Middle-Earth Music Reviews - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

mark12_30 · 01-09-2004, 02:35 PM

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEWS

This thread is for reviewing music that is **Tolkien Related**. It is important to clearly state **HOW** it is Tolkien related, and provide specific Tolkien-related details (or this thread won't last long.)

Primarily this is for reviewing CDs or online mp3's (***LEGAL ONES ONLY***), old vinyl records, cassettes... You can also review Tolkien music books. I'd like to see some reviews of the movie soundtracks and the music books for the soundtracks, too; nobody has tackled that yet. (EDIT: Except Legolas; Thank you Legolas!)

Multiple reviews are ok, up to five reviews of the same music. After that, open a new thread! Put a link to the new thread here in this thread and let us know. So that the reviews don't get lost in the discussions, if you want to discuss particular music in-depth, please open another thread. If it is music that you play, check out the thread The most Tolkien-Oriented music you make.

The structure for music reviews is as follows:

TITLE:
MUSICIANS:
GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal...
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? If original, how is it Tolkien Related?
REVIEW: Your opinions
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT?
PRICE YOU PAID (if you don't mind telling us, that is)
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT
Do you know of any online samples?

The structure for music BOOK reviews is as follows:

TITLE:
MUSICIANS/COMPOSER:
GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal...
INSTRUMENTS music is written for: voice? Piano? Guitar? Violin, flute, trumpet? glockenspiel...?
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? If original, how is it Tolkien Related?
REVIEW: Your opinions. Are the songs/tunes good? Do they feel like Middle-Earth music? What instrument do you play, and does the book apply well to your instrument?
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT?
Is the music comfortable to read and play? What is the skill level required?
PRICE YOU PAID (if you don't mind telling us, that is)
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT

So, share the Middle-Earth, Tolkien music that you love with all the rest of us! Post your reviews here!

--mark12_30

[ 12:55 AM February 03, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

mark12_30 · 01-09-2004, 02:41 PM

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEW

TITLE:At Dawn In Rivendell
MUSICIANS: The Tolkien Ensemble
GENRE: classical and danish folk
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical Tolkien.
REVIEW: Christopher Lee's poetry readings are marvelous, dark and foreboding, and full of import. He lives up to his reputation here; enough said...
The music: I have heard it called operatic. Not quite. This is folk music. But it is Danish folk music, and for the hobbit sections at least, I find that strange. It is a Danish interpretation of a culture that Tolkien clearly stated was English. I would have preferred a more English style; barring that, something from the British Isles would have made more sense. Shetland music shows this Danish influence, but the Shire is not patterned after the Shetlands.

TRACK LIST
1. Verse Of The Rings
2. Song Of Gondor
3. A Walking Song (I)
4. Warning Of Winter
5. Malbeth The Seer's Words
6. A Drinking Song
7. The Long List Of The Ents (I)
8. Eomer's Song
9. Boromir's Riddle
10. The Bath Song
11. Song Of Lebennin
12. Gandalf's Riddle Of The Ents
13. Ho! Tom Bombadil
14. The Riddle Of Strider (I)
15. Song Of Nimrodel
16. Treebeard's Song
17. Farewell Song Of Merry And Pippin
18. Athelas
19. A Walking Song (II)
20. Elven Hymn To Elbereth Gilthoniel (III)

I will group the songs by character.
Treebeard's songs are pleasant enough. Since I never had any urge to sing them myself, I have little comment.
There is a "technique" which I have heard referred to as Scooping, Sliding, or Cheating: I guess you could describe it as too many slurred grace notes. That technique is used on this album by the singer performing Frodo's songs. I find it annoying and unpleasant. It makes the tune terribly difficult to follow; nor do I think Frodo would have had that style. One reviewer called it "bumptious". I think the decision to sing in that style was misdirected. I will fight through the songs to try and learn the tunes, but I don't enjoy hearing them. I think the tunes will be good once they are simplified and the slidy, slippery grace notes gotten rid of.
Pippin's songs are fine! Enjoyable, pleasant, easy to follow, no nasty slidy grace notes... The Bath Song is good; the Farewell Song is good. Well done.
Eomer's song, in my opinion, is an utter travesty. Instead of a fiery-dark Nordic battle-cry, it has been turned into a keening lament more suited to a destitute Irish widow than a general. I detest it.
The Song of Gondor took some getting used to; haunting, but with a challenging tune. However, by the third time hearing it, I was humming it afterwards, and now it frequently berings me to tears. Well done.
Song of Lebennin: again, takes a little getting used to. I'm used to it now! I love it. This one also brings me to tears frequently.
I saved the best for last: Song of Nimrodel is wonderful! Gently sung in a velvety smooth tenor voice, tastefully accompanied on guitar. It is marvellous. It makes me imagine that I am in Lorien, and one of the hobbits has said, "Legolas-- that song about the singing stream, let's hear it again." It was worth the price of the album.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes.
PRICE YOU PAID : Honestly, I forget. Under twenty bucks. Maybe fifteen or sixteen. Whatever I paid it was worth it.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Walmart, I think.

[ 4:52 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[ 4:54 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

mark12_30 · 01-09-2004, 02:45 PM

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEW

TITLE: Tolkien Song Cycle
MUSICIANS: Andi Grimsditch
GENRE: Scottish!
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical verses set to music
REVIEW: For starters, a couple of these songs are *SINGABLE* (not all of 'em.) And for another, this guy is a believable Hobbit-voice. It says he's from Argentina but his Scottish accent is delightful, and he has a soft, gentle tenor voice; sounds like the Hobbit Next Door to me.
If the idea of middle-earth music with bass and drums bothers you, well, I was skeptical, but the bass and drums stay in the background. The emphasis is on guitar and strings. They do some non-celtic things with chord changes and odd chords in general, but it doesn't set my teeth on edge (the way it has with some other bands.)
"Earendil was a Mariner" (Bilbo's Hall of Fire song.) Hobbit Andi Grimsditch is the first musician that I know of to attempt it (it's ten minutes long!) and he does it very well. I find "Earendil" more than pleasant, I find it enchanting. Perhaps it's more orchestrated than one would imagine, but I think Bilbo would like it.

Minor complaints: Of the nine songs on this album I enjoy "Frodo at the Pracing Pony" the least; half the song is spoken and half sung, and that always annoys me somewhat. Another thing that annoys me is that one or two of the songs have complicated chord changes and accidentals-- which always strikes me as un-hobbitlike.

Those seem to me to be very minor complaints. I like this fellow's work. He strikes me as "the hobbit next door", unpretentious, merry and easygoing without being sappy.

So: at least Four **** out of five. Maybe four and a half.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, definitely.
PRICE YOU PAID : Six bucks plus shipping on ebay. Best purchase in a long time!
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: ebay.

mark12_30 · 01-09-2004, 02:49 PM

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEWS

TITLE: Voices of Middle-Earth (Italian)
MUSICIANS: Giuseppe Festa
GENRE: Wonderful folk music. Very very middle-earthy. Haunting flute, quiet & gentle elvish-tenor voice, various folk instruments. Lovely.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical Tolkien verse-- in Italian...
REVIEW: The music of Giuseppe Festa is magnificent. There's a twenty-minute instrumental at the end of the album that stops me in my tracks repeatedly. His Tolkien tunes are by and large singable. And he has a very elvish restlessness and longing in his work.

***** out of five.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely. Gorgeous music. And you can sing the English lyrics to the tunes. Wooohoo!
PRICE YOU PAID : Roughly $30 once I paid for shipping.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: At the website www.lingalad.com

mark12_30 · 01-09-2004, 03:41 PM

TITLE: Night In Rivendell
MUSICIANS: Tolkien Ensemble
GENRE: Classical/ Danish Folk.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon lyrics set to new tunes.
Track list:
1. Rhyme of Lore - Ulrik Cold
2. Gandalf's Song of Lórien - Ulrik Cold
3. Lament of the Rohirrim - String Quartet
4. Frodo's Lament for Gandalf - Peter Hall
5. Bilbo's Song
6. Gollums Song/Riddle
7. Lament for Boromir
8. Song in the Woods - Peter Hall
9. Fall of Gil-Galad - Peter Hall
10. Lament for Théoden
11. Song of the Mounds of Mundburg
12. Elven Hymn to Glbereth Gilthoniel, a Elbereth Gilthoniel
REVIEW: There are some good songs on this album; but in each case, they have been done (IMO) better by somebody else. Either Andi Grimsditch, or Brocceliande (Starlit Jewel), or Giuseppe Festa has outdone this album on a song by song basis. Not that it's a bad album; it's fine, and pleasant enough; but these aren't the tunes I think of when I want to sing these songs.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, it's fair enough. But it's not the first one I'd buy.
PRICE YOU PAID Received as a gift.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Borders.

mark12_30 · 01-09-2004, 03:43 PM

TITLE: Evening in Rivendell
MUSICIANS: Tolkien Ensemble
GENRE: Classical/ Danish folk.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon.
Tracklist:
1. Verse of the Rings - Peter Hall
2. Old Walking Song, the Road
3. Tom Bombadil's Song, Hey Dol! Merry Dol! - Michael Friis
4. There Is an Inn, a Merry Old Inn - Michael Friis
5. Song of Beren and Lúthien
6. Galadriel's Song of Eldamar, I Sang of Leaves
7. Elven Hymn to Elbereth Gilthoniel, Snow-White! Snow-White!
8. Ent and the Ent-Wife
9. Sam's Rhyme of the Troll - Michael Friis
10. Galadriel's Song of Eldamar, Ai! Laurië Lantar
11. Sam's Song in the Orc-Tower - Peter Hall
12. Old Walking Song, the Road, Reprise - Peter Hall
REVIEW: This CD is a treasure. There are several cuts on this CD that have become "the" version of thie song, in my mind. Beren and Luthien is absolutely gorgeous. It's accompanied by piano (why not harp? she wondered) but still, it is a fabulously beautiful setting. Aragorn might have a voice like that.
Ent and the Ent-Wife: took a hearing or two to get used to it, but it's magnificent. A real tear-jerker, sensitively and beautifully done.
Snow-White: quite nice.
I Sang of Leaves: Lovely, lovely. I prefer the Starlit Jewel version myself, but it's a close call. This is really beautiful. I think this lady's voice is more like Galadriel's voice-- richer and "deeper than woman's wont."
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely. "Ent and The Entwife" alone is worth the price of the CD.
PRICE YOU PAID: Don't know; It was a gift.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Borders.

mark12_30 · 01-09-2004, 03:50 PM

TITLE: Songs of Middle Earth (Inspired by Lord of the Rings) ...(but see review below.)
MUSICIANS: Rick Wakeman
GENRE: Sixties/seventies synthesizer music with no lyrics.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Non canonical; see below.
REVIEW: Frankly despite the title I don't see how it's Tolkien-related at all. When my copy arrived in the mail I found right on the CD jacket it says "Previously released under other titles." So how is it Tolkien Related if he just renamed the music from something else? The music is okay if you like psychedelic keyboards (personally I like Bo Hansson much better, and his music SOUNDS like Middle_Earth.)
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? No!!! I can't see or hear a glimmer of Tolkien in it other than the Argonath on the cover,
PRICE YOU PAID : Six bucks, wasted.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Ebay. Amazon has it too.

[ 4:51 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

zb · 01-09-2004, 11:34 PM

This isn't entirely a music thing, but it's related:

TITLE: J.R.R. Tolkien Collection
MUSICIANS: Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Elvin, Donald Swann (composer)
GENRE: erm... readings (no music) & classical
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? As canon as canon can be (see 'musicians')
REVIEW: Basically, it's CRT reading 'Of Beren & Luthien', JRRT reading various poems and William Elvin singing various poems as set to music by Donald Swann. CRT has a great reading voice, though his dad mumbles and speaks way too fast [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] It wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, though it takes effort to listen to (not something you'd have playing in the background)
PRICE YOU PAID nothing, I borrowed it from my local library. This page has it listed for $25 (but doesn't mention the William Elvin bit in the review - I wonder if it got cut? if so, there's no 'music' in the collection, making this review pointless)
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: see above

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-10-2004, 05:24 AM

TITLE: House of Tom Bombadil (Track 4 on the album "Nickel Creek")
MUSICIANS: Nickel Creek
GENRE: bluegrass! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? original, Tolkien-related only by its title and style (and the fanship of the musicians, especially one)
REVIEW: This is one of those CDs I never would have looked at, but a brother with a very widespread and excellent taste in music surprises and delights me with his annual gifts. Bluegrass is not my usual style, but this is such high quality that the style doesn't matter. The one Tolkien-related title is instrumental, a cheerful dance with a folksy, Irish sound to it. I can easily imagine that the Springle-ring could be danced to it! It does seem to be very much in the spirit of Ring-a-dong-dillo! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? very much so - though most of the album isn't Tolkien-related; it's very well done, highly enjoyable music, mostly vocal, several instrumental titles. I've listened to this CD more than any other one in the past two years.
PRICE YOU PAID 'Twas given to me for Christmas 2001
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT (see above)

mark12_30 · 01-23-2004, 03:30 PM

thebladethatwasbroken provided a nice link in this The Hobbit Soundtrack thread.

mark12_30 · 01-23-2004, 03:50 PM

TITLE: Memories of Middle Earth
MUSICIANS: Brobdingnagian Bards
GENRE: Folk: mostly Autoharp, recorder, and a male voice.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original. The instrumental peices all have Middle-Earth names and themes. The songs (there are six) all have original Middle-Earth oriented lyrics.
REVIEW: Your opinions
Although this is by far the most skillful Autoharp playing I've ever heard, the Autoharp doesn't sound like a normal harp and never struck me as a Middle-Earth instrument. It gives the whole album a shrill, too-trebly feel.
On the plus-side, the recorder-playing is rather nice; meandering at times, perky at times. (If only it had been backed by something other than auto-harp.)
Now the Songs. Overall the songs were enjoyable. "The Heart of Fangorn" was okay. "Weathertop" had fine lyrics, from Frodo's point of view; but I found the tune on the drab side. The lyrics have real promise despite a few awkward spots. I found myself wondering if I just added lots of grace notes and maybe some harmony, would it work better?
"The Ring of Hope" is sung post-war, is actually about smoke rings, and it describes Sam smoking and thinking of his master who has crossed the sea. This song has a very fine wandering and intricate tune! The lyrics are occasionally awkward but the heart behind the song is poignant and touching. Of all the songs I thought this one most appropriate to Marc Gunn's rather rustic scottish style. Overall, the best song on the album.
"Legolas" is a song of friendship from Gimli's point of view and is fun and enjoyable. "Now It's Time To Go" is Bilbo's party farewell, and quite enjoyable. "The Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues" isn't to my taste. (Most of its lyrics are actually on the canonical side, with a few exceptions.)
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? It's not the first Middle-Earth album I'd buy. But if you like recorder and don't mind Autoharp, sure, pick it up.
PRICE YOU PAID: What they charge online at their website.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: www.thebards.net/ MP3's http://tolkien.bardscrier.com/

[ 5:38 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

mark12_30 · 01-23-2004, 04:52 PM

TITLE: The Starlit Jewel
MUSICIANS: Broceliande; Margaret Davis on lead vocals.
GENRE: Very Celtic.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Very canonical.
REVIEW:
I love this CD. Some of the intro's take a little getting used to; these are folk instruments. The album has more of a Renaissance feel than I associate with Tolkien. But it is still the most Middle-Earthy instrumentation I have yet heard. If there is anything electric used, I don't remember it (maybe a background synth here and there but it doesn't stand out.)
The only songs on this album I'm not crazy about are The Merry Old Inn (but they do the best rendition out there; I'm just generally weary of it) and Durin's Day (a fine rendition, really; I'm just not into that particular song.) Everything else is just... glorious.
Where did they manage to find the genuine hobbits and elves? Sam is very believably Sam. In Western Lands is touching and simple. The Troll Song makes me laugh, reliably, wherever I am. Hobbit Walking Song is just wonderful.
Margaret Davis has a lovely, lovely voice. She's on the Soprano side for Galadriel (who's voice is described as "deeper than woman's wont") but that's a really minor nitpick. Her version of Galadriel's Lament is just gorgeous. And her rendition of Elvish Lullabye takes me straight to Rivendell.
I do wish they'd found a guy to sing Legolas's part in Lament for Boromir; but the woman who sings it does a very believable job given her assignment, and the song is successful anyway. (Aragorn is fine.)
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely.
PRICE YOU PAID: an astonishingly honest price: $15 plus shipping.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: A rather bizarre online store called Southern Fried Filk. When I bought mine last September he said he had "a few left." http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stat...2/celticcd.htm
You can listen to clips here (20 secs of each song) or
here, 3 songs but different clips.

[ 6:05 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

[ 6:14 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-24-2004, 12:27 AM

Legolas' review of the RotK soundtrack can be found here.

mark12_30 · 01-24-2004, 07:56 AM

Esty, thank you for that link! Legolas, did yo have any othr reviews you'd ike to link to?

[ 9:10 AM January 24, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

Imladris · 02-03-2004, 12:02 AM

# TITLE: The Fellowship of the Ring piano/vocals/chords
# MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Howard Shore
# GENRE: Music from the Soundtracks (that should be Tolkien related enought right? [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img])
# INSTRUMENTS music is written for: Various
# REVIEW: I believe that these books are well worth the money. There are several songs I don't play because either I can't play them or because they don't appeal to me (listening and playing I have found are quite different). But that is just me. The songs I do not like are Aniron (Theme for Arwen and Aragorn because of the difficult key and rhythm; and The Phrophecy because of the many chords and accidentals (it doesn't seem to have a tune to me). My favourites are May it Be (this does include the words; and In Dreams also with words.
# DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes I do. It's great probably for a late beginner to intermediate piano player and for anyone who wants to sing them. The ones with Elvish also have the elvish language and tranlsation. You can also play it with flute and violin of course. The chords are included above the staff.
# PRICE YOU PAID I don't remember, but I don't think it was more than twenty dollars.
# WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT At a music store. The new books didn't come in until the movies had hit the cheap seats about April or May -- maybe March.

Song Titles:

