The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

I adore all three soundtracks for Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the one for Return of the King is undoubtedly cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me. It is a highly emotional compilation that encompasses many of the most memorable themes we have loved during these three years. Not only does it stand out on its own accord by introducing new themes such as the magnificent theme of Gondor (Minas Tirith and White Tree), the heroic theme of The Steward of Gondor and the heart-breaking Billy's song, and the solemn Aragorn's Coronation, it also revisited the Hobbit theme, the Uruk-hai theme, the Rohan theme, and the Rivendell theme, thus making this score the perfect ending chapter. It brings us through an emotional roller-coaster ride, and gives us flashbacks of the various scenes in the movie, from the epic to the tender, from the hopeful to the melancholy, from the heroic to the idyllic. Unlike many songs or music that I get tired of after repeated listening, this soundtrack gets better each time, and there is not a single track to skip. My favorites are: 3. Minas Tirith (featuring Ben del Maestro): brings out the sweeping landscape of Gondor and the splendor of the White City, my 3rd favorite track (the Rohan theme in The Two Towers is my favorite) 5. The Steward of Gondor (featuring Billy Boyd): exquisite song; Billy¡¯s voice brings tears to my eyes every time. 6. Minas Morgul: ominous and unrelenting. 7. The Ride of the Rohirrium: an overall uplifting, exciting, and heroic them, blended with a brief reprise of the Hobbit theme in the middle. 8. Twilight and Shadow (featuring Renee Fleming): breathtakingly gorgeous and tender, this is my 2nd favorite track. 13. The Fields of the Pelennor: magnificent 17. The Return of the King: calm and hopeful tune with Viggo's solemn voice, perfect! 19. Into the West: great song, but way out of Annie¡¯s vocal range. (probably the only thing I slightly dislike about this soundtrack - they got the wrong person to sing this, IMO!)

I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings films, and my admiration for Howard Shore is very well-known among my friends. This soundtrack fully proves why. His score is breathtakingly memorable, incorporating the familiar main theme, as well as the Rohan and Gondorian themes, into such tracks as "The Grey Havens" and "The Return of the King", a track which features Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) singing to the people of Gondor in Elvish. It is one of my favorite tracks on the entire CD. Another standout is "Minas Tirith", which brings tears to my eyes each time I hear it, not from sadness but sheer triumph. "The Steward of Gondor", which features Billy Boyd (Pippin), is stunning. Here, Boyd's earnest voice is lovely and also has me reaching for the Kleenex. Shore is assisted by many other wonderful performers as Ben del Maestro, Renee Fleming, Sir James Galway, and the incomparable Annie Lennox, who does a splendid job with the closing theme "Into the West", which most definitely deserved its Best Original Song Oscar. The same goes for Howard's original score win. The musicians are phenomenal under his direction. If you are a hardcore fan like myself, you will catch yourself recognizing which scenes in the movie go with which song. This soundtrack is a MUST HAVE for any fan of this film. You will not be disappointed. The bonus DVD is also incredible and definitely worth the price of the CD. It gives wonderful insight into the making of the score and Howard's talent as a composer/conductor. I'd never cried at a film score until until the scores for the LOTR films, and the fact that he evokes such emotions within me is proof, at least to me, that Howard Shore IS a genius. Pure and simple.

I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and I think that Howard Shore should receive some sort of award for composing the greatest movie series scores of all time. Each one of his LoTR scores captures the essence of the movies, and it amazes me that Shore composed a unique theme for every race, nearly every place, and most objects in these movies: the Elves, Men, Hobbits, the Rohirrim, Orcs...Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli (the heroes), and also Sam and Frodo (the Ring bearers) all have unique themes. The Shire, Mordor, Rivendell, Gondor (Minas Tirith), Rohan, each of the forests, and the Grey Havens have themes. Anduril (Aragorn's sword) has a theme, as does the Ring, and the Ring's theme arguably one of the most iconic themes in a movie of all time; it is instantly recognizable. The variety of Shore's scores make each one its own master piece, and the Return of the King wonderfully concludes the trilogy with its musical duality depicting hardship and battle as well as joy and peace at the end of a grueling quest. As I read the books, I hear in my mind Shore's iconic score themes during each chapter, and I am amazed that he understood the content of the books and the atmosphere of the movies to write such diverse and captivating music.

