Thomas Newman: Angels in America

Following on from our recent review for Road to Perdition, this week we look at Thomas Newman's score to the award-winning TV miniseries Angels in America starring Al Pacino, Emma Thompson and Meryl Streep, which tackled the subject of AIDS. More...

Hans Zimmer: Sherlock Holmes

Hans Zimmer's soundtrack for Sherlock Holmes has gypsy violins, accordians and banjos. It's full to the brim of fun, zany action, and the theme is guaranteed to stick in your mind as you leave the cinema. More...

Around the World in 80 Days

We voyage around the world with Victor Young's oscar-winning score for Around The World in 80 Days. The movie was a lavish production with many locations and cameos from lots of stars. The music reflects those locations, and takes us on a grand adventure accompanied by the main theme which became a hit song for Bing Crosby. More...

Bruce Broughton's Young Sherlock Holmes

Though well-known as a TV composer, Bruce Broughton made a big splash in 1985 with two excellent film scores - Silverado and Young Sherlock Holmes. With its genre-twisting opportunities, Young Sherlock allowed the composer to deliver a top-notch score full of action and excitement. More...

Conan The Barbarian by Basil Poledouris

When it comes to Sword and Sorcery Fantasy films, Basil Poledouris set the standard with his score to Conan The Barbarian. This has the expected macho sword-wielding heroics in abundance, plus a touches of mysticism and some personal dramatic moments. More...

Hellraiser The Chronicles

Although some of the images in the Hellraiser Trilogy may be disturbing to some, the soundtracks are a good demonstration of how music can enhance film. Christopher Young set the standard for the original dark movie, and then turned it up a notch for the sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser 2. Randy Miller took over when the franchise was beginning to run out of steam, but this Limited Edition Box Set brings all 3 scores together in a superb package. More...

Grieg Piano Concerto - making history

This album is a modern recording using the latest techniques, though the performances were laid down a century ago! The Grieg Piano Concerto was recorded by Percy Grainger in 1921 on piano rolls which have been used to play a steinway concert grand and recreate the historic performance. Also included on the album are similar recordings of a number of solo piano works made by Edvard Grieg himself in 1906, and his Violin Sonata No.3 in Cm. It is remarkable to hear historic recordings with such clarity and definition More...

"The Reel World" by Jeff Rona

Hal Leonard Books has just published a new and completely revised second edition of The Reel World by composer Jeff Rona. The book details the technical, business, and creative aspects of becoming a successful film scorer. Based upon his significant experience in the field, the author shows how to work with the many different professionals involved in filmmaking without diluting the essential element of creativity. This revised edition includes a wealth of new interviews with some of Hollywood’s top film scorers including John Williams, Carter Burwell, James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer, Mark Isham, Wendy and Lisa and more. Check out an extract of the book, and receive a 20% discount on online purchases. More...

Classical Downloads
This is the perfect website for lovers of classical music. Downloads are easy and the quality great!

Bach Violin
Bach was an excellent violin player and composed many beautiful pieces for the instrument.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

French composer Alexandre Desplat is a good choice for a quirky film like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button where the main character ages backwards. Desplat rightly treats this as a magical fairytale but with an element of involving realism. The music is light and delicate in texture with a number of recurring themes, but never repetitive as they are always evolving. Harp and strings are quite prominent throughout but many other instruments have a say, including a saxophone which blends well with the film's source music of jazz tracks which are included on CD2 of the double album. More...

Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection by John Williams

The combination of director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams have been entertaining us for years, and the Indiana Jones film series exemplifies the great story-telling collaboration. The most definitive versions of all the Indiana Jones Soundtracks have now been released in a fantastic box set called Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection. The set consists of the four film soundtracks, with many of these containing previously unreleased tracks, a 5th bonus CD featuring yet more music from the films and an interview with the film makers, plus a substantial booklet with further information and behind-the-scenes photos. More...

Alien - by Jerry Goldsmith

In space no one can hear you scream - while waiting waiting to hear Jerry Goldsmith's full score for Alien. But the wait is over and the complete score is now available on a double album with bonus features included. More....

Escapade Velocity - from The SG Sound

Escapade Velocity is the latest album from The SG Sound and follows on from Planet Twist. The SG Sound is the swinging groovy sound of the 60s with classic guitars and brass, and the latest album has a strong sci-fi theme, with a number of Stars Wars covers and other such tracks. More...

