Intrada Soundtrack Forum

It is sometimes a touchy subject when it comes to criticism because its not always pretty...
and it would be a boring world if we all got along 100% of the time, or even 99 44/100% .

PREDATOR - Alan Silvestri
is one of my all time favorite scores.

I came across an FSM thread about fans actually recording directly from the TV speaker into a tape recorder.
I too, am guilty of that as I would usually do main titles or end titles, but for PREDATOR I recorded about 45 minutes worth of highlights and assembled (recorded) some cues out of sequence from my old laserdisc. This included LONG TALL SALLY, dialogue and the crude jokes. I took the time to cue up the laser player and the cassette player to get each of my favorite Silvestri cues. It sounded like utter crap, but at least I could enjoy it away from the television.

Fast forward to hero producer Nick Redman working with Robert Townson and then with Doug & Roger (additional heroes).
Where we get official releases of this very beloved score. Both are fantastic, high profile releases, but not identical as the 2003 album was edited by Daniel Hersch and the 2010 by Doug with his sleek digital audio workstation.

When you make a choice, there are going to be consequences and with two great presentations of this score...
there will be comparisons made, good and bad, and I'm guilty of that, too.
Information technology and the internet community has allowed the Intrada disc to disappear in 24 hours, where it took the Varèse disc about 3 months. This same technology provides the message boards that we praise or gripe upon... yada yada.

Bruce Kimmel eloquently pointed out that all of this music would not be available if it wasn't for the efforts of the producers because they license, search and assemble each album. They also pay attention to fans (idiots) comments to provide additional satisfaction, but the remarkable attention to detail is to please themselves because the final product has to be carefully and respectfully presented as they too are fans (but not idiots). All this music production is made by the love of it and no other reason. Paramount is now cooperating because, they too, are finally feeling the love of this community. Roger said that the music is not a commodity which is correct... nobody is flipping burgers here.

The Intrada release is the superior one because of the complete digital master, but the flak that subsequently occurred was simply due to editing choices even after taking into consideration the content of the Varèse disc. People don't really change all that much and after 25 years of producing great albums, Intrada never will. They will continue to evolve though. People on message boards, on the other hand, not so much... especially with backbiting and ridiculous commentary...

So what's my point?
It's that neither album is wrong.
I received the new PREDATOR and listened to it eagerly noting the clarity and the expanded dynamic range the digital recording provided and everything was spectacular until... track 14 (track 16 on the Varèse album) which contains two important (to me) cues. This is where Doug's preference for musical continuity and flow was very noticeable, for me anyway. Back when I made my tape cassette, the cue BILLY STANDS ALONE was essentially unfettered by SFX and one of my favorite moments of the score along with the following cue. I would have to say that this for me was like when Doug discovered the 30 second glitch on the SPACECAMP master. My initial reaction was, "Oh no, did I get a defective disc?" I stopped the album and played the track again, then I ripped and examined the waveform to see the edit... which made perfect sense. Combining the final crescendo of BILLY STANDS ALONE with the beginning of the next cue "GET TO THE CHOPPUH" is a sound (correct) editing choice. Everything afterward, including the now complete end credits was, again, spectacular.

Suffice it to say, this is where Roger would exclaim, "This is where we agree to disagree."

Is this a deal breaker, certainly not.
The Intrada pressing sits proudly in my collection, the Varèse disc I keep elsewhere.
Do I need to go and scrutinize other re-issued albums? No, because that is pointlessly stupid.
PREDATOR, like BACK TO THE FUTURE, is one of those iconic scores that hits the psyche and the thousands of people who remember it dearly.
Right now, I've got CLIFFHANGER in my hot little hands which I'm sure contains several artistic editorial combinations... is some idiot gonna criticize this one too?

NP: CLIFFHANGER

Ironically, I haven't listened to CLIFFHANGER since 1993 (most likely) and... wow...
Well, it clearly illustrates just how iconic PREDATOR is, no offense to Trevor Jones intended.

Very cool indeed, thanks Intrada.