harryfrishberg

I’m sure there will be an official announcement shortly, but just a heads up to any Bond fans… John Barry’s underrated Man With The Golden Gun score is now for sale on a fantastic new vinyl set, in two delicious variants on Lalaland records and the official 007 store. Neil Bulk’s golden touch is most welcome here and the score has never sounded better. enjoy!!

Can't speak to his audio wizardry - the man is tremendously talented. But for those particular cues, I believe the reel that likely contained them was irreparably damaged over time...

I agree -- but sadly, the mono stems for Goldfinger couldn't be located. Don't worry. You're gonna love OHMSS. Neil and team did a fantastic job. (as always!) Disc 2 of OHMSS contains the music from the third act of the picture, with a natural break between Tracy's capture (end of disc 1) and the climax and finale of the film. Jurassic Park III didn't really lend itself to this structure...

Wow - what a marvelous release! (Tri-corner) Hats off to everyone involved. I was more unfamiliar with this score and actually hadn't even seen the film until last week -- but this soundtrack release was a revelation and so wonderfully done. I especially loved the liner notes, which were written in such an easy-going and informative manner. They felt like a story around the campfire rather than a scientific research paper. And as others have pointed out, the way the alternates were explained was such a welcome way of delivering the information. Great release! I look forward to visiting this score often for many years to come!

@The Great Gonzales - I am just dipping my toes into this tech. If I wanted to re-create DME stems for a feature film, I'm assuming I'd use "BanditPlus"? Any advantage to using 7.1 stems? Does that produce cleaner results?

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to respond and give such a detailed breakdown! Much appreciated! :-)

This is exciting! Congrats! Since you've taken such a magnified level of study to such a small and usually under appreciated cue, perhaps you can weigh in on a question I've always had... Is the motif that plays at ~1:21 in Last Crusade's "On The Tank" in any way related to "In The Jungle" ? I'm a musical novice, so I don't have any ability to compare the sheet music -- but purely from a listening perspective, it always sounded like Williams was doing a bit of a military / action riff on the slow and mysterious theme from the opening of Raiders... but maybe I'm just hearing things. I'd be curious to know if there's any academic correlation between the two! Either way, congrats again on the upcoming lecture!

If you have even a passing affection for this film or score, $15 is a no-brainer. It's a great expansion. Neil did a wonderful job!

@Jay - is it too early to ask you for an updated Hook spreadsheet so I can hyper-analyze this magnificent release as compared to other inferior versions?

This is my favorite Horner score -- and much of that is tied to my childhood experience seeing the movie, which also ranks highly in my mind. Neil did an incredible job with this expanded presentation. Having a complete and chronological version of the score makes for a wonderful listening experience. I am thrilled to finally have unreleased cues like Prison Escape, Interrupted Getaway, and the standout MVP.... "Sexy Dance". So very thankful for the time and effort that Neil and company put into this score. I love it!

Just finished listening to the first 2 discs and preparing myself for the emotional journey of the 3rd disc. WOW. Bravo to Mike, MV, @Jay, and everyone else involved in bringing to life this MASTERFUL release of a spectacular score. Eternally grateful that we can experience it in full with such clarity and with so much thought and care put into the presentation. Thank you!!!

Love to see your name alongside filmscore soundtrack royalty on those liner notes, @Jay!

Again -- let me emphasize my use of the word "minor". Aside from a couple "clean" intros and outros to cues that are joined here, but appear separated either in the film or on the bootleg, the only things I can see that are absent from this set are: Film Version ending to "The Chase" -- just a seven second reprise of the Goodspeed/SEAL theme that ends the action cue. Apparently this was not something the composers worked on, and was likely created during the last (extremely rushed) mixing session for the film. The elements were somehow unavailable and the producers were unable to replicate the film ending for this set. 2nd Alternate "SEAL Attack" -- this is apparently another alt for the "Welcome To The Rock" sequence, but only contained a 5 second difference to the other alt, and was deemed unworthy of including.

This is my absolute favorite Media Ventures action score. Surprisingly hummable-themes -- absolutely brimming with the kind of action drums and guitar licks that make the 90s such a wonderful time for scores like this. If this is your first time hearing the score, you're gonna love it. The movie itself is still a great example of popcorn fun, and well worth a revisit! This soundtrack release is presented and mixed very well -- generally smart joining of smaller cues (I have a few minor gripes). If you've ever listened to the widely circulated bootleg releases, there's not a TON of new material here -- but the biggest revelations here are the new bonus tracks, particularly "The Chase (Demos #1 and #2)" - which present Don Harper's first stabs at the standout San Francisco car chase setpiece. You can absolutely hear the seeds of some amazing action music, but it's still trying to find the right melody and get away from some of the Broken Arrow / Drop Zone guitar sound. It isn't until the third demo, where (presumably) Harry Gregson-Williams joins the fray and NAILS the more cinematic, militaristic sound that ultimately makes this cue so iconic. My other favorite track is "Naval Weapons Depot (Rock Guitar Mix)", which presents the full cue for the film's opening action sequence, but unlike the film version, which only sparingly uses Bob Daspit's electric guitar overdubs, this version leaves the volume slider all the way up. :-) There's a few minor moments missing from this release, but it's a wonderfully produced album from people who clearly love and know this score. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Hey @Jay -- while your ears are still unclogging, I'll throw in my own 2¢ regarding one of the questions you posed to Neil on FSM. And I'm speaking strictly in a theoretical sense, since there's very little information to draw from on this. Regarding the alternate opening to Surrender, I believe that it's highly likely this alternate was made once Arnold knew his song would be used as an End Titles piece rather than during the Main Titles. It was perhaps meant to be a more somber and fluid transition from "Bond Triumphs" into the End Credits, specifically over the "In Memory of Albert R. Broccoli" card. I actually mocked this up with video at one point and it flows rather nicely. But in the end, it was jettisoned in favor of the big brassy opening we all know and love. Kind of like the ending of OHMSS -- taking a moment of sad reflection and crashing into that "James Bond" wah-wah trumpet sound... Again, this is just my speculation... So glad you're enjoying the release!!