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Some great news about a possible future JAWS Re-issue!


Jay

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Doug Fake of Intrada says:


What happened on that anniversary release is this: the actual, original three-channel recording session masters, long dormant, were finally pulled and the decision to remix them into 5.1 sound to accompany the audio restoration of the film happened. Those new mixes became the new music masters that were vaulted after the film restoration. This new 5.1 mix for the film was an okay idea, of course, but did not fold back down to two-track stereo very well. On top of that, the nominal hiss present in 1975 35mm three-channel stereo session recordings (most Universal scoring sessions were then recorded this way) was deemed too intrusive for the film restoration and greatly suppressed, necessitating new EQ settings which oddly reduced rather than enhanced the listening experience. Everyone we have ever spoken with about this seems disappointed in the sound of that first-ever release of the actual soundtrack. And this is, of course, as famous a soundtrack as there ever was! But, in some of the coolest news soundtrack fans will probably ever hear, those precious original three-channel stereo sessions do survive, every priceless roll, fully intact and un-tampered with.

--Doug


http://www.intrada.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=65806#p65806

(bolding is mine)

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Yes excellent news that the sessions survive and this bodes well for some future release of the score in full glorious sound! :)

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I'm overjoyed to hear that! If one of these labels someday releases a remastered Jaws soundtrack (preferably containing both the film score and the OST recordings), I will buy it faster than you can hum a low, staccato semitone. As Doug says, the sound on album leaves a lot to be desired from this amazing score.

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That is pretty cool. I have the Anniversary release (the score itself), and I think the sound is good. If it is true, though, that a remastered version is gonna be released, then I will consider buying it. I would also like the original 1975 re-recorded cues (concert suites) that the Maestro did for the OST as well.

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A new John Williams fan is born every day, Stefan. And it's not like they are going to read all 23,556 threads before posting.

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Oh yes, I was about to post that earlier today.

In my opinion, all three Jaws recordings are must-haves and the possibility of getting a proper remaster of film tracks might elevate it in my eyes. And yes, the album version must be on such release as well.

Karol

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For me, there's only one single JAWS soundtrack I need in my life, and that's the original MCA rerecording. I've owned both of the later releases -- the expanded version from Decca and the Varese rerecording -- but subsequently sold them.

If I were to buy it again, it would only be if they remastered the old MCA CD with sparkling new sound, but kept the original program (and even then I would only consider it). But I have no idea if this is part of the alleged, forthcoming release.

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A 2CD release with the album recording and the full OST is essential, as all the album cues are superior (they often feel like Williams wrote them this way and then edited them down to fit the film), but the score proper contains a few important highlights that are sadly missing from the album. Most of the piratey adventure material isn't on there, including a bit that, if I recall, Williams likes to perform in concerts (live to the film).

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(they often feel like Williams wrote them this way and then edited them to fit the film)

In some ways he did, removing (Instrument) sections of the Orchestra etc.

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A 2CD release with the album recording and the full OST is essential, as all the album cues are superior (they often feel like Williams wrote them this way and then edited them down to fit the film), but the score proper contains a few important highlights that are sadly missing from the album. Most of the piratey adventure material isn't on there, including a bit that, if I recall, Williams likes to perform in concerts (live to the film).

I am so glad Williams revised the Shark Cage Fugue for the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration album. It is in one word magnificent. I feel it just fades away suddenly on the OST rather disappointingly.

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A 2CD release with the album recording and the full OST is essential, as all the album cues are superior (they often feel like Williams wrote them this way and then edited them down to fit the film), but the score proper contains a few important highlights that are sadly missing from the album. Most of the piratey adventure material isn't on there, including a bit that, if I recall, Williams likes to perform in concerts (live to the film).

Yeah, if it comes with the original album program, I will consider upgrading. But only if the sound is seriously improved. Then again, the sound on the ol' MCA ain't that bad.

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I must say, the muffled sound on the Decca recording has always made it feel more "underwater" to me, which might be appropriate given the subject matter. but I would still welcome better sound quality.

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Yeah, if it comes with the original album program, I will consider upgrading. But only if the sound is seriously improved. Then again, the sound on the ol' MCA ain't that bad.

Not bad certainly, but it's an early digital transfer, I'm sure it can sound much better still.

I am so glad Williams revised the Shark Cage Fugue for the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration album. It is in one word magnificent. I feel it just fades away suddenly on the OST rather disappointingly.

The fugue on the original album is already much fleshed out compared to the version on the score release. The score version sounds like a heavily microedited version of the album cue.

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NEEEEEED this!!

Do you think the masters to which he's referring also contain the rerecordings for the soundtrack album?

I've been wondering whether they're included, too. My (entirely unfounded) assumption is that they're not, but I do hope that they do exist somewhere else.

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I am so glad Williams revised the Shark Cage Fugue for the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration album. It is in one word magnificent. I feel it just fades away suddenly on the OST rather disappointingly.

The fugue on the original album is already much fleshed out compared to the version on the score release. The score version sounds like a heavily microedited version of the album cue.

But it still doesn't have the sturm und drang of the concertized version. ;)

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The ENTIRE original 1975 OST is a re-recording, not just the "concert suites"

Even the "End Title", Jason? That sounds exaxtly the same, to me.

Anyway, why not just release it in 5.1 on a DVD-A, and/or Blu-ray (possibly as an extra disc for the 40th anniversary)?

Most Blu-ray players are able to convert a 5.1.signal to 2-channel. Sorted!

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....

The original 1975 LP for Jaws was a complete re-recording made with a different orchestra at a different time after the film tracks were recorded.

The actual film tracks were not released until the Decca CD 25 years later.

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  • 1 year later...

I wonder exactly what Doug Fake meant by his comment about Jaws, preserved in the main post of this thread. It was over 1 1/2 years ago now. Could Intrada be working on a definitive edition of the score? Does their release of Jaws IV possibly mean they will work their way backwards through the franchise? Man, that'd be awesome!

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Me too. I really want a definitive version of Jaws on my shelf, and any version of Jaws II. It went OOP before I could grab it, and it goes for a small fortune on the secondary market now.

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I bought a copy of Jaws 2 from ebay for $40. When I received it, it was a total fake job - photocopied front and back booklet, inkjet printed CD label. I was not happy!

Jaws 2, The Eiger Sanction, Earthquake, Dracula, and The Towering Inferno NEED to get re-issued on CD - expanded or not - so today's fans can legally own them on CD without paying outrageous prices to greedy collectors hawking used copies.

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I bought a copy of Jaws 2 from ebay for $40. When I received it, it was a total fake job - photocopied front and back booklet, inkjet printed CD label. I was not happy!

And the seller was selling it for genuine? :P

How did he think he would get away with it??

Did you get a refund?

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I paid for a CD on ebay once and the seller closed their profile and disappeared without a word and no postage of the item.

I filed a complaint to eBay and PayPal gave me a full refund. I will be forever grateful to that company for looking after me.

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