The Lord of the Rings Unabridged Audio Soundscape Project
I have reviewed several audio recordings of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings over the years. My personal favourite is the BBC Radio adaptation from 1981, which has a superb cast of British character actors and does a wonderful job of adapting the text without diminishing the scope of the narrative. This is a dramatisation, rather than a straightforward reading of the book. However, if the latter is what you are looking for then the go to version is 1990 recording by Robert Inglis. He provides unique voices for all characters and even sings the songs included in the source text. And then there is the quirky Mind’s Eye Production from 1979, which is another dramatisation. This is a flawed version with a focus upon the character dialogue with much of the lore removed. Yet it has its charm and includes the often omitted Tom Bombadil. However, quite recently I accidentally stumbled upon a fourth adaptation and was surprised not only by the quality of the production but the curious history associated with it.
The Lord of the Rings Unabridged Audio Soundscape Project, to give it its official title, is a reading by American filmmaker and artist, Phil Dragash from 2013. This 48 hour long version features a spirited reading by Mr Dragash, who gives all major characters distinct personalities, as well as ambient sound effects and music by Howard Shore from the feature film trilogy. This adaptation is presented as three books with each chapter being an individual recording. Initially this unique production was available on YouTube and the audio was accompanied by hand painted artwork, again by Phil Dragash. Sadly due to copyright reasons, this impressive one man creation was taken down and is not readily available as it does somewhat stray from the traditional boundaries of what is a “fan production”. However the excellent original artwork is still available on Phil’s website.
The Lord of the Rings Unabridged Audio Soundscape Project is the very definition of a labour of love. It would appear that this recording took three years to produce and refine. It is made to a very high standard, although there are a few misread lines here and there. Phil does well with providing interesting voices for so many characters and despite not being a professional actor he interprets the dialogue well and provides it with dramatic inflection. The sound effects add to the atmosphere, as does the clever use of Howard Shore’s iconic score. It provides an emotional anchor and a sense of familiarity to the proceedings. Sadly, it also raises legal issues which is why this production is not widely available. However, Google is your friend. Seek and you will find as they say. You will be rewarded with a distinctive audio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, comparable to both the BBC and Rob Inglis versions.
