All reviews
of this soundtrack CD:
by PAUL TONKS on 11/7/2003
favorite track: 18
If Fellowship of the Ring was the upbeat, melodic, adventurous spirit and The Two Towers the enraged fighting spirit, then The Return of the King is the series' softly awed and humbled spirit at peace. I think the large proportion of gentle material through this album will surprise a lot of listeners... in the pleasant sense of being surprised, that is. Anyone who's read director Peter Jackson saying this is his favourite of the movies, and is the one that makes him cry, it is this aspect of Howard Shore's contribution that will pay off on the journey to the Grey Havens. A feeling of loss is the end result.
None of which is to say this album isn't shot through with heroic flourishes, sinister unease or stirring action. However, from the very beginning there is a distinctly softer tone established.
"A Storm is Coming" is an unexpectedly delicate beginning. A gentle solo fiddle plays out the traditional start for the Ring Theme. Slowly the piece whips up a froth and moves into the material particular to the Dark Riders. This pattern of light to dark proves to be characteristic of much of the album.
You have 75 minutes of music taken from over three and a half hours here. I attended the final recording session with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and so know that a great deal of action material from the big battles isn't included on the CD. Instead, the album has been carefully pulled together from scenes that feature emotionally significant moments.
I've no wish to spoil the experience for the score series' many fans. So if you don't want to learn what I think are the highlights, skip the next few paragraphs!
SPOILER TERRITORY COMMENCES:
"Minas Tirith" introduces the bold theme for Gondor, as heard over the second half of the movie trailer. It's a truly grand fanfare for what must be the first sighting of the city. Billy Boyd's vocals in "The Steward of Gondor" are quite lovely (as are the Pan Pipes opening the cue). I'm hard-pressed to decide who has the more distinctive vocal style between him and Viggo Mortensen singing in Elvish for the 10 minute "The Return of the King." This also features one of several touching performances from both soprano Renee Fleming and flautist Sir James Galway, and culminates in a warm return to all the sprightly Hobbiton material.
Without doubt, one of the greatest surprises was "Shelob's Lair." Immediately sinister and laced with scurrying unpredictability, Shore told me he applied some of the technique he used in recording The Master Musicians of Jajouka (from The Cell) to how he conceived this sequence. It's a stylistic shocker. But think back to the emergence of the Watcher in the Water outside the Moria Gate.
SPOILER TERRITORY ENDS
There are many highlights. As a standalone cue, I'm torn between the ascending heroism of "The White Tree," the bold return to Rohan's material for "The Ride of the Rohirrim," or the choral splendour of "The Fields of the Pelennor." I suspect having seen the film, for many it'll be "The Grey Havens" that lingers in popularity the most. Many main themes meet and depart. Leaving the audience to the unique vocals of Annie Lennox and the closing "Into the West." Opinions of this song will be interesting to follow. Personally, I find it quite affecting.
The Extended Edition DVD of The Return of the King will add lots of new material to this score. And there will be the complete score CD Box Set to follow next year. So for the series' music, this is not quite the end of all things!
Editor's Note: reprinted by permission of Paul Tonks of moviepoopshoot.com fame
by Soellerich on 12/21/2003
favorite track: 5
Incredible! Howard Shore is truly amazing. It is a hard task to write three different soundtracks for three different movies, yet at the same time tie them all together. However Shore has done it with more than just flying colors. He brings life and feeling to every setting in Middle-earth. I must admit that when I first heard the soundtrack I thought that it was an incredible piece of music but could not understand how he could tie it into the movie. It was naive to ever doubt Shore's abilities. Although the tone of this soundtrack is very different from the other two scores' tones, it is absolutely magical with the movie, and ties into the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy fantastically!
by danielmaughan on 12/2/2003
favorite track: 5
I have one comment about one track: Billy Boyd sings at the end of track 5 and it is nothing short of amazing. Buy all the LOTR scores, not just this one.
by licorice3stik on 12/21/2003
favorite track: 5
Amazing, that's all I've got to say. GREAT way to end a fantastic trilogy. The music is beautiful. It was hard to pick a favorite track because number 17 is a pretty close second, but all the music is excellent!
by rhodiamarct on 12/27/2003
favorite track: 16
I think this is the lesser of the three, but still one of the best soundtracks heard. It is not so complete - moreover in the first part with short tracks - there is no time to get into the deep feelings with the music in these tracks. The second half of the CD is overall marvelous, from track 15 on. "The End of All Things" is so sad and at the same time triumphant. Howard Shore is a great composer. I think this trilogy is already a classic piece of movie music history.
by PrincessLeiaSEC on 12/28/2003
favorite track: 8
This soundtrack has to be one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching ones I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. "Twilight and Shadow" is absolutely gorgeous and it has become my favorite track. "Return of the King" came in a close second and proved itself to be amazing. This soundtrack wraps up the trilogy with such brilliant magnificence, it dare not be challenged. Thank you Howard Shore for creating a piece of history.
by oberstwrv on 12/30/2003
favorite track: 15
Of the three LOTR scores, I felt this is Howard Shore's best. It served (for me) as a culmination of all the films, translated into music. One can feel the emotions of the characters in the music. It is quite stirring.
by evenstarrivendale on 1/2/2004
favorite track: 5
Purely dramatic music is what makes movie soundtracks my favorite music these days. If you've seen the movie, track 5, sung by Billy Boyd, will always stand out (in my memory) as a theme of the feelings of the character Pippin "standing at the edge of a battle he can't escape." "Minas Morgul" brings the fear home with its loud start. Simply great.
