Best of 2007
Best Golden Age Soundtrack CDs
Best Silver and Bronze Age Soundtrack CDs
Best New Soundtrack CDs
Best New Compilation CDs
Read the 20th Annual Sammy Awards for Film Music here
Selected by Roger Hall
Introduction
Reviewer's Revision:
It has come to my attention that some web readers have been complaining loudly over my choices on the Worst of the Year list. They are welcome to disagree with me but name calling is not okay. It seems all too often that some web readers would rather complain about what they Don't Like instead of what they Do Like about a reviewer's choices.
After thinking it over, I have decided to remove the titles on my Worst of the Year list. But it's not because of those reader complaints. After all, my choices were based on the CDs I've listened to and reviewed. They are my opinion. Yet I believe it isn't fair to pick just or one or two for the Worst list and many more for the Best list. Rather than go back and pick more titles for the Worst list, not something I care to do,
I have removed them all from this year's survey.
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When reviewing film music, a writer can only express his or her opinion based on what they hear.
So this annual survey is subjective and based on what I rate as the best film music of the year on CDs and DVDs.
My choices are based on the music I have heard and not necessarily the film too.
This year I felt it was once again a very lean year for exceptional new soundtracks so I have chosen only three CDs for this category. In the past it was much easier to pick the outstanding soundtracks and compilations.
FMR has a star rating system to reflect how a soundtrack or compilation is judged based on its performance, production and art design. Some CDs were designated as Special Merit for their excellence in overall production. The highest honor is reserved for those CDs that I've selected as Best of the Month.
Besides the new soundtracks and compilations released in 2007, there are three time periods from the past listed in my survey:
The Golden Age -- from the 1930s to 1950s
The Silver Age -- from the 1960s and 1970s
The Bronze Age -- from the 1980s and 1990s
Fortunately, there remains a steady flow of excellent restorations and re-recordings that receive first class treatment by such labels as: FSM, Intrada, Naxos, Silva Screen, Varese Sarabande and several others. This past year there was also the debut of a promising new label: Tribute Film Classics.
Here is my list for CDs, DVDs and Books, beginning with the...
Top Film Composer of the Year:
James Newton Howard
This is the third time for this extremely talented film composer. He was selected as Top Film Composer for 2000 and again for 2006.
Over the years he has continued to produce memorable scores. In 2004, his score for THE VILLAGE was chosen for a Sammy Award. In 2007, he had another very busy year with several outstanding soundtracks, including: CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, MICHAEL CLAYTON, and THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP.
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Best Golden Age Soundtrack CDs
AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS -- music by Victor Young [Best of the Month for February]
THE BIG COUNTRY -- music by Jerome Moross [Best of the Month for June]
QUO VADIS and BEN HUR -- music by Miklós Rózsa (Special Merit)
RAINTREE COUNTY -- music by Johnny Green [Best of the Month for March]
THE SEA HAWK and DECEPTION -- music by Erich W. Korngold [Best of the Month for August]
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Best Silver and Bronze Age Soundtrack CDs
ALIEN -- music by Jerry Goldsmith
THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN (Elmer Bernstein) and THE TRAIN (Maurice Jarre)
[Best of the Month for July]
FAHRENHEIT 451 and WALKING DISTANCE -- music by Bernard Herrmann
[Best of the Month for December]
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND -- music by Bernard Herrmann [Best of the Month for December]
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES -- music by Miklós Rózsa
[Best of the Month for April]
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Best New Soundtrack CDs
ATONEMENT -- music by Dario Marianelli (Special Merit)
LUST, CAUTION -- music by Alexandre Desplat
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP -- music by James Newton Howard (Special Merit)
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Best New Compilation CDs
AMAZING STORIES: ANTHOLOGY THREE -- music by Alan Silvestri, Craig Safan, Michael Kamen, Bruce Broughton, Billy Goldenberg, Fred Steiner, John Addison, Pat Metheny, and John Williams
(2 CDs - Special Merit)
LEGENDARY HOLLYWOOD:
ALFRED NEWMAN CONDUCTS HIS CLASSIC MOTION PICTURE SCORES
[Best of the Month for October]
Best Record Labels and Album Producers
Film Score Monthly -- Lukas Kendall
Intrada -- Douglass Fake
Tadlow -- James Fitzpatrick
Tribute Film Classics -- Anna Bonn, John Morgan, William Stromberg
Varese Sarabande -- Robert Townson
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Best DVD with Isolated Music Tracks
JANE EYRE (1944)
music by Bernard Herrmann
commentary by Julie Kirgo, Nick Redman,
Steven Smith
isolated score & F/X track
VON RYAN'S EXPRESS (1965)
music by Jerry Goldsmith
isolated score track with commentary by
Jon Burlingame, Len Dobbs, Nick Redman
Disc Two: The Music of VON RYAN'S EXPRESS
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Best New Film Music Books
A Composer's Notes:
Remembering Miklós Rózsa --
A Personal Recollection by Jeffrey Dane
Hitchcock's Music by Jack Sullivan
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Selected by Steven A. Kennedy
Though I have been keeping track of “new” releases, Film Music Review has really had a banner year to focus on classic film music. In the past couple of weeks alone there have been announcements for original soundtrack releases of music by Korngold and at least two awesome Tiomkin scores.
As to new soundtracks, there were not very many to get that excited about this past year. Doyle’s exquisite score for the direct-to-cable (HBO) version of AS YOU LIKE IT is truly one of his best scores, and a great companion to another 2006 score MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. Both of those scores represent interesting takes on contemporary film scoring in Asian musical styles. Shire’s score has the feel of ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, though ZODIAC works far more deeply in the film and lifts the material to an amazing tension without really overwhelming the scenes. The score is really one of Shire’s best. Giacchino continues to impress with his malleable scoring skills, but RATATOUILLE is truly one of his finest efforts (you just have to love that wonderful scurrying flute idea). Marianelli is back to what worked in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, but it is less successful I think here. Desplat’s work is also interesting and in a mediocre field of new scores just peaks ahead of the crowd. Such can be said for Shore’s EASTERN PROMISES which, while interesting, kind of fades from memory rather quickly.
Fans of Golden Age music are very broke after a banner year of fantastic releases that came from all sides. Some years we have had a hard time coming up with 10 releases of any older score, this year there are plenty to choose from and many winners in the bunch. I have chosen here two “original” releases and two re-recordings all of which are important releases.
While decrying the current state of film music, Intrada helped us honor the memory of Jerry Goldsmith with two fantastic double-disc sets of two 1970s scores that have been on everyone’s want lists and we were reminded that he was the master…we miss you Jerry. (How good is ALIEN? Well, listen to the recent ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM for Brian Tyler’s loud and busy score—probably the only good thing to come out of the film— and you will begin to appreciate “the good old days.”) I have never been a big Jerry Fielding fan, but thanks to Aleph’s release of THE ENFORCER (and a few Film Score Monthly releases) that is beginning to change. It may not be a must-have, critically-acclaimed, Oscar-nominated film score, but it is a great example of Fielding’s technique and capability as well as being one of his more accessible scores. Also “big” news last year was La-La Land’s release of David Arnold’s GODZILLA, a guilty pleasure that younger fans can now enjoy in its entirety.
On to the compilation choices and here we have a great mixture of old and new. Murray Gold is fast making a name for himself with his music to the new DOCTOR WHO series and Silva’s first disc, one of many to come, is really a wonderful way to get to hear this music. The label even found a way to make Hans Zimmer’s synth music into larger-scale orchestral excerpts that honored the material while not slipping into muzak. Erich Kunzel’s Pops release is one of their best though with a badly edited accompanying booklet. And Varese Sarabande’s set of Rosza re-issues was a great tribute to the composer. My final pick is from the Chandos film music series and is a late entry. John Addison’s music needs to be heard more often here in the states and the release here is a great overview of his music. Chandos does not send these out for review, unfortunately, but their film music series (which has covered Shostakovich, Chagrin, Korngold, and Goodwin, to name a few) is really superb.
I could not pick a Worst of the year. It’s a bit hard when so much of what we are getting tends to be ambient sound design that sounds cut and pasted like a badly edited word document.
Labels like Intrada and La-La Land, and even BSX Entertainment, have a lot of buzz building for what is coming and some recent Film Score Monthly releases suggest that perhaps the Paramount Vault may soon be available.
In the meantime, film music is now entering an opportune time where more of the music is becoming readily available to more people.
What an amazing time to be a fan of great film music!
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Best Golden Age Soundtrack CDs
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS – music by Victor Young (Hit Parade Records)
RAINTREE COUNTY– music by Johnny Green (Film Score Monthly)
THE SEA HAWK and DECEPTION– music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold ( Naxos)
SPELLBOUND -- music by Miklos Rozsa (Intrada)
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Best Silver and Bronze Age Soundtrack CDs
ALIEN– music by Jerry Goldsmith (Intrada)
THE ENFORCER– music by Jerry Fielding (Aleph Records)
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES– music by Miklos Rozsa (Tadlow)
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY– music by Alex North (Intrada)
THE WIND AND THE LION– music by Jerry Goldsmith (Intrada)
GODZILLA – David Arnold ( La-La Land Records)
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Best New Soundtrack CDs
Listed in alphabetical order:
AS YOU LIKE IT– music by Patrick Doyle
ATONEMENT– music by Dario Marianelli
EASTERN PROMISES– music by Howard Shore
LUST, CAUTION– music by Alexandre Desplat
RATATOUILLE– music by Michael Giacchino
ZODIAC – music by David Shire
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Best New Compilation CDs
DOCTOR WHO (Series One and Two) – music by Murray Gold (Silva Screen)
FILM MUSIC BY HANS ZIMMER (Silva Screen)
MASTERS AND COMMANDERS: MUSIC FROM SEAFARING FILM CLASSICS (Telarc)
MIKLOS ROZSA: A CENTENARY CELEBRATION ( Varese Sarabande)
THE FILM MUSIC OF JOHN ADDISON (Chandos)
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9th Annual Best Film Music (2006)
8th Annual Best Film Music (2005)
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