Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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Howard Shore has composed the scores for over 50 films, including The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, After Hours, and Seven. His collaborations with David Cronenberg have resulted in scores for Cronenberg's films The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, M. Butterfly, and Crash, spanning a nearly 20-year period by the year 2001.

Shore's formal education came at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. From 1969-1972 he recorded with the group Lighthouse. He was one of the original creators of Saturday Night Live and served as its musical director from 1975-1980. In 2000, Shore began work on one of the most expansive projects of his career when he signed on to produce scores for film adaptations of the Lord of the Rings series. He spent a year just working on the first film, using Tolkien's texts and drawing from eighth and ninth century music sources to try to evoke the books' magical worlds.

Stacia Proefrock, Allmusic.com

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Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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As fans of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy know, each film exists in two versions: the theatrical one and the extended one that appeared on DVD. This luxurious box set–which also comes with a detailed essay on the movie's musical themes–features the full extended score, so many cues not on the CDs of the individual movies are included. Granted, the majority of listeners will be perfectly happy with the shorter versions of the scores–it's a safe bet that most people can live without hearing, say, Ian McKellen's 35-second-long ditty "The Road Goes Ever On" at the beginning of "Bag End," or Viggo Mortensen's performance of his own composition, "The Song of Lúthien," within the track "The Nazgûl." But if you're a completist and/or a devotee of Howard Shore's pounding tympani and overwhelming choral compositions (featured particularly prominently on disc 3, a large chunk of which is devoted to a battle scene), then this set is a dream come true. Audiophiles should note that the fourth disc, a DVD, offers the score in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Fire up those speakers so the whole shire can hear.

Review by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Appropriately enough for the film adaptation of one fantasy literature's most enduring favorites, Howard Shore's score for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings is traditional and majestic, using sweeping strings, brass, and choral sections to create moments of fire-and-brimstone menace as well heroic triumph. An ominous, bombastic feel runs through much of the score, particularly on pieces like "A Journey in the Dark," "Flight to the Ford," and "A Knife in the Dark," but Shore also includes respites such as the sweetly elfin, Celtic-tinged "Concerning Hobbits" and the stately "Many Meetings." The vibrant "Bridge of Khazad Dum" and "Amon Hen" combine the score's major themes into dazzling climaxes, while Enya's contributions, "Council of Elrond" and "May It Be," add a subtle serenity that gives the score balance. While it's not a particularly melodic score, Lord of the Rings nevertheless does an excellent job of conveying the film's moods through music and has more than enough presence to be appreciated outside of the film's context. [Fashioned in the style of the faux-leather-bound books that housed the lauded trilogy's "Special Edition" DVD releases, 2005's Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring – The Complete Recordings gathers every bit of composer Howard Shore's Oscar-winning score for the first film and spreads it over three discs (a fourth CD/DVD presents the work in 5.1 Surround Sound).]

Review by Heather Phares, Allmusic.com

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Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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When it opened in theaters, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ran one minute short of three hours; the subsequent DVD version added another 44 minutes. An even greater increase is seen here. The single-disc soundtrack album that was released initially crossed the 70-minute threshold, but this expansion, following a similar one for the first installment in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, adds much more material. In fact, at three hours, eight minutes, and 44 seconds, it goes on longer than the theatrical version of the movie itself and contains some music not actually heard in the film. Also included is a 45-page booklet featuring extensive liner notes by Doug Adams going into great detail, with sheet music examples, about composer Howard Shore's approach to writing music for the epic story. Much of the music is extrapolated from themes created for the first movie, but this score is more various, appropriate to a film in which the protagonists split into different groups and pursue separate adventures for much of the screen time. While there are light, even-toned sections, there is also much dramatic, stirring music, in keeping with a film that, after tracing the complicated fantasy plot, settles at its conclusion into a structure familiar from many Westerns – in effect, the Indians attack the fort, and the cavalry saves the day. After that resolution, however, the overarching quest for the ring remains, and the score concludes with Björk sound-alike Emiliana Torrini plaintively singing "Gollum's Song," which expresses hopelessness. It's a downbeat ending that looks forward to the resolution of the story told in the final film. In addition to three CDs, the package also includes a fourth disc repeating the entire score in DVD-audio with a 5.1 Surround Sound mix.

Review by William Ruhlmann, Allmusic.com

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Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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Howard Shore - The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Recordings (2005-2007) 3 Box Sets (10 Audio CDs)

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The final film in the Lord Of The Rings blockbuster trilogy features the climax of the epic journey that brought Tolkien's world before our very eyes. The Complete Recordings series featuring the soundtrack albums have been hits and award winners. Now with The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King featuring Into The West by Annie Lennox, this album from the series' composer Howard Shore is sure to score with movie fans. For fans of The Lord Of The Rings films, and those who purchased last year's The Fellowship Of The Ring The Complete Recordings and The Two Towers The Complete Recordings, this incredible package completes a now classic set of soundtracks.

This five-disc set caps off the "complete recordings" series, which offers extensive versions of Howard Shore's score for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The main problem lays in its being the last installment: Most of the main characters, along with their themes, have been introduced in the previous two sets, creating a certain sense of familiarity. But there is still plenty to please fans here, and then some. Though it includes the climactic trek to Mount Doom, the overall mood is less dark than in The Two Towers. The London Philharmonic Orchestra handles the heavy lifting, with help from adult and children's choirs, and well-selected guest stars. Soprano Renée Fleming, for instance, lends a particularly eerie, otherworldly touch to disc 1's "The Grace of Undómiel," and disc 4's "Mount Doom" and "The Eagles." Meanwhile, flutist James Galway provides a quasi-spiritual counterbalance, a musical ray of hope on tracks such as disc 3's "The Mouth of Sauron." And of course, Annie Lennox's Academy Award–winning "Into the West" is here, incorporated in disc 4's "Days of the Ring." Finally, the fifth disc is a DVD-Audio that includes the score in super-duper surround sound. It may seem like overkill, but too much is never enough for LOTR fans–and besides, people buying this set are exactly the kind of people who own the type of equipment required to make disc 5 explode. Finally, the packaging includes new artwork and liner notes written by Doug Adams, an expert on the music from LOTR.

Review by Elisabeth Vincentelli, Amazon.com