The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Howard Shore's Fellowship of the Ring score was a revelation. Who knew that the composer of The Game and The Cell had such a mastery of the leitmotif approach to scoring? FOTR of the ring left us with fully fleshed out themes (the Ring theme, the Fellowship theme, the Hobbit theme, the Riders March, the Isengard march, the Lorien theme) and haunting motifs (Arwen's motif, Aniron, Gandalf's lament, the 'Moth' theme, the betrayal theme, Gollum's theme). The Two Towers offers both revised presentations of the old and a stunning collection of new material.
Of the old, the Ring theme opens the album in a bold statement, followed by Goldenthal-like strings that take us back into the percussion and male choir of the Moria episode of FOTR. In "The Forbidden Pool", the Ring theme is most deftly developed, intertwined with Gollum's motif for the moment in the film that corresponds to the Henneth Annun segment of the novel. Also of note is the renewed Fellowship theme, which opens "The Uruk Hai" in grand style and proclaims the peak of the Riddermark charge in "Forth Eorlingas". The Isengard March (Shore's answer to Williams' Empire March) is twisted and turned into a charge for Gandalf in "The White Rider" (hear the opening!) and in "Isengard Unleashed", the brass is amazingly low. There are many other reprises of the old material, my favourite being the reappearance of, of all things, the 'Moth' motif in "Isengard Unleashed".
Of the new, there is the theme of the Riddermark, stated frequently in a number of tracks ("The King of the Golden Hall", "Riders of Rohan", "Hornburg"), and memorably played for the Hardinger by Dermot Crehan. A lovely theme for woodwinds appears in the second half of "The White Rider", reappearing in "The Hornburg". And then there are the action motifs: a minute into "Forth Eorlingas" will have you out of your seat! Not to mention the action motifs unveiled in "Helms Deep", which are heavy on percussion.
It's a triumph for Shore and his collaborators. Darker in overall feel and denser in orchestration that its predecessor, if either were conceivably possible. Kudos to the role call of vocalists: Isabel Baykradian (on "Evenstar", my favourite track), Sheila Chandra ("Breath of Life"), Elizabeth Fraser (thankyou Ms Fraser for the opening of "Isengard Unleashed", it's good to have you back for another score), Hilary Summers ("Farewell to Lorien"), Ben Del Maestro ("Forth Eorlingas" and "Isengard Unleashed") and of course... Emilliana Torrini. Collectively they give Enya a run for her money (and collectively probably cost less as well).
"Gollum's Song" song is rich and duplicitous, as much a song for Gollum as for men in general and all who can be corrupted by the Ring. It's a perfect answer thematically to Enya's "May it be", which praised Frodo's incorruptability. I suspect, after "The Two Towers", that incorruptibility will be brought into question.
And here's to Howard Shore's incorruptibility. May it be The Return of the King completes the most powerful series of film scores since, well, you know what trilogy I was going to say.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers

Click here for more information about The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers