The "Best" release. Well... Best can mean a lot of things. It is a funny question to ask in a lot of ways.
I will say this I definitely listened to some other releases more than I did the "Best" one from 2013. I am funny that way.
If I had to pick one from 2013 the first thing that comes to mind is The Wild Bunch (March 2013 release). That was a most excellent release. Not my favorite but I did enjoy it and it had a quality presentation.
PS: Thanks to any & all soundtrack guys who read this board for your releases this year and your work on them. Have a great holiday season.
Superman Returns (LLL) Deep Space Nine (LLL) The Hunt For Red October (Intrada) Star Trek Insurrection (GNP) Die Hard With A Vengeance (LLL) Oblivion (OST) Star Trek TNG Best Of Both Worlds (GNP) Star Trek Into Darkness (Varese)
BTW what can I say? I'm biased towards La-La Land.
You know, I have to give an honorable mention to LLL's The Challenge. After listening to their customers' concerns about a single track on the CD, they went to the trouble (and expense) of re-doing the whole thing and shipping the new issue on their own dime.
In the past, I have never bought a CD to "support the labels". I only buy what I really want. In this case, however, I wanted to reward their efforts even though I had the Prometheus edition of that score. I'm glad I did. It's terrific. That's customer service.
I realize Breakfast at Tiffany's doesn't count because it has no spaceships or buddy cops. I'm lucky to have worked on most of my favorite releases of the year, from both LLL and Intrada.
My favorite release of an older score would have to be Kritzerland's release of Rising Sun. I never would have imagined anyone would do an expanded release of that one, and the results were phenomenal.
For a favorite current score, right now I'd say Taro Iwashiro's Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, though it will have some competition once I finally get my hands on Toshiyuki Watanabe's score to Space Brothers.
My favorite release of an older score would have to be Kritzerland's release of Rising Sun. I never would have imagined anyone would do an expanded release of that one, and the results were phenomenal.
For a favorite current score, right now I'd say Taro Iwashiro's Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, though it will have some competition once I finally get my hands on Toshiyuki Watanabe's score to Space Brothers.
Space Brothers is a bit of a hold over but I would say the 2013 music has been delightful. One of the best anime scores I've ever heard
I rarely like comedy scores, so I was not expecting these to be as addictive as they have been, getting many, many plays. Most pleasant surprise of the year.
Worst:
Nothing in 2013 has displaced the previous year's worst, which was Intrada's Bound for Glory. That mixing ruination of some of my favorite orchestral music retains its place at the bottom of the heap for a second year running.
