New Soundtrack reviews:
- Bad Girls [M] (La-La Land), newly expanded album of Jerry Goldsmith's above-average writing during the nineties, circa 1994.
- Being Human [M] (Silva Screen), featuring music from Season 2 by Richard Wells.
- DC Showcase: Superman / Shazam! - The Return of Black Adam [M] (La-La Land), a fun collection of themes from four episodes scored by Jerry Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn.
- Film Music of Hans Zimmer, Vol. 2 [M] (Silva Screen), the latest 2-disc retrospective with a focus on Zimmer & Company's slightly darker writing.
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Self-serving Rue Morgue news:
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Editorial Blather
Same goes for Intrada, whose partnership with Disney just yieled the full score release of John Barry's The Black Hole which, like Scream, is the first time the score is legally available on CD after decades of bootlegs, rips, and sundry. It's taken more than a decade, but it's nice cult and in-demand scores are making their way to CD, which I guess similarly supports a format the major labels once thought of as dying, dead, and doomed.
Apparently the CD does thrive among collector, niche, and audiophile markets, and seems to have been placed just a notch below vinyl, in terms of a physical audio format enjoyed by connoisseurs. I've taken it for granted simply because in most cases anything vintage will not be released digitally. The good: you're getting the music in its best possible commercial format. The down-side: you'll need extra square footage to house the stuff.
I still think the ideal is to offer music in both formats, if not in tandem, then at a later date, simply because the idea of 500 or 1000 people on planet Earth being allowed to enjoy good music is somewhat exclusive, and runs contrary to the concept of preservation: you preserve for the purpose of propagation among fans and future generations, but what decices the limited runs are production costs, the need to recoup expenses quickly to fund current and upcoming projects, and perhaps studio labels preferring physical distribution because of an antiquated fear that digital = gateway to digital bootlegging.
I hope the fear factor isn't real, but I'm sure there's a specific set of formuli which detail where maximum / minimum profits are achieved (known among professional circles as "Milton Knerb's Rule of Good'), and perhaps the best example lies in the deluxe packaged monster set. It's always existed, but the perceptible controversy surrouding Warner Music's Tim Burton - Danny Elfman Box isn't flattering to fans trying to equate quantity with cost.
There are buyer comments on Amazon.com, which reveal fans happy with the music - expanded scores with bonus audio and video extras - but some not particularly content with the price paid for a package that for some is reportedly falling appart, or arrived dinged and damaged after months of delays.
Maybe the best way to view the 15-disc Burton-Elfman set is one of ambition being slightly marred by the complexity of custom manufacturing, issues with flawed designs, and a level of hype that maybe didn't justify dropping $500 plus shipping + customs duties, depending on your global location. The high cost isn't for the CDs - some of the music was already released via La-La Land on their limited expanded sets for titles like Mars Attacks! and Elfman's two Batman films - but for the book, packaging, and USB key.
I've dropped $$$ for limited sets, but I find $200 is my limit - something Film Score Monthly probably realized when they released their 12-CD Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection (with hardback booklet) for $199; the 15-CD Miklos Rozsa Treasury for $179, the 14-CD Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Ron Jones Project (1987-1999) for $149; the 12-CD MGM Soundtrack Treasury (1959-1983) which originally retailed for $129; the 8-CD Superman: The Music (1978-1988) set for $119; or more recently, La-La Land's 8-CD Medal of Honor Soundtrack Collection for $54.
These are all big sets, but are designed to offer one core thing - music - which is why they will eventually sell out (as some already have), or in the case of the Superman box, are kept in print as non-limited sets because the production effort, global fan base, and continuing franchise via theatrical, TV, and animated streams ensures some consistent interest in the music.
The Burton-Elfman set should've been designed not as One Big Thing, but as the ultimate set under which fans had the options of purchasing the main CDs and the book separately, leaving the packaging and bonus discs for collectors with deeper pockets. Apparently the book is gorgeous with plenty of interview material, but unless it's available separately as a hardback, trade, or digital book, only a few will enjoy the labour of the book's author, Jeff Bond.
