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John Williams' DISASTER MOVIE SOUNDTRACK COLLECTION (Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno, Earthquake) 4CD Box Set from La-La Land Records


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Very cool.  The only thing I have from Inferno is the Lockhart recording from 2017 and I have nothing from Poseidon at all!  So these two will be largely new discoveries for me, I'm definitely ordering day one. 

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This is great news!  These are three of my favourite Williams scores and I am particularly excited about the prospect of having the film recordings of the score for Earthquake as well as the soundtrack album.  It is good to see that they appear to have extracted the Miles' Pool Hall track from the medley and presented it on its own as a separate track, yet still retained the entertaining Medley album track as a bonus.  There appears to be no sign of the two effects-only tracks (Earthquake: Special Effects and Aftershock), but worse things happen at sea, as Red Buttons, Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine would attest.

 

I can't believe that I wrote my analysis of the Earthquake score nearly seventeen years ago!  I gave speculative cue titles to all of the unreleased tracks in the absence of any documentary evidence whatsoever, so I am chuffed to bits that I got at least one of them right (The Aftermath, a fantastic little cue by the way)! :lol:

 

I am assuming that Williams again nixed the inclusion of most of the source music cues in the presentation of the score proper?  There are several fun source tracks from the film that I would love to hear in full one day.  Perhaps Williams can be persuaded to approve a separate CD release of all his groovy 70s source cues one day.  I am sure that the availability of the original film recording of the score will increase the appreciation of Williams's work on this movie.

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1 hour ago, cuartosur said:

I don`t see  "The poseidon adventure"  End Title ( alternate) included in 2010 Lalaland edition :conf:

 

 

Yeah I noticed that as well. 

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5 hours ago, phbart said:

 

I could swear I read somewhere that they made a new digital transfer of the tapes for the Intrada release instead of using the raw transfers made in 2000.

 

I misspoke before!  A new transfer of the tapes was made.  I corrected my earlier post, and also here you can find Mike talk more about it:

 

http://www.jwfan.com/?p=8269

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How much sound improvement is there in Poseidon Adventure? Or is it really the same c.d. repackaged for this

 

If you try to sell the old Towering Inferno  on ebay and get a good price, can the buyer request a refund when he realize there's a new set?

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Very excited for this set!

 

I don't mind buying Poseidon Adventure for the 3rd time, especially since it got the MM treatment. I am curious about the alternate End Credits not being there though. I really like the source music from Poseidon Adventure as well and I hope to hear a sonic improvement in those tracks. 

 

 

Earthquake, I'm not very familiar with aside form really enjoying the Main Titles, so that will be fun to dig into!

 

I'm pumped to hear the remaster for The Towering Inferno as well as the additional cues on this release. 

 

I really do love the early 70s John Williams sound, so yes...I can't wait! Side note, looking through the 70s scores we've had expansions on it really hit me that Mike has checked off quite a number of the 70s scores. There aren't that many left!

 

 

I will bundle this with Stargate and the Western Box Set. 

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So basically we have to keep the old Poseidon c.d. when it should have been made obsolete

 

how much music of Earthquake was unreleased?

My main standout cue on this is The City Sleeps

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10 minutes ago, King Mark said:

So basically we have to keep the old Poseidon c.d. when it should have been made obsolete

 

how much music of Earthquake was unreleased?

Pretty sure that none of the actual film cues have been previously released, only the album which was a re-recording/ specific recording for the album material. 

 

 

On second thought, listening to my 2010 Poseidon Adventure...maybe this alternate End Title isn't actually an alternate...maybe that's why it's not needed on the new set. I think it's just an alternate take perhaps. 

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7 minutes ago, King Mark said:

So basically we have to keep the old Poseidon c.d. when it should have been made obsolete

 

how much music of Earthquake was unreleased?

My main standout cue on this is The City Sleeps

 

Yeah, The City Sleeps is by far the best track from Earthquake. On the original CD, the sound is so, so awful.

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7 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Maybe that missing alternate was just a different take with better sound, rendered obsolete by the newer scan and a proper restoration of the correct take?

I bet this is exactly what it is. 

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I actually do like the Williams chit chat bit! I'll just edit that bit out and keep it as a bonus track 

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14 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Personal story: the Main Titles of The Towering Inferno is my dad's favorite John Williams theme.

 

That's because this is the first movie he watched by himself on the theaters when he was a kid, and Williams' music left a great mark on it. 

Iam a big fan of the Maint Title too. Its like a massive firey fugue. I just love it.

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Some members here commenting on the price of this set. I'm happy it's as cheap as it is.

 

I expect that with more than the usual number of copyright owners that there'd be more than the usual set of licensing fees.

 

And it seems they couldn't get the original artwork for TI and had to pay extra for cover artwork to be created. And then there's the issue of getting permission to use the actors' likenesses on the cover (although Steve McQueen looks like his mum mated with that tall alien from Close Encounters). 

 

And then there's MM's work in improving the audio, which sounds like he did way more than the usual excellent effort.

 

I would not be surprised if LLL's profit margin on this box set is small.

 

I'm grateful to all involved for bringing this out and I'm looking forward to adding this set to the earlier releases I already own

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22 minutes ago, That_Bloke said:

And it seems they couldn't get the original artwork for TI and had to pay extra for cover artwork to be created. And then there's the issue of getting permission to use the actors' likenesses on the cover (although Steve McQueen looks like his mum mated with that tall alien from Close Encounters). 

 

The alternate TTI cover is not the oft-used John Berkey artwork  but then again this new one was not created especially for this edition either. It is actually culled from the official 1976 re-release theatrical poster which can be found online.  I think it was an inspired decision by the art director  to go with something remarkably different to previous issues. It makes it stand out more IMHO. 

