Remasters of the First 6 Star Wars Soundtracks now available (Shawn Murphy / Disney Records 2018)

[voltisubito 42]

11 hours ago, crumbs said:

 

The spectrogram of Asteroid Field is the most revealing aspect of this. No frequencies at all above 60? Bizarre. 

 

Assuming you mean 60 kHz, would overtones reaching that far up and beyond be present on analogue tape? In fact, the 24/192 transfer in the 2016 release of this cue rolls off at ~45 kHz. The real indicator of the problem lies in the audible range.

 

13 hours ago, karelm said:

 

Reading your comment about TESB, it makes me wonder if this is actually a phase issue.

 

The problem seems to be inherent to the right-channel of the affected cues, rather than a perceived effect by the listener caused by the channels being out of phase. Take, for instance, the cue mentioned by @Jay ("Battle in the Snow"). The bottom image here shows that the mid- to high-range of audible frequencies are attenuated compared to the left-channel, hence the muffled quality:

 

Spoiler

 

A strange periodic pattern in the 1997 RCA release right-channel:

 

 

 

Much better balanced previously. The 2016 release is my favourite ESB release in terms of sound quality.

[Bespin 8,475]

I wonder how to name those reissues in my discography. Only add "Remastered" after the refs?

 

I hesitate about adding "Reconstructed", as it appears more to me as "Remixed". Any suggestions?

 

Also should I jump in the pool or go to the beach. Is 9 h30 am to early to open a bottle of Champagne?

 

Many hard questions this morning...

[crumbs 14,300]

At least we have the 2016 release, which is now clearly the definitive OST presentation of ESB (even if they aren't the film mixes).

 

I suppose some of the tracks from the 2018 releases could replace the 2016 equivalents, but certainly not Asteroid Field, Battle in the Snow, Luke's First Crash, Departure of Boba Fett, Yoda and the Force, etc.

[Chewy 2,372]

How does the packaging look like @Jay ? French stores still don't have these "remasters" for some unknown reason.

[Jay 37,281]

Well, pictures of TPM  were posted last week here.I can post pictures later of all six if you like.

[Chewy 2,372]

4 minutes ago, Jay said:

Well, pictures of TPM  were posted last week here.I can post pictures later of all six if you like.

I would love yeah! Thank you

[Tallguy 3,361]

51 minutes ago, Bespin said:

I wonder how to name those reissues in my discography. Only add "Remastered" after the refs?

 

 

Call them (2018)?  Seems most straightforward.

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

Or shitmastered (2018).

[phbart 609]

Dismastered (2018).

[Bespin 8,475]

You know that this set is just the "sampler" of the expanded set to come? Wonderful, no? ;-)

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

23 hours ago, phbart said:

I believe MM said once that JW people asks to listen to the finished material for approval. I believe it was on Jaws he said that (not sure if it's on the booklet or the interview from JWFan). Anyway,  how did they approved that???

 

Since Shawn Murphy practically is one of "JW's people", maybe JW thought there was no need to check the remasters himself.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Is the Sony vinyl box set any good?

[rough cut 1,714]

I’ve said this time and time again - I highly doubt JW listens and approves every release, re-recording and whatever. It’s just not viable. I don’t care what’s been said in interviews. They’ve got things wrong.

[Jay 37,281]

He approves the specialty label releases but not OST reissues.

[rough cut 1,714]

Yes, that I can believe. The process was very well described by MM in the interviews with him.

 

But if Giacchino uses the Imperial March in one of the cues - there’s no way in hell that that has to go through JW to be “approved.”

[Disco Stu 15,495]

1 minute ago, rough cut said:

Yes, that I can believe. The process was very well described by MM in the interviews with him.

 

But if Giacchino uses the Imperial March in one of the cues - there’s no way in hell that that has to go through JW to be “approved.”

 

Yeah, I've always thought people who claim that he personally listens to every video game or TV score that uses his themes must be mistaken.  Maybe technically they get a symbolic signoff from his team.

[Jay 37,281]

4 minutes ago, rough cut said:

Yes, that I can believe. The process was very well described by MM in the interviews with him.

 

But if Giacchino uses the Imperial March in one of the cues - there’s no way in hell that that has to go through JW to be “approved.”

 

Oh, I have no idea what the process is for brand new music where people use his themes

 

 

 

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

Yeah, I've always thought people who claim that he personally listens to every video game or TV score that uses his themes must be mistaken.  Maybe technically they get a symbolic signoff from his team.

