Narrow my search:
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
John Williams in Vienna
John Williams
Classical - Released August 14, 2020 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Hi-Res
Booklet
It’s difficult to resist such a prestigious title. In January 2020, John Williams, 87, returned to Vienna to head the Wiener Philharmoniker in the Soldener Saal of the Vienna Musikverein. In another era, the sound of this album would have matched the event in all its spectacle, grandeur, radiance and sheer detail. Nevertheless, hearing such well put-together, brilliantly orchestrated and colourful music (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977, Spielberg, and Jaws, 1975, also Spielberg) remains a pleasure at all times. With fervent enthusiasm on Devil’s Dance from The Witches of Eastwick (George Miller, 1987), violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter displays all of her virtuosity (and incredibly complicated violin playing) here without fear for the ‘lack of taste’ that she is so often reproached for! We now hope the Wiener Philharmoniker continue their exploration of the Hollywood music discography with diligence, daring to take on Bernard Herrman, Erich Wolfang Korngold, Copland and others. © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz
From
HI-RES$21.09
CD$18.09
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
Rock - Released October 5, 1973 | UMC (Universal Music Catalogue)
Hi-Res
Distinctions
The Qobuz Ideal Discography
It was designed to be a blockbuster and it was. Prior to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John had hits -- his second album, Elton John, went Top 10 in the U.S. and U.K., and he had smash singles in "Crocodile Rock" and "Daniel" -- but this 1973 album was a statement of purpose spilling over two LPs, which was all the better to showcase every element of John's spangled personality. Opening with the 11-minute melodramatic exercise "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" -- as prog as Elton ever got -- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road immediately embraces excess but also tunefulness, as John immediately switches over to "Candle in the Wind" and "Bennie & the Jets," two songs that form the core of his canon and go a long way toward explaining the over-stuffed appeal of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. This was truly the debut of Elton John the entertainer, the pro who knows how to satisfy every segment of his audience, and this eagerness to please means the record is giddy but also overwhelming, a rush of too much muchness. Still, taken a side at a time, or even a song a time, it is a thing of wonder, serving up such perfectly sculpted pop songs as "Grey Seal," full-bore rockers as "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and "Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock & Roll)," cinematic ballads like "I've Seen That Movie Too," throwbacks to the dusty conceptual sweep of Tumbleweed Connection in the form of "The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34)," and preposterous glam novelties, like "Jamaica Jerk-Off." This touched on everything John did before, and suggested ways he'd move in the near-future, and that sprawl is always messy but usually delightful, a testament to Elton's '70s power as a star and a musician.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
Star Wars: A New Hope
John Williams
Film Soundtracks - Released January 1, 1977 | Walt Disney Records
Hi-Res
The 1977 release of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope exponentially changed the face of pop culture. Not since the mainland arrival of the Beatles had such an intense level of fanaticism possessed the American people. The film's rousing title sequence is as recognizable -- if not more so -- than the national anthem, and composer John Williams' Oscar-winning score is a marvel of pulp tension, Holst grandeur, and Wagner-inspired motifs. Never before had the general public been given such memorable, accessible, and instantly identifiable character themes. Williams develops these ideas masterfully at the soundtrack's beginning, allowing the lonely horn-driven "Jedi" theme, like Luke Skywalker himself, the time to grow, waiting patiently before unleashing it in full with the bombastic and ceremonial end piece "The Throne Room." Shadows of the composer's finest contribution, "Imperial March," can be heard brewing beneath the ominous cello section during "Imperial Attack." This is perhaps the most important thread on A New Hope, and charting its growth through to its full-blown Empire Strikes Back glory is fascinating. Williams is a true student of cinema, and his love for the works of Henry Mancini -- "Cantina Band," anyone? -- Miklos Rosa, and Bernard Herrmann are in full effect, but like George Lucas, who based his entire concept on old radio and television serials, the results are reverent without having been recycled. A New Hope was the beginning of a grand love affair with science fiction and mythology, and the world embraced every aspect of its astronomical rise to legend, but without Williams' exceptional contributions that affair may have been very short-lived. [In 2004 Sony Classical released double-disc collector's editions of episodes four through six in anticipation of the films' release on DVD. Remastered and sporting 3-D covers, each soundtrack includes the score in its entirety, a poster foldout, and screen savers depicting rare Japanese book covers. In some cases, alternate tracks and extended versions are included. For Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, the archival bonus track "Binary Sunset" is featured.]© TiVo
From
HI-RES$29.79
CD$25.59
Exile On Main Street (Deluxe Edition - Explicit)
The Rolling Stones
Rock - Released January 1, 2012 | Polydor Records
Hi-Res
Dark and glistening. Like a cave on the French Riviera. That’s where Jagger and Richards' band – living as tax exiles - recorded the immense Exile on Main Street, a musical feast with dishes served as country (Sweet Black Angel, Sweet Virginia), gospel (Shine a Light), blues (Shake Your Hips) and visceral rock'n'roll (the opening of Rocks Off and the cult track Happy with Keith Richards on vocals). The Rolling Stones may have been at the height of fame, but this masterpiece came from the heart and soul, with a dark and dirty sound and a sincere and raw style. American roots music (country, blues, folk) had rarely sounded so original. Jagger sings like an inspired old sage. Richards unleashes sharp, sublime guitar riffs. After all these years, we still can’t find the slightest flaw in this double album which many consider to be The Rolling Stones’ best... © Marc Zisman/Qobuz
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
John Williams
Film Soundtracks - Released January 1, 1983 | Walt Disney Records
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
John Williams
Film Soundtracks - Released May 4, 1999 | Walt Disney Records
Hi-Res
As opposed to the original official "Soundtrack" release, a single disc with the soundtrack elements edited and arranged into concert movements, this two-disc set has every note composed for The Phantom Menace, including a cue that was cut from the film. Buffs can readily hear how Williams introduces embryonic forms of familiar themes from the earlier films. For instance, the innocent lullaby for little Anakin Skywalker ends in a nine-note pattern that is the theme of the future Darth Vader's Imperial March. And Williams subtly uses harmonies to mark the character who is secretly plotting to become Emperor. However, in this form the music is totally subordinated to the film's dramatic form, rather than musical logic.This score is not so successful as coherent music, as the earlier films' scores were, as released in their final versions on RCA Victor. The cause is the same dramatic flaw that made the movie unexpectedly unsatisfying: it was really an extended set-up for a larger-scale story, without a central mythic hero who faces a defining ordeal. The score resultingly lacks a unifying focus, as well. Still, this release is a better portrayal of the music than the original soundtrack album, which threw away the concluding fight music, The Duel of the Fates, by making it track two. It is worth the extra cost for film score and Star Wars buffs, and includes some remarkable "desert music" not included in the original disc. It is very well played by Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra with the New London Children's Chorus and the London Voices, all stunningly produced by Williams and recorded by Shawn Murphy. It comes in a lavish package, with over sixty color shots from the movie in a bound-in presentation booklet, clearly aimed at fans and collectors.© TiVo
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
John Williams
Film Soundtracks - Released April 23, 2002 | Walt Disney Records
Hi-Res
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is the fifth score that John Williams has written for George Lucas' Star Wars series and, by this point, he knows the lay of the land. Not just that, but his themes for the series -- from the main title to the march of the Storm Troopers -- are embedded in the consciousness of any filmgoer, so he could be excused for coasting and delivering simply what is expected of him on this score, given that it arrives five films into the series. But, The Phantom Menace changed that for the entire franchise by not quite living up to expectations. Visually, it was a knockout, but by many standards, it was a flat origin story, highlighted by some great flights of fancy. Judged on its own, however, Williams' score was quite impressive, particularly because it introduced a legitimate new masterwork in "The Duel of Fates" section. Given this, he didn't have much to prove with Attack of the Clones, but he still outdoes himself here (hopefully mirroring the reported rejuvenation of the series with this film), producing a thrilling atmospheric score that is so effective, it feels as if you're watching the film unfold before your eyes, even if you've never seen it before. Williams doesn't broaden his palette the way he did with Phantom Menace, where he spent a lot of time with African drums, but instead consolidates the strengths of the series, occasionally adding an unexpected twist -- such as the squalling electric guitar on "Zam the Assassin and the Chase through Coruscant" -- while developing another seemingly classic theme with its "Love Theme" (perhaps sappy, but effective all the same). This is enough, since it's an exciting, dramatic score that telegraphs the rush of the full film as effectively as watching the film. [Spoiler Warning! Although the track listing doesn't go to the extreme of Episode I, which actually gave away Qui-Gon's death with a track title, the tracks of this album do give away the structure of the film through its titles, even if no explicit twists are revealed.]© TiVo
