KittBash

Well having now digested this new 2-CD set for a week or two I can share some thoughts:

It has to be said in all honesty that while the music itself is not for a large part a revelation to me as I have lived with the sessions leak for years, this new release makes such previous sources obsolete in every possible way, especially in the sound quality department which I found to be stellar. And although the original album contained a lion's share of the major setpieces from the film, I always thought it was in need of restructuring as this score works better in chronological structure where the musical narrative gets to breathe and slowly develop and envelop the listener. Especially Sean's theme receives more variations in the full score and further reveals it to be the main theme of the score, the emotional one especially.
 
While the score is very much a John Williams score and you can hear his fingerprints on it from start to finish, I have always admired the way he manages to create such individual musical world for his scores even in his preferred orchestral idiom. Minority Report is no different in this, made even more interesting by the composer's willingness to embrace the more modern thriller tropes and scoring trends and blend it all with his own style.
 
Williams' music continues stylistically from A.I.-Artificial Intelligence from 2001 where minimalism and electronics were employed in the same subtle way as they are used here. On the other side are the little obsessive and mysterious ostinati-figures and dark deep orchestral motifs that support individual scenes that harken back to Williams' mentor and colleague Bernard Herrmann. The new set's sound quality was a minor revelation as the lovingly remixed score reveals small details just missing from the OST and has clarity and separation of different elements that is much better than on the previous release which I found to be slightly lacking in punch on the original album.
 
One thing I found surprising on this release was how they treated the action sequences, which were not combined into lengthier tracks here but left separate:
Pre-Crime to the Rescue Part 1/Part 2, Anderton Escapes (actually cues Don't Run John and Anderton's Escape)/The Conveyor Belt,  Deploying the Spyders/Freezing Water and Confronting Lamar/Thought Transference and Finale are all now in two parts. I know that in the film most of them are separated by a small bit of silence each and are written as separate cues but it is very clear from the OST that they were despite of this meant to flow into one another which is very typical eye and ear for such details from Williams. I guess this is a more archival way of presenting this music, as it was written and recorded and with clean endings and openings, but years of listening to this stuff in combined form has just conditioned me to hear it in a certain structure and flow. In the case of the spyder sequence and Anderton's Great Escape I figured that since there is an alternate for certain part of the lengthy sequence, they chose to present them separately both in the main score programme and in the alternates section so it would be easier to identify this particular segment and not doing another complete edit of the piece with just one passage added in the middle of it. 
On the other hand I don’t mind the combining of some of the few shorter cues into a slightly non-chronological combinations in the opening half of the score, as they work just fine in the narrative flow. To my film music collector ears Mike Matessino has done a perfect job, balancing what we fans want and still satisfying the composer's and perhaps also personal producer preferences.
 
There are a lot of highlights on this set for me like:
the full Pre-Crime to the Rescue and the preceding Creating the Red Balls where the Pre-Crime motif is introduced. The aforementioned previously unreleased dark Anderton Escapes opening (aka Don’t Run John) and Williams’ preferred mix of the whole chase sequence (although I sort of prefer the album mix opening with the short segment of percussion to give it a bit more oomph). Anderston Escapes alternate percussion is a tad too prominent for my tastes. I love the wonderfully moody and gothic Presenting Pre-Cogs where Williams’ music is slowly asking questions and building a sense of mystery, suspense and even subtle dread. Agatha and the Containment Center has that cool dark synthesized choir and pulsing marimba effects in the latter half that are wonderfully eerie and give that brief scene such delicious feel of ghostly unease. How Much Time Have We Got? nicely extends the motif from On the Run. The Revelation is a great coda to the Leo Crow scene that expertly turns slowly from heartbreak to shock and horror. Anderton in Halo has another lovely dream-like variation on Sean’s theme. I know it is a bit of a nerdy fan thing but the Pre-Crime Commercial jingle is also cool to have. The Freezing Water film version opening has those cool entirely different urgent drum beats although I still prefer the original version found in the main programme. Sean by Agatha alternate which I guess is the original take on the scene with that slightly differently orchestrated woodwind section in the middle for a wee bit different emotinal effect which I think they were right to revise. So all in all I couldn't be happier with this set. Another definitive presentation of another wonderful John Williams score.

NEW SCORES AVAILABLE
 
Fox Searchlight Pictures  LINK 1 or 2
Hidden Life, A (James Newton Howard) [14 cues, 1:09:37] Jojo Rabbit (Michael Giacchino) [37 cues, 41:06]  
Kudos to @Jerry for the heads-up on these two being available!!
 
Note:  I'm not using "code" format for the direct links to the audio files like I've done in years past, so please let me know if there are any issues, broken links, etc.

I'm sure a lot of people are waiting to see if they want to bundle it with a Black Friday offering from the triple L

Giacchino brings out the snobbery of the forum once again.
 
