DRACULA - 2018 Varese Deluxe Edition Produced by Mike Matessino

[Taikomochi 1,136]

I haven't seen anyone else comment on this, though maybe I just missed it - Has anyone noticed the little motif that plays in "Meeting in the Cave" at 2:37 and again in "Casting a Spell and The Visitation" at 4:00.  Not sure if there are other occurences or not.

[crumbs 14,306]

I haven't had a shipping update in 5 days! Wahhhh. Is anyone else's copy still stuck in shipping purgatory? 

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Mine was until I sent Varèse a peeved email. They overnighted me a copy. I’d strongly recommend contacting them

[Bespin 8,480]

8 minutes ago, crumbs said:

I haven't had a shipping update in 5 days! Wahhhh. Is anyone else's copy still stuck in shipping purgatory? 

 

Oh shut up!

 

- A guy living in Canada.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud that no one here has ever been whining about the combined "For Mina" on disc 1, not even mentioned it in a negative way. Is that the end of the days of nitpicking autistic completists?

[Taikomochi 1,136]

27 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

Is that the end of the days of nitpicking autistic completists?

 

Hahahahaha no fuckin' way

[crumbs 14,306]

54 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud that no one here has ever been whining about the combined "For Mina" on disc 1, not even mentioned it in a negative way. Is that the end of the days of nitpicking autistic completists?

 

I haven't been able to listen to it yet, so I can't complain yet.

[Incanus 5,714]

5 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud that no one here has ever been whining about the combined "For Mina" on disc 1, not even mentioned it in a negative way. Is that the end of the days of nitpicking autistic completists?

I am completely OK with these assembly decisions if we just have all the music and those combinations are not too glaring or jarring. This is helped further by the fact that I don't have a particular connection with the film or know it inside out.

[crumbs 14,306]

Yeah not knowing the film makes me pretty ambivalent about these changes. Besides, MM always ensures the cues have clean openings and closings so they can still be separated by anyone who wants to sequence them chronologically. 

 

The important thing is we just get all the music. If Williams asks for a few sequencing changes as a compromise of that, fine by me. Better than the bad old days where we got microedits and cues dropped entirely. 

[Luke Skywalker 1,794]

In this case...minas death bleeds into minas funeral... So it's not perfect because it cannot be separated...but well since I don't know the film I don't really care much. The combination sounds natural anyway.

[crumbs 14,306]

Really? That's interesting. Why is the film version of that track four seconds longer than the OST version? I figured it was just because Matessino had added some silence between the two cues.

 

Similarly not that fussed either way, if it works.

[Luke Skywalker 1,794]

1 hour ago, crumbs said:

Really? That's interesting. Why is the film version of that track four seconds longer than the OST version? I figured it was just because Matessino had added some silence between the two cues.

 

Similarly not that fussed either way, if it works.

Damn it, i think i was wrong.. i tried to sepparate both but i must have been using the OST track or wrong track time. it is possible to separate both.

 

SORRY for the misunderstanding

 

EDIT. I remember what happened. Grave trampling and the asylum is the one where the strings bleeds from one cue to the other, impossible to separate. SO when I added the score to itunes, i said myself to leave mina and this track as they are and didnt bother anymore.

[Jurassic Shark 12,053]

10 hours ago, crumbs said:

 

I haven't been able to listen to it yet, so I can't complain yet.

 

I'm sure you can!

[TownerFan 4,983]

11 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud that no one here has ever been whining about the combined "For Mina" on disc 1, not even mentioned it in a negative way. Is that the end of the days of nitpicking autistic completists?

 

I'm completely okay with this decision, as it flows perfectly almost like a concert piece. Same goes with the combination of "Grave Trampling" and "The Asylum", as they're both based around Van Helsing's motif. Curiously, in the film "Grave Trampling" segues directly into "Night Journeys", but Matessino preferred to keep that cue isolated and imho it's the right choice.

[Luke Skywalker 1,794]

If that's the case.... I would have put grave trampling segueing into the film edit of night Journeys, and then add the original full night journeys isolated as a bonus track ..

[Brundlefly 2,385]

It is kind of a little art form to decide which cues will be on their own and which cues will be connected.