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Bear McCreary
Film Soundtracks - Released October 14, 2022 | Amazon Content Services, LLC
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$14.89
CD$12.89
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
James Horner
Film Soundtracks - Released March 4, 2022 | Rhino Atlantic
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$15.74
CD$12.59
Transatlanticism
Death Cab For Cutie
Rock - Released October 7, 2003 | Barsuk Records
Hi-Res
As musical lunacy goes, things have gotten as crazy as it gets for Death Cab for Cutie since 2002's You Can Play These Songs with Chords compilation. A wildly successful tour with Dismemberment Plan, a collaboration for singer Ben Gibbard with emo-electronic guru Dntel under the Postal Service moniker, and a whole new legion of fans swooning to Gibbard's lyrics as if he were a modern day answer to Kiss Me-era Robert Smith have all amassed considerable hype around Transatlanticism. But the group proves themselves more than equal to the task, answering the call and proving the cynics wrong with their most focused and most mature work in their entire catalog. Transatlanticism wastes absolutely no time and dives in head first with "The New Year," one of the most melodramatic openings to an album since the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight" from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The mellow, mixed-meter percussion and dense atmosphere of "Lightness" is a brilliant lead into the pop-happy "Expo '86" and "The Sound of Settling" before setting up the climatic and intensely dramatic title track. Unconsciously taking a page from Blur's "Sing," the hypnotic drumming and guitar call and responses through the eight-minute climax of the album are backed with a singalong finale that unquestionably will have every audience on the next tour singing along and holding up their lighters. And while most albums would be left exhausted after such a track, the group keeps things moving, albeit at a much slower pace than compared to the anthems that packed the first half. Gibbard seamlessly makes the transition between songs that full out rock to songs that are comparable to Elliott Smith's finest hour with great ease. But it's Gibbard's poetic lyrics and signature introspection that remain a bench mark for Death Cab; and it's the group's maturity as musicians as well as songwriters that make Transatlanticism such a decadently good listen from start to finish. The band has never sounded more cohesive, the track sequencing is brilliant, and it caps off a triumphant year for not only Gibbard, but a band whose time and greater recognition is finally due.© Rob Theakston /TiVo
From
HI-RES$16.59
CD$14.39
Westworld: Season 1 (Music from the HBO Series)
Ramin Djawadi
TV Series - Released March 15, 2019 | WaterTower Music
Hi-Res
Booklet
From
HI-RES$27.09
CD$23.49
Yentl - 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Barbra Streisand
Film Soundtracks - Released January 1, 1983 | Columbia - Legacy
Hi-Res
Billed as both a Barbra Streisand album and as an original motion picture soundtrack, Yentl contains the songs, sung by Streisand and written by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman, that the character played by Streisand sings as internal monologues in the film, sometimes with spoken dialogue interspersed. (The album is filled out by "studio versions" of two of the songs, "The Way He Makes Me Feel" and "No Matter What Happens," played on contemporary electronic instruments, rather than in the orchestral settings used for the rest of the songs.) With such a thematic base, the music has an unusual consistency, and written specifically for Streisand, it makes use of her emotional expressiveness, phrasing, and timing as a singer. But it was also written as a complement to the film and on its own comes across as a group of isolated musical plot highlights rather than as a coherent song cycle. (Yentl won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.)© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
From
HI-RES$16.59
CD$14.39
Westworld: Season 4 (Soundtrack from the HBO® Series)
Ramin Djawadi
TV Series - Released August 14, 2022 | WaterTower Music
Hi-Res
From
CD$13.99
Psyence Fiction
Unkle
Pop - Released August 24, 1998 | [PIAS] Recordings Catalogue
James Lavelle and DJ Shadow are unequal partners in UNKLE, with the former providing the concept and the latter providing music, which naturally overshadows the concept, since the only clear concept -- apart from futuristic sound effects, video-game samples, and merging trip-hop with rock -- is collaborating with a variety of musicians, from superstars to cult favorites Kool G Rap, Alice Temple, and Mark Hollis (who provides uncredited piano on "Chaos"). Since Shadow's prime gift is for instrumentals, the prospect of him collaborating with vocalists is more intriguing than enticing, and Psyence Fiction is appropriately divided between brilliance and failed experiments. Shadow and Lavelle aren't breaking new territory here -- beneath the harder rock edge, full-fledged songs, and occasional melodicism, the album stays on the course Endtroducing... set. Shadow isn't given room to run wild with his soundscapes, and only a couple of cuts, such as the explosive opener, "Guns Blazing," equal the sonic collages of his debut. Initially, that may be a disappointment, but UNKLE gains momentum on repeated listens. Portions of the record still sound a little awkward -- Mike D's contribution suffers primarily from recycled Hello Nasty rhyme schemes -- yet those moments are overshadowed by Shadow's imagination and unpredictable highlights, such as Temple's chilly "Bloodstain" or Badly Drawn Boy's claustrophobic "Nursery Rhyme," as well as the masterstrokes fronted by Richard Ashcroft (a sweeping, neo-symphonic "Lonely Soul") and Thom Yorke (the moody "Rabbit in Your Headlights"). These moments might not add up to an overpowering record, but in some ways Psyence Fiction is something better -- a superstar project that doesn't play it safe and actually has its share of rich, rewarding music.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
From
HI-RES$19.89
CD$17.19
Game Of Thrones: Season 8 (Music from the HBO Series)
Ramin Djawadi
TV Series - Released May 19, 2019 | WaterTower Music
Hi-Res
Like the show itself, the soundtrack to the final season of Game of Thrones contains a number of callbacks to events and music that came earlier. Composer Ramin Djawadi weaves his main theme throughout his new compositions, using it tenderly and sadly on "For Cersei" and as a glimpse of hope on the closing "A Song of Ice and Fire;" elsewhere Serj Tankian of System of a Down makes a cameo performance on "The Rains of Castamere." While familiar motifs reign on Game of Thrones: Season 8, these echoes of times past also help give this score a sense of bittersweet finality, while also letting the moments that run against the grain shine in sharp relief.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
From
CD$15.09
Alien
Jerry Goldsmith
Film Soundtracks - Released January 1, 1979 | Island Def Jam
Distinctions
The Qobuz Ideal Discography
For fans of Jerry Goldsmith's score for Ridley Scott 1978 movie Alien, this two-disc Intrada set is the ultimate fantasy. Everything is here and then some. Disc 1 contains Goldsmith's entire score as he originally intended it with every cue in place, including those that were later cut from the film plus his recomposed versions of cues the director made him change (Goldsmith's original main theme, for example, appears without its signature heroic trumpet melody because the director thought it wasn't creepy enough). Disc 2 includes the original soundtrack as issued on LP plus six other bonus tracks of demonstration takes and even the brief except from Eine kleine Nachtmusik used in the film. The stereo sound here is fabulous, the performances definitive, and the liner notes exhaustive. And the score, like the film, is a classic of its genre. With its mixture of the ecstatic chromaticism of Scriabin, the skittering strings of Penderecki, the harmonic waves of Ligeti, and the atmospheric percussion of Herrmann, Goldsmith's score became a template for all subsequent science fiction/horror movies. But as this splendid release so amply shows, the original still can't be beat.© TiVo
From
HI-RES$3.39
CD$2.89
The Shining (Selections from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Wendy Carlos
Film Soundtracks - Released May 23, 1980 | WaterTower Music
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$15.69
CD$12.55
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series)
Takeshi Furukawa
Film Soundtracks - Released February 22, 2024 | Netflix Music
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$30.88
CD$24.71
Scarface (Expanded Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Giorgio Moroder
Miscellaneous - Released September 9, 2022 | Back Lot Music
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$16.59
CD$14.39
House of the Dragon: Season 1 (Soundtrack from the HBO® Series)
Ramin Djawadi
TV Series - Released October 23, 2022 | WaterTower Music
Hi-Res
Suppose you have a more precise idea of what you want. If you are searching for the album "Bad" by Michael Jackson, type michael jackson bad. The album in question will be displayed at the top, as it is the most relevant.
By default, search results are sorted in order of relevance. The drop-down menu to the right of "Sort by" allows you to display the results in the desired order.