The Lord of The Rings Soundtracks

You've all probably noticed the poll by now, "Which of the three
LOTR soundtracks is the best?". Well I thought it deserved an article
of it's own. Which one is the best? The Fellowship, The Two Towers,
or The Return of The King? Let's briefly look at each individual
soundtrack.

• The Fellowship of The Ring

The Fellowship starts with a segment of the ethereal and mysterious
Lothlórien theme, which quickly evolves into the rising and falling
ring theme. Obviously, many of the themes are introduced in the
Fellowship. Some of the themes include the ring theme, the the
Mordor themes, the Shire theme, and the Isengard theme.

• The Two Towers

The Two Towers doesn't include some of the themes introduced
in the Fellowship. The Isengard theme is the only theme from the
Fellowship that is predominant in the Two Towers. But the Rohan
theme and the Ents' theme is introduced, and these are developed
much later.

• The Return of The King

The Return of The King brings all of the themes from the previous
two films into play, as well as adding many pieces of new music, such
as "Into The West" (I know, it's a commercial pop song, but the bits
that are used in the film are quite effective). I think The Return of The
King soundtrack has an edge because it develops all (or most) of the
themes from the previous two movies while adding more material.


So much for my brief analysis. Now you are informed enough to make
your own decision. Some people can't decide between the Fellowship
and The Return of The King, but what I decided on for Return of The
King was the grand and glorious use of the Gondor theme as the
beacons are lit. How can the Fellowship beat that?