Intrada Soundtrack Forum

As the Film Score Monthly label comes to an end, I'm interested in knowing what everyone's favorite FSM albums are. They could be most played albums, or simply the albums you appreciate most by the effort and presentation put into them.

I would also like to see what Doug and Roger have to say.


I believe I have around 150 FSM albums, but 10 of them came to mind as being really special. In no particular order:

TV Omnibus - A daring collection of obscure, but mostly innovative and highly entertaining TV series/movie scores from composers I adore. I doubt we'll see anything else like it again in terms of value.

Days of Heaven - Perhaps my favorite Morricone score given the best treatment I could ever imagine. This is a big example as to why it was so important for Paramount to let their music properties out of the vaults.

Zigzag/The Super Cops - As if the original film tracks from Oliver Nelson's top-notch score for Zigzag wasn't enough, we also get one of Fielding's most playful scores. The inclusion of his work for Hawkins brought it all to an even higher level. Oh, and the Zigzag album song recordings are quite entertaining.

Where Eagles Dare/Operation Crossbow - These are two of Goodwin's most popular works, and for very good reason. I've found every Goodwin score that I know of to be quite accessible as an album, but these I can listen to under any mood.

The Split - Simply great funk music. Quincy Jones' music consistently strikes a chord with me in providing raw entertainment, whether mostly melodious (as is the case here) or mostly discordant (as is the case with his score for Killer by Night). His songs are extremely pleasing to the ear.

CHiPs (any volume) - I have an affection for fun disco-era tunes, and Silvestri's work for CHiPs provides that in abundance. I was taken aback when I first heard just how good the sound quality is on the first FSM album. The following two albums provided that same impressive quality.

Dead Ringer - A tremendously lyrical score that's difficult not to hear in its entirety. I like most of Andre Previn's work, but this film really allowed him to go all-out in sheer musicality.

Gremlins - A highly demanded score that had rather poor representation on its original album. Now we have the whole thing, and the apparently arduous work that went into the FSM project is very much appreciated.

Lalo Schifrin Film Scores, Vol. 1 - Another daring project that premiered five film recordings of superlative Schifrin scores on CD. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this get announced.

Hawkins on Murder/Winter Kill/Babe - An interesting album that showcases the best Goldsmith had to offer in TV scoring, from high energy rhythms to a sense of foreboding to emotional Americana. I'd be lying if I said that the synth-laden theme to Hawkins had nothing to do with my pick.

I haven't been keeping up with the times... I knew FSM has stopped producing new CDs, but by "comes to an end", do you mean their entire catalog is going out of print?

Anyway, soon as I can afford it, I'm snagging the Ron Jones Project (assuming it's not already out of stock). I'm also very interested in the Twilight Zone movie album.

Gahhh, I hate having no money.

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My Holy Grails: 1. DuckTales (Ron Jones/Tom Chase & Steve Rucker)
2. DragonBall Z (Shunsuke Kikuchi), 3. DragonBall GT (Akito Tokunaga), 4. Pocket Monsters (Shinji Miyazaki), 5. A Goofy Movie (Carter Burwell, reworked by Don Davis)

1) Gremlins : because it's probably the best score (and the most requested) they ever released !

2) Heavy Metal : second most requested title, and such a foundation heroic fantasy score !

3) Chips : because it's so cool to have 3 albums full of cheesy sweet melodic disco pop from Alan Silvestri. A real treasure !

4) Star Trek II/III : even if the albums already existed, the sound improvement and the new tracks are a real treat !

5) Testament : Was the oldest DDD soundtrack CD ever(that is before Intrada's The Black Hole) and a very early dramatic score by now legendary James Horner.

I will limit this list to 1 and 2 disc sets.