Aniron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)
The Prophecy
Many Meetings
Lament for Gandalf
In Dreams
May it Be
~~~~~~~~~~~
# TITLE: The Two Towers piano/vocals/chords)
# MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Howard Shore
# GENRE: TTT soundtrack
# INSTRUMENTS Piano voice, various
# REVIEW: Pretty much the same as FotR. Two of the songs are very repetetive and tedious to play (" Isengard Unleashed and Forth Eorlingas") but all in all it is very good. My favourites are "Gollum's Song" and "Evenstar". Again, the songs are a matter of taste. I think they have a nice selection of all the themes and songs in the movies.
# DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes I do.
# PRICE YOU PAID Again I don't remember it.
# WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Same place I bought FotR [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] At a music store whose name I don't remember.

Song Titles:
Gollum's Song
Evenstar
Isengard Unleashed
Breath of Life
Forth Eorlingas
Rohan

Edit: I'm sorry, I don't know how to do that fancy square thing...

[ 1:03 AM February 03, 2004: Message edited by: Imladris ]

mark12_30 · 02-03-2004, 12:20 AM

Imladris, many thanks! Very helpful information; also thanks for the cheap-seats info on the date of previous book releases! I had been hunting and hunting for the ROTK book... Patience.

Sounds like I'll be homesick for my dad's piano. Keyboard just isn't the same.

The pound signs are a good improvisation! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
The square things are what you get when you click on the list-start, list-item, and list-end buttons. It took me a long time to find 'em.

Hilde Bracegirdle · 02-27-2004, 11:49 AM

· TITLE: Music Inspired By Middle Earth

· MUSICIANS: David & Diane Arkenstone

· GENRE: Classical, New Age, Renaissance, (instrumental)

· INSTRUMENTS: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, French Horn, Trumpet, Oboe/English Horn, Harp, Keyboards, Guitar, Whistle, Flute, Melodica,
Mandolin, Bouzouki, Percussion, Dulcimer, Bells, Bawu, Duduk, bansuri, ocarina

· CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original Tolkien inspired, though one does not need to be familiar with Tolkien to appreciate it.

· REVIEW: This album is very much like the score of an unmade movie, so at first listen it sounds high-flown but it grows on you as you listen more, and has a high goose bump factor. There are some passages that sound like Aaron Copland ala Witness, and some that remind you of Tubular Bells or the colder scenes in Titanic. So if you like that sort of music, chances are you would enjoy this CD.

1. Prelude: Hobbits From the Shire
2. The Road to Rivendell
3. The Quest (very good)
4. Moria
5. Lothlorien
6. Galadriel Mirror
7. The Riders of Rohan (Really hits the Mark! Best track on the album)
8. The Palantir (Chilling, captures the despair)
9. Arwen and Aragon
10. To Isengard
11. In the land of Shadow (Portrays the bleak and ominous mood of Mordor)
12. The Fields of Cormallen (To my mind the worst track, sounds like the credits should be rolling)
13. The Grey Havens (The end of this one almost brings tears to my eyes – even at work!)

· DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes. All 5 of my 5 test subjects liked it.

· PRICE YOU PAID: $13.99 USD

· WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon (Sorry, to those who think Amazon is the death of merchants, but it is invaluable to us rural folk.)

· Do you know of any online samples? Yes, Track 1 – "Prelude: Hobbits From the Shire" is available as a download from Amazon and several snippets of the others are there to listen to.

Leyrana Silumiel · 02-27-2004, 02:42 PM

Eh. This is just my review of the Return of the King soundtrack.

Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack

Musicians: Howard Shore

Genre: Classical

Canonical Tolkien or Original?: Original, but Tolkien Related.

Review: To be honest, the Return of the King soundtrack was the first soundtrack from the films that I've gotten my hands onto. I have to admit, though, that the soundtrack seemed, to me, awesome. It opened with the nearly traditional soft music that I mentally always relate to the hobbits, and swept grandly up into a beautiful score in "Minas Tirith." Billy Boyd performed well on "The Steward of Gondor," and "Minas Morgul" definitely brings dark images to mind.

Return of the King was not without the majestic music that developed the battle scenes, though. "The Ride of the Rohirrim," "The Fields of the Pelennor," "The Black Gate Opens" and "The End of All Things" vividly portrayed the film's battle scenes in sound--from the thunderous, ominous drums to the triumphant, heroic trumpets.

The final song of the soundtrack, "Into the West," which was performed superbly by Annie Lennox, is definitely deserving of the Golden Globe it received for Best Original Song. The music and lyrics are haunting and melodic, and it's definitely a tear-jerker.

Do you recommend it?: Most definitely.

Price you paid: About $20 (from Wal-mart--that's with tax).

Where you bought it: Wal-mart (where a very lovely card insert features characters from the movies--girls, the cover with just Aragorn on it has Legolas on the back of the inside of the card!)

Do you know of any online samples?: Amazon.com features samples of "A Storm is Coming," "Hope and Memory," "Minas Tirith," "The White Tree" and "The Steward of Gondor" right here

mark12_30 · 03-04-2004, 11:10 AM

TITLE: Lotr Fanclub Scrapbook LotrScrapbook Songs
MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Original Songs set to popular tunes. Fans. Lots of 'em. Some silly, some serious, and everything in between.
GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal... YES. There's something for everyone here. Keep surfing.
INSTRUMENTS music is written for: Well, voice. Songs.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Origial lyrics, all Tolkien-themed, mostly set to existing tunes written by popular bands. (It's called Filk. There's a whole subculture of people who do this all the time.)
REVIEW:
Well, the songs run the gamut from silly and absurd to nearly-sublime. There are enough songs here to suit most tastes. And although there are no chords or sheet music, you know half the tunes listed anyway, and the other half you could find or learn if you just HAD to be able to sing a particular song.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT?
Definitely. HAVE FUN!
PRICE YOU PAID $zero!
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT : FREE online! Lotr Fanclub Scrapbook

Hookbill the Goomba · 03-15-2004, 12:40 PM

This is a topic I have been meaning to start ever since I arrived on the Downs, but never got round to it.
Basically, I have a couple of CD's of Middle Earth Music, (admittedly including the film soundtracks). So I was wondering if anyone had heard any decent M-E music while Wandering The AWW (Arda wide web..... ok so its not that funny

) So far I have found that "The One ring" CD contains some of my favourites, if you don’t know it you can get clips from it here;
http://www.metrognome.demon.co.uk/mp3.htm

So, please post your suggestions here, and if you can, links so we can all enjoy them.

Hilde Bracegirdle · 03-27-2004, 09:27 AM

TITLE: The Middle Earth Album
MUSICIANS: Glass Hammer
GENRE: folk, with classical and Celtic influences (Some tracks have choruses that sound rather like Gilbert and Sullivan)
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original
REVIEW: Great fun! The first half of the album is as if you are in the Prancing Pony listening to the group playing there. Highly recommended for hobbits who love humor and a good tale. Though I would give a word of warning to dwarves. They do poke a bit of good-natured fun at one Balin Longbeard. Some very beautiful tracks on the latter half “As I walk”, “The Last Ship”, and “Mithrandir”. “Sweet Goldberry” even gives mention to our own Barrow Wight! Toward the end, a little of their symphonic progressive sound creeps in, but it is a light and positive addition. I'd say "Mirkwood" would be the weakest track on the CD.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes
PRICE YOU PAID: $15.99 USD
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon
Do you know of any online samples? Yes, Look under Newest Stuff

Tracks

Elrenn and Endereth
The Old Troll
The Old Troll and the Maiden
Dwarf and Orc
The King's Beer
The Ballad of Balin Longbeard
The Man in the Wood
Mirkwood
As I Walk
The Last Ship
Mithrandir (This Fading Age)
Sweet Goldberry
No Crown for Balin

mark12_30 · 04-22-2004, 07:55 AM

TITLE:"Music from the BBC Radio Dramatization of J. R. R. TOlkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS"
MUSICIANS: ...many...
GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal... Modern "Classical-modern".
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Mostly canon-lyrics, with a few instrumental tracks.
REVIEW:
I'll start with the negative and get it over with: Stephen Oliver writes in a modern (post-modern??) beyond-drawing-room style. (My tastes run to old-fashioned, "real" classical and the dischordant/ jazzed modern does little for me.) I find the music is sometimes strained and unpleasantly dischordant.
His elves do nothing for me. The jingle-bells are distracting, the tunes aren't celtic in flavor or even particularly pretty or attractive in my mind-- perhaps "madrigal, but dischordant" would describe it. Again, unpleasant.

Now for the good stuff: Hobbits, men, and ents. Here Stephen Oliver really shines.

Hobbits: His version of "Gil-Galad" is in my mind THE version. THe tune is on the challenging side but not dischordant. The version as sung on the music CD is pleasant. The version as sung by Sam on the aired version is just great. Also superb-- "In Western Lands"-- one of the best versions of this song. THe Road Goes Ever On: quite good.

Bilbo's Last Song: Good. (But why isn't it sung by a hobbit?) I'll have to compare it to Swann's version again.

Men: Forth Rode The King, The Battle of Pelennor Fields, and Lament for the Fallen are slow and sonorous. 2 thumbs up.

Ents: The long List of the Ents: It's fine (whatever, this was never my favorite poem.)
The March of the Ents: YEAH!! Awesome! "We go, we go, we go to war..." Superb. Stirring, valiant stuff: HOOM HOM!
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT?
For the Mannish, Hobbitish and Entish stuff it's great. (But if you're looking for Elvish, keep looking.)
PRICE YOU PAID: If you buy the BBC CDs, get the set with the extra music CD-- that's this. Don't settle for a set without it like I did.
I had to special-order it overseas and it *wasn't* cheap. I think the bill was over $30 by the time I was done.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT
Again, in order to get just the CD, I had to special-order and it took forever to arrive. Edit: www.tolkienshop.com/
Do you know of any online samples?
Not any more. I ran across Sam's Gil-Galad song online as a .wav file, which was how I decided to buy the CD; but the WAV file is gone now. Tolkien Estates strikes again, I suppose. Don't they understand they're deleting their best advertising? If I hadn't been enchanted by that wav file I doubt I would have struggled to get this CD.

mark12_30 · 05-04-2004, 03:47 PM

TITLE: Alan Horvath The Rings Project
MUSICIANS: Alan Horvath.
GENRE: Kind of acoustic-rock-country-blues... I think.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original songs about LOTR. Some nice stuff!
