Verdict
Summary
It may lack the emotional resonance of the LOTR Trilogy but there are still some stunning moments of beauty of this score.
So the day finally comes that I get to hear a new Middle Earth soundtrack; The Lord of the Rings Trilogy music are my favourite movie scores of all time so The Hobbit had a tough act to follow.
So does it live up to expectations? I’m pleased to say a resounding YES. Some of my favourite tracks from the LOTR movies were Evenstar, Forth Eorlingas, and The Grey Havens; tracks which you can listen to without the visual aid of the film and still feel an emotional connection. There are several cues on this score which are simply stunning including Radaghast the Brown and A Good Omen. They aren’t quite as amazing as the aforementioned pieces but they are still incredible.
It’s a fabulous score with sweeping orchestral cues and it is like reuniting with old friends. The familiar themes we all love are still here including The Shire music, the Rivendell choral theme, the One Ring Theme and hints of Saruman’s Theme.
There is one new theme in the whole score which is sung by the Dwarves in Misty Mountains and the epic version you heard in the original teaser trailer is in the track Over Hill, which is arguably my favourite piece on the whole album. There is an alternate version called Song of the Lonely Mountain, performed by Neil Finn which has a classic folk feel to it.
Riddles in the Dark of course has elements of Gollum’s Theme and also the One Ring Theme which I’m delighted about as Gollum is my favourite character from the world of Middle Earth.
The action cues are bombastic and really create a sense of scale; one of the best tracks for that is Out of the Frying Pan which has hints of the Last March of the Ents theme from The Two Towers. It has a huge choral finale and then moves into the equally stunning A Good Omen, which also has a magnificent choral theme.
Stand out tracks on the album for me are Over Hill, A Good Omen, Out of the Frying Pan, The Hidden Valley (Contains the Rivendell music), My Dear Frodo (Contains The Shire Theme), Roast Mutton and Radaghast the Brown.
Overall, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is easily the best movie score of 2012 and it has really made me giddy with anticipation to see the movie on the big screen.
