The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Howard Shore was certainly a somewhat unconventional choice for the score of "The Lord of the Rings". However, it has become obvious now that he was an excellent choice and that he was definitely up to the task.

There are many unconventional tracks on this soundtrack. One of the most unconventional pieces is probably "The Bridge of Khazad-Dum" where Shore uses a male choir to great effect, building the proper tension for this scene, which is most likely going to be a centerpiece of the movie. Another very interesting cut is "Lothlorien", which has an "arabian" feel to it and which features haunting vocals in Quenya and Sindarin (two of Tolkien's invented languages) by Elizabeth Fraser. A favorite of mine is "A Knife in the Dark", which jumps from dark choir voices and pounding percussion directly to the beautiful and innocent voice of young Edward Ross, an amazing musical moment which can send shivers down the listener's spine...Read more

Tolkien wrote a literary masterpiece. I read it more than 30 years ago and was impressed then. As a movie it was fantastic, one of the rare movies from a book that is faithful and true to the mind's eye. Every LOTR fan that I know felt that the movie was a masterpiece. The score is perfect for the movie. It is not trite. It was not a commercialized effort to write as many tunes as possible so that a soundtrack would be a best seller. The soundtrack was meant for the movie and it did an aweome job. As far as albums go, it may be repetitive. It may not have tunes that are easily whistled or hummed. It is unlikely to have a hit theme song that will be played on the radio. However, as a movie soundtrack, it was superb for the very reason that it enhanced the movie and was an integral part of the whole. That explains why it does not stand as well on its own. I enjoy the album, not because it has great songs, but because it exudes the sense of LOTR. It is a tone poem of sorts...Read more

According to a very reputable source..."The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - The Complete Recordings" 4 disc soundtrack set will street on November 22, 2005.

The first 3 discs of the set will contain composer Howard Shore's entire 180 minute score in stereo. The 4th disc will be a DVD containing the complete score in 5.1 surround sound. Other extras will include artwork and a booklet of liner notes entitled "The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films - Part I: The Fellowship of the Ring", written by Doug Adams.

It smells like Reprise Records is going to release Shore's COMPLETE scores of the other two "Rings" films in the near future as well...I'll be on the look out.