The Tuesday Night Film Music Club

Well, the first experiment didn't work, so instead, I'm going to post my Filmwise.com film Music thread...

So, as demonstrated by my host game, I’m very much into film scores. I’ve always enjoyed them, and over the years I’ve amassed a collection that I’m quite proud of (Around 1500, in all sorts of formats).

So, I thought I could try to share some of my knowledge, news, anecdotes in a semi-regular posting here.

Like everything else, collecting soundtracks has changed a lot over the years; the rise of the internet, has brought it to a whole new level, allowing rare scores to be distributed at a much faster pace. In the early days of CD’s, some scores became highly sought after by collectors. It is a well known story how a copy of “Cherry 2000” fetched $3,000 at an auction (Pre-Ebay days…).

Yes, a lot of the scores were in very limited runs, and the market has always been pretty small. That is why a lot of scores go out-of-print so often. But peer-to-peer sharing, plus the possibilities of burning high quality CD’s, has brought to life a lot of lost gems.

There’s much more to this history, and I’ll continue to add more, but for right now, I’d like to open a couple of sections that I hope will become staples here.

Outstanding upcoming release

Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection
Releases on November 11, 2008.

What a start, and what a great looking limited edition. For years, “Raiders” and Temple of Doom” were some of the most sought after CD’s in the market. A couple of new editions appeared after a while, but this whole box packs a punch

Amazon wrote:
Boxset includes remastered versions of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Expanded to include previously unreleased music -- as well as the original Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull soundtrack. Plus a bonus cd with even more previously unreleased music and featuring interviews with John Williams, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas on the making of this historic music. Relive the musical adventure today!
Track: Slave Children's Crusade
(This one is from the original Japanese release of "Temple of Doom", which is not that easy to find)


Relevant website

soundtrackcollector.com

An excellent database of titles and their different editions, composers, new releases and news. The “IMDB” of film scores.


Collectors corner, Must-Have & Small Gems

As the section indicates, here I’ll try to name 3 scores; the first, a difficult to find title, the second, is pretty much given, and the third, is a score that you may not think about that often (mainly due to the quality of the film), but it’s a surprising find.

Collectors corner: Predator – Alan Silvestri(Varese Sarabande CD Club edition)
This 3000-units limited edition, has been quite a staple in the last years on Ebay, fetching $150-$300. A cornerstone action score whose author (the Abyss, Lilo & Stitch, all Robert Zemeckis films) has cannibalized in his subsequent action releases (Judge Dredd or Eraser for example). Even when you listen to it, you feel like you are being watched…or hunted…
Track: Main Titles

Must-Have: Rudy – Jerry Goldsmith
From one of the greatest composers, comes this inspirational score. It is a prime example of how a main theme can be manipulated via tempo and intensity, and provide a soothing melody (Main Titles), or a rousing anthem capable of lifting a stadium from his feet (The Final Game). A masterpiece
Track: Main Titles

Small Gems: Searching for Bobby Fischer – James Horner
A magical sound provided by a minimalist piano sound, moving to rising strings. Works in perfect unison with the film, but can be listened without and still feel all those emotions.
Track: Josh vs. Vinnie


Trivia

Blade Runner’ Original score was initially never released. It was re-recorded by an orchestra, making the original sound highly sought after. A full edition is now out there, but in the meantime, at least 5 different editions have been made available.Well, it is a start. I hope you guys like it, and if so I'll continue with it, or it'll just die, in the well of forgotten posts.....