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Posted: |
May 13, 2021 - 2:42 AM
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By: |
JGouse0498
(Member)
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Well, I just received the CD today and I can say that the booklet doesn't really help clarify how the CD is arranged.
What IS really fascinating to learn is that while the biggest challenge was the balance between electronic and orchestral elements, Kamen's revisions to the score actually led to a second round of ADDING electronic elements to some cues while REMOVING electronic elements from others to bring out more of the orchestra.
So it wasn't just a matter of version 1: no orchestra, version 2: add electronic elements - it was a rebalance of everything, constantly tweaking to get the ongoing balance between orchestral and electronic just right.
This also means there is likely not a straightforward "this is Kamen's preferred version vs. THAT version" because Kamen was constantly revising.
Which brings us to the disc arrangement - as we noted before, Disc 1 and Disc 2 both include tracks called "film versions", so it's really unclear what each disc is meant to represent.
I don't think I've ever actually seen the movie all the way through so hopefully somebody who knows the film well can have an easier time making sense of it.
Also, side note - Klaus Badelt is not mentioned anywhere except at the end as a credit for "Additional Electronic Percussion by KLAUS BADELT" along with "Sampling and Programming by JAMES BRETT and MICHAEL PRICE".
First, congrats to you for getting such a quick turnaround time on delivery! I got the shipment e-mail Tuesday night, and my tracking still says "Label Created - USPS Awaiting Item" 
Since you've listened to both discs and read the liner notes (which unfortunately aren't as helpful as hoped), how would you categorize the arrangements?
Would Disc 1 be the version closest to "as originally composed", and Disc 2 containing tracks that are representative of the final film? The comparison I have in mind would be LLL's release of Bram Stoker's Dracula which featured the score before it got hacked up in editing.
Also, the seven album tracks that open Disc 2...
How much of those overlap material included elsewhere in tracks 8-29? I'd hoped to rearrange them into chronological order, but I don't want to essentially repeat entire cues. It seems like the music from the museum and Statue of Liberty scenes might be duplicates...unless they sound radically different.
Thanks for any help/insight you might have on it!
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Is there any mention in the liner notes as to which tracks constitute the film construct of "Main Title"?
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Can you remember when you found out that it wouldn't be approved in time for Black Friday 2020 and would become a 2021 title?
Did it originally have "20th anniversary edition" branding before that point?
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I'm sure the "20th Century Fox" logo became the "20th Century Studios" logo at some point!
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The “Main Titles” are made up from the cue “Cerebro”.
Disc 2’s “original album tracks” list “Mutant School”, “Museum Fight”, and “The Statue of Liberty” as being “entirely unused in the film”, which leads me to believe the others were used in the film by the music editor piecing together various things.
While “Death Camp (Film Version)” is what appears in the film, the piano is mixed out, likely to give more focus to the sound of the rain and voices, especially since it comes right on the heels of the Main Title, so the music needs that breathing room. Since the Main Titles are a "construct", my guess is Kamen scored this long before the titles were ever pulled together.
Otherwise, the layout can be challenging to understand.
Neil described three sources of material:
“Original Mixes”
“Original Soundtrack Album”
“Internal Fox set of CDs... correspond[ing] to the final music stem in terms of edits and mixes”
In that case, it roughly corresponds to how the discs are laid out:
Disc 1: Original Mixes
Disc 2: Original Album Tracks
Disc 2: Additional = “Internal FOX CDs / final music stem”
The thing that really throws it off is just the “Disc 2: Original Album Tracks”, which is kept intact likely for archival reasons. It’s unclear if any of it was edited for “album presentation”, but if not, you could probably make Disc 1 the official “original mix” by doing the following:
Swap Disc 1 T1 “Death Camp (Film Version)” for Disc 2 T1 “Death Camp”
Swap Disc 1 T8 “School Montage” for Disc 2 T2 “Mutant School”
Swap Disc 1 T12 “Kelly In Prison / Beach” for Disc 2 T3 “Magneto’s Lair”
Swap Disc 1 T25 “Museum Fight (Film Version)” and T26 “Museum Fight (Continued)” for Disc 2 T4 “Museum Fight”
Swap Disc 1 T28 “Fight On the Head” for Disc 2 T5 “The Statue Of Liberty”
Swap Disc 1 T29 “Final Showdown” for Disc 2 T6 “Final Showdown”
Swap Disc 1 T30 “Logan Holds Rogue”, T31 “Jean and Logan”, T32 “Logan Says Goodbye / Why Ask Questions / Finale” with Disc 2 T7 “Logan and Rogue”
My only problem with that is that it's not clear whether those "Original Album Tracks" are truly the "original mix" or not, and given the constant changes for the soundtrack, it's not clear how you would determine what Kamen's "official" presentation might have been because he was constantly writing scene by scene and changing things to keep up with the crazy post-production cycle, preventing him from being able to bring a holistic view.
A better way to approach reorganizing the album would be an “Everything You Hear In The Film” followed by “Original Mixes & Alternates not used in film” + “Original Album Tracks”.
