Don’t Panic!

The site is changing, and it will keep on changing a bit over the next few days while I attempt to fix the bugs

Soundtrack Geek Is Changing - Part 1

So how was the summer? Hope you all got some good rest and plenty of soundtracks of course. I’ve had an amazing 5 weeks in sunny Indonesia with my wife. Did I mention I got married? August 8^th was the big day and it was truly the best day of my life. I saw 2 movies, one that sucked and on that didn’t. The movies were X-Files and The Dark Knight. Guess which one sucked and which one was excellent? I won’t bore you with the answer.

I got a new laptop yesterday, I’m very excited about that. My old trusted 3 year old Acer Aspire 1524WLMi has been replaced by a brand new Acer Aspire 5920G. You have no idea how many times the old laptop has crashed or kept me from posting on Soundtrackgeek. It certainly felt good to have a working powerful laptop once again. So now you know what I use to make Soundtrackgeek. All you need is a computer and an internet connection.

Let’s talk about change. We all go through changes in life, some for the worse, some for the better, but life is never stagnant, even though it might seem like it sometimes. Soundtrackgeek.com has been the same since it all began in December of 2007. The first thing I want to change is the design and I am hoping it will be ready this week. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what I have in store. The new design is better looking and more functional, it’s really pleasant to use. I will also introduce more pages like an about page, contact page and a subscribe page. You will be able to rate the posts I make and I will introduce a slightly different colour scheme. The font is better, and it’s easier to read, and lots more. I hope you will like the first part of the changes I intend to implement.

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes by George Bernard Shaw:

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

Soundtrack Review: Conan The Barbarian (1992)

This is a review of the motion picture score for Conan The Barbarian by Basil Poledouris.

“What is so remarkable about this score is that it sounds so modern. After all it was recorded in 1982, but the cues here could easily have been used in the fantasy movies made today”

Since I did a review on the game Age Of Conan, I had to listen to the original Conan scores and I decided to write a review of the score to the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian by the late but great Basil Poledouris. Basil Poledouris was a true believer in grand orchestras and scores, and had he been alive today, he would be a very original composer since everything is so “digital” these days. Basil Poledouris is one of the few composers who doesn’t alienate the new breed of movie score fans. Just listen to a few of his scores and you’ll know what I mean. It doesn’t sound “old”, but rather a mix of the way it used to be and the way it is now. This is the track list for Conan the Barbarian:

Track List

1. Anvil Of Crom
2. Riddle Of Steel, Riders Of Doom
3. Gift Of Fury
4. Wheel Of Pain
5. Atlantean Sword
6. Theology, Civilization
7. Wifeing
8. The Leaving, The Search
9. Mountain Of Power Procession
10. The Tree Of Woe
11. Recovery
12. The Kitchen, The Orgy
13. Funeral Pyre
14. Battle Of The Mounds
15. The Death Of Rexor
16. Orphans Of Doom, The Awakening

Modern Sounding

There are 16 tracks in all in this 1992 recording and a total play time of 1:08:47. The original 1982 recording had only 12 tracks in comparison. It’s the time of high adventure as the narrator says in the intro of track one, and I couldn’t have said it better myself. This movie is fun and adventurous and so is the score by Basil Poledouris. What is so remarkable about this score is that it sounds so modern. After all it was recorded in 1982, but the cues here could easily have been used in the fantasy movies made today. I’m sure Howard Shore stole a little from this score as well as Harry Gregson-Williams for his Narnia scores.

A Little Something For Everyone

It isn’t a heavy score which you might think it is judging by the movie. It’s mostly very light sounding, but I have to say it does have it’s heavy moments. It’s really beautifully orchestrated and it fits perfectly with the movie. One of the best tracks on this soundtrack is Wifeing, which is the love theme of Conan The Barbarian. I hope many people have listened to this. Even if you are a Hans Zimmer or Trevor Rabin fan, I’m sure you will enjoy this score. It has everything a good fantasy score needs. I still can’t believe it’s from 1982. Saying that, it’s still a couple of notches behind the Lord of the Rings scores by Howard Shore, but I’m sure if they had made a third Conan movie and Basil Poledouris had made the score, it would have been pretty awesome. Basil Poledouris also composed for the sequel Conan The Destroyer in 1984, which is also a great score, so if you like this one, go thet Conan The Destroyer as well. Listen to Conan The Barbarian by Basil Poledouris below:

Soundtrack Review: Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (2008)

This is a review of the video game soundtrack for Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures by Knut Avenstroup Haugen.

“Once I started listening to it, I could hear the Norwegian influences in there and it’s perfect for the world of Conan”

Ok, so I found out that reviewing game scores was a lot of fun. This is officially the second game music soundtrack I review here on soundtrackgeek.com. This is also an interesting one for me in particular, because I am Norwegian and this game is made by Norwegian game company Funcom. I know someone who used to work there as well a long time ago. Fun times, anyway, this of course the massive multiplayer online roleplaying game Age Of Conan which hopefully should be a great success. It is composed by fellow Norwegian Knut Avenstroup Haugen, a name to watch out for! I found an interview with him done by Ten Ton Hammer here. This is the track list for Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures:

Track List

1. Ere The World Crumbles
2. Tortage Beach
3. The Damp Barachan Nights
4. Hyborian Adventures
5. Cimmerian Welcome
6. The Eiglophian Monuntains
7. The Vista From Mount Crom
8. The Lure Of Atali
9. Phalanx Of Conquest
10. Field Of The Dead
11. Echoes Of Atlantis
12. Hamlets Of Aquilonia
13. Royal City
14. Hymn For King Conan
15. Awash In The Golden Fields Of Poitain
16. Mitra
17. Portal To Stygia
18. Sunrise In Khopshef Province
19. The Purple Lotus Swamp
20. City Of Mages
21. Final Memory
22. Stygia
23. Cimmeria
24. Aquilonia
25. Memories Of Cimmeria

Isolation And Solitude

It is filled to the brim with 25 tracks and a total play time of 1 hour 12 minutes. Of course this game is massive, so they have to have a lot of music in it. Once I started listening to it, I could hear the Norwegian influences in there and it’s perfect for the world of Conan. Sometimes I forget that Conan isn’t Norwegian, but he might as well be. Basil Poledouris made the score for the original Conan movies over 20 years ago, but that sound wouldn’t be appropriate in 2008 for a game like this. The instruments used in this score have a very old melodic sound to them and there’s a girl singing on quite a few of these tracks, but it isn’t disruptive at all, in fact very fitting to the overall sound of this soundtrack. I wonder if Hyboria is a lonely world because when I listen to this soundtrack I get a feeling of loneliness. That’s the word I would associate with this score, either that or perhaps isolation or solitude, but it isn’t a bad thing. There are a few battle tracks as well, but mostly the music sounds tranquil and nice. Maybe a few more battle songs would be nice, but overall it is a very good effort by Knut Avenstroup Haugen, who I’m sure we will hear more from in the next few years. He makes me proud to be Norwegian. Listen to Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures by Knut Avenstroup Haugen below:

Soundtrack Review: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots (2008)

This is a review of the video game soundtrack for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots by Harry Gregson-Williams & Nobuko Toda.

“Don’t expect old fashioned orchestras and grand themes, it is more like a rough modern action score”

Welcome to the first ever game music score review at soundtrackgeek.com. I have been thinking about it ever since I wrote an article back in December last year about the possibility of 2008 being the year for game scores. It’s been a long time coming and I wanted to expand a little bit. Now it doesn’t mean I will review every game score coming out, but a few select ones and first out is the MGS 4 score by none other than Harry Gregson-Williams & Nobuko Toda. Gregson-Williams needs no introduction, but I bet Nobuko Toda isn’t a familiar name for many people. I had to dig a little myself, but the only thing I could find out about him is that he is Japanese and has composed for the Metal Gear Solid games. If anyone can fill in the blanks, that would be great. There are also tracks from Jackie Presti, Lisbeth Scott, Norihiko Hibino, Takahiro Izutani and Yoshitaka Suzuki. This is the track list for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots:

Track List

CD1:

1. Old Snake
2. Love Theme
3. Gekko
4. Haven Troopers
5. Bb Corps
6. Drebin 893
7. Vista Mansion
8. Laughing Octopus
9. Breakthrough
10. Endless Pain
11. White Blood
12. Call Me Hal
13. Midnight Shadow
14. Paradise Lost
15. Great Escape
16. Desperate Chase
17. Raging Raven
18. Confrontation
19. Mobs Alive
20. Violent Cease Fire

CD2:

1. Next-Gen Control
2. Crying Wolf
3. One More Reboot
4. Sin
5. Atonement
6. Infinite Loop
7. Everything Ends
8. At Dawn
9. Screaming Mantis
10. Guns Of The Patriots
11. No Place To Hide
12. Sorrow
13. Full Circle
14. Everything Begins
15. Father & Son
16. Metal Gear Saga
17. Here’s To You
18. War Zone
19. A Rebellion Rests
20. The Hunter
21. The Hunted
22. Forced Hand
23. Under Curfew
24. Unmanned Army
25. Cold Memories
26. For Liberty
27. Surrounded

Fast, Modern & Militant

There certainly is a lot of music on this score, most of it from Nobuko Toda (25 tracks) and 14 tracks are from Harry Gregson-Williams. The total play time is 2 hours 20 minutes. This soundtrack compelled me to write a review because I don’t listen to many scores and when I do, I am mostly disappointed. This was not the case here, and when they release something with Harry Gregson-Williams I have to listen. It is a very militant score and the first track by Harry Gregson-Williams reminds me a little of The Rock which is funny since he was one of the composers on that score. It’s definitely not many sleeper tracks on this album as it’s fast paced and very modern. Don’t expect old fashioned orchestras and grand themes, it is more like a rough modern action score. It sounds much more like a soundtrack from a motion picture than a game, not that there are two many differences these days, but game scores have a tendency to sound a little light.

Hard To Get

Harry Gregson-Williams contribution to this score is great and it is for me the best part of the MGS 4 score. Nobuko Toda does a great job as well, and although it’s different from Harry Gregson-Williams, it is composed in the same style. He shows much promise and I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to score for movies in the near future. Another thing I have to mention is Jackie Presti which could well be Lisa Gerrard’s understudy with her deep soothing voice. I highly recommend this score, which unfortunately might be hard to get outside of Japan. It was in iTunes, but then it was removed. It is out there however and was officially released on May 28^th by Konami. If you like Harry Gregson-Williams action scores, then you’ll love this one. Listen to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots by Harry Gregson-Williasm & Nobuko Toda below:

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