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Trope got a reaction from Edmilson in Expansions for Non-JW Harry Potter Soundtracks?
I'm an enormous fan of the Desplat Potter scores. Yes, there was a Limited Edition Collector's Set release of Deathly Hallows Part 1, but it only contained a handful of extra cues (a few of which are already available on the digital release). I think he did such a great job in amping up the darkness in tone with two beautifully subtle scores, with plenty of thematic interplay and highly sophisticated orchestral writing, while also allowing for extended periods of silence to dominate, something which I'm starting to appreciate much more as contemporary action movies continue to go for a wall-to-wall approach when it comes to music.
Goblet of Fire is also growing on me since I revisited it recently. The score of that film reminded me of Howard Shore's music, using lots of clusters and dense, chordal underscore in the lower registers. A complete expansion would be an instant purchase for me as well.
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Trope reacted to Bilbo in Expansions for Non-JW Harry Potter Soundtracks?
It was a bonus disc with a few extra cues released at the same time as the regular edition. Still a good chunk of unreleased music.
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Trope reacted to Holko in Expansions for Non-JW Harry Potter Soundtracks?
If we disregard that WB would want to do 6 on their own like Jay said, it might not be as difficult as we previously thought? The Disaster Box had I think Earthquake licensed as a separate release with its own catalogue number, but still sold as part of the box, and the big heads had no problem with it.
I'd kill for a proper release of GoF.
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Trope got a reaction from Chewy in Expansions for Non-JW Harry Potter Soundtracks?
Hello, I'm not sure if this has been discussed on the forum before, but would anyone know if such an expansion has ever been mentioned by soundtrack labels (La-La Land, Intrada, etc.)? I imagine that something like this might sell really well, given the popularity John Williams Harry Potter collection (which is one of the best expanded releases I own). I ask this question since I am currently re-watching the Potter films after nearly a decade and noticing that there is some great music unavailable on the OSTs, including both individual standout cues, as well as motivic/thematic pieces that play an important part in the narrative arc of the music.
In terms of how these scores could be expanded practically, that is a little challenging. It would be an obvious choice to expand both of Deplat's Deathly Hallows scores as a combined release, and maybe do the same with Hooper's two? Although this leaves out Doyle's Goblet of Fire, which could be either a standalone release, or could be included alongside the Hooper scores, as a sort of "Harry Potter - The Middle Years" collection (although I'm sure there are some people who would want the Doyle score and not Hooper's).
I don't know the general consensus on the forum about the quality of the non-JW Potter scores, but I personally think that each one is very good fantasy/action score, even if some are less successful at being a "Harry Potter" score in the style of John Williams.
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Trope reacted to Jay in Expansions for Non-JW Harry Potter Soundtracks?
4 and 5 are, like 1-3, split between WB Music and WB Pictures, so could be licensed the same way 1-3 were for the Potter box.
6-8 were released on WB Picture's own music label, Water Tower Records, so would be extremely hard to license; it'd be more likely they expand the scores themselves on their own label.
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Trope reacted to crumbs in Expansions for Non-JW Harry Potter Soundtracks?
No reason they can't happen... though I understand Warner Brothers is a much more difficult studio to licence scores from now, due to various corporate mergers and management changes.
After the JW HP box, Mike Matessino mentioned he'd happily do the remaining 5 scores but there's complexities in how to release them. The OST label changed between films 5 and 6, so a Hooper box set might not be possible (each of his two OSTs released on different labels, which makes licensing an expansion difficult).
In theory a standalone GOF expansion, and a Desplat DH1+DH2 set, should be straightforward.
These things just take time, especially with COVID grinding things to a halt for two years.
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Trope reacted to Drew in The Thomas Newman Thread
Very sad news: Film Music Reporter has confirmed Reznor and Ross have scored the film. FMR has a 99+ percent accuracy rate.
https://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/08/23/trent-reznor-atticus-ross-scoring-sam-mendes-empire-of-light/
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Trope reacted to michael_grig in The Composer's Thread
Ooh! That's very good! You took a more melancholy but optimistic approach! I took a more dramatic approach. I think both work well!
