The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (soundtrack)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released	11 December 2012
Recorded	2012
Length	1:48:49 (Standard Edition) 2:07:03 (Special Edition)
Label	WaterTower Music, Decca Records
Producer	Howard Shore, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
Middle Earth film series soundtrack chronology
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Alternative cover
Special Edition cover

The soundtrack album for An Unexpected Journey was released on 11 December 2012.^[1] It has been released in both Standard Edition and Special Edition, with both coming in a 2-disc format.^[2] The Geeks of Doom commented that Shore, who recorded the soundtrack at Abbey Road Studios in London,^[3] re-used some of the "magisterial musical motifs" from his music for The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, but that he "uses his established themes to launch into a completely original sonic adventure with turns both optimistic and dark, true to the mutual visions of Jackson and Tolkien".^[4]

Track listing

All music composed by Howard Shore except where noted.

Standard edition

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Dear Frodo"	8:04
2.	"Old Friends"	4:29
3.	"An Unexpected Party"	3:57
4.	"Axe or Sword?"	5:59
5.	"Misty Mountains" (Music by David Donaldson, David Long, Steve Roche and Janet Roddick;[5] performed by Richard Armitage and The Dwarf Cast)	1:42
6.	"The Adventure Begins"	2:06
7.	"The World is Ahead"	2:18
8.	"An Ancient Enemy"	4:58
9.	"Radagast the Brown"	4:54
10.	"Roast Mutton" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[5])	4:03
11.	"A Troll-Hoard"	2:39
12.	"The Hill of Sorcery"	3:51
13.	"Warg-Scouts"	3:05

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Hidden Valley"	3:50
2.	"Moon Runes"	3:20
3.	"The Defiler"	1:15
4.	"The White Council"	7:20
5.	"Over Hill" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[5])	3:43
6.	"A Thunder Battle"	3:55
7.	"Under Hill"	1:54
8.	"Riddles in the Dark"	5:22
9.	"Brass Buttons"	7:38
10.	"Out of the Frying-Pan"	5:54
11.	"A Good Omen"	5:46
12.	"Song of the Lonely Mountain" (Lyrics and performance by Neil Finn,[6] music by Finn, Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[5])	4:10
13.	"Dreaming of Bag End"	1:49

Special edition

The two-disc special edition contains six bonus tracks and seven extended tracks.

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Dear Frodo"	8:03
2.	"Old Friends" (extended version)	5:00
3.	"An Unexpected Party" (extended version)	4:08
4.	"Blunt the Knives" (Lyrics by J. R. R. Tolkien, music by Stephen Gallagher; performed by The Dwarf Cast,[5] exclusive bonus track)	1:01
5.	"Axe or Sword?"	5:59
6.	"Misty Mountains" (Performed by Richard Armitage and The Dwarf Cast)	1:42
7.	"The Adventure Begins"	2:04
8.	"The World is Ahead" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[5])	2:19
9.	"An Ancient Enemy"	4:56
10.	"Radagast the Brown" (extended version)	6:37
11.	"The Trollshaws" (exclusive bonus track)	2:08
12.	"Roast Mutton" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[5] extended version)	4:56
13.	"A Troll-Hoard"	2:38
14.	"The Hill of Sorcery"	3:50
15.	"Warg-Scouts"	3:02

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Hidden Valley"	3:50
2.	"Moon Runes" (extended version)	3:39
3.	"The Defiler"	1:14
4.	"The White Council" (extended version)	9:40
5.	"Over Hill" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[5])	3:42
6.	"A Thunder Battle"	3:54
7.	"Under Hill"	1:54
8.	"Riddles in the Dark"	5:21
9.	"Brass Buttons"	7:37
10.	"Out of the Frying-Pan"	5:55
11.	"A Good Omen"	5:45
12.	"Song of the Lonely Mountain" (Written and performed by Neil Finn,[6] extended version)	6:00
13.	"Dreaming of Bag End"	1:56
14.	"A Very Respectable Hobbit" (exclusive bonus track)	1:20
15.	"Erebor" (exclusive bonus track)	1:19
16.	"The Dwarf Lords" (exclusive bonus track)	2:01
17.	"The Edge of the Wild" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick;[5] exclusive bonus track)	3:34