REVIEW: The first time I listened to it I didn't get very far. The country flavor jarred me a bit at first (being slanted more toward classical, celtic, and NE folk.) But a few weeks later I decided to try it again with adjusted expectations. And hey, it's pretty good! Horvath is a thoughtful lyricist, playful, creative, and not above some really fun lines (in the Prancing Pony song he mentions the fire being cozy enough to "curl his toes". Priceless.)
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes! It's fun.
PRICE YOU PAID: Ten or eleven bucks. Very reasonable price.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Alan Horvath's Website
Do you know of any online samples? listen to each song 3 times for free

Bombadil · 05-06-2004, 07:09 PM

TITLE: Nightfall in Middle Earth
MUSICIANS: Blind Guardian
GENRE: Progressive metal
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon
REVIEW: Great, great album! All based on the story of the Silmarillion. Speed metal with booming choruses and melodical guitar solos.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Definitely, any tolkien or metal fan can enjoy.
PRICE YOU PAID: 15.00
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Media Play
Do you know of any online samples? I think sumwhere on www.cdnow.com

mark12_30 · 05-12-2004, 10:06 AM

TITLE: The Hobbitons
MUSICIANS: ...The Hobbitons...
GENRE: Folk.
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical! Hobbit-songs from The Hobbit, LOTR, and Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
REVIEW: Where has this album been all my life??? (Answer: right there on the net, while I've been hesitating about sending American cash thru the mail to Denmark. Knuckleheaded me.)

The tunes are perky, the voices are hobbity. Yes! This is GOOD.

All right, so I skip the orc-songs. But the hobbit songs are excellent. (Oh, and I also skip the Prancing Pony song... I don't know, EVERYBODY does that one and frankly I'm sick of it.) But the other one-- the Man in the Moon came Down too Soon, from Bombadil-- is wonderful. Really. I laughed, and sighed, and said "awww! Poor old guy!"

Mewlips is good. Creepy. yet still hobbity. The walking songs are good-- you can imagine *walking* to them. Gil-Galad is good-- they used Stephen Oliver's tune which was (in my mind) the best song on the Stephen Oliver album, so-- good choice. And it's nice to hear a hobbit sing it.

The Drinking Song (Ho Ho Ho) is good. They sang it forever, though. Bilbo's Last Song-- again, the Stephen Oliver tune, but with a genuine Hobbit singing this time.

Oddly enough, my favorite song on this album isn't technically a hobbit song-- it's "The Valley"-- the Rivendell song from The Hobbit. Terribly undignified. I don't think Elrond was a chorus member, or if he was, he had let his hair down. The song actually succeeds in being merry! I chuckled and laughed listening to it. I'm going to learn it.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely.
PRICE YOU PAID I mailed them whatever cash they asked for on the Hobbitons . They said that the stock was running low; apparently I got one of the last ones. That's too bad. If I had known how good it is, I'd have ordered it a long time ago. Why was I skeptical!?
.
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Hobbitons
Do you know of any online samples? Hobbitons

Hilde Bracegirdle · 06-10-2004, 11:01 AM

I discovered This Site for Tolkien Inspired Music that I hadn't come across before, and thought that this would be as good place as any for a link!

Estelyn Telcontar · 09-02-2004, 11:06 AM

I've reviewed the Tolkien/Swann music book The Road Goes Ever On, including the CD, here. Enjoy!

Mithalwen · 09-02-2004, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark12_30

[list][*] And it's nice to hear a hobbit sing it.

The Drinking Song (Ho Ho Ho) is good. They sang it forever, though. Bilbo's Last Song-- again, the Stephen Oliver tune, but with a genuine Hobbit singing this time.

Errrr ?

Imladris · 10-28-2004, 07:36 PM

I know that Bombadil did a review on this already, but I...can't...resist...

TITLE: Nightfall in Middle Earth

MUSICIANS: Blind Guardian

GENRE: Progressive metal

CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon

REVIEW: In a word, it is awesome. In another word (or more) it captures the heart and spirit of the Silmarillion. It's has the themes of doom and fate that pervade Tolkien's tale.

I have never heard such talent in metal/rock music. Screaming voices are neatly balanced with elvish softness and the metal has a very Celtic feel to it (it actually works quite well). The screaming isn't that bad either...and very fitting I think.

DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Of course.

PRICE YOU PAID: 15.00 or so.

WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon

Clips: Clickity click click

Lyrics: Read them...enjoy!

mark12_30 · 03-07-2005, 07:03 PM

While poking around on ebay i noticed this:

Tolkien Ensemble 2 CD Night/Evening in Rivendell OOP

This is a boxed set of Evening and Night. I have them already. I've reviewed each one above (posts 5 and 6), the price is great, and so far there's no competition. It would be worth buying for "The Ent and the Entwife" alone.

Also check out At Dawn In Rivendell

01-09-2004, 02:35 PM	#1
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Middle-Earth Music Reviews MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEWS This thread is for reviewing music that is Tolkien Related. It is important to clearly state HOW it is Tolkien related, and provide specific Tolkien-related details (or this thread won't last long.) Primarily this is for reviewing CDs or online mp3's (*LEGAL ONES ONLY), old vinyl records, cassettes... You can also review Tolkien music books. I'd like to see some reviews of the movie soundtracks and the music books for the soundtracks, too; nobody has tackled that yet. (EDIT: Except Legolas; Thank you Legolas!) Multiple reviews are ok, up to five reviews of the same music. After that, open a new thread! Put a link to the new thread here in this thread and let us know. So that the reviews don't get lost in the discussions, if you want to discuss particular music in-depth, please open another thread. If it is music that you play, check out the thread The most Tolkien-Oriented music you make. The structure for music reviews is as follows: TITLE: MUSICIANS: GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal... CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? If original, how is it Tolkien Related? REVIEW: Your opinions DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? PRICE YOU PAID (if you don't mind telling us, that is) WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Do you know of any online samples? The structure for music BOOK reviews is as follows: TITLE: MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal... INSTRUMENTS music is written for: voice? Piano? Guitar? Violin, flute, trumpet? glockenspiel...? CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? If original, how is it Tolkien Related? REVIEW: Your opinions. Are the songs/tunes good? Do they feel like Middle-Earth music? What instrument do you play, and does the book apply well to your instrument? DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Is the music comfortable to read and play? What is the skill level required? PRICE YOU PAID (if you don't mind telling us, that is) WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT So, share the Middle-Earth, Tolkien music that you love with all the rest of us! Post your reviews here! --mark12_30 <font size=1 color=339966>[ 12:55 AM February 03, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 02-23-2004 at 02:24 PM.*

01-09-2004, 02:41 PM	#2
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEW TITLE:At Dawn In Rivendell MUSICIANS: The Tolkien Ensemble GENRE: classical and danish folk CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical Tolkien. REVIEW: Christopher Lee's poetry readings are marvelous, dark and foreboding, and full of import. He lives up to his reputation here; enough said... The music: I have heard it called operatic. Not quite. This is folk music. But it is Danish folk music, and for the hobbit sections at least, I find that strange. It is a Danish interpretation of a culture that Tolkien clearly stated was English. I would have preferred a more English style; barring that, something from the British Isles would have made more sense. Shetland music shows this Danish influence, but the Shire is not patterned after the Shetlands. TRACK LIST 1. Verse Of The Rings 2. Song Of Gondor 3. A Walking Song (I) 4. Warning Of Winter 5. Malbeth The Seer's Words 6. A Drinking Song 7. The Long List Of The Ents (I) 8. Eomer's Song 9. Boromir's Riddle 10. The Bath Song 11. Song Of Lebennin 12. Gandalf's Riddle Of The Ents 13. Ho! Tom Bombadil 14. The Riddle Of Strider (I) 15. Song Of Nimrodel 16. Treebeard's Song 17. Farewell Song Of Merry And Pippin 18. Athelas 19. A Walking Song (II) 20. Elven Hymn To Elbereth Gilthoniel (III) I will group the songs by character. Treebeard's songs are pleasant enough. Since I never had any urge to sing them myself, I have little comment. There is a "technique" which I have heard referred to as Scooping, Sliding, or Cheating: I guess you could describe it as too many slurred grace notes. That technique is used on this album by the singer performing Frodo's songs. I find it annoying and unpleasant. It makes the tune terribly difficult to follow; nor do I think Frodo would have had that style. One reviewer called it "bumptious". I think the decision to sing in that style was misdirected. I will fight through the songs to try and learn the tunes, but I don't enjoy hearing them. I think the tunes will be good once they are simplified and the slidy, slippery grace notes gotten rid of. Pippin's songs are fine! Enjoyable, pleasant, easy to follow, no nasty slidy grace notes... The Bath Song is good; the Farewell Song is good. Well done. Eomer's song, in my opinion, is an utter travesty. Instead of a fiery-dark Nordic battle-cry, it has been turned into a keening lament more suited to a destitute Irish widow than a general. I detest it. The Song of Gondor took some getting used to; haunting, but with a challenging tune. However, by the third time hearing it, I was humming it afterwards, and now it frequently berings me to tears. Well done. Song of Lebennin: again, takes a little getting used to. I'm used to it now! I love it. This one also brings me to tears frequently. I saved the best for last: Song of Nimrodel is wonderful! Gently sung in a velvety smooth tenor voice, tastefully accompanied on guitar. It is marvellous. It makes me imagine that I am in Lorien, and one of the hobbits has said, "Legolas-- that song about the singing stream, let's hear it again." It was worth the price of the album. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes. PRICE YOU PAID : Honestly, I forget. Under twenty bucks. Maybe fifteen or sixteen. Whatever I paid it was worth it. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Walmart, I think. <font size=1 color=339966>[ 4:52 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] <font size=1 color=339966>[ 4:54 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-09-2004, 02:45 PM	#3