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Trope got a reaction from Manakin Skywalker in The Composer's Thread
Just finished mine as well, and keen to hear other interpretations of the scene. I know nothing about this show, so I approached the scene in a more straightforward, sentimental way. Clearly, I was binging several Horner scores at the time of writing...
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Trope got a reaction from michael_grig in The Composer's Thread
Just finished mine as well, and keen to hear other interpretations of the scene. I know nothing about this show, so I approached the scene in a more straightforward, sentimental way. Clearly, I was binging several Horner scores at the time of writing...
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Trope reacted to michael_grig in The Composer's Thread
So, I just submitted my piece for the Bridgerton Scoring Competition! Has anyone else from here participated? I would love to hear other versions! Deadline is close!
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Trope reacted to Holko in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - 40th Anniversary Edition from La-La Land Records
why no sw we want sw
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Trope reacted to chrissiddall in James Horner - LEGENDS OF THE FALL in full score (Chris Siddall Publishing)
Hehe thanks for this lovely thread - you beat me to it! I was just about to set up an announcement.
The book is looking fabulous if I don't say so myself, and the music is so achingly beautiful. It's deceptively simple too. Lots of space in the score yet it sounds so warm and lush. Definitely worthy of study!
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Trope reacted to bruckhorn in James Horner - LEGENDS OF THE FALL in full score (Chris Siddall Publishing)
An e-mail I received earlier this evening: Dear Film Music Fans, Chris Siddall Music Publishing is proud to announce that the Legends of the Fall study score is ready for pre-ordering. Horner's weighty and heart-breaking score is a symphonic masterpiece of thematic beauty and elegance. From "The Ludlows" and "To the Boys" to "Samuel's Death" and "Revenge", every note of James Horner's spectacular score is presented in stunning detail. Please visit ChrisSiddallMusic.com and be the first to own this classic masterpiece today. 223 pages, 9x12 inches. Paperbound, printed in the U.K. $85.00 Available Worldwide Note: Shipped from the UK. Please check with your country for import tax before ordering. This charge will be in addition to the item cost and shipping cost and varies by country. https://www.chrissiddallmusic.com/store/p86/Legends_of_the_Fall_In_Full_Score.html Orders for Legends of the Fall are expected to ship week commencing 5th September 2022.
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Trope reacted to one.chrome in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Hey guys!
I have been reading some of the issues highlighted in this release (super interesting by the way, especially the higher pitched Got Any ID that fades into Extreme Ways) and I might disagree about the Bourne On Land - Alternate Version being a demo from the Supremacy score.
I think John Powell had this melody in mind already when working on the Bourne Identity. When listening to Love Scene - Alternate version, you can hear that :
the notes played by the guitar are Supremacy’s theme (Goa); it is mixed with the humming voice we can hear in Marie drives/Bourne sleeps (Tumescent edition) or The Drive To Paris (Regular edition); and the strings/ambient sounds we can hear at 01:23 are very similar to the lower pitched ones in Hotel Regina at 0:37 and 1:10, as well as in The Bourne Identity (regular edition) at 4:01; the same atmospheric bass from the normal Love Scene/At The Hairdresser(Regular edition) we can hear from the start of the song is also there. Finally, Bourne on Land - With Bassoon has a very similar piano to the Alternate Version.
For some, this might be a bit of a stretch but these are a few things I noticed while listening. So maybe these two alternate versions of Bourne On Land and Love Scene were made for Bourne Identity but because of their melody being so different from the rest of the pieces, they were put aside and used later as a base for Supremacy. Explaining why they are there, and I expect John Powell to at least listen to his stuff before green lighting it.
In regards to Got Any ID, Powell mentioned on Instagram that most of these songs were made before dubbing the film. Maybe, Extreme Ways was selected much later in the process and they realized that by increasing the pitch and putting the songs together with a fade, this was the most epic way of closing the movie.
Just my two cents! I am a huge fan of the Bourne Trilogy (Identity being my favorite for its revolutionary score, almost (Luc)Besson-esque feeling with steadier sequences, Marie, and the epic conclusion with Extreme Ways).
Honestly, this thread has been awesome to read through, you guys are experts! As mentioned in an earlier post, this is indeed a niche community and reading inputs of fellow fans is quite an experience.
Greetings from France!
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Trope got a reaction from MaxTheHouseelf in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Hello everyone. It's been a while since this thread was active but I thought I should share with you the results of my attempts to have the aforementioned issues with this released looked into (and ultimately fixed) by the label.
Way back on June 11, I emailed Varèse's help address, mentioning the issues I had come across and asking if there was someone from the label who might look into these issues and sort them out for future pressings/digital release. Customer support was very accomodating, telling me they wanted to look into any evidence I could provide, which I did. I took time to carefully include excerpts of audio with evident mastering faults (all clearly labelled and described), and I also mentioned that track 6 "Bourne on Land (Alternate Version)" was potentially a demo from Supremacy ("Morning Run") that could have mistakenly ended up being included on this release, due to the 1m03 cue number. I was told that my evidence would be sent to the relevant team and that I would hear back from them.
I didn't hear back for weeks, so I sent a follow-up email just to make sure my case hadn't been lost or forgotten. I was told that the team hadn't replied, but I would definitely hear back as soon as they had something to say. From June 24 to August 3, there was no correspondence. I let the case sit and, since I wasn't listening very much to the expanded Tumescent Identity soundtrack (having lost my enthusiasm for it on account of the present flaws), I didn't feel the need to keep up a constant stream of emails.
On August 3, nearly 2 months after my initial email, I send a further email expressing my disappointment in Varèse's apparent failure to even acknowledge my case, let alone take any action on it. I was contacted by the same customer service employee, letting me know that they genuinely had passed on my evidence to the team, but hadn't heard back from anyone and the issue had gotten lost over time. They promised to follow it up again, and on August 9, I finally received a response from the label, which read as follows:
"The album was personally assembled by John Powell and his team. John specifically requested it be called "The Tumescent Edition" instead of the traditional Deluxe Edition because it is not a simple extension of the score that appears in the film. It's possible perhaps that the elements you point out were created during the period when he was working on the score which led to their inclusion. Hopefully the all-encompassing response is satisfactory as only John would be able to answer your more specific questions. Thanks for the purchase and hope you enjoy the album more with this context."
I must confess that I am fairly disappointed in the outcome of this nearly 2-month long process. I feel this response doesn't adequately address the evidence I provided, but there's not much else I can say or do. Ignoring the inclusion of what appeared to be the Supremacy demo, the statement makes it look like John Powell and his team are personally responsible for the faults on this expansion (which they may well be). But I would have thought that a label which offers premium CD club expansions to a niche and dedicated group of listeners/collectors would be sure to check for errors prior to approving a release, or at least look into the evidence I provided and respond to some/any of the faults demonstrated (in my mind, the sample rate issue of the final track is undeniably an error that can easily be conceded and fixed for future pressings, and I doubt I would need to engage with Powell one-on-one for someone to notice. it). Based on the label's response, it would seem that no adjustments will be made for the future September digital release, which is a shame.
This was my first time engaging with any specialty label beyond simply purchasing their products, and maybe I was too naïve in thinking that my little collection of audio evidence would have any impact whatsoever - After all, there are so many threads on JWFan alone that detail flaws (both small and great) of a number of expanded releases, and I'm sure others have contacted labels to no avail as well. Overall, it's sad that these little faults sour the taste of what looked at first sight to be a really exciting expansion of a great, influential score, and a personal favourite of mine.