 

towering_inferno_ver2.jpg

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WOW! I cannot wait to get this set! Three of the Maestro's scores in one! Awesome! This will be my first time listening to the scores to these films outside of watching the films on DVD. I did not have any previous releases of the scores; the 2010 LLL release of The Poseidon Adventure sold out, so I never got the chance to get it. The same with FSM's release of The Towering Inferno. I never got to get the soundtrack album to Earthquake. This is perfect! I can't wait!

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IMG_9694.jpg

2 hours ago, Jay said:

But there IS one thing on old LLL Poseidon that isn’t on the new one, which is the JW chit chat and false start to “Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing.”

 

If that's important to you... Keep it! If it's not.... Sell it! 

 

Towering Inferno you can absolutely sell. 

 

And you can keep Earthquake if you care about the sound effects tracks. 

Thanks Jay!

 

Lo-fi "Sensurround" FX locked at Red Book quality, back in the bin. Everyone else, good luck out there... I'm sure there is Paper Chase love coming your way one day.

 

So excited about this set... Biggest Disaster Since Apes, Says Your Banking App

 

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For the record, the main title from The Towering Inferno is one of JW's top tracks. I think it's better than Star Wars main title.

 

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2 hours ago, The Five Tones said:

IMG_9694.jpg

Thanks Jay!

 

Lo-fi "Sensurround" FX locked at Red Book quality, back in the bin. Everyone else, good luck out there... I'm sure there is Paper Chase love coming your way one day.

 

So excited about this set... Biggest Disaster Since Apes, Says Your Banking App

 

I estimate that's about $400-500 worth of factory-pressed polycarbonate in your hand. You ought to hang onto all of it. The release of this new box set doesn't change the fact that those particular CDs are still rare and OOP. JW appreciation is only growing. CDs are dying. One day, years from now, those discs might be even more collectible than they are now.

 

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1 hour ago, Bayesian said:

I estimate that's about $400-500 worth of factory-pressed polycarbonate in your hand. You ought to hang onto all of it. The release of this new box set doesn't change the fact that those particular CDs are still rare and OOP. JW appreciation is only growing. CDs are dying. One day, years from now, those discs might be even more collectible than they are now.

 

 

Assuming they haven't succumbed to CD rot by then.

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10 hours ago, King Mark said:

how much music of Earthquake was unreleased?

My main standout cue on this is The City Sleeps

 

As well as being a different recording from the 1974 soundtrack album, the film score recording features music not represented at all on the original album.  This is not therefore a case of having slightly different versions of the same music in most cases.  I am especially looking forward to hearing Aftermath with its chimes tolling on a wide shot of the devastated city, Refugees And Looters which I assume is the memorable cue featuring the motif for the demented Jody that starts as a National Guard convoy drives through the city after the quake and The Tunnel, which I am guessing is the music heard as Chuck Heston tunnels his way beneath Wilson Plaza to reach the survivors trapped in the underground car park.

 

It is also great that the full film version of Something For Rosa is included.  At three minutes long this is much longer than the five seconds heard in the theatrical version of the movie, emanating from a radio in the supermarket when Jody hears the announcement mobilising the National Guard.  Interestingly, a longer cut of the film version of the cue can be heard very faintly in one of the additional scenes shot for the extended TV version a few years later, this time heard as background music on an aeroplane.  Listen here from about 35 seconds in:

 

 

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10 hours ago, Jay said:

 

I misspoke before!  A new transfer of the tapes was made.  I corrected my earlier post, and also here you can find Mike talk more about it:

 

http://www.jwfan.com/?p=8269

That's right, I think it was from there. I loved those interviews here. In here, it seems that more direct questions were asked, and his answers were more detailed also. Podcasts are too long and filled with generic questions, and the details we want to know about a specific release are buried somewhere in the hours long audio.

 

But anyway, I think it's important that fresh digital transfers of tapes are made for a new release, if they are in proper conditions. From the Decca release to the Intrada one it's 15 years apart. I believe there weren't many advances in analog tape machines that allow for a significant better transfer, but DACs certainly are way more advanced. It kinds of bothers me little when I read that a previous digital transfer was used for a release, like the 2008 FSM Superman (where a transfer from 2000 was used) and the 2016 LLL Jurassic Park (that used the 2013 transfers). I prefer when it's 100% MM supervised, from the transfer to the mastering... but that's probably my OCD speaking. :D

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I like swearing for effect, not as a cheap script-filler some films these days go for.

 

 

Quote

 

JIMMY:

I love Wal-Mart.

 

MR. FUCHS:

Fuckin' shit fuck bullshit motherfuckin Wal-motherfuckin-Mart is dogshit, fuck that shit.

 

JIMMY:

...

 

MR. FUCHS:

Motherfucker. Fuckin' bullshit, fuck you Jimmy, you fuckin' arsehole suckin' motherfucker.

 

 

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8 hours ago, MainTitle said:

 

towering_inferno_ver2.jpg

 

 

Ah... thanks very much for that.

 

I've never seen a variation on the official artwork other than the covers on the LP and the FSM cover. This is good to know (and Steve McQueen still looks like his mum mated with that tall alien from Close Encounters) :) 

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12 hours ago, King Mark said:

How much sound improvement is there in Poseidon Adventure? Or is it really the same c.d. repackaged for this

 

If you read any of the comments above yours, you'll see that the sound is supposed to be very much improved.

 

Last year in London, Mike talked about finally being able to do Poseidon Adventure properly with good sound for the first time, so I expect the difference to be significant. I skipped the previous release but have been anticipating the new one since Mike's talk.

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