# JN Howard's Malecifent is amazing



## dcoscina (May 27, 2014)

Strongly recommended to fans of this composer's seminal work. It's melodic, diverse, light and airy in places, foreboding and dense in others. This resides in the same company as Signs, Unbreakable, The village, Wyatt Earp, etc. Terrific score.

Bravo Mr. Howard!


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## AlexandreSafi (May 27, 2014)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrMoXHdSw8s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPOPElty3Ts
Just had a listen! I'm already learning every tune at the piano, including Lana Del Rey's version! This score... I'm completely speechless!!!


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## EastWest Lurker (May 27, 2014)

I thin JNH is a musical genius, and that is not a term I throw around lightly.


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## Jetzer (May 27, 2014)

Yup, deserves it's own topic =o 

JNH at his very, very best. It's incredible.


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## dcoscina (May 27, 2014)

Listening on headphones. Even more amazing!!! What detail in the writing. This could be the score of the year.


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## Jacob Cadmus (May 27, 2014)

Listening now. I'm a huge JNH fan, and I'll go see this movie just for the score, haha.


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## ghostnote (May 27, 2014)

dcoscina @ Tue May 27 said:


> This resides in the same company as Signs, Unbreakable, The village, Wyatt Earp, etc. Terrific score.



Don't forget "The Lady in the Water", brilliant theme, Central Park from Peter Jacksons "King Kong" or the "The Fugitive" score, one of my all time favorites. JNH is a very special composer, no other sounds so mature and at the same time so humble. I love his sense for melodies. There's also this small wink of a theme at the end of "Batman Begins" which I think is superb.


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## Jacob Cadmus (May 27, 2014)

I'm only on track 4 right now, and WOW, I haven't heard JNH go full throttle like this since Airbender! 

I hope this doesn't mean that the film itself is terrible... XD


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## Lex (May 27, 2014)

Can't wait to hear it when I see the movie on Friday! I hope I like it, cause I generally try to avoid getting in hoping for amazing score, but your reviews made me too excited.

alex


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## Wes Antczak (May 27, 2014)

After seeing the commercials I just looked this up earlier today and noticed that it was JNH. (not sure whether the music used in the trailer was actually from the JNH soundtrack) But yes, I was very psyched to find out that it was JNH and the little bits I've heard so far sounded great!!!

Btw, for people who have mentioned Wyatt Earp, not sure if you guys are familiar with the 3-cd limited edition available directly from La La Land Records linked below. Highly recommended!

http://www.lalalandrecords.com/WyattEarp.html


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## DynamicK (May 27, 2014)

Michael Chrostek @ Tue May 27 said:


> "The Fugitive" score, one of my all time favorites.


That was one of the first soundtrack cds I ever bought...still a firm favourite. Definitely an A list composer.


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## choc0thrax (May 27, 2014)

dcoscina @ Tue May 27 said:


> This could be the score of the year.



It sounds great but let's not forget there's another high profile score coming out in about 2 weeks. 8)


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## Neifion (May 27, 2014)

Enjoyed watching the scoring sessions. Some cool and interesting angles.

One of my favorite scores of JNH is Blood Diamond. Loved the traveling theme.


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## JohnG (May 27, 2014)

EastWest Lurker @ 27th May 2014 said:


> I thin JNH is a musical genius, and that is not a term I throw around lightly.



+1

He is fantastically talented.


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## JohnG (May 27, 2014)

Just started listening to the Maleficent suite -- woodwinds!!

Still no alto sax though.


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## dcoscina (May 27, 2014)

choc0thrax @ Tue May 27 said:


> dcoscina @ Tue May 27 said:
> 
> 
> > This could be the score of the year.
> ...



Ah yes, Powell's HTTYD2. I've heard a few tracks already and yeah. it sounds amazing. Summer 2014 is shaping up nicely with some really terrific scores.


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## choc0thrax (May 27, 2014)

Listened to some more Maleficent. If James Horner ever hears that section near the end of "Aurora in Faerieland" he's gonna totally spit out his tea.


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## muziksculp (May 27, 2014)

Yes, this is another great score by JNH. I can't recall anything by him that is not great.

He is one of my favorite film composers. A very talented and creative film composer.

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Tatu (May 28, 2014)

Started listening this morning and went through a bunch of tracks. So far I'm hearing wonderful, enjoyable and well crafted music; full of that sparkle and old school magic, which draws - or at least should - the viewers in and makes it a "unique" experience for them, even though the scale seems to go massive from time to time (something that blockbusters these days seem to miss completely, from one explosion filled scene to another) .

I also felt some James Hornerish vibe quite a bit here and there in the orchestrations, but for the most part it's clearly a JNH score.


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## Arksun (May 28, 2014)

Love James Newton Howard's work.

For me my favourite JNH score is still the one that first drew my attention to him, and that's the score for Snow Falling On Cedars which I listened to before ever seeing the movie.

There's such a pure raw level of emotion in that score which cuts straight into my soul in a way few pieces of music do.


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## AlexandreSafi (Jun 1, 2014)

Just came back from the movie yesterday evening! What a fantastic film composer, in such a surprising, yet elegant and powerful movie. Angelina Jolie's performance is spectacular...Truly shocked! Very diverse in the facets she presents herself! She's a perfect character in this movie for film music! 
Anyways i think it's safe to say from what i've seen here that vi control loves JNH, he really is at the right place, one of the greatest Hollywood artists...

