Prometheus Announces Conan The Barbarian Complete Score.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It was re-prepared for this concert (I have the scores) . Greg McRichie's original orchestrations do survive (or rather all those used in this concert)

I have no idea. I don't know what exists of Poledouris' material as far as sketches and actual composer sheets. I can't remember if he had to reconstruct for the Ubeda concert or if he used his original sketches.

The Ubeda concert this years featured Theology/Civilisation, which was not played in 2006. Was that track also prepared back in the day, or has this been done recently?

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

im puzzled for this track title: Las Cantigas de Santa Maria

Per this site:

http://conancompletist.forumactif.com/conan-the-barbarian-f3/music-of-the-giant-snake-scene-t726-20.htm

"This is an traditional track from Galicia and it is called "Cantiga 166" also known as "Como Poden (per sas culpas)". The version as heard in the movie is an original recording by "The Clememcic Consort" produced in 1976. Mr Poledouris only added the female choir to the existing recording. I think that's the reason why it is not on the Soundtrack Album. Copyright permission only for the movie and not for the Soundtrack Album."

"Como poden" begins at 1:47 in this sound file on YouTube, which represents a low quality film rip of what we'll get on the Tadlow/Prometheus re-recording. Although what sounds similar to the sample at SAE's site doesn't start until about 4:40 or so on the YouTube video. God that sounds terrible.

interesting.

it seems the location of the film influenced poledouris

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Like the location of Ubeda put fire in his heart during his final blaze of glory, amigo!

[Thor 7,531]

Great score, although I'm pleased with my Milan program and wish they could just replicate that without expanding anything. But I'm very curious about the performance and sound quality, which hopefully take things up a notch. The Prague orchestra has really come a long from the rather unstable 90's. I won't be buying it, but I aim to check out a couple of tracks (iTunes download, perhaps?) or if the whole thing gets available in some streaming service like Spotify.

I'm an ardent supporter of rerecordings, which I almost always prefer over originals, at least in terms of older (let's say pre-1970) scores.

This is, incidentally, one of the few scores I know about that everyone seems to like!

[Wojo 2,453]

Just buy it, copy the tracks that match the Milan album you have, and then you'll have a companion to your original to compare performances and arrangments. Then you can gift the album to someone because you're so generous.

[Thor 7,531]

Just buy it, copy the tracks that match the Milan album you have, and then you'll have a companion to your original to compare performances and arrangments. Then you can gift the album to someone because you're so generous.

Well, I'm considering an alternative route, i.e. downloading ONLY the Milan tracks from this release and then having two different interpretations of the score that follows the same, brilliant listening experience program.

That does, of course, depend on the fact that it is released on iTunes in the first place! Does anyone know?

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Silva Screen offer the Tadlow projects on their website in MP3 format. I'm not sure if the Prometheus involvement would make any difference.

[Matt C 455]

Excellent news. I had doubts about the City of Prague Orchestra doing full score re-recordings when I heard about El Cid and Lawrence of Arabia in production, since their film score theme compilations are mixed. But I was proved wrong when I heard them, dead wrong.

And from the samples, they've done an excellent job with doing Conan. Maybe Tadlow will go back to the Rozsa archive and do a re-recording of Thief of Bagdad after this and that other score they're doing. I'd buy that along with Conan.

[Ollie 1,059]

Hopefully we can get a re-recording of Conan The Destroyer.

[ManofDestiny 71]

The EL CID impressed me. I did not regretted to buy EL CID, Exodus or Alamo, and my order of Lawrence of Arabia shipped today. As for Conan, ordered. I can't wait to listen to it!

[King Mark 3,631]

Well I must admit I never got into the Lawrence of Arabia OST (apart from the main theme) ,then I listened to this re-recording and thought it was an amazing score all of a sudden

Maybe this will happen with Conan. I was never impressed by it. But the OST sounds like crap if I remember

[ManofDestiny 71]

I placed my order directly from Tadlow this morning, and they replied to me within an hour that it will be ship tomorrow!

[Romão 2,274]

Well I must admit I never got into the Lawrence of Arabia OST (apart from the main theme) ,then I listened to this re-recording and thought it was an amazing score all of a sudden

Maybe this will happen with Conan. I was never impressed by it. But the OST sounds like crap if I remember

Conan is one of the greatest scores of all time, while also being extremely acessible. I think one of the reasons is because the music sounds so genunine, so heartfelt, so sincere, it really touches people. It seems to be, in many ways, a true reflection of Poledouris. I have quite a few friends and neighbours who are not even film score buffs who have ordered this release. I know Heavy Metal fans who adore this music. It is safe to say it is one of the most widely apreciated scores ever.

