There is only one Score of the Rings…and it does not share power!
Review by Edmund Meinerts
The latest compilation/rerecording work from Silva Screen sees them slipping into the MovieScore Media role, trying to bring some exposure to the scores from a little-known series of low-budget fantasy films based on the all-but-forgotten novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. Yes, well, all joking aside, one can see why they would be tempted to release this album, which is a compilation of cues from the four ridiculously successful Peter Jackson-directed Middle-earth related fantasy eposes (…epi?). Does this mean they will release another such album in a year’s time when THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG hits theaters? Only time will tell, but meanwhile, the City of Prague Orchestra has offered up their renditions of some of the highlights of HOWARD SHORE’s music for the concept.
It goes without saying, naturally, that this album, like Silva’s yearly film music roundup series, is aimed firmly at the very casual moviegoer. More dedicated score collectors, especially those with any sort of affinity for this particular series, will likely not have any use for it. To put this hour-long single-disc release in perspective, the full extent of SHORE’s music for the series on album, combining the special edition of THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY with the Complete Recordings of the three LORD OF THE RINGS scores, clocks in at about twelve hours. That’s not to say that this album is poorly made, of course; for one thing, their selection of highlights is solid, especially considering just how enormous and thematically rich this series is. Pretty much all of the more prominent themes from the series, the ones that the aforementioned casual moviegoer might have a chance of recognizing, are covered.
