THREE FROM EMI + NEWS FROM MOVIESCORE MEDIA & COSTA COMMUNICATIONS


The Best of Bond...James Bond
Various Artists
Capitol/EMI/MGM 509992 43353 94 (EU)
24 Tracks 79:23 mins + DVD


To mark the release of the latest Bond adventure, Quantum of Solace, the EMI stable have issued a new revised version of their fabulous Best of Bond...James Bond album, which groups together all the original film songs and themes from the series, omitting the Moby and Parodi/Fair tracks from its previous incarnation, and adding Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale, as well as Tomorrow Never Dies' end titles song "Surrender" by k.d. lang, which is well worthy of inclusion. A bonus track presents John Arnold's version of the James Bond Theme.
This special edition also features a bonus DVD, with five music videos, A View To A Kill, For Your Eyes Only, GoldenEye, The Living Daylights and All Time High, plus Shirley Bassey performing Goldfinger at the Royal Albert Hall in 1974, and the documentary The Bond Sound - The Music of 007, previously released as a special feature on the A View To A Kill DVD.
Accompany the discs is a colourful 8-page booklet, featuring music credits, plus original poster artwork from the films. A wonderful package for all Bond fans.

Christmas At The Movies
Various Artists
Capitol/EMI 5099923742123 (EU)
15 Tracks 36:21 mins

A nice little Christmas stocking filler might be this compilation of classic Christmas songs included in a wide range of fairly recent films, from When Harry Met Sally to Christmas With The Cranks. Some great recording artists of the past feature, including Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Brenda Lee, and Andy Williams, and most of your favourites are likely to be here, from Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, though there are some notable exclusions, and some less familiar fare on offer like the Beach Boys' Little Saint Nick.

Nightmare Revisited
Various Artists
Walt Disney Records 5099926421629 (EU)
20 Tracks 75:47 mins

Released here in time for Halloween, I really wonder who came up with the idea of releasing this album of re-imaginings of Danny Elfman's music for the Tim Burton animation A Nightmare Before Christmas, as I really can't imagine who it will appeal to. Certainly, fans of the film, or of film music will likely already have the original album, and are unlikely to want cover versions by artists, most of whom I, as a film music fan, have never even heard of. Elfman himself contributes the "opening," but otherwise it's a project that just seems doomed to failure.


New release from MovieScore Media

THE MUSICAL MAGIC
OF BBC’s MERLIN

Quality Soundtrack Label MovieScore Media To Release Original Television Soundtrack from
BBC Hit Series MERLIN

Following a licensing agreement with FremantleMedia Enterprises, Swedish soundtrack label MovieScore Media (http://www.moviescoremedia.com) will release British composer Rob Lane’s original score music from the BBC hit fantasy series MERLIN, available in UK stores, online soundtrack retailers and digitally via iTunes, Amazon.com and filmmusicdownloads.com from November 2008. Featuring selections of the orchestral music from the series’ three first episodes, MERLIN: ORIGINAL TELEVSION SOUNDTRACK is targeting both fans of the series and cinema music alike.

Composer Rob Lane has won numerous awards for his television music, including three Ivor Novellos, a BAFTA and two RTS Awards. His previous credits include John Adams, Elizabeth I, Jane Eyre, Archangel, David Copperfield, The Lost World, Longford and The Hound of the Baskervilles. Among his most recent feature film credits are the Warner Bros. comedy, Mrs Ratcliffe’s Revolution, magic realist drama The Lives of the Saints, and the South African set thriller Red Dust. ”Composing the score for this BBC updating of the Arthurian legend has been a great challenge for me, requiring as it does a real diversity of tone from the music,” comments Rob Lane. ”One moment it’s martial heroism that’s needed – the next it’s magical fantasy. Scenes can shift quickly from slapstick comedy to poignant romance or dark horror in a second, and the score has to support these shifts whilst all the time remembering that this is a show clearly aimed at a primetime family audience.”

The eagerly anticipated series begins long before Arthur becomes King. Arthur's father is Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic in the mythical city of Camelot. Gaius is the court physician who takes Merlin under his wing and helps guide him with his magical powers. It's a rites of passage story that sees Merlin and Arthur on the cusp of adulthood – both on their journey to greatness in a time before history began.

MERLIN is a Shine production for the BBC. FremantleMedia Enterprises has invested in the series alongside Shine Television and BBC One, and is the exclusive international rights holders for distribution, licensing, and home entertainment (excluding the U.K.).



From Costa Communications:

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED COMPOSER

ALEX WURMAN SCORES

FOUR CHRISTMASES

(Hollywood, CA) –Critically acclaimed composer Alex Wurman scores New Line Cinema’s latest, holiday comedy Four Christmases, directed by Seth Gordon, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. Four Christmases tells the story of Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate’s (Reese Witherspoon) struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day after the couple gets caught in a lie by their families on a live news broadcast. Four Christmases will be in theatres this holiday season opening on November 26^th.

Wurman’s original score to Four Christmases mixes traditional Christmas music with new original music, resulting in unique adaptations of familiar holiday classics. Wurman’s score also offers inventive themes that are subtly sweet as well as poignant. The score was recorded at Warner Bros Eastwood Stage and performed by a 90 piece orchestra, incorporating guitars, hand percussions, bells and other contemporary instruments. Wurman, an admirer of Gershwin and Bernstein, saw his work on this film as an opportunity to pay homage to and celebrate those he respects by incorporating classic qualities into his score. Wurman conducted many cues without the calculated wizardry of modern technology, thus bringing the warm, rich sounds of the orchestra to life.

After studying music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, Alex Wurman moved to Los Angeles to pursue film music scoring. Independent films started coming his way, and soon he was working with directors such as John August, Doug Liman and Ron Shelton. This year Wurman was honored with an Emmy nomination for his score to the HBO film Bernard and Doris. Wurman’s resume reflects the quality and diversity of his talent, boasting films such as March of the Penguins, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Anchorman and Play It to the Bone. Next month, Wurman’s score can be heard in the drama What Doesn’t Kill You starring Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo