Latest Soundtracks and Films on General Release:

The SG Sound have previously released titles such as "Planet Twist" and "The Pleasure Center". The latest album is called Escapade Velocity and springs from the same twisted mind. It uses space themes and pulp sci-fi references with the hip, go-go, swinging sounds of the 60s - think groovy Austin Powers! The new album showcases cover versions of some Star Wars tracks and is again loads of fun. Although CDs are available the best way to hear "Escapade Velocity" and other SG Sound tracks is to download from Amazon.com.

John Parish is best known for his work with the singer P J Harvey, and he has worked with other artists such as Goldfrapp. Starting with the Belgian award-winning movie "Rosie" he has successfully established a career in film soundtracks. "She, A Chinese" has won awards on the festival circuit and the soundtrack is now being released, where Parish's music sits alongside Chinese punk-rock tracks. The CD is at Amazon.co.uk (from 22nd Feb).

It's mostly soundtrack CDs which we preview here, but this book caught our attention since Matt Munro sang two of John Barry's most iconic Film Songs. He sang the first ever James Bond song "From Russia With Love" and also "Born Free". The book jacket has a very favourable quotation by Frank Sinatra, and the story tells how Matt Munro rose to fame from his day job as a London bus driver. This biography has been written by Matt's daughter Michele Munro based on material from more than 200 interviews and some newly published photographs. The book will be available at Amazon.co.uk (from 29th Jan) and Amazon.com (from 11th May).

The soundtrack for "Sherlock Holmes" has fun written all over it. The main theme is infectious and there's a gypsy vibe to some of the music, which seems to emphasise the bohemian aspects of Holmes' character - an eccentric who gets bored sitting at home, but comes alive when there's an adventure with a puzzle that takes him across London. The violin also features on the soundtrack as a nod perhaps to Holmes' musical streak, and one of the themes sounds very like Morricone's "For a Few Dollars More". The CD is at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

"Avatar" is a stunning film to watch especially in 3D, and the music serves it well. There is an ethnic flavour for the humanoid inhabitants who are at one with nature on the planet of Pandora. There are the militaristic humans, and some breath-taking flying sequences. But it's not all big spectacle - there are many magical moments involving the wildlife and the spiritual aspects of the locals. Horner's music spans all of these facets effortlessly. The soundtrack can be found at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

"The Soloist" is about a cellist played by Jamie Foxx who is homeless and suffering from psychiatric problems. A journalist befriends and attempts to rehabilitate him and this explains why the soundtrack strongly features the music of Beethoven, particularly his 3rd Symphony (The Eroica). While some tracks are played straight, many are adapted in various ways. Dario Marianelli is no stranger to adapting classical music and, with the help of soloist Esa-Pekka Salonen, expertly portrays the musician's mental anguish as he deals with his own personal demons. The album is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

This soundtrack by James Newton Howard invites comparison with John William's Schindler's List. The film itself has some similarity in its topic because it portrays the plight of Jews during World War II. However the composer has also opted to use a solo violin to play the key thematic material. The solo violinist on this occasion is Joshua Bell who is no stranger to playing on film soundtracks, and the music mostly speaks of struggle and strength in the face of impossible conditions. There is also a darker more agressive element in the central part of the soundtrack. The album is available from these links at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

"Milk" won an oscar for Sean Penn in the lead role, and tells the story of Harvey Milk the gay polititian who campaigned for Gay Rights. The CD kicks off with 5 miscellaneous tracks by various artists, and an interesting Bach Prelude (No.7 from Book 2) for unaccompaniment voices sung by The Swingle Singers, before settling down to the original soundtrack album proper. Here we find Danny Elfman in fine form - his expected quirkiness is present but kept firmly under control. The result is something that has an element of eccentricity but is nevertheless warm and engaging. The album is available from these links at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

This album is based on the music which Jeff Rona was commissioned to compose music for the 2008 Olympics. It was premiered in the Olympic Village in the Qingdao and then in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The music is warm and suitably heroic with elements of struggling against the odds, and clearly influenced in places by pieces composed by John Williams for previous Olympics Games. When listening to it, it easy easy to imagine yachts gliding across the ocean. This music is available for online download at this link from Amazon.com and also from iTunes - see the news section of Jeff Rona's website.

"Wall-E" is another delightful film from Pixar in collaboration with Disney, and the film has very little dialogue apart from assorted robot noises and sound effects, but there are a few songs and an equally delightful soundtrack from Thomas Newman. In a very real way the music brings out the character of Wall-E, his quirkiness, his curiosity, his inventiveness, his love and his determination. The soundtrack also boasts a song co-written with Peter Gabriel. The soundtrack CD is available at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

"Prince Caspian" is the second story from The Chronicles of Narnia series, with Harry Gregson-Williams continuing to provide the musical backdrop. While building on the soundscape and certain themes from the first film, the mystery and magic from the first film have largely disappeared, and the second movie heads straight into action and adventure with an adult soundtrack which doesn't pull any punches or attempt to patronise the younger members of the audience. The soundtrack CD is available at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

"Cassandra's Dream" is a film by Woody Allen with a soundtrack from Philip Glass. If you know Glass's music you will have some idea of what to expect and won't be disappointed. The opening and closing tracks have a dramatic section on tremolo strings and introduce the lyrical main theme. The tone of the whole score is very much darker than some but this is very much dictated by the plot. The only disappointment is that the soundtrack album is short and leaves you wanting more. The soundtrack CD is available at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

