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 My old trusted 3 year old Acer Aspire 1524WLMi has been replaced by a brand new Acer Aspire 5920G.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.”

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: