What's your feelings about dialogue and sound effects on soundtrack albums?

[Jurassic Shark 12,023]

I recently purchased Kunzel's Star Trek collection. I was aware of the sound effects between tracks, which can easily be skipped, but the sound effects within tracks took me by surprise. A decidedly unpleasant one.

[Bellosh 3,375]

I guess it all depends.  Nimoy's epilogue is an absolute MUST.  This end title without it, is just weird to me.  I wish it was in ALL Star Trek end credits.

 

 

I like Morgan Freeman's monologue in War of the Worlds.

 

Can't say I'm a huge fan of Belushi in the 1941 OST end credits, but if that was the only end credits we had, I wouldn't mind.

 

As fas as sound effects go, I guess I really only know those to be on the ripped/bootleg tracks of certain cues I have.  If I like the cue enough it doesn't bother me. 

 

I'm sure there are some on the official Star Trek releases I have (TMP 3CD, Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock 2CD and Star Trek 2009 2CD), but I can't think of any cues off the top of my head on those releases that would contain special effects.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

There should be more. Film score soundtracks are a bit boring without scenes from the movie.

[Thor 7,462]

They're a no-no, without exception.

[Jurassic Shark 12,023]

No-no or no-go?

[Thor 7,462]

No-no.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

I particularly hate the narration on the War of the Worlds and Angela's Ashes OSTs. Luckily there are versions of the latter that don't contain it, but in the case of the former, we need an expansion not just for the sake of expanding the score, but also in order to get rid of this Morgan Freeman bullshit.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

But the Morgan Freeman bit is integral to the musical narrative as presented on the album. Without it, it's just plain old score.

[Anthony 572]

I generally hate them - look at the Ocean's Eleven soundtracks for example - but when done tastefully, they can really work. For example, Jeff Bridges in the opening track of Tron: Legacy, Morgan Freeman in War Of The Worlds, and the "radio" transitions/ads on Tarantino compilations.

[Thor 7,462]

There are some examples where it's pretty organic, like the BLADE RUNNER OST. But not even that case works for me. I don't want anything to do with the film when I'm listening to a soundtrack. Please remove the listening experience as far away from the film as humanly possible, including sounds and dialogue. If I want to hear dialogue and sound (or hear the music in the film's order), I'll watch the bloody film!

 

Probably the worst example I can think of are cases like MAD MAX 2 or FEAR IS THE KEY, where long setpiece tracks are CONSTANTLY undermined by sound effects. Ridiculous.

[Jurassic Shark 12,023]

5 minutes ago, Thor said:

There are some examples where it's pretty organic, like the BLADE RUNNER OST.

 

Does that exist in a version without dialogue?

[Jay 37,281]

I hate it always, it ruins the experience.  The producers who put narration on soundtrack albums aren't doing so for us, they think it will be received well by joe blow consumer for some reason

[Marian Schedenig 8,172]

4 hours ago, Thor said:

They're a no-no, without exception.

 

But what if it's the composer's decision? What's the difference between a composer's decision to skip a track, or edit a track, or use dialogue on a track?

[Jurassic Shark 12,023]

Taste?

[mstrox 6,643]

I like it on Angela’s Ashes and War of the Worlds - really feels like part of the presentation.  I like it less on things like Gladiator vol. 2 and Varese’s anniversary Halloween, because it’s more than just narration and it comes with a lot of ambient noise and sounds effects.  Off the top of my head, that’s all I can think of that I own that has it.

[Jurassic Shark 12,023]

What's about JW's Reivers suite?

[mstrox 6,643]

Counting concert recordings, I also prefer that narrated.

[Smeltington 1,436]

3 hours ago, GiacchinoCues said:

when done tastefully, they can really work. For example, Jeff Bridges in the opening track of Tron: Legacy

 

Forgot about that, this is the one example I still enjoy. It sets the tone nicely and it's very quick. It meshes well with the music. I don't even remember the film that well, but this brief voiceover can spark your imagination as to what the music might represent. You might picture something similar to the film, or you might picture something far more abstract. THE GRID!

 

I used to be cool with the More Music from Gladiator dialogue, because I liked the film so much at the time, but these days I only listen to that music without the dialogue.

 

 

[Thor 7,462]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Does that exist in a version without dialogue?

 

I don't have the 3CD set, but I believe it has the OST, as well as two other CDs with 'inspired by' tracks and such. So I guess 'no'. At least not legally.

 

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

But what if it's the composer's decision? What's the difference between a composer's decision to skip a track, or edit a track, or use dialogue on a track?

