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| Shore |
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: (Howard
Shore) History will not look back at Peter Jackson's treatment of J.R.R.
Tolkien's classic "The Hobbit" with any more respect or admiration than
what existed in the muted response to its debut in the early 2010's. The
affection, acclaim, and goodwill extended in perpetuity to Jackson's
The Lord of the Rings trilogy was perhaps never destined to
continue with his bloated adaptation of "The Hobbit" a decade later, the
director's choice to mangle the narrative in an effort to extend the
story over three films a fatal blow to its opportunity to reach the same
pinnacle. Audiences indulged themselves with the three
The Hobbit
films between 2012 and 2014 anyway, making the trilogy a continued
fiscal success, but little of the same critical praise persisted by the
end of the three films dedicated to
The Hobbit, that scant flurry
of residual affirmation typically manifested in nostalgic references to
the art direction, visual effects, characters, and music that carried
over from
The Lord of the Rings. The last of these films based
upon
The Hobbit stormed through the holiday season of 2014 with
over $800 million in grosses to show for itself, but few viewers could
honestly say that the culmination of this Tolkien story could compete
emotionally with the impact of
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the
King in 2003. Jackson's finale this time consists of the portions of
"The Hobbit" dealing with the defeat of the dragon, Smaug, and the
conflict between the armies of orcs, dwarves, men, and elves (and a few
singular contributors, including the titular hobbit) as they posture
themselves for control over treasure and territory before the dark days
that lie ahead in the tale of
The Lord of the Rings. The
interracial warfare resolves itself through seemingly endless battle
scenes and a touch of cheap, slow motion, gravity defying fighting style
that takes this story a bit too close to
The Matrix for comfort.
Nevertheless, the table is set for
The Lord of the Rings by the
conclusion of
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the
entire flashback of this trilogy neatly resolved and set to lead
directly into the next narrative.
The music for this series of
The Hobbit films has
taken listeners on a wistful but elusive journey back to the glory of
The Lord of the Rings, Howard Shore's three new scores
constructed with the same structural and instrumental elements and
performed with a similar vocabulary and voice. For many, the music of
The Hobbit has presented itself like one massive "bonus feature"
related to
The Lord of the Rings, a collective work never meant
to compete with the unquestionable classic status of the original but
still entertaining in its offshoots from those origins. Just as it is
pleasing to see Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, and especially Christopher Lee
alive and well enough to perform in this trilogy, it's equally
satisfying to hear Shore continue with this franchise regardless of the
quality. The same sentiment was expressed regarding John Williams and
the
Star Wars prequel scores that debuted from 1999 to 2005 (not
to mention his work on the final trilogy in the 2010's), and there
remain interesting parallels between the prequels in both these George
Lucas and J.R.R. Tolkien universes. More about such observations will
conclude this review, but it suffices to say that listeners may very
well react to the scores of
The Hobbit the same way they
interpreted the
Star Wars prequel scores, causing the perception
of the quality of the newer entries to diminish as a result of
expectations and fatigue. By the release of
The Hobbit: The Battle of
the Five Armies, it has become clear that the universe was not
aligned to allow Shore's prequel scores to compete with the preceding
classics, and the vaunted status of
The Lord of the Rings all but
ensured that outcome. But also at play is a sense of fatigue with these
scores for
The Hobbit due to their rapid succession. Whereas the
Star Wars prequels were offered up at three-year intervals,
Jackson pushed out his films based upon
The Hobbit in three
consecutive years, leaving
The Battle of the Five Armies at a
disadvantage for fatigued listeners not ready to truly appreciate each
of these prequel entries as any kind of singular event. The passage of
time, along with thousands of lesser new film scores by comparison, will
inevitably elevate the status of these prequel works given the
likeliness of renewed perspective.
