The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Reviews

• The perfect fit for the perfect movie

  
  By A2MW0RYIXMEYGS on 2003-12-20
  Howard Shore has proven his talent beyond any doubt with this, the third and final of the three soundtracks for The Lord of the Rings movies. The music is the perfect score for the three most incredible movies the world has seen, taking us from emotional heights, to depths, to simple and quiet moments with some of the most wonderful music you'll ever hope to hear, regardless of whether or not you have seen, or even wish to see, the cinema trilogy by New Line.

  I'd hoped to do a track-by-track analysis, but I simply don't have room, so I'll share some of this CD's better tracks.

  Track 3 (3:38): It starts out with dangerous overtones, as Pippin attempts to steal the Palantír from Gandalf, and the terrible consequences of his deed. Gandalf takes him to the city of Gondor, and we hear the premiere of Shore's theme for the City of Kings. (Actually, we first heard a sampling of the Gondor theme in the first movie, when Aragorn is first spoken of as the exiled king, and again in the motion picture preview released earlier in 2003) A wonderful choir makes way to the splendorous, magnificent theme for Gondor, perfectly capturing all the wonder and awe of the city. Awesome. Actually, the solo by Ben Del Maestro, I have concurred, is the part that plays when the White Rider dashes out onto the planes to challenge the Nazgûl.

  Track 4 (3:25): A solemn tune, with distinctive Death of Boromir overtones, then the theme for Gondor again, just as grand as before. I believe (I'm big on figuring out which part of the soundtrack goes to which part of the movie) that this is the glorious music that plays as Gandalf rides through the citadel of Gondor, to the very top level of the city.

  Track 5 (3:53): Not EXACTLY one of my favorite picks, but I had to comment on this one since it is the one with Billy Boyd's solo. In the beginning, it is primarily flute, along with other, somber-sounding instruments mixed in. Gondorian theme again, quieter this time. This, I have figured out, is the sad music that plays as Faramir leads his troops out onto the field. At 2:35 on the CD counter, Billy Boyd begins his quiet, dirge-like solo which provides the background theme for Faramir's suicide charge on enemy ranks. And yes, it is a very lovely, though somber and sad song. Billy Boyd sings it very well.

  Track 7 (2:09): The action-oriented muster of Rohan's troops. As you could expect, the theme of Rohan from The Two Towers prevails in a heroic and magnificent way. In the middle, there is a quiet moment where Shore makes use of the generally-saved-for-hobbits Celtic-sounding flute. The track picks back up triumphantly before it ends.

  Track 10 (2:35): Quiet beginning, with Rivendell overtones. Another tune begins, a very royal and glorious as the sword of kings is reforged anew. The end transitions to the creepy Paths of the Dead theme.

  Track 13 (3:26): Slow beginning, then a very drawn-out tune of hopefulness. Rohan's arrival to Gondor's aid? Then the stunning, dramatic theme for the Ringwraiths is blasted out by the incredible choir Howard Shore commands. It may be the bad guy theme, but it is still incredible to hear. The track is too short, in my opinion.

  Track 15 (4:02): The last desperate stand of Aragorn's troops before Mordor's endless ranks. At the same time, the quiet flute plays as Frodo works against all odds to climb the mountain of doom. This track and the next are the themes for the most powerful, poignant moments in the movie, and are NOT to be missed. (Referring to the music, but the movie too!)

  Track 16 (5:13): Terribly desperate, frantic choir plays during the final moments of the climax at Mt. Doom and the Black Gate. A silent moment appears, with a slow solo by Renee Fleming, as Aragorn faces down the Eye of Sauron. Shore makes brilliant use of the choir - well, pretty much any time he uses them for his Lord of the Rings film score, but especially in this case.

  Track 19 (5:48): Of the three songs (May it Be, Gollum's Song, and Into the West) that Howard Shore has featured on his soundtrack, I nominate this one as the best. It is sung by Annie Lennox, whose voice credit-viewers may recognize from Apollo 13's end credits. Her voice in this sounds somehow a little less feminine, and a little more like a male with a high-pitched voice, but that's just an observation, not a complaint. The song itself is really great. It sings in very poetic, descriptive terms basically of Heaven. For anyone, but particularly believers in Jesus like me, it is an especially inspiring and thrilling song of hope for the World to Come; of heaven. Beautiful. And as usual, the end credits song also includes a bit of the film score after the song.

  Folks, Howard Shore's soundtrack abilities remain unequaled. For fans of the film, the music is an excellent way to relive parts of the movie when silly things like, say, real life prevent you from going to the theater. For people who haven't seen the movie, this music is awesome no matter which way you dice it. Please, please buy this CD.
  
  

• Into the West and into Greatness

  
  By A22B48DU45M23C on 2004-07-04
  In a time when most studios bank on a combination of bubble gum pop, hip hop and rap to sell soundtracks for a film, we are gifted with true greatness. Howard Shore looked at each film as a separate entity that required a continuous bridge as a theme, and different voices to carry each movie to the next. You had Enya (May it Be) for Fellowship of the Ring. For the Two Towers it was Sheila Chandra (Breath of Life), Isabel Bayrakdarian (Evenstar), Ben Del Maestro (Forth Eorlingas, and with Elizabeth Fraser on Isengard Unleashed) and Emiliana Torrini (Gollum's Song.)

  On the final soundtrack, we get a host of voices to treasure. We have the sublime in Renee Fleming (Twilight and Shadow, The End of All Things) and Ben del Maestro (Minas Tirith). We also have the flute of James Galway (The Black Gate Opens, The Grey Havens.) But what is most endearing is the voice of Billy Boyd (The Steward of Gondor)and Viggo Mortensen (The Return of the King) singing laments to mark their historical journeys.

  Peter Jackson has created a gut wrenching, emotional trilogy. Howard Shore has blessed us with music that grabs your heart and soul and never lets go. I highly recommend all three magnificant sound tracks.
  
  

• Epic Soundtrack for an Epic Film

  
  By A3DTUMLBZCG47D on 2004-02-23
  Soundtracks do not make or mar a film per se, but it cannot be denied that it is an important element. An irritating or faky soundtrack can make you laugh at what should be a serious part of the film, and would probably draw your attention away from the actual movie.
  But then sometimes there are those soundtracks that come along that the listener just really likes. It captures the emotion of the film, it can deliver a mighty punch when necessary, but also presents softer parts where they are required. In short, it fits. This is what Howard Shore has done with the Return of the King soundtrack.
  Featuring the masterful voices of Ben del Maestro, who had previously worked on the Two Towers soundtrack, Annie Lennox, and Renee Flemming of opera fame, as well as the wonderful London Philharmonic, The London Voices, and The London Oratory School Sola, this soundtrack takes us on a third journey into Howard Shore's music of Middle Earth.
  Beginning with a harmless, happy flashback depicting Deagol and Smeagol fishing on the Anduin River, the music is joyous, and somewhat reminiscent of the Shire tunes that featured in the other soundtracks. But before many minutes have passed, the music rapidly descends into a thunderous blend of the two Mordor themes, reminding everyone that the enemy is not defeated yet.
  Soon after, we are introduced to a theme that was not in either of the other soundtracks: the motif of Gondor, the mightiest nation of men still extant in Middle Earth. The loud brass music here is sure to remind everyone of the theme for the Fellowship, but it still has its own sound to it, and it well depicts the honor and hope that still lives on in Gondor.
  There is another new theme here, encapsulated in one long track, that has not been heard in previous soundtracks, simply because the loathsome creature it portrays has not showed herself before: the theme for Shelob. Starting off with slow, ominous brass depicting her dark lair, it soon kicks off with racing violins as she begins her quest for blood. This is not a track to skip-it doesn't let up much at all, once it gets going.
  Just as choral music featured prominently in Two Towers and the Fellowship, it has a key role in the Return of the King as well. It marshalls itself chiefly into two incredible tracks-The Battle of the Pelennor Fields and The End of All Things. In Pelennor we have a variant of the Nazgul theme-a little less subtle than the one we're used to. The pounding chorus here may very well be my favorite part of the entire CD. Did I talk about no letup in Shelob's tune? Try this one.
  The End of All Things is another great track-since it depicts the final climax of the film, it has to be pretty dramatic, and it certainly is. This features the excellent voice of Renee Flemming in the quieter parts, and shows that this lady does not need to stick to opera to sound good.
  There is one track-only one, mind you-that I am not very enamored with in this CD, and I think it may simply be because the scene it accompanies is one I dislike. This track depicts one of the mercifully rare appearances of Arwen Evenstar in the film-and probably is not intrisically bad music. I think I'm just prejudiced. If you liked Arwen, you'll probably like this.
  Shore does something unusual in this soundtrack-two separate actors in the film have small singing parts. One-Billy Boyd's song in track 5, the Steward of Gondor-is quite excellent. The other-Viggo Mortensen's solo in track 17, The Return of the King-is not. Mortensen should have kept just to speaking, but his part is only about thirty seconds to a minute out of a ten-minute, otherwise very good track, so it is not too bad.
  And then there is always the final track: Into the West. Annie Lennox give us an emotional, very good song about the final destination of all the good guys in Middle Earth--the western land of Valinor, which seems to be Tolkien's allegory of Heaven. This is an excellent song, and Annie Lennox has a very good voice.
  The Return of the King is a wonderful end to a wonderful soundtrack, with recaptions of many of the excellent themes that made appearances in the other two CDs-the Fellowship theme and the Rohan theme, chiefly. With its epic scope and wonderful performers, it is a great soundtrack for a great movie, and is nearly as good standing on its own as it is accompanying the movie. Don't pass it by.
  
  

• There and Back Again: A Grand Finale

  
  By A2H9UO8RYFX5MB on 2003-12-09
  This music is the completion of a journey begun over two years ago.

  When I first heard, quite a while ago now, that Howard Shore had been selected to write the music for "The Lord of the Rings" films, I wasn't sure what to think. I liked Shore's music well enough from movies like "Silence of the Lambs" or "Seven," but I wasn't sure how he would handle the epic nature of something like this. Three times over now, Shore has proven to me (and to many others) that he is quite capable of expressing everything that makes "The Lord of the Rings" such a grand story in his music.

  The score for "Return of the King" is the most grand and sweeping of the three scores, which is as it should be, since the events of the story are of the largest scale. And yet, somehow the music finds moments of intimacy and soft beauty, even amidst all the epic movements and operatic themes.

  Each of the different tracks on the album is recognizable for its theme: "The White Tree" is a powerful and noble theme for Gondor, "Shelob's Lair" is a terrifying piece for its namesake, "The Steward of Gondor" is a softly moving march accompanied by panflute, with a surprisingly-moving vocal piece by Billy Boyd (Pippin in the film), and "Minas Morgul" is an even more intense repriese of the recurrent theme for the Nazgul. "The Fields of the Pelennor" will rouse you right out of your seat, and "Twilight and Shadow," with the incomparable Renee Fleming lending her gorgeous voice, will make your eyes tear up.

  The track that will rip your heart out, though, is definitely "Into the West," with Annie Lennox singing vocals. Such a beautiful, powerful, emotional song is the perfect coda to these films, and an excellent summary for all that has gone before. The first time I heard this song, before I even saw the film, I was left with tears rolling down my cheeks. Of the three songs which play at the end of each film, "Into the West" is easily the best one, the most moving, and the most deeply-felt.

  If you get the Special Edition version of this soundtrack, the DVD that accompanies it has some pretty interesting stuff, but it's mostly for movie music buffs. If you're into the process of creating music for motion pictures at all (I definitely am), then the short documentary shown on this DVD is an excellent one. Other than that, the other interesting features are an extra music track ("Use Well the Days," again performed by Annie Lennox) and a long "supertrailer" for the three films. Both are worth seeing, but the documentary was the best part for me, and the real selling point of the extra DVD edition of the soundtrack.

  The point of it all is that this is It. From the Fellowship theme to the music of Rohan, from the violent strains of the Dark Lord's minions to the gentle tones of the Shire, this soundtrack brings it all together. It is operatic in scale but intimate in effect. Whether you want to relive the film itself or just find a good accompaniment to read the books by, Howard Shore's music for "Return of the King" provides the perfect musical companion. It is unquestionably a masterful acheivement, and should be required listening for any fan of the films, or any fan of the works of Tolkien.
  
  

• 63 Score On A Par 72 Course... ;-)

  
  By AGAY3ZO7YT5PC on 2004-01-15
  I originally wrote a review of the score to "The Fellowship Of The Ring" which expressed general dissatisfaction. Since then, I must confess that I was _impressed_ with the score to "The Two Towers," and --- believe it or not --- I consider the score to "The Return Of The King" to be a _masterpiece_! I did not believe that Howard Shore could be capable of such growth and expresssion, but I am happy to report that my guess was mistaken. In this score, he is demonstrating a heretofore-unguessed maturity, the likes of which I could only imagine as impossible before now. Pieces such as "Minas Tirith," "The White Tree," "The Black Gate Opens," "The End Of All Things," & "The Return Of The King" reinforce my impression of a composer at his peak, the likes of which shall never again be known...

  "The White Tree," of all music, brings to my mind the word "Brucknerian," and Shore here succeeds in composing a piece of music which puts the original master to the test; even Bruckner's finale to the first movement of his sixth symphony pales in comparison to this piece! (And I _love_ that particular music!)

  No longer is Shore a composer who can make "par for the course" --- indeed, the gentleman here indicates that he can give the great masters a run for their money! Too bad that he saved the best for last in this series...

  Additionally, the closing song --- as performed by Annie Lennox, who is _not_ one of my favourites --- succeeds in ending the movie trilogy on a sublimely-beautiful note; one could easily call this piece "Frodo's Song," for it indicates the emotional attachment to which this character keeps all other characters in check. "Rest your weary head" indeed!

  One day, I shall compose an electronic score for the three films of which the material is most deserving; till then, Howard Shore's music shall suffice most happily. I give it my blessing, if not my unbroken admiration...

  :-)
  
  

• "I can't carry the ring, BUT I CAN CARRY YOU!!!"
  By A1LRQZQR9IDH5A on 2004-01-25
  When I'm studying or working I usually like to put some background instrumental music on. This is not that music. This album commands your full attention from beginning to end. It is a story in itself- frightening, dramatic, triumphant, and above all, incredibly emotional.

  One of the most remarkle tracks is "Shelob's Lair." Most of the song is loud and dissonant- the kind of music that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, as it should. However, at the end of the song, it breaks into this absolutely stunning and beautiful denouement that still somehow communicates all the fear and despair in the accompanying scene. I have never heard such a successful combination of beauty and fear. I don't know how Howard Shore did it, but it's amazing.

  The triumphant and heart-tugging Gondor theme prevails on many tracks while themes from "Into the West" become more prevalent towards the end. The first dozen or so songs work together to drive the music into the climax where one can't help but hear Sam cry, "I can carry you!" Wow. The last songs of the album succeed in conveying the bittersweet peace that Frodo and the remaining Fellowship members feel at the end of the tale.

  One improvement in this album over the preceding two is the inclusion of the singing that is in the film. When Billy Boyd starts singing, I have to stop everything I'm doing and just listen.
  
  I find that I can't listen to this album often because it makes me too emotional. However, this is only a testament to its quality. It is a beautiful, engaging, and moving soundtrack for what I consider to be the best movie ever made.
  
  

• A stupendous ending to a classic music trilogy
  By ABRKIJ6D4V42O on 2003-12-08
  I STRONGLY recommend sitting down, by yourself, with a copy of Tolkien's novel, and then listening to this soundtrack in full. I had some pretty high hopes for this soundtrack, and this music exceeds them.

