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NEW Q&A with Mike Matessino on Home Alone, Jaws, Jaws 2, and future Williams expansions


Jay

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Great Q&A! And very informative about the outstanding work in these new releases, especially Jaws for those of us that have the Decca CD.

Also, I must say it brings me hope to know Matessino is prevented for saying anything Star Wars-related by "Imperial decree". It seems there are some surprises in the works!

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Thank you very much Jason.

Great and very informative interview.

The thing I should hope you would ask though (maybe I have mentioned again this and you replied, but i don't remember) since you asked what's the hold-up about other Williams expansions, is if Matessino would be interested or if there is ANY movement whatsover towards the direction of releasing other completely unreleased Williams scores. I mean have they searched for something and didn't find it (or found it), or haven't they?

I know he explained the situation with studios and stuff, but IS there any movement or any interest from the labels?

That's what I'd like to know since there are years since the last totally unreleased Williams score that appeared.

Although to be fair, you did ask about Sugarland Express. ;)

But I meant mostly other non-Spielberg, early Williams scores.

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Of course the labels would be interested in doing that. They're not actively ignoring them all! What a silly thought.

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Of course the labels would be interested in doing that. They're not actively ignoring them all! What a silly thought.

You mean you are sure they are interested in releasing I passed for White, Because they're young, The Secret Ways and such stuff?

because from the moment the FSM label stopped, we haven't seen much movement towards this direction which seems strange.

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Anything is possible in the future!

Of course, to start - the elements must exist!

Do you have any commentary on the actual Q&A instead of what's not in it?

I wrote you my comments.

Obviously I didn't have anything negative to say about it that's why I didn't elaborate any further.

I really didn't mean any offence by adding this about the unreleased scores.

It's just that it's a matter that interests me mostly, and since the instances of interviewing these people are usually on the release of an expansion, I thought it would be an opportunity to know something.

I know the elements must exist and they should find them first.

The thing I was asking is if they are looking for them..

And it would be perfectly logical and acceptable if they aren't!

I mean, I can't imagine any label desperately looking for the source elements to "The Secret Ways" or something..

Something like this would sell far less than an expansion of a famous score.

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Producers don't really talk about upcoming projects. The labels prefer to announce the titles when they are ready to be sold, so as not to be inundated with questions as they are trying to work on them. Its a process that makes total sense to me!

You're right that I could have asked him a general question about if totally unreleased scores were being considered as well as expansions, but I don't know if any answer he could have given would set your mind at ease.

The real problem is that I don't think a lot of elements from the 60s are still in a vault that haven't been released already! When it come to Williams I mean.

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but I don't know if any answer he could have given would set your mind at ease.

Well, I would be content with just a "We're interested in releasing some of his early unreleased stuff but we don't know yet if the elements exist, if we can get approvals etc."

The positive thing would be to know that there is at least interest, regardless the result, because I'm not even sure of that.

Anyway, topic closed. That was just a parenthesis on the interview. :)

Reading this, made me more sure that I want to buy this new release although i have both the ost and the first expansion.

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Sorry I didn't ask if they were being looked for by the labels, filmmusic. And sorry for my post before. Now I know how the label heads feel when they announce a title and the first posts are by people asking about other titles!

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Sorry I didn't ask if they were being looked for by the labels, filmmusic. And sorry for my post before. Now I know how the label heads feel when they announce a title and the first posts are by people asking about other titles!

i wouldn't have mentioned it at all, but i did because as i said in my first post: "since you asked what's the hold-up about other Williams expansions"

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Wonderful piece, Jay! :up:

EDIT: I'd say we should be immensely grateful that we have people like Mike Matessino doing this kind of loving restoration work on so many John Williams scores, including some of his most important ones ever. And it makes me feel excited to know he will handle most, if not all, of them in the future. I'm confident we'll see a lot of them released, both expansions of previously released material and completely previously unreleased works. Exciting times ahead!

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Great interview and insightful as always, thanks!

......but come on man

Now I know how the label heads feel when they announce a title and the first posts are by people asking about other titles!

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post-3054-0-78325300-1448823193.jpg

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It's good to get confirmation that the beach source music heard in Jaws 2 is indeed by Williams, as likely as it always was. I wonder why he objected to its inclusion on the new release? It would have been nice to have it as a bonus track, but I suppose worse things happen at sea (consumption by a big fish, for example).

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Great interview.

And my poor wallet thanks you jason as now I HAVE an impending neccessity of buying Home Alone.

Is there any time of the year that LLL offers free shipping or som discount? For exampe July 4th? :(

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I don't think LLL ever offers free shipping, no. Maybe they've had a few sales that offered free shipping on orders of over a certain amount, but those have been rare. You can always order from Music Box Records, since they are already based in Europe. That should help, I think.

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I don't think LLL ever offers free shipping, no. Maybe they've had a few sales that offered free shipping on orders of over a certain amount, but those have been rare. You can always order from Music Box Records, since they are already based in Europe. That should help, I think.

Well, last year's July 4th had international free shipping.

I may wait till then. And rush it if quantities get near sold out.

Its more expensive to order from music box records... and since i 've never had problems with LLL i'll order directly from them, I suppose.

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Terrific interview! Too bad Matessino couldn't elucidate more about future releases and anything about Star Wars... that darn imperial decree!

About the composer and director approval on these projects, I wonder what was their first thoughts when they listened to the 2000 Decca version of Jaws, or what Lucas and Williams had to said about the 1997 RCA version of RotJ (the two worst sounding expanded Williams release that came to my mind). I would risk to say that depending on how much money is involved for them, they'll approve anything...

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Ah.

Yea, sell off the stuff thats been superseded by definitive reissues. Clears up shelf space and puts money in your pocket!

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Great interview Jason! Appreciate the insight and as others have said, it may have convinced me to pick up the new Home Alone. I think it was great that he acknowledged the criticism they would get for releasing a new version so close to the previous one, but explained their reasoning for it quite well. It's obvious the guy is a fan himself, so it's nice to see how excited he was about finding the new elements.

Your interview is also one of the great things about these specialty labels, and the folks who run them. They're not only film score fans, they are also very open and approachable about what they do. They listen to fans and try to make us happy (and boy, can we be a whiny, critical bunch), and aren't so high-and-mighty, hoity-toity that they won't do an interview about their process.

Anyways, great reading, thanks!

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Jay, you could have asked about the 7.1 mix from the 2012 Blu-ray. The documentary about the 4k restoration seems to sugest they did not expand the 5.1 2000 mix to 7.1, but went back to the original analog elements and did it from scratch...

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Ah.

Yea, sell off the stuff thats been superseded by definitive reissues. Clears up shelf space and puts money in your pocket!

Don't listen to Jay!

He's spreading propaganda that your perfectly good old versions are inferior when really they are wonderful keepsakes from the time of their release.

There's no freakin' way I would give up my OSTs, which I consider the "definitive" versions in most cases!

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