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Trope reacted to HunterTech in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Since it got lost in this thread derailing, I reposted the full cuelist and album breakdowns here for those who want to further dissect the release:
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Trope got a reaction from enderdrag64 in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Hello everyone. It's been a while since this thread was active but I thought I should share with you the results of my attempts to have the aforementioned issues with this released looked into (and ultimately fixed) by the label.
Way back on June 11, I emailed Varèse's help address, mentioning the issues I had come across and asking if there was someone from the label who might look into these issues and sort them out for future pressings/digital release. Customer support was very accomodating, telling me they wanted to look into any evidence I could provide, which I did. I took time to carefully include excerpts of audio with evident mastering faults (all clearly labelled and described), and I also mentioned that track 6 "Bourne on Land (Alternate Version)" was potentially a demo from Supremacy ("Morning Run") that could have mistakenly ended up being included on this release, due to the 1m03 cue number. I was told that my evidence would be sent to the relevant team and that I would hear back from them.
I didn't hear back for weeks, so I sent a follow-up email just to make sure my case hadn't been lost or forgotten. I was told that the team hadn't replied, but I would definitely hear back as soon as they had something to say. From June 24 to August 3, there was no correspondence. I let the case sit and, since I wasn't listening very much to the expanded Tumescent Identity soundtrack (having lost my enthusiasm for it on account of the present flaws), I didn't feel the need to keep up a constant stream of emails.
On August 3, nearly 2 months after my initial email, I send a further email expressing my disappointment in Varèse's apparent failure to even acknowledge my case, let alone take any action on it. I was contacted by the same customer service employee, letting me know that they genuinely had passed on my evidence to the team, but hadn't heard back from anyone and the issue had gotten lost over time. They promised to follow it up again, and on August 9, I finally received a response from the label, which read as follows:
"The album was personally assembled by John Powell and his team. John specifically requested it be called "The Tumescent Edition" instead of the traditional Deluxe Edition because it is not a simple extension of the score that appears in the film. It's possible perhaps that the elements you point out were created during the period when he was working on the score which led to their inclusion. Hopefully the all-encompassing response is satisfactory as only John would be able to answer your more specific questions. Thanks for the purchase and hope you enjoy the album more with this context."
I must confess that I am fairly disappointed in the outcome of this nearly 2-month long process. I feel this response doesn't adequately address the evidence I provided, but there's not much else I can say or do. Ignoring the inclusion of what appeared to be the Supremacy demo, the statement makes it look like John Powell and his team are personally responsible for the faults on this expansion (which they may well be). But I would have thought that a label which offers premium CD club expansions to a niche and dedicated group of listeners/collectors would be sure to check for errors prior to approving a release, or at least look into the evidence I provided and respond to some/any of the faults demonstrated (in my mind, the sample rate issue of the final track is undeniably an error that can easily be conceded and fixed for future pressings, and I doubt I would need to engage with Powell one-on-one for someone to notice. it). Based on the label's response, it would seem that no adjustments will be made for the future September digital release, which is a shame.
This was my first time engaging with any specialty label beyond simply purchasing their products, and maybe I was too naïve in thinking that my little collection of audio evidence would have any impact whatsoever - After all, there are so many threads on JWFan alone that detail flaws (both small and great) of a number of expanded releases, and I'm sure others have contacted labels to no avail as well. Overall, it's sad that these little faults sour the taste of what looked at first sight to be a really exciting expansion of a great, influential score, and a personal favourite of mine.
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Trope reacted to Edmilson in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - 40th Anniversary Edition from La-La Land Records
Exactly. Disney surely does not have the best track record when it comes to their classic scores. Which is why I think a possible JW Star Wars expansion by Disney would be less like the great MM albums for the specialty labels and more like TPM's Ultimate Edition or the Rogue One "deluxe" edition.