I have no doubt that if you listen carefully to this recording, you will also love this score, KM

[TownerFan 4,984]

I personally can't wait to listen to this new recording of a classic film score. The clips sound promising enough to get me excited. Big props to James Fitzpatrick, Nic Raine and all the gang at Tadlow/Prometheus for pulling it off.

However, I must say I don't understand all the despise toward the original performance. Being Italian and quite acquainted with our orchestras, I should point out that the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia is one of Italy's finest symphonies. They aren't a third-rate orchestra (like I read too many times, especially on the FSM forums). They're a well-known institution here and they perform dozens of concerts every year, with repertoire ranging from Bach to Bartòk.

Their performance on Conan the Barbarian is not perfect and contains several flubs here and there (horns are out of tune many times), but it's far from being a bad performance. It has a guttural, barbaric (pardon the pun) quality that I think it's almost impossible to recapture. From the clips I heard, the City of Prague has a nice, vibrant sound, but it's much more polished and "tidy" (I'll reserve the final judgement once I'll listen to the whole album of course).

Also, the recording was done with the assistance of distinguished composer/conductor Carlo Savina (who worked with Miklos Rozsa several times), who was there for help in communication between Poledouris and the orchestra. The score was recorded at the International Recording Studio (now called Forum Studio--Morricone records all his own film scores here), a big venue that has its own sets of idiosincracies.

I guess Poledouris' dissatisfaction with the performance and recording has much more to do with time and money constraints than the actual performance (the film was produced by Dino De Laurentiis, who's quite known for being a hard pussycat in terms of budget control). It's likely there was a communication problem between Poledouris and the orchestra (due mainly to different languages and the lack of confidence of the orchestra with this kind of repertoire). Being a film composer used to the precise, clockwork attitude of L.A. orchestras, I guess Poledours felt frustrated when he didn't got a perfect performance after three or four takes. It's known Goldsmith literally raged at the orchestra when he recorded Leviathan with them.

After Poledouris' death, a friend of mine interviewed Conan's recording engineer Federico Savina (who is also Carlo's brother) to recollect some memories of his experience working with Poledouris, but apparently he doesn't have any recollection of his work for this score (he's quite old today and he really engineered hundreds of film scores--he had however some amusing Goldsmith's anecdotes when he scored Freud, Cassandra Crossing and Leviathan, but they're not printable stories ).

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I think the OST has a very good performance, and it's a great disc, especially the Varese.

[Ollie 1,059]

Yeah I never had a problem with the original recording for Conan.

Now, Conan the Destroyer is a different story.

[Quintus 5,399]

I think the OST has a very good performance, and it's a great disc, especially the Varese.

Yes, and not all cues on the score sound bad, in my opinion. Most of 'em are lacking, but one or two sound just great as they are.

I'm keen to hear what this all new Prague can do with The Orgy, since that cue is one which should benefit greatly from a good re-record. Also, how is the choir recently? In the past it has always been AWFUL.

[John Crichton 4]

I'll be picking this up as soon as I can.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Conan is one of the greatest scores of all time, while also being extremely acessible. I think one of the reasons is because the music sounds so genunine, so heartfelt, so sincere, it really touches people. It seems to be, in many ways, a true reflection of Poledouris.

I agree so much!

[Matt C 455]

I'm keen to hear what this all new Prague can do with The Orgy, since that cue is one which should benefit greatly from a good re-record. Also, how is the choir recently? In the past it has always been AWFUL.

The choir sounds excellent in the samples. They've improved massively, especially with Pan's Labyrinth.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I don't care about the cover.

Since Varese got sued by putting pics of certain actors on the CD cover for one of their re-recordings (was it Magnificent 7?) lales now seem reluctant to use any original film artwork for a re-recording.

I imagine licensing Ah'nulds picture for the cover could cost more then the actual recording.

[Wojo 2,453]

There are two covers.

One with a sword, and the other with a big snake coming up behind Conan. The animated GIF below shows both, if you have a program that can slice it into two files (or hit PrintScreen at the right moment). That snake cover is pretty cool.

But then again, you can use anything you want on your iPod/Zune/Whatever that you want, even the Milan/Varese covers. I don't think the Arnold covers apply, since this album is a different recording of music than that used in the film. Hell, even those covers are paintings, not photos.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Neither appeal to me completely. The sword looks a bit un-Conan-esque, and the Knight Rider font on the other one puts me off. But I prefer the second. I might make my own for iTunes.

[Wojo 2,453]

I'd be disappointed if you didn't!

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Heh. I don't do it for everything, I just like to re-do some covers so they're a bit less visually crammed for that resolution. And sometimes because the covers suck

[Andy 4,147]

Speaking of which, I like the look of your new signature banner, Charlie. (A 908 means get me outta there )

[Jacob 0]

Got my shipping confirmation from SAE today.

Should be within my hands before the end of the week.

