As with many people my age I got into film music via John Williams original score of Star Wars. In some ways that one score started an avalanche, because before the release of Star Wars in 1977 very few films especially Science Fiction ones released music. There were a few compilations done by various Orchestras but original Scores were a rarity.
I know everyone says they have an eclectic taste in music but I would like to claim I really do, I will expand on that in some later posts and hopefully you’ll agree. I adore film scores and the way they can take you back into the moment of the film. I thought I’d share with you 5 of my favourites, so in no specific order.
Star Wars, John Williams (1977)
A New hope to those of a younger persuasion, there is a good argument to say that The Empire Strikes Back is the better score but I have a lot of personal memories associated with this music. I can remember when I first dropped the needle onto the vinyl and the memories came flooding back. Mrs BAFTD will tell you I can basically recite the script to the film along with the music. I’m not sure that it’s something to be proud of? If you have never just sat down and listened to a John Williams score all the way through this is as good a place to start as any as he really is a master of his art.
The Black Hole, John Barry (1979)
I love John Barry’s music in the bond films, this is a rousing score for an underrated film. In the overture you can hear nods to his 007 music. It’s not easy to get hold of as it’s not on streaming as far as I know but is available to purchase on iTunes. I’m trying to get hold of a copy myself of the original CD but its out of print, but there was a special edition released by the label intrada in 2011 (with extra music) but that is equally difficult to find.
Into the Wild, Eddie Vedder (2007)
This is a gorgeous record, even if you’ve not seen the film it’s worth listening to. It’s not the Score but the songs, they are interwoven into the film and perfectly help to tell the story. As a record it’s just a great record full of fantastic well written songs.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Various and Tyler Bates (2014)
I remember when I first saw Guardians it was a total surprise and instantly became (and still is) my favourite MCU film. One of the films shining moments is the music, not just the hand picked songs from James Gunn but the fantastic Score by Tyler Bates. The score works perfectly with all the other music and helps set the mood of the film. I have two versions of the music, a deluxe edition CD that includes The awesome mix volume 1 and a separate disc with Tyler Bates Score on. I am also lucky to have a CD steelbook of just the awesome mix. The score isn’t easy to find but it’s well worth looking out.
Birdy, Peter Gabriel (1985)
Alan Parker’s Birdy is not only a stunning film but has a great score by Peter Gabriel. It was his 6th solo 
album and was a mixture of original music with themes from some of his earlier work. This all went to make for a moody and at times haunting score. I originally owned this album before I saw the film because it was Peter Gabriel. The Album was difficult to get hold of for a long while my original copy was an audio cassette version, it recently had a re-release and Peter Gabriel finally allowed his back catalogue to go onto streaming making it available on most platforms.
I hope you find these choices interesting, as I said these are 5 of my favourite most listened to Soundtracks. There are plenty more in my catalogue so I’ll come back at some point and expand.
