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

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Didn't someone one this forum say that pristine master tapes for either TESB or ROTJ were found shortly after the '97 releases were assembled?

[Stempel 136]

https://www.amazon.de/John-Williams-Star-Empire-Strikes/dp/B075VNX66B?tag=dismusgro08-21

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

I don't see how that answers my question...

[Jay 37,287]

15 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Didn't someone one this forum say that pristine masters for either TESB or ROTJ were found shortly after the '97 releases were assembled?

 

I don't know when better sounding ROTJ masters were found, but they were used on the bonus DVD that comes bundled with the ROTS OST

[Holko 9,499]

Just now, Stempel said:

https://www.amazon.de/John-Williams-Star-Empire-Strikes/dp/B075VNX66B?tag=dismusgro08-21

 

What a reasonable pricetag...

Amazon UK it is.

[Chewy 2,376]

I want the french covers!

[crumbs 14,300]

There are definitely better ROTJ masters out there. As Jay said, they were used on the 2005 ROTS DVD and probably elsewhere.

 

Wish someone would ask Matessino what happened with those SE releases, why the latter two films sound so bad and what elements he was working with. He clearly has an itch to do the OT again, so he can't be satisfied with what was released (for obvious reasons).

 

There's always been those rumours that ESB and ROTJ went through some kind of incorrectly calibrated "noise removal" filter at some point late in the process, basically ruining the audio quality. And somehow this processed master ended up going to print.

[Balahkay 627]

3 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

I don't know when better sounding ROTJ masters were found, but they were used on the bonus DVD that comes bundled with the ROTS OST

 

I remember reading an article about newly discovered better-sounding ROTJ masters back in 2008-2009.  I saved the link but it's dead.  I believe I retrieved it from a discussion about the topic on originaltrilogy.com.  There were quite a few projects dedicated to improving the sound of TESB and ROTJ.  OT.com also has a few members who are "in the know" as well.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

10 minutes ago, Holko said:

 

What a reasonable pricetag...

Amazon UK it is.

 

The cheapest European Amazon site when it comes to these releases is the Italian. Only 9.50 Euros:

 

https://www.amazon.it/s/ref=sr_st_date-desc-rank?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅZÕÑ&rh=n%3A412600031%2Cp_32%3AJohn+Williams&qid=1522072537&sort=date-desc-rank

[Chewy 2,376]

Do you know if the shipping is expensive when ordering from Amazon.it?

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

I believe it's about 6-7 Euros for one CD, but I think you can get several CDs for the same shipping charge. When you reach a certain number of CDs it will of course increase.

[Chewy 2,376]

So it might be worth ordering the 6 CDs from Amazon.it (provided it's actually worth buying these CDs )

[TownerFan 4,983]

1 hour ago, crumbs said:

My wishful thinking is they wouldn't have bothered spending time and money scanning all the original master tapes, not to mention re-assembling the OST presentations from scratch, when the first-generation OST masters were already freshly scanned just 2 years ago, and already released under Disney's label. It makes no sense financially unless they're planning something bigger down the road.

 

I'm confident that there will be complete releases of all 9 saga films after 2019. I think it's a given that this music, other than being a constant best-seller, is also a pretty big piece of cultural significance, so I'm sure there will be efforts from all people involved to preserve it in the best possible way. Right now Disney is focusing on the new films, so all that pertains to the original six films is not their priority in terms of merchandising and consumer products.

 

The fact that they're simply reconstructing and releasing the OST assemblies might be for a different set of reasons:

 

1) Keep all the titles available on the market under a single record label banner in all formats (vinyl, CD and digital).

2) Having brand new masters (which also revert the OST assemblies copyright to Disney Music Group only)

3) Collecting whatever royalties and rights might come from usage of these recordings.

 

Producing complete releases of course will make sense after Episode IX will be released.

[Balahkay 627]

3 minutes ago, crumbs said:

There's always been those rumours that ESB and ROTJ went through some kind of incorrectly calibrated "noise removal" filter at some point late in the process, basically ruining the audio quality.

2

 

I wonder why SW didn't go through that same supposed noise removal process?  The SW SE sounds excellent to my ears after 20+ years but no doubt there's room for improvement with modern technology.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

5 minutes ago, Chewy said:

So it might be worth ordering the 6 CDs from Amazon.it (provided it's actually worth buying these CDs )

 

Shipping of all six CDs to Norway is 7.52 Euros. Shipping of only one CD is 5.42 Euros.

[Chewy 2,376]

I'm pretty sure they'll also release these new OST reconstructions on Vinyl in some months...

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Just now, Chewy said:

I'm pretty sure they'll also release these new OST reconstructions on Vinyl in some months...

 

If you check this link it seems to already happen for at least some of the OSTs:

 

https://www.amazon.it/s/ref=sr_st_date-desc-rank?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅZÕÑ&rh=n%3A412600031%2Cp_32%3AJohn+Williams&qid=1522072537&sort=date-desc-rank

[Holko 9,499]

Amazon just groups everything with the vaguely same name together, those are likely old used vinyls.

