Intrada Soundtrack Forum

It's been quite some time since I was on here, so my apologies if this topic has already been covered lately.

Anyway, I was listening to Goldsmith's "The Challenge" on the Prometheus label this morning and was struck again by how amazing this score is. It's one that is full of some of Goldsmith's most sensitive writing, surprisingly tender and introspective, and which carries a tastefully restrained eastern flavor throughout. And yet there are some real standout tracks that are just bursting with heavy violence that get me up and out of my seat when I hear them...I can't help it.

My one issue with this recording is the fierce analogue hiss, most noticeable during tracks like "Main Title" and "Lonely Road". This aside, I think the sound is actually very good...but the clarity is swimming beneath this blanket of noise.

So...my question is, what are your top three most anticipated remasterings? As spoiled as film music lovers are these days with all these new releases and remastered re-releases I believe it's just a matter of time until we see all these issues corrected--as much as it's possible to correct, of course.

My top three:

The Challenge -- Jerry Goldsmith

The Mephisto Waltz -- Jerry Goldsmith (I'm not sure much can be done with this one, but hey...)

The Reivers -- John Williams

I might have swapped one of these for James Horner's Star Trek II or Goldsmith's Masada, but happily FSM and Intrada already took care of these.

One caveat: I'll take an old analogue recording any day over some of these brand new recordings that have no definition or clarity to them at all, where all orchestral detail is drowned out with dense waves of bass, seemingly for the sake of it being "loud". Talk about needing remasterings! But that's a separate topic I suppose.

I hope that somebody remasters and re-releases The Challenge less because of the sound quality of the existing CD and more because I missed it when it was available and now it is commanding some pretty respectable prices in excess of $50 for a single CD.

I too had missed out on this marvelous score when it was released. Years ago I remember watching this film on cable tv so many times I could hum JG's theme for the movie. Great stuff.

Perhaps this could get the Intrada or LaLa Land treatment?

_________________
Another awesome year with Intrada... 2012

I'm the kind of guy that rather sees new releases than re-releases, but if I would choose a couple of scores that are in need of remastering I would pick:

1# - Fred Karlin's 1976 score to FUTUREWORLD
- - - I love the Reel Music Down Under release but if I remember correctly the masters they used were damaged.

2# - Brad Fiedel's 1984 score to THE TERMINATOR
- - - If I remeber correctly the 1995 Edel release had a rather weak and flat sound to it.

_________________
Most Wanted Unreleased scores:
Howard Shore's AN INNOCENT MAN (1989) Touchstone/Buena Vista
Richard Halligan's THE OCTAGON (1980) American Cinema
Sante Maria Romitelli's GOD'S GUN (1976) MGM/Cannon
Trevor Jones' FREEJACK (1992) Morgan Creek

The Challenge would be a good choice no doubt.

And Jaws needs a remastering. The Decca CD out there, well, is a difficult listen. I mean, it is hard to hear. Like someone fell asleep at the console and the master volume was WAY down.

Like...the opposite of going to 11

DRACULA - Wiliams 1978

_________________
Randy Wilson
Dallas, TX

i wish someone can remaster "The Blue Lagoon"

_________________
Andy

i remember it very "hissy" and with "background noise" , dont think that analogue recordings of that area had so much of it, but blue lagoon was a soundtrack, i often heard with headphones, something i do not very often over the last years.

_________________
Andy

On my second listen to Quincy jones' "In the Heat of the Night" score. The sound is fairly bad for something even in the mid '90's, at least compared to other releases of an older age on CD then. Especially one track.

Needs a serious remastering.

_________________
"Questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself"
"Unlike me, many of you have accepted the situation of your imprisonment and will die here like rotten cabbages."
"Everyone votes for a dictator."
THE PRISONER

Yeah, Blue Lagoon just has a lot of hiss. It's not bad per se, but certainly a remastering today would produce a much better and clearer sound, I'm sure. Also, can it be exapanded?

_________________
Erik Woods
host and producer CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO PODCAST


Join our Patreon