  Some of my favourites include -

  Track 1 - A Storm is Coming
  A surprisingly upbeat and whimsical introduction to the film. Compared to the previous openings (especially the fantastic 'Foundations of Stone' from The Two Towers), it sounds surprisingly subdued. Still, it's an enjoyable listen, and does provide excellent musical accompaniment to seeing Smeagol sans' makeup.

  Track 10 - Anduril
  Finally, after three years of impatiently waiting, we at last see the forging of Anduril - the Sword of the West! And it's about time!!! Howard Shore makes sure that the payoff here is absolutely huge, with a liberal (and beautiful) use of choral arrangements, and the elven themes from both Rivendell and Lothlorien (just to emphasis exactly who is reforging the Sword of the West).

  Track 11 - Shelob
  This track sounds like it belongs more to an Aliens film than an epic fantasy - it is, however, mildly scary (at least to my ears). Howard Shore has often composed music for David Cronenberg (a famous horror film director), so it should be no surprise that he knows how to scare the pants of film audiences. After hearing this music, so goodness only knows what Shelob will actually look like. And I hate spiders!

  Track 15 - The Black Gate Opens
  Despite its bleak title, this is a surprisingly hopeful and optimistic tune. There are a few welcome reprises of tunes from FOTR and TTT, including the Fellowship tune, Hobbiton, and the 'Into the West'.

  Track 16 - The End of All Things.
  It's interesting to note that both 'The Matrix Revolutions' and `Return of the King' use choir music to great effect. I really enjoyed Don Davis excellent work on the Matrix soundtracks. The films may not have lived up to all my expectations, but the music definitely did.

  Track 17 - Return of the King
  It's 10 minutes of pure Howard Shore LOTR music - which is always a major plus in my book. It's the most uplifting and optimistic track in the entire album, and it has Viggo Mortensen in it singing vocals - which really knocked me for a loop! Not to mention an excellent reprise of the Fellowship and Hobbiton themes from FOTR. Oh, and did I mention that James Galway gets to play a solo on flute? At the moment, my number one favourite track from all three films. Mostly because I've been waiting for this emotional payoff for the last three years. Excellent, outstanding stuff!

  Track 18 - The Grey Havens & Track 19 - Into the West
  I know you have mixed feelings about the last track (sung by Annie Lennox). I'm really pleased with it - it reflects exactly how the reader should feel at the end of ROTK. There's a sense of elation, but also a deep sense of sadness when we realise that Frodo and Bilbo are taking the Grey Ships "beyond the circles of the world". The tunes used here are a radical departure from what we've heard before. There's a sense that the slate has been wiped clean, of new beginnings.

  This is a stupendous soundtrack - required listening regardless of whether you enjoy the films or not. I wish I could've been part of the orchestra recording this wonderful music - being there for that would've been the experience of a lifetime!
  
  

• Good but almost ruined by its incompleteness.
  By A337VQW00OJ5I5 on 2004-01-05
  Sorry for posting this review twice. I didn't aware that I was logged in from my another account that I don't write reviews with.
  .......
  Right after my first viewing of the film, I headed to the local music store and bought this CD without any thought. To be honest, I didn't even look at the track list.

  The filmscore as played in the movie was too great. Several nice pieces of music integrated very well with the momentum of the film, and helped make this already-great-movie a better one. I was thrilled when Minas Tirith theme first played in its full scale in the movie, and was even more thrilled when riders of Rohan charged into the enemy at Pelennor field. That was one of the most emotional moments of the movie.

  I found this soundtrack CD to be quite good, but very incomplete one. Don't try to compare this with any of its predecessors (FotR and TTT).

  First of all, several tracks are incomplete. For example, "The Ride of Rohirrim" abruptly ends in high tension, the same goes for "The Field of Pelennor" as well.

  Secondly, where is the theme that played when the riders of Rohan arrived at the Pelennor and where is the theme that played when the riders charge at the enemy?

  Just a word, though, they should take soundtracks of Star Wars original triology as an example of how to do the soundtrack CD. For movies that filled with orchestral themes like this, it is the best if when you listen to the CD with your eyes closed ... you will see the movie playing in your mind.

  On the bright side, let me say again that this is a nice CD to have in the collection. Additional song by Annie Lennox is quite a good one and really give a relax feeling, as the ending to the Grey havens after all the pains and tirenesses should be (although I still like her "Love Song for a Vampire" better).

  I really wanted to give this CD a 4-star rating. However, I decided that 3-star will do. Maybe I expected too much after seeing the RotK movie and enjoyed FotR and TTT soundtracks CDs.
  
  

• Saving the best for last.......! Howard Shore is brilliant.
  By A2X9AXCWH4MT4I on 2003-11-27
  As a composer for a trilogy of movies, Howard Shore could've taken the easy way out. With ROTK, he could've created a follow-up score that sounds very much like the score for TTT. And subsequently, have TTT sound much like FOTR. What Howard Shore has instead created could easily be considered his magnum opus - 3 splendidly layered and unique film scores that will be copied and admired for years to come. Like Peter Jackson, Mr. Shore has succeeded in bringing us the world of Middle Earth and introducing us to its wide and varied cultures and creatures.

  The soundtrack for ROTK is nothing short of magnificent. This is when our favorite characters finally face the ultimate test - to sacrifice life and limb to save Middle Earth from the clutches of the dark lord Sauron. The soundtrack reflects the prevalent moods and emotions of the book - it builds up a foreboding sense of doom (which climaxes with such powerful tracks as "Shelob's Lair," "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" and "The End of All Things") and ends with a sense of calm, hope and melancholy (highlighted by the fabulous "The Return of the King," "The Grey Havens" and "Into the West"). The film itself (judging from the soundtrack) promises to be the most powerful - not only in terms of action sequences and visual grandeur but also in its emotional impact - of the 3 films. Many tracks in this soundtrack drove me to tears and I imagine that I, in turn, will be sobbing in the movie theater when I finally see ROTK on opening night.

  With this trilogy, Howard Shore has created some fantastic and memorable themes. When you listen to a track, you become transported to a certain place - whether it is in the Shire, Rivendell, Moria, Rohan or Isengard. In this sountrack, there are sprinkles of the familiar themes from the first 2 films: the lightness of the Hobbiton theme ("Concerning Hobbits" from the Fellowship score), the grandeur of the Gondor theme (which brings to mind the fabulous Boromir/Faramir/Denethor flashback scene from the Two Towers extended cut dvd), the ethereal Rivendell theme, and the majestic Rohan theme (as in "The King of the Golden Hall" from Two Towers). However, Mr. Shore also introduces us to new themes depicting the menace and power of Mordor, Aragorn's new destiny, Shelob, the melancholy of the Grey Havens and Denethor's failing rule. This is then topped off by what I consider the best theme song of the trilogy (with apologies to Enya) - Annie Lennox's stunning "Into the West."

  The highlights for me include: 2. Hope and Memory, 8. Twilight and Shadow, 10. Anduril, 13. The Fields of Pelennor, 15. The Black Gate Opens, 16. The End of All Things, 17. The Return of the King and 19. Into the West. My favorite has to be "The Return of the King" which so splendidly weaves together all of the themes that we have come to love - the Gondor theme, the Hobbit theme, the Fellowship theme, Aragorn's theme and the Breaking of the Fellowship theme. At over 10 mins, it is also the longest-running track. Shore shows pure genius by adding fantastic new contributors to this score - James Galway's flute, Renee Fleming's haunting soprano, Billy Boyd's melancholy hymn, Viggo Mortensen's elvish air and Annie Lennox's evocative voice and song-writing skills. Ben del Maestro's stunning tenor - a highlight in the Two Towers soundtrack - returns as well.

  I am happy to report that the soundtrack for "The Return of the King" is just as good as - if not better than - that of the first two films. It is a rich, layered, powerful score and I cannot wait to finally take it all in when The Return of the King opens in cinemas. This is a must have for any The Lord of the Rings fan and is a fantastic addition to any music lovers collection.
  
  

• A crowning achievement for an epic film score
  By AHT60YWC3QIMI on 2003-11-30
  I enjoyed the music to "Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers", but they felt like unfinished works, the ends untied. And for good reason: the movie epic the music depicts was itself unfinished. Now, with "The Return of the King", everything comes together at last. And the result is an orchestral masterpiece.

  Many composers are capable of writing perfectly serviceable music for a film score, playing fast and exciting music in chase or battle scenes, tender music in romantic scenes, and pastoral music in country scenes, such as the Shire at the beginning of "Fellowship". Sometimes, as James Horner did with "Titanic", it can strike a very powerful chord, and the music can ride around in one's mind for months on end, the tunes utterly unforgettable.

  But very few composers, to my knowledge, can develop different themes for over a dozen different characters and places, then skillfully weave them together into a sonic tapestry, so rich in detail that it is actually possible to listen to the music and follow the story's plot line in one's head. John Williams has done it, with his "Star Wars" saga. And now Howard Shore has pulled off a similar coup with "The Lord of the Rings".

  Brought together, on this CD, are the hobbit/Shire themes, the heroic/Aragorn motif, the elvish choral music, plus the stirring martial music depicting the Riders of Rohan. Added to the brew is the ominous Dies Irae-type Nasgûl music, found in the track "Minas Morgul", and the pounding percussion reminding us of the orcs. And, new to "The Return of the King", is the grand Gondor motif, especially notable on the track "The White Tree". Filled with brass instruments, it fairly sings.

  Having read the book several times over the years, but not yet having seen the movie, I could nonetheless guess at the plot line just by reading the track titles and listening. The music from "Shelob's Lair" reminds me of a cross between the rock troll in the Mines of Moria and the infamous shower scene in Psycho. Could Sam and Frodo be running into something particularly nasty in the darkness? It's safe to assume that this scene is going to be very intense.

  The one track which really refuses to leave my head is the last, "Into the West". When I saw on the track listing that the singer was Annie Lennox, it gave me pause. Enya singing "May it Be" I can understand, but Annie Lennox? I had mental images of a woman with bright orange hair belting out, with her trademark strident voice, Eurythmics hits like "Sweet Dreams", "I Need a Man" and "Would I Lie to You?" But it works beautifully. The voice is strident, true, but at the same time very tender. I can very easily imagine myself staring blankly at the screen as the end credits roll and this song plays: "What can you see / On the horizon? / Why do the white gulls call?"

  How come guys like me don't get to go to Valinor? It doesn't seem fair, somehow ....

  What more can I add? If you liked the first two CDs, you'll certainly like this one. Count on it.
  
  

• Howard Shore is the Lord of music composers
  By A251UTJMOLQWGV on 2004-02-20
  It's so sad that this is the end of the Trilogy. I sincerely enjoyed listening to the music of the 3 parts of the Lord of the Rings. Howard Shore spared no effort to make us feel the events of the story. His vision and enthusiasm were a great help to the making of this movie.

  - As usual, Shore brings some of the old music from the Fellowship of the Ring esp. in his first theme (A storm is coming). This time he lets us feel the moments when Smeagol was a hobbit enjoying his time in fishing with his friend Deagol, who found the One Ring, but was murdered by Smeagol. However, there're parts of the theme in the movie, but were not incorporated in the soundtrack CD.
  - (Hope and memory) reminds us with the scene when Gandalf were heading toward Minas Tirith with Pippin. Then comes (Minas Tirith) into play when they reached the City of Men. This theme combines also the escape of Faramir from the orcs & Nazgul who took over the bridge, the West Bank, and Osgiliath.
  - (The White Tree) is a combination of many themes such as the time when the Steward of Gondor was weeping for his dead son (Boromir), and also when the sign of help traveled from Gondor to Rohan.
  - (The Steward of Gondor) is a good theme which makes us feel the moment when Faramir with his soldiers were going back to fight the orcs in Osgiliath. This theme stars Billy Boyd (Pippin) when he sings a sad song for the Steward who enjoys his meal while his soldiers are fighting & being killed !
  - (Minas Morgul) is a theme full of darkness & evil esp when Frodo, Sam & Gollum were in Minas Morgul.
  - (The Riders of Rohirrim) is self-descriptive, and a beautiful theme which shows courage of the Rohan soldiers.
  - (Twilight and Shadow) is one of the most brilliant themes, performed by Rene Fleming. It's touching and so sad. When u listen to it, u will picture the sad Arwen Undomiel leaving to the Grey Haven according to her father's will. But later she changes her plan and goes back to Rivendell to convince her father to reforge the sword of Elendil (the King's sword) for Aragorn, her beloved man.
  - (Cirith Ungol) is good music; part of it includes the moment when Frodo abandons Sam to continue the journey with him.
  - (Anduril) is great one, since it lets u picture the reforging of the sword of Elendil (Anduril) by the elves.
  - (Shelob's lair) is evil theme and lets u feel the fearful moments that Frodo had to go thru when he was escaping from that creepy creature. However, the theme misses the part where Lady Galadriel came into play after Frodo fell down.
  - (Ash & smoke) describes the war against Gondor.
  - (The field of Pelennor) is a great theme which describes the coming of the Rohirrim and their courage leaded by King Theoden against orcs.
  - (Hope fails) music theme is good.
  - (The black gate opens) forms the main theme of all the battles. Shore brings us to the scene where the black gate opens then back to Frodo & Sam remembering the Shire and how brave Sam is when he says the best words of friendship (I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you !).

  The last 3 themes are the best of all the themes in addition to (Twilight & shadow):
  - (The end of all things) is beautiful. It starts when Frodo claimed the ring to be his, then fights with Gollum for it until Gollum cuts Frodo's finger and takes the ring (performed by Rene Fleming), then Frodo fights again with him until he falls down in the lava of the volcano. As a consequence to the casting of the One Ring, Sauron's tower falls and Sauron dies & all the evil which used to charge the orcs force diminished. Frodo & Sam is now left on a large rock, then Gandalf rescues them by his eagles friends. However, there're parts of the music theme in the movie which were not included in the soundtrack, esp. the background when Frodo says (It's gone, it's done).
  - (The return of the King) is a standout (and the longest) theme, when Aragorn became King of Gondor, and Arwen comes at last to be his Queen, but of course after she lost her immortality.
  - (The Grey Haven) is so soft and touching, which is the last theme of the movie. It's so sad since the fellowship of the ring is broken after Gandalf & Frodo leave forever to the Grey Haven. It actually makes you cry along with Pippin, Merry, and Sam!

  - (Into the West) is a lovely song with good lyrics performed by Annie Lennox. You will listen to it many many times.

  I just wish there could be an Extended Soundtrack of the movie, since some themes were not included in the original soundtrack.

  In my opinion, this is the best of all the 3 soundtracks of the Lord of the Rings. It's state-of-the-art, brilliant & full of emotions. It should be classic soundtrack.
  
  

• An Outstanding Finale to the Soundtracks....
  By A2E5XS0FAQGIYA on 2003-11-26
  This soundtrack is absolutely amazing! Howard Shore did an excellent job and composed a great finale to this epic trilogy. It is a very diverse soundtrack with songs like 11.Shelob's Lair, 13.The Fields of the Pelennor, and 6.Minas Morgul bringing the louder side. But there are many soft, beautiful songs such as 17.The Return of the King, 18.The Grey Havens, and Annie Lennox's OUTSTANDING performance of 19.Into the West. This song, 19.Into the West, is amazing. Just reading the lyrics makes you want to cry because you realize the trilogy is over, and Lennox sings it so wonderful. For those people who feel that this soundtrack is not at all good, I think that perhaps you should wait to see the movie because then you'll know how this amazing score fits into the trilogy. It is a very different soundtrack than that of Fellowship of the Ring, and The Two Towers, but I think before anyone who hates this soundtrack begins cursing at Howard Shore (who put 3 years of his life into this) they should give it a chance. After Shore's extreme dedication and committment to this project, I believe he deserves more than being criticzed and ridiculed for his work on the Return of the King Score without giving it even a second look. With that said, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this soundtrack.
  
  
• Profoundly bland and uninspiring; the weakest of the three.
  By AV27Y5V2VRIYY on 2003-11-30
  In all my 23 years as a classical music and orchestral film score aficionado, I have never encountered a finer example of deterioration in artistry as I have witnessed with Howard Shore's music for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
  
  Though it never approached the heights of any of the best trilogy scores (e.g. Williams' Star Wars IV-VI, and Goldsmith's three Omen scores), the music for The Fellowship of the Ring was nevertheless a solid soundtrack, most notable for its identifiably pleasant though tragically under-explored (some may say understated) leitmotifs. Shore brought nothing original or technically interesting to the table, but the music did serve its purpose, and occasionally, it even had something special to say about what was happening onscreen (the entry into Dwarrowdelf in Moria -- track 12, 2:06 -- is probably the best and most memorable example), thereby clearly manifesting itself as a singular and essential element of the entire film-watching experience. It also had two excellent songs, both of which featured two of the greatest vocalists in music today (Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser for "Lothlorien," and Enya for "May It Be").
  
  The Two Towers saw Shore's music sink further into what would become, in his Return of the King score, a litany of lyrical and technical platitudes. The soundtrack for the second film was markedly unadventurous, preferring to take the all-too-common role of supporter instead of existing as a singular part of the story-telling machine. When it wasn't (and sometimes when it was) resorting time and again to legato horns and strings (frequently doubled), airy choral passages, ostinato percussion, or the fortification of leitmotif in a shallow pool of technique and expression, it was often predictable in its timbre (strings for sadness and longing, horns for majesty and action, chorus for accenting/doubling sadness or action, etc.), and in the progression of its phrases. Still, moments of musical goodness shone through, few and far between though they were (e.g. Aragorn/Gimli/Legolas' first sight of the plains of Rohan, their suiting up for the battle of Helm's Deep, and Frodo's falling face-first into swamp water -- which wasn't used in the movie). None of the songs were memorable, though, although the timbre of Emiliana Torrini's voice in the closing track added something to a lullaby with puerile lyrics and prosaic instrumental phrasing.
  
  The Return of the King score may be summed up by the observation that, in it, Shore repeats all of the flaws of the first two scores ad infinitum (Peter Jackson, the director of the three movies, probably hand a big hand in this -- see below). It is a nigh non-stop barrage of sustained notes, grandiose tuttis, and gross technical overuse. (Did Shore have to employ reserve strings and horn players?) His flute and airy chorus in "The Steward of Gondor" make a nice representation of the tragic figure of Denethor, father of Boromir and Faramir (actor Billy Boyd puts in some fine singing at the end of the track), and "Minas Morgul" is an intriguing restatement of his Sauron theme; but beyond these, there just isn't much at all to the music. In fact, there may be nothing to it. The tracks flow virtually indistinguishably from one to the next, wafting or bellowing along in utterly familiar formulae of legato strings and horns, aimless dissonance (aimlessness is exactly what one should not hear where dissonance is concerned), rumbling percussion, and boy-chant. This is background music at its most... well, at its most background. The music is just terrible.
  
  Having watched the musical making-of portion of the extended Two Towers DVD, I do wonder how much of the badness in Shore's three scores is the fault of director Peter Jackson. He clearly did a significant bit of musical managing in all three of the scores, which would be fine if he had some kind of musical background. I don't see any evidence that he does have such, though, and I wonder how much better the music might have been had his input been limited to little more than playing a couple of instruments which he'd never touched before (Jackson strikes a gong somewhere in the Two Towers score, and he might play something in the Return of the King soundtrack). Better directors like Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick have evinced a respect for music and composers that makes it hard for me to believe that they would ever be as involved in the music-making process as Jackson seems to be (Spielberg has been known to fashion or change large sections of a movie to suit John Williams' scoring, and Kubrick usually used previously-recorded music). Then again, Howard Shore is no John Williams or Gyorgy Ligeti -- the best Shore music I've ever heard is his wonderful main title sequence for Tim Burton's Ed Wood. It's a fantastic mix of percussion, brass, and theremin, one that suggests a composer in his truer element. Nothing else of his that I've heard has been nearly that creative, catchy, and pleasing overall.
  
  This score for the final chapters of Tolkien's seminal odyssey of high fantasy is one for the most ardent fans only, that large demographic to whom Peter Jackson and company are superhumans who can do virtually no wrong.
  
  Edit: Having taken the objective route of listening to the score again and again (mostly as a result of my love for the movie), I do find the last minute or so of "The White Tree" quite good (though not very creative); it's a classic example of good build-up, and a defiantly proud and touching statement of the composer's Gondor theme. Most of the rest of the music is still filler at best, though. Shame the choral rendition of the fellowship theme isn't on this disc; always trust a studio (and often the composer, for that matter) to leave some of the best music in the movie off the commercial soundtrack.
  
  
• A spectacular soundtrack to a spectacular movie!
  By A2WGTTTMAQVNWH on 2004-01-03
  ::Possible spoilers for those who havent seen RotK:: This soundtrack is absolutely amazing! I have heard a lot of soundtracks and this is the best by far. If you were teary-eyed at the end of Return of the King you will definitely be teary-eyed at the end of the soundtrack. It is the most moving soundtrack I've ever heard. Some of the highlights of it are: #2 (Hope and Memory). This is in Rohan, when Gandalf takes Pippin to Minas Tirith. Number 2 ends with a Shadowfax theme where (in the movie) Gandalf and Pippin are racing through beautiful New Zealand countryside. Also I like the end of #4 (The White Tree). It has the Gondor theme with violins in the backround. In the movie, this is where it shows all the mountains and the beacons being lit. I also like #8 (Twilight and Shadow), which is an Arwen part. The music is really sad in that one. Number 11, Shelob's Lair, is really spooky with many sudden tempo changes. Number 13 (The Fields of Pelennor) sort of goes back to The Prophecy in the FotR soundtrack and shows how the two battles, Dagorlad and the Pelennor Fields, are connected. Number 15 (The Black Gate Opens) goes back and forth between the battle at the Black Gate, and Frodo and Sam on the side of Mount Doom talking about the Shire. #15 leads up to #16, The End of All Things (when the Ring is destroyed), where there are a lot of choral parts. Number 17, The Return of the King, is over 10 minutes long but one of the most beautiful tracks on this cd. It has the crowning and wedding of Aragorn, the part where the hobbits go back and ride past grumpy hobbit, and Sam's and Rosie's wedding. Number 18 (The Grey Havens) is where the elves, Gandalf, Bilbo, and Frodo leave and go to the Undying Lands. It is the saddest, most touching one on here, and puts together a lot of the previous themes from the 3 soundtracks. Those are my favorite ones. I definitely recommend buying this soundtrack.
  
  
• Music Have Never Sounded This Good; Beautiful pieces!
  By A3BQHE50Z8BK6 on 2004-02-24
  This soundtrack is simply amazing. From start to finish, I was enthralled by the beautiful sounds of Middle-Earth that Howard Shore has created.

  A Storm Is Coming is a combination of several past sounds with new music incorporated into one beautiful introduction. Hope And Memory is one of my favourites; in fact its my ultimate favourite! This part was when Gandalf and Peregrin Took ride to Minas Tirith. A touching piece. Minas Tirith theme is another awesome track with loud and bold sounds of the horn. With the voice of Ben del Mestro adds more color and beauty to the city of Minas Tirith.