There's also another simple reason to keep a franchise and certain cult film scores in print: it staves off the bootlegging, which certainly affected scores like The Black Hole and Ron Grainer's The Omega Man, both copied by pinheads and sold on eBay or via websites, or reportedly at collector conventions (memorabilia, film, genre, etc.) to unsuspecting buyers. These two soundtracks, released by Intrada and FSM, respectively, are non-limited, so the fans have a wider window to own them before they eventually go OOP.
'Nuff said.
Undoubtedly this fall will yield more classic, cult, and contemporary scores, as well as dynamic material from the videogame realm, which I'm frankly enjoying, because what's composed is often as diverse as what's written for feature films, TV, and animated productions. Winifred Phillips [M] recently scored LittleBigPlanet 2: Toy Story, so I'm looking forward to the eventual soundtrack album that features multiple idioms.
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Indigo's Adieu to DVDs and CDs:
Courtesy of an insider at Indigo, the bookselling chain will slowly cease carrying CDs and DVDs, as the format's sales haven't been as profitable as books and toys. The switch is already underway within Toronto, and if any DVD titles are to remain, they'll be Top 30. Part of the problem is the gradual slide of DVD sales, and the issue of theft which has made carrying live stock pointless. Why anyone steals DVDs and Blu-rays anymore is a mystery (except for a quick addiction hit). The used market is glutted with multiple copies of SD and HD titles, and prices have plummeted to the point where selling a DVD to a used shop for $5 is good. That's far down from the once-norman $9-$7 from 10 years ago.A chain getting out of home video isnt' wholly shocking, considering HMV has also reduced its selection of CD and video titles in theor Toronto shops, and there are murmurs the Yonge & Bloor location may disappear.
The one thing not in shortage these days are aspects of the home video market to blather about. Changes, stupid moves, and labels baffled by the dwindling profit margin of the once viable DVD format can always be discussed, but I'm more fascinated by the stumbles as major labels struggle to find a way to make old distribution models work. In a future blog I'll blather about the Movies on Demand issue (I know, I've done that already, but there's more nonsense to address), and why indie labels may be the savviest firms out there.
Some majors are still supporting back catalog titles on DVD, but the MOD format is not being presented in a price-friendly fashion, and terms like "limited" and "collector" and "special edition" and "sale" are neing used like the CMYK colour schemes inheren to cover art. These terms have become interchangeable and have little meaning if consumers know they're being mislead.
Again. 'Nuff said until the next blatherathon.
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The Score Tally:
Below is the latest score tally, spanning Isolated Scores on DVD (remember those, back in the early days of DVD? Or laserdisc?), and regular CD releases..
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ISOLATED SCORES ON VIDEO:
Egyptian, The (Alfred Newman, Bernard Herrmann) – Twilight Time DVD & Blu-ray --- review at KQEK.com main + mobile
Flim-Flam Man, The (Jerry Goldsmith) – Twilight Time DVD
My Cousin Rachel (Franz Waxman) – Twilight Time DVD – Sept. 13
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REGULAR RELEASES:
Alhambra (Germany)
Hans-Martin Majewski: German Film Music Classics – 6CDs, 500 copies, coming soon
Wilde wellen (Karim Sebastian Elias) – coming soon
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Beat Records (Italy)
Ammazzali tuttie torna solo (Francesco De Masi) – 500 copies
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BSX Records (USA)
Battle Beyond the Stars (James Horner) – 1000 copies
Battle of Bunker Hill, The (John Morgan, William Stromberg) – early Sept.
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (Shawn K. Clement) – 1000 copies
Yor, the Hunter from the Future (Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, John Scott) – 1500 copies, early Sept.
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Citadel Records (USA)
Eternal Sea / Make Haste to live (Elmer Bernstein) – mid-Sept.
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Cometa (Italy)
Moby Dick (Fiorenzo Carpi) – 500 copies, late Sept.
Pathos Bellico (Ennio Morricone) – 500 copies
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DigitMovies (Italy)
I corpi presentano tracci di violenza carnale (Guido and Maurizio De Angelis)
Il castello dei morti vivi / Castle of the Living Dead (Angelo Francesco Lavagnino) – mid-Sept.
Il monaco / The Monk (Piero Piccioni) – mid. Sept.
La citta gioca d’azzardo / Gambling City (Luciano Michelini) – mid-Sept.
Ming, ragazzi / Mr. Hercules Against Karate (Carlo Savina) – mid-Sept.
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Disney (USA)
Captain America: The First Avenger (Alan Silvestri)
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Disques Cinemusique (Canada)
Guy De Maupassant (Georges Delerue)
L’Enfer d’Henri-Georges Clouzot / Inferno (Bruno Alexiu)
Maurice Jarre’s Unpublished French Film Music (Maurice Jarre)
Raymond Alessandrini: Music for Screen
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Doxy Records (Europe)
Man with the Golden Arm (Elmer Bernstein) - MCA album on 180 gram vinyl
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él Records (UK)
New Italian Cinema: La dolce vita (Nino Rota) + L'avventura (Giovanni Fusco)
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Film Score Monthly (FSM) (USA)
Belle of New York, The (Johnny Mercer, Harry Warren) – ltd.
Days of Heaven (Ennio Morricone) – 2CDs, ltd.
Great Santini, The (Elmer Bernstein) – ltd.
Not With My Wife, You Don’t, Vol. 2 (John Williams) – full score, ltd
Pretty Maids All in a Row (Lalo Schifrin) – ltd.
Testament (James Horner) – ltd.
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GDM (Italy)
Bluebeard (Ennio Morricone) – expanded, 500 copes
Cacciatori di navi (Ennio Morricone) – 500 copies, late Aug.
Commandamenti per un gangster (Ennio Morricone)
Curse, The (aka The Farm) + Black Demons (Franco Micalizzi) – 500 copies
Cugina, La / The Cousin (Ennio Morricone)
Dinamite Jim (Nico Fidenco) – 500 copies
Djurado (Gianni Ferrio)
Le inibizzioni del dottor Gaudenzi vedovo col complesso della buonanima (Nico Fidenco)
Three Dollars of Lead (Gioacchino Angelo)
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Howe Records (USA)
Lord of the Rings Symphony, The Howard Shore) – 2CDs, Sept. 13
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Intrada (USA)
Battlestar: Galactica, Vol. 2 (Stu Phillips) – 2CDs, 1500 copies
Black Hole, The (John Barry) – expanded
Déjà vu (Pino Donaggio)
House on Telegraph Hill + Ten North Frederick (Leigh Harline, Sol Kaplan) – 1000 copies
Moneychangers, The (Henry Mancini) – 2CDs, 1500 copies
Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale (Joel McNeely) – 1500 copies
Who’ll Stop the Rain (Laurence Rosenthal) – 1200 copies
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Kritzerland Records (USA)
Adventures of Casanova (Hugo Friedhofer) – 1000 copies
Berlin Affair, The (Pino Donaggio) – 1000 copies
Black Sunday (Les Baxter) – 1000 copies)
Divorce, American Style + The Art of Love (Dave Grusin, Cy Coleman)
Divorce, Italian Style (Carlo Rustichelli) – 1000 copies, early Sept.