All I'll say is this, since I'm usually taking the position of his defender (or so I'd like to think): I don't get the sheer effort it takes to despise something before it's even out there or deriding other's enjoyment of the material because it doesn't appeal to you. All still permitting that these are comic book films which other composers' opportunities to score them is no way in jeopardy or in short supply. *Giacchino's stealing our jobs!* 
 
Even when we get Elfman, Silvestri, JNH, Zimmer etc. to score these comic book films, people are still disappointed, and then you guys come to this thread and complain about Giacchino's hiring, when we know by now that you don't like it based on every other flippin' thread! 
 
Not even that, but a quick glance at Reeves' past work is enough to gleam that he's had a good working relationship with Giacchino and they are friends making this announcement unsurprising. 
 
I'm sorry, but this classist attitude is beneath you and everyone on this forum.
 
 

You know, he does this just to piss you off and that makes me SOOOOOO happy. 
 
-Erik-

I guess no physical CD coming then...

While the main liner notes are by Jeff Bond, there is a "technical note" page written by Mike that explains the process
 
Like Harry Potter 1, the score was recorded simultaneously to digital and analog, but the digital was only at 44.1khz.  So also like Harry Potter 1, he had the analog tapes pulled and used fresh transfers of those.  Everything is sourced from that, all performance edits re-created by him, all sequenced and mastered by him in 24/192.

There's nothing wrong with generally preferring OST presentations and not wanting to buy expanded releases.
 
There's nothing wrong with generally preferring complete presentations and not wanting to buy OST albums.
 
There's nothing wrong with wanting to use editing tools to change the way music is presented on any release into a different order you prefer.
 
I'll never understand why people argue with each other and derail conversations to push their preference
 
Why can't people just people happy that multiple listening options are available for a great score?

Added Minority Report to the list

But at least this time these 1500 will fit on the shelf with the others

Hey everyone! A lot of good people work very hard to make specialty label releases happen, and many of them read this forum. If you have plans on pirating their work instead of paying for it, that is your prerogative, but please share those thoughts on any other place of your choosing, and not our public forums. Thank you very much! 

I have the Varese CD but barely listen to it, I would LOVE a new expanded edition as a catalyst to re-discover the scores.
 
That's what happened with Stanley & Iris and The Cowboys, I rarely listened to those scores before, now I love em!

Here's a new episode of Legacy Conversations podcast: my guest for the episode is the esteemed John Mauceri
https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2019/09/09/john-mauceri-podcast
 
Conductor, educator, writer and lecturer, John Mauceri is an extraordinary artist and one of the great champions of great film music in concert hall. In this long and engaging conversation, the Founding Director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra talks about history and aesthetic of movie music of the Golden Age era of Hollywood, how it led to the rise of John Williams and the role of the composer in the history of Hollywood’s film music. I hope you'll enjoy listening to this as much as I did doing it.
 
Finally, the podcast is now available on Podbean and soon will be also on Apple Podcast! Subscribe to the RSS feed and don't miss an episode:
https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.podbean.com/
 

Just got an email from Intrada, they're having a 30% sale on selected titles.
 
Selected titles 30% off for a limited time while supplies last. Sale Ends Sept 11, 11:59pm Pacific time.
 
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/sc.13/category.67400/.f
 
 

Here's something different...I transcribed, re-arranged and recorded all the horn parts from this awesome Metallica song, originally arranged by Michael Kamen !
 
 

I ordered from Amazon.ca and it is this same version "Made in the EU" pressed CD

Confirmed at the end of the trailer
 
 

https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=67395&forumID=1&archive=0&pageID=44&r=448#bottom
 
 
Interesting that DAD and TWINE snuck out in between SPECTRE and Bond25 and we have to wait for Bond25 hoopla to be over now before the catalog releases continue

Why am I being attacked here - I feel like I missed something?  I have done nothing but try to be helpful, and it certainly wasn't my decision not to include reel/part info or cue names in the booklets.
 
This is the sheet music I'm talking about
 

 
Not sure why I am accused of hiding - it's not like I have anything to do with sheet music leaking or not.  I have nothing to do with that kind of stuff whatsoever, I just look at it if I get some and report what I see!

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2019/06/20/spider-man-far-from-home-soundtrack-details/
 
Can't frickin' wait!

All John Williams releases should be enhanced CDs with a link to Jay's spreadsheet for each score!
 
I gave the new release a listen last night, and enjoyed it a lot. It leans heavily on the main theme, but I liked the theme enough that I didn't mind. The piano rendition in "At the Forum" was one of the biggest highlights.

Figures the name changes as soon as I get the license plate!

I made that banner almost two decades ago!
 
If anyone's interested in making a new one, I'm open to all suggestions - once I formalize a little change to the site's name which I hope to announce next week.