor: European Assault™) & Timothy Wynn (Red Faction®: Guerrilla™)
"I'm With You" - Jack Wall (Mass Effect™) & Cindy Shapiro (Myst® III: Exile™)

All proceeds from "Novum Initium" will be donated to career musicians in need. For more information on Sweet Relief please visit www.sweetrelief.org.

GET THE ALBUM HERE

39th Annual Annie Award Nominees - Music Categories

The 39th Annual Annie Award Nominees have just been announced.  Now, being one who loves the genre of animation, this is one award I generally pay close attention to year after year.  This year we have two categories for "best music:"  Music in a Television Production and Music in a Feature Production.  More often than not, The Annie's compile an acceptable list of noms in the music categories, but this year, let me tell you, I'm plenty animated myself at their noms.  Ok...have a peek below to see who they are:


Music in a Television Production

• Adam Berry, Bob Schooley, Mark McCorkle “Penguins of Madagascar” – Nickelodeon and Technicolor
• Ben Locket “The Amazing World of Gumball” – Cartoon Network Europe in association with Dandelion Studios, Boulder Media & Studio Soi
• Frederik Wiedmann “Green Lantern The Animated Series” – Warner Bros. Animation
• Grace Potter, Michael Giacchino “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Joel McNeely, Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda “Pixie Hollow Games”– DisneyToon Studios
• Kevin Kliesch “Thundercats” – Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network
• Shawn Patterson, Zeb Wells “Robot Chicken” – ShadowMachine and Stoopid Monkey in association with Adult Swim

Music in a Feature Production

• Henry Jackman “Puss In Boots” – DreamWorks Animation
• John Williams “Tintin” – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall
• Mikael Mutti, Siedah Garrett, Carlinhos Brown, Sergio Mendes, John Powell, “Rio” – Blue Sky Studios
• Zooey Deschannel, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Henry Jackman, Robert Lopez “Winnie The Pooh” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Neglecting the TV noms for now, I must say that the noms for Feature Production does induce a bit of headscratching.  While I enjoyed WINNIE THE POOH a great deal, I'm surprised to see it get a nod here.  So, must give the ASIFA-Hollywood big-ups for recognizing, BUT, the exclusion of the scores for KUNG FU PANDA 2 and ARTHUR CHRISTMAS is more than a little odd.  Easily two of the best animated-scores of the year, I'm curious to know whether there is some eligibility issue here.

Whatever the reasons are, I find these categories signicantly less compelling now.  What do you think about these noms?

SEE ALL OF THE NOMINEES HERE

Enter to Win The Adventures of Tin Tin Soundtrack CD by John Williams

While we say a big ol' "Congrats!" to Brian Buda who won our last True Fan Contest, we also say to all of you, "Ready for more?"

Thought so.  You may not have won WAR HORSE, but John Williams isn't hardly done there.  In just a couple of weeks THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN:  THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN will be released and Tracksounds is proud to partner with SONY CLASSICAL to give you a chance to win the  original soundtrack! Follow the link below for all the glorious details!

ENTER THE TRUE FAN CONTEST