 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Got mine today. Beautifully done. I'm even wondering if this might qualify for a Historical Album Grammy, which goes to the producer and the mastering engineer. Given the challenges the original tape posed, the care that went into solving them, and the gorgeous final result, it seems this should be eligible for something. It's really an incredible effort and a crown jewel in the Intrada catalog.
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Nov 30, 2015 - 9:50 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
MikeP
(Member)
|
The release of the year. A really fantastic 2 disc set.
It sounds stunningly good. The Decca CD is going bye bye. No complaints whatsoever on this. Everything Mike had to do to in order to make this sound as fresh as possible, brilliant work. Tape hiss is there, but this is a 1975 recording after all ( some of it even apparently recorded on my birthday, 3/10 ), so it's there but is managed without hurting the sound of the score itself. The music is crisp and vibrant.
As mentioned before, this is my all time favorite movie and maybe my favorite score. The complete score as heard in the film is a marvel, but over the years, it is the album performances that always play in my 'lil noggin. So having the LP remastered is a bonus, and a worthwhile addition. It wouldn't be a complete set without Williams' perfect album assembly.
This belongs in the collection of everybody who loves film music.
Thank you, Intrada, thank you, Mike. Just saying thank you isn't enough but it's all I can do.
We're so lucky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Nov 30, 2015 - 12:49 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Mike_H
(Member)
|
I've been meaning to post this since this phenomenal album was released. Most of you know of the great tuba player Tommy Johnson, who played a very memorable role in this score. This excerpt is from a wonderful memorial program that features some great remembrances and tributes from his colleagues. If you have the time to read the whole pdf, I highly recommend it!
"I guess one of the most famous/infamous jobs I've done is JAWS. I was late to the studio because- as you know- I taught public school for many years and mixed that in with studio work. This was one of those days. It was raining and I was waiting for a substitute teacher to arrive. Because of the rain, the substitute teacher was late, so I had to wait longer than I wanted to. By the time I got to the 405 and headed towards Fox, there was a big traffic jam, and I was 30 minutes late to the call. I walked in, and John Williams was on the podium. I realized I had come in through the side door when I should have come in the back door. I had to squirm my way through the cello section to get back to the tuba spot. The whole time John Williams was watching me with anticipation. Basically, they were just sort of waiting for me to get my tuba out. I very hurriedly got it out, I was really out of breath. When you're late like that, you're just really all upset.
So as I sat down and barely got the mouthpiece in the tuba, I happened to open the book and the first cue is this big long tuba solo. And I can see him with his baton looking back like, "Are you ready?" And I haven't even blown a note. I said, "Ok. (Laughter) He started in with the (bum bum bum bum) and this tuba solo, (sings)...well, I played it really fine. In those days I had a lip that just responded immediately, I never had to warm up. I never believed in warming up anyway, so I didn't. Being the age I was at the time, I was in really great shape.
Besides, I was thinking about what was happening at the Junior High School while I was playing all is stuff. I had to leave before the substitute teacher got there, had to call in another teacher, who was not a music teacher, just to hold down the fort because I said, "I must leave now, I can't wait any longer." I was preoccupied with a little worry so my thoughts were not totally on the music...maybe that was good because I nailed it every time. Didn't have any trouble playing it. But later on I was thinking, "Hmm...that could have been pretty hard." I was only playing CC tuba (Mirafone 185) at the time, and this solo kept recurring in almost every cue. I found out later that that was the theme for the shark. I asked John later why he wrote that so high for the tuba; why didn't he write that for the French Horns since it was in the perfect range for them? He said, "Well, I wanted something that was in that register but I wanted it to sound a little more threatening."
- Tommy Johnson (from an interview with Steve Oberheu for TubaNews)
http://www.tommyjohnsontuba.com/images/tommy_johnson_program.pdf
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I actually used part of that story in the notes. The only thing is that I was able to confirm that he was on his way to the Universal sessions for the source music, not Fox. But it's still a great and true story.
Not true, unfortunately, are the anecdotes about this being the last score on which Eleanor Slatkin played the cello. Her name does not appear on the list for either film or album sessions. She did play on Jaws 2, but that was not her last project. She played on sessions for at least another 5 years after that.
Mike M.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Nov 30, 2015 - 3:39 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
dogplant
(Member)
|
I actually used part of that story in the notes. The only thing is that I was able to confirm that he was on his way to the Universal sessions for the source music, not Fox. But it's still a great and true story.
Yes, a wonderful story, thanks, Mike H. And thanks, mxmx, for additional illumination. I don't have anything as memorable to share, but I do have one "Jaws" player anecdote and I'd love to know if it is true.
Some years ago, I met a young lady who patiently listened as I attempted to explain my taste in music -- I'm normally reticent to go into that, as it typically ends in blank stares, 'Film music? What's that?’ But this person answered differently. She told me her father used to work in music industry and, when she was a little girl, she used to sometimes accompany him to film music recording sessions in Hollywood. I asked her who her father was and she replied, 'Edgar Lustgarten.’ She showed me an old album that her dad had recorded with John Williams.
My friend could not recall details of what scoring sessions she attended, and her father passed away years ago, but I wondered (and I think she was a bit amazed at my desire to know) if Mr. Lustgarten was involved with "Jaws" -- I know he played on "The Towering Inferno," "Cat Dancing" and "Black Sunday".
Edit: My CD just arrived, and my mystery has been solved. In fact, I believe I see Edgar in one of Steven Spielberg's photographs from the scoring session, page 19, top right. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Tourists on the Menu" sounds fantastic!
Just got this and part deux, and had to start with the original album program, probably my first absolute favorite album (followed by The Omen the following year, and then of course Star Wars the next year). And this is the one cue that above all others taught me two things: film composers are composers first, film craftsmen (and women) second. And what you get on album is not necessarily the same as what you hear in the film - sometimes it's BETTER.
For me this "Promenade" is Williams' very best neoclassical pastiche (though I adore them all, especially the Shark Cage Fugue). It ranks right up there with Prokofiev's Classical Symphony and Stravinsky's Pulcinella. But it has never sounded so authentic as it does now.
This alone was worth the $60 for both. Guess I'll have to hit repeat. Again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great great.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great great.
Yes, and white.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Defintely want to get this. I got the old MCA CD as well as the Decca CD but this sounds more definitive. Some point in the future I'll probably get the ones for the sequels but at the moment my eyes are on this one. One thing that excites me about this release is we will finally get the take of 'Man Against Beast' that was used in the films original mono mix. I was reading an interview with the guy who did these remasters and he mentioned when Universal remixed Jaws in 5.1 for its DVD release back in 2000, an alternate take of 'MAB' was used due to tape damage. It was also this alternate take that was used on the Decca CD. He didnt go into specifics about what techniques he used but it sounds that he was able to restore the original take! Yeah!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Removed
|
|
|
|
|
|
Removed
|
|
|
|
|
|
Removed
|
|
|
|
|
|
Removed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Removed
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