The British composers Laurie Johnson is gradually re-releasing his substantial music catalogue, and we now have two volumes of three CDs each containing film and television music, plus music composed for the concert hall, marching bands and other events. Find out more at these locations: Volume 1 is named after "The Avengers" and available at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, while Volume 2 is called "The Professionals" and is at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Naxos continues its excellent "Film Music Classics" series which has now got some excellent film scores and collection albums in the series. This particular release takes us back to "Bram Stoker's Dracula" by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar, but also introduces us to a lot of other tracks by the composer from less well-known films including "King of the Last Days", "Death and the Maiden" and "Pearl in the Crown". The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

On this occasion, Nicholas Hooper takes over scoring duties, and brings an overdriven guitar into his very first track "Fireworks". Other than that this fifth film in the series has very much the traditional element you would expect on a Harry Potter soundtrack, with even some references to John William's "Hedwig's Theme", though some of the tracks are quite dark in an eerie horror movie sense, but this seems appropriate given the similar age group viewing teen horror movies. The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

In "In the Valley of Elah" Tommy Lee Jones investigates the death of his son following upon his return from duty as a soldier in Iraq. Versatile composer Mark Isham has put down his trumpet and brought us an ambient atmospheric soundtrack which reflects the turbulent emotions and mystery behind the story, and reminds us somewhat of his earlier ambient soundtrack to the equally thoughtful and emotional "Crash". This latest soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

The novels of Frank Herbert require a mini-series like Children of Dune to bring out their detailed depiction of alien worlds. The soundtrack by Brian Tyler is a superb accompaniment to the series. It has a great main theme, the ethnic music of the Fremen people inhabiting the desert planet Dune, a song sung in their native language, with the political intrigue and heroic action involved in the fight to control the planet and it's key produce: the spice with its wonderful but dangerous properties. The soundtrack CD has a full 36 tracks and is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Like the previous film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a fun movie, so it needs the same ingredients to appeal to the same audience. The music by Hans Zimmer, who leads the company producing many of today's blockbuster soundtracks, is the same kind of fun experience with over-the-top thrills and action, and the mysterious ghostly magic that suspends disbelieve and draws the audience into its escapist world. The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com and the sheet music can be found at Music Notes.

With Superman Returns, the film makers have tried to remain true to the films of the 70s and 80s starring Christopher Reeve. Part of the success of those films was the music by John Williams whose theme seemed to fit the Superman concept like a glove. With this soundtrack, composer John Ottman has used those key themes by John Williams and added some ideas and themes of his own to create a soundtrack which also remains true to the previous films yet has something of a unique identity. The soundtrack CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

In many ways, Michael Giacchino (Lost) has returned to basics with the soundtrack to the third installment in the franchise, Mission Impossible 3. Not only does he use more of the original Lalo Schifrin material from the original television series, but he has ignored the trend towards increasing use of electronics and techo action tracks to bring back a largely acoustic sound in a similar vein to his Incredibles soundtrack. The action feels real and gritty as a result. The CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

With the soundtrack to The Constant Gardener, composer Alberto Iglesias has again proved his superb versatility. Again quite different to his previous soundtracks for Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, this one is simply a breathtaking blend of warmth and power, with wonderful rhythmic and melodic touches and musical influences both old and new. There is a strong sense of African culture to suit the location and the album includes two songs by Ayub Ogada. The CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Memoirs of a Geisha is just one of the superb soundtracks created by John williams during 2005. He has very effectively taken some aspects of the instrumentation and styles of Japanese music, and crafted that together with his familiar orchestral sound into a soundtrack which integrates with the setting and yet finds the emotional core to which western audiences will easily relate. With Yo-Yo Ma on Cello and Itzhak Perlman on Violin, the CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com with sheet music from The Music Room.

The soundtrack to A Thousand Roads is a collaboration between Jeff Rona and Lisa Gerrard, both of whom have worked with Hans Zimmer. It very effectively uses the sounds and influences from American India music, and is highly evocative of the landscape, history and culture of the native American people. The music is atmospheric and relaxing, and the album contains some bonus tracks of some genuine Indian music labelled "inspirations". The CD is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Tsotsi is based on the novel by South African playright Athol Fugard which tells of a Soweto gang leader who ends up caring for the baby he accidentally kidnaps in a car highjacking. The soundtrack features Zola (who also plays a part as a gang member) performing Kwaito music which is a kind of hip-hop from Johannesburg's urban youth culture. There is also an atmospheric score by Paul Hepker and Mark Killan augmented by voice of world music legend, Vusi Mahlasela. The soundtrack album should now be available from: Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Walk the Line is the story of Johnny Cash, with Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. The CD features classic Johnny Cash tracks including "Ring of Fire", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Cry Cry Cry" and of course "I Walk The Line". Most of these are sung by one or both leads, but there's also Shooter Jennings, who plays his father Waylon Jennings, Jonathan Rice who plays Roy Orbison and Tyler Hilton who plays Elvis Presley. The movie soundtrack is produced by T Bone Burnett who also composed the film's underscore. Get the CD at: Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

The movie Stoned is a biopic of Brian Jones, founder member of The Rolling Stones, who was found drowned in his swimming pool under the influence of drink and drugs. The soundtrack is full of cover versions of classic Stones tracks performed by The Bees, Kula Shaker, the 22-20's, Jefferson Airplane and Traffic. Haley Glennie-Smith performs acoustic versions of "Love in Vain" and "Come On in My Kitchen" and Bond composer David Arnold provides the main score with 4 tracks on the album. The CD can be ordered at these links Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.