This is a continuation of showcasing the increasing number of film composers that are getting their own OFFICIAL WEBSITES, which appears to be a great source for getting info on them and the film music industry in general. So once a week I'll try to list one or a few that I've come across. Sometimes they may big names, and others will be folk that you probably never even knew about. Either way, it's my way of sharing and keeping other's informed.
This week, THE WAITING IS OVER... HOWARD SHORE launches his own OFFICIAL website. This thing seems like it's been under construction for a long time. Continuously posting launch dates that would come and go with the seasons, that it finally just read, "COMING SOON." So was all the wait worth it? Read on and...
Enjoy!
~ Scorehead
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• COMPOSER SITES OF THE WEEK: 9/14/06 - "FINALLY... IT'S LAUNCHED?"
~ RATING IS OUT OF 4 Stars ~
• HOWARD SHORE -
http://www.howardshore.com/
For those looking for a good source of info on the esteemed lord of the score, this site has some great features worth checking out. Broken into 5 separate categories, the site is easy to navigate, with pull down menus that expend in detail each area of interest. They are as follows;
- NEWS • Clicking the ENTER feature on the home page will immediately take you to the NEWS page, which at this time, obviously, is pretty sparse. Here you will no doubt read announcements about upcoming releases (such as the November 7th release of the complete score to "LOTR:TWO TOWERS."), film premieres, births and concert dates.
- CALENDAR • The Calendar page is a nice addition and one that I don't think that I've seen before on any other composer's website. As is, it nicely lays out what's coming up for Shore in the coming months, such as; concerts and film premieres, and it even has the appropriate links to the posted events when available. To nit-pick a little, It would be ideal if the film premieres posted also had links to the their website.
- WORKS • Chronicles the composers work under a variety of selections in a pull down menu. Here you can select from; Discography - Filmography - Publications and Symphonies.
- The Discography is EXTENSIVE, to say the least, and displays CD art, which can be clicked on to reveal track listings. It can be viewed in one of two ways, Alphabetical or Chronological to the CD/album's release date, starting with the new 2006 release of "LOTR: THE TWO TOWERS" and going as far back as 1979's, "LIVE FROM NEW YOIRK - GILDA RADNER" (Which is out of print. DARN IT ALL!!!)
- The Films category list all of Shore's films, from 2005's THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE to 1978's "I MISS YOU, HUGS AND KISSES." (which was followed by "THE BROOD," nonetheless). Click on a films poster and a page opens that will link you to the film's studio website and another link that will take you back to the CD page with track titles - but... NO AUDIO CLIPS AT ALL!!! Maybe that will be addressed at a later date.
- The Publications category brings one to a series of pages where you can get publication codes for selections of his works, such as; VOCAL, SOLO or ENSEMBLES.
- The Symphony page lists performance dates and reviews of his Concerts, with links to get info on where they will be played - also Program Notes that essentially talks about Shore's efforts at putting together the "LOTR SYMPHONY." - and also a page that gives Booking details and contact info.
- COMMUNITY • Has a Guest book where you can post a note on a message board and even a Links Page that will lead you to Film, Record label and Soundtrack Sites.
Finally there is a CONTACT page that is the usual links to Agencies, webmaster and so on, but no email address for Howard Shore.
Over all this is a great start for HOWARD SHORE'S OFFICIAL website. The only real detraction is two things, and that is the obvious lack of any AUDIO SAMPLES or any info that pertains to KING KONG (it's not even on his list of films and not mentioned ANY WHERE on his site, thus indicating the thorn that must still be in his side). I know that I'm not alone in wanting to hear form Shore himself on what actually happened, just like Gabriel Yared did on his site when his score for TROY got axed. Time will only tell. (Informative and Detailed - but No AUDIO SAMPLES hurts the rating - 3 Stars)
Now... if you haven't done it already, go check it out!!!
~ Scorehead
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Also...
• Ryan Shore -
http://www.ryanshore.com/
No time for the review - Check back soon!
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