[crumbs 14,300]

8 minutes ago, someonefun124 said:

I wonder why SW didn't go through that same supposed noise removal process?  The SW SE sounds excellent to my ears after 20+ years but no doubt there's room for improvement with modern technology.

 

I haven't done a comparison (I don't have the SEs) but I would've thought the recent OST remasters (the Sony-commissioned, Vinyl ones) shit all over the SEs in sound quality. They certainly do for ESB and ROTJ, is SW the same jump in quality?

 

It's obviously not a fair comparison, given the advancements in scanning technology over two decades, but it's always amazing to hear the improvement in audio clarity with new remasters. It's the same as 4K remasters; you think the existing 1080p Bluray couldn't look much better, then you see the details that modern film scanners can unveil.

 

Even the DCC Raiders was considered the best ROTLA would ever sound, then the Concord came along and the improvement in audio clarity was unreal. Too bad Williams had it chopped up for no good reason.

[Chewy 2,376]

2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

If you check this link it seems to already happen for at least some of the OSTs:

 

https://www.amazon.it/s/ref=sr_st_date-desc-rank?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅZÕÑ&rh=n%3A412600031%2Cp_32%3AJohn+Williams&qid=1522072537&sort=date-desc-rank

 

Nah, Amazon just incorrectly connected two releases. When you click on TPM vinyl, it shows an old 2013 release.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Just now, Holko said:

Amazon just groups everything with the vaguely same name together, those are likely old used vinyls.

 

You're right.

[Chewy 2,376]

2 minutes ago, crumbs said:

 

I haven't done a comparison (I don't have the SEs) but I would've thought the recent OST remasters (the Sony-commissioned, Vinyl ones) shit all over the SEs in sound quality. They certainly do for ESB and ROTJ, is SW the same jump in quality?

The quality is truly better on the new OST remasters. When you compare the spectograms of a SE and an OST track, you see that the SE one has almost no high frequencies.

[Bespin 8,480]

Is it me or nothing very relevant has been posted in this thread since many pages now?

 

The shock of the news is now passed and I think every one had expressed himself on the matter (including me!).

 

Can we wait for any new official information now?

[Jay 37,287]

Expect more of the same until these things finally come out in... 38 days.

 

Oh my.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

1 minute ago, Bespin said:

Is it me or nothing very relevant has been posted in this thread since many pages now?

 

The shock of the news is passed, can we wait for any new information?

 

Then you have 38 days to update your discography, which should be just enough!

 

[Bespin 8,480]

My post was not ironic, not this time.

[Jay 37,287]

Bespin you like to add more stuff into your posts after submitting them don't you

 

When I replied on your that first line was there

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

1 minute ago, Bespin said:

My post was not ironic, not this time.

 

Mine neither.

[Chewy 2,376]

He wanted to add more relevant information...

[Jay 37,287]

Hopefully Disney Records will send out review copies early so we can inform people what the upgrade is like before May 4th.

[crumbs 14,300]

I still think this release is important overall; its sound quality will be an indication of how good we can expect future score expansions to sound, as they've been sourced from a modern, complete score transfer.

 

If it sounds better than the vinyl remasters (which is possible, considering those were second generation OST master tapes), then we're in for a treat!

 

I can't wait to see the spectograms, that's for sure. Disney OSTs vs Sony Vinyls vs 1993 Anthology vs 1997 SE, here we come!

[Amer 2,080]

Shawn Murphy & team did mention in the youtube reddit video that they had to dig out all the available sources to prepare for the Vinyl restoration which mean that he had access to the original album masters which are the John Neal mixes.

 

By the way better quality version of ROTJ tapes do exist and some important people do have access to them (for quite some time now). Cant say more

[crumbs 14,300]

Well they couldn't possibly sound worse than the ROTJ SE, so there's that.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The Sony remasters of the OSTs sounded wonderful. Jedi sounded no better than the original CD, since it's impossible, but just listen to how glorious SW and especially ESB sound. Empire sounds so much better on the original album and the film mix than any other CD releases.

[Amer 2,080]

Interesting 😎

 

https://theseconddisc.com/2018/03/the-saga-continues-disney-to-reconstruct-reissue-original-star-wars-soundtracks-on-cd/

[rough cut 1,714]

Can’t say I’m super excited. I mean, I just bought this exact collection of tracks in 2016 when The Ultimate Digital Collection was released.

 

And I am skeptical about the upgrade in sound. The only one that might be worth it is ROTJ.

 

Ok ok, I’ll buy it if the price tag isn’t too hefty but it’ll amount to me comparing the tracks to the other releases, update a few playlists with the “new” versions and then never listen to 80% of the albums ever again.

 

I mean, yeah yeah, it’s cool and all, Star Wars always gets a big whoop...  but imagine if this had been a complete re-recording of all six soundtracks with the LSO (rather than the tired “Life In Music - Best of entire catalogue” we’re getting, which limits its Star Wars selection to The Main Theme from E IV). Now that I’d get excited for!

