Romão

Concerning Black Cauldron, I much prefer the program of Varese's re-recording than Intrada's complete score release. If you've only heard the Intrada edition and it didn't click, the other album might be worth a listen

I buy all JW's expanded releases and I don't expect instant gratification from all of them. But I know that sooner or later, when I listen to them down the line, I'll always get something out them of them that made the purchase completely worthwhile. That said, the expanded Dracula and The Lost World were instant hits with me. The Disaster Box might take longer, but I know it will be worth it

I actually prefer JW's take on Home Alone 1 material in Home Alone 2, than in the first score itself, except perhaps Star of Bethlehem

You can also hear it here (in a passage that sounds pure Star Wars to me):
 
 

I prefer the first one, but Poltergeist II is still a good score. Goldsmith has done far worse

Just a few extra bonus tracks, nothing significant.

This title wasn't rebuilt from scratch from newly found elements, like LLL's second expansion of Home Alone was.  They used the same element as the 2002 Varese version, but added lots of bonus tracks they left off the 2002 edition, and re-jiggered the main program a bit.  The whole package is much nicer looking too.

You could sell the Varese edition and probably get enough money to upgrade to this edition.  There is no benefit to keeping the Varese edition, other than the fact that you already have it, and it would cost money to get this one.
 
But there's no question that this is a better presentation of the score than the Varese was.

It really does fit quite well. Even the saber hits at the 55 second mark are synched with the brass chords in Battle of the Heroes

I Stravinsky lifts can be a bit distracting, but I too found this to be a very intriguing score. He does well in adapting existing works, let's say, in the vein of what he also did with L'Ours

Powell is a far more interesting and talented composer than Giacchino, though

Powell is a far more interesting and talented composer than Giacchino, though

Powell is a far more interesting and talented composer than Giacchino, though

Powell is a far more interesting and talented composer than Giacchino, though

Despite one blatant Stravinsky steal, one of Sarde's best and - as usual - very complex and impeccably played by the LSO, combining folk elements with different 20th century orchestral idioms.

Powell is a far more interesting and talented composer than Giacchino, though

Powell is a far more interesting and talented composer than Giacchino, though

I find Kaminsky's word very very incosistent. He has probably produced both the best and the worst cinematography in global Spielberg oeuvre (speaking as a total amateur)

I find Kaminsky's word very very incosistent. He has probably produced both the best and the worst cinematography in global Spielberg oeuvre (speaking as a total amateur)

It never was a good film, but ROTS had far better acting and it's a far worse film

Possibly the best Bond film. It's incredibly visual though, so I expect it loses a lot without the images - last time I watched it, I was amazed how much actual storytelling was carried out purely by the cinematography, the music, and Craig's facial acting. He's probably my favourite Bond actor. The song is the best since Goldeneye.

Let's celebrate another cue from TROS -- "The Old Death Star" (or 5m10, "Landing At?")!
 
What strikes me most about this cue is how dense it is leitmotivically. It reminds me of certain cues from ROTJ where Williams really is approaching the level of thematic density of late Wagner. Not every second on this track is based on some preexisting theme, of course, but the way that he transitions into and out of familiar material, and how he allows musical tension to ebb and flow as a result, is pretty masterful.
 
The first 25 seconds give us this neat, twisted play on the Psalm of the Sith theme (with hints, intentional or not, to the middle section of Across the Stars). That builds to the first climax, pathetically dialed down in the film-mix, when the Death Star II wreckage is revealed. A missed opportunity to revive the original DS motif, I suppose, but what we get instead is quite cool all the same, with that hectic string figure in Ab-minor that suggests a sped-up version of the Imperial March. Then at 0:31 it's back to the ominous mood of the beginning, and a new spin on that Psalm's twisted bass-line, even more redolent to my ears of ATS at this point.
 
A second build-up section follows for Rey's use of the ridiculous Maguffin surveying-equipment, and for it we a quickly intensifying series of musical layers leading inexorably to the most famous villain theme of all time. First a Dotted Triplet Figure in the reeds (recalling an accompanimental gesture to ROTJ, R10P2, among other things). Then we get a swelling set of high polychords that are based on the new Sith Artifact leitmotif, terrifically orchestrated, all over a pounding C pedal. And finally, of course, the massive statement of the Imperial March at 1:04 in gloriously evil C-minor. This iteration of the March is clearly the most impressive statement of that theme in the entire Sequel Trilogy, and a contender for best version since AOTC in my mind. I love how it builds to its own internal climax with the rising trumpets around 1:15, and how Williams opts to support the penultimate chord with an F bass note (rather than the more standard Ab). It's a chance for last send-off for this iconic theme, and Williams milks it for all its worth.
 
I could go on about the rest of the cue/track, but maybe this is enough to spur discussion!
 
 
 

I think it is easily the worst treated Star Wars score ever. But I'm pretty sure it will be a great listen once it is properly assembled

This is pretty much a truly European style score (not written to picture, only some cues writen for specific scenes like The Beginning, The Storm, Race Against the Sunset, and a whole bunch of variations on different material to use wherever) that the producers tried their hardest to disguise as a palatable Western-style score with intended film program, alternates, OST, and album bonus tracks. And they didn't do a bad job with it at all. With the lack of documentation, for all we know, those 5 extra tracks were totally intended for use by Kilar, and were placed on Disc 3 only because they are the most developed and refined or most different pieces. Actually I'm not sure Kilar had much involvement in the OST with all those iso score cutouts with the crappy overediting and everything... but it also has unique variations not present elsewhere on the set like Vampire Hunters.
 
This is how my edit ended up, 110:40, lots of combinations or order shifts or using "album versions" or those "unused album suite" stuff, like Mina/Jonathan, Rules Café, or Toolbox 21 as the "credits piece". The final track as usual is just "alternate" material that didn't fit elsewhere but I still liked, combined. I went a bit batshit with The Storm and Race Against the Sunset, combining versions and looping and layering a bit.

So, did they mention if it was done at a later date in L.A., or in London? Sounds like his usual L.A. musicians to me.

Those for sure would be a "top 3 Gothic" alone, but I mean it very generally to refer to the darker, melodramatic, almost (but not quite) operatic side. So not just the actual period Gothic setting of those pieces, but the American gothic of pieces like Nixon or Black Sunday or even Minority Report, bits of Sleepers. The Kryptonian act of Superman which I love. "The Hungry Sea" episode of Lost in Space, that weirdly explosive First Act Finale from Fiddler on the Roof. Gothic in the way ANH is that none of the other episodes quite are (possibly due to the darker sound of its recording). TLJ minus the Canto Bight sequences. Much of CE3K. When the Chinese invade in Seven Years in Tibet. The macabre, tragic or foreboding moments, still very tonal as opposed to the modernistic or experimental textures. And not the rhythmic, action/chase stuff, which I also love. Definitely it's there in places in the sound samples I heard of The River. Obviously, only one side of what he does so well. I'm looking forward to this score as I suspect it captures a more casual, personal JW ca. 1984, as well as including other sides like Americana (he has 52 flavours of that), folk and pop/contemporary. Not sure 16 year old me would agree, and would have far preferred ToD back then.