Middle-Earth Music Reviews
 

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEWS

This thread is for reviewing music that is **Tolkien Related**. It is important to clearly state **HOW** it is Tolkien related, and provide specific Tolkien-related details (or this thread won't last long.)

Primarily this is for reviewing CDs or online mp3's (***LEGAL ONES ONLY***), old vinyl records, cassettes... You can also review Tolkien music books. I'd like to see some reviews of the movie soundtracks and the music books for the soundtracks, too; nobody has tackled that yet. (EDIT: Except Legolas; Thank you Legolas!)

Multiple reviews are ok, up to five reviews of the same music. After that, open a new thread! Put a link to the new thread here in this thread and let us know. So that the reviews don't get lost in the discussions, if you want to discuss particular music in-depth, please open another thread. If it is music that you play, check out the thread The most Tolkien-Oriented music you make.

The structure for music reviews is as follows:

• TITLE:
• MUSICIANS:
• GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal...
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? If original, how is it Tolkien Related?
• REVIEW: Your opinions
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT?
• PRICE YOU PAID (if you don't mind telling us, that is)
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT
• Do you know of any online samples?

The structure for music BOOK reviews is as follows:

• TITLE:
• MUSICIANS/COMPOSER:
• GENRE: Classical, operatic, folk, celtic, metal...
• INSTRUMENTS music is written for: voice? Piano? Guitar? Violin, flute, trumpet? glockenspiel...?
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? If original, how is it Tolkien Related?
• REVIEW: Your opinions. Are the songs/tunes good? Do they feel like Middle-Earth music? What instrument do you play, and does the book apply well to your instrument?
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT?
  Is the music comfortable to read and play? What is the skill level required?
• PRICE YOU PAID (if you don't mind telling us, that is)
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT

So, share the Middle-Earth, Tolkien music that you love with all the rest of us! Post your reviews here!

--mark12_30

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 12:55 AM February 03, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEW

• TITLE:At Dawn In Rivendell
• MUSICIANS: The Tolkien Ensemble
• GENRE: classical and danish folk
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical Tolkien.
• REVIEW: Christopher Lee's poetry readings are marvelous, dark and foreboding, and full of import. He lives up to his reputation here; enough said...
  The music: I have heard it called operatic. Not quite. This is folk music. But it is Danish folk music, and for the hobbit sections at least, I find that strange. It is a Danish interpretation of a culture that Tolkien clearly stated was English. I would have preferred a more English style; barring that, something from the British Isles would have made more sense. Shetland music shows this Danish influence, but the Shire is not patterned after the Shetlands.
  
  TRACK LIST
  1. Verse Of The Rings
  2. Song Of Gondor
  3. A Walking Song (I)
  4. Warning Of Winter
  5. Malbeth The Seer's Words
  6. A Drinking Song
  7. The Long List Of The Ents (I)
  8. Eomer's Song
  9. Boromir's Riddle
  10. The Bath Song
  11. Song Of Lebennin
  12. Gandalf's Riddle Of The Ents
  13. Ho! Tom Bombadil
  14. The Riddle Of Strider (I)
  15. Song Of Nimrodel
  16. Treebeard's Song
  17. Farewell Song Of Merry And Pippin
  18. Athelas
  19. A Walking Song (II)
  20. Elven Hymn To Elbereth Gilthoniel (III)
  
  I will group the songs by character.
  Treebeard's songs are pleasant enough. Since I never had any urge to sing them myself, I have little comment.
  There is a "technique" which I have heard referred to as Scooping, Sliding, or Cheating: I guess you could describe it as too many slurred grace notes. That technique is used on this album by the singer performing Frodo's songs. I find it annoying and unpleasant. It makes the tune terribly difficult to follow; nor do I think Frodo would have had that style. One reviewer called it "bumptious". I think the decision to sing in that style was misdirected. I will fight through the songs to try and learn the tunes, but I don't enjoy hearing them. I think the tunes will be good once they are simplified and the slidy, slippery grace notes gotten rid of.
  Pippin's songs are fine! Enjoyable, pleasant, easy to follow, no nasty slidy grace notes... The Bath Song is good; the Farewell Song is good. Well done.
  Eomer's song, in my opinion, is an utter travesty. Instead of a fiery-dark Nordic battle-cry, it has been turned into a keening lament more suited to a destitute Irish widow than a general. I detest it.
  The Song of Gondor took some getting used to; haunting, but with a challenging tune. However, by the third time hearing it, I was humming it afterwards, and now it frequently berings me to tears. Well done.
  Song of Lebennin: again, takes a little getting used to. I'm used to it now! I love it. This one also brings me to tears frequently.
  I saved the best for last: Song of Nimrodel is wonderful! Gently sung in a velvety smooth tenor voice, tastefully accompanied on guitar. It is marvellous. It makes me imagine that I am in Lorien, and one of the hobbits has said, "Legolas-- that song about the singing stream, let's hear it again." It was worth the price of the album.
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes.
• PRICE YOU PAID : Honestly, I forget. Under twenty bucks. Maybe fifteen or sixteen. Whatever I paid it was worth it.
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Walmart, I think.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 4:52 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 4:54 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEW

• TITLE: Tolkien Song Cycle
• MUSICIANS: Andi Grimsditch
• GENRE: Scottish!
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical verses set to music
• REVIEW: For starters, a couple of these songs are *SINGABLE* (not all of 'em.) And for another, this guy is a believable Hobbit-voice. It says he's from Argentina but his Scottish accent is delightful, and he has a soft, gentle tenor voice; sounds like the Hobbit Next Door to me.
  If the idea of middle-earth music with bass and drums bothers you, well, I was skeptical, but the bass and drums stay in the background. The emphasis is on guitar and strings. They do some non-celtic things with chord changes and odd chords in general, but it doesn't set my teeth on edge (the way it has with some other bands.)
  "Earendil was a Mariner" (Bilbo's Hall of Fire song.) Hobbit Andi Grimsditch is the first musician that I know of to attempt it (it's ten minutes long!) and he does it very well. I find "Earendil" more than pleasant, I find it enchanting. Perhaps it's more orchestrated than one would imagine, but I think Bilbo would like it.
  
  Minor complaints: Of the nine songs on this album I enjoy "Frodo at the Pracing Pony" the least; half the song is spoken and half sung, and that always annoys me somewhat. Another thing that annoys me is that one or two of the songs have complicated chord changes and accidentals-- which always strikes me as un-hobbitlike.
  
  Those seem to me to be very minor complaints. I like this fellow's work. He strikes me as "the hobbit next door", unpretentious, merry and easygoing without being sappy.
  
  So: at least Four **** out of five. Maybe four and a half.
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, definitely.
• PRICE YOU PAID : Six bucks plus shipping on ebay. Best purchase in a long time!
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: ebay.

MIDDLE-EARTH MUSIC REVIEWS

• TITLE: Voices of Middle-Earth (Italian)
• MUSICIANS: Giuseppe Festa
• GENRE: Wonderful folk music. Very very middle-earthy. Haunting flute, quiet & gentle elvish-tenor voice, various folk instruments. Lovely.
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canonical Tolkien verse-- in Italian...
• REVIEW: The music of Giuseppe Festa is magnificent. There's a twenty-minute instrumental at the end of the album that stops me in my tracks repeatedly. His Tolkien tunes are by and large singable. And he has a very elvish restlessness and longing in his work.
  
  ***** out of five.
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely. Gorgeous music. And you can sing the English lyrics to the tunes. Wooohoo!
• PRICE YOU PAID : Roughly $30 once I paid for shipping.
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: At the website www.lingalad.com
  

• TITLE: Songs of Middle Earth (Inspired by Lord of the Rings) ...(but see review below.)
• MUSICIANS: Rick Wakeman
• GENRE: Sixties/seventies synthesizer music with no lyrics.
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Non canonical; see below.
• REVIEW: Frankly despite the title I don't see how it's Tolkien-related at all. When my copy arrived in the mail I found right on the CD jacket it says "Previously released under other titles." So how is it Tolkien Related if he just renamed the music from something else? The music is okay if you like psychedelic keyboards (personally I like Bo Hansson much better, and his music SOUNDS like Middle_Earth.)
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? No!!! I can't see or hear a glimmer of Tolkien in it other than the Argonath on the cover,
• PRICE YOU PAID : Six bucks, wasted.
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Ebay. Amazon has it too.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 4:51 PM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

This isn't entirely a music thing, but it's related:

• TITLE: J.R.R. Tolkien Collection
• MUSICIANS: Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Elvin, Donald Swann (composer)
• GENRE: erm... readings (no music) & classical
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? As canon as canon can be (see 'musicians')
• REVIEW: Basically, it's CRT reading 'Of Beren & Luthien', JRRT reading various poems and William Elvin singing various poems as set to music by Donald Swann. CRT has a great reading voice, though his dad mumbles and speaks way too fast [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] It wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it.
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes, though it takes effort to listen to (not something you'd have playing in the background)
• PRICE YOU PAID nothing, I borrowed it from my local library. This page has it listed for $25 (but doesn't mention the William Elvin bit in the review - I wonder if it got cut? if so, there's no 'music' in the collection, making this review pointless)
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: see above

thebladethatwasbroken provided a nice link in this The Hobbit Soundtrack thread.

• TITLE: Memories of Middle Earth
• MUSICIANS: Brobdingnagian Bards
• GENRE: Folk: mostly Autoharp, recorder, and a male voice.
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original. The instrumental peices all have Middle-Earth names and themes. The songs (there are six) all have original Middle-Earth oriented lyrics.
• REVIEW: Your opinions
  Although this is by far the most skillful Autoharp playing I've ever heard, the Autoharp doesn't sound like a normal harp and never struck me as a Middle-Earth instrument. It gives the whole album a shrill, too-trebly feel.
  On the plus-side, the recorder-playing is rather nice; meandering at times, perky at times. (If only it had been backed by something other than auto-harp.)
  Now the Songs. Overall the songs were enjoyable. "The Heart of Fangorn" was okay. "Weathertop" had fine lyrics, from Frodo's point of view; but I found the tune on the drab side. The lyrics have real promise despite a few awkward spots. I found myself wondering if I just added lots of grace notes and maybe some harmony, would it work better?
  "The Ring of Hope" is sung post-war, is actually about smoke rings, and it describes Sam smoking and thinking of his master who has crossed the sea. This song has a very fine wandering and intricate tune! The lyrics are occasionally awkward but the heart behind the song is poignant and touching. Of all the songs I thought this one most appropriate to Marc Gunn's rather rustic scottish style. Overall, the best song on the album.
  "Legolas" is a song of friendship from Gimli's point of view and is fun and enjoyable. "Now It's Time To Go" is Bilbo's party farewell, and quite enjoyable. "The Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues" isn't to my taste. (Most of its lyrics are actually on the canonical side, with a few exceptions.)
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? It's not the first Middle-Earth album I'd buy. But if you like recorder and don't mind Autoharp, sure, pick it up.
• PRICE YOU PAID: What they charge online at their website.
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: www.thebards.net/ MP3's http://tolkien.bardscrier.com/

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 5:38 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

• TITLE: The Starlit Jewel
• MUSICIANS: Broceliande; Margaret Davis on lead vocals.
• GENRE: Very Celtic.
• CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Very canonical.
• REVIEW:
  I love this CD. Some of the intro's take a little getting used to; these are folk instruments. The album has more of a Renaissance feel than I associate with Tolkien. But it is still the most Middle-Earthy instrumentation I have yet heard. If there is anything electric used, I don't remember it (maybe a background synth here and there but it doesn't stand out.)
  The only songs on this album I'm not crazy about are The Merry Old Inn (but they do the best rendition out there; I'm just generally weary of it) and Durin's Day (a fine rendition, really; I'm just not into that particular song.) Everything else is just... glorious.
  Where did they manage to find the genuine hobbits and elves? Sam is very believably Sam. In Western Lands is touching and simple. The Troll Song makes me laugh, reliably, wherever I am. Hobbit Walking Song is just wonderful.
  Margaret Davis has a lovely, lovely voice. She's on the Soprano side for Galadriel (who's voice is described as "deeper than woman's wont") but that's a really minor nitpick. Her version of Galadriel's Lament is just gorgeous. And her rendition of Elvish Lullabye takes me straight to Rivendell.
  I do wish they'd found a guy to sing Legolas's part in Lament for Boromir; but the woman who sings it does a very believable job given her assignment, and the song is successful anyway. (Aragorn is fine.)
• DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Absolutely.
• PRICE YOU PAID: an astonishingly honest price: $15 plus shipping.
• WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: A rather bizarre online store called Southern Fried Filk. When I bought mine last September he said he had "a few left." http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stat...2/celticcd.htm
  You can listen to clips here (20 secs of each song) or
  here, 3 songs but different clips.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 6:05 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 6:14 PM January 23, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

Legolas' review of the RotK soundtrack can be found here.