Before launching into a direct analysis of the score for
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, there are a few
disclaimers that have to be made, because these issues have a
significant impact on any review of Shore's music. First, obviously, is
the fact that the initial iteration of this review takes into account
only a portion of the score. The totality of brilliance in the music for
The Lord of the Rings only became apparent upon the release of
the complete recordings (which, of course, were not truly complete), and
the same is true of
The Hobbit. Whether you choose the regular or
special edition of the original album presentations of
The Battle of
the Five Armies, you will encounter tasteful but unsatisfying edits
of longer cues into shorter tracks. Another general disadvantage you
have with the music of
The Hobbit is the seeming change of
direction that took place with the strategy of the scores after
An
Unexpected Journey. Whereas that first score in this prequel series
retained more of the long-lined thematic tendencies of
The Lord of
the Rings, Jackson butchered that recording in the final edit of the
film, diminishing Shore's narrative technique. Possibly as a result,
Shore seems to have abandoned that prior inclination towards longer
statements of theme and has taken the "attention deficit disorder" route
instead, unfortunately yielding scores for
The Desolation of
Smaug and, to a lesser extent,
The Battle of the Five Armies
that fail to satisfy with their development of the melodic foundations
due to hasty entrances and exits for each theme. There is no doubt that
these six scores in sum strive to set the bar for leitmotific
excellence, and blame has to be placed on Jackson for steering Shore
away from a proper execution of that technique over the course of
The
Hobbit. On top of those two issues, you also have the simple
mathematical logic that, by the time of
The Battle of the Five
Armies, indicates that Shore had between 25 and 30 new themes in the
trilogy of
The Hobbit to utilize, not to mention the multitudes
of those from
The Lord of the Rings that remained applicable to
characters and settings. Part of the "leitmotific attention deficit
disorder" owes to this oddly intriguing problem. Read the following
review with these disadvantages in mind and, where necessary, do try to
cut Shore some slack in how you respond to his tackling of this final
Middle Earth assignment.
For Shore, much appreciation must be expressed for his
continued participation and vigor in this franchise at all. While Shore
isn't in his 90's like Christopher Lee, the demands placed upon any
composer in his late 60's by this franchise are not to be easily
dismissed. Some listeners have taken note that there may some diminished
accomplishment to the music after Shore ceded conducting and
orchestration duties to veteran collaborator Conrad Pope, though there
is nothing tangibly noticeable about the scores that can point directly
at Pope's increased involvement being a detriment. The general
complexity of the composition is what matters the most in this
franchise, and here Shore continues to excel. There is truly nothing in
film music during this era that can compete with the motific tapestry
and the execution of those ideas in this franchise. There may be several
faults worth mentioning about
The Battle of the Five Armies, and
these are illuminated by this review, but the lack of adherence to the
superior quality of manipulation of the musical language in this score
is certainly not one of them. When listeners claim to have less of an
emotional connection to this score (and also
The Desolation of
Smaug), it's because of Shore's inability to state his ideas with
longer expressions of majesty instead. Whereas the themes in
The Lord
of the Rings, whether major or auxiliary, were offered up for
minutes at a time, largely uninterrupted,
The Hobbit doesn't
allow Shore the same luxury of time. Count this as the primary
manifestation of Jackson's "attention deficit disorder" issue. The
moments of absolute tonal grandeur in
The Battle of the Five
Armies still exist, but they last seconds rather than minutes. So
short are these sequences now that Shore doesn't even bother hauling in
an array of vocal and instrumental soloists to perform them, another
major difference between this trilogy and the one before. Also count the
sheer quantity of themes as another issue relating to the lack of
connection for some listeners. The pivotal concluding sequences in
The Battle of the Five Armies have no chance to compete favorably
with the equivalents in
The Return of the King. There is no match
for the definitive sense of release you sense at the end of "Elanor,"
for instance, as the door to
The Lord of the Rings is literally
shut. The same general narrative flow exists in
The Battle of the
Five Armies, but the touches of magnificence in each thematic
statement are sadly missing.
Instrumentally, there isn't one element you can point to
in
The Battle of the Five Armies as being a notable solo
contributor, outside of a few compartmentalized exceptions. Most
memorable is the infusion of bagpipes into the new identity for the
dwarf king Dain in "Ironfoot," arguably the highlight of this score's
recordings despite the instrument's polarizing characteristics. Also of
interest is the application of a hybrid Jerry Goldsmith/Basil Poledouris
pulse (pointing more to the latter's preferences, probably) for a
statement of the dragon sickness theme in the second minute of "Beyond
Sorrow and Grief," a surprisingly effective use of electronics owed to
its perfect placement in the mix. Otherwise, the instrumental choices in
The Battle of the Five Armies are as expected, reflecting
existing franchise norms. The themes are a different manner, for this
film represents the first time that Shore seems to repurpose a theme for
a use not originally suggested. For instance, the aforementioned dragon
sickness theme transfers from Smaug to the dwarf Thorin to represent the
larger concept of wealth obsession. Many of Shore's melodic attributions
make sense in the larger picture, but where fans will find fault is in
the absence of certain ideas where they were clearly necessary. For
instance, Shore seems to have abandoned the main idea for Bilbo from
An Unexpected Journey, a really bizarre choice given that this
trilogy called for a neatly-wrapped conveyance of Bilbo's material upon
his return home. Along that line of thinking, Shore also doesn't bring
the franchise back to the "Bilbo's Song" recording he added to
The
Return of the King. There has been speculation that the abandonment
of this newer hobbit material (in favor of the older themes) was the
preference of Jackson. The likewise abandonment of the Misty Mountains
theme from
An Unexpected Journey is also completely unacceptable
for some, especially given the over-abundance of the "Erebor" theme in
its place. This returns the discussion to the problems some listeners
will have with Shore's inability or unwillingness to adapt the song
melodies from each score in the franchise (whether he wrote them or not)
into subsequent scores. Nobody will fault him for neglecting to adapt "I
See Fire" from
The Desolation of Smaug, but the lack of continued
presence for "Song of the Lonely Mountain" and the total absence of any
foreshadowing of this score's "The Last Goodbye" in the closing score
sequences is senseless. This was one of the few lasting negative
criticisms that could be leveled at
The Lord of the Rings and
these complaints persist here with good reason.
Despite such quibbles about the absence of existing themes
in logical places in the music for
The Hobbit, Shore does
compensate nicely in several other references, some of them unexpected,
such as the brief "Mithril" reference at the start of the track of that
name in
The Battle of the Five Armies. By the end of
Return of
the King, the thematic resonance of the work was provided by the
realm of men, and in
The Battle of the Five Armies it is
dominated by the combined identities for the dwarves. The "Erebor" theme
is distinctively placed throughout the score, easy to remember because
of its three two-note rising phrases on brass. It closes out "Fire and
Water" with hesitance, gains urgency early in "Beyond Sorrow and Grief,"
and morphs into its militaristic variation at 0:40 into "The Ruins of
Dale." By the end of "The Clouds Burst" and start of "Battle for the
Mountain," the theme is in full war mode, only to retreat back to a
contemplative statement in the middle of "The Darkest Hour." It does
sonic battle with the other dwarf themes in "Sons of Durin" as its final
major contribution to the score. Those other dwarf identities reflect
some highlights of this trilogy, including the theme for Thorin that
dates back to
An Unexpected Journey. This hopeful representation
logically takes a while to get off its ass in
The Battle of the Five
Armies, hinted first at the end of "The Gathering of the Clouds" and
slightly in the middle of "Mithril" before more clearly languishing on
strings early in the third minute of "The Clouds Burst" and at the same
point in "The Darkest Hour" (with the "Erebor" theme in counterpoint
nicely). That trend continues in its pervasive role in
"Dragon-sickness." It's in "Sons of Durin" that this idea for Thorin
finally reaches it potential, several major statements ready to impress,
and the several solemn references thereafter accompany the character's
coming to peace. The Durin theme follows the same general ascent in the
score, also ascending but with more majesty. Heard first at the outset
of "Beyond Sorrow and Grief," you also hear this theme intermingled with
the "Erebor" idea. Hints of this theme late in "The Gathering of the
Clouds" foreshadow the full, puffing choral rendition late in "Mithril"
before the idea returns to the shadows several times in "Bred For War"
and "A Thief in the Night." Like the idea for Thorin, the Durin identity
culminates in massive sonic battle in "Sons of Durin" with very
satisfying results. The thunder is stolen from all of these other dwarf
themes by Shore's most major new identity for
The Battle of the Five
Armies, however, the aforementioned bombast for Dain "Ironfoot" that
receives precious little air time in the score and film.
