Jump to content

Varese's Jaws Recording, Why The Love for It?


Ollie
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've been a big fan of Varese and Joe McNeely's Herrmann recordings and for the most part Debney's recordings.

However I find the Jaws recording to be atrocious. Yet I've encountered many here who actually think it's good. Last night I was loading music into iTunes and I decided to give this CD one more chance before it went in my "to be sold pile". It sounded worse than ever.

The performances are all over the place. It's almost like I'm listening to the first run thru of the cues. Gone are the variations Williams used for the shark theme, on this album it sounds like the same piece played over and over. The tempos are way off and the miking makes it seem like they are too close to the brass section at times.

If Varese was trying to give it a concert sound, well that would be one concert I'd want my money back on.

This is one where they completely missed the boat as far as I'm concerned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 14
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I've been a big fan of Varese and Joe McNeely's Herrmann recordings and for the most part Debney's recordings.

Perhaps the series had jumped the shark.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I absolutely love this rerecording. It is VERY interesting to listen some of the countermelodies Williams decided to take out on the podium. It would be so great if McNeely and the RSNO would redo the Prequels from Williams original sketches. It is also nice to have a version of JAWS that is recorded in a more classical hall. This and the differences in the music as mentioned above make it an absolute must have as far as I am concerned. After living with JAWS since I was born, I was ready to hear it reperformed. After all, a masterpiece deserves to be rerecorded at least once.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is really interesting... I think I'll have to pick up the recording some time. Just why is it so polarizing? Usually, most of the forum "oldies" have tastes roughly opposite to those of the "newbies" (I'm thinking mostly in terms of age and expertise), but the "oldies" are totally split down the middle on this one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

but the "oldies" are totally split down the middle on this one.

It's Mark against all the other fossils....I don't see the split.

the wonderful thing about being older is that we were young once, but never as stupid as the current young generation :lol: , course you get to get older too, and say the same thing later. the real difference is my generation had not seen it all, like yours has.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.