Yavar Moradi

What’s wrong with the release? I admit I never purchased it because I’m not a big fan of the score. Yavar

I’m sure that the Return of the Seven LP is a straight up misleadingly-labeled re-recording of the original Magnificent Seven score. That’s been discussed for years and years… like this post from expert Bob DiMucci: https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=144920&forumID=1&archive=0 What I’m not sure about is how much new material Bernstein contributed to the actual sequel score as recorded for the film. Hopefully this set’s liner notes say more about this even though the recording was lost. And actually I see in that above thread I linked that the Marlboro LP actually claims to have original music from Return of the Seven in addition to the original Magnificent Seven, so maybe I’m a little wrong and that’s where we can find some music actually written for the first sequel score… Yavar

That was already released (complete, I think) by Universal Music France in 2012: https://www.discogs.com/release/6651799-Maurice-Jarre-Topaz-LEtau What we really need officially released is an expansion of Addison’s underrated Torn Curtain score (the 28 minute Decca album is all we have), paired with everything Herrmann recorded of his own score at the time of the film. Oh. And an official release of the original Psycho recording, of course, plus any other Herrmann/Hitchcock original recordings which survive in the Universal vaults (no offense to the rerecordings). Yavar

So yeah, discs 1, 3, and 4 on this set are the actual film recordings/performances (albeit 4 only survived on stems alas, so the sound quality won’t be as good as the great sounding 3—in stereo—or even 1, which I only survived the ages in mono but not from stems). Return of the Seven, the first sequel score, appears to be completely lost. In its place Quartet has provided the ALBUM Bernstein newly recorded in 1966, the year the sequel film was released. That album was titled and marketed at the time as “Return of the Seven” (and I’m sure Quartet therefore contractually had to do the same, here) but it was really just Bernstein’s very first album recording of the original The Magnificent Seven score — just look at the track titles for confirmation! He inexplicably wasn’t asked to do an album at the time of that popular original film (which is what he of course put the greatest effort into!), so this was his way to rectify that using the excuse of the sequel film as a tie-in, and the record label actually slapped the title and artwork from the sequel film on the album to make it even more confusing for fans (but they figured it out pretty quick). It’s good that Quartet is including this album (and pairing it with that Marlboro County LP’s CD premiere was a brilliant bonus decision) but this is not music fit to picture and recorded for Return of the Seven, only a new recording of the original Mag7 film score, produced just a few years later rather than decades later like Bernstein did in the 90s. I’m actually most interested in this great looking new box set because of 1) Chris Malone restorations and 2) a big liner notes booklet from Frank DeWald, which presumably researched and explains some of this background, and Bernstein’s involvement on the sequel scores. Yavar

Weird there are no replies on this yet — a major expansion of one of a top 10 Barry score! Yavar

This Hitchcock premiere twofer is the RELEASE OF THE YEAR for me! Really like the Goodwin score, and have been dying to hear more of the Mancini besides the main title FOREVER. Yavar

But it was freshly conducted by him, however! Yeah it’s a bummer that Return of the Seven is apparently completely lost without even stems surviving. I’m sure they wanted to include it and looked thoroughly. I’d heard that Bernstein did more work on that than the other two sequel scores so it really is a loss. Of course the LP under the “Return” title is infamously just Bernstein’s album re-recording of the original Magnificent Seven score, which should have been produced earlier at the time of that film’s release and bizarrely wasn’t. It was only labeled “Return of the Magnificent Seven” for marketing purposes because that was the new film! There is another premiere here you missed: the CD premiere of the Marlboro Country LP. It’ll be nice to have that from original tapes free of clicks and pops. Yavar

Ah… but a THIRD (actually the second of the three) Conan score was written, and BEHOLD — it was recorded in London. Yavar

Me. Hunchback may arguably have slightly higher highs, but Pocahontas is the more consistent and unified masterpiece. Yavar

Yup, the Nixon trailer cue made it into the original soundtrack. Yavar

No, it’s like Goldsmith’s To Trap a Spy or The Crimebusters. Yavar

Hopeful bump?

I had the exact same thought about it! Actually I came here to share this gem from Jon and Al Kaplan… Yavar

There still is cross pollination with the old Expanded Universe — just look at Timothy Zahn’s Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was in some animated Star Wars and seems poised to appear in live action for Ahsoka! NOTHING new happened with the Disney takeover — they only continued doing what Lucas did before them on the prequels: ignore any of the complicated/convoluted/labyrinthine book series unless there was an element they particularly liked. And anyone who expected them to do anything else was being insanely unrealistic and unreasonable. Yavar

uh… because just like with Star Trek, most of the books, games, and other side stories were never canon to begin with? They maintained continuity within themselves to a degree, but long before Disney came into the picture George Lucas himself contradicted a lot of them with the Prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars! Filmed stuff is different and clearly on a more concrete level — and it’s always been that way. Yavar

Whoever declared that? The filming of Young Indy was overseen by George Lucas himself, and I don’t believe he (or Disney later) ever declared the framing stories as “non-canon”, even if they opted to go with the edited-down-for-VHS-home-video versions, for pacing or whatever. It’s like like George Lucas ever rethought Indy surviving into old age…. As far as I’ve heard? Yavar

Not possible, since The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles are canon and an even older Indiana Jones in his 90s is present. What would be brilliant though is if Indy as played by Harrison Ford loses an eye in this. Yavar

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! Good one! Yavar

FUNDED! (Actually £12 over!) Kudos to the mystery hero! Get ready for some more excellent Goldsmith premieres, everybody! Yavar

WHOA! Only £41 left to go! Who's gonna take all the glory and push this thing over the edge into being funded? Yavar

I honestly like the Dry Your Tears theme a bit better when it reappears later in The Patriot. I agree that Cinque’s Theme is amazing and the thematic highlight of the score. Yavar

Hey I’m a fan of your Society!

That’s Chris Malone for ya. Yavar

Bigger ensembles than early anthology shows like GE Theater (or even the much bigger Playhouse 90, which averaged 18 musicians for Goldsmith) I suspect… Williams worked on some of those shows and maybe *someday* years from now his early TV anthology work could be re-recorded if original recordings don’t survive… Yavar

Or they just don’t care enough to actually block anything. Yavar