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My Complete Towering Inferno Score (cleaning/augmentation)


GoodMusician

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Hey all, as I'd mentioned in another thread, I was working on a version of Towering Inferno that would present the score a little better than the FSM version which was nice, but I guess because of problems as far as quality of the masters and what not, were mixed very oddly at tiems (with the strings in only the left channel) or nearly missing.

I've gone back and rebirthed the entire score including the LP album which includes an alternate take of the Main Title.

The Film version of the main title has cymbols tracked in if memory serves, that is something I did not include.

What I did, however, include, were all the cues. I've gone through the DVD and actually added two cues that were not included. An instrumental version of "We May Never Love Like THis Again" and an unknown/unreleased source cue.

Disc 1 is the complete score. Disc 2 is the album plus some extra tracks.

As far as the album tracks, I layered them with the FSM release tracks, and created, in some cases, an even better quality track than I include on Disc 1.

Anyways, here is my complete set. I would be interested in some input.

Be aware, there is only so much you can do, but I can assure you I did everything I could to make the music as present and real as possible.

Note: The damaged tracks are included in the complete score as they are not so severely damaged that it should hinder listening in the least bit.

Disc 1 (1:14:05)

01) Main Title

02) Something For Susan (Film)

03) Lisolette and Harlee

04) The Flame Ignited

05) More For Susan

06) Harlee Dressing

07) Let There Be Light

08) Unreleased Party Music

09) Alone At Last

10) We May Never Love Like This Again (Film)

11) We May Never Love Like This Again (Instrumental)

12) The First Victims

13) Not A Cigarette

14) Trapped Lovers

15) Departmental Pride - The Cat

16) Doug's Fall - Piggy Back Ride

17) Lisolette's Descent

18) Down the Pipes - The Door Opens

19) Couples

20) Leaving

21) The Helicopter Explodes

22) Short Goodbyes

23) Helicopter Rescue (Part 1)

24) Helicopter Rescue (Part 2)

25) Passing the Word

26) Planting The Charges

27) Waking Up

28) Finale

29) An Architects Dream

Disc 2 (1:01:19)

01) Prelude

02) Main Title (Album)

03) Something for Susan (Film Mix Using Album)

04) Something For Susan (Album)

05) Susan And Doug (Album)

06) The First Victims (Album)

07) Trapped Lovers (Album)

08) Maggie Shoots Pool (Source - Cinderella Liberty)

09) Morning After (Instrumental Source)

10) We May Never Love Like This Again (Album)

11) Helicopter Rescue (Album)

12) An Architects Dream (Album)

13) Towering Inferno Suite

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Yeah I got the same problem with the mp3 rar of disc 2. Just like he said.....its only 432kb! :|

And I can't even download any of FLAC ones either comes up with an error..which is why I chose the mp3 since the link is working.

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I greatly appreaciate this, GM. Why pay upwards of $200 to get the FSM release when you get a better version for free? You're awesome!

Of course if you get the FSM one you will own an actual CD, with outstanding liner nots, instead of a bunch of compressed sound files.

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Once again, Vosk, you and I disagree.

I feel that the score nearly required some sort of tinkering. Like Return of the Jedi, this score was dull, and flat, and not nearly as vibrant or beautiful as it needs to be presented. Both are favourite scores of mine... not to mention as I said before, I'm using this as a testing ground to see what works and what doesn't and how I can fix ROTJ when I get to it...

I personally feel that the occasional noise is worth it. The rest of the tracks sounds amazing... alive, virbant... around you... Real... What FSM did was great, but I took it a step further.

This is is no menas means to replace that because as stated, the liner notes are brilliant... but seeing as there are only so many copies, not everyone has the luxury to pump out a lot of money to get a little booklet.

THis isn't meant to replace it, but to enhance it. I had to have that disk in order to do this...

One of things I cannot stand about the people ont his site is their urge...their NEED to tell people "Well, I coudl care less."

If you can care less, then don't fuckin post! Go to a thread you do care about. If enough people don't care abotu it, the thread will Die...

so please... if you could care less, simply dont' post here. I dont' have the time for it.

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piss off

I'm already aware of your sentiment. There's no ened to make a constant ass of yourself...

So leave it be.

I'm sorry, that was almost offensive.

Especially since I was not talking to you at al, but to Mr. Movies.

I know that under the new Moderator the distibution of bootlegs has become commonplace here, even though it is against the boards rules eversince Ricard L. Befan recieved some soft of warning from a record company of film studio.

That does not mean that you should be rude to those who might take a different view.

Keep that up, and I will have to take my actions.

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It's one thing to offer constructive criticism on a project but to constantly butt in and do nothing but complain or criticize a person for actually doing it is somewhat rude and annoying.

As far as I'm concerned if he wants to try and improve the sound then go for it.

I might be a little careful about making the files so readily available though, just in case someone is watching.

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i'm a bit confused here, not being too familiar with Williams' disaster movie works. Disc 1 is the FSM release, and Disc 2 is what album? Thanks. :)

EDIT: Read the first post again....hehe. Btw is there any reason to keep both versions (complete and LP) on my HDD? ;)

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well... I used the FSM tracks layered with the LP tracks to make the music more present and real.... in some cases, disc 2 has tracks that sound better than disc 1. I had originally planned to integrate the two, but I thought people might complain "On the FSM there are not clicks but I hear some on these tracks. Why?!" so I kept them separate.

