HiRez Poll SOUNDTRACK Lord of the Rings The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings [DVD-A/BDA]

JonUrban · Nov 11, 2006

PLease post your thoughts and comments on this unusual release, which includes 3 CDs and a 4th disc which is a surround HiRez DVD-A of the entire score!
ADDENDUM: This set has been reissued on Blu-Ray Audio as of July 2018.

Scans included (big - please wait) since this one does not show up too often.

Blu-Ray packshot:

Felix E. Martinez · Nov 11, 2006

Fantastic. A perfect complement to the Fellowship set. I do believe the surrounds are about 2db louder than Fellowship, which should please some folks. Otherwise, same specs as Fellowship - the hi-res surround option is the way to go!

stormchaser · Nov 13, 2006

I've only listened to the entire DVD-A once, but I agree with Felix's assessment. The surrounds are used more effectively although this is still an "ambient" mix. The music is top-notch and as a LOTR geek, I'm in heaven with the Two Towers Complete Recordings. There has been some griping about the overall cost of the package ($60) but there are four discs as well as a booklet of extensive theme documentation to say nothing of the packaging (they did a better job with the rubber knob this time). I highly recommend this one. Now I have to wait another year for ROTK. Sigh.

Felix E. Martinez · Nov 13, 2006

At the risk of some folks here knockin' me for the following comments, I don't see either release as "ambient," but certainly subtle in their use of surrounds. I can distinctly hear discrete stereo imaging in the rears separate from the front speakers, more apparent in Two Towers. That's not to say these will give the Flaming Lips a run for their surround money! But I've heard much more "ambient," front-centric orchestral recordings, and I wouldn't lump these with those. Still, YMMV, depending on your tastes. I don't have a wallet-breaking, envy-inspiring system by any stretch of the imagination (egads, those pics are old), but I think these releases sound wonderful. Compositionally, I'd give the Fellowship the edge, because it introduces many themes heard throughout Two Towers, but the scope of the score still boggles the mind (and ears). The CDs are a nice inclusion, they've been mastered with dynamic range in mind, and I've popped them into my car system on more than one occasion to kill some time while travelling on the road.

stormchaser · Nov 17, 2006

FYI, I can't speak nationwide, but the major media store chains in my town (Border's, Hastings, Best Buy) are not carrying this so it may be tough to acquire if you don't go the online route. I am surprised by the B&M stores completely ignoring this around here given how well the Fellowship CR sold nationwide (sold well given the expense of the set).

JonUrban · Nov 17, 2006

CD Universe has it "on sale" currently (11/17/06) for $53.19. I ordered one!

jeffrey r · Nov 18, 2006

JonUrban said:
CD Universe has it "on sale" currently (11/17/06) for $53.19. I ordered one!

I hope you used the Google Checkout link for $10 off the order. My preorder from a couple of weeks ago came out to about $48 shipped, although my order is still on backorder from them.

JonUrban · Dec 20, 2006

I finally got my copy. CD Universe was still backordered, so I had to get it at B&N. Anyway, I added scans to the first post for those who've never seen it.

jeffrey r · Dec 21, 2006

JonUrban said:
I finally got my copy. CD Universe was still backordered, so I had to get it at B&N. Anyway, I added scans to the first post for those who've never seen it.

Funny, I ended up canceling my backorder at CD Universe also and ordering it from B&N.com for a much better price anyway (using some online coupons). I don't know what's up with this title that CD Universe still can't get any stock of it, since it's still backordered. And buy.com never got this title in at all. Anyway, I like this a lot and I'm giving it a 9.

Edit to add that I just looked on Amazon, and this is not in stock either, and is over $100 in the marketplace. Was this title discontinued or something? It doesn't seem to be in stock anywhere right now. Pretty bizarre.

Felix E. Martinez · Dec 21, 2006

For some reason, this title is hard to find. While I can find the first Fellowship release at Best Buys and other B&M stores, I've not seen Two Towers anywhere.

I'll pose the Q to my Reprise contact and will post back if I get any info.

stormchaser · Dec 21, 2006

Some info on this thread by Doug Adams who is involved in the project. Apparently the first run sold out and more are in production:
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.asp?threadID=38704&forumID=1 http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.asp?threadID=38704&forumID=1

Felix E. Martinez · Dec 27, 2006

Back in stock at CDUniverse.

jeffrey r · Dec 27, 2006

And at Amazon as well. Guess these are shipping again.

JonUrban · Dec 27, 2006

Great, I'll probably get my CD Universe on now and have two! Amazing that they actually did a second run on a DVD-A title!

axnyslie · Feb 28, 2008

I just got this disc and there's a slight problem, the lead vocals don't play. I have a Denon 1930CI set up in 4.0. All other DVD-A titles correctly mix the Center channel into the front mains but this one doesn't. I tried turning off the LPCM but no change. Anyone else have this problem in a 4.0 setup?

Strilo · Oct 28, 2020

I gave this a 9, the same rating I gave Fellowship, a lot of the points I made in my Fellowship post are the same for this Two Towers release.

I do believe they listened to fan feedback back in the day, as this second release has almost no issues with cues combined in weird ways. Also, by nature, the second film doesn't have the songs and various source music tracks, so the score presentation is just that much better, IMHO. So if I could give this one a 9.5, I would.

HiRez Poll SOUNDTRACK Lord of the Rings The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings [DVD-A/BDA]

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