 

They might ask his people out of courtesy, and his people might give their blessing back in return, but that does not necessarily mean JW literally listened to everything before doing so

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

14 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Yeah, I've always thought people who claim that he personally listens to every video game or TV score that uses his themes must be mistaken.  Maybe technically they get a symbolic signoff from his team.

 

Who's his "team" anyway? The butler, the cook, and the cleaning lady?

[rough cut 1,714]

Miss Scarlett. Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green and Professor Plum.

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

34 minutes ago, Margo Channing said:

Is the Sony vinyl box set any good?

 

It's vinyl...

 

1 minute ago, rough cut said:

Miss Scarlett. Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green and Professor Plum.

 

What about Mr. Blue?

[rough cut 1,714]

He’s burnt out. Simply to many franchises.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

15 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

It's vinyl...

 

No good?

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

A flawed format, I'd say, and not very practical. Cool, though.

[phbart 609]

27 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Who's his "team" anyway? The butler, the cook, and the cleaning lady?

Here his team...

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Does it sound any good? Is it better than this new set? Will it give me my OST fix?

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

The covers will look awesome when framed and hung on the wall.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Sigh

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

They probably sound waaay better than the remastered 2018 CD releases.

[John 2,032]

20 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The covers will look awesome when framed and hung on the wall.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

Post of the day!

[Jay 37,281]

1 hour ago, Margo Channing said:

Does it sound any good? Is it better than this new set? Will it give me my OST fix?

 

The vinyl boxset is nothing more than the digital releases Sony issued in 2016, pressed to vinyl.

 

So if you want to know what you are getting before purchasing, just listen to the digital albums on the streaming platform of your choice

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

31 minutes ago, John said:

 

 

With covers like that, they deserve to be hanged.

[rough cut 1,714]

48 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

The vinyl boxset is nothing more than the digital releases Sony issued in 2016, pressed to vinyl.

 

Didn’t they make special masters for vinyl for this release?

 

The argument being that vinyl is unique and you can’t just put a CD-mastered track to vinyl... it’ll not sound the same - because the format is different the output would be to. And they took that into account when producing the 2016 set.

 

At least I remember something like that from the panel discussion with the producers.

[1977 1,743]

Do audiophiles still swear by vinyl (assuming it's real vinyl not the gimmicky coloured stuff with pictures on designed purely for hoarders collectors)?

 

They sure did back when I was getting into "real" hi-fi.

[Jay 37,281]

19 minutes ago, rough cut said:

 

Didn’t they make special masters for vinyl for this release?

 

The argument being that vinyl is unique and you can’t just put a CD-mastered track to vinyl... it’ll not sound the same - because the format is different the output would be to. And they took that into account when producing the 2016 set.

 

At least I remember something like that from the panel discussion with the producers.

 

Hmmm, now that you mention that that does sound a bit familiar.  So perhaps they used the '77, '80, and '83 analog LP masters for the vinyl boxset, bypassing the digital cleanup they did for the digital streaming versions.  I dunno.  I don't really care about vinyl so wouldn't remember any details like that.

[rough cut 1,714]

Yeah, I don’t care either. Vinyl is too cumbersome. I also think the “higher fidelity” label is just a gimmick without any real substance.

 

Regarding the vinyl mastering - it was just something I remembered and thought I’d share. I though that maybe someone like @Margo Channing, who never picked up the 2016 set, would appreciate the tidbit.

[publicist 4,643]

Not that i care but volume dropouts like in 'Heroics of Luke and Han' (04:40) should be reason to call off all release plans instead of promoting them. Say what you will about ancient technology, but the 1993 Arista box still is reference quality.

[Holko 9,499]

Trying this fandangled "spotify" thing.

Some Jedi tracks have really intense hiss. Rebel Briefing sounds like it's being played next to Niagara Falls.

Interestingly, the album presentation itself is not all that bad on first listen as I thought before.

[Smeltington 1,436]

18 hours ago, JTWfan77 said:

Do audiophiles still swear by vinyl (assuming it's real vinyl not the gimmicky coloured stuff with pictures on designed purely for hoarders collectors)?

 

They sure did back when I was getting into "real" hi-fi.

 

Audiophiles first of all don't necessarily have a total consensus on any one thing. People will have their own preferences like anything else. Typically, though, as an audiophile you wouldn't limit yourself to just one particular format.

 

If you're listening to vinyl from an audiophile point of view, it's most likely because you're interested in hearing music in an analog format, with the recording/mixing/mastering etc all being done in analog as well. Listening to modern, gimmicky vinyl releases like you mention doesn't fit these criteria, since it's typically a digital source pressed to vinyl, and is more just something people do for fun. But there are a few audiophile labels that actually press new vinyl directly from old analogue sources, so the question of how a new vinyl release of old material was prepared is highly relevant with something like the Star Wars OST.

