Composer James Newton Howard (Batman Begins, Sixth Sense, The Fugitive) has helmed his fair share of action films, but none as daunting as director Peter Jackson's gargantuan remake of King Kong. Not only was he rescoring the life and death of one of cinema's most beloved icons; he had to do it in less than two months. Longtime Jackson collaborator Howard Shore, who took home an Oscar for his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, left Kong in a flurry of "creative differences" with the director, scoring just over an hour of material. Keeping that fact in mind, Howard's compositions are nothing short of remarkable. While they lack Shore's epic scope and his myriad of complex and highly melodic character cues, Howard manages to pinch-hit his way through with the confidence of a starting player. Using the Depression era as a launching pad, he deftly whips jazz motifs, thunderous brass sections, and wistful choirs into a stew of "silver screen"-meets-"blue screen" harmony that may not yield any memorable themes, but manages to illuminate the film's terror, humanity, and tragedy with irrefutable professionalism. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
King Kong (2005 Original Score)
12/06/2005 | Decca
All Music Guide Review
King Kong (2005 Original Score) Track Listing
Credits of King Kong (2005 Original Score)
- Melissa MacKay
- Vocals
- Larry Mah
- Scoring Crew
- Alan Meyerson
- Mixing, Recording
- Bruce Morgenthaler
- Bass
- Barbara Northcutt
- Oboe
- Michael Nowak
- Conductor
- Brian O'Connor
- Horn
- Simon Oswell
- Viola
- Bobbi Page
- Vocals
- Katia Popov
- Violin
- Andrea Robinson
- Vocals
- Anatoly Rosinsky
- Violin
- Nigel Ross-Scott
- Music Coordinator
- Geri Rotella
- Flute
- Mark Sazer
- Violin
- Jim Self
- Tuba
- Haim Shtrum
- Violin
- David Speltz
- Cello
- Sally Stevens
- Vocals, Vocal Contractor
- Billy Talbot
- Scoring Crew
- George Thatcher
- Trombone
- Jim Thatcher
- Horn
- Doug Tornquist
- Tuba
- Cecilia Tsan
- Cello
- Carmen Twillie
- Vocals
- Mervyn Warren
- Vocals
- Miwako Watanabe
- Violin
- Oren Waters
- Vocals
- Mel Wesson
- Ambience
- John West
- Vocals
- Ann White
- Vocals
- Phil Yao
- Horn
- Ken Yerke
- Violin
- Robert Zimmitti
- Percussion
- Elin Carlson
- Vocals
- Tony Cooke
- Cello
- Marcia Dickstein
- Harp
- Ian Freebairn-Smith
- Vocals
- Daniel Kelley
- Horn
- Teri Koide
- Vocals
- Jon Lewis
- Trumpet
- Peter Limonick
- Percussion
- Susie Stevens Logan
- Vocals
- Andrew Shulman
- Cello
- Sebastian Toettcher
- Cello
- Tom Boyd
- Oboe
- Drew Dembowski
- Bass
- Ken Munday
- Bassoon
- Tom Steel
- Scoring Crew
- Sandy DeCrescent
- Music Contractor
- Kathy Nelson
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Erick Labson
- Mastering
- Kevin Connolly
- Violin
- Steve Amerson
- Vocals
- Greg Loskorn
- Scoring Crew
- Tim Lauber
- Scoring Crew
- Bob Joyce
- Vocals
- Jeff Atmajian
- Supervising Orchestrator
- Tom Hardisty
- Scoring Crew
- Tom Arndt
- Production Coordination
- Bruce Babcock
- Conductor
- Gary Bovyer
- Clarinet
- Kerry Katz
- Vocals
- Christian Kollgaard
- Bass
- Timothy Landauer
- Cello
- Guy Maeda
- Vocals
- David Novik
- A&R
- Rafael Rishik
- Violin
- Ed Zajac
- Vocals
- Pete Anthony
- Conductor
- Kerry Walsh
- Vocals
- Jim Weidman
- Producer, Supervising Music Editor
- Jennie Hansen
- Viola
- Chris Bleth
- Wind Instruments
- Shawn Mann
- Viola
- Aaron Martin
- Technical Assistance
- Darrin McCann
- Viola
- Peter S. Myles
- Music Editor
- Dwayne Condon
- Vocals
- Mike Lang
- Piano
- Armen Anassian
- Violin
- Phillipe Levy
- Violin
- David Parmeter
- Bass
- Keith Greene
- Viola
- Mark Beasom
- Vocals
- Samela Beasom
- Vocals
- Robert Berg
- Viola
- Irina Voloshina
- Violin
- Eun Mee Ahn
- Violin
- Edie Lehmann Boddicker
- Vocals
