Audiophile Film Scores (on Vinyl)

Hello all! There've been more than a few film score threads popping up recently, which sort of thrills me since it doesn't seem to be discussed to often. In any event, they got me thinking about film scores on vinyl. As the Star Wars thread reminded everyone, many film scores sounds lousy on my format of choice - they're compressed and severely lacking in dynamics sometimes. However, it clearly doesn't always have to be that way! So, with that in mind, here's a list of a few scores I own that were mastered by someone fairly well-respected and that should sound pretty darn good.

KEY: Title / Artist / Mastered By / Label

* Raiders of the Lost Ark / John Williams / Steve Hoffman / DCC - A no-brainer here, folks. Steve's remastering of Raiders is the high-water mark for any film score on vinyl. Even the best can just barely compare. Plus, Steve expanded upon the original release here with lots of great unreleased music. It's because of Steve that almost the complete Raiders is available to film score buffs now.

* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom / John Williams / Bernie Grundman / Polydor - Though the soundtrack to ToD is woefully inadequate (it's missing over an hour of music, many of which are highlights of the score), this disc still sounds great thanks to Bernie. It is, however, a digital recording. I imagine that, because of the limitations of digital recording itself, this soundtrack will never sound any better than Bernie got it to sound.

* Star Wars: Return of the Jedi / John Williams / Howie Weinberg / RSO - Like ToD, this release desperately cries out for a second disc. However, it is an analog recording and Howie did a great job with it.

* Star Wars & Close Encounters of the Third Kind / Zubin Mehta / Stan Ricker / MFSL - This is the concert presentation of Star Wars, with five movements arranged by John Williams and conducted here by Zubin Mehta. I'm not sure why Mo-Fi went for this particular recording (as opposed to, say, the actual original score), but it sure sounds fantastic. A great and refreshingly different take on some classic music.

* Star Wars & Close Encounters of the Third Kind / Charles Gerhardt / ? / RCA Red Seal - Similar to the above, though with slightly varying content (Gerhardt chose to include the 'TIE Fighter Battle' instead of the 'Cantina Band,' and the CE3K suite is longer). This sounds stellar and is indeed worth of the Red Seal label, though it'd be nice if they gave their mastering engineers a little credit - I've got no clue who cut this sucker.

* Superman: The Movie / John Williams / Arnie Acosta / WB - A great sounding and surprisingly robust score release. This one came out around the same time as Star Wars, yet didn't suffer the same compressed fate. This score sounds great thanks to the semi-legendary Arnie, though the two pressings I've come across were both a little more noisy than I would've liked.

* Star Trek: The Motion Picture / Jerry Goldsmith / Wally Traugott / Columbia - Another digital recording and another release that's sadly only a single disc. That said, good ol' Wally makes this sound as good as it ever could and - thankfully - most of the score's highlights actually made it to this short release, so an expanded version isn't entirely neccessary.

Well, that's what I have for now. Anyone have a good score they'd like to add? I know that Steve apparently cut two Korngold collections that I need to track down, and there's a CBS Audiophile pressing of E.T. floating around out there. What've you got?

 

All the incarnations of the E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial soundtrack are released by MCA, including the Audiophile vinyl version.
For a CD of this soundtrack I'd go with the 1996 Remixed and Expanded Version, though my number 1 choice is the 2.002 Super Audio CD 20th Anniversary Edition.

 

D'oh, you're right - must've been MCA. Still, I'd like to find out how it stacks up to everything else.

And while I'd like to stay focused on vinyl here, I think it's pretty well-known that Steve did an E.T. CD, though it's all alternate concert versions and not the score as presented in the film. I find it to be a more entertaining listen than the expanded release that came out a few years back.

 

The "The Graduate" OST was reissued on LP by Speaker's Corner (I don't have it)

http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=38602

The Warner 180g reissue of "Paris, Texas" (mainly Ry Cooder solo guitar) sounds great

http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=28269

 

I'm not a big fan of sound tracks / scores...don't know why just never got into them. There is 1 that I love however and I was wondering if anyone knows if it was ever released on vinyl. Last of the Mohicans anyone?

 

The E.T. soundtrack was recorded two ways: there was a multi-track analog recording that was used on the film and on later CD releases (1.996 and 20th Anniversary Edition), and a stereo, live digital mix that was used on the original soundtrack album.
Even Steve wasn't very sure if the version he mastered was the one that was finally used for the first CD release. He stated on a thread I opened a couple of years ago that the one he mastered was "silent as a mouse" even between the tracks, and if you listen to the original MCA CD, it is not as it has something that sounds like tape hiss.

 

Man, I'd love to see Steve get a REAL crack at those E.T. tapes, then. Though there's some stuff I'd love to see him get out on vinyl from WB, if we think semi-realistically - expanded Harry Potters, anyone?

 

Funnily enough and don't anyone laugh, the "Pretty in Pink" Soundtrack.
It was mastered by Bernie Grundmann and I find it very good. It sounds like they went to some real trouble in mastering it. I'm talking about the original vinyl issue, the CD sucks. Very bad mid-80s CD.
It also has some fun tracks you can't find anywhere else, one from INXS called "Do wot you do" for example. Great compilation and great sound.

 

Giving this a bump since I just snagged a copy of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" for three bucks, NM. It's on Arista, and the deadwax notes that it was cut by the good guys at the Mastering Lab. Sounds great, as per usual with those fine gentlemen. Side one has "TML-M" and side two has "TML-S." Not sure what the -M or -S stands for. Possibly the engineer himself? Would TML-S be Saxy? Whatever - it sounds great!

 

Anyone familiar with the "Apocalypse Now" LP (double LP, IINM)?

It has some Doors songs on it, and IINM (again ), it has a different mix of "The End" and/or some other songs on it.


So I'm curious,

(1) how does the vinyl sound?

(2) which songs (if any) are remixed from the versions we're familiar with?

(3) and the differences in those remixes.




Robert Duvall:
"I love the sound of well-mastered vinyl in the morning!"

 

My feeling is that they're the lathes. Someone elsewhere has suggested Master and Slave. There's also a TML-X.

I often wonder if they had some kind of electronic link allowing two lacquers to be cut simultaneously with the same settings. Many albums are available in all TML flavours, but I've never done any comparison.

My audiophile soundtrack vote is for the Mishima score on Nonesuch (Philip Glass, Kronos Quartet)

 

Glory - James Horner on VIRGIN MOVIE MUSIC V 2614 UK pressing

The Falcon And The Snowman - Pat Metheny, David Bowie - EMI-MANHATTAN RECORDS US pressing (the early DIDX 2427 cd is great too)

These are demo-quality music, recordings and pressings.

Glory has since been reissued by at least one audiophile co., but I haven't heard it.


There are many more I like, but maybe not quite "audiophile."

Wings Of Desire - Various
Diva - Vladimir Cosma
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - Ryuichi Sakamoto (both solo piano and Soundtrack versions)
Eraserhead - Various (David Lynch)
F**k Your Dreams, This Is Heaven - Tuxedomoon, Minimal Compact, Niki Mono

 

Paris, Texas - Warner Bros. cat# 92 52701, Bernie Grundman mastering. Awesome sonics and this copy can be had for cheap!!

Some Kind Of Wonderful - MCA Records cat# MCA-6200, Sterling Sound mastering (hand written on both sides). Great music with sonics to back it up!!

 

I still have a sealed, non-cutout copy of "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (DCC LPZ-2023). I bought it as an investment when the prices were down (I think I paid 7.99 or sth.) Is this any good (just kiddin')?

Now seriously, is ist comparable to the Korngold LP? What about the music - I don't know the score at all.

Arne