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Trope got a reaction from CatastrophicJones in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
I will remind you that these specific MASTERING / PRODUCTION glitches on the CD are the errors that I contacted the LABEL (and no one else) about, in order to see if they could be fixed for future release (either physical or digital). The inclusion of a potential Supremacy demo was really just a side-note, and, as others have said, it's very easy to remove it from the program if you don't want to listen to it.
I understand full well that the Tumescent Edition is not intended to be a complete release of the score, so I don't fault it for not including everything heard in the film. However, I can (and do) take issue with the several mistakes, noticeable to anyone with ears who pays attention to the music they are listening to. Being very familiar with the OST (in which none of these problems appear), I heard nearly all of these in my first listen through on headphones (without super high-end, high-res, high-tech fancy equipment, and without malicious nitpicking intentions). Being relatively new to the whole expanded CD collecting world, this release was one of the first in my collection to have noticeable errors, and I felt justified in reaching out to the label, even if there was no resolution offered in the end.
I really like the music John Powell wrote for The Bourne Identity. I really like the music presented on the Tumescent Edition. I really DON'T like the mastering glitches present the Tumescent Edition. I rest my case.
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Trope got a reaction from Chewy in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Hello everyone. It's been a while since this thread was active but I thought I should share with you the results of my attempts to have the aforementioned issues with this released looked into (and ultimately fixed) by the label.
Way back on June 11, I emailed Varèse's help address, mentioning the issues I had come across and asking if there was someone from the label who might look into these issues and sort them out for future pressings/digital release. Customer support was very accomodating, telling me they wanted to look into any evidence I could provide, which I did. I took time to carefully include excerpts of audio with evident mastering faults (all clearly labelled and described), and I also mentioned that track 6 "Bourne on Land (Alternate Version)" was potentially a demo from Supremacy ("Morning Run") that could have mistakenly ended up being included on this release, due to the 1m03 cue number. I was told that my evidence would be sent to the relevant team and that I would hear back from them.
I didn't hear back for weeks, so I sent a follow-up email just to make sure my case hadn't been lost or forgotten. I was told that the team hadn't replied, but I would definitely hear back as soon as they had something to say. From June 24 to August 3, there was no correspondence. I let the case sit and, since I wasn't listening very much to the expanded Tumescent Identity soundtrack (having lost my enthusiasm for it on account of the present flaws), I didn't feel the need to keep up a constant stream of emails.
On August 3, nearly 2 months after my initial email, I send a further email expressing my disappointment in Varèse's apparent failure to even acknowledge my case, let alone take any action on it. I was contacted by the same customer service employee, letting me know that they genuinely had passed on my evidence to the team, but hadn't heard back from anyone and the issue had gotten lost over time. They promised to follow it up again, and on August 9, I finally received a response from the label, which read as follows:
"The album was personally assembled by John Powell and his team. John specifically requested it be called "The Tumescent Edition" instead of the traditional Deluxe Edition because it is not a simple extension of the score that appears in the film. It's possible perhaps that the elements you point out were created during the period when he was working on the score which led to their inclusion. Hopefully the all-encompassing response is satisfactory as only John would be able to answer your more specific questions. Thanks for the purchase and hope you enjoy the album more with this context."
I must confess that I am fairly disappointed in the outcome of this nearly 2-month long process. I feel this response doesn't adequately address the evidence I provided, but there's not much else I can say or do. Ignoring the inclusion of what appeared to be the Supremacy demo, the statement makes it look like John Powell and his team are personally responsible for the faults on this expansion (which they may well be). But I would have thought that a label which offers premium CD club expansions to a niche and dedicated group of listeners/collectors would be sure to check for errors prior to approving a release, or at least look into the evidence I provided and respond to some/any of the faults demonstrated (in my mind, the sample rate issue of the final track is undeniably an error that can easily be conceded and fixed for future pressings, and I doubt I would need to engage with Powell one-on-one for someone to notice. it). Based on the label's response, it would seem that no adjustments will be made for the future September digital release, which is a shame.
