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In the box sets I own of all three LOTR films, there is a TON of extra footage I’ve never managed to make it all the way through. I’m pretty sure there is some footage dedicated to Howard Shore and some peeks behind the scenes of how he did the music.
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"The Road Goes Ever On" ...indeed. Every year when I consider a return to the movie theater madness, I find something more about the music, or the story. And I think I had seen something on TV about the London Philharmonic filmed in recording the tracks. And let us know about the 'extra footage' Caleb!
There was hammered dulcimer somewhere in the mix. I wonder who was the player?
Also Donald Swann of Flanders & Swann worked with Tolkien.
And another trivia question: how many songs did Led Zeppelin write, based on Lord of the Rings themes?
Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile
I think just the one, "Ramble On":
'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair
But Gollum, and the evil one
Crept up and slipped away with her
Those are direct references. As to LOTR themes, which are often expressed in general or universal imagery or terms, some may have other examples in mind.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Misty Mountain Hop.
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The Battle of Evermore
mando scales
technical exercises for rock blues & fusion mandolinists
mp4 backing tracks & free downloadable pdfs
jimbevan.com
I wonder, if you wouldn't mind too much, could you please explain the connection(s) to LOTR? Posting just the title may seem to be enough for those who are deeply immersed in the legends and the lore, but for those of us not so, it's a bit mystifying. I did some googling, and I found some people agreeing and other people disputing any connection. I can't speak to to the proponents' points, having not seen the movies since they were first-run. The opponents' main point was the imagery and terms Plant/Page used were mostly from sundry Celtic legends - thus, similar source material but not necessarily directly related. I can't sort this out; perhaps you can. Thanks.
I'm in the middle of recording a cover, so I'm a bit more interested than usual. Fortunately, I'm just concerned with the mandolinning. The lyrics are my duo partner's lookout, and she's already laid down her tracks.
"Misty Mountain Hop," on the other hand, needs no analysis. The only question is how much these Misty Mountains resemble or relate to Tolkien's. That's probably impossible to determine, as that phrase is merely the song's title and a short vague line in the body of the song.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
"The ringwraiths ride in black"
mando scales
technical exercises for rock blues & fusion mandolinists
mp4 backing tracks & free downloadable pdfs
jimbevan.com
Aha. Thanks. I'd seen that in references elsewhere:
"The Battle of Evermore" is an acoustic guitar and mandolin track from Led Zeppelin's fourth album.
It is commonly believed to be based on events in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings' final volume, The Return of the King.
In the most common interpretation, the Prince of Peace, who "embraced the gloom" and "walked the night alone", refers to Frodo, who left the Fellowship of the Ring and left for Mordor with only his servant and friend Samwise Gamgee for company. "The Queen of Light" who "took her bow" is taken to refer to Galadriel, a queen of the Elves, signifying that the Third Age is ending and that the Age of Men will begin soon.
Other interpretations of how the lyrics relate to Tolkien exist: one example has the "Prince of Peace" referring to Aragorn. Probably the song's most compelling link to Tolkien is the lyric: "The Ringwraiths ride in black", a Tolkien invention.
However, not everyone agrees that the lyrics of The Battle of Evermore refer to Tolkien's book. An extended commentary in favour of the Tolkien interpretation can be read here: "The Battle of Evermore" and Tolkien
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Since you're doing a cover...
Have you heard the Wilson sisters (of Heart)'s cover?
mando scales
technical exercises for rock blues & fusion mandolinists
mp4 backing tracks & free downloadable pdfs
jimbevan.com
Yes, but it's been a while. We followed the original. I'd never even tried to play it before, all these years. It's in the mixing stage now, anyway.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Like epic movies, conversation travels far and wide and we've gone from a simple tune on mandolin to the London Philharmonic and now to Led Zeppelin.
I was just 'blown away' by Rick Beato's ability to explain how famous rock songs are 'put together'. This guy is truly a wizard of Rock n' Roll. (Just found this one. Maybe he's done Battle of Evermore.)
Last edited by DougC; Feb-13-2021 at 6:46pm.
Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile
No Mandolin but the Hobbits are charming and play magically.
Last edited by MrMoe; Feb-13-2021 at 8:24pm. Reason: add an l
It does seem a bit odd how a macho band like Led Zeppelin could also have this side of its persona that was so devoted to fairy tales and flights of fancy. (Simmer down, all you Tolkienists!) Not that there's anything wrong with it ... I remember listening to this back in the day, buying into the romanticized mach themes of loving and leaving and heading down the road to more adventures, and getting my head snappedback by the foray into hobbitry and Middle Earth lore. "Huh? Where did that come from?" Still don't entirely know ...
