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Psycho (Herrmann) vs. Psycho II (Goldsmith)


Psycho (Herrmann) vs. Psycho II (Goldsmith)  

16 members have voted

  1. 1. Which score gives the best listening experience away from the film?

    • Psycho
    • Psycho II
    • Haven't listened to both scores
      0
  2. 2. Which score has the best highlights?

    • Psycho
    • Psycho II
    • Haven't listened to both scores
      0
  3. 3. Which score works best in the film?



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I see no reason to declare superiority in either case. One's a classic, one's an underrated worthy sequel.

Goldsmith's is certainly the easier listening experience, but I suppose that doesn't inherently make it better.

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Goldsmith's is a blur of forgettableness. Not complete amnesia. I remember the main title.

 

Obviously the original is great and perfect regardless of what JW rather idiotically claimed in a magazine interview.

 

I don't think either one of those composers "got" the score to Psycho. Jerry did his own thing mostly but it's a remarkably unnecessary bland work.

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3 hours ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

The first one is too high pitchy and squeaky for me listen to on its own. The second one is better.

 

Try listening to the rerecording by McNeely instead of the horribly sounding OST.

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Even then, there is little sustained interest in herrmann's (no doubt effective) half-tone steps. 'Psycho' is well-served by the 12-minute suite Herrmann compiled in the late 60's. The Goldsmith is by design less visible but at least plays around with a few more moods to hang onto.

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58 minutes ago, publicist said:

Even then, there is little sustained interest in herrmann's (no doubt effective) half-tone steps. 'Psycho' is well-served by the 12-minute suite Herrmann compiled in the late 60's. The Goldsmith is by design less visible but at least plays around with a few more moods to hang onto.

 

I can understand that Herrmann's complete score can be perceived as having too much moody underscoring, and it indeed took me a while to get into it. Now I appreciate this mood music for setting a great atmosphere.

 

18 minutes ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

 

Really? The Omen relaxes me.

 

There's only one explanation for that: you're the antichrist.

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2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I can understand that Herrmann's complete score can be perceived as having too much moody underscoring, and it indeed took me a while to get into it. Now I appreciate this mood music for setting a great atmosphere.

 

It still is very repetitive and doesn't carry a 60+ listening experience. I'd say anyone with a real interest should pass on that and go for the 34-minute Elfman re-recording. Better acoustics by a wide margin, too.

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To me, the McNeely is the one that's closest to the original recording when it comes to the energy in the key pieces, like Prelude and The Rainstorm. The original recording is still the best, and the master tapes are known to be out there in excellent sound. I'll be surprised if we don't see a complete release in the near future.

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Herrmann on all three choices. No contest.

 

What is it with Goldsmith and his association with B movies and bad sequels?

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It's alright. I suppose the novelty of Norman Bates being the protagonist and seeing all that stuff again in color was that movie's legacy. III was forgettable and IV had the awesome scenes of young Norman played by Henry Thomas and Olivia Hussey dressing him up like a girl and locking him in the closet.

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I would have loved a Psycho V where Norman has to deal with whether his offspring is as mad/evil as he was. It would have been like the Little Nicky subplot in Twin Peaks. Shame Perkins carked it early.

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2 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Anybody else here see the Gus Van Sant remake before they saw the original?  I did.

 

What was that like? I actually kinda like it--the original foundations are so solid--but man were there some weird choices in it, like the Euro music video look of the main lady (Janet?).

9 hours ago, publicist said:

 

It still is very repetitive and doesn't carry a 60+ listening experience. I'd say anyone with a real interest should pass on that and go for the 34-minute Elfman re-recording. Better acoustics by a wide margin, too.

 

The Suite recorded by Salonen!

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2 hours ago, publicist said:

PSYCHO II is not a bad movie. And no B movie, either.

Indeed, although everything about the movie hints at a bad movie.

 

17 hours ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said:

Goldsmith's is a blur of forgettableness. Not complete amnesia. I remember the main title.

The score as a whole is one of his weaker ones, the main theme is one of his best!

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