John Barry - Goldfinger

With the announcement that Sam Mendes is lined up to direct "Bond 23", we look back at John Barry's score for Goldfinger (Bond 3) where all the music elements came together to make the definitive and distinctive Bond Sound. More...

Christopher Young: Murder in the First

Christopher Young made his name with horror movies such as Hellraiser. While he is often thought of as a "horror composer" (composers can be type-cast like actors), the non-horror movies that he has scored have shown him to be an extremely versatile composer. One such movie is Murder in the First, where the composer has created a very moving score. More...

James Horner - Field of Dreams

While "Avatar" is doing well at the box-office, we look at one of James Horner's highly regarded soundtracks from 1989. The unusual story of Field of Dreams demanded a subtle treatment from the soundtrack, and Horner delivered a score which is ethereal and dreamy but building to moments of considerable power. More...

Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime

Scott Joplin was a fascinating figure in the world of music, though there are tantalising gaps in our understanding of his life. Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime takes a different approach and explains the wider context of music and the arts against a backdrop of American culture and politics, and sheds new light on Joplin's achievements and motivations. More...

John Williams - Home Alone

Christmas has a homely feel to it, and the delightful Home Alone soundtrack taps into that feeling. John Williams creates some original Christmas Music, some cartoon-ish music for the baddies and some great action set pieces. Listening to this, you are transported to a world where chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. More...

Restoration by James Newton Howard

Restoration is a Period Drama released in 1995 with an excellent score from James Newton Howard which deserves a closer look. Not only has the composer captured the period feel and blended beautifully with music by Henry Purcell, but he also heightens the film's dramatic flow to great effect. More...

Piano music - as heard by Brahms!

Brahms was an excellent pianist, and a number of the pianos he used are preserved in museums. This double album consists of a number of Brahms' piano pieces played on the same instruments which he used. So we can hear his music as Brahms himself would have heard it. Jeffrey Dane's review of these recordings highlights the historical context of the pianos featured and, with a number of photographs, brings to life the history and the personality of the composer More...

Thomas Newman: Road to Perdition

Since both Sam Mendes and Thomas Newman made a huge impression on "American Beauty", it was inevitable that they would work together again. Road to Perdition is a very different film, but again the composer matches Mendes' stunning visuals with bold minimalist strokes. More...

The Doctor Who Prom Concert

Two British institutions come together for the first time this month, with a special Doctor Who Prom Concert in the Royal Albert Hall which features a mix of Classical and Doctor Who Music. The music of composer Murray Gold will feature alongside that of Copland, Holst, Wagner, Prokofiev and Turnage. The show will be presented by Freema Agyeman (who plays Martha Jones in the series) with Daleks and Cybermen, and a specially filmed scene written by departing producer Russell T Davies, starring David Tennant as the Doctor. For more about the music from the series, see our reviews of the two Doctor Who CDs covering music from Series 1 and 2 and from Series 3.

The Blob (and other Creepy Sounds)

Many people have a fondness for early Monster and Sci-Fi movies and soundtracks and "Monstrous Movie Music" caters directly for that market. Often they must resort to re-creating soundtracks when the music is no longer available. However original recordings of The Blob were carefully preserved, and have been remastered for this latest release. Written by Jazz and Film composer Ralph Carmichael, the score is full of suspense with suitably scary moments and a love theme for Steve McQueen and his girlfriend. When the film was released the Main Title was replaced with a light hearted but catchy theme song by Burt Bacharach. Both these tracks are presented on this superb album - it is great to rediscover gems like this. More...

Airwolf Themes

Do you remember "Airwolf" the TV series from the 80s with its super-sophisticated helicopter and exciting theme tune. The theme tune was written by Sylvester Levay who with Udi Harpaz wrote most of the series' incidental music. This music could have fallen into obscurity if it wasn't for fan Mark J Cairns who recreated their music in a double album. This was a limited edition release and its cult rarity value meant that at one time the album was trading on eBay for many times its original value. The music has now been presented as a special online release and all the tracks can be downloaded in mp3 format. Check out our review of this rather special release, and relive the infectious electronic sounds of the 1980s. More...