Since a couple people have asked... this debut release is intended for a wider audience than us typical soundtrack fanatics. AND... the album we released won two Grammy Awards in its download version. All of us involved absolutely wanted to retain that program.
Our partnership with Walt Disney Records is already spawning several projects that are restorations aimed at you guys. So worry not. UP needed to be the album that Michael won his awards for. And it's the album I prefer.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of totally complete and chronological presentations unless the score actually warrants it. Somewhere along the line, someone started producing these soundtracks with an archival mindset and everyone sort of followed suit. Sad. Now our audience demands every note exactly the way editors put them into the picture, no matter what the composer would prefer.
Once upon a time, composers assembled really classy albums. Even today, I'd much rather hear Hans Zimmer or James Horner or John Williams or Michael Giacchino work with their music and assemble a great listening experience. Zimmer's PEACEMAKER is an album I play frequently. I have a DAT of the entire score running some two hours... and it's unlistenable in that form. Lots of short bits, repeated material, whatever. Ditto THE ROCK. Sometimes a solid, thoughtfully assembled album is just a better listening experience... no matter what the completists say. I will always prefer the musically sound album Jerry Goldsmith recorded for PATTON over the complete and chronological soundtrack - which, necessarily, has all the quiet stuff in the first half and all the loud stuff in the second half. It served the picture but it's not a great album sequence when slaved to the picture sequence.
Yes, many scores benefit from a complete presentation. But many don't. Sure, I'd rather listen to the complete ALIEN anyday. Goldsmith tossed out way too much material doing his album. But Poledouris put together a much better album on QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER when he omitted the numerous repeated cues and kept it at 40 minutes... in my opinion, of course. Anyway, I like the album Giacchino put together for UP. Apparently the Grammy folks did too. And I'm glad to see it released.
(And to the guy who wrote the snide comment on FSM right after we announced this release, I want to break his jaw.)
--Doug
And it looks great. Once I'm finished watching Superman Returns, I imagine it'll sound great too.
