King Kong: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)
by James Newton Howard

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James Newton Howard reportedly got the King Kong gig as a last-minute replacement for Howard Shore (who of course had worked on King Kong director Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series). The good news is that Howard still managed to write an honorable score; the bad news is that it's no more than honorable. For some, the biggest disappointment may be that Howard didn't find more inspiration in the film's 1930s setting. Once in a while he inserts a vaguely jazzy flourish (the brief clarinet passages in "Defeat Is Always Momentary" for instance) but the period detail is kept to a minimum. Having more may have helped give the score a shot of much-needed individuality. Action scenes, for instance, are set to the opulently orchestrated, frantic percussive rumble that is Hollywood short-hand for, well, action scenes. "Head Towards the Animals" and "Beauty Killed the Beast III" are just the most typical examples of that style: Howard gives these bravura numbers the requisite pounding intensity, but can we be blamed for feeling that we've heard them dozens of times before? Similarly, the composer sticks to the expected when he needs to get more contemplative, as on "A Fateful Meeting" (soothing strings, soothing clarinet) or "Beautiful" (flutes to suggest the exotic locale). In short, this album is everything you expect it to be. Which sometimes isn't quite enough. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

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Product Details

Audio CD Release Date:	December 13, 2005
Studio:	Decca
Composer:	James Newton Howard
Number Of Discs:	1
Format:	Soundtrack
Average Customer Rating:	based on 31 reviews

Track Listing

1.	King Kong
2.	A Fateful Meeting
3.	Defeat Is Always Momentary
4.	It's In The Subtext
5.	Two Grand
6.	The Venture Departs
7.	Last Blank Space On The Map
8.	It's Deserted
9.	Something Monsterous... Neither Beast Nor Man
10.	Head Towards The Animals
11.	Beautiful
12.	Tooth And Claw
13.	That's All There Is...
14.	Captured
15.	Central Park
16.	The Empire State Building
17.	Beauty Killed The Beast I
18.	Beauty Killed The Beast II
19.	Beauty Killed The Beast III
20.	Beauty Killed The Beast IV
21.	Beauty Killed The Beast V

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.5

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Too Much Pulse-Pounding Action For Restful Listening Mar 16, 2008
While I expected a certain amount of powerful action music--in keeping with the fact that King Kong is an action film--I felt this cd soundtrack focused excessively on action music, and that the touching and beautiful selections in the film's more tender scenes were woefully ignored. They are there, but in what feels to be abbreviated forms, as though the powers behind the cd decided to add them as a brief afterthought. If you found the more sensitive music in the film is what drove you to consider the cd (as I did) then you'll find this cd too abrasive for too long to just enjoy easy listening. The quality of the musical compositions is not lacking--it's good action music--but this is not a cd comfortable to listen to for long periods. If you are producing a back yard play, and need some pounding action music that goes on and on, then this cd is for you. They ought to release a secondary cd that contains only full-scale versions of the beautiful instrumentation present in more sensitive scenes. Now THAT'S a cd I'd enjoy.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Beat Your Chest to Get This One Feb 28, 2007
After Lord of the Rings collaborator Howard Shore had his fully written score rejected due to the ever popular "creative differences" in Peter Jackson's film, James Newton Howard stepped in and had about a month and a half to write a monumental amount of music. He stepped up to the challenge and wrote a blowout score that awes and amazes at each turn. I can only imagine what kind of score he would have come up with if he had a much longer period of time to write the score, but in any case, he succeeds all the same.
King Kong has an established theme throughout the score, represented by a 7-note motif that is both ominous and bold. It is featured whenever the big ape is on screen, as well as when he is somewhere lurking about on the island. Since the film takes place in the 1930s, Howard wrote some period music in many cues of the first half of the score, which feature appropriate pianos and jazzy woodwinds.
As the crew makes their way to the island, the music shifts into a more ominous and more action-oriented approach, as they try to survive and capture the beast. The music throughout the majority of the second half of the album is awe-inspiring, resilient, and frankly breath-taking. The orchestra is strident, the chorus is bold, and the percussion is propulsive. "Tooth and Claw" is a very impressive action-oriented track with plenty of fast-paced, heavy brass lines, whirling strings, and racing percussion. The "awe-factor" is present in most of the cues, such as "It's Deserted", where you can only imagine viewing the island for the first time as the ship nears its destination.
The grand finale consists of "The Empire State Building" as well as "Beauty Killed the Beast" (not how the Disney film ended as you may recall...). Here the orchestra and chorus give everything they've got, building and building to an emotional and powerful climax as the great beast falls to his demise.
This is one of James Newton Howard's finest works, which proves that he is one of the best composers out there. A highly recommended score with 74 minutes of outstanding music. You would be a fool to pass this one up!!

4 of 11 found the following review helpful:

To be honest... May 26, 2006
Not the best score I've ever heard. Certainly not bad, some tracks were very nice. Unfortunately, a good deal of them are too action-oriented for my liking, or simply boring. The best piece of music from the film, the beautifully haunting female chorus played over the spider pit scene (best part of the movie!), is sadly nowhere to be found on this disc. I don't doubt Howard's talent as a composer, but the music for King Kong, sadly, doesn't have the same bite as the movie.

3 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Individual Songs are Good, but Overall Flow of the CD Soundtrack Seems Slow and Sluggish. Apr 05, 2006
Compared to the milestone, classic soundtrack of the original KING KONG, this CD of Peter Jackson's remake has a lot to live up to. In the new KING KONG movie, the music fits in well, even if it does not take on a life of its own, as did the original Max Steiner soundtrack for the original KING KONG film. But this new music really works best as a complement to the onscreen activities only, and is not so engaging on CD, without the story visuals.

Some Soundtracks are great with just the music, this one really needs the movie visuals for the best enjoyment.

This CD seems to follow the chronological order of the events in the film, but this is one CD Soundtrack where they might have been better off changing the song order for a better flow, on CD only (which is a common practise on other soundtrack CDs, like for the STAR WARS films, for example). The early songs are too slow to get moving into the action, and later songs have slow and fast parts, so it becomes a little frustrating, waiting for action, then getting a little excitement, then crashing into stillness again.

Individually each song seems good, but when I try to listen to the whole CD, I get restless waiting for something interesting. I think I will resequence the songs and burn my own CD in a more appealing song sequence (that's legal since I own the CD, of course).

0 of 3 found the following review helpful:

King Kong Mar 18, 2006
James Newton Howard never let's me down. It's pretty much what i expected, but when im alone at home - Push the Volume to the roof - and enjoy.... James my man... One of the greatist!