  The Steward Of Gondor is a wonderful piece with the voice of Billy Boyd (when Gondor's army march to the city of Osgilliath to retake it under the order of Lord Denethor). It sounds so sad in the end.

  Another of my favorites is Twilight And Shadow. I must confess that ALL compositions by Howard for the Elf kind is always soothing and filled with so much emotions. This song is so sad when Arwen is leaving to the West and sees the vision of her son with Aragorn. Her determination to be with the latter is so strong that she went back to Rivendell. The music suits the scene so well.

  The rest of the pieces are beautiful as well and I can't describe all cos it'll be super long. All I can say is that this soundtrack is a classic and will be one of those songs that will be familiar to you 10 years down the road.
  Kudos to Howard Shore. Amazing work of perfection.
  
  

• The Best Soundtrack Ever. Period.
  By A2R1ZCS1UEVJYD on 2006-11-24
  The entire "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy is absolutely amazing and all are groundbreaking achievements in filmmaking but in my opinion they wouldn't be as good without the amazing master work of composer Howard Shore. 'The Return of the King', in particular, has the most expressive, emotional and dramatic music of the three films which perfectly complements the emotion and drama of the movie. The music alone is a work of genius. From the orchestral music to Annie Lennox's "Into the West", this soundtrack is truly astonishing.
  
  
• Excellent
  By on 2003-12-01
  I read the other reviews and I keep seeing this trilogy compared to Star Wars by John Williams. The problem, for me anyway, is that Williams best of those three was Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars set up his themes and he perfected them with Empire, falling into mindless repetition with Return of the Jedi. With this trilogy, I agree that Fellowship is the best. Absolutely magical, affecting me like no other music has probably since Empire Strikes Back. The Two Towers was not as strong, but still well worth listening to. With Return of the King, Shore of course has to use themes from the first two, but has changed them subtly so they seem fresh. The new work is almost as majestic as Fellowship.

  No one seems to have touched much on Annie Lennox's ending song. This song nearly brought me to tears the first time I heard it. I admit to some bias as a Lennox fan, but these lyrics are haunting, and I dare anyone to not be moved by it.

  It seems silly to me to want this music to stand alone, although in my opinion it does. These are not symphonies. But for these movies, the music would not exist at all. Of course it has to be descriptive of what's happening on screen, that's it's job. I feel that Shore HAS trencended that and IS a vital part of the whole. Certainly an excellent end and I look forward to (hope for...?) the release of extended cd's of ALL the music.
  
  

• Extraordinary conclusion to an extraordinary trilogy!
  By A2NNTNC715AJ50 on 2003-12-01
  After hearing Howard Shore's stunning conclusion to Perter Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, I can only state one thing: Excellent. Excellent doesn't really do justice to the magnificence of Shore's work. Like another classic trilogy score (Williams from Return of the Jedi), Shore presents a much more mature version of work. All our favorite themes are there: The Fellowship theme has now evolved into a wistful yet powerful fanfare for Aragorn. The Shire theme makes a return as does the Hobbit theme, both played magnificently by James Galway. Also returning is the Mordor theme, it's menacing notes now grown into a malevolent force. The Rohan theme also makes a brief reappearance, while the elvish theme comes to a full circle, representing Aragorn as he gets his sword in the track Andruil. The beginning of the cd is much more playful than that of the Two Towers, but it swiftly transforms into a majestic fanfare for Minas Tirith and Gondor which is among the greatest moments on the cd. Once again Enya does not sing on this cd, but in a suprisingly powerful decision, Billy Boyd aka Pippin does appear, singing briefly for Lord Denethor, capturing the rift between the Steward and Faramir. In track 17, The Return of the King, Shore takes a listener on a journey of all his developed themes for our heroes. Absent from this cd is Sauruman's theme, the reason being because he is defeated in the Two Towers. Also absent is the treeish theme for the Ents and Treebeard, but the absence of these themes is not at all detrimental to the cd. As for the song at the end by Annie Lennox, it is a vast improvement over Gollum's song, but Enya's May It Be from the Fellowship soundtrack is still the best of the three. OVerall, the first soundtrack truly is the best among fantastic cd's followed closely by The Return of the King, then Two Towers. However, they are all exceptional and this is no exception.
  
  
• Wow..
  By on 2003-11-25
  Best ever. Hands down. Be sure and combine the first two soundtracks as well. This is just unbelievable.

  So glad that Shore saved some of the best for last.
  
  

• The journey ends
  By A1D2C0WDCSHUWZ on 2003-12-19
  It's hard to leave the Middle-Earth that Peter Jackson has crafted for our eyes and ears. And that note of bittersweetness pervades Howard Shore's score for "Return of the King." Like the film, the music clings to your mind, bringing with it sorrow, hope, or happiness -- depending on what is going on at that time.

  A backdrop for the action of the film is "Hope and Memory" (which starts off with sprightly hobbit music and slowly changes into a stately riding tune), the eerie and melancholy "Minas Tirith," the reverent "Return of the King" (augmented by Viggo Mortensen singing in Elvish, a highlight), the ethereal "Anduril," and the creepy "Shelob's Lair" and "Minas Morgul."

  Annie Lennox's "Into The West" is a lovely song, and a fitting finale to the trilogy of closing songs that handle first hope, betrayal, and now peaceful loss and healing. ("Across the sea/a pale moon rises/the ships have come/to carry you home") But an underappreciated highlight of the CD is Billy Boyd's "Steward of Gondor." Boyd's beautiful clear singing and the haunting lyrics ("Mist and shadow/Cloud and shape/Hope shall fail/All shall fade") make this unforgettable as it was in the film (in tone, somewhat reminiscent of old Celtic laments).

  Some parts of this album, like the "Two Towers" soundtrack, are very reminiscent of the "Fellowship" soundtrack (especially the opening "A Storm is Coming"). But many of them are merely influenced by what has come before, and they have a slightly new twist to them -- such as the doomsday singing in the semi-aptly-named "End of All Things." And as the action is taken to new levels, Shore moves further from the sounds of the first movie and into a whole new area.

  There isn't a dud track on the entire album. The music in the "Return of the King" soundtrack is as sweeping and evocative as the movie that it's named after. Howard Shore has created a beautiful, haunting collection (along with both professional singers, and those who can both sing and act) that even those who haven't seen the movie can appreciate musically.
  
  

• Nothing short of spectacular
  By A2QEHGH3915LQ2 on 2003-12-19
  While I truly love the music from all the Lord of the Rings films, this is the only one that I listened to before the film and was actually riveted, just by the music. The other ones meant more to me mostly after I had seen the films, but with the Return of the King, I was captivating and enthralled from the start. Boasting Billy Boyd's truly ethereal delivery of a passionate and haunting song, Aragorn's piece (with melody written by Viggo Mortensen himself!), awesome themes for The Pellenor Fields, Twilight and Shadow and The Grey Havens, and Annie Lennox's Oscar-bound "Into the West," this soundtrack is a winner from start to finish.
  
  
• Lovely
  By AYA7BD21FUWCL on 2003-12-23
  This is a brilliant piece of work by Howard Shore. The music is beautiful and truly helped ROTK be all that it could be. The visual splendor of the movie is matched by the majesty of the music; put them together and you have beauty that can move you to tears.

  There aren't words to describe the emotional resonance of the Gondor theme. Listen to it while you see the city of Minas Tirith on screen, and it is unforgettable. There were also other memorable moments on the soundtrack, particularly the battle on Pelennor Fields and the songs featuring Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen). And as an opera enthusiast, I am of course greatly pleased to have Renee Fleming in a few of the tracks!

  I am an avid LOTR fan, but Peter Jackson's movies have shown me again and again how pale my imagination truly is. I was never able to imagine how the songs in Tolkien's books added anything to the story...UNTIL I watched Boyd and Mortensen sing. If you had told me before that Aragorn sings at his coronation I would have rolled my eyes. But it was an amazing moment where you once again realize the impact that music can have on the storytelling in a movie! (Mortensen composed the tune by himself, by the way.)