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Examiner.com	A+[8]
Filmtracks.com	[9]
Movie Music UK	[10]
Music Muse	[11]
MovieCues	[12]
Tracksounds	[13]
Movie Wave	[14]

The full score was nominated at the 11th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards,^[15] and the "Song of the Lonely Mountain" received a nomination for the Houston Film Critics Society Awards.^[16] Allmusic's reviewer wrote favourably about the album, but noted that the soundtrack was not as "sweeping and epic as that for [Jackson's] The Lord of the Rings", attributing this to the smaller scale of Bilbo's adventure as compared to the events of The Lord of the Rings.^[7] Examiner.com, however, was very positive and observed that The Hobbit soundtrack fitted the style and tone of The Lord of the Rings, writing that the opening for An Unexpected Journey was much better than that of The Fellowship of the Ring.^[8] In 2013, the score for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ranked ninth out of one hundred by Classic FM'S top film scores.

The album charted in several countries, reaching the top ten album charts in Korea and the United States. It was also awarded a golden record certification in Canada.

Chart positions

Chart (2012–13)	Peak position
scope="row"	Australian Albums (ARIA)[17]	45
scope="row"	Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18]	16
scope="row"	Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19]	25
scope="row"	Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20]	54
scope="row"	French Albums (SNEP)[21]	70
scope="row"	German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22]	14
scope="row"	Irish Albums (IRMA)[23]	79
scope="row"	Korean International Albums (Gaon)[24]	8
scope="row"	Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[25]	40
scope="row"	New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26]	32
scope="row"	Polish Albums (ZPAV)[27]	28
scope="row"	Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28]	28
scope="row"	Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29]	52
scope="row"	Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30]	40
scope="row"	UK Albums (OCC)[31]	61
US Billboard 200[32]	30
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[33]	3
US Top Independent Albums (Billboard)[34]	3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[35]	Gold	40,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Vlassoff, Nadya (2012). "The Hobbit Soundtrack Cover Art and Track Details Revealed". Deadbolt. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
2. Burger, David (1 November 2012). ""The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" soundtrack will be released at all retailers on December 11". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
3. Watercutter, Angela (26 November 2012). "Peter Jackson Races to Complete The Hobbit in Time for Premiere". Wired. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
4. "Howard Shore's 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Score Streaming For Free". Geeks of Doom. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Special Edition (Media notes). WaterTower Music, Decca Records. 2012. p. 6.
6. Holslin, Peter (30 November 2012). "'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Soundtrack Honors the Dwarves". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
7. Morita, Patsy. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". Allmusic. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
8. Gonzalez, Danny (20 December 2012). "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Music By Howard Shore". Examiner.com.
9. Clemmensen, Christian. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey review". Filmtracks.com. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
10. Broxton, Jonathan (17 December 2012). "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Howard Shore". Movie Music UK. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
11. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Howard Shore)". Music Muse. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
12. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Howard Shore)". MusicCues. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
13. Meinerts, Edmund. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey by Howard Shore". Tracksounds. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
14. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". Movie Wave. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
15. "The 2012 WAFCA Awards". Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
16. "Lincoln leads Houston Film Critic Society Awards with eight nominations". awardsdaily.com. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
17. "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
18. "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
19. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
20. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
21. "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
22. "Officialcharts.de – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
23. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 50, 2012". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
24. "South Korea Gaon International Album Chart". On the page, select "2012.12.09~2012.12.15", then "국외", to obtain the corresponding chart. Gaon Chart Retrieved 12 January 2013.
25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
26. "Charts.org.nz – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
27. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
28. "Spanishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
29. "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
30. "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
31. "Howard Shore | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 30 January 2013.
32. "US Billboard 200 – Week of December 29, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
33. "US Soundtrack Albums – Week of December 29, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
34. "US Independent Albums – Week of December 29, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
35. "Canadian album certifications – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey". Music Canada.