- Roberto Cani
- Violin
- Tim Morrison
- Trumpet
- Sean McDermott
- Vocals
- Kristen Smith
- Scoring Crew
- Jay Sylvester
- Scoring Crew
- Jason Lloyd
- Scoring Crew
- Tim Davis
- Choir, Chorus
- Steven Hill
- Vocals
- Blake Neely
- Additional Music
- Liane Mautner
- Violin
- Phil Cohen
- Music Business Affairs
- Bill Edwards
- Vocals
- Sarah Thornblade
- Violin
- Adam Michalak
- Scoring Crew
- Bob Becker
- Viola
- Mark Willsher
- Music Consultant
- Mark Robertson
- Violin
- Jay Rosen
- Violin
- Justin Clark
- Art Direction, Design
- Dick Wells
- Vocals
- Reid Bruton
- Vocals
- Meredith Friedman
- Coordination
- Peter Jackson
- Executive Producer
- Fanny Gotschall
- Creative Director
- Fran Walsh
- Executive Producer
- Sheryl Gold
- Music Business Affairs
- Eric J. Hosler
- Violin
- Gregory Goodall
- Percussion
- David F. Walther
- Viola
- Ana Landauer
- Violin
- Sungil Lee
- Violin
- Shanti Randall
- Viola
- Amy Fogerson
- Vocals
- Jennifer Barnes
- Vocals
- Virenia Lind
- Vocals
- Jonathan Mack
- Vocals
- Steven Dunham
- Vocals
- Greg Geiger
- Vocals
- Jody Golightly
- Vocals
- Donna Davidson Medine
- Vocals
- Peter Mandell
- Bassoon
- Stephen Grimm
- Vocals
- Elissa Johnston
- Vocals
- Christie Lawrence
- Vocals
- Eric Bradley
- Vocals
- Annica Ackerman
- Assistant
- Joanna Bushnell
- Vocals
- Agostino Castagnola
- Vocals
- Debbie Hall Gleason
- Vocals
- Jenny Graham
- Vocals
- Sandie Hall Brooks
- Vocals
- Mary Hylan Cain
- Vocals
- Brian Clements
- Scoring Crew
- David Olsen
- Music Editor
- Paul Altomari
- Coordination
- Marie Ebbing
- Music Editor
- Kathryn Bostic
- Vocals
- Lorand Lokuszta
- Violin
- Tereza Stanislav
- Violin
- Evelyn Morgan
- A&R
- Fletcher Sheridan
- Vocals
- Chris P. Bacon
- Technical Assistance, Additional Music
- Eddie Bydalek
- Scoring Crew
- Malcolm Fife
- Music Editor
- Michale Geiger
- Vocals
- Mark Graham
- Librarian
- Ben Inman
- Vocals
- Sal Malaki
- Vocals
- Ilana Marks
- Vocals
- Tonoccus Mcclain
- Vocals
- Radu Pieptea
- Violin
- Adrienne Steifel
- Vocals
- Donna Vodicka
- Vocals
- Mark Adams
- Horn
- Justin Hopkins
- Vocals
- Sue Raney
- Bass
- Rick Todd
- Horn
- Bruce Dukov
- Violin
- Walt Harrah
- Vocals
- Richard Altenbach
- Violin
- Morgan Ames
- Vocals
- Phil Ayling
- Oboe
- Joan Beal
- Vocals
- Steve Becknell
- Horn
- Dick Bolks
- Vocals
- Bill Booth
- Trombone
- Susan Boyd
- Vocals
- Aleta Braxton
- Vocals
- Amick Byram
- Vocals
- Darius Campo
- Violin
- Alvin Chea
- Vocals
- Liz Constantine
- Vocals
- Craig Copeland
- Vocals
- Randy Crenshaw
- Vocals
- Brian Dembow
- Viola
- George Doering
- Guitar
- David Duke
- Horn
- Steve Edelman
- Bass
- Stephen Erdody
- Cello
- Christine Ermacoff
- Cello
- Mark Eshelman
- Scoring Crew
- Alan Estes
- Percussion
- Pedro Eustache
- Wind Instruments
- Mike Fisher
- Percussion
- Roger Freeland
- Vocals
- Harry Garfield
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Rick Gerding
- Viola
- Julie Gigante
- Violin
- Jim Gilstrap
- Vocals
- Steve Gordon
- Viola
- Endre Granat
- Violin
- Richard E. Grant
- Auricle Programming
- Alan Grunfeld
- Violin
- Linda Harmon
- Vocals
- Karen Harper
- Vocals
- Terry Harrington
- Vocals
- Scottie Haskell
- Vocals
- Paula Hochhalter
- Cello
- Joel Iwataki
- Recording
- Sheri Izzard
- Vocals
- Luana Jackman
- Vocals
- Clydene Jackson
- Vocals
- David Joyce
- Vocals
- Jon Joyce
- Vocals
- James Kanter
- Clarinet
- Dennis Karmazyn
- Cello
- Darlene Koldenhoven
- Vocals
- Miran Kojian
- Violin
- Dimitrie Leivici
- Violin
- Dane Little
- Cello
- David Low
- Cello
- Warren Luening
- Trumpet
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Clarinet
- Don Williams
- Percussion
- Beth Anderson
- Vocals
- James Newton Howard
- Producer
- Bill Reichenbach Jr.
- Trombone












Plus