MovieScore Magazine » Soundtrack News

Unreleased John Williams score finally on CD

Mikael Carlsson — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:23:08 +0000

The year John Williams wrote the score for John Frankenheimer’s political thriller Black Sunday, two other major scores by Williams – Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind – put this intense orchestral score in the the background. In fact, it is the only Williams score since 1977 that has never been officially released – until now. Film Score Monthly today announced that the label now has the world premiere recording of the original score available for order. Interestingly, thanks to a special deal with the American Federation of Musicians (regarding the re-use fees for the players who perform the music on the album) this release is a limited edition of 10,000 copies instead of the usual 3,000. Film Score Monthly points out, though, that “if your response to this is, ‘Good, I’ll get it later’—truly no good deed goes unpunished, and we’ll never try this again!”

The CD presents the complete, newly remixed Black Sunday score in chronoligical order. It also features a couple of source music cues and alternate takes.

Link: Film Score Monthly.

Kritzerland’s releases Gold’s ‘Mad World’

Mikael Carlsson — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:11:05 +0000

Ernest Gold’s hilarious soundtrack for the 1963 comedy It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World has been released on CD before (via Rykodisc), but is now being released again by Kritzerland as a limited edition of 1,000 copies. The previous CD edition included a lot of dialogue from the film which “unfortunately impeded the wonderful flow of the music” according to Kritzerland, whose release includes no dialogue. Seven bonus tracks included are from the original film score recording (the other selections are from the masters Gold recorded especially for the original LP release). The CD will ship by the second week of February.

Link: Kritzerland.

Shore’s ‘Edge of Darkness’ CD announced

Mikael Carlsson — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:15:12 +0000

Howard Shore’s original score from the upcoming Mel Gibson action thriller, Edge of Darkness, will be released on CD by Watertower Music on January 26, 2010, co-inciding with the film’s premiere on January 29. Watertower Music is Warner Bros’ new soundtrack brand, formerly known as New Line Records. As MovieScore Magazine previously reported, Shore replaced John Corigliano as the composer on the film, presumably as a result of the film undergoing a major revision (according to the Internet Movie Database, scenes were still being re-shot in October). Martin Campbell is the director on the film, which tells the story about a homicide detective who uncovers a huge corporate and governmental conspiration when he investigates the death of his own daughter. Whether or not John Corialiano’s rejected score will be released on CD or not remains to be seen.

Julyan’s ‘Descent: Part 2′ soon available on CD

Mikael Carlsson — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:52:23 +0000

MovieScore Media will release David Julyan’s score for The Descent: Part 2, the sequel to the acclaimed 2005 horror hit directed by Neil Marshall, on CD and via download. Julyan was the composer of the score for the first film, a work that is generally considered to be among his finest. Just like the score for the first film, The Descent: Part 2 features a mix of brooding orchestral writing and electronic elements. The sequel is directed by Jon Harris and stars Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza and Gava O’Herlihy. The film is already out in France and Japan and opened in the UK last week. MovieScore Media has announced that the album will be available as a download via iTunes “as soon as possible” and on CD on January 5.

Corigliano’s ‘Revolution’ finally out on CD

Mikael Carlsson — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:06:31 +0000

John Corigliano’s score for Revolution, the 1985 Hugh Hudson epic starring Al Pacino, has never been available commercially on CD or LP. Until now: Varèse Sarabande today announced that an album featuring Corigliano’s score will be available first through their CD Club and later next year via regular stores. Revolution was Corigliano’s second film score after the Academy Award-nominated Altered States (1980). It is a large orchestral work with a lot of virtuosic writing, especially for woodwinds and brass.

Varèse Sarabande new CD Club releases also include Jerry Goldsmith’s 1962 score for John Huston’s Freud, a landmark score in the legendary composers filmography. The score was recorded in Italy and caused a major sensation due to its stark string dissonances (inspired by Alban Berg and Bela Bartok) and subtle use of synthesizers. Varèse’s CD, limited to 3000 copies, is an expanded version of the original LP release. The third album (limited to 1000 copies) coming from Varèse’s CD Club is Bird of Paradise and Lydia Bailey, a double-header composed by Daniele Amfitheatrof (a Golden Age composer sadly underrepresented on disc) and Hugo Friedhofer.

Sample: “Opening Titles: Revolution in the Air” from Revolution (John Corigliano):
http://www.varesesarabande.com/asf/716-vsd-302-067-000-2.mp3

Sample: “Main Title” from Freud (Jerry Goldsmith):
http://www.varesesarabande.com/asf/705-VCL-1209-1102.mp3

Sample: “Mirabeau” from Lydia Bailey (Hugo Friedhofer):
http://www.varesesarabande.com/asf/713-VCL-1209-1103.mp3

Sample: “The Sacred Pool” from Bird of Paradise (Daniele Amfitheatrof):
http://www.varesesarabande.com/asf/711-VCL-1209-1103.mp3

Link: Varèse Sarabande.

La-La Land releases Goldsmith’s ‘Innerspace’

Mikael Carlsson — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:11:37 +0000

La-La Land Records today announced a limited edition of Jerry Goldsmith’s score for the 1987 sci-fi adventure Innerspace, directed by Joe Dante. A selection of the score was included on the original soundtrack from Geffen Records, but this new CD features more than 50 minutes of previously unreleased music. Innerspace was Goldsmith’s third project with Joe Dante after Twilight Zone: The Movie (where Dante directed one of the segments and Goldsmith scored the full movie) and Gremlins. Their collaborations resulted in some of the most inspired and hilarious scores in Goldsmith’s filmography.

La-La Land has also announced what they label as an “expanded archival edition” of James Newton Howard’s Oscar-nominated score for the Harrison Ford action thriller The Fugitive, featuring more than 60 minutes of previously unreleased music. This 2-CD set is also limited to 3000 copies.

Finally, the label is releasing a 1962 score by Lex Baxter, limited to 1200 copies: Panic in the Year Zero.

Link: La-La Land.

FSM announces release of 15-cd Rózsa collection

Mikael Carlsson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:55:12 +0000

Film Score Monthly has announced an ambitious 15-cd set focusing on the legendary Miklós Rózsa, a release that “is destined to become one of the most essential soundtrack collections of all time,” according to the label. The “Miklós Rózsa Treasury (1949-1968) focuses on Rózsa’s association with M-G-M and features, among many other things, the complete scores from Madame Bovary, The Power and Quo Vadis. Other works included are Young Bess, The Story of Three Loves, All the Brothers Were Valiant, The Light Touch, Crisis, The Asphalt Jungle, Tip on a Dead Jockey, Something of Value and Crest of the Wave. In addition to the original score recordings, several re-recordings conducted by Rózsa, including the 1963 MGM Records LP “Great Movie Themes Composed by Miklós Rózsa”greatest hits,” are featured.

The huge set, which is priced at $179.95 and limited to only 2,000 copies, also includes extensive bonus track selections and a 48-page booklet. Extensive notes will be available online.

Miklós Rózsa, 1907-1995, was one of the leading composers of the Hollywood Golden Age movement. He is best known for his historical and biblical adventure scores, such as Ben-Hur, El Cid and Quo Vadis, but was also one of the most important composers during the film noir era (Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend). He won three Oscars, for Spellbound, A Double Life and Ben-Hur.

Link: Screen Archives.

Intrada releases unlimited ‘Back to the Future’

Mikael Carlsson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:03:53 +0000

On of the holy grails of contemporary film music, Alan Silvestri’s rousing orchestral score for Back to the Future, is finally available on CD. Intrada Records has announced a 2-disc set of the complete score – and anticipating great demand for the set, there is no limit of the usual 3,000 copies on this one. “While this is a limited edition release, we don’t want anyone to miss out on this important album. For that reason, we have agreement that we can exceed the usual 3000 limit and do not need to indicate a specific amount on the packaging,” Intrada explains in their press release. The complete score as heard in the film is presented on the first CD, while the second one offers previously unheard – reportedly darker – music first recorded for the film and not used in the final cut. Intrada had access to “all the original multi-track elements housed at Universal Studios, delivering a crisp and vibrant sound for this premiere release of one of the most requested unreleased scores.”

Back to the Future was Alan Silvestri’s sensational breakthrough in the film music business. His following career has resulted in acclaimed scores for films such as Forrest Gump, The Abyss, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Judge Dredd and Predator.

Intrada has also announced the release of Lee Holdridge’s score for Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Moriah
Films’ In Search Of Peace. The complete score features “exciting battle music, stirring musical pleas for peace play on one side, sensitive melodies.” This 2-CD set is a part of Intrada’s ‘Signature Edition’ and is limited to 1000 copies.

BBC’s ‘Emma’ score album available soon

Mikael Carlsson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:50:26 +0000

The original music from BBC’s recent adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, starring Romola Garai, will be released on CD and iTunes by MovieScore Media on December 1. The orchestral score is composed by British talent Samuel Sim, an up and coming composer whose other credits include the 2007 feature Awake and TV series Dunkirk, Colonial House and House of Saddam. Music was recorded in London under the baton of Alistair King. The four part miniseries aired on BBC in October, with a DVD coming out in the UK on November 30, co-inciding with the score release. MovieScore Media just released another television soundtrack, Merlin: Series Two, featuring music from the second season of the popular fantasy series.

Link: MovieScore Media.

Varèse to release new Dario Marianelli score

Mikael Carlsson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:14:11 +0000

Academy Award-winning composer Dario Marianelli’s latest score, for the Robert de Niro comedy Everybody’s Fine, will be released on CD by Varèse Sarabande on December 22. The film, which is directed by Kirk Jones (Nanny McPhee), tells the story about a widower who embarks on a road trip to reunite with his children. Other cast members include Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore and Sam Rockwell. Also on December 22, Varèse Sarabande will release another comedy score, It’s Complicated, written by Hans Zimmer and Heitor Pereira for the new Nancy Meyers comedy starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

A third Varèse album coming out December 22 is The Last Station, featuring an original score by Russian composer Sergey Yevtushenko written for the Leo Tolstoy biopic released by Sony Pictures Classics just in time for Academy Award consideration.

The label has also just announced two new limited edition CDs: Jeff Beal’s television score for Jesse Stone: Stone Cold and Brian Tyler’s music for thriller The Killing Room.

Link: Varèse Sarabande.