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That suite from The Lost Weekend on the first Polydor/DG album is maybe my favorite film music recording ever.
Tragic & scary then redemption all in the same suite. It would figure it was written for one of Billy Wilder's movies.
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I recall at least one of these was issued on Dolby reel-to-reel tape.
Yes, it was the first release, under the DGG banner:
It had a monumental bass boost and was one of the best Dolbyized reel-to-reel releases ever produced by Stereotape, its manufacturer.
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So, yes, using pristine lps for these releases will definitely work.
Roger F. said the problem was rights issues.
Is anyone in a position to explain more fully what these rights issues could possibly be? And why they would be any more complex than, say, the whole Gerhardt Classic film Scores series, or Herrmann's Phase 4 recordings?
I did wonder if maybe UMG don't actually own the Rozsa recordings outright and they were perhaps mainly funded by a private individual (or company) who has disappeared into the ether and therefore true ownership can't be verified?
Whatever the reason, it's a scandal and an outrage (to paraphrase Oscar Hammerstein II) that these wonderful recordings have never been issued on CD!
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Posted: |
Oct 7, 2019 - 3:03 PM
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By: |
Rozsaphile
(Member)
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That suite from The Lost Weekend on the first Polydor/DG album is maybe my favorite film music recording ever.
Tragic & scary then redemption all in the same suite. It would figure it was written for one of Billy Wilder's movies.
That one elicited comments from both Gerhardt and Rozsa. The two suites share some music in common, namely, the final statement of the love theme. Gerhardt, attending the Polydor session, said on hearing Rozsa's take, "Oh, so that's how it's supposed to go!" To which Rozsa, ever the sensible gentleman, responded (roughly), "No, Chuck, you do it your way. That's fine with me." Too bad many of us fans cannot manage similar acceptance of diversity. I recall the RCA as lush and lingering (almost Korngoldian), whereas Rozsa was more linear and hard-driven.
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OnyaBirri: I would add that the Lost Weekend suite on the CD with Double Indemnity is among a favorite of mine.
Are you referring to the Koch International Classics release with James Sedares conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra?
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Annual bump for this  I don't understand why any company would block a release like this? It's not as if there is a giant market for it. It should be a win-win situation for all the parties involved.
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I am a big fan of a well-put-together album, and these three are exactly that. I would trade a stack of complete expansions with all of their 30-second cues, outtakes, corresponding mono and stereo takes,and alternates for quality cds of these three collections with their exquisite suites. I'm not the Rozsa expert that many on these threads are, but I credit these albums, along with Herrmann's London suites, Gerhardt's classic film scores, Elmer Bernstein's club recordings, Walton's Shakespearean album on Seraphim,and the Savina/Rota Fellini compilation, with expanding my film music tastes beyond the silver age composers of the 60s.
I do have a double CD, boot probably, that has all of the tracks from the three lps, but not in the same order. They don't have quite the same impact out of their proper sequence. That's a testament to the care that went into those three Polydor albums.
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This series would seem a natural for Dutton/Vocalion, though I don't think they've done any UMG-owned albums.
It would be tremendous to find these were quadraphonic projects as well. Just wishful thinking.
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They are real quiet pressings, too.
Yes, they're quiet because they're heavily noise-gated, which robs them of their high end, meaning that they really don't sound all that good. It was a problem with several of Prometheus's Rozsa releases in the 1990s, and something often encountered with European-based companies: they're more concerned with eliminating tape-hiss and background noise than with an acceptably wide sonic range. Compare, if you will, the sound in Prometheus's "All the Brothers Were Valiant" and "Young Bess" with what's in the FSM Rozsa Treasury.
One can re-equalize them at home, which does make them sound somewhat better, but that's still a poor substitute for a recording that comes with a genuine high end.
Those unauthorized CD's were produced over twenty years ago by what's likely a fly-by-night outfit, so it's likely that, were a company like Intrada to secure the rights, the resources at their disposal would likely make LP sources sound substantially better than what's out there now.
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That suite from The Lost Weekend on the first Polydor/DG album is maybe my favorite film music recording ever.
That one elicited comments from both Gerhardt and Rozsa. The two suites share some music in common, namely, the final statement of the love theme. Gerhardt, attending the Polydor session, said on hearing Rozsa's take, "Oh, so that's how it's supposed to go!" To which Rozsa, ever the sensible gentleman, responded (roughly), "No, Chuck, you do it your way. That's fine with me." Too bad many of us fans cannot manage similar acceptance of diversity. I recall the RCA as lush and lingering (almost Korngoldian), whereas Rozsa was more linear and hard-driven.
Remember that Gerhardt asked Rozsa's permission to add a chorus to "The Jungle Book" suite, which the film's original soundtrack never had. Because Gerhardt's Calssic Film Scores series was the introduction to this world for so many, his versions have become so ingrained in listeners' minds --certainly all those who've never seen the film, and possibly even some who have -- that they think the music was always for orchestra and chorus and even complain when another recording has "omitted" it.
Rozsa never scored a film for John Ford, but there actually is a danger that when film score legend becomes fact, some will insist on printing the legend.
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This series would seem a natural for Dutton/Vocalion, though I don't think they've done any UMG-owned albums.
They've done tons of vintage Decca stuff (including the Rozsa and one Herrmann album(s)) - all properly licensed from UMG.
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More than a year has passed since the last comment or update on this thread. Those original three Polydor albums remain among the most spectacular representations of Rozsa and the golden age of film music that I've ever heard. Does anyone know if we're any closer to locating the masters of these glorious recordings, and restoring them on a new CD restoration release?????????
Steve
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I agree. It's tragic that these three superlative landmark recordings are not available for modern audiences to listen to. I still have the original lp's on my record shelf from fifty years ago, and they remain among a hand full of remarkable recorded representations of the golden age of film music that have easily withstood the hands of time, and captured the essence of impeccable sound, performance, and scoring. They are simply breathtaking.
Steve
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Somebody, please, correct me if my premise is wrong, but what I find weird about the non-release of these three superb albums, is that given their popularity on these threads, that we would get some comment from the labels. We often hear from the labels that such and such score is lost, that there are legal complications, and so on whenever a discussion turns to highly-requested scores. For these three I can't recall hearing anything. Do any of you know what the labels have to say?
One final word from me: Now that the following have been released--the Gerhardt box, the Herrmann Phase 4 box, Elmer Bernstein's Film Music Collection--the Polydor Suites remain perhaps the last great multi-disc re-recordings of golden age scores from the 70s.
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