The film music of 2019.

It's been another strange, wonderful year of film music. And without further ado...


My favorite scores of 2019:

(Alexandre Desplat - Warner Classics)

Wholly engaging thriller score with a heavy Greek influence.

Favorite tracks: "Adults in the Room", "Yani's Dance", "Caricatures"

(George Kallis - Aegean)

Sweeping score that posits Kallis as a talent to watch.

Favorite tracks: "Fabric of History", "Children at the Door", "Simply the Truth"

(Danny Elfman - Walt Disney)

Elfman's lovely music is the strongest element of the uneven remake.

Favorite tracks: "Train's A-Comin'", "Stampede!", "Nightmare Island"

(Bear McCreary - WaterTower)
McCreary's music is as massive and powerful as the monsters it accompanies.
Favorite tracks: "Godzilla Main Title", "Rise of Ghidorah", "Battle in Boston"

(Carter Burwell - WaterTower)

Burwell's meditative music greatly enhanced the underrated thriller.

Favorite tracks: "The Good Liar", "A Stop Along the Way", "Deeper Than it Looks"

(Terence Blanchard - Back Lot)
Blanchard contributed suitably stirring music for the biopic.
Favorite tracks: "I'll Be With You", "Walk Like You Have a Right To", "Gotta Go"

(John Powell - Back Lot)

Powell's music for the final chapter is more subdued than you'd expect, but still very good.

Favorite tracks: "Dinner Talk/Grimmel's Introduction", "Night Fury Killer", "Armada Battle"

(Alexandre Desplat - Sony Classical)

The latest adaptation of the story features a typically varied accompaniment from Desplat.

Favorite tracks: "Little Women", "Dance on the Porch", "Dr. March's Daughters"

(Randy Newman - Lakeshore)

Lighthearted in Newman's inimitable fashion, nicely contrasting the acclaimed drama.

Favorite tracks: "What I Love About Nicole", "Procession to the Trailer", "End of Story - Credits"

(Carter Burwell - Lakeshore)

Burwell provided appealingly eclectic music for the latest Laika feature.

Favorite tracks: "Dark Days", "Stagecoach", "Ice Fight"

(Benjamin Wallfisch - WaterTower)
The superhero story shifted moods quite often and Wallfisch ably captured all of them.
Favorite tracks: "Shazam!", "Subway Chase", "All Hands on Deck"

(John Williams - Walt Disney)

Winning valedictory effort from Williams, with some wry arrangements of his themes.

Favorite tracks: "Journey to Exegol", "Battle of the Resistance", "Finale"

Runners-up:

The Beach Bum (John Debney), The Elephant Queen (Alex Heffes), Frozen II (Christophe Beck), Halston (Stanley Clarke), Happy Death Day 2U (Bear McCreary), The Hustle (Anne Dudley), Minuscule: Les mandibules du bont du monde (Mathieu Lamboley), Parasite (Jung Jaeil), Ready or Not (Brian Tyler), Spider-Man: Far from Home (Michael Giacchino), Tolkien (Thomas Newman), What Men Want (Brian Tyler) and The White Crow (Ilan Eshkeri)


My favorite albums of 2019:

The Amazing Mr. Blunden (Elmer Bernstein - Intrada) - Magical and melancholy in equal measure, this Bernstein score sits perfectly at the midpoint of his more famous scores about children and ghosts.

The Bride of Frankenstein (Franz Waxman - La La Land) - One of the first (and finest) horror scores ever composed, focusing as much on beauty as terror.

The Disaster Movie Collection (John Williams - La La Land) - An unprecedented gathering of the Maestro's genre scores for The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake and (finally!) The Towering Inferno.

The Great Train Robbery (Jerry Goldsmith - Quartet) - The enjoyable caper movie received a score to match; elegant and propulsive, held together by an appropriately driving central melody.

Howard the Duck (John Barry - Intrada) - The teaming of Lucasfilm and Marvel may have been a disappointment (to say the least), but Barry's rich score made it worthwhile.

Jaguar Lives! (Robert O. Ragland - Dragon’s Domain) - The star-packed action misfire featured a lively score from Ragland, buoyed by a fun, Bond-like main theme.

Knight Rider (Stu Phillips - Varese Sarabande) - A splendid compilation of orchestral tracks from the cult favorite series.

Minority Report (John Williams - La La Land) - Williams' enjoyably eclectic music made for a vital component to the Spielberg chase thriller.

Mission: Impossible (Danny Elfman - La La Land) - Elfman's unique musical approach got the long-running franchise off to a strong start.

The Quinn Martin Collection - Vol. 1: Cop and Detective Series (various - La La Land) - Fascinating assortment of cues from Martin's series, highlighted by Goldsmith's pilot score for "Barnaby Jones".


Other amazing releases:

The Italian Job (Quincy Jones - Quartet)
Monsignor (John Williams - Intrada)
Nevada Smith: the Paramount Westerns Collection (various - La La Land)
The Orville (Bruce Broughton, John Debney, Joel McNeely and Andrew Cottee - La La Land)
The Quinn Martin Collection - Vol. 2: The Invaders (various - La La Land)
Return from Witch Mountain (Lalo Schifrin - Intrada)
RoboCop 2: DE (Leonard Rosenman - Varese Club)
Rooster Cogburn (Laurence Rosenthal - Varese Club)
Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (Ron Goodwin - Quartet)
Virtuosity (Christopher Young - Quartet)