The Fireside

April - Sept saw the release of the complete recordings on limited edition numbered vinyl. These sets (one for each film) was the entire soundtrack. That campaign is over. This release, is the 70-80 minute ‘basic’ versions of all 3 films in one set, and doesn’t look to be limited. It looks like it’ll be 2 LPs per movie (totaling 6 for the entire set). You know - the version that comes out close to when the movies were release din cinemas. The ones most people are familiar with. While not the complete recordings, this is great for those who wish to own this music on vinyl, and have missed the complete recordings; due to them being limited and numbered. On Nov. 30, in a non-limited set, all three soundtracks (the 'basic' 70-80 minute ones) are getting released in a 6LP boxed set. This should work out to 2 LPs per film. The set can currently be bought from here : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J3H7F8B/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=hennethannunr-20...

Today is a big day! Not only is The Return of the King  out on vinyl, CD+blu-ray audio and pretty much every streaming and download source, but this also means that the soundtrack for the entire trilogy is now available across all these mediums! Hopefully, if interested you managed to get all three vinyl releases, as they are limited edition. However, what can happen in the future on vinyl? Will we get non-limited black LPs of the complete recordings? Will they release the standard editions on vinyl as well, and not limit them? All three are now out on CD+blu-ray audio. Some of them might be sold out....but worry not, they're not discontinued. The Fellowship of the Ring: .   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079PTDW74/?coliid=I2P63DUPFOP6IV&colid=1VVT2K024WG3H&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it The Two Towers: . https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D515631/?coliid=I3DZ5T70FPHRR9&colid=1VVT2K024WG3H&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it The Return of the King : . https://www...

The image I've selected above is Didier Graffet's artwork used on a few editions of The Children of Hurin . It also happens to be one of my favourite pieces of Tolkien-related artwork. Last week, The Fall of Gondolin was published in hardback, ebook, large print and deluxe formats (for those that prefer paperbacks (or collect them, as well) expect it to come out July - September of 2019.) and that title essentially marks the end of new Middle-earth books, as well as possibly new Tolkien books. Whenever a new Tolkien book (especially if it's Middle-earth related) I usually think: "What will be next? Is this it?" Sure, there will be anniversary editions of existing titles ( The Lord of the Rings 70th anniversary edition will likely happen) as well as editions illustrated by artists, but what about the content itself? have we reached the end? Whether or not there will be new stuff coming on the horizon, my Tolkien book-buying seems to be coming to a close. ...

Lastly, for the time being, I shall somewhat-wrap up talking about Middle-earth music. I am following the development of the Amazon Middle-earth series with great interest. It's far too early to tell if it will be any good,, as everything at this stage is in the 'pre' phases: pre-production etc. We don't even have a premiere date, cast, trailer etc. But this leaves time and room for thinking and speculation. First and foremost, I must say that I greatly adore Howard Shore's Middle-earth music (most notably, the Complete Recordings releases of The Lord of the Rings  soundtracks). This post is being written under the assumption that Howard will be not a part of the project, however much I wish him to be. He's poured so much into Middle-earth at this point, I'm unsure what else has to offer, even if he wanted to! One never knows... So, due to my love of film and TV soundtracks, fantasy, and music and all that, I've been listening to a few composers over the...

Quite recently, The Two Towers  Complete Recordings got released for the first time on vinyl, and (re)released on CD, as well as various download/streaming services. The Return of the King  is now up for pre-order in the complete recordings format (vinyl and CD), which will complete The Lord of the Rings  Complete Recordings campaign. But what about after that? Back when The Fellowship of the Ring  was announced for vinyl release, I did a similar post to this one. Perhaps there could be more Howard Shore Middle-earth music and soundtracks appearing on vinyl; announced closer to the release date for The Return of the King . Whatever they may (not) have planned, I'm going to have a look at what else could  come out on vinyl. THE LORD OF THE RINGS - A trilogy box. It may seem like a silly idea, but it would be neat if for the CD+blu-ray audio and vinyl lp releases of the Complete Recordings if there was an offer or something to get an empty box or slipcase...

With September coming up shortly, that means there will be new iDevices coming out, as well as another version of iOS. Here\s what to expect in iOS 12: Performance Faster and more responsive The things you do every day are faster than ever — across more devices. iOS has been overhauled for improved performance on devices as far back as iPhone 5s and iPad Air. Smoother animations Animations are smoother across the system. So when you do things like bring up Control Center, swipe while multitasking or scroll in apps, it’s more fluid and responsive. Up to 40% faster app launch * Apps launch faster in day-to-day use. And when you're pushing your iOS device to the limit, multitasking between lots of apps, they launch up to 2x faster. * Up to 50% faster keyboard display * The keyboard appears faster and typing is more responsive. Up to 70% faster swipe to Camera * Swiping to Camera from the Lock screen happens faster so you never miss...