Here’s why I have hesitated: The films are in themselves so richly orchestrated that I think I would feel “cheated” if I only listened and didn’t watch. I now own the first two of the trilogy, and have watched them repeatedly in DVD format, patched through my Kloss Model 88 (Bose Wave clone) and the sound is terrific.
No it isn’t home theater quality, but it’s damn close.
So given the above statement, should I still go out and buy the soundtracks?
Thanks as always,
Quasi
Yes! The FOTR soundtrack at the very least.
I assure you that this soundtrack is well worth it. I have it and listen to it about every other week. The themes develop and intertwine beautifully throughout, and when you listen to the music without seeing the movie, you appreciate what a brilliant composer Howard Shore is. Shore richly deserved the Academy Award that year.
The Two Towers is also very good, particularly those rich Rohan themes, but it is not as tangible as FOTR – but still worth the price, IMO.
I have the FOTR soundtrack and it’s just magnificent, if you’re a soundtracks kinda guy.
YMMV. There are a number of tracks that I can really sink my teeth into. But most of them play as medleys… they don’t stick with a mood for as long as I’d have liked; I hardly ever got the feeling that I was listening to much more than a collection of themes.
What’s done with those themes is often spectacular. But if you’re like me, you’ll wish you could take a minute here, thirty seconds there, and two minutes out of track 11. I thought Fellowship was better, but then I also think Fellowship is the better of the two movies.
I’m waiting for when they do a compilation disc of the three films, like what John Williams did for the SW trilogy. (I have several other Howard Shore discs to listen to in the meantime).
By this soundtrack or I’ll shoot your dog!
Convincing enough? How about if I threatened your mother?
Ve haf weyz of makink you buy zoundtraks.
Quasi, go buy the LOTR soundtracks or I will recommend that you be slapped and sterilized!
Convinced now?
I own them both, and have listened to them both dozens of times while driving to and from work. Great stuff, very enjoyable.
Well, I guess I needn’t ask for a “second opinion” then, huh? 
Q
I also own both of the soundtracks and listen to them all the time. Without watching the movie, I get a chance to fully appreciate the richness and the beauty of Howard Shore’s music. I’m also able to remember specific scenes from the movie, which make driving or working on a lab report much more enjoyable.
Two words:
Gollum’s Song.
Nuff said.
I cried during the ‘Last March of the Ents’ song (dunno what the official title is)…the high, keening, opera in the background as they emerge into desolation…
damn. i have to go buy TTT soundtrack today.
Okay, okay! I just ordered both online! I felt the eye of Lord Qadgop on me all the way from Mount Durn and even though I am already sterile, am loath to incur his wrath.
I must tell y’all, however, that the last time I bought a soundtrack was in the early Star Wars days!
Thanks
Q
Hooray for Quasimodem!
You will like them. Shore did an excellent job. Very Wagnerian with recurring themes and a lot of drama, but not as brassy. Second only to the Star Wars soundtracks IMHO.
Yes, yessss. One more convert. Pretty soon, the world will belong to LOTR fans. We shall then rename it Middle Earth.
Every time you buy a LOTR soundtrack, God kills a kitten.
Please, think of the kittens.
Soundtracks: I burning your dog!
For the TTT soundtrack, is the Elves marching into Helm’s Deep theme in there? I would purchase it just for that. Definitely in my top 5 war-like classical pieces ever. (Along with the Bridge of Khazad-dum.)
Ludovic: Yep, it’s in there. I like it, too.
As I mentioned above, I love the Rohan theme, especially the soulful string instrument. I have since discovered the instrument is called a Hardinger fiddle, and is Norwegian. Haunting stuff.
I’ve been buying the soundtracks before I see the films, for both Fellowship and Two Towers. It’s really a blast to listen to the music and figure out where it might fit into the film.
“Gollum’s Song” is pretty amazing… when I was listening to the music (before we saw the movie), my daughter said that the Emmeliana Torrelani sounded like a “girl Gollum.” 
Enjoy them Quasimodem… they play well by themselves!
Definitely: it might have sounded better to have a unified thematic progression, but to do that would have violated the spirit of Tolkein. For it states in the Ainulindale (first chapter of the Silmarillion), something like
There were two competing musical themes [of “good” and “evil”] playing at the same time, the second theme attempting to drown out the first with the blaring of trumpets, and endlessly repeated notes
Normally, I would not think that the thematic dissonance would be this deliberate, EXCEPT that the very beginning of the film saga also is musically true to the Silmarillion:
The very first thing that “happens” in FOTR, isn’t a voiceover, or a visual scene, but music. And the first thing that “happens” in the “universe” of M.E. is music, not vision. I think this is deliberate, and thus, the competing themes part is also deliberate
Howard Shore is a great composer. I’ve known that for years. Get the soundtracks.