Listeners enamored with the presentation of the new Dain
theme in "Ironfoot" are really only treated to the theme two or three
times in the movie, first in the cue as he arrives at the Lonely
Mountain and again with rousing rhythmic force in the first half of
"Battle for the Mountain." The martial performance of this identity
starting at about the 1:00 minute mark in "Battle for the Mountain" is a
highlight of the entire score, gaining light choral accompaniment and
maintaining rhythms and trumpet counterpoint reminiscent of some of the
swashbuckling identities from
The Lord of the Rings. Competing
with the dwarves' material in your memory will be the continued presence
of the three themes originally associated with Smaug the dragon. As
already mentioned, the dragon sickness rhythmic motif that pulsates
hypnotically between two notes is revealed to be more of a motif for the
obsession with wealth, and although it is omnipresent in the
Smaug-related scenes in the first half of
The Battle of the Five
Armies ("Fire and Water," "Beyond Sorrow and Grief"), it transfers
over to the scenes of Thorin's despair later in the work ("Mithril,"
"The Clouds Burst"). Smaug's material is truly remarkable, albeit at
times unlistenable, in "Fire and Water," creative percussive
accompaniment key to the abrasive nature of this sequence. Both the
primary and secondary phrases of Smaug's theme are used extensively by
Shore, sometimes overlapping. From 3:50 to 5:20 in "Fire and Water," he
alternates clearly back and forth between the separate phrases. Other
villain themes include those for the nasty, ugly orcs, and expect to
hear these motifs mingling extensively with the heroes' alternatives
during their duels. The Moria orcs under Azog are the known evil
musically, though Azog's actual theme from
An Unexpected Journey
seems underplayed here aside from a rendition at 0:56 into "Bred for
War." Instead, you have a driving new identity for the orcs of Mount
Gundabad, a melody and its underlying rhythm that stew at the start of
"Bred for War" until finally being unleashed at about 2:30 into that
cue. It returns prominently at 1:08 into "Ravenhill." Shore's usual
series of paired descending thirds is frequent in this score, from the
Necromancer version in "Guardians of the Three" to the more standard
representations of evil that blast away multiple times in both "Battle
for the Mountain" and "To the Death." Other singular statements of evil
include the marching army motif from
The Lord of the Rings early
in "Ravenhill," the idea for the Warg Riders at the end of "Sons of
Durin," the Dol Goldur Army motif at 0:34 into "The Darkest Hour" and
concluding "Sons of Durin," and the trusty old Sauron motif a couple of
times in "Guardians of the Three," including one explicit outburst at
2:34.
And then you have the lighter side of
The Battle of the
Five Armies, and it's in the following themes that most listeners
will likely find their favorite brief snippets of majestic melody. The
elves feature a variety of ideas from the prior trilogy and this one,
and carrying most of the weight in this entry is the "Woodland Realm"
idea. Placed immediately on unsteady footing is this theme at the outset
of "The Gathering of Clouds," and this uneasy take on the theme extends
into several performances in "A Thief in the Night" (especially late)
and "The Clouds Burst." Less ominous are the shades presented in "The
Fallen," but the theme is in full war mode by "Ravenhill" and "To the
Death." The appealing Tauriel material in this trilogy is sadly
under-performed in length by necessity, but some of its usage here
remains a highlight. Her primary theme really makes only one complete
appearance on the initial album releases, limited to the last minute of
"Courage and Wisdom," though the secondary phrase of the theme
(punctuated by horns here for lamentation as usual for Shore) is given a
larger ensemble rendition late in "Ravenhill" as well. The first half of
"To the Death" confirms a martial variant of this theme for Legolas
himself, as the idea represents him as he battles (sonically and
literally) the orc Bolg. Even more memorable is the hapless love theme
for Tauriel and Kili, which receives a couple of lovely but very brief
choral treatments in the opening two minutes of "Shores of the Long
Lake," the latter half of "Ravenhill," and the middle of "Courage and
Wisdom." The boiling Thranduil theme from
The Desolation of Smaug
makes a few cameos, most notably in "The Gathering of Clouds" (twice in
the first half) and "Courage and Wisdom" (at 3:15). Look for a reference
to the Mirkwood theme in the middle of "The Gathering of Clouds,"
though don't expect anything particularly attractive to come from it.
The "Guardians of the Three" cue is particularly aimed at enthusiasts of
the elf-related music from
The Lord of the Rings, because it
contains multiple references to the Lothlorien theme as well as a
powerful, militarized form of the Rivendell theme at the 3:26 mark
(not to be missed), and suggestions of Galadriel's material late in the
cue. While these ideas for the elves have always remained attractive,
it's the collection of themes for the men in
The Battle of the Five
Armies that really garners the most attention, and as in
The Two
Towers and
Return of the King, these are the moments when
Shore steps up the rhythmic element a la Rohan. In fact, the steps which
Shore descends for his man-related ideas are often connected,
reinforcing his basic, species-specific tapestries. But these portions
also provide some of this score's sequences of pure bliss in choral
harmony.
Three separate themes are afforded to Bard and his
relatives in
The Battle of the Five Armies, and beyond this
evolution of ideas, Shore also builds upon the primary Lake-town theme
while giving some fleeting treatment to the Lake-town politicians'
identity from the previous film. The politicians' theme is only heard at
1:23 in "Fire and Water" and 2:58 into "Shores of the Long Lake" on the
initial albums, but the Lake-town theme proper (some refer to this as
the Esgaroth theme) is given several far more important opportunities to
shine, sometimes in conjunction with the Bard material. The town's theme
opens "The Ruins of Dale" with solo string emphasis but is bolstered by
the full ensemble in an impressive performance at 1:16 into "The
Gathering of Clouds," reprised at 2:18 into "Mithril." The last 80
seconds of "The Darkest Hour" features a few lovely, lightly choral
renditions (bracketing the secondary phrase incorporating Bard's
material) similar to the presentation at the end of "Ironfoot." That
track features a robust performance of both variants as well.
Interestingly, the clavichord-laced version of the politicians' theme for
the "Master of Lake-Town" doesn't seem to be suggested in this score despite
the character's involvement. As for the Bard-specific themes, the actual
main Bard theme from the previous film's score is heard only
occasionally because it is supplanted by a separate theme for his
heroism. His original theme is heard at 3:23 into "Fire and Water" and
briefly at the end of "Battle for the Mountain." His new leadership
motif is more prominently placed, introduced in this score at 2:05 and
3:38 into "Shores of the Long Lake" (albeit with subtlety). The idea is
developed with more volume in the midsection of "Ironfoot" (but minus
the lovely woodwind accompaniment of the prior performance). Look for a
brief reference in the middle of "Dragon-sickness" as well. Stealing the
show, however, is the new Bard family theme that consolidates its
foreshadowing in
The Desolation of Smaug. It is this theme that
brings sudden choral grace to "Fire and Water" (at 3:35) and the
brightly optimistic transition in "The Gathering of the Clouds" (at
1:07). In the midst of "Battle for the Mountain," this idea shines
throughout the fourth minute in two separate performances. After a
fragment early in "The Darkest Hour," the theme is largely absent from
the remainder of the score. Another theme that doesn't seem to have
caught the fancy of Jackson is the identity that Shore created for the
coveted Arkenstone, despite the fact that it remains a central aspect of
one of the storylines in this film. You hear its elusive melody and
wishy-washy choral tones at 1:26 into "A Thief in the Night" and twice
briefly in "Dragon-sickness," but nowhere else on the early album
releases.
Among the plethora of secondary thematic statements in
The Battle of the Five Armies, some date back to
The Lord of
the Rings while others don't. It is good to hear Shore continue his
development of the Gandalf theme, first a bit tepidly at 4:15 into
"Guardians of the Three" and then closing out "The Ruins of Dale" in a
more robust fashion. It opens "The Darkest Hour" with equal force but
returns to its docile incarnation at 2:54 into "The Return Journey." The
rousing theme for Girion makes similar occasional blips on the radar,
including at 1:52 and, with greater effect, at 3:08 into "Fire and
Water" before taking a hiatus until 2:22 into "Ironfoot." The Nature's
Reclamation theme remains a crowd favorite, and Shore always seems to be
hinting at it when suggesting a sense of optimism and larger scope (for
instance, it seems present after the Gandalf theme reference at the
start of "The Darkest Hour" and at 1:01 into "Ironfoot"). The idea does
receive one major rendition, though short, at 4:22 into "To the Death"
for choir and brass before launching into Shore's
The Hobbit
equivalent of the eagles theme from
The Lord of the Rings. Why
Shore couldn't simply re-use some semblance of the prior eagles theme is
a viable question, though this version is just as beautiful (this is its
debut on album in this trilogy) and is one of those stunning sidebars in
an otherwise pounding action cue. One of the other remarkable Shore
motifs for a concept is his "preparation for war" idea, heard on deep
brass over rousing percussion at 2:22 into "The Ruins of Dale" and again
at 2:51 into "Mithril." Fans of the
The Lord of the Rings will
catch the "fall of man" string motif in the background at 2:57 into
"Guardians of the Three," immediately following the Sauron theme
reference. The related History of the Ring theme is suggested in
counterpoint to several other themes in the second half of the score
before finally clarifying itself adeptly at 3:12 into "There and Back
Again," foretelling of another journey to come. Also serving this
purpose is the affable single-phrase reference to the Fellowship of the
Ring theme at 3:40 into "Courage and Wisdom." As nice as these themes
all are to hear in this score, however, the most attention from casual
listeners will likely be paid to the melodies for Bilbo and the Shire.
There's good reason why these themes have been saved until last in this
review; they are, more than anything else, the guideposts and bookends
of both trilogies' scores. After all else is said and done, it's the
primary theme for the Shire that will endure in the memory, if only
because it occurs at the score's most peaceful, hopeful, and optimistic
times. That remains true in
The Battle of the Five Armies, but
while these references are provided, they aren't packaged as well as
they could have been.
You still have to separate out the Bilbo and Shire
themes for the purposes of discussion here, and, as mentioned earlier,
the handling of Bilbo's identities in this trilogy has been nothing less
than awkward. With no usage of the original two themes for the character
(from the previous trilogy and this one, with the exception of some
allusion to the latter at the very end of "The Return Journey"), you
have only the secondary ideas left to persist. The character's "sneaky
theme" is applied ahead of the Arkenstone theme in "A Thief in the
Night" and at 0:37 into "There and Back Again." In the midsection of
"The Return Journey" you hear two renditions of Bilbo's adventure theme
from
An Unexpected Journey intermixed with Shire progressions.
The Shire's themes are vital to the proper conclusion of this trilogy,
and Shore only partially delivers. A solemn rendition at 1:46 into "The
Ruins of Dale" and brief snippet at 3:50 into "The Fallen" are all you
really get before Shore opens and closes the "There and Back Again" cue
with the identity. Unfortunately, there is no substance to these
performances, nor is there any remaining beauty or grace. Their use in
"There and Back Again" seems placed by necessity rather by any
inspiration to truly paint an idyllic picture of this, one of the
loveliest of Middle Earth settings. Unlike
The Return of the
King, there is no relief this time, even though Bilbo's journey is
done. The opportunity for a reprise of "Bilbo's Song" is sorely missed
here, though an alteration of the Shire identity in the middle of "There
and Back Again" may indeed allude to it. Finally, on top of all the
themes in the score, you have the obligatory song. It is no secret that
the best songs in the franchise are those penned by Shore himself, but
singer, songwriter, and actor Billy Boyd provides here arguably the best
non-Shore song of the series. Boyd is an intriguing choice for this
entry, for he played the hobbit Pip in the prior trilogy, and his voice
is not only recognized as connected to the concept in a vague sense, but
his small-natured tone is well suited to represent a hobbit's
perspective. With its bed of acoustic guitar, the song also reflects
"Days of the Ring" in its pastoral nature. The orchestration of the song
by Victoria Kelly is a bit odd in that its first half features extremely
impressive and robust bass string accompaniment that is diminished in
the second half when the full string ensemble joins in. All things
considered, including the farewell-oriented lyrics, the song is
definitely a winner and the most appropriate entry since Gollum's Song
(depending on your opinion of how the "Song of the Lonely Mountain"
represented the dwarves). It likely won't win any major awards, and it
remains an awful shame that Boyd's melody didn't make it into the
score's final cue (at least), but concept enthusiasts have to be
pleased.
Overall, despite whatever complaints one may have about
the thematic integration and perpetuation in this work, Shore juggles
the collection of ideas well enough. The general shift away from
prominent solos and extended performances of each theme is sorely
missed, but such was the landscape seemingly forced upon Shore by
Jackson for
The Hobbit. This analysis, like those for
The Lord
of the Rings, will require expanded upon the release of the complete
recordings, which is rumored to happen sometime in the late 2010's. For
audiophiles, these scores in the trilogy of
The Hobbit have been
somewhat frustrating because it's difficult to adjust back to hearing
Shore's symphonies for Middle Earth in standard stereo sound on album.
It's possible that many of the ills from which these scores suffer on
album will be rectified once the complete presentations are available in
DVD audio. Not only are there major performances of themes not released
on the initial albums for these three scores, but the difference in
audio quality makes a huge difference. Once you appreciate them in DVD
audio on a large sound system, there's really no going back. Until then,
you have two CD options for
The Battle of the Five Armies. The
first, regular album fails to include "Dragon-sickness" at the end (no
major loss, really; it's redundant) but does truncate some other cues
awkwardly, especially "To the Death," which rams the Nature's
Reclamation theme into a preceding action section awkwardly. The special
edition album also features two CDs, but it has extended, more natural
versions of several major cues. It also appends "Thrain," a bonus cue
from
The Desolation of Smaug that expands on the various villain
identities somewhat anonymously (Smaug, the descending thirds, etc.)
before closing out with a nice ode to Sauron and Isengard. Regardless of
the album situation, you have to step back and appreciate this score
despite its flaws. This trilogy was never destined to receive the same
praise as its predecessor, and, much like the
Star Wars prequels,
a fair amount of derision will accompany expressions of opinion about
the music for
The Hobbit simply because Shore's output couldn't
match that of
The Lord of the Rings. This is asinine behavior,
because these Middle Earth scores are so superior simply by their basic
nature that even the diminished prowess of a work like
The Battle of
the Five Armies is, like its predecessors, a lock for any serious
top-five list of scores from the year. This is the last goodbye for
Shore and Middle Earth, and anyone who denigrates these scores due to
high expectations needs to be reminded that, in the wake of greatness in
The Lord of the Rings, we are extraordinarily lucky to have these
subsequent works of art at all.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Howard Shore reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.56
(in 25 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.32
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The insert of the regular edition includes no extra information about the
score or film. That of the special edition features a note from the director and
analysis of each of the score's major themes by author Doug Adams.