This was my first time engaging with any specialty label beyond simply purchasing their products, and maybe I was too naïve in thinking that my little collection of audio evidence would have any impact whatsoever - After all, there are so many threads on JWFan alone that detail flaws (both small and great) of a number of expanded releases, and I'm sure others have contacted labels to no avail as well. Overall, it's sad that these little faults sour the taste of what looked at first sight to be a really exciting expansion of a great, influential score, and a personal favourite of mine.
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Trope got a reaction from Davis in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Hello everyone. It's been a while since this thread was active but I thought I should share with you the results of my attempts to have the aforementioned issues with this released looked into (and ultimately fixed) by the label.
Way back on June 11, I emailed Varèse's help address, mentioning the issues I had come across and asking if there was someone from the label who might look into these issues and sort them out for future pressings/digital release. Customer support was very accomodating, telling me they wanted to look into any evidence I could provide, which I did. I took time to carefully include excerpts of audio with evident mastering faults (all clearly labelled and described), and I also mentioned that track 6 "Bourne on Land (Alternate Version)" was potentially a demo from Supremacy ("Morning Run") that could have mistakenly ended up being included on this release, due to the 1m03 cue number. I was told that my evidence would be sent to the relevant team and that I would hear back from them.
I didn't hear back for weeks, so I sent a follow-up email just to make sure my case hadn't been lost or forgotten. I was told that the team hadn't replied, but I would definitely hear back as soon as they had something to say. From June 24 to August 3, there was no correspondence. I let the case sit and, since I wasn't listening very much to the expanded Tumescent Identity soundtrack (having lost my enthusiasm for it on account of the present flaws), I didn't feel the need to keep up a constant stream of emails.
On August 3, nearly 2 months after my initial email, I send a further email expressing my disappointment in Varèse's apparent failure to even acknowledge my case, let alone take any action on it. I was contacted by the same customer service employee, letting me know that they genuinely had passed on my evidence to the team, but hadn't heard back from anyone and the issue had gotten lost over time. They promised to follow it up again, and on August 9, I finally received a response from the label, which read as follows:
"The album was personally assembled by John Powell and his team. John specifically requested it be called "The Tumescent Edition" instead of the traditional Deluxe Edition because it is not a simple extension of the score that appears in the film. It's possible perhaps that the elements you point out were created during the period when he was working on the score which led to their inclusion. Hopefully the all-encompassing response is satisfactory as only John would be able to answer your more specific questions. Thanks for the purchase and hope you enjoy the album more with this context."
I must confess that I am fairly disappointed in the outcome of this nearly 2-month long process. I feel this response doesn't adequately address the evidence I provided, but there's not much else I can say or do. Ignoring the inclusion of what appeared to be the Supremacy demo, the statement makes it look like John Powell and his team are personally responsible for the faults on this expansion (which they may well be). But I would have thought that a label which offers premium CD club expansions to a niche and dedicated group of listeners/collectors would be sure to check for errors prior to approving a release, or at least look into the evidence I provided and respond to some/any of the faults demonstrated (in my mind, the sample rate issue of the final track is undeniably an error that can easily be conceded and fixed for future pressings, and I doubt I would need to engage with Powell one-on-one for someone to notice. it). Based on the label's response, it would seem that no adjustments will be made for the future September digital release, which is a shame.
This was my first time engaging with any specialty label beyond simply purchasing their products, and maybe I was too naïve in thinking that my little collection of audio evidence would have any impact whatsoever - After all, there are so many threads on JWFan alone that detail flaws (both small and great) of a number of expanded releases, and I'm sure others have contacted labels to no avail as well. Overall, it's sad that these little faults sour the taste of what looked at first sight to be a really exciting expansion of a great, influential score, and a personal favourite of mine.
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Trope reacted to Richard P in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Indeed, that's a disappointingly generic response but perhaps for this release Varese were essentially just putting out the album and PR materials that Powell & co sent them.
In my view, the inclusion of the misnamed alternate really isn't a problem. Glass half full, you've got an official release for one cue from Supremacy, and half empty, you can just ignore it.
