New Superman Recording

Compiled by Lukas Kendall

Continuing where we left off yesterday, here are some reactions - positive, mixed, and negative - to Varese Sarabande's new recording of Superman: The Movie. Here at FSM we still have not heard this new 2CD set, so we'll reserve judgment.

From: Julwest@aol.com

The new album does stand, as Robert Townson has suggested, as a "companion piece" to the original. However, I think that a better album would have resulted by compiling a strong set of highlights rather than re-recording most of the score. The original performance simply cannot be rivaled, so why try to re-create it on this scale?

But there is some great stuff here. The orchestra seemed particularly inspired by "Leaving Home" and "The Flying Sequence." Some of the newly released material is excellent also, particularly "Jonathan's Death" and "To the Lair." But the opening march sounds like it might be the inferior concert arrangement created back in 1981 for the Boston Pops. And why include this piece on the album twice? There is more material, still unheard on any album, that could have been included instead (particularly from the opening Krypton scenes). The liner notes by Michael McDonough contribute very little, filled as they are with such observations as: "The orchestral texture is transparent throughout"; "A prime example of Williams' visually-driven music," etc. etc. Surely there are film music commentators who could have provided more useful information.

Basically I would recommend this album for anyone interested in a variation on the original recording. But it is not the album fans have been waiting for. That can only come--if ever--with a restored and expanded version of the original.

From: jared36@webtv.net (Jared Spencer)

The first thing that I did on Tuesday morning was I went to Tower Records and made them look in the back for the new 2CD Superman. I agree with what the other reader/listener said about the album. No passion. And it's in the orchestrations! I had to listen to the album twice to form an opinion, with Williams' recording in between. The Helicopter Sequence is loud, and not in a good way. The Flying Sequence starts out okay but then it too gets loud and obnoxious. The orchestra seemed so disorganized. I think someone should ask Robert Townson how long the orchestra rehearsed for the recording because I doubt they did for very long. I think it also had to do with the mixing of the recording. It just seemed that different instruments should have been more dominant in some sections than others, like in the To the Lair track. I won't even mention Growing Up. With The Helicopter Scene, the Flying scene, the To the Lair, and Growing Up a disappointment----and then the absence of Superman's First Night, Can You Read My Mind (Williams' arrangement is great) and a huge chunk of the Earthquake Rescue gone, what I have left is not worth my time nor my $27. I do credit Debney et al on a job well done on the main theme and end titles--with the exception of Lalo S. no other conductor has successfully performed this piece on any recording I have heard. I should return the CD back to Tower and keep the liner notes. We all know the music John Williams wrote for the film is brilliant, it's the performance that is debatable.

From: cscranto <cscranto@emerald.tufts.edu>

Last night I spoiled myself by picking up both the new Superman and Midway recordings by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. I am happy to say that I am very, very pleased with the two. While it is true that the brass in Superman loses its stamina during a few of the more difficult passages, the overall quality of musicianship, combined with the larger-than-life acoustics of the hall more than make up for it. What a pleasure it is to finally hear fresh interpretations of such interesting and exciting music! The RSNO, under the guidance of their Producers and Conductors, seems to have what it takes to show the world that independant performances of chronologically-programmed film music can be as artistically relevant as the latest interpretation of any time-tested Symphony or Opera.

"Midway" is a great surprise. Williams is a master when working with martial themes and rhythms. This soundtrack is reminiscent of martial portions of "Close Encounters" at times. It also contains some great atmospheric suspense music. The new recording puts this composition on par with his late-seventies masterpieces by adding a level of musicianship absent from the original. The extremely reverberant hall is well taken advantage of by engineers Jonathan Hale and Bruce Botnick. The natural sound gives the recording a grander overall feel than the thin studio version (This natural sound is one of the greatest features of all the RNSO recordings).

"Superman" is even more rewarding, perhaps because I know the score so well. The performance and sound quality are both very good. The cover and booklet art by Bob Peak sells the story as more a modern-myth than a film. The chronological program, along with the well-chosen previously-unreleased cues help paint the well known tale vividly. Everything about this release seems to suggest that we appreciate the music not as a functional solution to a scoring assignment, but as a grand, sweeping musical narrative that can be enjoyed independantly from the film.

Many Williams fans will probably be shocked or disappointed by the sometimes subtle, sometimes overt differences between the LSO and RSNO versions of "Superman." Hopefully, many more will be pleased and delighted, as I am, by its many unexpected surprises. Having said that, the orchestrators must not be blamed for these differences, as they have adhered to Williams' original sketches. (I found it reaffirming to read about the completeness of these sketches "leaving nothing to chance." It reveals the true extent to which Williams is responsible for his work) The deviances from the original recording are simply the natural result of performing the work with different musicians, under the baton of a different conductor, in a different recording space. To those who might complain, I have only to say that re-interpretation is what symphonic music is all about. Multiple recordings of film music can affirm the importance and artistry of a piece, while at the same time ensuring its immortality in the future. I would be very satisfied if in my lifetime, the "serious" music establishment embraced works like "To Kill a Mocking Bird" and "Superman" as modern symphonic masterpieces. Imagine if entire film scores were played live by Symphony Orchestras as frequently as they play the music of late romantics such as Mahler and Strauss. The RSNO along with other contributors (City of Prague Philharmonic, LA Filmharmonic) are playing no small part in making this dream become a reality. At least I like to think so.

From: Rgutowski <Rgutowski@nycds.org>

Ladies and gentlemen, I didn't believe this version could fly!

I got home and threw it on, waiting to hear that wistful Prologue - and what do I hear but... the Fanfare! So, I groan and immediately assume that they've mis-pressed the thing, and I'll be bringing it right back to the store, when The Prologue begins. Why did they do that?

After a few tracks, including Jonathan's Death (admittedly, very welcome to hear), it finally occurs to me that, unfortunately, the orchestra sounds like they've never even seen the movie. Passages that need "oomph" are missing it, and subtle moments are blown out of proportion (way too much piano and celesta) at times. "The Helicopter" is just very poorly done. The frantic strings that underline the helicopter's fall fro the top of The Daily Planet Building are underpowered, and the "heroic" theme is just not right there. The track does continue up to and includes the shot when Reeve soars upside down, and the whole picture dizzily turns to put Manhattan under him, so that's some consolation.

"The Flying Sequence." If you're wondering how they deal with the passage where Margot Kidder speaks, the answer is that the cue ends before they get there - so, we also don't get to hear the lovely conclusion when Superman lands with Lois (who's clearly smitten), and flies off over Central Park South, um, Metropolis. Unforgivable.

God only knows why, but they've included "The March of the Villains," even though it's acknowledged to be a concert piece that doesn't even appear in the film. I could've done without it, and instead had a complete "Flying Sequence," or "The Robbery," or even any of the "Superfeats." (I know, orchestration and copying fees. Tough. It was a cop-out on their part, since the parts probably already existed for concert use by The Pops - just a suspicion.)

"Turning Back the World" is lacking... heft. Truly. That's the only way I can put it. They also seemed to have shortened the silent moments (which are of, course, longer in the actual film, but still indicated on the OST recording) that accompany Superman's initial whizzing around the globe, and then his reversal of direction to return to the corrected present.

Rather than go on, I'll end here and just say that, at this point, I'm thinking of the set as more of a supplement to the OST LP and CD. Sadly!

p.s. This version also doesn't resolve one of the score's little mysteries, which is that in virtually every recording I've ever heard, save one (which I'll get to in a minute), the last few measures that lead up to the first statement of the three-note "Superman" motif in the main and closing fanfares are two bars or so shorter than what's actually heard in the film. It doesn't seem to simply be a case of having an engineer track in a repeat of the last two measures to lengthen the score to match the visual of the "S" insignia's dramatic appearance since the repeat contains a new horn phrase over it (get out your tape or LD and check it out for yourself!). The only recording I've ever heard that adds even ONE repeated bar is, if memory serves, the first Williams Boston Pops release entitled, I believe, OUT OF THIS WORLD (corrections and explanations for the above heartily welcomed!).

From: "BRIAN DONOHUE" <bjdonohue@erols.com>

I was 13 years old when Superman came out. For a kid who used to run home so he wouldn't miss reruns of the old TV series, the film was a miracle. I did believe a man could fly. Christopher Reeve looked like Superman. He could see what color underwear Lois Lane was wearing! (A superpower I dearly wished for.) I had Superman comic books, t-shirts, and action figures. Within a short time I had also purchased my first film score even though (pause for effect) I did not own a record player at the time.

I give this background to make a point. I suspect there will be much criticism of the new album. I, like a previous writer, bought the Japanese release of the CD just to get the GROWING UP cue. I agree that Debney and the RSNO do not live up to the high standards of Williams and the LSO. That said, I do count the new version as a valuable addition to my collection. It's great to have a recording of cues never before released. The liner notes also add value. Varese-Sarabande should be applauded for the obvious labor of love this recording represents.

Listening to the music for SUPERMAN is, for me (and I suspect many others of my generation), not just a way to remember a cherished film. More than that; it is music that takes me back to a time in my life when I still believed in fantasy, when I still dreamed of being a superhero, when I still believed in truth, justice, and the American way. How could I expect that any rerecording of this score could compare to the original? It is an impossible task. Yet it is a challenge Varese took on. I thank them for it even if their efforts are not quite able to turn back time and return me to the simpler days of my youth. Only Superman could ever do that...and maybe John Williams.

From: Chris <avatar@inil.com>

Just picked up the new Superman Varese 2 cd set and I must say that for a total recreation of this score from the original composer's sketches only - this is a superb rerecording. While not pure in the same vein as the original London Symphony Orchestra performance, I found some parts to sound much better than the original and some parts even worse. The sound quality is phenominal, though I think the LSO probably would have performed this score better than the RSNO.

The main title on disc 1 opened a little too strong for my taste in comparison to the film which opened very softly, but about 25 seconds or so, the melodic music where the child narrates are there to behold. What a treat to finally have the prologue on cd finally. Two more tracks on disc one are an absolute joy to have. The first is "Growing Up" where in the film, a young Clark Kent was snubbed at football practice and kicks a football a long way and then races a train to beat the jocks home. This cue is one of my favorites and the performance by the RSNO is excellent in my opinion. Then the highly emotional cue of "Jonathan's Death" is also a great treat to have. The highly emotional cue seems well orchestrated and performed here for us to enjoy.

Disc 2 starts out with a 6+ minute cue of the "Helicopter Sequence". Its a shame it took so long for this cue to be recorded. I think the tempo was a bit off from the film but still an absolute joy to listen to! "The Truck Convoy"is also another fun cue with the "March of the Villains" theme nicely interwoven and one I had not paid much attention to until now. On "To the Lair" where Lex Luthor plays the high frequency sound only one man could hear, it is nice to have and really builds well though I seem to recall a bit more bass and tempo to the original in the film.

Most of the original cues on the Warner release seem to have made the transition in faithful effort to the original performance. At times a tempo may seem a bit slower and a bit different which may frustrate some purists but I think this set represents an excellent attempt to preserve one of the finest scores in the history of film music. My only real dislike was with some of the synthesized sounds not sounding very true to the original. Other than that, this set represents another fine rerecording by Varese and puts over 20 minutes of unreleased music into collectors hands with some of the most sought after cues never before released on cd.

Hats off to the RSNO, Robert Townson, John Debney and all the persons who helped produce, orchestrate and perform on this album. The artwork is excellent and reminds me very much of the original teaser poster which was done by the same artist according to the liner notes. It is very obvious that much hard work went into this production and a 2 cd set was a risky venture to say the least.

This set is not the original, but I find to be a rather faithful performance considering what they had to work with and the sound in 20 bit digital is second to none. No doubt that purists of the original will be disappointed that it is not the original, and the slower tempo on some of the cues will anger some. For a recreation will undoubtedly took weeks to prepare and scoring sessions which lasted only two days, I think the results are excellent and would wholeheartedly recommend the purchase of this set. This is not a substitution for the original score, but certainly a good morsel to chew on until we get it? Hopefully someday we will see a complete incarnation of this score but if you are a fan of the Superman score, you cannot go wrong in picking up this set. Now perhaps Varese will attempt to do a rerecording of Raise the Titanic in a similar vein.

Oh yeah, and following up on the discussion of "other" John Williamses...

From: Robert Berens <Berensb@svg.com>

It seems that I'm too late; just saw the info on all the John Williams in Music. I wanted to add that Johnny Williams was also a drummer for the Raymond Scott Quintette in the late 1930's.

From: Ben Phelps <fox@ucla.edu>

There is also a classical guitarist named John Williams, who is featured extensively in Patrick Doyle's Great Expectations. Exciting.

Please continue to send your comments about this new Superman album!

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