1. The Man From Uncle (Any of the 2 disc sets or the Film score cd)
2. I Spy
3. The Towering Inferno
4. Knights of the Round Table
5. The Comancheros
6. Time After Time
7. Heavy Metal
8. Time After Time
9 Twilight Zone
10 ....oh darn I was gonna limit this to 10.....too many...arrggggg

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Jerry Goldsmith conducting the Detroit Symphony and nearly knocking me through the back wall with Air Force One....priceless.

Doug loves the FSM label and continues to work with Lukas regularly but he's having too much fun keeping his own releases coming out to really answer your question with care. McQ sticks out. Never So Few/Seven Women is a fav. Tora Tora Tora gets a rave. Ditto the complete Ben-Hur box. Between Heaven And Hell, The Comancheros, Mutiny On The Bounty... gads, there are lots to love!
--Doug

So many to choose from but I would say my top 10 would be (In no particular order).


Ben-Hur
Body Heat
Captain Nemo and the Underwater City
The Comancheros
The Omega Man
Farewell my Lovely
Raintree County
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
Crossed Swords
Moonfleet

1. Superman Box
2. Poltergeist
3. Star Trek II
4. Gremlins
5. Star Trek III

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Top 10 Grails: Revenge of the Ninja/Less Than Zero/Making Contact/Cobra/Over the Top/Highlander/Time Bandits/Top Gun/Listen to Me
Last 5 purchased: Jaws/Jaws 2/Back to the Future II/Back to the Future III/Nightmare Elm Street Box/Amityville Horror

i came late to the game, so there are OOP's I've yet to acquire - particularly Fantastic Voyage and Beneath the Planet of the Apes,
but of the ones i have -
Tora Tora Tora, Logan's Run, Morituri, Klute

Love FSMs White Dog too

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I´VE COME HERE TO DRINK COCONUTS AND *censour*...AND I´M ALL OUT OF COCONUTS...

I´m a dirt merchant and a figure of your imagination

Thinking of FSM albums I still listen to regularly:

Knights Of The Round Table - Rozsa
Rio Conchos - Goldsmith
Grand Prix - Jarre
The Omega Man - Grainer

...but so many great albums. I've just put a couple back on my ipod, Diane - Rozsa & The Glass Slipper - Kaper. So many great & interesting releases from Intrada & Kritzerland makes the FSM passing painless.

Oh, & seeing as this is the Intrada forum, some favorite Intrada releases:

The Last Valley - Barry
Mary, Queen Of Scots - Barry
In Harm's Way - Goldsmith
The Last Wagon - L. Newman
& hopefully before too long, Our Man Flint/In Like Flint, the albums

Superman Box comes first, of course !

Lots of interesting picks. The Comancheros got a few mentions; that is one film that I have yet to experience in its entirety. McQ is indeed a fun Bernstein score full of exciting grooves of the time.

Although I didn't mention any specific Grusin scores, I am really grateful for FSM's representation of his work. There's lots more for Intrada to look into.

Logan`s Run, because the new material enhances the old familiar tracks by placing them in proper context. It really does transform the music as a great setting makes one really appreciate a cut stone. Goldsmith is one of the few IMHO whose investment of himself in every track is revealed by complete releases; his development of his material is more important to me than the showcase tracks. On its own, Logan`s Run shows how something considered dated by some has depth and scale that may place it as being of a certain time [so what?], but is CONSTRUCTED so well it is a whole work, not just something in the background of a movie. I remember two separate incidents of professional musician friends hearing this and saying [in different words] that it all `makes musical sense` in ways they didn`t hear in more famous works. [One score criticized for NOT being like this won a Best Score Oscar.] So yeah, I like Logan~s Run, I guess...

White Dog - Ennio Morricone; This one is so special I'm using fancy slanted print to emphisize my enthusiasm.

The film is also very good. Low budget Sam Fuller, a very good film. The film was attacked, (same happens now), attacked and buried under pressure pre-internet. Would have love to have read an online response from Sam Fuller. The guy was (and is) one of the best. A true survivor.

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"I used to worry about losing my mind. Now that I've lost it I don't worry about it anymore." -Wavy Gravy