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Jerry Goldsmith's BASIC INSTINCT (1992) - 2015 Quartet 2-CD & 2021 re-issue


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It's amusing how explicit this score is. The NPO achieving group orgasm in Pillow Talk is quite hilarious. It's almost obscene and vulgar. I love it. ;)

Karol

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I'm gonna listen to the ost in the car next week.

Not the best place to listen to film scores. Especially in busy traffic.

Actually, I always pause orchestral music when I'm at junctions or waiting to join a busy roundabout, because they are completely distracting.

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Bonus Tracks

11. The First Victim (R rated alternate) (1:37)

12. Beth and Nick (R rated alternate) (2:13)

13. Pillow Talk (R rated alternate) (4:51)

I wonder if these bonus tracks hold some kind of subliminal message. Or maybe not safe for work or children's ears.

lol they're perfectly safe; they're just different takes performed for the shorter, R-rated version of the movie.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We are expecting a full report on the set Stefan. A full report. You are our number one guy.

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Listening to it now. The soundquality really is superb.

Both this score and the Decca Jaws start with Main Title - First Victim. :)

Basic Instinct


After his career got stuck in a bit of a rut in the mid to late 80's, possibly due to Goldsmith not having the right agent, and his own sometimes questionable choice of projects, Jerry came back on top with Verhoeven's Total Recall. And had the unenviable task of coming up with a score to rival that one.

Basic Instinct is a score of many facets. There's an elegance to it, yet never without a hint of darkness or sleaze. It's decidedly unromantic, yet alluring in it's sensuality.

A film like this is very difficult to get just right musically. And Goldsmith struggled for a long time finding the right theme and the right tone for the material. (Verhoeven probably pushed him harder then most directors would have done at that point in his career).

Listening to it now I noticed how luscious and thick the atmosphere of this score is compared to many modern thriller scores.

Even with Goldsmith's lean, linear orchestrations and the fact that he eschews the brass in all but a few tracks the score feels full-bodied, svelte.

This new release, produced by Neil S. Bulk and Bruce Botnick (Goldsmith's long time recording engineer) naturally sounds fantastic. Clear and detailed, while never attempting to sound too warm, which would go against the grain of the music.

The production is superb and preferable over the previous Prometheus release, which was fine, but had some interesting production choices I always questioned. Like putting the gothic-horror source cue That's Real Music right in the middle of the presentation. Chronologically that's accurate, but it seriously breaks up the atmosphere of the music)

This new release has the added advantage of including the original OST program, which at 45 minutes is just the right length and contains all the highlight for those who aren't completists.

The OST also has my preferred version of the finale for An Unending Story.

A superb release of a superb score.

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So would you still recommend this for a person owning both the OST and Prometheus release?

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It has better sound then the OST. (which has some distortion in Roxy loses, amongst other things)

And it's better produced then the Prometheus. It uses the correct takes, and doesnt drop a mood killer of a source cue in the middle of the disc.

The covers and liner notes are also better and more attractive.

I own both the OST and the Prometheus and I'm glad I bought this. It's the final word on this score.

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  • 2 months later...

I'm still a bit confused as to the different An Unending Story / End Titles tracks. From the booklet I understand that the beginning is actually tracked from the main titles, while it uses a different take of The First Victim.

I suspect the Quartet has the film version, but could anyone explain to me what's on the Prometheus and what's on the album?

Different inserts for a different cut of the film?

 

 

Also, are there any alternate takes for other tracks on the album and on the Prometheus vs the Quartet?

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Very easy: Unending Story film version has the different insert leading into the credits, the main title repeat and the alternate end tag. It's on the Quartet. The Prometheus has the album's Unending Story with the main title and the regular First Victim cue sans end tag variation so it's really just the Varése's Unending Story plus the First Victim cue tagged on.

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  • 7 months later...

Can I just revive the unending story discussion? I mainly wanted the score for that cue and the main titles because it really worked well in the film, but is it my imagination or does the Quarter Records version differ from the actual film version? I have this memory of a haunting kind of low flute repeating the same note just before the ice pick is revealed, or am I dreaming that? Also, how complete is the release? I read 'the bulk' is there, so what's missing?

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No, not yet. But there's definitely a difference between that last track and the actual film version. It might be the same music, but the instrumental emphasis is significantly different. The actual film version sounds more like track 1.

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It's been a while since I've seen the film, but don't they track the main titles into the film there? And the album represents how Jerry scored it? 

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12 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Do you doubt the work done by Neil S. Bulk and Bruce Botnick?

 

 

12 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

Yes I do. The flute sounds so much clearer in track 1.

 

 

You doubt Bruce Botnick?

You...doubt...Bruce... Botnick?

Sacrilege. Sacrilege!

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No harm in being critical.

 

@Jay: Yes, they do, but I think the tracking happens during another moment. The horror music in track 1 (repetitive, quiet flute and piano part) sounds clearer than in the last track. The last track definitely features the same music, but I think that the film just reprises the entire track 1 part from that point on. As the ice pick is revealed under the bed, the flute is much more emphasised than in track 22.

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  • 8 months later...

Oh, thanks!  I searched HDTracks.com but didn't see it there, so didn't bother to try 7digital or qobuz.  Updated my post!

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