Remasters of the First 6 Star Wars Soundtracks now available (Shawn Murphy / Disney Records 2018)

[Jay 31,998]

Ok.... .moving on then.

 

 

So!  I am listening to the TPM album on Spotify now and will provide some comments on each track

 

1 Star Wars Main Title and The Arrival of Naboo (2:55)

The main title sounds fine, as the transition to the next cue in the film.  But then... oh my!  The segue from that cue into the Arrival at Coruscant cue is so abrupt and jarring, it sounds really bad!

[Jurassic Shark 9,744]

@Jay, stop having opinions!

 

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

Uhm, the transition between the Main Title and opening cue is jarring too. atleast IMHO. it should have started a few seconds earlier.

[Giftheck 743]

2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

@Jay, stop having opinions!

 

 

indeed.

 

(The whole situation had me bemused because I thought Jay was being fairly amicable. I couldn't see any supposed arrogance in his replies. Let's just leave it there though)

 

I think you're going to have fun picking apart Duel of the Fates. It all seems to be one take, for both choir and orchestra, with none of the OST edits to it replicated.

[Jay 31,998]

2 Duel of the Fates (4:14)

 

Yea, this is just wrong.  Starts out fine enough, then the brass starts to sound weird (well, maybe that's just  my headphones).  But then from 2:55-3:01, we get the version recorded instead how Williams actually assembled the final cue for release (which was to track in 3:55-4:01 from the cue in over this spot, which makes this part of the track a bit more epic).  This is the first sign that the effort wasn't taken to match every choice made in 1999 exactly.....

 

 

3 Anakin's Theme (3:09)

 

Well, this is mostly fine... nothing really to point out here.
 

[Amer 1,812]

Oh dear..  

 

You know all this hype and disappointment makes me believe that we will now get Mike Matessino on board for sure for the final definitive restoration to tie in with some future Star Wars event. Right?

 

Lets see. I think if Disney is smart they will listen and re-milk this cow afresh next time. Trust me this isn't the first time we have seen them do the music. Their will be more opportunities in the near future and nothing better than to start with the Prequels, Original Trilogy and then the new saga... its goes on! 

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

Only thing that bothered me in that one was 2:36, I remember that note being a bit more sustained before.

[King Mark 3,220]

4 minutes ago, Jay said:

2 Duel of the Fates (4:14)

 

  This is the first sign that the effort wasn't taken to match every choice made in 1999 exactly.....

 well they didn't forget to microedit out the fanfare in Anakin's Dark Deeds..

[Giftheck 743]

Just now, Fal said:

Only thing that bothered me in that one was 2:36, I remember that note being a bit more sustained before.

 

I think that was a combination of using a different take and then raising the volume of it.

 

I've noticed that there are also a few microedits that were not replicated for TPM too.

[King Mark 3,220]

4 minutes ago, Amer said:

Oh dear..  

 

You know all this hype and disappointment makes me believe that we will now get Mike Matessino on board for sure for the final definitive restoration to tie in with some future Star Wars event. Right?

 

 

 no  and they'll just justify  it on this set not selling well

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

1 minute ago, Gistech said:

 

 

I've noticed that there are also a few microedits that were not replicated for TPM too.

Such as?

[Giftheck 743]

Just now, Fal said:

Such as?

 

Listen to Qui-Gon's Noble End, about 1:45.5. The OST cut out a small part of the flute there, while it's present on this new version.

[Jay 31,998]

4 Jar Jar's introduction and The Swim to Otoh Gunga (5:07)

The Introduction of Jar Jar seems fine, other than the low brass being a bit muddy?  Choir sounds great!  The transition from Introducing Jar Jar into Through the Slave Quarters isn't that great either   And the synth chimes (sorry if that's not the right instrument) don't sound right either.  The transition into Stealing Food is fine (it would be hard to screw that one up anyway).

[Amer 1,812]

15 minutes ago, King Mark said:

 no  and they'll just justify  it on this set not selling well

Ha! On the contrary it could be more like (speculating) : OKAY you fix it and make it work since you know how all this works. We know already that Disney is in touch with him via his association with Williams own management.

 

To quote a certain scoundrel-:   "Lets keep a little optimism here.."  folks!

[Jay 31,998]

5 The Sith Spacecraft and The Droid Battle (2:37)

The Sith Spacecraft percussion sounds good, the brass too.  The transition into The Droid Battle is fine, and boy, what a rousing track this is, one of the best action cues of the score for sure.

[GoodMusician 54]

What I don't get... is that they made... almost no attempt to actually edit the tracks properly...

And... they tended to use the wrong takes...

This makes me think that this set was made in haste... but what that would HAVE to mean is that they have remastered all the sessions. 

IF their intention is to create complete score releases, then this may be a quick cash grab for those who are willing to pay for them (as they're reasonably priced) so that when the 'complete' versions come out at a much more prohibitive price, they will still have made some money off of doing that whole remastering process. 

[mstrox 5,860]

Yeesh - I planned on ordering the ESB OST FINALLY on CD, but looks like I may just sit with my download copy.

[Jay 31,998]

6 The Trip to the Naboo Temple and The Audience with Boss Nass (4:07)

 

Sounds fine!  Maybe the chimey bits sound a bit different?

 

 

7 The Arrival at Tatooine and The Flag Parade (4:04)

The microedit in Arrival at Tatooine is handled fine.  The abrupt switchover to the Flag Parade music is OK, it's always been abrupt anyway.  The Flag Parade is still looped like it was on the OST, and the looping is handled fine.

[JTWfan77 1,395]

All this talk has nudged me into digging out (read: playing back on my phone) my old SW albums that I haven't listened to in probably 15-odd years.

 

Where on AOTC would I find the oft-mentioned hiss? I've listened to the start of [edit] a number of tracks on my 'phones and nothing?

[Jay 31,998]

8 He Is the Chosen One (3:53)

 

Sounds fine.

 

 

9 Anakin Defeats Sebulba (4:24)

 

The transitioning between cues here is fine, does not sound bad.  Brass sounds good throughout too!

 

10 Passage Through The Planet Core (4:40)

Also doesn't sound bad!  Timpani hits are impressive.

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

12 hours ago, Drew said:

The keyboard heard in the remastered cue barely even sounds like a celeste now. Lol.

 

It was never a celesta and never sounded like one - it's a piano and a "synth mix (harp and flute sound)" and this combination either sounds like an electric piano, or one was switched in during the recording. 

[Jay 31,998]

11 Watto's Deal and Kids at Play (4:47)

 

The editing between cues isn't bad here, either.  Have they found their groove?

[Giftheck 743]

Oh, it starts going a bit more south once you hit track 14...

[Jay 31,998]

12 Panaka and the Queen's Protectors (3:24)

The microedit that cuts out the cool Duel of the Fates bit towards the beginning of Take To Your Ships is AWFUL here!  It was fine originally, yikes.  The transition from Take To Your Ships into The Big Army, and from there into You're Under Arrest are ok I guess.

[JTWfan77 1,395]

On TPM, was the re-issue for the 3D release considered an improvement on the '99, and how does it compare to this?

[Giftheck 743]

Just now, JTWfan77 said:

On TPM, was the re-issue for the 3D release considered an improvement on the '99, and how does it compare to this?

 

The TPM reissue there was just a straight-up reissue, IIRC. This is a complete reassembly using the recording sessions.

[Breadstick Basilisk 108]

My gosh, the Sith chant whispers in "Qui-Gon's Noble End" (1:54) are terrifying in this TPM remaster. Much louder than before.

[Chewy 1,978]

7 minutes ago, Jay said:

Have they found their groove?

Hope you'll notice the wrong take they used for "The Droid Invasion" (for the beginning).

1 minute ago, Breadstick Basilisk said:

My gosh, the Sith chant whispers in "Qui-Gon's Noble End" (1:54) are terrifying in this TPM remaster. Much louder than before.

Not sure if it's a good thing...

[Breadstick Basilisk 108]

It is, to me!

[MedigoScan 277]

Its not like the whispers were very soft in the movie

[Balahkay 626]

I'm curious to know when they started this project and how much time they were able to dedicate to it.

