I don't know if there ever was film music, save for the sequels to the original 1977 Star Wars, that had as much anticipation attached to it as The Hobbit. Howard Shore created a milestone with Lord of the Rings, and despite the events surrounding Jackson's King Kong, there was no question he would be on board for these films. It is quite possible, and very likely, given his passion for Tolkien, that he was playing with ideas for a possible Hobbit movie ever since he wrapped up The Return of the King.
Should you have asked yourself the question if themes from The Lord of the Rings would appear in The Hobbit, Howard Shore puts it to rest one minute into the album, when a plain string arrangement of the Shire theme appears in "My Dear Frodo", leading into the prologue music after the opening titles. Here, much like in Fellowship of the Ring, several main thematic threads are introduced; the most prominent being the themes for Smaug and the dwarves.
Given the story of the films, it should be no surprise that Shore heavily expands upon the dwarven music from Lord of the Rings. "My Dear Frodo" and "An Ancient Enemy" are the most prominent examples, when the deep male chorus sings out earthshattering expansions of the dwarven harmonies, together with a new, noble theme on french horns for the great dwarf culture. While their theme in Lord of the Rings ("A Journey In The Dark") was ever downward reaching, this theme moves upward in a proud, yet already slightly resigning way. This is a major thematic thread in this score, but of course not the only one. There are themes and motifs abound.
The centre of the score is twofold. One is the theme "Misty Mountains", as already heard in the trailer. Written by Plan 9, it sets J.R.R. Tolkien's poem to music, and is used in a great number of variations by Howard Shore, who often applies, appropriately, dwarvish orchestrations to it. "Over Hill" would be the most complete statement of that theme, and is a true powerhouse of movie music.
The other main identity is Bilbo's theme(s), which can be heard in full form in "Dreaming of Bag-End" and "A Very Respectable Hobbit". "Dreaming Of Bag-End" takes the idyllic, beautifully simple, tonal harmonies of the Shire music, and adds a simply sublime melody that achieves exactly what it should: it feels warmly familiar and is yet different, depicts Bilbo's longing for his home perfectly, and sits comfortably amongst the classic Shire music from Lord of the Rings. It won't take long until you feel like you always knew that theme. "A Very Respectable Hobbit" is sort of a variation on that, and is used to great effect for example in "The World Is Ahead".
These two themes would be enough to warrant the waiting time for the score, but there is more. The opening music in "My Dear Frodo" reappears at the end of "A Good Omen", acting as a wonderfully lyrical musical bookmark, to open and end the film.
There is a short but poignant motif for Gandalf, opening "Radagast the Brown", followed by haunting boys' choir, and a swirling theme for Radagast. The orcs of the Misty Mountains get a sound similar in tone to the orcs in Return of the King, but more mischievous, with lots of fluttertongue brass, and a short 3/6 notes motif. The 5/4 rhythm is back, constantly changing with 3/4 to create an absolutely exhilarating pace for "Under Hill" and "Brass Buttons", the latter complete with deep male grunting, not unsimilar in style to "The Bridge Of Khazad-Dum". There is also a characteristic short motif for the wargs. And quite a few themes are introduced here that would later become important in Lord of the Rings: Concerning Hobbits, Rivendell, Gollum's themes, Sauron's theme, some Mordor motifs, Nature's theme for the eagles and also the History of the Ring theme, which gets some fantastic variations in "Riddles In The Dark".
The special edition soundtrack also adds "A Very Respectable Hobbit", "Erebor" and "The Dwarf Lords", which are thematic presentations of those themes. These are certainly major highlights on the album, even if they are short. "Erebor" is as adventurous as adventure music gets, spine chilling. In general, the tone of An Unexpected Journey is thoroughly more lighthearted and spirited than any of the Lord of the Rings films, since The Hobbit is a more lighthearted movie, so don't expect highly dramatic music like "The Breaking of the Fellowship". Don't be afraid, the music doesn't skimp with emotional highlights in all its splendour, but it puts a smile on your face instead of leaving you an emotional wreck. Howard Shore adresses the lighter nature of the film. The Hobbit music is more bouncy, the chorus airier and there is an overall more "active" quality about the music, adding more flourishes.
The album includes "The Song Of The Lonely Mountain", written and performed by Neill Finn, member of Plan 9. As brilliant as the score is, so dissapointing is this song. It is, to me, wholly absurd that Howard Shore, who won no less than 3 Academy Awards for Lord of the Rings (amongst them Best Original Song) was not put in charge of writing the movie's closing song. While for Fellowship of the Ring, Shore was at least Enya's orchestrator, he had no hand in this song. The end result is a jarring juxtaposition that doesn't mesh at all with the rest of the album. Middle-Earth is defined by Howard Shore, it doesn't fit a song chanting "ayayayaaaah".
From the very first second, An Unexpected Journey softly draws you into Middle-Earth by tones both familiar, yet unfamiliar, and it is simply wonderful, comforting and breathtaking at the same time to hear how Howard Shore continues to write his Middle-Earth opera, completely unimpressed and unhindered by changes and developments that took place in film music in the last 10 years, not caring about possibly being ineligible for Awards because of use of established material, seemingly driven exclusively by his own inspiration and his own ideals. For many, this music should define the term "swimming against the current". If there was a suspicion that the expansion of the films would result in a slower or less interesting score, Howard Shore puts them to rest.
Special mention must be made of the presentation of the score. For maybe the first time in history, a film score gets this kind of treatment upon initial release, with two discs full of music on both versions. It is, however, contrary to the Amazon description, NOT the full score from the film. Recording sessions continued after the soundtrack was finished. I would say 85 % is presented here. Included are also liner notes by Doug Adams, who already did incredible work on the LotR Complete Recordings and the book "The Music of The Lord of the Rings", describing the musical thoughts in the score, and revealing passages from the choir lyrics. The packaging of the special edition is a catastrophe though. It's a cardboard foldout with sleeves for both discs. It is damn near impossible to pull them out without leaving fingerprints.
The special edition of this score includes expanded tracks, most notably "Radagst The Brown" and "The White Council", including more Necromancer and Rivendell variations. "Roast Mutton" is not only expanded on the special edition, it is also an alternate to the regular OST version. Because of these expansions, the bonus tracks and the liner notes, it is a good idea to buy the deluxe version.
It is important to realise that Howard Shore did not reinvent the music of Lord of the Rings, he expanded it. And that was exactly his task from the beginning. You don't hear a new theme for Rivendell, you'll hear the one from Lord of the Rings. You aren't going to hear new music for Gollum, you'll hear Lord of the Rings. And that is logical because chronologically, The Hobbit sets up the themes for Lord of the Rings. Howard Shore is writing backwards, forwards. And that is fantastic. Because this is a unique opportunity to create the most coherent, thematically complex and enticing film music work of all time. And considering the quality of An Unexpected Journey, I have little doubt that when the third one is released in 2014, it will be exactly that.
In the middle of November 2012, I discovered that Decca Records was, for just a couple of days, streaming the complete "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" score on their web site. There was only one catch: For copyright reasons I couldn't pause the music or skip tracks. Oh -and it's one hour and forty-five minutes long.
To quote Bilbo in the film: "Fair enough!"
I dived right in and listened to the whole lot. As it happened, I was right in the middle of re-reading "The Hobbit", and the movie isn't out yet as I'm writing this. But that doesn't matter. Good music should be able to stand on its own, and I think Howard Shore has pulled it off again with this epic film score.
Later I got more chances to stream the music at a more leisurely pace, and this time took some notes.
So, without benefit of having seen the film apart from a few snippets, here are my initial thoughts and impressions. I already have the CD on order. Even if I should never see the film at all, I will still love this music.
*** Potential spoiler alert ***
I'm assuming that you're somewhat familiar with the plot of "The Hobbit" as you read this. I'll try not to give too much away, and will hint at certain things, but consider yourself warned -I can't keep everything secret.
Abbreviation key: LOTR = "The Lord of the Rings"; FOTR = "The Fellowship of the Ring"; TTT = "The Two Towers".
01) My Dear Frodo (8:04)
The CD starts out with a pastoral sound, Shire music as in LOTR. Then, no doubt as an older Bilbo narrates or remembers events long past, the music takes on a more ominous military quality with drums and trumpets. There is a haunting chorus, leading into a Moria-like Polynesian choral chant.
Could this be a flashback of the Battle of Azanulbizar at the gates of the Mines of Moria? This, in the backstory, is where the Dwarves avenge the death of Thorin's grandfather Thrór, and kill Azog the Goblin. It sets up the great enmity between Dwarves and Goblins (Orcs), so central to this movie trilogy's plot, so would be a logical move on the part of the screenwriters.
