# Michael Kamen Appreciation Thread



## TimCox (Jan 16, 2019)

So while he was fairly highly regarded in his time it seems like Michael Kamen has sort of drifted away from people's consciousnesses. Do you have a favorite of his?

Personally I have to give it up to Band of Brothers which is one of the key scores to throttle me towards composing. Some of his action writing got some (fair) criticism which I think was more representative of trying not to go with the status quo.

Any opinions? Love him, hate him?


----------



## Robo Rivard (Jan 16, 2019)

I heard he orchestrated the choir and cello for the song "Suite Sister Mary" for Queensrÿche! The best song of all time!


----------



## CT (Jan 16, 2019)

TimCox said:


> Any opinions? Love him, hate him?



Definitely love!


----------



## Jdiggity1 (Jan 16, 2019)

you can't _not _love Kamen. The man, or his music.
Was driving to work to the Prince Of Thieves soundtrack just 2 days ago.


----------



## DMDComposer (Jan 16, 2019)

Xmen and Lethal weapon, I like those scores alot.


----------



## CT (Jan 16, 2019)

There's a lot of great scores, concert pieces, collaborations with bands etc., but this is one of my favorites....



I find the diversity of his life in music really inspiring. He did so many things so well.


----------



## Matt Riley (Jan 16, 2019)

For me it’s Prince of Thieves if we are talking films but his collaboration with Metallica was amazing.


----------



## hawpri (Jan 16, 2019)

DMDComposer said:


> Xmen and Lethal weapon, I like those scores alot.


I remember being disappointed he hadn't scored X2.. only to be more disappointed he'd died. Had no idea. I really liked his scores for X-Men and Band of Brothers.


----------



## Mars (Jan 17, 2019)

I LOVE Michael Kamen, his concert works are also really enjoyable. 



 (reorchestration of a Band of Brother's track I believe)


----------



## TimCox (Jan 17, 2019)

How could I forget to mention his work as orchestrator and conductor for Pink Floyd on The Wall! What a career


----------



## Dracutus (Jan 17, 2019)

I think this works  Glorious


----------



## rottoy (Jan 17, 2019)

My favourite Kamen score will forever be his second collaboration with Terry Gilliam:


----------



## Ashermusic (Jan 17, 2019)

I love his work, appeals to all of my pop rock sensibilities.


----------



## Quanah (Jan 17, 2019)




----------



## Paul Owen (Jan 17, 2019)




----------



## Quanah (Jan 17, 2019)

...and the most well known from Queensryche & Michael.


----------



## Celestial Aeon (Jan 17, 2019)

Band of Brothers all the way for me as well. Especially the main theme and the tune Austria. So beautiful and simple at the same time.


----------



## benuzzell (Jan 17, 2019)

Absolutely love his score for The Iron Giant. What stands out is the 'classical' quality of it, in contrast to 1999's other big animated films, Toy Story 2 and Tarzan, which leant a lot more on popular music-style tracks amidst underscore. This might be because Kamen didn't record it to picture and conducted it more like a symphony recording, or because he was harking back to a bygone era of film music, but either way I absolutely love it. Iron Giant and Band of Brothers are the two Kamen scores I probably come back to most.


----------



## wst3 (Jan 17, 2019)

my intro to Mr. Kamen, and one of the things that reignited my interest in film music was "Edge of Darkness", a collaboration with Eric Clapton (or so the story goes?)


Acoustic Piano and Electric Guitar is one of my favorite combinations. When I was in 7th grade (you'll never get the exact year out of me) one of the teachers showed us a movie to get us excited about ski club. It worked, on a couple of levels. That was the first time I recognized the effect the music had on the image (there were no spoken words, it was just gorgeous footage of some great skiing and the music - I can't imagine how dated it would look today, I can't really imagine how they shot it<G>!)

This does not diminish any of his other work, and especially his concert work, but every time I hear this I stop and listen.


----------



## MaxOctane (Jan 17, 2019)




----------



## Simon Ravn (Jan 18, 2019)

benuzzell said:


> Absolutely love his score for The Iron Giant. What stands out is the 'classical' quality of it, in contrast to 1999's other big animated films, Toy Story 2 and Tarzan, which leant a lot more on popular music-style tracks amidst underscore. This might be because Kamen didn't record it to picture and conducted it more like a symphony recording, or because he was harking back to a bygone era of film music, but either way I absolutely love it. Iron Giant and Band of Brothers are the two Kamen scores I probably come back to most.



Agree on Iron Giant. It is still the Kamen score I know and appreciate the most. The opening track, and the closing parts of it are especially amazing. A pity he left us so soon.


----------



## Eugenic (Jan 19, 2019)

The overture from Robin Hood is how I got to know him.
Event Horizon would be less terryfying without him and Orbital.
But Metallica's S&M is another thing altogether.
You gotta give it to the man. He was a chameleon.


----------



## LamaRose (Jan 19, 2019)

benuzzell said:


> Absolutely love his score for The Iron Giant. What stands out is the 'classical' quality of it...



Ditto for me. That score wasn't so much about themes as it was filling in the emotional content of a largely mute - and Large! - protagonist character. The writing and orchestrating is a tour de force... and I have little doubt that he is one of a very select few modern composers who could have thrived a century before his time.


----------



## CT (Jan 20, 2019)

The build over the first four minutes of this is so good!


----------



## Jim Martin (Feb 22, 2020)

After watching Norman Ludwin's presentation on Film Scores I realized I really want to study Michael Kamen scores. I forgot just how much this guy has done and absolutely love his work. Anyone know where I can purchase his scores?