Drango (Elmer Bernstein) – 1000 copies
Marco Polo (Les Baxter) – 1000 copies
Price and the Passion + Kings Go Forth (Elmer Bernstein) – 1000 copies
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Lakeshore Records (USA)
Devil’s Double, The (Christian Henson)
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders)
Drive (Cliff Martinez)
Warrior (Mark Isham) – Aug. 29
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La-La Land Records (USA)
Bad Girls (Jerry Goldsmith) – 3000 copies
Breakdown (Basil Poledouris) – 3CDs, 3000 copies --- review at KQEL.com main + mobile
Certain Smile, A (Alfred Newman) – 2CDs, 2500 copies
Golden Child, The (John Barry, Michel Colombier) – 3CDs, 5000 copies
Sender, The (Trevor Jones) – 1500 copies
SOCOM 4 (Bear McCreary) – 2CDs, 2000 copies --- review at KQEK.com main + mobile
Spellbinder (Bail Poledouris) – 1200 copies, Sept.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Vol. 1 (Dennis McCarthy, Don Davis, Fred Steiner, Jay Chattaway,John Debney)) – 3CDs, 3000 copies
X The Man with X-Ray Eyes + Tales of Terror: Morella (Les Baxter) - 1200 copies
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Legend Records (Italy)
Matchless (Ennio Morricone)
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MovieScore Media (Sweden)
Lonely Place to Die, A (Michael Richard Plowman) – Sept. 13
Man Who Collected Food (Daniel Alcheh)
Primeval (Dominic Scherrer)
Shrine (Ryan Shore)
Viento en contra (Alfons Conde) --- reviews at KQEK.com main + mobile
Ways to Live Forever (Cesar Benito)
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Music Box Records (France)
Descente aux enfers (George Delerue) – 1000 copies, late-Sept.
Le grande pardon (Serge Franklin) – 750 copies, late Sept.
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Quartet Records (Spain)
La piel que habito / The Skin I Live In (Alberto Iglesias)
Le moine / The Monk (Alberto Iglesias)
Lo strano vizzio della signoria Wardh (Nora Orlandi) – 500 copies
Matka Edenin: A Journey to Eden (Pascal Gaigne)
Solisterrae (Pascal Gaigne) – 2CDs
Studs Lonigan (Jerry Goldsmith)
Windows (Ennio Morricone) – 1000 copies
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Saimel (Spain)
Angeli senza paradise (Angelo Francesco Lavagnino)
Negre Buenos Aires (Bruno Nicolai)
K.O. va e uccidi (Cales Cases)
Maddalena (Ennio Morricone) - expanded
Pa negre – pan negro (Jose Manuel Pagan)
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Silva Screen (USA / UK)
Avengers: Original Tara King Season Score (1968-1969) (Howard Blake) – 2CDs
Beginners (various)
Film Music of Hans Zimmer, Vol. 2 – 2CDs
Film Music of James Horner – 2CDs
Great British TV Themes (various) – 2CDs
Hammer Legacy: The Frankenstein Collection (various) – digital only
Hammer Legacy: The Science-Fiction Collection (various) – digital only
Hammer Legacy: The Vampire Collection (various) – digital only
Music from the Transformers Trilogy (various) – Oct. 3
Music of Michel Legrand, The – 2CDs
Skin I Live In, The (Alberto Iglesias) – digital only
Stone Killer, The + Diamonds (Roy Budd) – Sept. 19
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Tadlow (UK)
Lucie Svehlova: The Lark Ascending (films themes for violin & orchestra)
Taras Bulba (Franz Waxman) – 2CDs
Villa Rides! The Western Film Music of Maurice Jarre
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Varese Sarabande (USA)
Cowboys & Aliens (Harry Gregson-Williams)
Dream House (John Debney) – Sept. 27
Family Way, The (Paul McCartney)
Final Destination 5 (Brian Tyler)
Fright Night (Ramin Djawadi)
Jig (Patrick Doyle)
Help, The (Thomas Newman)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Patrick Doyle)
Super 8 (Michael Giacchino)
Ward, The (Mark Killian)
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This handy-dandy list was compiled from various sources, including catalogue announcements at Screen Archives Entertainment, Soundtrackcollector.com, Chris’ Soundtrack Corner, and Intrada.
Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com ( Main Site / Mobile Site )
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