Soundtracks- How well do they stand alone for you?

[HellCat]

Listening to this Project Chaos album (see the Video Games forum), I've noticed that I'm pretty much split on enjoyment gained. I'm like this with most soundtracks and the split is this- some songs/instrumentals I can listen to just fine by themselves. Others just bore me when taken out of context. So I was wondering how others felt on this.

[Mr Cat Dog]

The South Park Movie soundtrack is one of the best albums I have on my iPod, and the Chicago soundtrack is up there too. But, saying that, they're both musicals, and rely heavily on their music. For other films, I'm not so sure - it al depends on the music itself really. Nothing I've heard seems to be worth buying, in a non-musical context.

[Lord Dalek]

Well I think it depends on the film and the kind of soundtrack. If its just a bunch of collected pop songs like a Wes Anderson OST, then it doesn't really work. However if its big orchestral stuff like John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, or Max Steiner then you may have a point.

[Michael24]

I've got close to 200 soundtracks (the majority are scores), so I guess they stand pretty well for me. I have occasionally bought a score that, while I enjoyed it in the film, just couldn't sustain my interest on its own. But for the most part, I can put on any one of my scores and get the same enjoyment out of it as I can with a regular CD of songs. I don't mind more electronic-heavy scores, like Trevor Rabin or early Hans Zimmer, but I tend to prefer the big hard-charging orchestral scores like those by Jerry Goldsmith (my favorite film composer), John Williams, Danny Elfman, Basil Poledouris, etc.

[Sharklady]

It varies a lot from example to example. I've seen otherwise-good movies with uninspired music, movies where the soundtrack was the most memorable element, and every variation in-between.

[Mynd Hed]

The South Park Movie soundtrack is one of the best albums I have on my iPod, and the Chicago soundtrack is up there too. But, saying that, they're both musicals, and rely heavily on their music. For other films, I'm not so sure - it al depends on the music itself really. Nothing I've heard seems to be worth buying, in a non-musical context.

I'd tend to agree with that assessment. In my experience, musical soundtracks hold up the best (and for whatever reason, comedy musical soundtracks most of all; I'd add the Reefer Madness: The Musical soundtrack to the South Park: BLU one as two of the best around). Those are followed by licensed soundtracks that have some kind of cohesive concept or gimmick to them, like the Spawn soundtrack, which was all collaborations between rock bands and techno artists.

"Random Pop Songs We Could License" soundtracks and scores tie for last place, depending on how much I happen to like the licensed pop songs in question and what kind of score we're talking about. The Godzilla soundtrack was a good example of a pretty good mixtape-style soundtrack.

Traditional orchestral scores all tend to run together after a while except for some of the relatively early, really iconic John Williams stuff like Star Wars or Jurassic Park, but more unique stuff like some of Yoko Kanno's anime OSTs can stand alone pretty well.
On the other end of the spectrum, you've got stuff like the Dust Brothers' soundtrack to Fight Club. When you listen to it along with the film, it's really great, and it's hard to imagine any other music fitting the on-screen action half as well. But when you listen to it apart from context, all the tracks are either way too short or else just repetitive, and overall boring as hell.

[Temple Fugate]

I don't mind more electronic-heavy scores, like Trevor Rabin or early Hans Zimmer, but I tend to prefer the big hard-charging orchestral scores like those by Jerry Goldsmith (my favorite film composer), John Williams, Danny Elfman, Basil Poledouris, etc.I'm pretty much the same way. I have a few Star Trek soundtracks, and they hold up great without the accompanying movie. Star Wars is just iconic, so of course that soundtrack is fine apart from the films as well.

Some OSTs are iffy. I bought the Sky Captain soundtrack and was disappointed. The main theme is great, but too short when you're listening to it on its own. (It had to be short in the film because there was no extended opening credit sequence.) It is very repetitive as well. The main theme is reprised in almost every track, something I don't notice in the movie. It's not awful, mind you, but it doesn't hold up on repeated listening.

The first Lost soundtrack is disgusting. Taken out of context it sounds erratic, stumbling from cue to cue and always ending abruptly. For the show, it's a perfect fit, but for casual listening you'll have to look somewhere else. The only redeeming aspect of this cd is Hurley's airport guitar music from the first season finale. That's the only track I care to listen to more than once. I haven't even bothered with the second season OST, becuause for one thing they didn't license "Make Your Own Kind of Music." :(

24, on the other hand, has a variety of long, rich scores that sound great on a good speaker system. I have all three (the two in stores and the orchestral Fox.com-Store-exclusive "24: The Game" OST) and listen to them constantly. Television scores are rare, and often their music is very short due to the commercial breaks and faster-paced scenes than motion pictures, but Sean Callery makes great strides in having one track bridge the gaps between different scenes and tying it all into one collected feeling of suspense.

Musical scores are a different beast, because like you've all said, they have words and are the heart and soul of the movie/musical they represent. (Refer Maddness is fantastic, btw. If you've never heard of it, check it out.) I have to admit I like listening to the Broadway cast recording of The Producers more than watching the recent movie.

[Golgo13]

I'm a big fan of soundtracks, but I'm very selective with which ones I listen too. If I watch a film and I absolutely love a piece of music in it, I'll go out and get it. Here are some soundtracks that have held up well on their own.

-Homeworld
-Sim City 4
-Ren and Stimpy
-The Neverhood
-Empire of the Sun
-Ghost in the Shell
-Borat
-Grim Fandango
-Good Night and Good Luck
-Heavy Traffic
-Big O