The Essential Music Library: Film Music/Musicals

Cafe Society
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The Essential Music Library project is an attempt to get the many musical minds of the SDMB to sit down and discuss what works are absolutely necessary for a well-stocked musical library. There will be roughly 20 threads detailing a variety of genres so that we can get the depth that would be missing from a single-threaded discussion and the breadth necessary to cover what’s out there.

This thread’s topic is film music and musicals.

Previous threads: Project Planning | Classical | Rock | Jazz | Modern Rock | Blues | Punk/Post-Punk/New Wave | Opera/Choral Music | Rap/Hip-Hop | Gospel | Electronica | Contemporary Classical | Pop

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I haven’t participated in the other threads, but I’m interested in musicals so I’ll get my subscription in here now.

I’d say there definitely needs to be some cast recordings of Andrew Lloyd Weber shows, but I’m not entirely sure what. Probably Phantom of the Opera or Joseph, the former for the recognizability and the latter for the sheer variety.

Stephen Sondheim is necessary. I’d say probably Into the Woods

John Williams. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope or Raiders of the Lost Ark

Tommy by the Who.

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Danny Elfman deserves a nod for something. I’m partial to the Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack, but there are other choices.

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My 2 cents.

**Henry Mancini ** “Pink Panther”,“Charade” etc.

Elmer Bernstein “The Great Escape” The Magnificent Seven”, etc.

Bernard Herrmann “North By Northwest”, “Psycho”, “Vertigo”, etc.

Jerry Goldsmith “Papillon” “Poltergeist”, etc.

John Barry “Midnight Cowboy” “Out Of Africa”, etc.

Maurice Jarre “Lawrence Of Arabia”, etc.

Max Steiner “Gone With The Wind” “King Kong”

Nino Rota “The Godfather” “Romeo & Juliet”

Yann Tiersen “Amelie”

John Williams

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I think John Williams has a best-of album, which is probably worth picking up if you’re just a beginner. The theme from Indiana Jones is probably just as recognizable as the theme from Star Wars.

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Andrew Lloyd Webber:

Jesus Christ Superstar Original Concept Album
Evita Original Concept Album
Phantom of the Opera OLC

Original Cast of Hair
OLC of Les Miserables
OBC of Rent

Foreign Language Casts:
Original French Les Miserables
2CD live German Starlight Express
Austrian CATS
Germany’s Tanz der Vampyr

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Musicals
[ul]
[li]Andrew Lloyd Webber – Phantom of the Opera, being the best of his output, I think. Avoid Cats, which I find dull and disjointed.[/li][li]1776 – A great tribute to a great man, and one of the funnest musicals I’ve seen.[/li][li]Little Shop of Horrors – Another fun musical, even though it started life as a B-movie[/li][/ul]

Film Music
[ul]
[li]Rachel Portman – The Ciderhouse Rules[/li][li]John Williams – Star Wars, Indiana Jones, as the most recognizable themes around[/li][li]Hans Zimmer – Pirates of the Caribbean, an amazingly powerful (if occasionally repetitive) score[/li][li]Howard Shore – The Lord of the Rings. As with nearly everything about the trilogy, the sheer size and scope of that score astound…and the variety is also immense.[/li][/ul]

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I’d also recommend all of Bjorn & Benny of ABBA’s musicals:
Original Concept CD of Chess. If you can find the Danish release of CHESS (with Zubin Varla), BUY IT IMMEDIATELY.
The 3CD set of Kristin from Duvemala
London Mamma Mia! for the sheer fun of it.

Stephen Schwartz too:
Godspell Original Cast
OBC of Pippin, The Magic Show and Wicked.

OBC of Avenue Q

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And the opposite applies to another great work, the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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{url=“http://imdb.com/title/tt0068011/”]Zachariah…The first electric western.

Country Joe and the Fish

The James Gang

Doug Kershaw

What’s not to like?

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Zachariah…The first electric western.

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The Russian soundtrack to the Chicago Movie is something everyone should hear.

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I guess I’ll go to bat for some of the older stuff:

Musicals

Jerome Kern – Showboat (I think it’s considered one of the first real musicals)

Cole Porter – Anything Goes (lots of standards, including the title song, I Get a Kick Out of You, You’re the Top)

Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer – St. Louis Woman

Rodgers and Hart – Babes in Arms (many recognizable songs, including The Lady is a Tramp, My Funny Valentine, Where or When), and On Your Toes

Irving Berlin – Annie Get Your Gun

Rodgers and Hammerstein – Oklahoma! and Carousel

Film Music

John Williams – In addition to everything else mentioned, the scores of E.T. and Close Encounters. Really, just get a collection of his stuff.

Danny Elfman – There’s a collection called “Music for a Darkened Theater”

Prokofiev – Depending on how far back you want to go, he wrote film scores for some early Soviet movies.

Ennio Morricone – Lots of stuff; just get a collection.

Bernard Herrman – Ditto. The guy wrote everything from Citizen Kane to Taxi Driver.

Vangelis – Chariots of Fire. Okay, so it’s the most mocked film score of all time, but it’s well-known for a reason.

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Essential Broadway recordings:

Cole Porter: Kiss Me Kate
Irving Berlin: Annie Get Your Gun
Rogers and Hammerstein: The King and I
Rogers and Hammerstein: Oklahoma!
Frank Loesser: Guys and Dolls
Frank Loesser: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Meredith Willson: The Music Man
Lerner and Lowe: My Fair Lady
Hamlisch and Kleban: A Chorus Line
Warren and Dubin: 42nd Street
Adler and Ross: The Pajama Game
Adler and Ross: Damn Yankees
Bernstein and Sondheim: West Side Story
Bricusse and Newley: Stop the World I Want to Get Off
Bock and Harnick: Fiddler on the Roof
Leigh and Darion: Man of La Mancha
Kander and Ebb: Cabaret
Kander and Ebb: Chicago

Movie Musicals:

Warren and Dubin et. al.: Lullabye of Broadway: The Best of Busby Berkeley at Warner Brothers
Freed and Brown: Singin’ in the Rain

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And West Side Story, his collaboration with Leonard Bernstein.

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Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Schwartz’s Mass

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love and his latestet [i/The Woman in White*.

Kander and Ebb’s Kiss of the Spiderwoman

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This is sort of an aside, but I had the “London Concept Cast” recording of Chess a while back (lent it to someone and it never made it back to me, grrrrrr). Is that the one you’re talking about? I’ve been meaning to replace the CD, and I wasn’t sure if I should maybe get the OBC recording (which I’ve never heard), and I’m too poor a theatre geek to buy both, sadly.

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Also, his score for Blade Runner was pretty great.

One of my favorite is Leonard Rosenman, who, among other scores, had two fabulous ones in the original Lord of the Rings movie and also for Star Trek IV.

James Horner, who is incredibly prolific, did one of his best works in Star Trek II (yes, I’m a trekkie, but also a music geek, and trust me, these are both phenomenal scores).

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Yes, the OLC with Murray Head & Elaine Paige. The Broadway cast is only a single CD and it’s not very good.

The Danish release (in English) that I mention often is now OOP, but so damn good if pricey.

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Gabriel Yared: The English Patient Soundtrack

Peter Gabriel: Passion - Music for The Last Temptation of Christ

**Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman **: The Last of the Mohicans - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack