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 Music
View the many featured sites where you can buy and download timeless classical music.

Johann Sebastian Bach
When he was still a young child, Johann Sebastian Bach was fascinated by music.

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...

Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell

Requiem for a Dream is composer Clint Mansell's Magnum Opus. It won the Online Film Critics Society Award in 2001 for Best Original Score and should have won a whole lot more. But perhaps this was a slow burner - it was only when the music was picked up and used elsewhere that people started to recognise it and respond to it. And it has been reused many times including the trailer for "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". We now review the original soundtrack. When music is made to perfectly match a film as intense as Requiem for a Dream, you know you are in for quite a surreal experience. 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...

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...

Blade Runner 25th Anniversary

It is now 25 years since "Blade Runner" first hit our screens, and the movie and its music have had a remarkable impact on subsequent films and soundtracks. To mark the anniversary, director Ridley Scott has released his definitive version of the film called "The Final Cut", and composer Vangelis has released a 3 CD celebration of the music. CD1 of this Trilogy is the original soundtrack release, CD2 contains previously unreleased music from the film including some tracks which weren't used in the movie, and CD3 is all new material by Vangelis inspired by the music and mood of the Blade Runner score. Further details and a short interview with Vangelis can be found on our review page. More...