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"David Newman's Malone - one of my all-time favorites - similarly wouldn't rip the last four tracks or so, even after Intrada traded me a new copy and a later, second copy"
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The exact same thing happened to me with that one.
My drive hated every copy I got of that score, and yes, mainly the last few tracks.
In an ironic twist, I asked a mate to boot me a copy on a CDR, and that one played and ripped perfectly.
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Posted: |
Nov 13, 2019 - 10:55 AM
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By: |
sajrocks
(Member)
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Disco Stud wrote:
This is good
AGREE.
jkholm wrote:
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I was hoping to see some reviews to help me decide whether or not to get it. Is the sound improved? How good is the previously unreleased music? Thanks.
The first thing to know is that the expanded release is a WHOLLY different listening experience than the original album. So much so that I've realized I have an inaccurate recollection of the film. Even in my sorry attempt at a chronological presentation of the original album, I mis-remembered it as near wall-to-wall action when the film is anything but.
Williams is given a lot of time and leeway to create mood and atmosphere and considerable nuance around the thriller/mystery components of the film – slow, elongated string and synth passages, subtle (and some unsubtle) textural shifts, and fluid twists, turns and returns throughout that were barely represented on the original album.
I would say the expanded album is absolutely necessary for the greater appreciation of this particular score and for Williams in this period in general. And the sound is brilliant. Though not as dramatically "improved" as remasters of classic scores given how well and recently it was recorded and mixed the first time around, Mike Matessino's as-always remarkably high caliber work is in full force here. Additional thoughts:
'SLOG'
I think it's a little harsh to call the first half a slog, but it certainly is a lot less rambunctious than the original presentation made the opening out to be.
An additional three minutes added to the "Pre-Crime To The Rescue" material lessens the urgency and dramatic compression, but it's revelatory suspense writing from the maestro. If I remember correctly, the opening of the film depended a lot on Schubert's 8th to manifest driving intrigue as the premise unfolded, whereas Williams was creating the dread and inevitably of the first near-attempted murder, which sets the tone for later deep-impact suspense moments especially in the 'Leo Crow' and 'Lamar' confrontations.
In addition, with the last act "Run!" cue now separated from "The Crime" (which had opened the original album as "Can You See?"), the first real punch of action we get isn't until "On The Run"/"Anderton Escapes" over 25 minutes into the expanded version. I find this perfectly fine now that I've grown so fond of the new material/presentation (albeit with self-curating a 90 minute playlist from the two hours of music).
'SEAN'
The expanded album has given me a much greater appreciation for the 'Sean' material. On the original album I felt it was a bit twee – perhaps less inventive pastiche of the tender moments writing in E.T. and A.I. But now I'm like how the hell else would you write music for the literal loss of a child? And the addition of "The Pool" midway really adds some thematic/dramatic wallop when the material makes its third appearance in "Leo Crow… The Confrontation".
'ANNE LIVELY'
My biggest gripe with the original album was how late the 'Anne Lively' material came into play. It's why I attempted a chronological order playlist in the first place. In the new presentation you get two iterations back to back at the top where they ought to be, plus other iterations throughout the score that give added impact to the beautiful variation of the motif at the end of "The Greenhouse Effect".
I know 'Wailing Woman' is contentious given its ubiquity in the 90s/00s, but I feel how Williams employed it in this score is one of its most effective and integral uses. A) It's creepy as all heck, and B) it represents the literal wailing of a woman who is murdered when she tries to get her stolen girl child back from "the man". This to me will always be the heart of this score where there's a LOT of head involved.
'MARIMBA'
With tracks like "The Elevator", "The Man In The Window", "The Collage" and "Freezing Waters", Williams is having some fun with percussion figures and textures that you don't usually hear in his album presentations. Not sure if this is worth the price of admission alone, but it's great to hear. On second thought, "Freezing Waters" may be worth it by itself.
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I’m dyin’ to hear this!
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Anyone know where I can find a higher resolution image of the cover? You'd think it wouldn't be hard to find.
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there's a hi-res on the LLL site, the second picture on the album page.
Thanks Nyborg. Don't know how I missed that.
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Wanted to add this to my Black Friday order, alas it is ‘Temporary out of Stock’!
Crap, I was doing the same thing! That's lame, you'd have thought they'd keep it in stock up until the holiday season for just that reason, not to mention I'm sure it will be on several soundtrack collector's gift wish lists!
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I also planned on adding this to my Disaster Box order, only to find it out of stock.
It seems weird to have gone from available so quickly, it's not one of the most sought after expansions from John Williams, I imagine.
Maybe it is down to some glitches on the original run?
Oh well, I'm sure buying it in 2020 won't cause me too much heartache.
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Even after a few listens, I'm still undecided if the expanded release renders the score a masterpiece on par with AI or CE3K, or if it's just a few highlights, heavily padded with some rather dull connective tissue, that's better served by the original album release.
While I've never thought of this score as being in the same league as A.I. or Close Encounters, I do believe that the expansion greatly serves the score. And while there may not be a lot of big, action material, there is a significant amount of wonderful thematic material sprinkled throughout as it relates to Sean and Anne Lively. These themes are even more prevalent with this new release.
Aside from that, there is even more to love with this score: the Pre-Crime theme serving as pretty much the backbone of the score, the frenzied "Spyder" material, and three great action pieces with On the Run, Anderton Escapes and The Conveyor Belt.
I really liked this score in it's abbreviated form, now I simply love it with this expanded release.
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Just hooked an order of this at SAE.
Anyone care to describe just how much better the sonics are on this remaster?
This is my most listened to Williams score of the 2000s.
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I'm dyin' to hear this!
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I'm still dyin' to hear this...
...but my wait is down to < two hours.
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