[crocodile 8,020]

I'm thinking of buying this...

Karol

[Jacob 0]

Guess what I found in my mailbox just now?

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

that fast? amazing.

[scallenger 483]

Random question... does the theme or motiff of the following track that starts at 1:37 to 1:44 appear at all in the first Conan score, or is this only from Destroyer?

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

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No it's only in Destroyer.

[scallenger 483]

Damn, heh. I think that little theme is really fun. I notice they did choose one track from Destroyer in the rerecording but it seems to be not a track from the film that features that fun little theme.

[Laserschwert 475]

Always postable in a Conan soundtrack thread:

[Richard Penna 3,696]

I can't seriously be the only one here who's never seen the film, heard any of the score, and really isn't particularly excited about this?

I'll check it out obviously, but I feel like I'm missing something...

[Brónach 1,302]

I haven't seen the film, but this score is one of my favourites ever.

[Henry B 50]

I can't seriously be the only one here who's never seen the film, heard any of the score, and really isn't particularly excited about this?

I'll check it out obviously, but I feel like I'm missing something...

Well... yeah, of course you'd feel like you're missing something if you haven't seen the film or heard the score. Give it a try. I think the film is terrible, but I'll always have the memory of the score on its own.

[Wojo 2,453]

I haven't seen the film, but this score is one of my favourites ever.

I'm the same way.

I've long considered making/finding a thread about which scores in my collection I treasure the most, yet belong to films I've never seen and really never worried about watching. Conan the Barbarian sits at the top of that list.

[Thor 7,531]

I can't seriously be the only one here who's never seen the film, heard any of the score, and really isn't particularly excited about this?

I'll check it out obviously, but I feel like I'm missing something...

Probably not the only one, but in my experience it is one of the most-loved scores of all time. I've never met anyone who dislikes it. At most, I've seen a few indifferent people, but even those are few and far between.

Personally, I think it deserves every kudos that is bestowed upon it; it's one of those great crossover scores that appeal to people outside our little niche too.

[crocodile 8,020]

I never really loved this score, but it probably has to do with the sound quality of the original Milan album. It's very memorable, that's for sure.

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Probably not the only one, but in my experience it is one of the most-loved scores of all time. I've never met anyone who dislikes it.

This is probably why it is not discussed that often.

My copy has shipped!

[Jacob 0]

that fast? amazing.

Well, apparently SAE is located in and ships from my state.

But still, I wasn't expecting it quite that fast.

I've listened through both discs twice now. It really is a fantastic recording.

I never had a problem with the original -- they both sound pretty great to me (but I'm not exactly an audiophile).

I hadn't seen the movie when I first heard the score a few years back.

Between the raw power of Anvil of Crom and Riders of Doom in only the first 10 minutes, I was immediately blown away.

Riders of Doom especially, which was literally chill inducing (that part at about 3:35 would get me almost every time).

It seemed like every track had something new to offer, each new theme fantastic in it's own way.

The listening experience on the re-recording isn't as tight (Wolf Witch seems to go on forever), but I'm still glad to have it all.

Of the unreleased material The Tower of Set* / Snake Attack* (Las Cantigas de Santa Maria) has caught my attention the most, so far.

According to the notes, it's actually a bit of source music for a ceremonial human sacrifice.

During this entire sequence, source music for the ceremony continues without any comment on the action, thus playing against the scene and creating an eerie sense of detachment. For his temp track, director Milius chose a recording by the Rene Clemencic Consort of a melody preserved in the 13th-century manuscript, "Las Cantigas de Santa Maria" (a source also mined by Rozsa for El Cid).

I don't know if there's anything to prefer in the original recording, except that it's the original.

(Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me, but it seems like Riders of Doom doesn't quite pack the same punch.)

A fittingly great release for one of the great musical works of our time (and I even like the cover).

Thank you James, Nic, and especially Basil.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

My copy has shipped!

Mine too! I like the film a lot although much of it is silly, but the score is something else. Just incredible.

[Dean1700 4]

If I get this, which I most probably will, I'll only add the missing tracks to the expanded Varese release anyway. But I wouldn't be at all surprised to find in the near future a full release of the film's original score.

BTW does any one have a clean rip of the Prologue with Mako's narration?

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

The master tapes are damaged. Varese and Poledouris wanted to release more of it in their CD, but it had not enough quality to be included.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Is this limited?

If not, I'll put it on my "to buy later" list.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No you idiot, buy it now, despite it not being limited!

To buy this later would be like delaying Christmas till april!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

There's some cool stuff coming out soon, so I'll wait to make one large order.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

So lets delay Sintemaarten and Sinterklaas untill 24 December, so we have all the cool stuff on one day!

This is Conan, your knee-jurk reaction should have been to order this straight away, even if you had no money to buy food!