But no, it seems this is the attack on Erebor instead. An interesting choice of music, in that case.
02) Old Friends (4:29)
This track starts out with more familiar Shire music. It's easy to imagine Gandalf talking to Bilbo at Bag End. There is a snippet which in FOTR indicates Bilbo getting a bit flustered, so likely means the same here. Bilbo doesn't like where the conversation is going. It smacks of Adventure, and decent Hobbits want nothing to do with that.
The music gets a bit more ominous towards the end.
03) An Unexpected Party (3:52)
I can just imagine Bilbo dealing with a bunch of Dwarves showing up on his doorstep by ones and twos and even in a heap all at once. Guess who's coming to dinner?
There is a new, recurrent playful theme here that slowly picks up the pace as the guests arrive and the pressure mounts inexorably on the host.
04) Axe or Sword (5:59)
This track starts with one of the new themes, one that is already starting to sound familiar to me just from listening to the first track. I can imagine Bilbo, Gandalf and the Dwarves discussing serious business and probably recounting key events in the past, such as the coming of Smaug and Gandalf's encounter with Thorin's father.
This new theme -I wonder if it could be the Erebor motif? It certainly serves as a Dwarf theme, and we'll hear it again and again.
05) Misty Mountains (1:43)
If you've seen the previews, you've heard the haunting Dwarven chorus "Over the Misty Mountains Cold". This tune becomes a major theme for the film. "We must away ere break of day."
06) The Adventure Begins (2:05)
A hint of Shire music. I can picture Bilbo leisurely waking up the morning after the party, and suddenly learning that he's late for a rendezvous at the inn. The sprightly music somewhat resembles that of Merry and Pippin fleeing from Farmer Maggot in FOTR.
07) The World is Ahead (2:20) -Called "Blown Away" by the streaming audio player I listened to.
Perhaps Bilbo is being wafted like a leaf down the road, with no way to make it stop as his new adventure begins to unfold. This music resembles that of "An Unexpected Party".
And then the heroic Misty Mountains theme emerges for the first time. This, like the heroic LOTR Fellowship theme, will sound very good with epic landscape shots.
08) An Ancient Enemy (4:58)
This is serious Mordor-type music, as at Mount Doom -along with the Dies Irae motif. There is a dark chorus sung in an ancient language. Three guesses who the enemy is. But where is he?
09) Radagast the Brown (4:55)
An ethereal boys' chorus, befitting a wizard. This is followed by some somewhat nervous-sounding string music. I can imagine Radagast riding along on that crazy sled of his, briefly shown in the previews. It's a major sight gag, so I won't spoil it here.
The music grows darker and more menacing as the track progresses. Perhaps the wizard is discovering the growing threat from the forces of darkness?
10) Roast Mutton (4:03)
Three very large, nasty customers are having an argument: are Dwarves and "Burrahobbits" best boiled, roasted or squashed into jelly? Stay tuned.
There is another recurrence of the heroic Misty Mountain theme mid-track.
11) A Troll Hoard (2:39)
Some key ancient Elvish weapons are discovered here, which will play a major role throughout both trilogies. The music aptly fits the mood. The themes all seem to be ones we've heard before, though played in different ways.
12) The Hill of Sorcery (3:51)
Starts with the Shire theme, then moves on to Radagast. What dark things is the wizard digging up, and how fast can he get away? More Mordor music, like that of Barad-dûr in LOTR.
13) Warg-Scouts (3:02)
Pounding drums and threatening music. This scene isn't in the book, but it appears that the Dwarves aren't going to just waltz into Rivendell without a fight. Hints of the Lothlórien theme right at the end.
14) The Hidden Valley (3:52)
This is certainly Rivendell music, as we've heard in LOTR, complete with Elvish chorus. But, there are plenty of variations we haven't heard before.
15) Moon Runes (3:20)
Likely, Elrond discovers something on Thorin's map that can only be seen in certain types of moonlight. The music, starting out, has a shimmering quality which Howard Shore has used in the past to depict moonlight -for instance, in TTT when Faramir discovers Gollum fishing in the Forbidden Pool at night.
More snippets of the Dwarf theme.
16) The Defiler (1:14)
Starts out with more brazen Dies Irae stuff.
