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Okay, so we're now had some more time to make more informed opinions. Bottom line, the Varese, Intrada, or Tadlow?
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Intrada & Tadlow.
I love some of the performance choices in the
Tadlow - highlighting Zoe's contribution in
the 'Orgy' cue (3-note horn figure in fortissimo immediately comes to mind), among other things are great to have. I rotate the short album & complete on Intrada with the Tadlow.
Unless you are used to it & can't part ways, the 67min. Varese is useless, IMO.
-Sean
This is really helpful, thanks Sean! Do you think the Tadlow would be good for my first recording?
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The more the merrier. I wish all the great orchestras of the world would record this masterwork.
It really is a great score. I kind of ruled out the original recording because I read the "Set" cue (the Snake thing) was either truncated or missing (can't remember).
I am a huge fan of Intrada and Tadlow stuff anyhoo.
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Posted: |
Oct 22, 2017 - 6:58 PM
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By: |
GoblinScore
(Member)
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Helpful, until Mastage blew it up!! I'm kidding - first time for this score?? That makes it trickier to answer. It's such a great work that never grows old, has always engrossed me, I'd almost say get all of them.
I never compared sound on VS to INT, and never nitpicked any controversies ( i.e. fake news...) the INT was called on by others. The joy of the once lost 100mins of OST then found, the amazing packaging & care put into that set - it's my go to as a BIG fan of Conan.
The Varese isn't worthless in that the sound is fine, it adds a very valuable 18mins to the original 49min. program, and has a typical (but hard to read!) Kevin Mulhall essay.
If you can get it cheap, try that route perhaps, Varese?
While the Tadlow is damn near perfect, it's different, and works as an alternate performance. There are choices I had to get used to the producers made, based on Poledouris' sketches & having larger forces available. Not bad choices, just different.
So there's the long answer!
-Sean
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My take:
The Varèse presents what is probably a decent approximation of what a double LP might have been had anyone still been doing such things in 1982. The sound has a few unfortunate pops, but is otherwise a very detailed transfer and is consistent with that of the 4-tracks, which has the more authentic presence than the comparatively sterile Intrada mix (brighten up the Varèse edition a bit and it sounds almost identical to disc 3 of the Intrada). It also doesn't have any retracked music.
The Intrada presents the most music, but I don't like the overly bright and dry mix very much, and the editorial choices are inconsistent, and some are just plain weird. The presence of the retracked music makes the program much more repetitive, and some of the percussion tracks — homages to Fumio Hayasaka's score for The Seven Samurai — just kill the flow of the music. Don't get me wrong, I love having all of this music, but the new mix just doesn't sound right at all, and the crossfades from “Warpaint” into “The Kitchen” is just bizarre. That said, the Intrada is the only place where you can find the unedited version of “The Kitchen,” as both the Varèse and the Prometheus present the cue with the film edit. The Intrada is also the only place you'll find the complete version of “The Defilers.”
On the other hand, the remaster of original 4-track album master on disc 3 of the Intrada is the best-sounding version of the original soundtrack recording.
I think the Prometheus edition is a worthy companion. While it is the complete score, unlike the Intrada, there is no retracked music, save for two notable exceptions, the orgy fight (which is presented in a screen-accurate edit on the Prometheus, but unedited on the Intrada, kind of defeating the purpose of including it at all), and the end title which deliberately recreates the awful segue from the main title into heard in the film. The percussion interludes work better here as well — indeed, the “Wolf Witch” that appears in this different recording actually sounds more like what's in the film than what appears on the Intrada. “Battle Preparations” is incorrectly placed before “Battle of the Mounds, Part I,” when it is actually “Warpaint” and belongs between “Recovery” and “The Kitchen,” but that is so minor a quibble that it is only being mentioned here because of the extreme pedantry of the author.
Do not expect a carbon-copy of the performance heard on the original soundtrack, the Prometheus is a very different performance, with distinct emphases, but it is exceptional in its own right (“Recovery” is a standout performance). I listen to it all the time.
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Yeah, Tadlow/Prometheus all the way for me.
