Original MCA E.T. soundtrack CD - AAD or DDD?

I have a question with regard to the original John Williams' E.T. soundtrack on MCA CDs from the mid 1980s. [With newer issues in more recent years we now know that the original LP/CD contained many "concert" versions of cues however it is the original MCA releases I'm interested in.]

There appear to be two versions. MCAD-31073 is listed in Steve's credits as being mastered by him but is noted on the CD artwork with a SPARS code of "AAD." The second is MCAD-37264 denoted as being "digitally recorded, mixed and edited."

I understand that the sessions were recorded at MGM in Culver City by scoring mixer Lyle Burbridge. Bruce Botnick presumably connected a digital recorder to the mixing desk outputs and captured a two-channel version for the LP and subsequent CD, similar to what was done for STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE back in 1979.

Were there two different masters prepared? Are the two CDs actually different? Anyone have more information on this?

Cheers
Chris Malone

 

I thought Bruce Botnick engineered and mixed the E.T. soundtrack. IIRC, the score was recorded and mixed in analog.

 

Lyle Burbridge mixed POLTERGEIST, E.T. and THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, all recorded at MGM. Bruce Botnick made digital recordings of them and prepared the albums. Not sure whether he worked from multi-track or 2-track material. As is common in film music recording, I'm sure other formats were also employed -- most likely live film mixes to 8-track analog and a discrete 24-track path for any remix work.

For STAR TREK TMP John Neal was the resident scoring mixer at 20th Century Fox at the time. Botnick recorded a digital 2-track feed off the mixing desk specifically for the album and apparently had a hell of a time editing the thing together!

 

Just to muddy the waters a bit, I have an MCA cd from '96, ET: Special Edition (MCA 11530). Mastered by Patricia Sullivan. It's a gold disc. Anyone heard it? How does it compare with the earlier ones?

 

Thanks for the info Steve!

I'm playing MCAD-31073 now, the "AAD" one. It is as quiet as a mouse throughout each track, including tails. You're right about the dynamic range! I noted around 42 dB in the second track. So this is probably from the DDD master and a packaging error. I can't find any other dates other than 1982 listed. Hmmm, just looked at the inner ring of the CD and it lists MCAD37264 - ie the "DDD" marketed one even though the top side of the disc says 31073! Sounds great.

Now to compare with the 1996 Pat Sullivan mastered one prepared by Shawn Murphy.

Chris Malone

 

I've always been stunned by the dynamic range of that recording. I have the remastered version of the E.T. Soundtrack that came along with the boxed edition of the DVD. Sounds great IMO. No doubt that they used the digital master for the transfer. Dave Collins at Marcussen Mastering did the 2002 remaster.

 

Steve, not trying to kiss your *** by any means, but there's nothing I enjoy more on this forum than reading your stories. PLEASE do us all a favor and continue to post in such a detailed manner... it's great!

 

I just got the hybrid SACD version. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.

 

Deja Aja!!!

 

Wow, that must have been incredible to have witnessed that! I still think the score from E.T. is one of John Williams' best works. Especially the last 10 minutes of the score with the FBI chasing the kids, and when E.T.'s ship takes off, still gives me goosebumps and brings me nearly to tears.

 

A fascinating anecdote, Steve. I can't help wondering just how much further they managed to squeeze the pre-recorded cassette version!

Mart

 

Looking at the tracks of my AAD 'ET' CD, there's quite a lot of quality variation. The first track is very clean and low noise. Others are somewhat noisier and some have ugly high-frequency distortion. Subjectively, it all sounds pretty good.

The "expanded" ET releases are not as satisfying musically.

 

Steve, not trying to read your stories by any means, but there's nothing I enjoy more on this forum than kissing your ***.
No really, I do enjoy the stories. They make everything seem real. You were there, so it's cool to hear first hand stories of what happened, no matter what kind of music it is.

 

I noticed that the big 15 minute finale (last track on the original album) on the AAD disc seems to be peak limited and slightly overmodulated in the last few seconds and some loud parts. The same track on the 1996 edition consists of essentially the same takes and the peaks aren't lopped on that version. The 1996 version is also re-EQed to be brighter.

Some tracks also have a peak at 15 KHz corresponding to TV flyback. Was this imprinted by the digital recorder? I presume Williams was conducting to projected film not video.

 

The TV peak is amazingly common, on all types of recordings.

Incidentally, this gives some information on where the recording was made: 15.73Khz=NTSC (US, Japan); 15.62Khz=PAL (Europe, Australia).

 

It sure is Luke! I usually filter out 15734 Hz or 15625 Hz when making my own compilations. Some CDs have a considerable signal at either of these frequencies, which can be quite fatiguing to listen to.

 

Steve did an ET soundtrack remaster? Holy cow! I gotta find that if it's on CD.

This is indeed one of my favorite film scores of all time. I became very attached to the original MCA release, with the edited "suites" for a few of the cues. I'm normally one for a complete score, cue for cue as it appears in the movie, but for ET the construction of each composition on the original MCA release was mostly perfection to my ears. I've heard the full score since and it just didn't have the same emotional impact. Funny how you get used to things.

Jason

 

Any comments yet on the SACD?

 

Does someone have a complete list of all the viny/CD releases of this soundtrack? I opted not to get the original CD, and never got around to getting the late 90's remaster. I did get the expenaded version with the DVD box set in 2002 though. Just wondering what I'm missing

 

That was easy. Got 31073, with the bicycle in the moon cover. Could have picked up the hands in the moon cover (plaid back cover). No hiss! However, the 'sound' of air (space) in the room palatable. And hearing EVERY little movement (change of position in their chair, shoes on the floor, holding the instruments, etc.) of everyone in the orchestra is amazing! Thanks.

 

My experiences with this soundtrack.

I have all the CD (as long as I know) version of this soundtrack.
The first MCA CD release (MCAD-31073) is not free of background noise at all, all the tracks have some amount of it (they are not "silent as a mouse" as Steve says), being very noticeable from the very first track.There's even what it sounds like analog tape hiss on the gaps between tracks. The CD I own is an European pressing (as I live in Spain) made by Warner Music (Record Service Gmbh Alsdorf), which marketed MCA records in Europe until the early 90s. I believe this might be mastered from the digital master dubbed onto analog tape as Steve says. Anyway, it sounds terrific, dynamics and bass response are very good for an early 80s recording.
Moving to the 1996 "Digitally Remixed, Remastered and Expanded Edition" (MCAD-11494 US pressing), as Steve said the original recording was made on 4 track 15 " analogue and this CD claims to be remixed, we can assume it was sourced from this analogue multi-track master tape and newly remixed in the 90s by Shawn Murphy. For the amount of background noise it sounds like analog (mixed down to digital) to me. For stereo listening I prefer this version over the 20th Anniversary Edition (088 112 819-2 US pressing) released in 2002, which sounds flat and lacks bass compared to both earlier versions.
For my taste the E.T. soundtrack sounds wonderful on SACD (088 112 818-2 US pressing) multichannel. Surround channels are used only for ambiance (I hate to hear instruments panned onto the rear speakers), sound is very front anchored, harp solos sound very natural giving a you-are-there feeling and lacking of digital harshness. It doesn't sound spectacular on 5.1 SACD, but very natural to me. I'd only wish low frequencies channel (0.1) had been used better as it's a bit shy on bass. I assume both stereo and multichannel versions were remixed on PCM equipment and later converted to DSD for SACD release.
Happy new year.

 

You'll hate me, but I haven't even opened it yet. It will be soon, but since it is a hybrid and I don't yet have a SACD player, I can review the redbook layer. I'll keep my ears open for any tape hiss!