17) The White Council (7:20)
Most likely, the wizards and other mighty ones in Middle Earth are worried about recent developments, and meet to discuss the matter. The Lothlórien theme appears again, telling us that a certain important elf queen is involved.
Slow, ominous Dies Irae music appears more than once, along with creeping Mordor Orc music and a slow version of the Barad-dûr theme.
Like the "Council of Elrond" in FOTR, this must be a lengthy talking scene. The whole history of Middle Earth will likely hinge on what is discussed here -and what is decided.
18) Over Hill (3:44)
Starts with muted Misty Mountain heroic and Erebor themes, then Lothlórien, then the Shire.
As the party sets out from Rivendell, we hear the full flowering of the heroic theme as in the original Hobbit trailer from December 2011. I can expect to see some incredibly awesome mountain vistas here, just like in FOTR.
19) A Thunder Battle (3:55)
I almost felt like hiding under my bed to escape from the lightning, the rain and the stone-giants. Or maybe I'll just take refuge in this harmless-looking cave right around the corner ....
20) Under Hill (1:55)
This is pounding Orc music in 5/4 rhythm. Our friends are taking an unexpected detour.
21) Riddles in the Dark (5:21)
"What has it got in its pocketses, Precious?"
One key musical cue in this track is "The History of the Ring", which tells us that Bilbo has just found something momentous on the floor of a cave. This innocent happenstance will eventually Change Everything.
Then we hear some familiar jittery, twisted hammer dulcimer music as Bilbo finds himself conversing with a strange creature with a penchant for talking to itself.
The wistful Sméagol theme also puts in an appearance.
22) Brass Buttons (7:38)
Bilbo has to squeeze through a tight doorway, and totally trashes his waistcoat.
More jittery music, and more hints of "The History of the Ring", as Bilbo tries to outfox his new nemesis. Then we hear another dark Polynesian chorus as Bilbo finds a much bigger set of obstacles between himself and daylight.
Later, we hear a bit of Sméagol and then the Dwarf theme.
23) Out of the Frying Pan (5:55)
More of that brazen Orc music and Polynesian chorus. Our friends have really got themselves in a tight spot, as this first Hobbit movie draws towards its finale.
And then we get just a hint of the Nature theme -a boys' chorus -associated in LOTR with Ents, the Riders of Rohan and giant eagles. Is someone coming to the rescue? The music turns more hopeful.
24) A Good Omen (5:47)
Starts with very happy music with another boys' chorus. It gives me the sense of flying, with the potential for more awesome aerial vistas.
The music ends with a sense of dread. This adventure is far from over.
25) Song of the Lonely Mountain (4:10)
This is another version of the Dwarven chorus in Track 5, this time sung by New Zealand artist Neil Finn and his two sons, and featuring anvils as percussion. I believe it covers the start of the movie's end credits.
I've heard this one a few times so far, and have trouble getting it out of my head. It's not at all like "May it Be", "Gollum's Song" and "Into the West" in the LOTR trilogy, but it works.
26) Dreaming of Bag End (1:49)
Hobbity music as the title might suggest. I would guess this covers the remainder of the end credits. I'm one of those people who will sit through it all, just to soak in the music.
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To me, movie epics like "Star Wars", "The Lord of the Rings" and, now, "The Hobbit" are like giant music videos. I love the way composers like John Williams and Howard Shore weave tapestries of music from basic themes, representing various characters and organizations or even whole civilizations. Howard Shore certainly hasn't lost his touch.
Shore reuses musical themes where it is appropriate, and comes up with new themes as needed. We can expect more of the latter as the trilogy unfolds, and new lands and peoples come into play.
If this music is any indication, I feel pretty good about the movie. There ought to be plenty of drama. And I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment in December 2013.
Buy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Special Edition] Now
Like so many of you, I have been fascinated by J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth for decades and was thrilled when my prepaid download of the soundtrack began this evening. Thankfully, Howard Shore has once again proven himself more than equal to the task of bringing these marvelous tales to life. Having just re-read the Hobbit, I found that I had forgotten just how much of the story is quite serious in nature. The film score brilliantly reflects the story arc with some light-hearted moments as in "Blunt the Knives" (a sprightly, Celtic sounding track featuring the dwarves) but quickly takes on the more majestic scope of Tolkien's story as it proceeds. As with Lord of the Rings, Shore presents a full offering of beautiful instrumental pieces, haunting choral pieces, and stirring adventure-themed arrangements of daring and foreboding.
Some themes such as "The Hidden Valley" and "The White Council" are very reminiscent of the Rivendell pieces from LOTR. We book lovers especially appreciate how brilliantly Howard Shore has captured the *feel* of Tolkien's work and brought it to life. The dwarves' rendition of Misty Mountains is most interesting -deep voices joined in melancholy song. This is one of my favorite tracks and one which is intertwined very effectively throughout the rest of the soundtrack, much in the vein of the Fellowship theme in the Lord of the Rings movies. And of course, the Gollum and Bilbo scenes are brought to menacing life in "Riddles in the Dark". The music is just what you would expect of a scene like this.
This is one for the ages -brilliant soundtrack and one I expect to listen to over and over again.
Read Best Reviews of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Special Edition] Here
They say you can never go home again, but that's not true for Howard Shore, the multi-award winning Canadian composer of the music for The Lord of the Rings. Prior to the release of the first LOTR film, The Fellowship of the Ring, in 2001, Shore was a respected but generally little-known composer, best known for writing a series of dark, brooding scores for director David Cronenberg, and thrillers like Seven and The Silence of the Lambs. Even when he was first announced as the composer for Fellowship, many commentators questioned whether Shore had the thematic strength to write the broad and expansive music the films required. Fast forward a decade, and Shore is a three-time Oscar winner and international film music superstar, with impressive album sales, sold-out concerts, and massive critical acclaim. When director Peter Jackson announced that he was making a new Middle Earth trilogy based on JRR Tolkien's book The Hobbit, it was never a question of whether Howard Shore would return to score the films, but whether the music would stand up to the massive hype and sense of expectation that inevitably came with it's release. For better or worse, the Lord of the Rings scores have become some of the best-loved of the new millennium, and for many fans whose first experience of film music came through those films and Shore's now-iconic themes, there was bound to be an unimaginable sense of anticipation. So does The Hobbit continue the trend of excellent music in Middle Earth? The answer is yes and no, but not for reasons you might think.
The Hobbit takes place 60 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, and essentially tells the story of how Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire, came to be in possession of the One Ring which acted as the catalyst for the action of that trilogy. Jackson has split the book into three films, with this first installment, subtitled `An Unexpected Journey' being followed by Part 2, The Desolation of Smaug, in 2013, and the final part, There And Back Again, in 2014. The plot concerns Bilbo (Martin Freeman) being visited in his home by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and effectively coerced into accompanying Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and a company of 12 dwarves on a dangerous journey across the wilds of Middle Earth, towards Erebor, the ancient home of the dwarf lords. Generations before, Erebor was overrun by a vicious dragon named Smaug, who claimed the city's vast treasures of gold and left the dwarves essentially homeless. Thorin, for his part, has resolved to kill Smaug and restore the dwarves to their rightful home. Along the way, Bilbo and company visit Rivendell, the home of the elf king Elrond, are menaced by trolls and goblins and an especially nasty tribe of vengeful orcs, and encounter a curious creature named Gollum (Andy Serkis) deep beneath the Misty Mountains, from whom Bilbo acquires a mysterious golden ring. Not only that, but the company begin to realize that a darker power is emerging in the form of a nameless necromancer, whose shadowy presence begins to affect everything in Middle Earth...
The issue of the score is complicated, because the score you hear on CD and the score you hear in the film are markedly different. For issues that can only relate to last-minute editing, there are scenes in the film which contain leitmotivic thematic statements that are wildly at odds with what's going on on-screen, while significant portions of the music heard on the soundtrack album do not feature in the film at all. It's frustrating, because Shore spent so much time in Lord of the Rings carefully crafting an elaborate musical tapestry of interlinking ideas that connect characters, locations and concepts so specifically, that when (for example) you hear the Nazgûl theme from Fellowship in a climactic scene in The Hobbit that has absolutely nothing to do with the Nazgûl, it sort of destroys the point of Shore taking so much care and attention to the structure of the music the way he did. This is one of several examples the clear-eared will be able to notice during the film, and to be perfectly frank it spoils the effect a little. The majority of casual listeners and cinema-goers will not notice, or care, but for those of us who do it makes it an exasperating experience.
