Howard Shore: The Lord Of The Rings - The Return Of The King (2LP, soundtrack) [WATERTOWER MUSIC]

Why you'll love it

WaterTower's 2LP set of the final Lord of the Rings score, nineteen cues across four sides. It won Howard Shore Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "Into the West," sung by Annie Lennox.

This edition

• 2LP set, limited edition
• Nineteen tracks over four sides
• WaterTower Music pressing (cat# R1 48521)

About the album

By the third film Howard Shore had been living in Middle-earth for years, and The Return of the King is where every thread he had spun comes together. The themes from the first two scores return transformed: the Shire tune grown older and sadder, the music of Gondor finally given its full, brass-heavy glory, the Rohirrim charging in on pounding drums and strings. It was recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices and a host of soloists, and it is the biggest and most emotional of the three scores.

"Minas Tirith" and "The White Tree" bring the lighting of the beacons, "The Ride of the Rohirrim" and "The Fields of Pelennor" are pure, glorious battle music, and "The End of All Things" is as tense as anything Shore wrote. Then come "The Grey Havens" and Annie Lennox's "Into the West," which may well finish you off. It won the Oscars for score and song, along with a Grammy. Like the film, it has several endings, and you will want every one of them.

Tracklist

Listen

On WaterTower Music (cat# R1 48521), a reissue of the 2003 soundtrack.