 

56 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

All this talk has nudged me into digging out (read: playing back on my phone) my old SW albums that I haven't listened to in probably 15-odd years.

 

Where on AOTC would I find the oft-mentioned hiss? I've listened to the start of [edit] a number of tracks on my 'phones and nothing?

 

I'm not sure but you shouldn't have trouble hearing the hiss on the new ROTJ release.

[Jay 31,998]

6 minutes ago, someonefun124 said:

I'm curious to know when they started this project and how much time they were able to dedicate to it.

 

Ditto

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

Well, we know it goes back at least before/around October 2017.

 

[JTWfan77 1,395]

11 minutes ago, someonefun124 said:

I'm curious to know when they started this project and how much time they were able to dedicate to it.

 

 

I'm not sure but you shouldn't have trouble hearing the hiss on the new ROTJ release.

 

Well, I'm now on Love Pledge and the Arena and have yet to discern any hiss. Enjoying the shit out of this score though!

[Jay 31,998]

13 Queen Amidala and The Naboo Palace (4:51)

 

The transition from Naboo Palace into Queen Amidala is not bad.

[Jurassic Shark 9,744]

10 minutes ago, Fal said:

Well, we know it goes back at least before/around October 2017.

 

 

According to some vendors the OSTs were originally planned to be released in November last year:

 

On 17.10.2017 at 9:02 PM, Jurassic Shark said:

In November, probably to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, there will be three CD-album releases from Walt Disney Records of what seems to be the original soundtrack releases of the original trilogy. All three will probably be single disc releases, as each of the original CDs and LPs had a running time of less than 80 minutes. Hopefully the Empire CD will include the missing LP tracks.

 

Also in November, there's two different LP releases of A New Hope: A 3 LP version titled Star Wars: A New Hope and a single LP version titled Star Wars: A New Hope (40th Anniversary) (Rsd). I can't see there's any new LP releases of Empire or Jedi.

 

In January, Sony Classical will release a 20 CD box named John Williams Conductor (with emphasis on conductor to distinguish him from John Williams the guitarist). This will most likely include both JW soundtracks, concert works, and music by other composers.

 

 

Here's my sources:

 

Star Wars CD-releases:

https://www.imusic.dk/cd/0050087364243/o-s-t-2017-star-wars-a-new-hope-compact-disc

https://www.imusic.dk/cd/0050087364267/o-s-t-2017-star-wars-the-empire-strikes-back-john-williams-compact-disc

https://www.imusic.dk/cd/0050087364229/o-s-t-2017-star-wars-return-to-the-jedi-john-williams-compact-disc

 

Star Wars LP-releases:

https://www.imusic.dk/lp/0050087360627/the-london-symphony-orchestra-2017-star-wars-a-new-hope-40th-anniversary-rsd-lp-vinyl

https://www.imusic.dk/lp/0050087368197/soundtrack-2017-star-wars-a-new-hope-lp-vinyl

 

John Williams Conductor, 20 CD box

https://www.imusic.dk/cd/0889854177928/john-williams-2018-john-williams-conductor-compact-disc

 

[Jay 31,998]

Yea, I mentioned that earlier in this thread.  They were up on Amazon briefly last year and then taken down when they were changed to become May 4th 2018 releases instead of Nov 10 2017 releases.  See here:

 

http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/28377-remasters-of-the-first-6-star-wars-soundtracks-now-available-shawn-murphy-disney-records-2018/&do=findComment&comment=1463188

[Tallguy 1,821]

Are the albums on Spotify these albums?  They have the Struzan covers and say 2017.

[Jurassic Shark 9,744]

9 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

Are the albums on Spotify these albums?  They have the Struzan covers and say 2017.

 

If you go to JW's artist site on Spotify, you'll find them all.

 

9 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

They're on Spotify!

 

 

 

[Tallguy 1,821]

Thankee!

 

Wow, I didn't think I'd be able to notice The Asteroid Field.  But I can!

[Manakin Skywalker 3,867]

My package finally arrived in the mail. Now I can finally rip these to my computer and listen to what all the hubbub is about.

