Aww, Ollie, you were ssssssssssssoo sssssssssssad, Precious? >
Alright, if you care about my opinion at all, go ahead and read.
Fellowship of the Ring
General opinion: Time has made this the dearest volume, but I don't care for the too-overly choral pieces or most of the elvish stuff. The boy choirs & the 5/4 time of Saruman's orcs is very well done, and there are bits and notes in nearly every song that make it feel like I've listened to it forever.
The Prophecy (Wow, what can I say? This is like a sweeping overview of the ages when the trees of gold and silver were in bloom.)
The Ring Goes South (I love this little song. Especially the beginning few notes.)
The Great River (This is more Elvish than Lothlorien, or almost anything else.)
Amon Hen (This song goes together so perfectly, the beginning, the Saruman theme which is so cool, and the boy choir, specifically at 3:13.)
The Breaking of the Fellowship (I don't really care for "In Dreams," but this is a very good song. Very relieved to hear that it's Sam's theme. Also, the note at 3:17 is heartrending.)
May it Be (I like it a lot, very much.)
The Two Towers
I don't really care for this volume as much as the others. The Rohirric theme is rather annoying and sounds like it's trying too hard to make me feel pity for the poor wretches. Well, bah humbug!
The Passage of the Marshes (Very creepy, the voices extra so.)
Evenstar (The jewel of the album, extremely haunting. I wish they could have gotten Isobel Bayrakdarian for RotK as well.)
Treebeard (A very unusual song. I like it because of that, but it's too hasty to be Entish.)
Helm's Deep (It's an okay song, very heart stirring considering it's barely played at Helm's Deep at all, but it's the ending solo that makes me wake up.)
Isengard Unleashed (About the only thing I liked was the lament for Haldir. Creee-py.)
Gollum's Song (Definitely the strangest of the three Songs of the Albums. Unusual as well.)
The Return of the King
Wow. Howard Shore really outdid himself with this one. Billy Boyd's song is great.
Some standouts:
Shelob's Lair (Very creepy. I can almost place it in the book.)
The End of All Things (Very dramatic. Especially the part where Frodo is carried off by the eagles. Rene Fleming has a very good voice for that.)
The Grey Havens (The flute at the beginning, and between 4:40 and 5:60 just gets me)
Into the West (A fitting ending, if an ending indeed had to come. I love it beyond words.)
So, my favorite soundtracks in order:
#1RotK
#2FotR
#3TTT
And my favorite songs are:
Into the West
The Grey Havens
Evenstar
Thanks for reading, gotta go bye!