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Is the re-recorded Superman CD any good?


A24

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It's a great recording!  It's not a carbon copy of the film recording, but nor should it be - that would be boring!  It's a very good performance, well-interpreted by the conductor, and in sparkling sound.  I've never considered different tempos to be a demerit on rerecordings - at least not a demerit by default, although sometimes these things seem against the spirit of the piece.

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It's bittersweet for me. The recording quality is superb, and there are certainly details that either become more clear, or seem to appear for the first time altogether. As I'm very particular about this score, I don't like ALL of the different interpretations (via tempo changes, lead instrument changes, etc); I like to think of it as a tribute performance. And in that sense, it is a worthy addition to the original soundtrack. 

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Those re-recordings are obsolete.

 

What would be fun to see on the market, is new reissues of movies with newly-recorded isolated musical track. we would have the option of playing the movie with only the new music, or music and dialogue only, or the whole thing.

 

It's like concerts they did with Jaws, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter. They really have to wecord these performances in a studio and release them along with the movies, this would be great.

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I would enjoy another interpretation, with the exact temp and sync than the original versions.

 

I never undersood those re-recording of entire scores, and so, non-concert suites.

 

I mean these works are meant to fit exactly on screen with events of the movie, please re-record them using the exact same tempi, if not, it's useless.

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It's alright. Hearing a modern recording is the main advantage. It's tough for me to listen to the FSM version because it lacks dynamics. It sounds so flat and cold like the RCA ESB. The Rhino version is ultimately better.

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7 hours ago, Bespin said:

I would enjoy another interpretation, with the exact temp and sync than the original versions.

 

 

Not much left to interpret differently then.

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That's what I thought. What's the point of having another recording of a film score if it's going to be simply a "recreation"? Artistically bankrupt idea.

 

I like this recording. Might get another copy as well. Got only CD1 for some reason.

 

Karol

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17 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

Not much left to interpret differently then.

 

People pay to go in a concert hall for watching a live orchestra play the music on a movie they already know with a score they already know.

 

intepretA-WHAT? ;)

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Mainly for the acoustics and the fact that I'm experiencing the full movie with a prominently "mixed" score. I don't expect much in the way of interpretation at these performances.

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At those concerts, the conductor is just "acting", as everything is timed by a computer.

 

This is so ridiculous when we think of it.

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Question is...is the tempo slowed down like his re-recording for the Back To The Future Trilogy compilation?  Well obviously the music from Part 3 was just a direct lift of the OST.

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14 hours ago, Philippe Roaché said:

It's alright. Hearing a modern recording is the main advantage. It's tough for me to listen to the FSM version because it lacks dynamics. It sounds so flat and cold like the RCA ESB. The Rhino version is ultimately better.

 

The FSM version is by far the best and dynamic sounding set available today because it uses better 6 track sources than the one used by Rhino. Some compression and cleanup was used I believe which may be the result it sounds a bit dry at times and I do remember reading from Remixing engineer Chris Malone article on his website (I've posted the link below) where he discusses its pros and cons in depth. If they plan to reissue the album as a standalone 3CD set this year (on its 40th Anniversary) I would expect that they would further tweak the mix and improve using more groundbreaking technology at their disposal  today.

 

As for the RSNO recording:I love it.The Tempos are just right. And Its one their better recordings in the series and Debney takes certain cues to new heights. The 32 bit digital recording is quite impressive and if you have superior hi-fi system than its going to sound tremendous.

 

http://www.malonedigital.com/superman.htm#.WlhawLyWaig

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I'm still not sure which one I'd buy, a new LLL edition or Debney's version. Part of me thinks that the 1978 recording will always sound bad, no matter what they try, but then there's the unfortunate violin error in Debney's flying sequence...

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I disagree about the FSM Superman. The sound is more consistent, but the score never comes alive like it does on the older CDs. I find it quite a fatiguing listen. Rhino's release is more agreeable.

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The re-recording is OK. No reason to diss it just because it's different. But I really only need one SUPERMAN soundtrack in my collection, and that is -- and forever will be -- this:

 

R-1355417-1304790481.jpeg.jpg

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I would not buy the re-recording because of its problem with the instrument balance. Especially in the main title, where the lower strings are too weak when they're playing the melody:

 

 

7 minutes ago, Thor said:

The re-recording is OK. No reason to diss it just because it's different. But I really only need one SUPERMAN soundtrack in my collection, and that is -- and forever will be -- this:

 

R-1355417-1304790481.jpeg.jpg

 

That's not even the complete OST. It's missing two tracks. :P

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2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

That's not even the complete OST. It's missing two tracks. :P

 

None of them add anything to the listening experience. This CD is already in the 70s, which is extremely generous for a film score; heck -- ANY singular musical work. I could maybe have included "The Big Rescue" in there somewhere, but it's not really necessary. Had the Rhino 2CD once; quickly sold it. Same for the re-recording in question here.

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The double LP probably had too much music anyway. "Lex Luthor's Lair" is pretty dispensable and there's nothing really in "Growing Up" you don't take from the rest of the album.

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15 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

None of them add anything to the listening experience. This CD is already in the 70s, which is extremely generous for a film score; heck -- ANY singular musical work. I could maybe have included "The Big Rescue" in there somewhere, but it's not really necessary. Had the Rhino 2CD once; quickly sold it. Same for the re-recording in question here.

 

To me, the best thing about the Rhino is all the alternates of the Superman march. I love all of them!

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I very rarely listen to alternates and things like that. They're good for curiousity value, I guess, but for me it's ALL about the total experience, the "concept album" feel. I press play and let it play out untill it stops. I can hardly even remember track titles.

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13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The alternates of the Superman march are quite different, mainly in their structure. But maybe it's not that evident at first listen.

 

Not radical enough. It would have to be something like this to catch my interest:

 

 

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17 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

:eh:

 

That's at best abuse of what was originally great music. 

 

Yeah, but it's FUN. Here's another good 'alternative interpretation' CD that I like, and that is radical enough to catch my interest:

 

811H2pC+r-L._SL1500_.jpg

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I enjoy the Debney for it's sound quality and having a different interpretation of the music. The ending of Leaving Home seems to have a different orchestration towards the end, in the original piece when the camera tilts up there are four timpani hits, but in this version the four notes are played by the brass (perhaps this was changed on the scoring stage)? Or it could be due to the fact that the orchestral parts were missing and had to be recreated from the sketches.

 

It's also interesting to hear the recreation of the synth lines in The Planet Krypton and The Fortress of Solitude.

 

At the time, this album was also the only way to hear cues like The Big Rescue and Pa Kent's Death. 

 

That said, there are some serious brass flubs here and there, particularly in Chasing Rockets, which is a bit disappointing. Also, the tempo of To The Lair is just too slow, possibly because the RSNO players couldn't handle the sheer number of notes at that speed. I suppose the producers could have speed the track up in post, the way Silva did for the Mine Car Chase on their Indy comp. But that's cheating, 'aint it?

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