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Posted: |
Mar 24, 2020 - 12:24 PM
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By: |
Mike Esssss
(Member)
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We've touched on this topic from time to time and maybe there's a dedicated thread on it, but is there a score where you bought the expansion thinking, "Fine I'll do my civic duty, but the album is great and I don't know that I really need an expansion," but then when you dug into it you realized not only how much you needed it, but it helped you see the score in a new light?
This happened to me with LLL's bells and whistles expansion of Kilar's DRACULA. I love Kilar. I love his score for DRACULA. But it's a generous and well-heeled album, especially by the standards of the time, and I bought the expansion wondering if I'd just end up whittling down to the album anyway for my playlists. But holy crap, the expansion is an astonishing treasure trove of material, with a substantial sonic upgrade. Showstoppers like "Race Against the Sunset" but also the sublime "Lucy's Lullaby."
I know this particular expansion was a holy grail for many here but I've only ever been familiar with the OST and didn't know what I was missing. Scoff at my pick if you MUST, but I'd be curious to hear other examples from the peanut gallery.
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Yep this is true for me some of the time. Most recently Darkman. I did not expect to find it that much of an improvement over what I always thought was a splendid album, but the expansion is a much stronger listen.
Though I haven't gotten through all of Kilar's Dracula, I do agree it is much more valuable than I expected - took me quite a while to pick it up, but so glad I did.
And speaking of Dracula, I wasn't even sure that Williams' score for the 1979 version would be that much of an improvement, though there was no question I was picking that up. But man, it's exponentially better!
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Do things like Gremlins and Explorers and Innerspace count?
Innerspace and Explorers at least had strong suites originally. I loved Innerspace's 25-minutes for many years. And though I knew the expansion would be an improvement, I am still to this day absolutely blown away by the expansion!
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Allow me to preface by claiming that most soundtrack LP programs have been improved by their expansions onto CDs.
Not only can there be the bonus(es) of additional music and/or restored sound, but many such albums were different recordings than what is heard in the films and expansions permit us to hear both or the previously unreleased material.
Regarding rare vinyl soundtracks, a few of them had Japanese-only pressings and - like many Italian releases - their issuance onto CDs are likely the only way current collectors can obtain the music.
I'm unable to count how many Italian master tapes were initially planned as potential LPs (which didn't materialize) and 50 or 60 years later finally surface on labels such as Digitmovies or Beat Records.
In most cases, I already know I want these expansions.
Still, here are some scores that I feel have benefited via significantly altered presentations which yield different listening experiences from their prior incarnations:
"Cheyenne Autumn" on Intrada
Kritzerland's "Rising Sun" (Takemitsu)
"Robocop 2"'s expansion on Varese
"L'eclisse" (G. Fusco) inside Quartet's 4-CD set on Antonioni films
"The World of Suzie Wong" on Kritzerland
Intrada's 3 CDs on "Shogun", etc.
Jarre and Morricone have had a number of album expansions which allow their compositions to be (re-)assessed from alternative angles.
For me, personally, the discs on Lavagnino issued over the past dozen years demonstrate facets of his musical persona that were not apparent within some of those old LP programs.
One might think one doesn't need Alhambra's "continente perduto" or "delitto del diavolo" on Digitmovies ... but one won't know what (s)he will be missing out on ...
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Goldsmith's The Mummy. I always thought the 90's album was sufficient and included all the highlights. Boy was I wrong. The Intrada release is fantastic and me love the score even more.
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Under Siege 2 by Basil Poledouris was totally unexpected for me. While I enjoyed some cues from the original album, I actually didn't know how good the music was, somewhere between Robocop and The Hunt for Red October.
On the other hand, the expanded Red October was a great disappointment for me, long and boring, while the original album was so great.
I always knew Under Siege 2 was a great score and the original album, while a great listen, missed some great highlights. For me it was actually On Deadly Ground that was the big surprise. Based on the original album I thought the score was just fine but the deluxe edition really made me love that score. Might like it even more than Under Siege 2.
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The Rocketeer. I figured there were a couple of cues I'd want. But the original album was fantastically generous. And also fantastic. But it's one of my favorite scores, favorite movies, so like you said, gotta support the cause.
Oh my gosh there was so much that I not only loved but now consider essential.
Innerspace took a while to grow on me. It only got one side of an album back in the day but it was a perfect perfect side. I mean the love theme only shows up for 20 seconds but it was the most perfect 20 seconds of 1987! I think the thing that got me coming back was the Cowboy's theme.
The 90's expansion of Close Encounters just about put me off expansions. OK, not really, but it made me see what people who didn't like them were talking about. Not everything is Star Wars or Raiders. The La-La Land expansion was not only a revelation but it showed me what a fine edged business this presentation stuff is. (But I still consider that original LP to be one of the finest score presentations ever.)
I'll kind of add The Wrath of Khan to this list. Not because I wasn't howling for it for 25 years, but because I never knew what I wanted it for. All the music from Regula and Genesis was the expansion I never knew I wanted.
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Interesting. For lots of reasons I've been hemming and hawing about deluxing my OST. I've always thought the ROCKETEER album was a flawless album assembly and didn't feel the itch I expected to when Intrada's expansion came out. I may have to revisit. What are your favorite cues not on the OST?
The Gizmo. Testing the Rocket. A Hero is Born / Bye Bye Bigelow (the attack on the house was dialed out in the film I think). Jenny's Rescue (different track from the album, that's South Seas Sendup. This is when Cliff gets away from the gangsters and puts the rocket on). And of course The Laughing Bandit.
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