Two very different recording conditions.

[Quintus 5,391]

Which would it be? I voted for option 2. I love the Raiders score as a performance, but frequently it suffers from the same harsh sounding brass as Star Wars did before it.

ET on the other hand just sounds perfect from start to finish as a performance and recording.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,251]

E.T. is simply breathtaking.

[Henry B 49]

I love the brass on Star Wars, but Raiders doesn't share its sound. It's definitely not as "harsh."

[MrScratch 292]

I love the Raiders recording, it sounds like you are sitting right in the brass section.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,251]

It's definatly one of the better from the Williams/Tomlinson era.

[John Crichton 4]

I love the brass sound in SW and Raiders. And ET has a huge advantage because it's Bruce F'n Botnick.

[Quintus 5,391]

I love the Raiders recording, it sounds like you are sitting right in the brass section.

Very true, but the brass recordings of ET match and better it. For me, ET has the superior brass of ANY score. The fact other sections (particularly the strings of course) sound very close in quality is another reason why ET, as a recording of a stellar performance is pretty much unmatched even (and ironically) today.

Far From Home/E.T. Alone is evidence enough of this. As far as the brass section in movie scores is concerned, I've never heard anything which comes remotely close to it.

[John Crichton 4]

The only time the brass has come anywhere close to those days recently is the TPM UE. Because Murphy probably didn't have a chance to meddle with it.

[Quintus 5,391]

And because they were analogue recordings.

[Ollie 859]

I'll take Indy IV recorded by Bruce Botnick.

[MrScratch 292]

Very true, but the brass recordings of ET matches and betters it. For me, ET has the superior brass of ANY score. The fact other sections (particularly the strings of course) sound very close in quality is another reason why ET, as a recording of a stellar performance is pretty much unmatched even (and ironically) today.

Far From Home/E.T. Alone is evidence enough of this. As far as the brass section in movie scores is concerned, I've never heard anything which comes remotely close to it.

I don't disagree with you, E.T. is stellar. But Raiders is an action score without the emotional weight of E.T. so each is quite appropriate for the film. Raiders also has more sound effects to compete with, the strings wouldn't come through as well as the brass. (And we know KOTCS is going to have a very aggressive surround mix, so the music will have even more to compete with.) The final scene in E.T. is almost ALL music, plenty of room for all sections of the orchestra to shine especially the strings where all the emotion is. Then of course, when E.T. departs its the brass section we hear loud and clear. (I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!) The strings come through on Raiders when they need to, Map Room, Miracle of the Ark etc. and even Well of the Souls.

[Quintus 5,391]

Ah! As scores they are equally fantastic of course!

But as stand alone listens...

Which was where I was coming from when I made the thread

I'm talking performance and recording quality.

[MrScratch 292]

Ah! As scores they are equally fantastic of course!

But as stand alone listens...

You didn't make that clear though. I would still take the Raiders conditions though, Desert Chase wouldn't be the same without it. Here's hoping the same will be for The Jungle Chase!

[ChuckM 1]

Raiders. I want the movie to feel as much as possible like the originals.

[Richard Penna 2,082]

Raiders brass is harsh.

Actually, two nights ago when I was getting very, very cheesed off with a program not working at about 1am, I had Raiders on, and have to admit that huge brass outburst near the end annoyed the hell out of me (well it was one of those moods when you're extremely fractious). It only happens in the first score, which has always been my least favourite.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

And because they were analogue recordings.

Isn't E.T. digital?

[Quintus 5,391]

Is it really? If so then my bad.

I may have wrongly assumed that because Superman was an analogue recording, then ET probably was too.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,251]

Why, the scores are seperated by 4 years and recorded on different continents?

Nevertheless my copie(s) of the original CD says AAD, which would suggest it's analogue.

[Marian Schedenig 5,520]

Which E.T. are we talking about anyway, the album or the film recording?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,251]

I assume that they were done in the same studio, using the same recording equipment.

[Quintus 5,391]

and recorded on different continents

Bah that doesn't mean a thing!

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Is it really? If so then my bad.

I may have wrongly assumed that because Superman was an analogue recording, then ET probably was too.

I remember clearly someone here posted a scan of something (I think it was the LP) showing that it was a digital recording. I can't seem to find it though (darn search engine!). We need Miguel for this...

[BLUMENKOHL 1,064]

Bruce Botnick.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,251]

I remember clearly someone here posted a scan of something (I think it was the LP) showing that it was a digital recording. I can't seem to find it though (darn search engine!). We need Miguel for this...

My CD of The Wrath Of Khan also has Digital Recording printed on it, it's just a lie.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,064]

E.T. was analog...

Wrath of Khan was digital...

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Raiders. I want the movie to feel as much as possible like the originals.

That's not a very advisable approach.

[Melange 446]

Raiders brass is harsh. Actually, two nights ago when I was getting very, very cheesed off with a program not working at about 1am, I had Raiders on, and have to admit that huge brass outburst near the end annoyed the hell out of me .....

Yeah,I don't listen to that score as much as I'd like to, for this 'harshness' reason.

[Quintus 5,391]

As harsh as the brass is in the Raiders score is, the Raiders March itself actually benefits from its effect, being the superior recording to this day as a result.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

interesting discussions, but what if Kingdom is ultimately more emotional say like TOD than either ROTLA or LC?

Randomly assigning a condition to an unknown score might be perfect, and it might not.

[Quintus 5,391]

That is quite possibly a good point, but regardless of the film's (and its score) actual content and quality; from a purely technical point of view the recording conditions of Raiders, as good as they were, are simply not good good enough when compared to those of ET.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

I have a tin ear, so unless its a vast difference in quality I rarely hear big difference in recording, now I can tell the differences in performance, I almost always prefer the original soundtrack because its usually "right" by JW standards.