[King Mark 3,625]

still,it means only the OST elements were remastered and it may be too much on a hassle for anyone (that's not working at a specialized score label)  to want to tackle the complete scores.

 

This doesn't foreshadow a complete release at all

[rough cut 1,714]

No, it’s the same old “let’s make a release that maximizes profits and minimizes costs.”

 

As you point out - I don’t either think this is indicative of a complete release down the line. Maybe the opposite even, if they take the stance that they’ve already “done” Star Wars.

[King Mark 3,625]

yeah, especially if it doesn't sell well, the won't see that re-releasing the same music over and over  is the problem and just put anything else on hold so were always caught in that vicious cycle

 

These remastered Star Wars OST's will probably be re-released every few years for the next 20 years  with different covers or in a box set with crap included

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

1 hour ago, rough cut said:

No, it’s the same old “let’s make a release that maximizes profits and minimizes costs.”

 

It that was the case they would just issue the 2015 remasters on CD instead.

[King Mark 3,625]

it's Disney's version of making *slightly* more of an effort than Sony

 

Just remastering the OST's probably wasn't that hard and they probably had the master tapes on hand rather than having to search for better elements for the complete scores

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Scanning the original master tapes could mean only one thing: they needed to do it anyway for another project, like blu-ray releases with improved sound or expanded score releases in a few years. A 4K picture presentation would need sufficiently good sound to go with it.

[rough cut 1,714]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

It that was the case they would just issue the 2015 remasters on CD instead.

 

No, they still need a hook. Sales don’t come for free, you have to put some effort into it. But a clever company will make sure they have high returns on those efforts - a high return of investment.

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

3 hours ago, rough cut said:

 

No, they still need a hook. Sales don’t come for free, you have to put some effort into it. But a clever company will make sure they have high returns on those efforts - a high return of investment.

 

They already had several hooks. The 2015 OT remasters weren't issued on CD, and it's decades since the OT OST programs were available on CD. Most buyers will only notice the word "remastered" on the cover and not care whether it's a completely new remastering or the 2015 one.

[phbart 609]

19 hours ago, Amer said:

Shawn Murphy & team did mention in the youtube reddit video that they had to dig out all the available sources to prepare for the Vinyl restoration which mean that he had access to the original album masters which are the John Neal mixes.

 

I want the original engineer's mix, the Eric Tomlinson mixes.

 

19 hours ago, Amer said:

By the way better quality version of ROTJ tapes do exist and some important people do have access to them (for quite some time now). Cant say more

Yes, the document from Chris Malone website does mention that 3 track and 2 track tapes were available for the 1993 Anthology release. For the 1997 SE they went for the 3 track ones, and he believes that it sounds bad because the tapes weren't handled properly.

 

His words: "Almost immediately following release of the 2CD Special Edition to Return of the Jedi, the recording was criticised for possessing a soft and muffled sound. A three-track reduction of the original preedited Abbey Road tapes was used to prepare the set, which was beautifully assembled by Michael Matessino. Unfortunately, this is one of the few positive comments that can be made about the presentation. Disappointingly, the upper highs have been significantly attenuated. Signal above 10 KHz is virtually non-existent and most certainly rarely extends beyond 14 KHz. It would seem that no additional EQ, however radical, can cajole these frequencies satisfactorily. There is also an inconsistent application of EQ from disc one to disc two with the former generally brighter compared with the latter. The reason for the conspicuous absence of upper highs – and the hiss that should be present with analog recording – could be shared between poor alignment of the machine used to reproduce the source tapes and incorrect calibration of the requisite Dolby A decoder. More likely, the extensive use of digital noise reduction during mastering is the culprit. The noise reduction has vacuumed up the ambience of the original recording leaving a false, barren wasteland in its place. As a whole the music is congested and closed-in, lacking the aliveness of earlier releases."

[Alan 689]

We know they're not just simply remastering the original OST master tapes though. If they were doing that there would be no reconstruction needed.

 

The scores have been re-scanned and then the OSTs have been reconstructed. There is absolutely no reason for Disney to go to that much effort (and expense) if their only intention is to just keep on pushing out the original albums.

[phbart 609]

I just hope the editor (which is not Shawn Murphy, as he only supervised the transfers, right?) will have the extra care of selecting the correct takes.

[Jay 37,287]

Shawn Murphy is not a music editor, he's a recording engineer / scoring mixer.  I would definitely assume Ramiro Belgardt is the editor for all six of these, since he has been the music editor for every film Williams has done from ROTS forward and also edited the 20th anniversary edition of Jurassic Park.

[crumbs 14,300]

Yep, Jay's spot on. It would be Ramiro handling the edits.

 

I think he got a few things wrong with JP that Matessino corrected, so it's conceivable the same thing might happen with these. Alternate takes for the prequels would be great!

[Alan 689]

Perfect for following the JP release pattern then!