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEW TITLE: Tolkien Song Cycle MUSICIANS: Andi Grimsditch GENRE: Scottish! CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical verses set to music REVIEW: For starters, a couple of these songs are SINGABLE (not all of 'em.) And for another, this guy is a believable Hobbit-voice. It says he's from Argentina but his Scottish accent is delightful, and he has a soft, gentle tenor voice; sounds like the Hobbit Next Door to me. If the idea of middle-earth music with bass and drums bothers you, well, I was skeptical, but the bass and drums stay in the background. The emphasis is on guitar and strings. They do some non-celtic things with chord changes and odd chords in general, but it doesn't set my teeth on edge (the way it has with some other bands.) "Earendil was a Mariner" (Bilbo's Hall of Fire song.) Hobbit Andi Grimsditch is the first musician that I know of to attempt it (it's ten minutes long!) and he does it very well. I find "Earendil" more than pleasant, I find it enchanting. Perhaps it's more orchestrated than one would imagine, but I think Bilbo would like it. Minor complaints: Of the nine songs on this album I enjoy "Frodo at the Pracing Pony" the least; half the song is spoken and half sung, and that always annoys me somewhat. Another thing that annoys me is that one or two of the songs have complicated chord changes and accidentals-- which always strikes me as un-hobbitlike. Those seem to me to be very minor complaints. I like this fellow's work. He strikes me as "the hobbit next door", unpretentious, merry and easygoing without being sappy. So: at least Four **** out of five. Maybe four and a half. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, definitely. PRICE YOU PAID : Six bucks plus shipping on ebay. Best purchase in a long time! WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: ebay. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-09-2004, 02:49 PM	#4
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEWS TITLE: Voices of Middle-Earth (Italian) MUSICIANS: Giuseppe Festa GENRE: Wonderful folk music. Very very middle-earthy. Haunting flute, quiet & gentle elvish-tenor voice, various folk instruments. Lovely. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical Tolkien verse-- in Italian... REVIEW: The music of Giuseppe Festa is magnificent. There's a twenty-minute instrumental at the end of the album that stops me in my tracks repeatedly. His Tolkien tunes are by and large singable. And he has a very elvish restlessness and longing in his work. ***** out of five. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely. Gorgeous music. And you can sing the English lyrics to the tunes. Wooohoo! PRICE YOU PAID : Roughly $30 once I paid for shipping. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: At the website www.lingalad.com __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-09-2004, 03:41 PM	#5
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	TITLE: Night In Rivendell MUSICIANS: Tolkien Ensemble GENRE: Classical/ Danish Folk. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon lyrics set to new tunes. Track list: 1. Rhyme of Lore - Ulrik Cold 2. Gandalf's Song of Lórien - Ulrik Cold 3. Lament of the Rohirrim - String Quartet 4. Frodo's Lament for Gandalf - Peter Hall 5. Bilbo's Song 6. Gollums Song/Riddle 7. Lament for Boromir 8. Song in the Woods - Peter Hall 9. Fall of Gil-Galad - Peter Hall 10. Lament for Théoden 11. Song of the Mounds of Mundburg 12. Elven Hymn to Glbereth Gilthoniel, a Elbereth Gilthoniel REVIEW: There are some good songs on this album; but in each case, they have been done (IMO) better by somebody else. Either Andi Grimsditch, or Brocceliande (Starlit Jewel), or Giuseppe Festa has outdone this album on a song by song basis. Not that it's a bad album; it's fine, and pleasant enough; but these aren't the tunes I think of when I want to sing these songs. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, it's fair enough. But it's not the first one I'd buy. PRICE YOU PAID Received as a gift. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Borders. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-09-2004, 03:43 PM	#6
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	TITLE: Evening in Rivendell MUSICIANS: Tolkien Ensemble GENRE: Classical/ Danish folk. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon. Tracklist: 1. Verse of the Rings - Peter Hall 2. Old Walking Song, the Road 3. Tom Bombadil's Song, Hey Dol! Merry Dol! - Michael Friis 4. There Is an Inn, a Merry Old Inn - Michael Friis 5. Song of Beren and Lúthien 6. Galadriel's Song of Eldamar, I Sang of Leaves 7. Elven Hymn to Elbereth Gilthoniel, Snow-White! Snow-White! 8. Ent and the Ent-Wife 9. Sam's Rhyme of the Troll - Michael Friis 10. Galadriel's Song of Eldamar, Ai! Laurië Lantar 11. Sam's Song in the Orc-Tower - Peter Hall 12. Old Walking Song, the Road, Reprise - Peter Hall REVIEW: This CD is a treasure. There are several cuts on this CD that have become "the" version of thie song, in my mind. Beren and Luthien is absolutely gorgeous. It's accompanied by piano (why not harp? she wondered) but still, it is a fabulously beautiful setting. Aragorn might have a voice like that. Ent and the Ent-Wife: took a hearing or two to get used to it, but it's magnificent. A real tear-jerker, sensitively and beautifully done. Snow-White: quite nice. I Sang of Leaves: Lovely, lovely. I prefer the Starlit Jewel version myself, but it's a close call. This is really beautiful. I think this lady's voice is more like Galadriel's voice-- richer and "deeper than woman's wont." DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely. "Ent and The Entwife" alone is worth the price of the CD. PRICE YOU PAID: Don't know; It was a gift. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Borders. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-09-2004, 03:50 PM	#7
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	TITLE: Songs of Middle Earth (Inspired by Lord of the Rings) ...(but see review below.) MUSICIANS: Rick Wakeman GENRE: Sixties/seventies synthesizer music with no lyrics. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Non canonical; see below. REVIEW: Frankly despite the title I don't see how it's Tolkien-related at all. When my copy arrived in the mail I found right on the CD jacket it says "Previously released under other titles." So how is it Tolkien Related if he just renamed the music from something else? The music is okay if you like psychedelic keyboards (personally I like Bo Hansson much better, and his music SOUNDS like Middle_Earth.) DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? No!!! I can't see or hear a glimmer of Tolkien in it other than the Argonath on the cover, PRICE YOU PAID : Six bucks, wasted. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Ebay. Amazon has it too. <font size=1 color=339966>[ 4:51 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-09-2004, 11:34 PM	#8
zb Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: perth, west australia Posts: 71	This isn't entirely a music thing, but it's related: TITLE: J.R.R. Tolkien Collection MUSICIANS: Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Elvin, Donald Swann (composer) GENRE: erm... readings (no music) & classical CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? As canon as canon can be (see 'musicians') REVIEW: Basically, it's CRT reading 'Of Beren & Luthien', JRRT reading various poems and William Elvin singing various poems as set to music by Donald Swann. CRT has a great reading voice, though his dad mumbles and speaks way too fast [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] It wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, though it takes effort to listen to (not something you'd have playing in the background) PRICE YOU PAID nothing, I borrowed it from my local library. This page has it listed for $25 (but doesn't mention the William Elvin bit in the review - I wonder if it got cut? if so, there's no 'music' in the collection, making this review pointless) WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: see above __________________ "Do you think I am trying to weave a spell? Perhaps I am; but remember your fairy tales. Spells are used for breaking enchantments as well as inducing them. And you and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness..." - C.S. Lewis

01-10-2004, 05:24 AM	#9
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	TITLE: House of Tom Bombadil (Track 4 on the album "Nickel Creek") MUSICIANS: Nickel Creek GENRE: bluegrass! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? original, Tolkien-related only by its title and style (and the fanship of the musicians, especially one) REVIEW: This is one of those CDs I never would have looked at, but a brother with a very widespread and excellent taste in music surprises and delights me with his annual gifts. Bluegrass is not my usual style, but this is such high quality that the style doesn't matter. The one Tolkien-related title is instrumental, a cheerful dance with a folksy, Irish sound to it. I can easily imagine that the Springle-ring could be danced to it! It does seem to be very much in the spirit of Ring-a-dong-dillo! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? very much so - though most of the album isn't Tolkien-related; it's very well done, highly enjoyable music, mostly vocal, several instrumental titles. I've listened to this CD more than any other one in the past two years. PRICE YOU PAID 'Twas given to me for Christmas 2001 WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT (see above) __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

01-23-2004, 03:30 PM	#10
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	thebladethatwasbroken provided a nice link in this The Hobbit Soundtrack thread. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-23-2004, 03:50 PM	#11
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	TITLE: Memories of Middle Earth MUSICIANS: Brobdingnagian Bards GENRE: Folk: mostly Autoharp, recorder, and a male voice. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original. The instrumental peices all have Middle-Earth names and themes. The songs (there are six) all have original Middle-Earth oriented lyrics. REVIEW: Your opinions Although this is by far the most skillful Autoharp playing I've ever heard, the Autoharp doesn't sound like a normal harp and never struck me as a Middle-Earth instrument. It gives the whole album a shrill, too-trebly feel. On the plus-side, the recorder-playing is rather nice; meandering at times, perky at times. (If only it had been backed by something other than auto-harp.) Now the Songs. Overall the songs were enjoyable. "The Heart of Fangorn" was okay. "Weathertop" had fine lyrics, from Frodo's point of view; but I found the tune on the drab side. The lyrics have real promise despite a few awkward spots. I found myself wondering if I just added lots of grace notes and maybe some harmony, would it work better? "The Ring of Hope" is sung post-war, is actually about smoke rings, and it describes Sam smoking and thinking of his master who has crossed the sea. This song has a very fine wandering and intricate tune! The lyrics are occasionally awkward but the heart behind the song is poignant and touching. Of all the songs I thought this one most appropriate to Marc Gunn's rather rustic scottish style. Overall, the best song on the album. "Legolas" is a song of friendship from Gimli's point of view and is fun and enjoyable. "Now It's Time To Go" is Bilbo's party farewell, and quite enjoyable. "The Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues" isn't to my taste. (Most of its lyrics are actually on the canonical side, with a few exceptions.) DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? It's not the first Middle-Earth album I'd buy. But if you like recorder and don't mind Autoharp, sure, pick it up. PRICE YOU PAID: What they charge online at their website. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: www.thebards.net/ MP3's http://tolkien.bardscrier.com/ <font size=1 color=339966>[ 5:38 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-23-2004, 04:52 PM	#12
