My love affair with movie soundtracks

When I was growing up, new movies often got previewed by Mom and Dad before us kids got to see them. The next day the six of us would swarm them and ask all the usual questions... "Did you like it? How was the story? Who was the soundtrack composer?" ...what, who was the what?! Yes, we asked. And it was a big deal.

Assessing movies in my family is really a two-part question: how was the story and how was the soundtrack. It was not unusual (and still isn't) for us to go out to buy the soundtrack and leave the movie. (French Kiss and Legends of the Fall are some examples) Names like John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, Trevor Rabin, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, George Fenton, Alan Menken and Michael Giacchino are staples in my music selection. It's ridiculously geeky but most of my siblings can identify the film composer before the lead actor's name...

Today, I want to give a shout out to what I consider some under-appreciated soundtracks. These tracks are my go-to pieces, in no particular order. What are some of yours?

• Terry Davies - "Always Summer", Brideshead Revisited
• George Fenton - "The Execution", Anna & The King
• Haygood Hardy - "Morgan Harris", Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story
• Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - "Why Did She Have To Die?", Finding Neverland
• Alan Menken - "Kingdom Dance", Tangled
• David Holmes - "11, 12 & 13", Ocean's Thirteen
• John Powell - "Test Drive", How To Train Your Dragon
• Harry Gregson-Williams - "Jake Lonergan", Cowboys & Aliens
• Joe Hisaishi - "The Wind Forest", My Neighbor Totoro
• Lesley Barber - "I Missed You", Mansfield Park