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
More magic...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQ_rJR3yCs
I absolutely agree. (And I do not believe most mandolin owners, players or not, have tuned into the cafe.)
I was looking at having a luthier make me a double necked mandolin/guitar. I think it would be really cool. But it would be one of the very few where the mandolin neck would get much more wear.
Hi Journeybear,
I hear what you say, but perhaps it isn't that surprising, and they weren't that "macho". Jimmy Page was really into acoustic guitar and idolised Bert Jansch, Plant was a hippie and into the "fairy tales and flights of fancy" vibe, John Paul Jones was also a formal musician who was rumoured to have considered quitting the band in 1973 to become choirmaster of Winchester Cathedral, and Bonham seemed like a sensitive kind of guy. Whilst Zep inspired loads of heavy bands, they weren't just a "macho" hard rock band. Maybe their sense of machismo came from Peter Grant.
Well, Bonzo had a bit of a heavy foot
I was influenced by Page more than anyone I suppose - certainly in my developmental years: Performed their tunes in my middle school band; got into dadgad gtr after LZ1; started on pedal steel, banjo and mndln after LZ3; became infatuated with Jansch; and ultimately got heavily into gaelic music as result of it all.
Yes I rocked out with a Les Paul all through my teenage years, but when zep split, I did too (from rock music) and got into acoustic music (a la Page acoustic ballads, Jansch, et al). So as an acoustic player, Page's softer side was preeminent for me.
Oh, I know. There are more sides to everyone and every band - well, maybe not everyone and every band - so pigeonholing them isn't fair or accurate. They did have their macho side - I mean, "Whole Lotta Love" isn't exactly sensitive singer-songwriter stuff. And their acoustic side was always with them, from the first album all the way through. The point I was making was that this particular song, "Ramble On," starts with macho themes, then goes on a bit of a journey into more airy areas. I give them credit for bringing more to the table than most. And DougC's tip on Rick Beato's videos about analyzing songs was spot-on. His exploration of "Ramble On" was phenomenal.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Like many others, I suppose, the acoustic side was my favorite aspect of Zeppelin.
Rick Beato has shown that the arrangement is what makes a tune succeed. A team effort usually makes a simple, or even dumb tune, succeed. Often one or two musicians compose all of the parts and delegate the jobs to the others and if they make a good team then 'look out' it's gonna Rock!
Zeppelin never had good lyrics in my humble opinion. (Often it did not matter, ha, ha.) But great lyrics, good poetry, does make a difference. And Beato is not shy when he says that Joni Mitchell brought him to tears. See 15:08 in the video.
Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile
Not bad for someone who considers themself a painter first.
Hejira - and Joni - one of my all time favorites. I heard it somewhere that she was more or less Plant's "girl out there...who plays guitar and cries and sings"? And I think Michael Hedges said that she was a prime inspiration for his guitar explorations. (I could be wrong - it's been a long time)
Well I wish I could have given a more informed response to the OP here. I'm not at all hobbit-literate, nor do I watch movies anymore...(however I believe I've caught maybe a glimpse or two of LOTR as my kids have seen it all).
I'm a student of trad Norwegian/hardanger fiddle, and up popped something in my research, so I searched and found:
The Hardanger fiddle was used in the soundtracks of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King composed by Howard Shore, to provide the main voice for the Rohan theme. The use of the Hardanger fiddle in this movie, however, is far from traditional since the theme does not make noticeable use of the usual practice of bowing on two strings at a time for harmony as well as the fact that the violinist used vibrato, which is not traditionally used...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-...akers/11100928
I suppose it's too bad that there weren't examples of trad form, but I guess that's how it goes..
I think the main effect that particular style of fiddle has on the Rohan pieces, is making something that's supposed to sound old to begin with sound even older. I think it works very well. There are a lot of folks on YT playing it on a regular fiddle and it does sound less ancient that way.
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It's definitely a "one of those days" kind of things that I intend to get to. But at this point, when my family sees me getting too close to the DVD boxset of these films, I start seeing nervous looks from people thinking that I'm yet again going to watch the films. I'm not sure what 20+ hours of extended footage would do to my standing at home. I might never recover.
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All this talk about LOTR has got me thinking it's about time for a voyage to Middle Earth. I haven't ventured there since the movies were in first release, so it's been a while. And like you, I have the box set - all the extras - which I picked up at a yard sale for the mere price of ___[deleted]___. I find the time commitment daunting. Perhaps if I were to limit myself to manageable portions over a few weeks ...
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
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