----------



## bryla (Feb 22, 2020)

Jim Martin said:


> After watching Norman Ludwin's presentation on Film Scores I realized I really want to study Michael Kamen scores. I forgot just how much this guy has done and absolutely love his work. Anyone know where I can purchase his scores?


Which presentation by Ludwin out of curiosity?


----------



## Jim Martin (Feb 22, 2020)

bryla said:


> Which presentation by Ludwin out of curiosity?







__





Examing Film Scores | musicnewapproach







www.musicnewapproach.com





Preferably I would like to get my hands on the Robin Hood score. I absolutely love this score!


----------



## ryst (Feb 23, 2020)

He also did Die Hard. Which was one of my favorites.


----------



## José Herring (Feb 23, 2020)

One of the last composers who wrote for film rather than being a film composer.


----------



## scentline (Oct 25, 2021)

I love Michael Kamen’s “Band of Brothers Suite 1 & 2” as many of his the TV show’s fans do because it has a folk music quality in a classical orchestra setting. It represents ordinary people who sacrificed their precious young lives for their country. It has also a feeling of bravery of young men,na yearning feeling of homecoming, and the sound of a sweet lullaby for the soldiers like a requiem.

However, my favorite score among his many excellent ones is Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995).

The contour of the basic motive from “An American Symphony (co-composed with Sting’s guitarist and co-songwriter of “Shape of My Heart,” Dominic Miller)” or “Cole’s Song (sung and lyrics by John Lennon’s first son, Julian)” represents the story of Mr. Holland in the film: It starts with enclosure melody twice as his struggles and embraces, and then go up to his musical idealism with his passion and comes down slowly (less subdivision) with compassion for his deaf child and struggling students. There’s a pure gold lesson there shows how a melody can tell the essence of the story.

Michael Kamen could create ridiculously simple, yet extremely diverse, and profoundly touching music without much modern sonic and electronic manipulations like the mainstream Hollywood film score trend today. For me, he was one of the greatest songwriters of all time who commanded an orchestra as his instrument.




>





>





>


----------



## scentline (Oct 25, 2021)

There’s an interview footage video of MK from his Concerto for Saxophone DVD featuring David Sanborn in 1990.

He stuided at the prestigious Juilliard, but seemed he was such a down-to-earth style humble, friendly, and warm human being and a loving father for his daughters. Zoe Kamen, the 10-year-old daughter in the video became a musician following him later.


----------



## chrissiddall (Oct 28, 2021)

Jim Martin said:


> After watching Norman Ludwin's presentation on Film Scores I realized I really want to study Michael Kamen scores. I forgot just how much this guy has done and absolutely love his work. Anyone know where I can purchase his scores?


I have some idea hehe. 

www.chrissiddallmusic.com

More Kamen titles will come in time but I have a bit of a queue going on right now (Independence Day next month then Conan the Barbarian). 

If you sign up to asmac.org you can also watch the fantastic (4 hour!) chat and dive into the score which we had with Iron Giant director Brad Bird, orchestrators Robert Elhai & Blake Neely, music editors Steve McLaughlin & Chris Brooks and Michael's daughter Zoe.


----------



## dcoscina (Oct 28, 2021)

Michaelt said:


> The build over the first four minutes of this is so good!



This is actually my favourite Kamen piece. Followed closely by Highland. There can be only one!!


----------



## bryla (Oct 28, 2021)

I was asked to do a cutdown arrangement of the music from Robin Hood for a corona-sized and safe orchestra.
Coincidentally WDR put this up today:


----------



## Jish (Oct 28, 2021)

dcoscina said:


> Followed closely by Highland. There can be only one!!


Actually surprised this particular cue does not get brought up more elsewhere, let alone in a thread about Kamen's music. He ain't pulling punches on this, and while the whole score is great this one is something else.

The _Last Action Hero_ is a guilty pleasure, as well. Neat guy.


----------



## dcoscina (Oct 28, 2021)

Jish said:


> Actually surprised this particular cue does not get brought up more elsewhere, let alone in a thread about Kamen's music. He ain't pulling punches on this, and while the whole score is great this one is something else.
> 
> The _Last Action Hero_ is a guilty pleasure, as well. Neat guy.



Yeah it's great. Kamen leaned on the K250 a lot for his scores which I always enjoyed.


----------



## Windbag (Nov 2, 2021)

benuzzell said:


> Absolutely love his score for The Iron Giant. What stands out is the 'classical' quality of it, in contrast to 1999's other big animated films, Toy Story 2 and Tarzan, which leant a lot more on popular music-style tracks amidst underscore. This might be because Kamen didn't record it to picture and conducted it more like a symphony recording, or because he was harking back to a bygone era of film music, but either way I absolutely love it. Iron Giant and Band of Brothers are the two Kamen scores I probably come back to most.


The Iron Giant is a particular favorite of mine as well - and one of the first examples that comes to mind when making the point that an orchestra can make 'sound effects' (used to be a fairly common thing for animation) _while making musical sense. _Kamen managed that trick as well as anyone since Carl Stalling and was one of the biggest reasons the movie was so touching. Beautiful work


----------



## MP (Jan 30, 2022)

A man of great talent !
Magnificent scores such as _What Dreams May Come, Mr Holland's Opus _or_ Robin Hood _first come to mind and also his wonderful collaboration with Metallica (which more than 20 years later is still my favorite concert ever)
Here's a selection of covers that I did of his music/arrangements which I think show how eclectic his work was 🙂


----------

