I must admit I was doubtful about Ludwig's work on CREED, but he won me over, I like his score. It got me to thinking what is my favorite ROCKY score? ROCKY II is it. Conti reworks his themes from ROCKY and adds new ones. Also with a bigger orchestra. For me it just beats ROCKY. I can't decide who my second favorite ROCKY composer is, between DiCola and Ludwig? They both did a great job.
The first Rocky remains the best, so good that every score following it was basically rehashing it. It's amazing how much mileage came out of those cues and 'gonna fly now'. That said, part II's main title is catchy and fun. And my favorite rendition of 'gonna fly now' is the Balboa version with the added trumpet.
I've heard some of Ludwig's Creed, but I'm not hardly as impressed by what he came up with as I was with DiCola's approach which was much more novel at the time.
I love them all. True much of the scores are rehashes of the original, but the slight differences and/or arrangements, for me, make it feel like a whole new soundtrack.
I enjoy them all, but I appreciate the first score the most for reasons already mentioned. I especially remain in awe over how Conti handled the fight with "Going the Distance." It is very human and touching for a scene that showcases the limits of the fighters' endurance.