 

Personally, I like listening to classic vinyl, because as a music lover I appreciate being able to listen to an original release in its original format. If memory serves, @Disco Stu has said something similar in another thread. For me, this also goes for other formats... I'll buy an album from the CD era in its original CD pressing for the same reasons. I do occasionally buy new vinyl "just for fun", even when there's no other reason to do so, especially for a new album I really like. But this is less common for me.

 

I know there are several other members here who like collecting and listening to vinyl, and I would welcome a more open minded view of this here at JWFan. In some other threads it's hard to talk about this or that vinyl release without getting derailed by people who are anxious to dismiss vinyl altogether... whereas some of us would like an opportunity to talk about the merits of a specific release rather than get sidetracked defending an entire format. Music is something to enjoy, and if people enjoy it in different ways, well, live and let live I say.

[rough cut 1,714]

Well said.

[Tallguy 3,361]

So it just occurred to me:  The film versions of Ewok Celebration and Lapti Nek are not longer available.  But the soundtrack versions are.

 

And now the soundtrack versions of Victory Celebration and Jedi Rocks are no longer available.  But the film versions are.

 

We live in a weird world.

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

1 hour ago, Smeltington said:

Personally, I like listening to classic vinyl, because as a music lover I appreciate being able to listen to an original release in its original format. If memory serves, @Disco Stu has said something similar in another thread. 

 

Now see here Smeltington, what are you saying? That you agree with Disco Stu?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Just now, Nick1066 said:

 

So what are you saying? That you agree with Disco Stu?

That's so 2017.  We're well into Stu Mk. II now.

[Smeltington 1,436]

I concur with Disco Stu!

 

[Chewy 2,372]

I've listened to ROTS several times, and I must admit that, apart from the Padme's Ruminations hiss thing, it sounds really good.

[Jay 37,281]

13 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

So it just occurred to me:  The film versions of Ewok Celebration and Lapti Nek are not longer available.  But the soundtrack versions are.

 

And now the soundtrack versions of Victory Celebration and Jedi Rocks are no longer available.  But the film versions are.

 

We live in a weird world.

 

That's a funny point!

[phbart 609]

This is an old post from Lukas Kendall at the FSM forum.

 

Quote

You are not going to get what you want for either franchise. Lucasfilm controls the rights and ransoms them to the highest bidder. They also defer to Williams, whose people run up big mixing bills and do not orient the releases to collectors' wishes (as happened on the recent Indy box). On top of that there are still elements problems with the original Trilogy due to the stuff having not been well archived at the time...there was a guy at the Star Wars Convention at the L.A. Convention Center a few years ago who was ransoming off original tape reels he had dug up from (LP remix engineer) John Neal's estate, including the original 2" 16-track of side four of the Star Wars LP! (Who knows where sides 1 through 3 went...the way this guy explained it, he got side 4 out of some garage...he did loan it to Lucasfilm at least to make a digital copy.) Finally, that 2CD Phantom Menace was something of a fiasco...Lucasfilm only did it because the tracks had gotten out there somehow (I forget how) and thought they were giving the collectors what they wanted by using the edited stems as conformed to the movie (with a million edits). They were quite taken aback by all the negative cricitism -- "what's the problem, it's exactly every note as heard in the film?" I remember explaining to one of the executives the subtleties involved and by the time I finished the attitude I heard was along the lines of "to hell with these people." Others know much more than I do but omerta prevails...such is the power of the Force. My real advice is to relax because after all we do have every note from the Trilogy on those 2CD editions...it's easy to overlook what a big deal that was...as well as significant Indy releases. 

Lukas

 

http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=65118&forumID=1&archive=0

 

I hope Disney is not following the same attitude, thinking they're giving us what we want and "to hell with us" if we complain.

 

[1977 1,743]

Perhaps the mastering errors and crappy edits are part of some elaborate master plan.

 

"If they all buy these crap sounding versions we'll release the complete scores. But just let one person bitch and it's off to the salt mines forever!"

[Balahkay 627]

Disney has responded positively to complaints before such as replacing The Little Mermaid Blu-ray for a simple editing error (which wasn't the only error but I digress).  Unless Disney receives a flood of complaints about this release, I doubt any corrections will be made.

[deleted account 108]

On 5/8/2018 at 9:23 AM, rough cut said:

But if Giacchino uses the Imperial March in one of the cues - there’s no way in hell that that has to go through JW to be “approved.”

 

I can tell you definitively that JW had approval over the score for Rogue One, and that cues had to be rewritten on short notice to his approval