On disc 2, "Main Title" is an alternate recording of the one on the FSM release.... "Something for Susan" on the FSM release is really a combination of two tracks layered over eachother. "Something for Susan" that's on the album, and another recording of the same track. So I included two versions on disc 2. One is the "film mix" which means I took the album and layered it on the FSM track, and the second is the Album version which is simply just the album version.

Disc 2 has quite a few things on it that you may want to save. It has the source cues from the film, some sources from other JW's films. The album also has "Susan and Doug" which isn't on the FSM release.

So in a way... both discs are unique and have enough extra stuff that they warrent inclusion.

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I greatly appreaciate this, GM. Why pay upwards of $200 to get the FSM release when you get a better version for free? You're awesome!

Of course if you get the FSM one you will own an actual CD, with outstanding liner nots, instead of a bunch of compressed sound files.

Thank you, Steef (since I know you love that nick so much) for taking a compliment and turning it into something else, despite the fact that no one asked you anyway.

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I'm listening to it right now. I must say John Williams scores back then sound so different compared to what he is right now these days...its good though.

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  • 10 months later...

Hey all... so I've been going back and looking at some of my old edits... and one of the ones I was never really happy with was Towering Inferno.

I've been tentative to go back and do anything, however, because most of the problems with the score seem to be irreconcileable.

Whatever they did at FSM, there's not much else that can be done to fix it.

I'm also noticing, strangely, that the score as heard on the DVD of the film also has the strange mixing of the strings in the left channel only.

I wonder if its because on the re-doing of this film for 5.1, they used the FSM masters or something...

But if that's true, then FSM left off a a lot of material and also made some mistakes in how they ordered some of the tracks.

I've kinda decided to go back and see what I can do about finding out as much as I can about the score. There seems to be a bit of material available, but like always, its a matter of finding it.

Wether this will lead to a new edit of mine, I'm not sure, but I do think that a corrected and complete cue list (listing all that is lost and what isn't available) would be useful to an extent.

Also, I noticed when I watched the film recently that there were a lot of rough music edits... music cutting in and out... and I also noticed that in some of the deleted scenes on disc 2, the music is present that isn't heard in the normal film so lol... just some odd discoveries lol...

Anyways... I will keep you all posted.

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hey all, just wanted to point out some videos I've been making using the score edit for Towering Inferno. It's helping me to understand whats htere and what isn't.

Here are some links:

The Flame Ignited

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOFCvgO4nEw

The First Victim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOgrik0KIzo

Departmental Pride/ The Cat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV8q__Hp_eQ

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This is the video I was wanting to really do but I decided to go in order and really study the score...

I really like this one...I hate how youtube diminishes the quality and makes it mono... it sounds really good in the file I made... oh well..

Anyways.

The Helicopter Explodes

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iW4fgLpflKU

It seems like Irwin Allen decided to only use the subtle parts of the score... the big brass parts seem to have been removed in almost every sense...

In this sequence, the only parts with music are when they're taking numbers out of the snifters,(none as the helicopter approaches), the music returns as they go up the stairs (no music for the whole time they're outside including the explosion), the music returns as you see the flames fall from the roof past the windows and continue until they go to enter again), the rest has no music in it.

It seems like some odd choices, but it really does do something to the film. I'm not sure what it does... but it does do something...

I love these moments in the score, and I love when they're used in film so its a bit hard for me to understand why they wouldn't use it...

I guess in a way, it removes the tension and makes you think it might work... and then after the explosion, you know it won't...

Also I wonder if it has to do with the fact the movie was mixed in mono... loud music over helicoptor rotors plus explosion...

Somehow I don't think any of it would come through and it would ALL be lost...

hmm... still love it with the music though.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was wondering, what's on disc 2 exactly? I thought it was the complete LP, but as I was checking it against the tracks and times of the LP it doesn't quite fit? (Lisolette and Harlee is missing, The Helicopter Explosion is longer there?, and the ten-minute Finale cue is missing too?)

Also: from what albums do the "Prelude" and the "Suite" come from?

Thanks!

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THe times are a bit off... this is an LP rip after all.

As for disc 2 in general, it's really just what isn't used in the film but was on the album.

I didn't really present the complete LP... just what wasn't already presented in a more complete form on Disc 1.

Prelude and Suite came from of the score If I remember right... the one that everyone was all excited about with the yellow flames on the cover .. wherever they got it from... is where its from.

Sorry I'm not much more help.

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Ah pity, I had hoped to have the LP presentation in that nice cleaned-up form you presented for the other tracks.

With those flames, do you mean the album "The Towering Inferno and other Disaster Classics"?

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It was a 2 disc set... the second disc had like... 5 tracks on it.

And the LP tracks are cleaned up, but how am I to know exactly what speed they should go... and changing that does sometimes cause artifacts so I simply left them as they are... it's not a pitch problem, just a length problem.

And what's the point of presenting material already presented, but present it again edited? So I left off the tracks like that from the LP and just presented the different material.

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  • 2 months later...
Also: from what albums do the "Prelude" and the "Suite" come from?

I'll answer my own question:

The Prelude on that bootleg comes from - I suspect - the Towering Inferno portion on the Disasters track from the album The Godfather and Other Movie Themes.

The Suite's breakdown:

The Towering Inferno Main Theme from the Silva Screen CDs.

the rest is from Varese's rerecording "The Towering Inferno and other disaster classics" I presume, but in a different order. It opens with the first ten minutes of Planting the Charges/Finale, then goes into An Architect's Dream, then into the main title, and then closes with the final portion of Planting the Charges/Finale.

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