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He's probably the best orchestrator since Ravel or Respighi.
There's plenty of well-orchestrated music after the 1930s. Ravel's & Respighi's music is known for its orchestral color, but there has also been a lot music with highly detailed orchestrations by composes who have used more advanced techniques of composition beyond the realms of tonality and romanticism. Sample Roberto Gerhard's 1965 'Concerto for Orchestra', for just one example.
I think what you are implying is that John Scott has continued to write music in the early 20th-century vein which you apparently love the most.
(I actually prefer Scott's pre-1980s music, especially between 1967 & 1972)
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but his symphonic mastery really began to mature into something truly exceptional around the mid-80's onward.
I disagree about that time period, though. Much as I like King Kong Lives, nothing Scott has done after 1972 has surpassed Antony and Cleopatra.
Don't get me wrong, because I love John Scott's music as well and collect almost every soundtrack of his.
[as a side-note, I recall FSM member Dana Wilcox who claims that listening to the music of John Scott induces narcolepsy in him.  ]
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Exceptional and reliable composer.
Loved Billy Two Hats. And Final Countdown. And Deadly Pursuit. And with the white hair and clipped beard, he even looks like a composer should!
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Posted: |
Nov 23, 2015 - 5:52 PM
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By: |
bobbengan
(Member)
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I disagree about that time period, though. Much as I like King Kong Lives, nothing Scott has done after 1972 has surpassed Antony and Cleopatra.
While I agree that Antony and Cleopatra is my favorite score of his, in that the finest moments are utterly MAGNIFICENT, I also don't think very highly of the action/suspense cues from this score and often skip them.
Same goes for PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT and THE FINAL COUNTDOWN, which have outstanding themes but suspense/action writing that feels a little shrill and messy to me.
By comparison, the action music in King Kong Lives, The North Star, the few action cues from The Last Viceroy, etc. is where his action chops really began to become tremendous in my book.
You all must, must, MUST hear his unreleased score to the mini-series Harlem from 1986, which might be one of his single most unsung masterworks:
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=112392&forumID=1&archive=0
One of the things I love about this guy is that he has several "modes" of writing that he calls upon for different projects, all of which are clearly his voice: His impressionistic musical portraits of the natural world (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Cousteau scores, Jules Verne Adventures, Greystoke), his distinctly "British" lyrical side (The Shooting Party, Shergar, The Scarlet Tunic), his more "Traditional Hollywood" action/adventure/thriller scores (King Kong Lives, Man on Fire, The North Star, Far From Home, Shogun Mayada, Shoot to Kill etc.), Folk-influenced Americana sound (Walking Thunder, Winter People, Time of the Wolf) and finally, his big ravishing Classically-rich period epics, all of which bear the wonderful influence of Rimsky-Korsakov but clearly embody his own distinct voice: Antony and Cleopatra, Becoming Colette, King of the Wind, Harem. Such rich, rich music.
I don't know what it is about his writing, it just speaks to me so so much. The musicianship is incredible and wonderfully rich, ornate, adventurous and full of unrequited longing and awe.
The fact that he orchestrates every note himself alludes to his mastery and control of his craft.
Sure, there are a few duds too, like the unlistenable Inseminoid or his rejected A Prayer for the Dying (Conti's used score is one of that composer's absolutely most inspired in my opinion), but given his vast output, I really do believe this man to have one of the most singularly compelling, musically-satisfying, richly crafted voices in music - For film or otherwise.
I'm sad to see a lot of responses here are more passive aggressive jabs at his work rather than celebrations of his victories, of which there are so many.
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I only have John Scott's The Deceivers. But it's a tremendous listen that I would recommend to anyone, with some really great Indian flourishes throughout it. I was lucky enough to find it dead cheap in a second-hand CD store in Canada. Still one of my luckiest blind buys, as I've never seen the film.
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Don't get me wrong, because I love John Scott's music as well and collect almost every soundtrack of his.
You're mistaking epic sweep for quality. THE SHOOTING PARTY is probably Scott's greatest score, meticulously crafted and superbly refined. It was composed in 1984. Also, GREYSTOKE is a magnificent score that only pales because of some tracked-in classical music in the film. Also, some of the COUSTEAU scores offer splendid music.
I agree with you that KING KONG LIVES isn't one of Scott's finest hours, it's mostly loud. And who could blame him ...
And the old man is STILL at it, at 85!
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