"However, Jack the Giant Slayer really does feel like some lost (ok, not quite but nearly) classic. I love all the snarling low brass and so forth, plus it has that density. Not cacophony but always something to engage with and no doubt plenty of motifs to uncover (only on my first listen I have to admit).
Ottman's way with larger scale material seems to have come on immensely here too[...] but Jack the Giant Slayer feels like Ottman using the orchestra and all its colour with much more confidence. Interesting comparing it to The Hobbit and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Oz The Great and the Powerful and Ottman doesn't come out that badly in the comparison. There's certainly plenty of that growling with ancient, powerful monsters and heroism in Giant Slayer which wouldn't embaress a Tolkein adaptation. Well worth a listen."
I listened to this on Spotify because I was intrigued by Ottman's FSM interview, and I liked the album more than I was expecting to. So I bought the download, and I just had another listen. Liked it even more. I'm surprised to say this might be my favorite score of the year so far. I concur very much with the above. My aural interest is constantly engaged by his deployment of the orchestra with its primal colors and textures. It's kind of like a feature-length fantasia on the musical premises of Shore's Fangorn music and parts of Herrmann's Jason and Journey to the Center of the Earth.
This is my first Ottman score. I've not investigated him before due to the pasting he regularly receives around here.
If somebody gets pasted around here, I'm likely to be more interested in them than some of the bland, sonic wallpaper that gets praised to the high heavens around here. I don't mind Ottman and have heard enough interesting scores by him to be more than intrigued by any new work he may do. I haven't heard this score yet, but I recommend ASTRO BOY and SNOW WHITE, two scores I really like by him.
Giving this a blast right now and I'd forgotten how impressive some of it is. A grand fantasia full of beauty and awe, with blasts of terror and action thrown in for good measure!
Anyone know what happened with the tracks/numbers on this one? The track list on the back states 22, but the CD itself only has 21. Anyone know the film well enough to know what tracks are combined to fix the prob?
I think I've worked out the tracks for myself. From another play through of the score, I would guess that track 5 (Fee Appears) and track 6 (How Do You Do?) are one cue. That then pulls back all the other tracks one place. The music matches the track titles after that a lot better. It's obvious Kitchen Nightmare is track 14 (it has the giants dialogue that I remember from the film) and not 15 as stated on the back cover.
Anyone know what happened with the tracks/numbers on this one? The track list on the back states 22, but the CD itself only has 21. Anyone know the film well enough to know what tracks are combined to fix the prob?
That might be perhaps another defective copy... I have just checked my CD and it has 22 tracks and total time 73:00... Also Kitchen Nightmare matches the tracklist and is indeed track 15 on my copy.
I guess it is pretty much impossible to figure out... since the movie was heavily re-edited and some scenes shifted and others dropped almost completely after the score had already been recorded... therefore the score in the movie is probably heavily edited... I guess we might be able to figure out approximate track order but probably some tracks on the CD might consist of shorter pieces from various scenes throughout the movie combined together... for example Story of the Giants cue was originally supposed to open the movie but then the whole prologue was moved much later on and only a fragment of it appears in the finished film...
Anyone know what happened with the tracks/numbers on this one? The track list on the back states 22, but the CD itself only has 21. Anyone know the film well enough to know what tracks are combined to fix the prob?
After lisstening to this wonderful score for some time on Spotify I finally ordered the CDr and was also surprised by the missing track. I compared the running times of the CD tracks with the Spotify version (which has 22 tracks) and it appears that track 4 "The Climb" (running 2:42 min) is simply missing from the CD.
Anyone know what happened with the tracks/numbers on this one? The track list on the back states 22, but the CD itself only has 21.
I bought my 'CD on demand' copy from Amazon when it was announced, and my copy has got 22 tracks.
It's a London recording (no re-use fees) so I would love that one of our favorite labels could negociate with right-owners/studio to deliver a complete release from this awesome music.
This thread got a bit of a mocking on the 'hip' side of the board cos it managed to achieve 50 posts. But dya know what. I think it's a crying shame it hasn't received 150 posts. I played it again, as a result of this thread's reappearance, and it's such a beauty. It's one of THE most descriptive scores I've heard in years. A proper throwback to a time when music was allowed to do a job other than just add a pulse. Like in the olde days, you don't need to have seen the film to know what is going on. The music tells the story for you. And what music!! One of the main things I've always enjoyed most about Ottman's music is the orchestration. Those little quirky sound details that spark the ear. They're in abundance here. It's got a wonderful main theme that's never over quoted, but when you do hear it's refrain, it's great. This is deffo (sorry Josh top 5 John Ottman score for me.
Hmm, I gave this a pretty low score in iTunes and have no recollection of the music. Must have spun it once or twice and forgotten about it. I'll give it another try and see if I feel differently a second time around.
Bumping this cos it's fkn ace and if that End Title cue linked above - featuring the Main Theme AND the Love Theme - doesn't get you flowing, you're suffering a pandemic.
This thread got a bit of a mocking on the 'hip' side of the board cos it managed to achieve 50 posts. But dya know what. I think it's a crying shame it hasn't received 150 posts. I played it again, as a result of this thread's reappearance, and it's such a beauty. It's one of THE most descriptive scores I've heard in years. A proper throwback to a time when music was allowed to do a job other than just add a pulse. Like in the olde days, you don't need to have seen the film to know what is going on. The music tells the story for you. And what music!! One of the main things I've always enjoyed most about Ottman's music is the orchestration. Those little quirky sound details that spark the ear. They're in abundance here. It's got a wonderful main theme that's never over quoted, but when you do hear it's refrain, it's great. This is deffo (sorry Josh top 5 John Ottman score for me.
Absolutely amazing & perfect description of this great score. Thank you Kev.
This thread got a bit of a mocking on the 'hip' side of the board cos it managed to achieve 50 posts. But dya know what. I think it's a crying shame it hasn't received 150 posts. I played it again, as a result of this thread's reappearance, and it's such a beauty. It's one of THE most descriptive scores I've heard in years. A proper throwback to a time when music was allowed to do a job other than just add a pulse. Like in the olde days, you don't need to have seen the film to know what is going on. The music tells the story for you. And what music!! One of the main things I've always enjoyed most about Ottman's music is the orchestration. Those little quirky sound details that spark the ear. They're in abundance here. It's got a wonderful main theme that's never over quoted, but when you do hear it's refrain, it's great. This is deffo (sorry Josh top 5 John Ottman score for me.
Absolutely amazing & perfect description of this great score. Thank you Kev.
Yes, absolutely wonderfully said! Magnificent score and shamelessly underrated!
top 5 John Ottman score for me. 