[Jay 31,998]

14 The Droid invasion and The appearance of Darth Maul (5:14)

 

Drum Insert sound good, and the segue into The Armies Face Off is OK.    The segue into The Droid Invasion is fine, too.  But something sounds... off about this cue.  Wrong take?  The two microedits that remove portions of the cue are a bit clumsy, as is the segue into Tentacles.  The segue from this into Forest Mist doesn't seem right either.   Nothing wrong with the segue from that into Darth Sidious, though.   Oh man, the ending bit where it segues from Darth Sidious into a bit of tracked Duel of the Fates is COMPLETELY wrong!

Phew, this has to be the oddest album track in JW's entire career...

 

15 Qui-Gob's Noble End (3:48)

 

Brass DOTF opening sounds OK, as does the segue from that into Escape From Naboo.  The brass seems a bit off though.  The segue into Qui-Gon's Noble End is abrupt and jarring!  The sanskrit whispers seem louder than ever before?

 

[Holko 8,205]

Based on the iTunes sample, it just screams "hacked bits and pieces from all over the place"

[Jay 31,998]

16 The High Council meeting and Qui-Gon's funeral (3:09)

 

Seems OK.

 

 

 

17 Augie's Great Municipal Band and End credits (9:37)

 

Well.  Augie's is certainly completely different than the prior album version.  It's instantly obvious in the opening seconds!  The synths are all different throughout.  The segue into the End Credits opening is a bit harsh.  The segue from there into Duel of the Fates is OK though.

 

Wowzers, what a bummer all these problems are in the album.  Oh well.

[tmarps 211]

Anything good about the album guys?

[Giftheck 743]

So TPM's a mixed bag: from a sound point of view these tracks do sound 'nice' and the new version certainly has less reverb applied to it, which I think helps it. On the other hand, there are some iffy edits and take choices.

 

ROTS suffers from some iffy edits too. What's intriguing to me is that not all the tracks use the film mixes.

[voltisubito 42]

5 hours ago, Alan said:

Is anyone commenting having heard the CDs? I'm curious whether they sound any different.

 

I've now listened to TPM, ANH and ESB on CD. A New Hope sounds fantastic, with lots of detail revealed in this mix. Empire, on the other hand, is all over the place. Heavy handed use of reverb and incorrect stereo panning on certain tracks as mentioned by others (I thought there was an issue with my headphone's right speaker initially!). Hyperspace might be the most noticeable improvement. Disappearing cymbal still present in The Imperial March, and various other oddities.

[MikeH 765]

3 hours ago, TGP said:

 

It was never a celesta and never sounded like one - it's a piano and a "synth mix (harp and flute sound)" and this combination either sounds like an electric piano, or one was switched in during the recording. 

 

Yep! I just looked at the score for The Dinner Scene (aka Anakin and Olé!) too, it was probably changed during the session. It'd be interesting to see if JW used that synth harp/flute patch anywhere else in the score and if they kept it for any cues. I'm curious as to what it might sound like...something whistful?

[phbart 556]

3 hours ago, Fal said:

Well, we know it goes back at least before/around October 2017.

 

It's kind of curious that the prequels apparently gave them more trouble the OT.

[phbart 556]

"Luke's First Crash" (or "Beneath the AT-AT") portion from track 12 "Rebels at Bay" seems to follow the same screw up from "Asteroid Field" and "Battle in the Snow", with some kind of weird processing (noise reduction?) applied to the right channel but not on the left channel.

 

 

I was thinking just now that those screwed up tracks, "Asteroid", "Snow" and "Crash" have a faint 19kHz signal present on the left channel (the one that escaped the processing). Chris Malone mentions in his document that for the 93 Anthology, not only the cues were sourced from, at best, 1/4" 4 track tapes, but they have that 19kHz signal. He also mentions that for the 97 SE, the 24 track tapes that contained the 2LP album cues were used. They don't have that signal present, nor the 2005 DVD version of "Asteroid", which suggest that it sounds great because Murphy went for 24 track with that cue.

 

It's safe to assume that they didn't used the 24 track tapes for all cues on this release, even though they were supposed to have all the material used for the 2LP album (therefore, this release). Makes me wonder who well they were preserved from 1997 on...