Every other Amazon.com review has already said all there is to be said about the music on this CD. Just as with the movies, multiple listenings are required to enjoy the full flavor and mastery of Howard Shore. Fav track is Annie Lennox's song, "Into the West," which is diminished when playing over the closing credits of the film in theatres by other people walking in front of you, the sound of feet on the theatre floor and general disruption. Getting the chance to hear it on the CD, undisturbed, is a real treat and, as many have said, brings tears as your heart takes wing. New Line Cinema and LOTR creators have been extremely generous with their phenomenal special behind-the-scenes features on the movies and music, and that continues with this edition's special DVD -- made especially insightful due to the videographer's being Shore's wife. Listening to the CD is even more meaningful once you have the visual of Shore sitting at his writing table, pencil in hand, staring off into space. You can see the music taking shape behind his eyes. It's eerie. So watch the DVD and then listen to the CD again, and imagine this master at work. And here's my vote for a CD set that contains *all* of the music and the "rarities," as Peter Jackson calls them. I'll buy it!! Any middling to serious LOTR fan will thoroughly enjoy having bought this version of the ROTK soundtrack.

In a time when most studios bank on a combination of bubble gum pop, hip hop and rap to sell soundtracks for a film, we are gifted with true greatness. Howard Shore looked at each film as a separate entity that required a continuous bridge as a theme, and different voices to carry each movie to the next. You had Enya (May it Be) for Fellowship of the Ring. For the Two Towers it was Sheila Chandra (Breath of Life), Isabel Bayrakdarian (Evenstar), Ben Del Maestro (Forth Eorlingas, and with Elizabeth Fraser on Isengard Unleashed) and Emiliana Torrini (Gollum's Song.) On the final soundtrack, we get a host of voices to treasure. We have the sublime in Renee Fleming (Twilight and Shadow, The End of All Things) and Ben del Maestro (Minas Tirith). We also have the flute of James Galway (The Black Gate Opens, The Grey Havens.) But what is most endearing is the voice of Billy Boyd (The Steward of Gondor)and Viggo Mortensen (The Return of the King) singing laments to mark their historical journeys. Peter Jackson has created a gut wrenching, emotional trilogy. Howard Shore has blessed us with music that grabs your heart and soul and never lets go. I highly recommend all three magnificant sound tracks.

Equal parts Beethoven's Fidelio as well as Wagner's Ring cycle, the latest Howard Shore evocation of the drama in LOTR's RETURN OF THE KING offers hope that Jackson did not get bogged down in the geek-obsessed ambition to create the greatest battle movie ever. Particularly as the score moves toward the Grey Havens, there is reason to believe that Jackson may have returned to the essential point of the story. Let's hope so. As for the score itself, it really is a tremendous accomplishment. The drama is intense and unrelenting, themes heralded in the first two films are reworked, recast and subtleties of tragedy and heroism run through the charts. THe strings in these soundtracks are as commanding and deeply resonating as those of John Barry. The vocalists this time around include Renee Fleming, who is just an aural wonder, Billy Boyd, who conveys just that right threshold where knowledge infuses innocence with a commission from which it can not retreat. Viggo Mortensen chants in elvish, without sounding totally absurd. And Annie Lennox delivers the closing theme with an utter devastation that may be one of her best performances ever. Regardless of what Jackson may have made of the most important of the three books, "Into The West" redeems any liberties he may have taken or integral philosophical points he may have sacrificed for special effects. But, we'll all find out soon enough. The stake for Jackson is that if he soft balls or misses the ontological, metaphorical and ethical conclusions of Tolkien's story, the entire series will be one more missed opportunity to get it right. The world is not looking for a better Star Wars. As for Howard Shore, he has delivered for each film a commanding score that musically understands that the sublime message here had nothing to do with geeky gimmicks, and everything to do with creation, an explication for evil and horror, the impact of knowledge on innocense. This third score is a fitting conclusion to a great and classic composition. Let's hope the film is this good.

exciting musical event

Howard Shore reaches a new level with his score for the third Lord of the Rings film. His work for the first film included some fine composing, particularly the delightful hobbit theme and the atmospheric work for Rivendell and Lothlorien, but was a bit heavy on loud action music. His score for the second film was appropriately darker, notably in the strange and haunting Gollum's song. In the Return of the King, Shore bursts out with one memorable passage after another, showing an originality seldom if ever reached by composers of film scores. Some of his work ranks with the most thrilling moments in classical compositions of the romantic era. He creates an atmosphere of intense drama and heroic scale without the repetition that can kill momentum. The only letdown is at the end. The farewell music in The Grey Havens is competent but not memorable. The song Into the West, which won the academy award, features a fine melody but rather unimaginative lyrics. Annie Lennox's voice is harsh in some passages, detracting from the elegaic quality appropriate to the end of this saga. The song that should have won the Oscar was the one Enya sang for the first film.