Record Label: Reprise
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*SPOILERS* For me, this score is far, the best I’ve heard in YEARS! Yeah Hans Zimmer, and John Williams scores are great but Howard Shore really came through, and then some. If there is a CD I’ve been listening to everyday, and I mean everyday, is this one. There isn’t a main title on this disc but there are many themes throughout the whole score. The Cd starts off with the “The Prophecy” and that’s from the prologue of the movie when we see the last alliance against Sauron. What I love about this score is the choral stuff in it. I love choral stuff in film scores. What makes it really cool is that they are singing in elvish, dwarvish and some other languages Tolkien created. The second track, “Concerning Hobbits” is one of my favorites on the CD because it has that celtic old folk sound to it. It’s very similar to songs in Braveheart, Far and Away and other Celtic theme scores. It’s just a peaceful, delightful song to hear and you can just see the Shire in your mind when you hear it. As the disc plays on, you hear tremendous songs like “The Shadow Of the Past,” and “The Treason of Isengard.” “The Shadow Of the Past” is a song that features Mordor’s theme and then you’re introduced to the Black Rider’s theme which is just plain creepy. The chanting in it gives me the goosebumps. “A Knife In The Dark” is the part when the hobbits get attacked at Weathertop, and then the song goes into the part with Gandalf is imprisoned in Orthanc. I never heard of Enya before this CD but she really has a beautiful voice and it definitely fits in with the score and the movie. You start to hear one of her songs at the beginning of “The Council Of Elrond.” It’s the love theme to Arwen and Aragorn. The theme to the Fellowship Of The Ring isn’t heard until towards the end of the “Council Of Elrond” when the fellowship is formed. “The Bridge Of Khazad Dum” features dwarvish chants and it’s just as creepy as the black rider’s theme. Just imagine hearing this while watching the movie, in surround sound. WOW! The part at the end of this song is really sad and if you see the movie you will know why. Even the songs bring a tear to my eye for some of them. “The Breaking OF the Fellowship” is a 7 minute song that features a lot of themes throughout the whole soundtrack. Then it goes into a little boy singing and it’s just depressing as hell. It’s really good though.That part of the song is not in the movie but if it was, I would have been getting choked up because I’m a wuss. The last song is a song Enya called “May It Be” and it’s decent enough to be on the album. I’m glad it wasn’t featured in the movie, but at the end credits, which is okay. If you loved the movie, love film scores, and classical music; this is the album to definitely get. You will listen to it at least every other day. Film Score of The Year!

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