  This said, there is one jarring and unfortunate part of the soundtrack. After the sublime score for the rest of the movie, "Into the West" featuring Annie Lennox a is harsh and jolting return to our own world. For beauty, it sticks out like an orc in Lothlorien and leaves you missing Enya's song in FOTR!
  
  

• 1 star short because of the last song
  By A1Q8MUUTN70LAI on 2004-01-15
  I was delighted to find out that the voice I had liked to much when I saw the movie was Renée Fleming's. Thought it sounded familiar! She makes a great job, and I wish they had gotten her to sing Into The West. Annie Lennox is so disappointing and out of place... She sounds crowish after hearing Fleming's voice.
  Billy Boyd does a very moving job, and there's the CD's other fault: the lyrics of Pippin's song are not given, and it's a real shame.
  
  
• The Best of the Three: A Stunning Musical Journey
  By A1YWUPCT83WY48 on 2004-02-09
  The third of Howard Shore's soundtrack albums to the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy is, like the film itself, the best of the best. The albums for both "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" were superb, stunning orchestral storyscapes that perfectly caught Tolkien's Middle-Earth and were wonderful individual listening experiences on their own, away from the films. The perfect music to read Tolkien by.

  But this is the big one. This is the masterpiece. This is some of best film music of the last decade. Shore surpasses himself in every way on this score.

  The new major theme for the score is the Gondor Theme, heard in fullest expression in the inspiring track "The White Tree" (actually, this is the music for the lighting of the beacons of Gondor) and also in "Minas Tirith" and the lonely, sad track "The Steward of Gondor," where Billy Boyd provides a haunting song to accompany a massacre. (Boyd's voice is a real surprise -- he sounds professional).

  The other themes from the early films return, with Shore adapting them and changing them in surprising ways. You'll thrill to hearing the Rohirrim theme in "The Ride of the Rohirrim" as well as the way the theme introduces the real stand-out track of the album, "The Fields of Pelennor," a masterpiece suite describing various aspects of the battle around Minas Tirith. This track achieves almost a sublime level of action and power (screaming chorus, driving brass, and Shore's characteristic delayed resolution to build suspense) and is the musical highlight of the three albums. (I stood up cheered at the end the first time I heard it, even though I was alone.)

  "Shelob's Lair" is also an amazing track, filled with jabbing, crazy strings and a sense of rising panic. You can hear the giant spider moving around in the music and it will make you as afraid as Frodo himself was.

  Shore pounds the story into an orchestral rage for "The End of All Things," which is the story's climax and an overwhelming track of rapidly shifting emotions and explosions of choral fury. It will quite wring you out the same way the movie does at this point.

  For quieter moments, there are beautiful and inspiring tracks like "Twilight and Shadow" (dealing with Arwen) and the lengthy ten-minute track "The Return of the King," which sums up all the major themes and at last brings us full circle to the sprightly Hobbiton theme first heard back in "The Fellowship of the Ring." Shore ends it all with grace and quiet beauty in the subtle and sad track "The Grey Havens," which uses a theme that had grown throughout the score. This theme then becomes the soft and soulful Annie Lennox song, "Into the West," the perfect conclusion to the album.

  I've come across few soundtrack albums as well put together as this. Anyone who loves Tolkien, film music, or great orchestral music, MUST buy this album.

  My only complaint? There's so much more music in the film than they could fit on a single CD. A big deluxe double CD with more of the music would be appreciated in the near future.
  
  

• One of the Best Soundtracks I've Ever Heard...!
  By on 2004-02-23
  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is soundtrack is so good, it's unbelievable! This soundtrack is the best one I've ever heard in my entire life! (With the exception of The Fellowship of the Ring & The Two Towers!!)
  Howard Shore comes back better than ever...and, as they say, three time's the charm!
  Each track is beautifully performed, with guests such as the famous flutist and tin whistler Sir James Galway, Annie Lennox, Ben Del Maestro, and Renee Fleming. The soundtrack also captures the hauntingly beautiful voice of Billy Boyd (Pippin) and the deep quiet of Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn).
  My track recommandations:
  #5 - The Steward of Gondor (Very beautiful, feat. Billy Boyd)
  #11 - Shelob's Lair (Don't listen at night -- very scary!)
  #13 - The Fields of the Pelennor (Perfectly done, recounting themes from Isengard Unleashed {The Two Towers} as well)
  #15 - The Black Gate Opens (Awesome - feat. Sir James Galway!)
  #17 - The Return of the King (All 10 minutes are awesome!)
  #19 - Into the West (Who can resist Annie Lennox?!)
  
  
• The stuff of legends!
  By A1AJ8T3P7QX8HV on 2006-10-02
  What can I say that hasn't already been said about Howard Shore's magnificent score for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy? A soundtrack can define the whole atmosphere of a film, and this fully orchestrated work certainly does that with sweep, splendor and wonder, alternately humanizing (hobbit-izing?) the characters, imbuing the landscape with magic and capturing the world-shaking impact of events of mythic proportions. And this was no easy task considering the iconoclastic status of the story and the superb quality of Peter Jackson's filmmaking. This is a truly a soundtrack for the ages--a fitting accompaniment to a film for the ages! Every aspect of life, from the extreme to the mundane, is captured in this music. Listening to it can make every remembered moment of the movie come alive again in your mind, from the most horrific battle to the smallest moment of humor or kindness. And the battle scenes in "Return of the King" are incredible visuals, blending live action and computer-generated imagery so seamlessly and densely that it boggles the mind. But what would they be with only screams and snorts and scuffles to give them voice? It's Shore's frenetic, string-laden, brass-filled, drum-spurred fury that truly gives them life, waxing, waning and cueing the audience as to when the greatest menace is about to threaten the war-weary heroes. The musical themes from the first two movies continue to be developed here, wending their way in and out of expanded interpretations whose dense complexity rivals that of Tolkien's story, not to mention Peter Jackson's filmmaking itself. The total effect is utterly convincing and utterly transporting. Peter Jackson chose well when he picked Shore as his score writer. Very, very well! Be sure to get the scores from the other two movies in the trilogy as well - "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers." They seem to be available in no end of different packagings, including ones with bonus DVDs about the creation of the score. Also, make sure to get the extended edition DVDs of the movie itself, with hours and hours of fascinating commentaries and behind-the-scenes documentaries about the making of the films. Truly a bargain at any price! And for authentic music from bygone ages, try the real thing! There are many fine groups out there. Here's just a sampling: Anonymous 4 (pure-voiced sacred chant by four women), The Baltimore Consort (jaunty popular music from the Renaissance), David Munrow's Early Music Consort of London (simply perfection), Christian Mendoze's Musica Antiqua (lively, percussive Renaissance dance music), The Toronto Consort (great variety), Ensemble Unicorn (worlds of fun!), Wolgemut (brash buzzies and bagpipes with attitude), and the magical early/folk fusion of Cantiga and Burlap Lute. Have some fun with them and live your own fantasy!
  
  
  
• Howard Shore outdoes himself
  By A2VP1WCLWHIA3E on 2003-11-27
  I purchased the soundtrack yesterday, and I must say that it lived up to - even surpassed - all of my hopes for the music. The music for Return of the King is easily better than that of The Two Towers and Fellowship of the Ring.

  Here are a few highlights:
  (5) "The Steward of Gondor" is amazing. The instrumental opening is hauntingly beautiful, and captures the coldness of Denethor's halls in Minas Tirith. Billy Boyd's vocals here are also wonderful, as Pippin sings of his uncertainties and fears about the road ahead.

  (8) "Twilight and Shadow" is easily my favorite song on the soundtrack. With Renée Fleming's gorgeous soprano voice as the highlight, this song brings Rivendell back into our minds. Undoubtedly portraying Arwen's sadness at being separated from Aragorn, the orchestration and vocals combine to produce a beautifully melancholy song.

  (16) "The End of All Things" is a choral masterpiece. This time, however, it is peril rather than sadness that drives this song. Once again graced by Renée Fleming's vocals, the track paints a dark portrait of the brink of Middle-earth's doom.

  (17) "The Return of the King" takes you on a journey through Middle-earth, from FOTR's opening in the Shire to the closing of TTT in Rohan and Gondor. Aragorn's incantation-like vocals are probably the highlight of the track.

  (18-19) "The Grey Havens" and "Into the West" are perfectly joined together, bringing The Lord of the Rings to its tear-inducing conclusion. The music provides the backdrop to what will undoubtedly be the most poignant scene of the trilogy. Annie Lennox, a somewhat unorthodox choice for this soundtrack, proves her incredible versatility with "Into the West."

  The soundtrack is amazing. I cannot wait until December 9, when the Limited Edition comes out and we will get a look behind the scenes of this musical masterpiece.
  
  

• Let's hope the film is this good
  By A13FBTZ8SO8T3D on 2003-11-28
  Equal parts Beethoven's Fidelio as well as Wagner's Ring cycle, the latest Howard Shore evocation of the drama in LOTR's RETURN OF THE KING offers hope that Jackson did not get bogged down in the geek-obsessed ambition to create the greatest battle movie ever. Particularly as the score moves toward the Grey Havens, there is reason to believe that Jackson may have returned to the essential point of the story. Let's hope so.
  As for the score itself, it really is a tremendous accomplishment. The drama is intense and unrelenting, themes heralded in the first two films are reworked, recast and subtleties of tragedy and heroism run through the charts. THe strings in these soundtracks are as commanding and deeply resonating as those of John Barry. The vocalists this time around include Renee Fleming, who is just an aural wonder, Billy Boyd, who conveys just that right threshold where knowledge infuses innocence with a commission from which it can not retreat. Viggo Mortensen chants in elvish, without sounding totally absurd. And Annie Lennox delivers the closing theme with an utter devastation that may be one of her best performances ever. Regardless of what Jackson may have made of the most important of the three books, "Into The West" redeems any liberties he may have taken or integral philosophical points he may have sacrificed for special effects. But, we'll all find out soon enough.
  The stake for Jackson is that if he soft balls or misses the ontological, metaphorical and ethical conclusions of Tolkien's story, the entire series will be one more missed opportunity to get it right. The world is not looking for a better Star Wars. As for Howard Shore, he has delivered for each film a commanding score that musically understands that the sublime message here had nothing to do with geeky gimmicks, and everything to do with creation, an explication for evil and horror, the impact of knowledge on innocense. This third score is a fitting conclusion to a great and classic composition. Let's hope the film is this good.
  
  
• Highly memorable, but nothing compared to Fellowship
  By AWL2AOTCLIM6S on 2003-12-04
  Having listened to the previous two Lord of the Rings soundtracks, I entered this third installment with a predetermined expectation of both quality and content, but I was very surprised at the drastically different score found in the Return of the King. The only similarities between the Return of the King soundtrack and the rest of the Lord of the Rings soundtracks lies in the occasional borrowed thematic scores and the title of the album itself. The score in the Fellowship of the Ring really set in stone perfectly the Lord of the Rings universe, so it was to no ones surprise to hear its influence throughout the Two Towers soundtrack, and consequently the Return of the King soundtrack.

  Like the previous soundtracks, the Return of the King showcases an unprecedented ability to convey mood, feelings, and atmosphere, and this all comes together to produce an emotional response (or several) in the listener. Listening to a Lord of the Rings soundtrack is almost like watching the movie or reading the book itself, the only difference being you don't know exactly what's going on -- you must rely on your imagination to determine that based upon what you hear - and the Return of the King doesn't disappoint.

  From beginning to end, the Return of the King takes you on an exciting aural ride almost completely seamlessly, which is quite a feat considering the motion picture is 3 hours long versus the soundtrack only being 72 minutes and change in length. Granted, the score isn't present at every moment during the film, but when considering this fact and also the degree of variance in both the intensity and style found in the soundtrack, it is really quite remarkable that it all blends together so well. It comes together so well in fact that it is usually difficult to discern where one track ends and the next begins without paying attention to your stereo's display. There are few tracks that fade to a close, particularly near the end of the soundtrack, where you can clearly tell where the tracks begin and end, but on throughout the majority of the soundtrack this is not the case.

  To compare the Return of the King soundtrack to any other soundtrack, even of the same genre of music, is simply an unfair comparison. Consequently I must make my final critic based upon the other two soundtracks in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

  The Return of the King soundtrack contains 19 tracks and features a vocal ending theme for the credits just like the Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers, the only difference being Fellowship only had 18 tracks.

  The most influential and complex track on the Return of the King soundtrack would have to be the self-titled track: "The Return of the King." This track masterfully interweaves so many new and familiar scores together into one package that leaves the listener in awe. It is easily one of the highlights, if not THE highlight of the entire soundtrack. The only other track from the previous albums that I would compare to its level of emotional response would have to be "Gollum's Song" from the Two Towers.

  While remarkably well developed, arranged, composed and performed, I would still have to rate the overall aural enjoyment factor of the Return of the King soundtrack lower than the previous two soundtracks. The benchmark set by the Fellowship of the Ring overall is far too high to surpass even for something as good as this. But obviously that isn't a put down on the quality of this soundtrack by any stretch of the imagination - this is a fantastic soundtrack filled with plenty of memorable tracks. Unfortunately though, while the motion pictures have been getting progressively better, the soundtracks have not been able to do the same.
  
  

• An excellent score but not as good as FELLOWSHIP
  By A35KMHY99A1OZG on 2003-12-05
  Waiting to listen to the Return of the King was like waiting to go to the dentist. I couldn't wait to get it over with, but at the same time i just hoped and prayed it was going to be satisying. The first two scores - especially the first one - really did show how the art of film scoring exceeds beyong any other art. The first score was fantastic, the second a rather heavily influenced score from the previous, but the third was quite a suprising one.

  What made me go "umm..." was the use of themes that Score embedded into the score. He uses the main themes that he set up before sparingly and rarely uses the Rohan theme at all (but that's only on the album, the film might show otherwise)which was quite suprising. Shore uses these themes and emulates them in different forms. For example he uses the main hobbit hymn in a slightly different arrangement - not bad, but maybe a little too experimental for this score. The themes he sets up for the film alone are quite amazing. The battle themes though are simply amazing, the best i've heard as of late. Shore manages to weave in and out subtle hints of themes in the battle scenes which in turn make the tracks very dramatic. He is able to use the orchestra and the brass especially to really brutalise the battle sequences which is something i haven't heard since GLADIATOR by Hans Zimmer.
  Shore really does manage to get your heart pounding whilst listening to the score. The track SHELOB'S LAIR is a stunner and by the looks of it, the scene in the film is going to be one hell of a showstopper - and that's just listening to the background music!
  I was very impressed with the score as a whole and i am glad that Shore finishes off in style. As a score alone, it excels and i would strongly recommend it for this Christmas. When comparing this to the other two, i felt it was slightly better than the TWO TOWERS because Shore has tied up all the loose bits of string beautifully. In regards to the first score, it just simply doesn't hit the mark. The FELLOWSHIP was a fantastic score and it will remain a fantastic one, but i felt that RETURN OF THE KING wasn't as good as the FELLOWSHIP. Shore has made a decent attempt at outdoing the first one but i felt that the first one was a stunner.
  I was suprised yet glad at this score. It wasn't a score i was expecting which, in a way, distinguishes this one from the other previous scores, but i was happy with it. It's a great listen and after hearing Annie Lenox's song you'll be dying to see the movie!
  I strongly recommend this score to you.
  
  

• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest