Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent music from an excellent movie
The tide has come in for Howard Shore, with his compositions for the Lord of the Rings movies. He began composing in August of 2002, and reprised his efforts from The Fellowship. The music fits perfectly for each sequence, from the mournful sounds of Gollum's Song, to the triumphant strains of Forth Eorlingas. Shore's theme for Rohan is so fitting to the medieval air that the Rings movies carry.Here's my brief commentary on highlights from the CD. Foundations in Stone begins as the movie begins: An air journey over the snowy mountains, and then a plunge into them to find Gandalf in the midst of his cataclysmic confrontation with the Balrog. In the first movie, we left Gandalf and fled with the Fellowship. In this movie, we plummet with him as he battles midair with the Balrog. The choir that we heard in track 13 of the first soundtrack comes back to provide the same "ancient powers" sound. Indeed, this track could be considered the grandiose sequel to Fellowship's Track 13. Track 4 is rather ghoulish, and should only be played if you wish to relive the moment when Frodo is pulled down into the marsh, or if you want to play theme music for Halloween. It's not a tune worth re-listening to, but brilliant in that Shore can convey such horror in his music as is shown in the movie. Track 5 is the next really good one: We join Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli as the trek across the plains of Middle-Earth in pursuit of the band of Uruk-hai and their kidnapped hobbit-friends. The magnificent tune of the Fellowship is reprised. Track 5 finds the three Fellowship members joined up with the newly-returned Gandalf the White, and the four trek to Rohan to meet with King Théoden. We hear the theme for Rohan played on a violin-like instrument (Hardinger), and then an intense moment when Gandalf casts out a spirit of weakness from Théoden, and then glory as Théoden rises anew from his throne. Track 12 finds our magnificent four along with warriors from Rohan battling Warg-riders, and then arriving at the stronghold of Helm's Deep. Track 15 conveys the sound of preparing for battle, and then hope un-looked for comes in the form of a large troop of Elves. The music is a welcome variation on the mournful tune from Lothlorien; almost a military march tune. Great stuff. Track 16 is by far the best of the CD: The warriors of Helm's Deep make a valiant last stand, and look up to see Gandalf the White ride to their rescue with Eomer Roosevelt and his Rough Riders of Rohan in tow. This track is stacked with music from the cleansing of Isengard as well. The track opens with a choir building up to the majestic ride forth from Rohan and ensuing battle. Then a glorious rendition of the Rohan theme as Gandalf arrives, and then it all turns dreamlike as the tide of the battle is turned. Best track in the CD. Track 18 is just a nice tune, as the hobbits overcome some of their dangers and continue on in their trek to Mordor and the fiery Mount Doom. It turns sour as we find Gollum plotting to lead our hobbit heroes into a trap, and warms into track 19, Gollum's Song. Track 19 is a sad theme for Gollum. The singer supposedly has a pretty voice, but in the song it is rather sad and raspy. But then, appropriate for Gollum. It climaxes in a majestic brass version of the Theme for Rohan. Excellent ending to the movie and the regular soundtrack. Bonus Track 20: I haven't seen this scene from the movie yet, so it does not bear any special significance for me. I have listened to it, but it didn't impress me enough to listen again. Wonderful music, all told. Worth buying, especially since it helps to relive movie moments.
Rating: - Fitting score for an epic.
I enjoy orchestral soundtracks. That being said, this CD has parked itself in my stereo and found the repeat button ever since I got it. It's rare that a CD is so evocative of the movie that it comes from; perhaps part of that comes from the skillful use of music in key scenes of the movie, but if the music were not up to par, it wouldn't matter. On this CD, everything is amazing.Shore repeats the main themes from Fellowship of the Ring, though at times in a slightly different way, as well as adding some new ones for the new characters that appear in this film. The Rohan theme is especially brilliant - it rapidly became my favorite theme and I know exactly which songs feature it prominently. In addition, the choral work is brilliant and all of the soloists sound excellent - I was particularly delighted to see that they included lyrics, so I can attempt to sing along if I so choose. Every song is evocative, even the creepy 'Gollum's Song' at the end, which makes my hair stand on end, just the way Gollum does. The packaging of the Limited Edition is beautiful - the CD appears to come in a little leather booklet with the CD tucked to one side and a book with gorgeous images from the movie to the other. The name is embrossed in copper on the front and it's a lovely addition to your collection - certainly not something I would mind leaving out for people to see, which isn't something you'd normally say about a CD case! I haven't been able to get the special bonus features to work on my computer, though I haven't tried very hard. I bought the Limited Edition for a different reason - the bonus track, which is absolutely gorgeous as part of the added music from the first film. I'm desperately hoping that some day they'll follow the lead of Star Wars and release the entire score on a two disk set (or three disk if necessary!). The same goes for this soundtrack as well. If you're looking for awesome, mood-setting, inspiring orchestral music from one of the greatest film epics of the day, look no further. This is the CD you want.
Rating: - Envision the film before you see it...
I have just finished listening to The Two Towers soundtrack for the second time. Howard Shore has done a great job once again with giving the listener an aid to helping them feel Middle Earth. I enjoyed that most of the score is based off the themes from The Fellowship Of The Ring. The soft themes of mystic and ancient wonder are back, giving a sense of the power of the Ring and the otherworldiness of Middle Earth. Also returning are the unmistakable brutality of the Uruk-hai music, and some of the hobbit and Fellowship or "hero" themes. The differences are that they are presented in a different key and have new structure and direction. The music from the first movie now has a darker tone and one can tell that the second movie will be more dangerous, with new elements of fear. The new music is lead by the Rohan themes; very brave and royal sounding. The new Elvish music is exactly what I would have described it as; slow, soft, beautiful but weeping with the melancholy of the departing Eldar. Listening to the music for the battle of Helms Deep is very exciting. The first time I heard Forth Eorlingas, I was very moved. I could feel the tide of the battle shifting and hope returning. Hope...I could feel the emotion of the battle welling up. It made me want to see the onscreen action very much! Toward the end, Samwise The Brave felt like such a release after the danger and pounding of the battle. I was actually moved to tears while I thought about the events of my favorite story coming to life. I just can't wait for The Return Of The King score so I can take a 4 hour ride and listen to all three soundtracks!
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