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Posted: |
Oct 22, 2017 - 9:33 PM
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By: |
Rexor
(Member)
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Okay, so we're now had some more time to make more informed opinions. Bottom line, the Varese, Intrada, or Tadlow?
Ah, such tough questions. I have to warn you that I might cross the lines.
This is one of the first scores I ever listened to, and I have played the Varese cd innumerable times. The Varese cd was the first version I heard, so, naturally, I have listened to it the most... and like Mastadge, I have grown fond of the sound and mix on the Varese cd.
Since you have unencumbered ears (and no time-based associations), I would definitely toss the line towards the Intrada set. It's a great set, and it includes MUCH more music, including the reflective Discipline Of Steel/Freedom Council cue, the Rozsaesque Pit Fights, the Snake tower music, and more Battle of the Mounds music, in addition to some great bonus/alternate tracks, like The Orphans of Doom.
Doom. Doom. Doom. Did I write definitely? The Tadlow recording is great too. I don't want to twist the lines, but I love the choral Tower of Set cue, and, even my old ears love the clarity of the Mountain of Power, the longer Recovery, and the amazing Anvil of Crom. I even love an older version of Anvil of Crom done by the The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlzeNV9njzs&index=17&list=PLLl72loOl1L9NAbBlVZhet0BIGqJQED8t
Contemplate This... I love Colin Davis recording of Sibeilus 2nd. I've listened to it so many times. I thought it would never sound better. Then one time, I went to see a live performance by Alan Gilbert and the NYP, and all I could say was that was freaking Amazing. Tadlow's Conan cd is freaking amazing, but for sentimental reasons, I would start of with the film/Intrada version.
-Rexor
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Posted: |
Oct 23, 2017 - 2:08 AM
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By: |
Expat@22
(Member)
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Okay, so we're now had some more time to make more informed opinions. Bottom line, the Varese, Intrada, or Tadlow?
Ah, such tough questions. I have to warn you that I might cross the lines.
This is one of the first scores I ever listened to, and I have played the Varese cd innumerable times. The Varese cd was the first version I heard, so, naturally, I have listened to it the most... and like Mastadge, I have grown fond of the sound and mix on the Varese cd.
Since you have unencumbered ears (and no time-based associations), I would definitely toss the line towards the Intrada set. It's a great set, and it includes MUCH more music, including the reflective Discipline Of Steel/Freedom Council cue, the Rozsaesque Pit Fights, the Snake tower music, and more Battle of the Mounds music, in addition to some great bonus/alternate tracks, like The Orphans of Doom.
Doom. Doom. Doom. Did I write definitely? The Tadlow recording is great too. I don't want to twist the lines, but I love the choral Tower of Set cue, and, even my old ears love the clarity of the Mountain of Power, the longer Recovery, and the amazing Anvil of Crom. I even love an older version of Anvil of Crom done by the The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlzeNV9njzs&index=17&list=PLLl72loOl1L9NAbBlVZhet0BIGqJQED8t
Contemplate This... I love Colin Davis recording of Sibeilus 2nd. I've listened to it so many times. I thought it would never sound better. Then one time, I went to see a live performance by Alan Gilbert and the NYP, and all I could say was that was freaking Amazing. Tadlow's Conan cd is freaking amazing, but for sentimental reasons, I would start of with the film/Intrada version.
-Rexor
Some very well expressed analyses, both personal and objective, in the above posts.
I think the Intrada is an excellent set but the Tadlow comes out on top for me though I find that it deserves a very good playback mechanism of audiophile quality to express the very detailed rerecording.
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I think the Intrada is an excellent set but the Tadlow comes out on top for me though I find that it deserves a very good playback mechanism of audiophile quality to express the very detailed rerecording.
If by "very detailed" you mean brickwalled, I would agree. Whoever mastered that set must have had the VU needles in the red the whole time. Not a pleasant listen unless you want an instant case of tinnitus.
WOW, that sucks. That super squished, hyper limited mastering doesn't belong in concert or film music imo. It's weird, I have cds from Intrada like Spellbound and Julius Caesar and they sound great.
I ordered the Tadlow, but I want everyone to know how grateful I am for all the help. I knew I could count on you folks!
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