 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Checking this out now. I honestly don't think it sounds that much better than the Varese version. No one does shrill like Elmer Bernstein, so maybe that's just what it's supposed to sound like.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm currently a few tracks in. There's definitely more clarity in the mix. I can pick out clearer horns and guitars that I've never heard before, and I've listened to the Varese album A LOT.
Just a shame that Sony dropped cues and fucked with the sequencing otherwise this could've been definitive.
NOW DO GHOSTBUSTERS II, DAMMIT
|
|
|
|
|
|
My first reactions:
This is definitely a better mix, and I can hear things more clearly now than on the Varese album. My initial gripe: some of the bass is just inaudible. The last 20 seconds of 'Meeting 2' I can hear no bass with the organ. The Varese album had almost a bit too much bass for the same part of the cue. Again in 'Gozer,' from 1:21 - 1:40 I don't hear the low bass that accompanied this part of the cue. It makes these two tracks seem to have less of a punch or impact to me. I love the overall mix, it's certainly a wider sound.. disappointed with the lack of bass. This is a score I like to blast and rattle windows with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Jun 7, 2019 - 4:53 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tino2342
(Member)
|
Ok, I'm probably in the minority here, but TO ME the Varese mix is way Way WAY better than the new Sony mix. The Sony mix sounds very thin, flat and one dimensional. They added a bit of EQ in the high end, but overall it sounds like one of these many "soundtrack" releases of other classic scores you can find on various streaming services published by no-name brands. Really half-assed production in my mind.
For example the track "Earthquake", the Sony version is just flat and boring. The Varese one is so much more exiting, dynamic, three dimensional and just big. The track is called "Earthquake" (yeah, I know it was named after a scene in the movie) and that's what it's supposed to convey to the audience, the Sony Mix fails completely in this regard. You can really feel the room and the dynamic of the instruments, they have so much more weight to them in the Varese mix and so much more space (and no, I'm not talking about reverb).
Or the track "Judgment Day", in the Sony mix the marimba, which doubles the horns, is so upfront and prominent in the beginning, it's really annoying. That's not the purpose for this orchestrational decision. The marimba doubles the horns to give them slightly more meat, glue and some attack, but SLIGHTLY! These things are very delicate orchestration tricks you can use, but it's not meant to be IN YOUR FACE!
There are many more examples, but overall I'm disappointed, but at the same time not surprised. It's just easy for Sony to make some money with an unlimited (?) release of a much beloved soundtrack. Labels specialized in soundtracks do care (the majority) a lot more about the quality, because it's limited and they wanna create the best product possible, because it's the only way for these labels to survive, that's what they do, that's their thing! For Sony it's just another number in their catalog, they don't care, they don't have to!
BTW, I'm listening on professional studio headphones and equipment, so my impression is not the result of a low-quality sound system.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thankfully none of the soundtrack labels do it for the money, which is why their albums are free!
|
|
|
|
|
|
The more I listen to this, the more I dislike it. The mixing on this is absolutely terrible on a lot of the tracks. Especially the scary stuff. The Varèse album is far superior.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Sony has more faithful sound. The Varese has more tinkering going on. It really depends on which approach you prefer.
To my ears, the Sony release sounds almost totally remixed compared to what you hear in the film. I don’t know if we’re allowed or have the ability to post comparison samples here, but the Varese sounds like you hear it in the film. Sony does not. The Sony release does have a wider sound and better channel separation, but it’s lacking in depth and mixing. For example, take the disco/pop style Ghostbusters theme that ultimately went unused in the film. On the Sony release, there’s no bass or punch to it.. it sounds like you’re hearing it being played on an old FM radio that has 0 bass. In the Varèse release, it does have some bass and some punch to it, and ultimately just sounds better.
I really wish LLL had done this. It would’ve sounded beautiful, and we would’ve had the still missing music from the film as opposed to the unreleased cues that were never used. I was so looking forward to this release, and I am just incredibly disappointed and let down by it. Hopefully it won’t be another 13 years between a new release.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Does anyone know if this score was recorded digital or analogue?
I've checked the download sites, and this title is available only at 96kHz/24-bit. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the ideal way to listen to this release.
My experience with older digital scores is that conversion artifacts really hamper the sound. Listen to the Varese CD of Stripes as a perfect example.
With a scores like this that may be digital in origin, I've found the hi-res program to be capable of producing better presence and detail than the 44kHz/16-bit CD.
Anyone know any better?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