For me, missing music will always be the less forgivable aspect for expansions so it was surprising to read about the handful of missing bits. As you say, the labels know they're catering towards customers who notice this stuff.
The fade-out in the last cue (before the Moby song) is just plain annoying, and is a curious detail which suggests they either didn't have the original sessions with a clean end, or thought that a fade-out was the best approach.
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Trope got a reaction from Evanus in John Powell - THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) - 2022 Varese Sarabande expanded edition
Hello everyone. It's been a while since this thread was active but I thought I should share with you the results of my attempts to have the aforementioned issues with this released looked into (and ultimately fixed) by the label.
Way back on June 11, I emailed Varèse's help address, mentioning the issues I had come across and asking if there was someone from the label who might look into these issues and sort them out for future pressings/digital release. Customer support was very accomodating, telling me they wanted to look into any evidence I could provide, which I did. I took time to carefully include excerpts of audio with evident mastering faults (all clearly labelled and described), and I also mentioned that track 6 "Bourne on Land (Alternate Version)" was potentially a demo from Supremacy ("Morning Run") that could have mistakenly ended up being included on this release, due to the 1m03 cue number. I was told that my evidence would be sent to the relevant team and that I would hear back from them.
I didn't hear back for weeks, so I sent a follow-up email just to make sure my case hadn't been lost or forgotten. I was told that the team hadn't replied, but I would definitely hear back as soon as they had something to say. From June 24 to August 3, there was no correspondence. I let the case sit and, since I wasn't listening very much to the expanded Tumescent Identity soundtrack (having lost my enthusiasm for it on account of the present flaws), I didn't feel the need to keep up a constant stream of emails.
On August 3, nearly 2 months after my initial email, I send a further email expressing my disappointment in Varèse's apparent failure to even acknowledge my case, let alone take any action on it. I was contacted by the same customer service employee, letting me know that they genuinely had passed on my evidence to the team, but hadn't heard back from anyone and the issue had gotten lost over time. They promised to follow it up again, and on August 9, I finally received a response from the label, which read as follows:
"The album was personally assembled by John Powell and his team. John specifically requested it be called "The Tumescent Edition" instead of the traditional Deluxe Edition because it is not a simple extension of the score that appears in the film. It's possible perhaps that the elements you point out were created during the period when he was working on the score which led to their inclusion. Hopefully the all-encompassing response is satisfactory as only John would be able to answer your more specific questions. Thanks for the purchase and hope you enjoy the album more with this context."
I must confess that I am fairly disappointed in the outcome of this nearly 2-month long process. I feel this response doesn't adequately address the evidence I provided, but there's not much else I can say or do. Ignoring the inclusion of what appeared to be the Supremacy demo, the statement makes it look like John Powell and his team are personally responsible for the faults on this expansion (which they may well be). But I would have thought that a label which offers premium CD club expansions to a niche and dedicated group of listeners/collectors would be sure to check for errors prior to approving a release, or at least look into the evidence I provided and respond to some/any of the faults demonstrated (in my mind, the sample rate issue of the final track is undeniably an error that can easily be conceded and fixed for future pressings, and I doubt I would need to engage with Powell one-on-one for someone to notice. it). Based on the label's response, it would seem that no adjustments will be made for the future September digital release, which is a shame.
This was my first time engaging with any specialty label beyond simply purchasing their products, and maybe I was too naïve in thinking that my little collection of audio evidence would have any impact whatsoever - After all, there are so many threads on JWFan alone that detail flaws (both small and great) of a number of expanded releases, and I'm sure others have contacted labels to no avail as well. Overall, it's sad that these little faults sour the taste of what looked at first sight to be a really exciting expansion of a great, influential score, and a personal favourite of mine.
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Trope reacted to Bryant Burnette in The Official Intrada Thread
Legends of the Fall is a great score. I don't give a shit if it's restrained or not.