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Home Alone 2 - Why does it sound so bad?


InTheCity

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The click is not present in my release. As for the mens choir singing, I hear breathy sounds... but its hard for me to leap to the conclusion that its the mens choir singing anything as the song to them is over... I always imagined it was Williams himself getting into it and making kinda breathy sounds as he conducted which I've heard before in other recordings. I mean, in Temple of Doom, "Strangle Hold" starts with an "Umph!" Literally heh

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I have to agree with others it sounds like youre listening to the outdated OST and not the complete score that Mike Matessino edited together and Varese released. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the way how the Varese Deluxe Edition sounds and I listened to it recrently.

In fact its edvident this topic is not only begining to annoy me but others as well.

I will agree with ETandEliott4Ever that the audio levels are a bit too loud for some of the cues. Regarding the over all sound quality it is top notch.

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According to a member it is on the full version:

In the brass fanfare where the french horns take over after the trumpet mistake :

the brass play----

Star - of - BETH!!

on the word BETH the mens chorus are there. They sing 3 words before they are faded out.

something with a "ahh" vowel then a word which sounds like "hears" or "please" EE sound then one more word then out.

They are panned left of middle they sing the Bb below middle C twice then the B natural.

Mean while the horns are playing the E-F at the same time exactly.

If this annoys you go somewhere else.

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gonna move this from PM to here

so its the same track. the click is gone. same take. The sound I'm hearing doesn't sound like a mens chorus unless they're like...singing it like ghotsts...it sounds more to me like Williams exhaling and making noises... or some other weird stage noise. I can't hear any vowels or words in the sound...so I have trouble jumping to the conclusion its the choir.

Do you hear the wrong note in trumpet 2?

I guarantee 100% Million percent it is the men singing

They sing a half note then two quarter notes

the first quarternote has the "eeeeee" sound as in bee.

I hear that... but it almost sounds like humming... but its so brief... but why would they sing? There's no words... unless they're singing to themselves quietly and for some reason no one thought to turn them down in the mix...

You are thinking backwards.

It obviously - I can tell by the notes- is the beginning of the third verse which was recorded and not used. It snuck through past the engineer somehow.

They didn't do it "live" - in other words - its an editing mistake.

Hense my opinion the whole album is full of these little crappy mistakes and is sub par.

I've not seen sheet music so perhaps this is a dumb question but third verse?

Comparing to the HA1 Choral version it has the same set up verse/refrain and the same amount...

Do you have the conductors score to show that by chance?

-B

I'm not saying it's not possible... but I'm not sure I'd go as far to be as certain as you are unless there's maybe a conductors score or something showing why this is a partial recording.

Then to further say it's a proof of bad editing... I, again, dunno if I could say that. Mike is very capable and very honest with his work. We could always msg him too to see if there's some proof to there being more to the recording and even perhaps shed some light on why it sounds like the men may be continuing.

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No it's not! There's too much original music to simply brush it off as a rehash of the first score. I've never agreed with this.

The film is a lazy and cynical near-remake of the first massively overrated by charming Home Alone.

The reason the director, cast and probably the composer returned for the sequel is probably because their cheque had an extra zero added to it.

It's not a film that's been made with tender love and care on any level. "Let's give people the exact same thing they say 2 years ago, but in New York!"

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A mistake in HA 1. Have Yourself A merry Little Christmas

Listen to the new verse around :29 seconds.

Listen in the right. A brush playing the ride cymbal on 2/4 then it vanishes.

It's there you just might not have noticed it before.

I most likely listen a little different then some of you guys.

I actually think Stefan is right - this was a rushed production I bet.

Listen at 1:55 Reunion at Rockefeller Center.

Mr. Williams leans back on the chair.

Where does one get the special version? I love the writing on this.

Possibly the best example is comparing the main title scherzo in HA2 to HA1. Listen to the sleigh bells. Listen to how different the celetse sounds. Clearly part I sounds much better no?

I wonder if this was recorded by a subbing engineer or at a different studio.

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Only lazy people listen to music in pristine audio quality that leaves nothing to the imagination. True professionals know that authentic listening is possible only with the full creative engagement of one's aural imagination. It brings out the subtleties and the nuances in the music that perfect clarity obscures.

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huh?

Yeh mp3's are still the norm. I am usually listening through ear phones or what have you.

50% of file sharing is done through rapidshare even for big studios

things are approved via iphone speakers

etc..

things are not so "professional" as you may imagine.

When doing audio work - its entirely different. 48k 24bit WAVE files 99% of the time. With embedded time stamp.

Higher sample rates - we record often at 96khz - some times 192.

But for pleasure or comparison a decently encoded mp3 is just fine.

Demond just confirmed the chorus so that settles that. Now can you HEAR IT!? JW!

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Only lazy people listen to music in pristine audio quality that leaves nothing to the imagination. True professionals know that authentic listening is possible only with the full creative engagement of one's aural imagination. It brings out the subtleties and the nuances in the music that perfect clarity obscures.

:lol:

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WHO CARES?

I spent $30 on a two-disc album that I only listen to between Thanksgiving and New Year's, if that, and I certainly haven't touched the album in two or three years. I have yet to even tag the bloody HA 1 album let alone listen to it.

If there are sonic imperfections in either album, GREAT! It gives it a human touch! It lets you know that the musicians are imperfect and the sound engineers are imperfect and my frikkin ears are imperfect! If I wanted a flawless recording, I would encode it into Finale and listen to a MACHINE play it back!

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Only lazy people listen to music in pristine audio quality that leaves nothing to the imagination. True professionals know that authentic listening is possible only with the full creative engagement of one's aural imagination. It brings out the subtleties and the nuances in the music that perfect clarity obscures.

:lol:

Here's one now!

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It's a steep learning curve, which is part of the place's charm I guess. Adapt or die!

Still, it'd be nice to have a few women regulars. It's the one thing I miss about my time on the Empire online forums.

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And yet, our collective hostility towards InTheCity...maybe this is why we don't get new members that often, and so many people leave?

I don't see any hostility, we're trying to figure out which version he has. The 19 track HA 2 was confirmed by Varese to have problems. The DE has 33 tracks, which fixed the errors on the first one. So unless he made his own short version then perhaps he was referring to the old one.

Of course I'm deafer than shit apparently because I never hear all these problems that people like bringing up whenever they get new CDs.

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It sounds slightly...off. Like it was edited from different sources. I hear it, but only because I'm looking for it. Didn't really notice before.

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you guys certainly have your own little coterie don't you? Well don't worry my feelings aren't hurt.

The purpose of the thread - I was just trying to see if there was any history about studio conflicts - or subs - or time shortages - or anything you guys knew about that would contribute to the sound. Whether it bothers you or not - thats all. I mean it is there - if you can't hear it fine - no problems, actually good for you! My ears are trained different.

I recorded last week at SONY all week - word is Williams is in this week (or next?) doing Tin Tin. Closed Set!

YAY!

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I recorded last week at SONY all week - word is Williams is in this week (or next?) doing Tin Tin. Closed Set!

YAY!

The pickup sessions were supposed to have been done in June. Were they pushed back to July?

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Then it's a skill, InTheCity, and it's very good you have that skill in your profession.

For example, as a part of my electrical engineering training, I became skilled in being able to connect electrodes to my hand, plug them into an outlet while blindfolded, and tell you which side of my hand received the electrons first. Very useful party trick, earned lots of free beers that way.

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Cool! I don't understand what that means but neet.

From an outsider's prospective some people seem rather cross here.

Just remember there are other JW fans outside this community who are also knowledgable.

Would anyone be interested in seeing a tour of SONY?

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Cool! I don't understand what that means but neet.

From an outsider's prospective some people seem rather cross here.

Just remember there are other JW fans outside this community who are also knowledgable.

Would anyone be interested in seeing a tour of SONY?

Yes, very much so! Start a thread about it!

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But I think that all albums suffer from wrong notes. If you ever listen and compare to the actual score, I've found a myriad of instances where instruments come in late or don't play at all...things like that which vary from performance to performance. That's the BEAUTY of a live performance though. Its never the same.

And I think this has far more to do with changes made by the conductor in rehearsal (i.e. the one run-through before the recording). Studio musicians are the best sight readers in the world. On the rare occasion that somebody misses an entrance, I'm sure Williams would not just let it go.

I think Williams tends to over-orchestrate a little so that he has options for instruments to tacet when he wants to reduce the texture.

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I recorded last week at SONY all week - word is Williams is in this week (or next?) doing Tin Tin. Closed Set!

YAY!

The pickup sessions were supposed to have been done in June. Were they pushed back to July?

Word on the street is these aren't pickups. It's a re-write. John's score was rejected, by Peter Jackson.

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Spielberg and Williams part

'Creative differences' over Tintin score cited as source of breakup - James Newton Howard hired to rewrite entire score in three days

If only it was late March. We could have so much fun with this.

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Wow, sounds like the score was tweaked quite considerably. Glad I know what the original versions sound like, since the revised versions will mostly be on the OST (as well as the film, obv)

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But I think that all albums suffer from wrong notes. If you ever listen and compare to the actual score, I've found a myriad of instances where instruments come in late or don't play at all...things like that which vary from performance to performance. That's the BEAUTY of a live performance though. Its never the same.

And I think this has far more to do with changes made by the conductor in rehearsal (i.e. the one run-through before the recording). Studio musicians are the best sight readers in the world. On the rare occasion that somebody misses an entrance, I'm sure Williams would not just let it go.

I think Williams tends to over-orchestrate a little so that he has options for instruments to tacet when he wants to reduce the texture.

There's that too but I've had instances where the winds might come in a little late or scoop into a pitch. There are instances where there are things dropped but I mean stuff that obviously wasn't or was performed wrong...heh

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Wow, sounds like the score was tweaked quite considerably. Glad I know what the original versions sound like, since the revised versions will mostly be on the OST (as well as the film, obv)

You mean you know what the original versions of Tintin cues sound like? Jason, is there something you are keeping from us and would like to share? ;)

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You mean you know what the original versions of Tintin cues sound like? Jason, is there something you are keeping from us and would like to share? ;)

I believe Jason has all ready said in another thread he doesn't have TinTin's recording sessions or any music from it.

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Yes.

So Jason is the next "expert" we can now consult about the Tintin score before it is released? Boy I can just see questions flying. Who will pitch the first one? :)

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Well done Marc! That is the most important question really.

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