by diachenko on 1/6/2004
favorite track: 4
Absolutely stunning music from Howard Shore to go along with the best movie I have ever seen. So many great things to say about it.... the highlights: Track 4 includes the music for the "Lighting of the Beacons" sequence, an awe-inspiring blend of spectacular filming, the breathtaking New Zealand landscape, and Shore's sweeping, epic music. This is one of the most incredible scenes I have ever seen. Track 5: Billy Boyd has a gorgeous voice singing a melody he wrote himself. Very haunting. The tracks for Minas Morgul and Shelob's Lair are absolutely hair-raising. The final song "Into the West" is gorgeous as are the excerpts from it that find their way into the score. There are many other amazing elements that highlight Shore's genius, but these are my favorites. Can't wait for the complete recording that suppossedly comes out this year.
by benowl09 on 1/15/2004
favorite track: 3
Great score. I love "Minas Tirith" (track 3). It is so catchy and inspiring. I find myself humming it all the time.
by jarvhenderson on 1/25/2004
favorite track: 17
Well, what can I say? Not only excelling himself beyond the triumphant Two Towers, Howard Shore has produced an epic score to cap-off his trilogy. The addition of vocal inclusiond by Billy and Viggo are surprisingly refreshing. "The Return of the King" (track 17) is fantastic, capturing perfectly the last 20 minutes of the movie. The mellow emotional context of the final scenes in the movie are completely justified by Howard's work.
by evilangel572000 on 1/31/2004
favorite track: 17
Never before in my life have I heard such a magnificent soundtrack, much less 3! These will be the scores that we will remember the most. I must say that of the three soundtrack CDs, That Return Of The King is my favorite, and the "Return Of The King" is the best track.
by fueldude on 2/1/2004
favorite track: 19
I loved "Into The West." I'm so glad it won a Golden Globe.
by velvetangel on 2/13/2004
favorite track: 8
Love Renee Fleming. She has a beautiful voice.
by diva3082 on 3/10/2004
An absolutely beautiful and fantastic soundtrack... a must-have!
by I74123695LOTR on 3/15/2004
I love this soundtrack so much, but I was disappointed to learn the song Merry and Pippin sang when they were drunk is not included on the CD.
by sunami6688 on 4/8/2004
favorite track: 5
Good music, but I give it 4 1/2 because I wish the actual song sung by Billy Boyd was included on the CD. I thought it was just great. It really touched me.
by amancalledhiro on 4/16/2004
favorite track: 17
This soundtrack is amazing. The emotional level of this music is incredible. I love the beautiful voice of Renee Fleming. Although I listed number 17 as my favorite track, I would also choose "The End of All Things" for the glorious ending sung by Renee Fleming (people who've seen the movie know that it is such an emotional moment).
Viggo Mortensen's singing was amazing in "The Return of the King"! He has such a beautiful, warm sound of voice and the way he sings it is so melancholic and so sad it brings tears to my eyes.
Hats off to Howard Shore for achieving the impossible, topping his last 2 scores, The Fellowship and Two Towers. Something I would not have thought possible. This score, as well as the movies, will go down in movie history!!
by Cpeajay on 5/18/2004
I bought this soundtrack CD weeks before the movie was released. When I first heard the CD, my ears and heart were moved to tears. I had a feeling it would be tough for me to sit through scenes of the movie without being moved. Mr. Shore's score heightens the emotion of the Return story. The scene where the signal fires are lit and the music building the hope and anticipation... I had tears in my eyes from the anticipation! The emotion just goes on and on.
My favorite track? That's a tough one... I may have to say "Into The West," or it could be "The White Tree." See, I told you it's a tough question! :-)
I have never been so moved by a score as I am by this masterpiece. Bravo Mr. Shore! I tell all my music students who wish to be composers for film/video to watch with their ears the entire LOTR series. It's simply magic.
by the_sphinkter on 6/23/2004
favorite track: 17
The music on this CD is stunning, while listening you can really get a sense of what is going on. Many of the tracks can realy touch you and put you in the mood for an adventure. I would advise any music lover to buy this. 100/100
by zeto_man22 on 7/15/2004
favorite track: 13
Amazing CD. Lots of good stuff in here. A must-have for all LOTR fans. What song could be better for the fields of Pelennor than "The Fields of the Pelennor"?
by Hidhabwanath on 7/19/2004
This is the best soundtrack CD ever created. I love the parts where Pippin and Aragorn sing.
by Japlatt55 on 7/24/2004
favorite track: 4
I have been involved with the music world my entire life and Shore's film scores are the finest I've ever heard, especially ROTK. His instrumentation choices are brilliant, as are the choices for vocals. Track 4's lighting of the beacons section gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Can Shore ever top this?
by Wendysam14 on 8/30/2005
favorite track: 19
This is the very last score for the LOTR trilogy. Some of us, I bet, wish it wasn't over. I for one wish that. What will we look forward to now? I have my hopes that Peter Jackson will make the prologue to these stories called "The Hobbit.: Anyway, this score is worth the five stars and worth the Academy Award it won. The song "Into the West" just takes your breath away, and so does Billy Boyd's awesome song. The theme of Gondor is just as good as the theme of Rohan. All in all, this score is absolutely unforgettable.
by white_wolf689 on 6/10/2006
I love this soundtrack. I love writing stories, and the music for this movie just really gets me in a feel for fantasy, war and the emotional writing that I like to do. It's music that gets your imagination going, and this music is written in a great way.
by darthray90 on 6/23/2006
Just to tell you I think the music in this film is great. I love "Shelob's Lair" and "Minas Tirith," but I give this CD a lower rating because almost a fourth of the soundtrack is the music after the bad guys are defeated, meaning it gets a little monotonous. Also, some very good music is missing from the the Siege of Minas Tirith, the biggest examples being when the Rohirrim start charging at the orcs. Good music, fairly disappointing soundtrack arrangement.
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