 

Then he's free to do so. But I don't have to like it.

[Edmilson 7,381]

I hate them as well. It just detracts from the experience of listening to the score. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I think it works really well in the Halloween anniversary soundtrack.  It's iconic music, but it doesn't really work on its own over an entire album, it needs the dialogue/SFX to place you in the context, feel the mood.

[Romão 2,274]

I loved in Hannibal, to be honest. Specially in Let My Own Home Be My Gallows. It's like an extra instrument. Works wonderfully

[A24 4,326]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

 

I don't have the 3CD set, but I believe it has the OST, as well as two other CDs with 'inspired by' tracks and such. 

 

 

CD 2 features more tracks of the original score and music that did not make the cut. CD 3 is new music and entirely 'inspired by'. It sounds completely different than the Vangelis of the early '80s.

[bollemanneke 3,337]

I voted hate it twice, but miss a poll option: I hate it except when Tarantino does it, then it's fantastic.

[mstrox 6,643]

2 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

I think it works really well in the Halloween anniversary soundtrack.  It's iconic music, but it doesn't really work on its own over an entire album, it needs the dialogue/SFX to place you in the context, feel the mood.

 

I've come around on it a little bit - the version of the main title with the kids saying "trick or treat" at the end is a regular on my Halloween season playlist.  But with the gunshots and the hissy dialogue, I really can't do the album too much.  Rather than salvaging a long/complete album with dialogue, the short-form version of the album is all I need.

[1977 1,743]

The only time dialogue over music works for me is Nimoy's voiceover on STII. I also really like Margot Kidder's vocal on The Flying Sequence fron S: TM, which I've always seen as an inner monologue rather than song vocals. I know I'm the only one, and that's okay.

 

I can tolerate the voiceover on Angela's Ashes and WOTW because it does fit within the narrative, but it's always preferable to have the tracks presented with music only as an option.

 

What about Jerry Goldsmith's use of sampled sfx, such as the barking dog in The 'Burbs and screeching cats in Gremlins?

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Yeah the little snippets of dialogue on Tarantino's soundtracks are the only thing I can think of that I like having in there. That's sort of its own thing and they're always isolated tracks.

 

I get the argument for some things like Angela's Ashes, selling it sort of as a companion to the memoir, but obviously prefer score only.

[Jay 37,281]

1 minute ago, JTWfan77 said:

What about Jerry Goldsmith's use of sampled sfx, such as the barking dog in The 'Burbs and screeching cats in Gremlins?

 

Those are great, and outside the scope of what this thread is about

[1977 1,743]

I'd rather not have my music listening sullied by the sound of mating cats, thank you.

 

I don't think it's out of scope either.

[mstrox 6,643]

The screeching cats etc. are part of the musical composition.  Sound effects and dialogue are not part of that process.

 

I've always considered Margot Kidder's Superman work to be part of the music, even though it's spoken word.

 

I'm still, many years later, a little hot and cold on the insertion of singing from the dialogue track on the LOTR extended editions.  I understand the reason, but in some examples, the vocal track sounds so disparate from the quality of the orchestral recording that it's off putting.

[1977 1,743]

Screeching cats are not music, regardless of what JG may have thought.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

 

24 minutes ago, Jay said:

26 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

What about Jerry Goldsmith's use of sampled sfx, such as the barking dog in The 'Burbs and screeching cats in Gremlins?

Those are great, and outside the scope of what this thread is about

 I agree with Jay and want to add that they're part of the music as much as all the other instruments and not even samples but synth.

[1977 1,743]

Okay if you enjoy listening to that crap, go for it.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

30 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

Yeah the little snippets of dialogue on Tarantino's soundtracks are the only thing I can think of that I like having in there. That's sort of its own thing and they're always isolated tracks.

Same for Flash Gordon, Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway. But that's an entirely different matter.

 

2 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

Okay if you enjoy listening to that crap, go for it.

That's your opinion, but it still has nothing to do with the topic of the thread.

[1977 1,743]

*shrug*

[Smeltington 1,436]

19 minutes ago, mstrox said:

I've always considered Margot Kidder's Superman work to be part of the music, even though it's spoken word.

 

Yes! The music is clearly meant to support the vocals. You can dislike the cheese factor (I'm cool with it) but it's part of the track.

[mstrox 6,643]

Oh, I hate it!  But it's clearly a lyric piece.

[crocodile 7,982]

They're all evil.

 

I like the narration in WOTW tracks but only as a bonus.

 

Karol