THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2012)

This soundtrack album comes highly anticipated – just like the Peter Jackson directed film. The first in a new trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit, the music composed by Howard Shore (who already won Oscars for his works on The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of The King) is set to sweep fans, critics and award judging panelists off their feet.

You know there is a treasure trove of music when the music on this album is split over two discs – even for the standard edition we received. Disc 1 kicks off with “My Dear Frodo”, which brings you back to the enchanting world of hobbits first experienced some 11 years ago. Hearing familiar themes in this cue, you tell yourself it’s good to be back in Middle Earth.

Things get playful in “An Unexpected Party” and a little more serious in “Axe or Sword”, a sign that the tone of the music is turning a little more serious. The song “Misty Mountains” performed by Richard Armitage and The Dwarf Cast is solemn with carries a weighty importance, and introduces the main theme which will be heard in numerous cues later on in the album.

The following tracks chronicle Bilbo Baggins and his newfound friends’ journey. From the magnificently daunting “An Ancient Enemy” and the spiritedly jumpy “Radagast the Brown”, to the darkly looming “The Hill of Sorcery” and the action packed “Warg-scouts”, the listening experience is nothing but astounding.

Disc 2 continues the adventure with tracks like the mystical “Moon Runes”, the ethereal “The White Council” and the perilous “A Thunder Battle”. The highlight on this disc is “Song of the Lonely Mountain” performed by Neill Finn, a track we think will dominate Best Original Song categories at upcoming film awards. The soundtrack concludes with the positive “Dreaming of Bag End”, an apt cue which leaves us looking forward to the next installment of the trilogy.

Also sold in stores is a special edition of the soundtrack which contains the full score from the film with seven extended score cues, six exclusive bonus tracks and deluxe liner notes. Any fan of the franchise should rush to own this version instead.

ALBUM RATING:

Recommended Track: Disc 2 (12) Song of the Loney Mountain – Neill Finn

Review by John Li