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	TITLE: The Starlit Jewel MUSICIANS: Broceliande; Margaret Davis on lead vocals. GENRE: Very Celtic. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Very canonical. REVIEW: I love this CD. Some of the intro's take a little getting used to; these are folk instruments. The album has more of a Renaissance feel than I associate with Tolkien. But it is still the most Middle-Earthy instrumentation I have yet heard. If there is anything electric used, I don't remember it (maybe a background synth here and there but it doesn't stand out.) The only songs on this album I'm not crazy about are The Merry Old Inn (but they do the best rendition out there; I'm just generally weary of it) and Durin's Day (a fine rendition, really; I'm just not into that particular song.) Everything else is just... glorious. Where did they manage to find the genuine hobbits and elves? Sam is very believably Sam. In Western Lands is touching and simple. The Troll Song makes me laugh, reliably, wherever I am. Hobbit Walking Song is just wonderful. Margaret Davis has a lovely, lovely voice. She's on the Soprano side for Galadriel (who's voice is described as "deeper than woman's wont") but that's a really minor nitpick. Her version of Galadriel's Lament is just gorgeous. And her rendition of Elvish Lullabye takes me straight to Rivendell. I do wish they'd found a guy to sing Legolas's part in Lament for Boromir; but the woman who sings it does a very believable job given her assignment, and the song is successful anyway. (Aragorn is fine.) DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely. PRICE YOU PAID: an astonishingly honest price: $15 plus shipping. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: A rather bizarre online store called Southern Fried Filk. When I bought mine last September he said he had "a few left." http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stat...2/celticcd.htm You can listen to clips here (20 secs of each song) or here, 3 songs but different clips. <font size=1 color=339966>[ 6:05 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] <font size=1 color=339966>[ 6:14 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

01-24-2004, 12:27 AM	#13
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Legolas' review of the RotK soundtrack can be found here. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

01-24-2004, 07:56 AM	#14
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Esty, thank you for that link! Legolas, did yo have any othr reviews you'd ike to link to? <font size=1 color=339966>[ 9:10 AM January 24, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ] __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

02-03-2004, 12:02 AM	#15
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	# TITLE: The Fellowship of the Ring piano/vocals/chords # MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Howard Shore # GENRE: Music from the Soundtracks (that should be Tolkien related enought right? [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]) # INSTRUMENTS music is written for: Various # REVIEW: I believe that these books are well worth the money. There are several songs I don't play because either I can't play them or because they don't appeal to me (listening and playing I have found are quite different). But that is just me. The songs I do not like are Aniron (Theme for Arwen and Aragorn because of the difficult key and rhythm; and The Phrophecy because of the many chords and accidentals (it doesn't seem to have a tune to me). My favourites are May it Be (this does include the words; and In Dreams also with words. # DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes I do. It's great probably for a late beginner to intermediate piano player and for anyone who wants to sing them. The ones with Elvish also have the elvish language and tranlsation. You can also play it with flute and violin of course. The chords are included above the staff. # PRICE YOU PAID I don't remember, but I don't think it was more than twenty dollars. # WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT At a music store. The new books didn't come in until the movies had hit the cheap seats about April or May -- maybe March. Song Titles: Aniron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen) The Prophecy Many Meetings Lament for Gandalf In Dreams May it Be ~~~~~~~~~~~ # TITLE: The Two Towers piano/vocals/chords) # MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Howard Shore # GENRE: TTT soundtrack # INSTRUMENTS Piano voice, various # REVIEW: Pretty much the same as FotR. Two of the songs are very repetetive and tedious to play (" Isengard Unleashed and Forth Eorlingas") but all in all it is very good. My favourites are "Gollum's Song" and "Evenstar". Again, the songs are a matter of taste. I think they have a nice selection of all the themes and songs in the movies. # DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes I do. # PRICE YOU PAID Again I don't remember it. # WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Same place I bought FotR [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] At a music store whose name I don't remember. Song Titles: Gollum's Song Evenstar Isengard Unleashed Breath of Life Forth Eorlingas Rohan Edit: I'm sorry, I don't know how to do that fancy square thing... <font size=1 color=339966>[ 1:03 AM February 03, 2004: Message edited by: Imladris ] __________________ I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn. It would have been nice to have unicorns. I'm your huckleberry.

02-03-2004, 12:20 AM	#16
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Imladris, many thanks! Very helpful information; also thanks for the cheap-seats info on the date of previous book releases! I had been hunting and hunting for the ROTK book... Patience. Sounds like I'll be homesick for my dad's piano. Keyboard just isn't the same. The pound signs are a good improvisation! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] The square things are what you get when you click on the list-start, list-item, and list-end buttons. It took me a long time to find 'em. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

02-27-2004, 11:49 AM	#17
Hilde Bracegirdle Relic of Wandering Days Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: You'll See Perpetual Change. Posts: 1,480	Music Inspired By Middle Earth · TITLE: Music Inspired By Middle Earth · MUSICIANS: David & Diane Arkenstone · GENRE: Classical, New Age, Renaissance, (instrumental) · INSTRUMENTS: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, French Horn, Trumpet, Oboe/English Horn, Harp, Keyboards, Guitar, Whistle, Flute, Melodica, Mandolin, Bouzouki, Percussion, Dulcimer, Bells, Bawu, Duduk, bansuri, ocarina · CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original Tolkien inspired, though one does not need to be familiar with Tolkien to appreciate it. · REVIEW: This album is very much like the score of an unmade movie, so at first listen it sounds high-flown but it grows on you as you listen more, and has a high goose bump factor. There are some passages that sound like Aaron Copland ala Witness, and some that remind you of Tubular Bells or the colder scenes in Titanic. So if you like that sort of music, chances are you would enjoy this CD. 1. Prelude: Hobbits From the Shire 2. The Road to Rivendell 3. The Quest (very good) 4. Moria 5. Lothlorien 6. Galadriel Mirror 7. The Riders of Rohan (Really hits the Mark! Best track on the album) 8. The Palantir (Chilling, captures the despair) 9. Arwen and Aragon 10. To Isengard 11. In the land of Shadow (Portrays the bleak and ominous mood of Mordor) 12. The Fields of Cormallen (To my mind the worst track, sounds like the credits should be rolling) 13. The Grey Havens (The end of this one almost brings tears to my eyes – even at work!) · DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes. All 5 of my 5 test subjects liked it. · PRICE YOU PAID: $13.99 USD · WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon (Sorry, to those who think Amazon is the death of merchants, but it is invaluable to us rural folk.) · Do you know of any online samples? Yes, Track 1 – "Prelude: Hobbits From the Shire" is available as a download from Amazon and several snippets of the others are there to listen to.

02-27-2004, 02:42 PM	#18
Leyrana Silumiel Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Alabama, USA Posts: 58	Eh. This is just my review of the Return of the King soundtrack. Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack Musicians: Howard Shore Genre: Classical Canonical Tolkien or Original?: Original, but Tolkien Related. Review: To be honest, the Return of the King soundtrack was the first soundtrack from the films that I've gotten my hands onto. I have to admit, though, that the soundtrack seemed, to me, awesome. It opened with the nearly traditional soft music that I mentally always relate to the hobbits, and swept grandly up into a beautiful score in "Minas Tirith." Billy Boyd performed well on "The Steward of Gondor," and "Minas Morgul" definitely brings dark images to mind. Return of the King was not without the majestic music that developed the battle scenes, though. "The Ride of the Rohirrim," "The Fields of the Pelennor," "The Black Gate Opens" and "The End of All Things" vividly portrayed the film's battle scenes in sound--from the thunderous, ominous drums to the triumphant, heroic trumpets. The final song of the soundtrack, "Into the West," which was performed superbly by Annie Lennox, is definitely deserving of the Golden Globe it received for Best Original Song. The music and lyrics are haunting and melodic, and it's definitely a tear-jerker. Do you recommend it?: Most definitely. Price you paid: About $20 (from Wal-mart--that's with tax). Where you bought it: Wal-mart (where a very lovely card insert features characters from the movies--girls, the cover with just Aragorn on it has Legolas on the back of the inside of the card!) Do you know of any online samples?: Amazon.com features samples of "A Storm is Coming," "Hope and Memory," "Minas Tirith," "The White Tree" and "The Steward of Gondor" right here

03-04-2004, 11:10 AM	#19
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Music Book review: Online Filk! TITLE: Lotr Fanclub Scrapbook LotrScrapbook Songs MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Original Songs set to popular tunes. Fans. Lots of 'em. Some silly, some serious, and everything in between. GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal... YES. There's something for everyone here. Keep surfing. INSTRUMENTS music is written for: Well, voice. Songs. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Origial lyrics, all Tolkien-themed, mostly set to existing tunes written by popular bands. (It's called Filk. There's a whole subculture of people who do this all the time.) REVIEW: Well, the songs run the gamut from silly and absurd to nearly-sublime. There are enough songs here to suit most tastes. And although there are no chords or sheet music, you know half the tunes listed anyway, and the other half you could find or learn if you just HAD to be able to sing a particular song. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Definitely. HAVE FUN! PRICE YOU PAID $zero! WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT : FREE online! Lotr Fanclub Scrapbook __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 04-23-2004 at 07:06 AM.

03-15-2004, 12:40 PM	#20
Hookbill the Goomba Alive without breath Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: On A Cold Wind To Valhalla Posts: 5,912	Music of Arda This is a topic I have been meaning to start ever since I arrived on the Downs, but never got round to it. Basically, I have a couple of CD's of Middle Earth Music, (admittedly including the film soundtracks). So I was wondering if anyone had heard any decent M-E music while Wandering The AWW (Arda wide web..... ok so its not that funny ) So far I have found that "The One ring" CD contains some of my favourites, if you don’t know it you can get clips from it here; http://www.metrognome.demon.co.uk/mp3.htm So, please post your suggestions here, and if you can, links so we can all enjoy them. __________________ I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket...

03-27-2004, 09:27 AM	#21
Hilde Bracegirdle Relic of Wandering Days Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: You'll See Perpetual Change. Posts: 1,480	TITLE: The Middle Earth Album MUSICIANS: Glass Hammer GENRE: folk, with classical and Celtic influences (Some tracks have choruses that sound rather like Gilbert and Sullivan) CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original REVIEW: Great fun! The first half of the album is as if you are in the Prancing Pony listening to the group playing there. Highly recommended for hobbits who love humor and a good tale. Though I would give a word of warning to dwarves. They do poke a bit of good-natured fun at one Balin Longbeard. Some very beautiful tracks on the latter half “As I walk”, “The Last Ship”, and “Mithrandir”. “Sweet Goldberry” even gives mention to our own Barrow Wight! Toward the end, a little of their symphonic progressive sound creeps in, but it is a light and positive addition. I'd say "Mirkwood" would be the weakest track on the CD. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes PRICE YOU PAID: $15.99 USD WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon Do you know of any online samples? Yes, Look under Newest Stuff Tracks Elrenn and Endereth The Old Troll The Old Troll and the Maiden Dwarf and Orc The King's Beer The Ballad of Balin Longbeard The Man in the Wood Mirkwood As I Walk The Last Ship Mithrandir (This Fading Age) Sweet Goldberry No Crown for Balin Last edited by Hilde Bracegirdle; 03-29-2004 at 04:04 PM.

04-22-2004, 07:55 AM	#22
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Stephen Oliver TITLE:"Music from the BBC Radio Dramatization of J. R. R. TOlkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS" MUSICIANS: ...many... GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal... Modern "Classical-modern". CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Mostly canon-lyrics, with a few instrumental tracks. REVIEW: I'll start with the negative and get it over with: Stephen Oliver writes in a modern (post-modern??) beyond-drawing-room style. (My tastes run to old-fashioned, "real" classical and the dischordant/ jazzed modern does little for me.) I find the music is sometimes strained and unpleasantly dischordant. His elves do nothing for me. The jingle-bells are distracting, the tunes aren't celtic in flavor or even particularly pretty or attractive in my mind-- perhaps "madrigal, but dischordant" would describe it. Again, unpleasant. Now for the good stuff: Hobbits, men, and ents. Here Stephen Oliver really shines. Hobbits: His version of "Gil-Galad" is in my mind THE version. THe tune is on the challenging side but not dischordant. The version as sung on the music CD is pleasant. The version as sung by Sam on the aired version is just great. Also superb-- "In Western Lands"-- one of the best versions of this song. THe Road Goes Ever On: quite good. Bilbo's Last Song: Good. (But why isn't it sung by a hobbit?) I'll have to compare it to Swann's version again. Men: Forth Rode The King, The Battle of Pelennor Fields, and Lament for the Fallen are slow and sonorous. 2 thumbs up. Ents: The long List of the Ents: It's fine (whatever, this was never my favorite poem.) The March of the Ents: YEAH!! Awesome! "We go, we go, we go to war..." Superb. Stirring, valiant stuff: HOOM HOM! DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? For the Mannish, Hobbitish and Entish stuff it's great. (But if you're looking for Elvish, keep looking.) PRICE YOU PAID: If you buy the BBC CDs, get the set with the extra music CD-- that's this. Don't settle for a set without it like I did. I had to special-order it overseas and it wasn't cheap. I think the bill was over $30 by the time I was done. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Again, in order to get just the CD, I had to special-order and it took forever to arrive. Edit: www.tolkienshop.com/ Do you know of any online samples? Not any more. I ran across Sam's Gil-Galad song online as a .wav file, which was how I decided to buy the CD; but the WAV file is gone now. Tolkien Estates strikes again, I suppose. Don't they understand they're deleting their best advertising? If I hadn't been enchanted by that wav file I doubt I would have struggled to get this CD. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 04-23-2004 at 06:50 AM.

05-04-2004, 03:47 PM	#23
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Alan Horvath's Rings Project TITLE: Alan Horvath The Rings Project MUSICIANS: Alan Horvath. GENRE: Kind of acoustic-rock-country-blues... I think. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original songs about LOTR. Some nice stuff! REVIEW: The first time I listened to it I didn't get very far. The country flavor jarred me a bit at first (being slanted more toward classical, celtic, and NE folk.) But a few weeks later I decided to try it again with adjusted expectations. And hey, it's pretty good! Horvath is a thoughtful lyricist, playful, creative, and not above some really fun lines (in the Prancing Pony song he mentions the fire being cozy enough to "curl his toes". Priceless.) DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes! It's fun. PRICE YOU PAID: Ten or eleven bucks. Very reasonable price. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Alan Horvath's Website Do you know of any online samples? listen to each song 3 times for free __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 05-12-2004 at 10:24 AM.

05-06-2004, 07:09 PM	#24
Bombadil Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Old Forest Posts: 488	TITLE: Nightfall in Middle Earth MUSICIANS: Blind Guardian GENRE: Progressive metal CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon REVIEW: Great, great album! All based on the story of the Silmarillion. Speed metal with booming choruses and melodical guitar solos. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Definitely, any tolkien or metal fan can enjoy. PRICE YOU PAID: 15.00 WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Media Play Do you know of any online samples? I think sumwhere on www.cdnow.com __________________ "'Eldest, that's what I am... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn... He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.'"

05-12-2004, 10:06 AM	#25
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	The Hobbitons TITLE: The Hobbitons MUSICIANS: ...The Hobbitons... GENRE: Folk. CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical! Hobbit-songs from The Hobbit, LOTR, and Adventures of Tom Bombadil. REVIEW: Where has this album been all my life??? (Answer: right there on the net, while I've been hesitating about sending American cash thru the mail to Denmark. Knuckleheaded me.) The tunes are perky, the voices are hobbity. Yes! This is GOOD. All right, so I skip the orc-songs. But the hobbit songs are excellent. (Oh, and I also skip the Prancing Pony song... I don't know, EVERYBODY does that one and frankly I'm sick of it.) But the other one-- the Man in the Moon came Down too Soon, from Bombadil-- is wonderful. Really. I laughed, and sighed, and said "awww! Poor old guy!" Mewlips is good. Creepy. yet still hobbity. The walking songs are good-- you can imagine walking to them. Gil-Galad is good-- they used Stephen Oliver's tune which was (in my mind) the best song on the Stephen Oliver album, so-- good choice. And it's nice to hear a hobbit sing it. The Drinking Song (Ho Ho Ho) is good. They sang it forever, though. Bilbo's Last Song-- again, the Stephen Oliver tune, but with a genuine Hobbit singing this time. Oddly enough, my favorite song on this album isn't technically a hobbit song-- it's "The Valley"-- the Rivendell song from The Hobbit. Terribly undignified. I don't think Elrond was a chorus member, or if he was, he had let his hair down. The song actually succeeds in being merry! I chuckled and laughed listening to it. I'm going to learn it. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely. PRICE YOU PAID I mailed them whatever cash they asked for on the Hobbitons . They said that the stock was running low; apparently I got one of the last ones. That's too bad. If I had known how good it is, I'd have ordered it a long time ago. Why was I skeptical!? . WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Hobbitons Do you know of any online samples? Hobbitons

06-10-2004, 11:01 AM	#26
Hilde Bracegirdle Relic of Wandering Days Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: You'll See Perpetual Change. Posts: 1,480	I discovered This Site for Tolkien Inspired Music that I hadn't come across before, and thought that this would be as good place as any for a link!

09-02-2004, 11:06 AM	#27
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	I've reviewed the Tolkien/Swann music book The Road Goes Ever On, including the CD, here. Enjoy! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

10-28-2004, 07:36 PM	#29
Imladris Tears of the Phoenix Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Putting dimes in the jukebox baby. Posts: 1,453	Mirror Mirror on the wall I know that Bombadil did a review on this already, but I...can't...resist... TITLE: Nightfall in Middle Earth MUSICIANS: Blind Guardian GENRE: Progressive metal CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon REVIEW: In a word, it is awesome. In another word (or more) it captures the heart and spirit of the Silmarillion. It's has the themes of doom and fate that pervade Tolkien's tale. I have never heard such talent in metal/rock music. Screaming voices are neatly balanced with elvish softness and the metal has a very Celtic feel to it (it actually works quite well). The screaming isn't that bad either...and very fitting I think. DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Of course. PRICE YOU PAID: 15.00 or so. WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon Clips: Clickity click click Lyrics: Read them...enjoy! __________________ I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn. It would have been nice to have unicorns. I'm your huckleberry.

03-07-2005, 07:03 PM	#30
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	While poking around on ebay i noticed this: Tolkien Ensemble 2 CD Night/Evening in Rivendell OOP This is a boxed set of Evening and Night. I have them already. I've reviewed each one above (posts 5 and 6), the price is great, and so far there's no competition. It would be worth buying for "The Ent and the Entwife" alone. Also check out At Dawn In Rivendell __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve. Last edited by mark12_30; 03-07-2005 at 07:06 PM.