From 1988's South African political drama A World Apart and then through three decades of Hollywood blockbusters including Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean and Batman to 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this 6 CD, 77 track compilation brings together the very best music from one of the most accomplished and prolific composers in film music history. Writing music for over 100 films, with eight Academy Award nominations including one win, two Golden Globes, three Grammys, an American Music Award and a Tony, Hans Zimmer’s 30 year career is simply breath-taking...

This collection is Silva Screen's loving tribute to the work of Hans Zimmer. While the majority of these tracks have been available elsewhere on Silva Screen's back catalogue, this is the first time this many Zimmer tracks have been collected together.

The album contains 77 tracks (6 hrs, 45 sec) and if you're picking up the CD edition, it's spread over 6 discs. While this is not a compilation of original recordings, this is the next best thing, and in some cases you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between the original and the recordings here. As with the majority of Silva Screen releases, this is recorded by both London Music Works and The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra with the same loving attention to detail that fans have come to expect.

I have to be perfectly honest and admit that I'm not a huge follower of Zimmer's music. I suppose that while I appreciated his work on films like Gladiator, when he started to become popular I prefered the more conventional orchestrated scores of John Barry and John Williams. For me, some of Zimmer's recordings were of the moment and I thought they'd quickly age (Regarding Henry for example), unlike Barry and Williams's timeless sound. It would seem that that is indeed the case, for very few of Zimmer's old recordings make it onto this album, and if they do they are only main themes.

No, for me, Zimmer became interesting after he scored the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. In fact, the soundtrack to that movie was a favourite of my partner for sometime. So I was surprised to hear her say, as I was listening to this album: "Ah, you're listening to Hans Zimmer". As she's never shown any interest in soundtracks in the past, other than the Pirates of the Caribbean score, I asked: "How did you know that?" To which she replied: "You can always tell a Zimmer score."

Of all of the albums here I already own Gladiator, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean scores, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Sherlock Holmes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the full score to which was mostly penned by Lorne Balfe), and Angels & Demons,

While listening through this compilation there are a number of tracks that had me making a mental note to pick up the full albums, most notably The Lone Ranger; Man of Steel and 12 Years a Slave. 'Home' from The Lone Ranger showcases a more subtle side to Zimmer's writing. However it sounds a little too much like Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 (From the New World).

Listening to this compilation you can easily chart the vast improvements as Zimmer crafted his skill. Some of his most recent scores are truly essential purchases for soundtrack collectors. For anyone, like me, who hasn't been following Zimmer's output, this is collection well worth investing in.

Track listing:

CD 1

01 - 'You're That Spider Guy' (From The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
02 - 'Look Closely' (From Winter's Tale)
03 - 'Home' (From The Lone Ranger)
04 - 'What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving The World' (From Man of Steel)
05 - 'Lost But Won' (From Rush)
06 - 'Solomon' (From 12 Years A Slave)
07 - 'Mind If I Cut In' (From The Dark Knight Rises)
08 - 'Fear Will Find You' (From The Dark Knight Rises)
09 - 'Why Do We Fall' (From The Dark Knight Rises)
10 - 'Imagine The Fire' (From The Dark Knight Rises)
11 - 'Rise' (From The Dark Knight Rises)
12 - 'New York City Surprise' (From Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted)

 

CD 2

01 - 'Mermaids' (From Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)
02 - 'Mutiny' (From Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)
03 - 'Angelica' (From Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)
04 - 'Rango Suite' (From Rango)
05 - 'Dream Is Collapsing' (From Inception)
06 - 'Mombasa' (From Inception)
07 - 'Dream Within A Dream' (From Inception)
08 - 'Time' (From Inception)
09 - 'Honor' (from The Pacific)
10 - 'Discombobulate' (From Sherlock Holmes)
11 - '160 BPM' (From Angels & Demons)
12 - 'Hero' (From Kung Fu Panda)
13 - 'Opening Titles' (From Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)

 

CD 3

01 - 'Why So Serious' (From The Dark Knight)
02 - 'Aggressive Expansion' (From The Dark Knight)
03 - 'Like A Dog Chasing Cars' (From The Dark Knight)
04 - 'Introduce A Little Anarchy' (From The Dark Knight)
05 - 'A Watchful Guardian' (From The Dark Knight)
06 - 'I See Dead People in Boats' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End)
07 - 'Up Is Down' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End)
08 - 'What Shall We Die For?' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End)
09 - 'I Don't Think Now Is The Best Time' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End)
10 - 'Drink Up, Me Hearties (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End)
11 - 'Chevaliers de Sangreal (From The Da Vinci Code)
12 - 'Watergate (From Frost / Nixon)

 

CD 4

01 - 'Maestro' (From The Holiday)
02 - 'Davy Jones' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)
03 - 'The Kraken' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)
04 - 'Dinner Is Served' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)
05 - 'Jack Sparrow' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)
06 - 'Vespertilio' (From Batman Begins)
07 - 'Eptesicus' (From Batman Begins)
08 - 'Barbastella' (From Batman Begins)
09 - 'Antrozous' (From Batman Begins)
10 - 'Molossus' (From Batman Begins)
11 - 'Zoosters Breakout' (From Madagascar)
12 - 'Woad To Ruin' (From King Arthur)
13 - 'Opening Theme / Safe Passage / Way of the Sword' (From The Last Samurai)

 

CD 5

01 - 'Moonlight Serenade' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
02 - 'To The Pirate's Cave / Skull and Crossbones' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
03 - 'Underwater March' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
04 - 'The Black Pearl / Will and Elizabeth' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
05 - 'Barbossa is Hungry' (From Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
06 - 'Homeland' (From Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron)
07 - 'This Is Going To Hurt' (From The Ring)
08 - 'Heart Of The Volunteer' (From Pearl Harbor)
09 - 'Leave No Man Behind' (From Black Hawk Down)
10 - 'The Might of Rome / The Battle / Honour Him' (From Gladiator)
11 - 'Now We Are Free' (From Gladiator)
12 - 'Injection' (From Mission: Impossible II)
13 - 'The Village' (From The Thin Red Line)

 

CD 6

01 - 'Red Sea' (From The Prince Of Egypt)
02 - 'The Peacemaker (End Titles)' (From The Peacemaker)
03 - 'The Rock'
04 - 'Roll Tide' (From Crimson Tide)
05 - 'This Land' (From The Lion King)
06 - 'You're So Cool' (From True Romance)
07 - 'Walking, Talking Man' (From Regarding Henry)
08 - 'Main Theme' (From Thelma and Louise)
09 - 'Fighting 17th' (From Backdraft)
10 - 'Main Title' (From Days Of Thunder)
11 - 'Restless Elephants' (From Green Card)
12 - 'End Title' (From Driving Miss Daisy)
13 - 'Las Vegas / End Credits' (From Rain Man)
14 - 'End Credits' (From A World Apart)

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Darren Rea