On CD, however, the score really shines. As one would expect, An Unexpected Journey inhabits exactly the same sonic world as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with a full symphony orchestra augmented by various instrumental soloists, unusual percussion items, and vocalists carrying a vast array of interwoven thematic ideas, new and old. A great deal of the score is familiar and comfortable, with multiple performances of multiple themes Shore originally wrote for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, although Shore does take care not to simply re-state themes verbatim, instead hinting at them, re-orchestrating them, or playing around with different tempos and counterpoints.
The idyllic Irish-inflected themes for The Shire appear in much of the score's opening, notably in "My Dear Frodo" and "Old Friends", and there is a rambunctious re-worked version later in "The Adventure Begins" that echoes the "Shortcut to Mushrooms" sequence from Fellowship, where Frodo and company's adventure also began. The mystical theme for the elves of Rivendell, complete with angelic voices and harp glissandi, appears in a beautifully lush setting during "The Hidden Valley", and is joined by Galadriel's elegant theme in the low-key but complex "White Council" sequence listen for the almost subliminal single performance of the brass line of the Isengard motif at 2:15 when Saruman makes his presence felt! A soft woodwind performance of the "In Dreams" melody from Fellowship appears during the first half of "Over Hill", and there's even a quick blast of the Lothlorien motif on low brass towards the end of "Warg-Scouts", before the familiar snake-like theme for the One Ring makes a cameo appearance during "Riddles in the Dark", illustrating to the audience it's malevolent influence over the pathetic life of Gollum.
The enormous Gothic outbursts of orchestral and choral power that accompanied many of Lord of the Rings's battle scenes are also very much in evidence here, from the Erebor flashback sequence in the second half of "My Dear Frodo" which has more than a hint of "The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm" to it to the overwhelmingly dark "An Ancient Enemy", the loping and muscular "Warg-Scouts", the dramatic "A Thunder Battle", "Under Hill", and the enormously exciting conclusive trio, "Brass Buttons", "Out of the Frying Pan" and "A Good Omen". Shore regularly goes all-out in these battle sequences, pitting beds of screaming brasses and dissonant string phrases against relentless, pounding percussion rhythms; "Out of the Frying Pan" stands out especially for its astonishingly complicated and ferocious trombone parts, and its soaring performance of Thorin's theme in its most heroic setting yet.
Shore also has fun in setting up what you think is going to be a performance of an existing theme, playing maybe the first three or four notes, or a familiar chord progression, before taking it off into a totally different direction. "The Hill of Sorcery", for example, threatens to head off into a rendition of "The Breaking of the Fellowship" at one point, and I lost count of the amount of times this happened elsewhere, but it's all very much in keeping with a great deal of the film itself, foreshadowing themes, characters and events from later in the overarching story's timeline.
The score's main new theme is the Misty Mountains theme, representing the heroism of the dwarves although, ironically, the theme was not written by Shore, but by David Donaldson, David Long, Steve Roche and Janet Roddick, who have worked together as composers and songwriters in the Wellington, New Zealand music scene for over 25 years under the collective title Plan 9. The theme's first appearance is as an acappella song sung with hymn-like solemnity by actor Richard Armitage and the cast of dwarves in "Misty Mountains", before becoming an orchestral leitmotif for the dwarves in the underscore proper. In the film the fanfare version of the theme appears at several opportune moments, usually when Shore wants to capture the nobility and bravery of the dwarves in action, but on CD the appearances are more frugal: it appears in its full form in just three cues "The World Ahead", "Roast Mutton" and "Over Hill" with "Roast Mutton" placing it into an action setting with a flurry of accompanying brass as our heroes attack the aforementioned gastronomic trolls, and "Over Hill" providing the most majestic performance, complete with accompanying brass triplets and a broad, spectacular mountain vistas on-screen.
Several other new themes are worth noting. "Radagast the Brown" has a frenetic, tempestuous theme that captures his scatterbrained and slightly dotty demeanor with high strings, ticking percussion and a children's choir, but it hints at the strength of his wizarding power underneath it all during its second major appearance in "The Hill of Sorcery". A secondary, more thoughtful and restrained brass theme for Thorin Oakenshield appears in "Axe or Sword?", an ascending scale which becomes a recurring element as the score progresses and the weight of Erebor's history and the enormity of the task begins to take its toll on the dwarf's psyche. There's a playful new theme for Gandalf's mischievousness which appears in both "Old Friends" and "An Unexpected Party", which sounds like a refugee from Shore's Oscar-nominated score for Hugo, all stuttering phrases and fluttery pizzicato effects. Conversely, there is a much more brutal motif for the film's main antagonist, Azog the Pale Orc, which gets its most prominent performance in the vicious-sounding "The Defiler", during which the brass section plays evil-sounding chords at the lowest possible reaches of their register. There are more fleeting, more elusive thematic markers for the dragon Smaug, and the mysterious Necromancer, but their musical identities will surely be explored further in the next two films.
The score concludes with a performance of "Song of the Lonely Mountain", an updated and re-jigged version of the Misty Mountains theme performed by Neil Finn of the New Zealand rock band Crowded House. The new age vocals of Enya, Emiliana Torrini's insidiously emotional Gollum song, and even Annie Lennox's "Into the West" all contributed positively to the Lord of the Rings trilogy's end credits sequences, but Finn's contribution here is massively out of place. With it's grating "ay-yi-yi-yi-" chant, hand claps, and pseudo-rock guitars, it feels about as far from Middle Earth, musically, as it's possible to be, and single-handedly knocks a half star off the rating of the album as a whole. It's the musical low point of the entire franchise to date.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, the music for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is slightly frustrating, and likely to be divisive, with those who loved the music in the film wondering where all the grand performances of the Misty Mountains theme are, and those who loved the music on CD first wondering where all the new themes are in the film. In the end, I have to review the CD as a standalone product, and on those terms the score is a surefire success. The score for An Unexpected Journey fits confidently within the pantheon of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings universe, regularly alluding to the existing themes, manipulating them once in a while to keep them fresh and interesting, and blending them seamlessly with the half dozen or so new musical identities specific to this film. Anyone who enjoyed the music of original Lord of the Rings trilogy will find a great deal to their liking here too, as its layers, depths and complexities reveal themselves more and more with repeated listens.
Note: This review concentrates mainly on the `standard' 2-CD set of the score, but mention should also be made of the special edition expanded version, which contains an additional half an hour of music, and features extended and in some cases alternate versions of "Old Friends", "An Unexpected Party", "Radagast the Brown", "Roast Mutton", "Moon Runes" and "The White Council", and a new dwarfish drinking song entitled "Blunt the Knives", as well as four bonus cues: "A Very Respectable Hobbit", "Erebor", "The Dwarf Lords" and "The Edge of the Wild".
Want The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Special Edition] Discount?
I'm very sorry to disagree with so many others, but I have to say that as a longtime fan of both Peter Jackson and Howard Shore I found this soundtrack very disappointing.
Unlike the 2-disc soundtracks released with the Lord of the Rings series (which are now almost impossible to find for under a small fortune), this set IS NOT the film score! It is a collection of songs that feels like a slightlyextended basic soundtrack, along with a few tracks added which we never heard in the film (Previews for the next film, I suppose? What will go on that album then?).
The way the music is arranged, you never really have that sustained feeling of majesty that the other soundtracks achieved. Instead, you're constantly jerked around between music that is too quiet, then too bombastically loud, then on occasion showing a little of that glory you know it is capable of.
Cosmetically speaking, the case is disgraceful considering how much it costs compared to the "basic" soundtrack. It's overpriced cardboard with a bunch of silly iphone app features printed into it, a book about the album mostly dominated by pictures, and slots that barely hold your CDs in place. Yes, I'm sure it's cheaper for the record company and better for the environment, but it doesn't provide much protection for your discs at all!
All negativity aside, there are a few absolute gems in this set, including recordings of "Blunt the Knives" and "Misty Mounstains", though I am disappointed that these were not recorded longer for the album. Would it really have been that difficult to ask Mr. Armitage to sing the entire song, or at least more than a minute's worth of it for the fans who shelled out the money for this?
A few of the instrumental songs are glorious, showing the genius that made Howard Shore famous, and "Song of the Misty Mountain" is a wonderful piece.
If I could do it again, I would probably go online and listen to different songs on the soundtrack, find the best tracks, then just download those ones.
A decent effort, but certainly nowhere near as good as it could have been.
I have been a subscriber to TIME for over 15 years and before that a reader of my parents' subscription. It pains me to say that this magazine has forgotten what it is about. Frankly, the only issues worth their salt are those resulting from a major world event such as a natural disaster or a terror attack; such events seem to energize an otherwise listless staff of seemingly bored editors and newswriters.