 

In my opinion, the nuimber of tracks should always be in proportion to the length of the score. There are many examples, where that didn't work so well. The Burbs (DE) and Deep Rising (Intrada), for example have too many tiny cues that are seperate tracks, so that the musical flow suffers from it. Return of the Jedi (1997 SE) and The Sum of All Fears (LLL), on the other hand, have many unnecessary medleys and sour crossfades of cues that shoul have been given seperate tracks.

 

Moreover, changing the actual order of the cues is absolutely fine, when it is needed. Varese Sarabande does this all the time and I prefer it over the correct order of the cues, if it sounds better.

 

Let's not forget the nowadays expected standard of relinquishing any bleeding tracks. In this decade, there were still a few release which commited that crime, such as Bad Girls (LLL), Hook (LLL) or Star Trek: Insurrection (GNP Crescendo). Why would I listen to a cue and not listen to the following cue that is musically attached to it? The sudden end of the former as well as the abrupt start of the latter cue are especially irritating, when you use the shuffle. Simply connect the damn tracks.

[publicist 4,643]

1 hour ago, TownerFan said:

Curiously, in the film "Grave Trampling" segues directly into "Night Journeys"

 

What a horrendous Frankenstein stitch that would have been (musically speaking).

[TownerFan 4,983]

As heard in the film, it doesn't sound that awkward, though. But I prefer how MM handled the presentation on the disc. I think it's one of those cases where being slave to the film presentation would be pedantic.

[publicist 4,643]

I hate it when obvious set pieces are shoehorned with unrelated cues just because of a movie edit. Another reason why i avoided all the Star Wars releases after the Arista set.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

#The Nighclub Brawl + Streets of Shanghai

 

(Remember that discussion in the Mummy thread?)

[Holko 9,516]

You mean the scene having been spotted for a big sprawl of music and the composer imagining that one big piece which was always envisioned as and intended to be heard as one big piece but writing and recording it in bits out of convenience?

[Brundlefly 2,385]

No, I mean The Nightclub Brawl and Streets of Shanghai.

 

Maybe you're refering to The Quidditch Match or Journey to the Island.

 

(Now I remember the two parties.)

[Holko 9,516]

Oh, you say the brawl scene never lead directly into the street chase from the script stage?

Let's not restart this, it was stupid. These Dracula relocations seem much more tolerable than that. I didn't even plan my previous comment to refer to yours but Pub's.

[publicist 4,643]

Holko is just one misguided individual which thank god is no album producer.

[Dr. Rick 1,155]

Well I received my copy this weekend!  Just put it in the CD player to listen. 

 

My question is how are folks displaying this on their shelf?  Cardboard case spine facing out or CD spine?  😂  I have a love/hate relationship with cardboard slipcases.  While they do their job in protecting the CD and look nice at first over time they get all frayed on every conceivable corner (SW RCA and Rhino S:TM are prime examples).  The only exception is Raiders DCC, I've had it since it first came out and the slipcase is still minty fresh! 

[Brundlefly 2,385]

CD spine facing out!

[King Mark 3,631]

I got my c.d.'s despite the postal strike

 

The tracking still says they are in the US . Anyone else have tracking issues when ordering stuff from  the US?

 

I have to track through USPS website and nothing appears on  the Post Canada website

 

it's not the first time this happens...

 

And to make it worse the doorbells in my apartment building are broken for now, so the postman just left them in the entrance hall near a garbage can...I was lucky one of my neighbors found them

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

55 minutes ago, ATXHusker said:

I have a love/hate relationship with cardboard slipcases.  While they do their job in protecting the CD and look nice at first over time they get all frayed on every conceivable corner.

All my classical boxsets in cardboard are pretty wrecked on the edges. The plastic three disc cases I have are sturdy.

[ChrisAfonso 186]

On 11/13/2018 at 5:37 AM, John Chambers said:

I’m really enjoying this, it sounds absolutely terrific and such a great to get so much new music froths period! That said I unfortunately have a glitch at 3:31 on the first track of disc one, do I just have a bad disc or is anyone else hearing this? Just want to know if I need to order a replacement disc, many thanks.

 

 

On 11/13/2018 at 11:12 AM, John Chambers said:

 

So it appears that this is an issue inherent to the original recording, it appears quietly on the right channel on both disc 2 and on the original album release. it's just much more prominent and on both channels in the main film score presentation. It sounds like a recording error to me or is it something heard on the stage? Really satisfied and enjoying this release but just curious as to what this is.

 

I also noticed this during my first listen today. Like you said, it's also noticeable, but quieter, on the disc 2 version of the track, so it seems to be a recording artefact (?). It certainly looks strange on the spectrogram (top track, directly before 3:32):

 

 

I tried to edit it out, which seems to work rather well (the cut time not really noticeable because there's a slight rall.):

Original: https://picosong.com/wXa4N/

Fixed: https://picosong.com/wXa4x/

 

Other than this minor nitpick, awesome set so far - this score's a completely new discovery for me (apart from the End Credits, which blew me away when I heard it for the first time in London, and maybe even prefer to the original recording - I liked the slower, more freeflowing interpretation :))

[Jay 37,340]

I have created a new thread to discuss ONLY the music of the set itself.  It's here:

 

http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/29036-john-williams-dracula-music-only-discussion/

 

By all means continue to post your shipping updates, Customs complaints, arrival notices, pictures of the set, etc here!

[Wojo 2,453]

I checked with VS and they confirm the Jug Band Christmas is keeping mine hostage. Oh well. 

[Jay 37,340]

Didn't you already know that?

 

On 11/15/2018 at 12:14 AM, Wojism said:

My Dracula is unfortunately being held hostage until Varèse figures out when they want to ship the Jug Band Christmas album. 

 

[Wojo 2,453]

I was speculating before. Now I know. 

[Jay 37,340]

Ah, gotcha

[Bespin 8,480]

I have it at last!!!

 

7 hours ago, King Mark said:

And to make it worse the doorbells in my apartment building are broken for now, so the postman just left them in the entrance hall near a garbage can...I was lucky one of my neighbors found them

 

Funny that you found your package near a garbage can, that’s almost how they found the tapes of Dracula!

[ricsim88 244]

18 minutes ago, Bespin said:

I have it at last!!!

 

 

Funny that you found your package near a garbage can, that’s almost how they found the tapes of Dracula!

Knowing that you other Canadians got your copies encourages me. Maybe tomorrow mine will show up.

[crumbs 14,306]

OMG it just turned up in my letterbox! Amazing, it's like the universe saw my post yesterday about not having heard any shipping updates for a week. 😂

 

Can't wait to get home from work, two brand new Williams scores for me (ordered The Cowboys as well). 

[The Five Tones 302]

Flap, flap... trill, trill... it's here!! Seems to have made it through the rotating Canadian postal strike without much if any delay.

Also: thanks to whoever entered the track titles in proper title case in iTunes!

[Amer 2,096]

Ughh still waiting for mine. This Vampire is late!

[Josh500 1,615]

Finally! I thought it'd never arrive. 

 

 

 

[King Mark 3,631]

My jewel case has no cracked parts or teeth

[Josh500 1,615]

My jewel case has two extra sharp, pointy vampire's teeth! 😂 

[Holko 9,516]

Meanwhile MusicBox has been preparing mine for 24 hours now.

[Josh500 1,615]

22 minutes ago, Holko said:

Meanwhile MusicBox has been preparing mine for 24 hours now.

 

So I'm actually not the last to get this? Huh.

[Holko 9,516]

It's infuriating to think that if they would've posted it within 7-8 hours of starting to prepare it, and the priority mail is really priority mail, I could be listening to it this very moment. But no, preparation still in progress.

[Jurassic Shark 12,053]

4 hours ago, Josh500 said:

 

 

I don't like that JW's name is located under the grave cross...

[Josh500 1,615]

1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I don't like that JW's name is located under the grave cross...

 

So was Jerry Goldsmith's name once...

 

It goes with the territory!

[Jurassic Shark 12,053]

Yeah, but I don't care about Goldsmith.

[Josh500 1,615]

10 hours ago, Holko said:

It's infuriating to think that if they would've posted it within 7-8 hours of starting to prepare it, and the priority mail is really priority mail, I could be listening to it this very moment. But no, preparation still in progress.

 

Where do you live again? In Europe? 

[Holko 9,516]

1 minute ago, Josh500 said:

 

Where do you live again? In Europe? 

Hungary.