Esty, thank you for that link! Legolas, did yo have any othr reviews you'd ike to link to?

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 9:10 AM January 24, 2004: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

# TITLE: The Fellowship of the Ring piano/vocals/chords
# MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Howard Shore
# GENRE: Music from the Soundtracks (that should be Tolkien related enought right? [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img])
# INSTRUMENTS music is written for: Various
# REVIEW: I believe that these books are well worth the money. There are several songs I don't play because either I can't play them or because they don't appeal to me (listening and playing I have found are quite different). But that is just me. The songs I do not like are Aniron (Theme for Arwen and Aragorn because of the difficult key and rhythm; and The Phrophecy because of the many chords and accidentals (it doesn't seem to have a tune to me). My favourites are May it Be (this does include the words; and In Dreams also with words.
# DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes I do. It's great probably for a late beginner to intermediate piano player and for anyone who wants to sing them. The ones with Elvish also have the elvish language and tranlsation. You can also play it with flute and violin of course. The chords are included above the staff.
# PRICE YOU PAID I don't remember, but I don't think it was more than twenty dollars.
# WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT At a music store. The new books didn't come in until the movies had hit the cheap seats about April or May -- maybe March.

Song Titles:

Aniron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)
The Prophecy
Many Meetings
Lament for Gandalf
In Dreams
May it Be
~~~~~~~~~~~
# TITLE: The Two Towers piano/vocals/chords)
# MUSICIANS/COMPOSER: Howard Shore
# GENRE: TTT soundtrack
# INSTRUMENTS Piano voice, various
# REVIEW: Pretty much the same as FotR. Two of the songs are very repetetive and tedious to play (" Isengard Unleashed and Forth Eorlingas") but all in all it is very good. My favourites are "Gollum's Song" and "Evenstar". Again, the songs are a matter of taste. I think they have a nice selection of all the themes and songs in the movies.
# DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes I do.
# PRICE YOU PAID Again I don't remember it.
# WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT Same place I bought FotR [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] At a music store whose name I don't remember.

Song Titles:
Gollum's Song
Evenstar
Isengard Unleashed
Breath of Life
Forth Eorlingas
Rohan

Edit: I'm sorry, I don't know how to do that fancy square thing...

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 1:03 AM February 03, 2004: Message edited by: Imladris ]

Imladris, many thanks! Very helpful information; also thanks for the cheap-seats info on the date of previous book releases! I had been hunting and hunting for the ROTK book... Patience.

Sounds like I'll be homesick for my dad's piano. Keyboard just isn't the same.

The pound signs are a good improvisation! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
The square things are what you get when you click on the list-start, list-item, and list-end buttons. It took me a long time to find 'em.

Music Inspired By Middle Earth
 

· TITLE: Music Inspired By Middle Earth

· MUSICIANS: David & Diane Arkenstone

· GENRE: Classical, New Age, Renaissance, (instrumental)

· INSTRUMENTS: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, French Horn, Trumpet, Oboe/English Horn, Harp, Keyboards, Guitar, Whistle, Flute, Melodica,
Mandolin, Bouzouki, Percussion, Dulcimer, Bells, Bawu, Duduk, bansuri, ocarina

· CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Original Tolkien inspired, though one does not need to be familiar with Tolkien to appreciate it.

· REVIEW: This album is very much like the score of an unmade movie, so at first listen it sounds high-flown but it grows on you as you listen more, and has a high goose bump factor. There are some passages that sound like Aaron Copland ala Witness, and some that remind you of Tubular Bells or the colder scenes in Titanic. So if you like that sort of music, chances are you would enjoy this CD.

1. Prelude: Hobbits From the Shire
2. The Road to Rivendell
3. The Quest (very good)
4. Moria
5. Lothlorien
6. Galadriel Mirror
7. The Riders of Rohan (Really hits the Mark! Best track on the album)
8. The Palantir (Chilling, captures the despair)
9. Arwen and Aragon
10. To Isengard
11. In the land of Shadow (Portrays the bleak and ominous mood of Mordor)
12. The Fields of Cormallen (To my mind the worst track, sounds like the credits should be rolling)
13. The Grey Havens (The end of this one almost brings tears to my eyes – even at work!)

· DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Yes. All 5 of my 5 test subjects liked it.

· PRICE YOU PAID: $13.99 USD

· WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon (Sorry, to those who think Amazon is the death of merchants, but it is invaluable to us rural folk.)

· Do you know of any online samples? Yes, Track 1 – "Prelude: Hobbits From the Shire" is available as a download from Amazon and several snippets of the others are there to listen to.

Eh. This is just my review of the Return of the King soundtrack.

Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack

Musicians: Howard Shore

Genre: Classical

Canonical Tolkien or Original?: Original, but Tolkien Related.

Review: To be honest, the Return of the King soundtrack was the first soundtrack from the films that I've gotten my hands onto. I have to admit, though, that the soundtrack seemed, to me, awesome. It opened with the nearly traditional soft music that I mentally always relate to the hobbits, and swept grandly up into a beautiful score in "Minas Tirith." Billy Boyd performed well on "The Steward of Gondor," and "Minas Morgul" definitely brings dark images to mind.

Return of the King was not without the majestic music that developed the battle scenes, though. "The Ride of the Rohirrim," "The Fields of the Pelennor," "The Black Gate Opens" and "The End of All Things" vividly portrayed the film's battle scenes in sound--from the thunderous, ominous drums to the triumphant, heroic trumpets.

The final song of the soundtrack, "Into the West," which was performed superbly by Annie Lennox, is definitely deserving of the Golden Globe it received for Best Original Song. The music and lyrics are haunting and melodic, and it's definitely a tear-jerker.

Do you recommend it?: Most definitely.

Price you paid: About $20 (from Wal-mart--that's with tax).

Where you bought it: Wal-mart (where a very lovely card insert features characters from the movies--girls, the cover with just Aragorn on it has Legolas on the back of the inside of the card!)

Do you know of any online samples?: Amazon.com features samples of "A Storm is Coming," "Hope and Memory," "Minas Tirith," "The White Tree" and "The Steward of Gondor" right here

Music Book review: Online Filk!
 

Music of Arda
 

This is a topic I have been meaning to start ever since I arrived on the Downs, but never got round to it.
Basically, I have a couple of CD's of Middle Earth Music, (admittedly including the film soundtracks). So I was wondering if anyone had heard any decent M-E music while Wandering The AWW (Arda wide web..... ok so its not that funny :p) So far I have found that "The One ring" CD contains some of my favourites, if you don’t know it you can get clips from it here;
http://www.metrognome.demon.co.uk/mp3.htm

So, please post your suggestions here, and if you can, links so we can all enjoy them.

Stephen Oliver
 

Alan Horvath's Rings Project
 

TITLE: Nightfall in Middle Earth
MUSICIANS: Blind Guardian
GENRE: Progressive metal
CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon
REVIEW: Great, great album! All based on the story of the Silmarillion. Speed metal with booming choruses and melodical guitar solos.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Definitely, any tolkien or metal fan can enjoy.
PRICE YOU PAID: 15.00
WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Media Play
Do you know of any online samples? I think sumwhere on www.cdnow.com

The Hobbitons
 

I discovered This Site for Tolkien Inspired Music that I hadn't come across before, and thought that this would be as good place as any for a link!

I've reviewed the Tolkien/Swann music book The Road Goes Ever On, including the CD, here. Enjoy!

Errrr ? :eek: :p

Mirror Mirror on the wall
 

I know that Bombadil did a review on this already, but I...can't...resist...

TITLE: Nightfall in Middle Earth

MUSICIANS: Blind Guardian

GENRE: Progressive metal

CANONICAL TOLKIEN or ORIGINAL? Canon

REVIEW: In a word, it is awesome. In another word (or more) it captures the heart and spirit of the Silmarillion. It's has the themes of doom and fate that pervade Tolkien's tale.

I have never heard such talent in metal/rock music. Screaming voices are neatly balanced with elvish softness and the metal has a very Celtic feel to it (it actually works quite well). The screaming isn't that bad either...and very fitting I think.

DO YOU RECOMMEND IT? Of course.

PRICE YOU PAID: 15.00 or so.

WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT: Amazon

Clips: Clickity click click

Lyrics: Read them...enjoy!

While poking around on ebay i noticed this:

Tolkien Ensemble 2 CD Night/Evening in Rivendell OOP

This is a boxed set of Evening and Night. I have them already. I've reviewed each one above (posts 5 and 6), the price is great, and so far there's no competition. It would be worth buying for "The Ent and the Entwife" alone.

Also check out At Dawn In Rivendell