Thomas Newman
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Thomas Newman has a new score out today — THE TUESDAY MURDER CLUB. It’s unmistakably him, but in the lazy corner, IMO. Doubt I’ll be getting it.
But a good opportunity as any to do a thread on him. In recent years, Newman has risen to my “alltime top 10” list, a current 9th place. Coincides with my change in taste towards the more textural and calm. I like all his facets – the Americana sound, the synth stuff from the 80s and early 90s, the quirky things. And the fact that it almost always sounds like him, no matter what he does.
My latest Newman score that I decided to import into iTunes was WHITE BIRD (but only after some heavy playlisting) from last year, and before that the excellent LET THEM ALL TALK from 2020, with its Barry-inspired main theme. So in recent years, it’s been hit and miss. But I have about 30 Newman albums in total, of which SHAWSHANK still reigns on top.
What about you?
I liked his Bond scores although probably not his best ones. I do like him but are not really fan. SHAWSHANK is one of the CDs I sold quite some years ago when I thought I needed to get rid of some I rarley listen too (yeah, what a joke and I regret having sold those…even back before streaming then it really wasn’t much…). I always like ROAD TO PERDITION because of those Irish/Celtic influences and ANGELS IN AMERICA. I have less than 50 scores and probably should review them again as I cannot say much about them right now…
You should get Meet Joe Black. That’s my personal favourite. That and this best of from The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra are the only ones I listen to from time to time.
I have about 35 Thomas Newman albums, and yes, I like him a lot. I agree with Thor, his scores always sound like him, and there is a calm, textural quality to most of his output I very much enjoy. Newman’s music is at times the musical equivalent to relaxing on a warm summer afternoon.
Favorite scores of his are AMERICAN BEAUTY (very original at the time, everybody copied it… quirky), SCENT OF A WOMAN, ANGELS IN AMERICA (one of his more dramatic scores, a great album), THE HORSE WHISPERER and MEET JOE BLACK.
Favorite scores of his are AMERICAN BEAUTY (very original at the time, everybody copied it… quirky), SCENT OF A WOMAN, ANGELS IN AMERICA (one of his more dramatic scores, a great album), THE HORSE WHISPERER and MEET JOE BLACK.
Indeed, AMERICAN BEAUTY is a classic, SCENT OF A WOMAN and MEET JOE BLACK I have and I think I also liked. Really have to revisit those.
Apparently, he turns 70 today. Congratulations to him, but I also find it scary how time flies. In my mind, he’s still in his forties.
I also find it scary how time flies
Indeed… I still have him on a “newer generation composer” list, too…
Well, why not if he isn’t replaced shortley before release by someone else. His two Bond scores might not have been real classics in the series but served the movies in general. Another big franchise surely pays off for him moneywise 😉
We got plenty SW scores that didn’t sound totally like JW. The question is how much will this sound like TN.
So, Thomas Newman is doing some Star Wars thing
I am not excited.
While people like John Powel, Michael Giacchino and Michael Abels thought “This is Star Wars, so let’s write some Star Wars music!” I expect Newman rather to be the type like Göransson, Britell and the likes who said “I was hired for Star Wars to do my thing to give it a contemporary flavor. That old fashioned timeless classical style is done.”
Could go either way, I suppose. He can do oldfashioned if he sets his mind to it (there are several individual cues in the past that demonstrate this), or he could just do “his thing”. But I’d rather he focus his energies on smaller projects, to be honest. They tend to get the best out of him.
Hm. Not sure if it could go either way. Even when Newman went for classical orchestral textures I don’t remember him show that degree of variation that would be required for a wall-to-wall romantic score. A little bit like Alan Silvestri. When a particular theme appears it mostly appears the same.
And Newman isn’t even a tunesmith like Silvestri.But anyway, I am happy to be surprised and proven wrong.
I expect a splash of orchestral color here and there but most of the time his atmospheric moody electronic meandering.
Yay! Finally reached Thomas Newman in my collection walkthrough. Will spend quite a bit of time only listening to him now (I have 30 Newman albums), inbetween sampling new scores. Kicking off with the double-header of MAKING MR. RIGHT (1987) and DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (1985), which is the earliest I’ve got. Since I only have this album digitally, and never really investigated the cover, I always assumed MAKING MR. RIGHT was a Newman score too, until – a few years ago – I was alerted to the fact that it’s by Chaz Jankel (of K2 fame). Oops! Both are fine scores either way.
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