That would resolve the issues with having alternates mixed among the "film versions", like D2T12 "Ambush (Part 1, Full Take)", D2T14 "Helicopter Hijack (Alternate)", D2T24 "Museum Fight (Part 1 Alternate)", D2T28 "Jean and Logan (Alternate)".
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Here's my recommended reorganization of the tracklist, with the only physical edit required being between D1, T32 Logan Says Goodbye / Why Ask Questions / Finale and D2, T29 Why Ask Questions / Finale / End Credits (Film Construct) 11:11 which requires reediting part of one into the other.
AS HEARD IN THE FILM
D2, T8 X-Men Main Title (Film Construct) :55
D1, T1 Death Camp (Film Version) 3:07
D1, T2 Rogue’s Kiss 1:51
D2, T9 Senate Discussion (Revised) 2:32
D2, T10 Wolverine In The Ring (Film Construct) :28
D1, T4 Bar Fight 1:34
D2, T11 Logan Drives (Film Edit) :36
D2, T13 Ambush (Film Edit) 2:17
D1, T7 They Knew / Laboratory 3:57
D1, T8 School Montage 3:15
D2, T15 Helicopter Hijack (Film Version) 1:10
D1, T10 Kelly’s Transformation 3:23
D1, T11 Jean Reads Logan’s Mind / Nightmare / Rogue Heals Logan 3:24
D1, T12 Kelly In Prison / Beach 2:48
D1, T13 Bobby And Rogue 1:09
D2, T16 Cerebro (Film Mix) 2:04
D1, T15 Logan And Rogue In Train 3:53
D2, T17 Train (Film Version) 2:34
D2, T18 Magneto Stand Off (Film Mix) 2:54
D1, T18 Xavier Reads Kelly’s Mind 2:10
D2, T19 Kelly Dies (Film Version) 1:06
D2, T20 Xavier Falls (Film Version) 1:01
D2, T21 Jean Uses Cerebro (Film Version) 1:24
D2, T22 Land Of Tolerance (Film Version) 1:53
D2, T23 The X-Jet (Film Version) 2:04
D1, T24 Over The Wall :33
D1, T25 Museum Fight (Film Version) 3:19
D1, T26 Museum Fight (Continued) 1:39
D1, T27 Logan Kills Mystique :59
D2, T25 Inside The Statue / Logan Escapes (Film Construct) 3:48
D2, T26 Fight On The Head (Film Version) 2:28
D1, T29 Final Showdown (Film Mix) 2:30
D2, T27 Logan Holds Rogue (Film Version) 2:29
D1, T31 Jean And Logan 1:57
+
Edit required - only include what's in bold:
D1, T32 Logan Says Goodbye / Why Ask Questions / Finale 3:43
D2, T29 Why Ask Questions / Finale / End Credits (Film Construct) 11:11
ORIGINAL ALBUM TRACKS
D2, T1 Death Camp 3:04
D2, T2 Mutant School 3:48
D2, T3 Magneto’s Lair 4:59
D2, T4 Museum Fight 2:23
D2, T5 The Statue Of Liberty 2:39
D2, T6 Final Showdown 2:30
D2, T7 Logan And Rogue 6:01
ALTERNATES & ORIGINAL MIXES
D1, T3 Senate Discussion 2:25
D1, T5 Logan Drives 1:05
D2, T12 Ambush (Part 1, Full Take) :58
D1, T6 Ambush 3:27
D2, T14 Helicopter Hijack (Alternate) 1:01
D1, T9 Helicopter Hijack 1:00
D1, T14 Cerebro 2:11
D1, T16 Train 2:37
D1, T17 Magneto Stand Off 3:01
D1, T19 Kelly Dies 1:36
D1, T20 Xavier Falls 1:23
D1, T21 Jean Uses Cerebro 1:34
D1, T22 Land Of Tolerance 2:01
D1, T23 The X-Jet 3:48
D2, T24 Museum Fight (Part 1 Alternate) 2:02
D1, T28 Fight On The Head 2:40
D1, T30 Logan Holds Rogue 2:45
D2, T28 Jean And Logan (Alternate) 1:58
+
Edit required - only include what's in bold:
D1, T32 Logan Says Goodbye / Why Ask Questions / Finale 3:43
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Judging by Mr. Bulk's comment, it seems like the music production was a mess and they didn't have the best records to work with.
They really deserve credit for making ANY sense of it, given how much the film was constantly changing.
It's interesting though that he mentions the film edits being on CDs - so I wonder then if the other elements were mastered down from higher resolution audio?
The demand may not be there, but those "unmixed" digital files he mentions would be goldmines for presenting the score in full resolution in the future.
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They really deserve credit for making ANY sense of it, given how much the film was constantly changing.
It's interesting though that he mentions the film edits being on CDs - so I wonder then if the other elements were mastered down from higher resolution audio?
The demand may not be there, but those "unmixed" digital files he mentions would be goldmines for presenting the score in full resolution in the future.
X-Men was digitally recorded at 44.1 kHz/16 bit. What you have is the full resolution.
Fantastic! Thanks for that info!
I agree with the other posters here, it sounds really spectacular with a lot of depth in all of the various elements.
And as complex as all the source elements were, you all did a great job identifying everything and making it all work together.
Definitely worth a buy for anyone that hasn't gotten it yet.
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