This movie brought me back to that time where i was a kid who just couldn't stop getting thrills from the experience...

Aside the fact that the portrayal of men, or the "real" villain in this movie is pretty problematic, should i say "worse than problematic", and way underdeveloped for modern times, surprisingly because of the way this character is introduced in the early frames, I really had no clue that a Disney movie could still do that to me anymore... And for that thanks a lot to all the creativity and the community that was involved in this movie... 

*Side note:* just wondering if there's ever a possibility we could someday augment this forum with a score discussion category, giving each other's impressions and knowledge of general-&-specific elements of scores, i'm sure it'd increase the learning possibilities, widening the horizons on what's been done in the past...


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## tmm (Jun 3, 2014)

Went to the IMAX last week to see Godzilla, not realizing they cycled their movies every night. Maleficent was playing, but I've had such great previous experiences in the past with seeing movies for which I hadn't seen the trailer that I gave it a shot (last time was Prometheus - mind = blown on that one).

I thought both the movie as a whole and score specifically were outstanding. I wasn't sure what to think between a darker, live action retelling of an old animated story and Angelina, but both far exceeded my expectations. Lots of small yet significant tweaks to the original version, all very well thought out.

All-in-all, I walked away without being disappointed I'd missed seeing Godzilla in IMAX (I'm sure that would have been a great, though different experience, too).


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## wst3 (Jun 4, 2014)

Since I might be a tad older than some here... if you are a fan of JNH you must check out the album "James Newton Howard and Friends", which was originally recorded direct to disc as an audiophile "show-off" album. Not only is the audio quality astounding, but the compositions are absolutely him, and the performances are energetic, and amazing as well.

While the original LP is probably the benchmark for this recording, I've heard the CD version, and it does not disappoint.


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## Jacob Cadmus (Jun 6, 2014)

wst3 @ Wed Jun 04 said:


> Since I might be a tad older than some here... if you are a fan of JNH you must check out the album "James Newton Howard and Friends", which was originally recorded direct to disc as an audiophile "show-off" album. Not only is the audio quality astounding, but the compositions are absolutely him, and the performances are energetic, and amazing as well.
> 
> While the original LP is probably the benchmark for this recording, I've heard the CD version, and it does not disappoint.



Good call; I love those recordings! The guys from Toto did an equally amazing job as well. Jeff Porcaro's drumming is unmistakable.


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## rpaillot (Jun 6, 2014)

choc0thrax @ Tue May 27 said:


> Listened to some more Maleficent. If James Horner ever hears that section near the end of "Aurora in Faerieland" he's gonna totally spit out his tea.



Reminded me Enemy at the gate ( Tania End credits)


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## Giant_Shadow (Jun 8, 2014)

+2 Very inspirational back in my yute years 8) 
All the keyboard parts are the Yamaha DX-7 btw, right when it came out of the factory.











wst3 @ Wed Jun 04 said:


> Since I might be a tad older than some here... if you are a fan of JNH you must check out the album "James Newton Howard and Friends", which was originally recorded direct to disc as an audiophile "show-off" album. Not only is the audio quality astounding, but the compositions are absolutely him, and the performances are energetic, and amazing as well.
> 
> While the original LP is probably the benchmark for this recording, I've heard the CD version, and it does not disappoint.


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## dfhagai (Jun 9, 2014)

The orchestration and devices are amazing.
I find the themes poor and generic, sorry ~o) 

It seems that (for me) once you hit JW, you can't go back.


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## clarkus (Jun 9, 2014)

It's funny the story has gotten short shrift (or maybe not, as we're composers). In any event, I thought it was an imaginative reinvention of Sleeping Beauty & i was glad I went. ALWAYS a fan of Angelina, a misunderstood talent, I think. All the media attention somehow has diverted people from noticing how talented she is. 

There are some very nice harmonic turns ("transient modulations" to get all bookish) early in the score that made me want to get with the soundtrack CD. And I'm in admiration of this guy, as I am with Thomas Newman & all these fellows who can bolt together several hours of music for a summer blockbuster. I did not walk out believing I had heard a brilliant score if by that we mean that anything fresh was being done. It seemed utterly serviceable to me. If I can voice a specific complaint (and why not, I don't think I'm going to hurt JNH's feelings or his career) the score seemed a bit paint-by-numbers, as these things often do. For the faerie kingdom, we have to trot out our Celtic tune, and for the battle scene the usual giant drums and brass prevail, with the ostinatos we've all come to expect. 

This is all a matter of taste. I don't really want to get into arguments. 

I do have a question I've been wondering about: there was a time before Taiko drums began taking over Hollywood. Does anyone have any idea at all what will replace them when musical fashion moves on? A serious question. I think those of us who figure that out may also have some work.

I think the score to Gravity may provide some clues.


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## tmm (Jun 27, 2014)

Surdos?

Been listening to this since I saw the movie. Fantastic scoring / orchestration aside, the quality of the recording is outstanding, too. Any idea where it was recorded?


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## ed buller (Jun 27, 2014)

i too liked the movie....a fresh take 


score was a bit MEH for me...It did sound good but JNH is capable of so much more than this. Think 'The Fugitive" , "Atlantis " .." Michael Clayton "...and many more. 

I suspect he's doing so many scores there's a bit of autopilot involved...lot's of traditional box ticking as already discussed . 

e


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