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Nigel Westlake's BABE (1995) - 2021 Varese Deluxe Edition


Jay

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18 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

 

Yes, 'sample' is the key word for me. Spotify really exists as a way for me to decide whether I like something enough to buy it.

 

It's not even because of the pennies they give to artists (although that is a factor), but that I need to own my music on my own hard drive. I would never, ever maintain my music collection only on a streaming platform.

 

Ownership is theft!

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On 1/11/2021 at 11:03 AM, bruce marshall said:

So , JWFAN may not pay directly, but the hosts and servers that enable music to be streamed on the site, pay blanket licensing fees to ASCAP + BMI?

When you listen to the widget linked here each play is paid by Spotify to the rights holders.

On 1/11/2021 at 11:17 AM, Jay said:

 

Of course they can

On Spotify?  Yes. But rights holders give the music to them to stream. Sharing here is legal as long as the links go to Spotify.

10 hours ago, Jay said:

Amazing it took a week for that information to be online! 

 

@BryonDavis, please tell Varese marketing to improve their press releases! 

 

What?  The credit to Mike?

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I think the person setting it up should definitely include the producer/editer/mixer/master when announcing every title :)

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Rewatched the movie to see if my childhood nostalgia lived up to expectations... and adored both film & score! There's definitely a lot going on beneath the surface -- don't be fooled by the whimsical fairy-tale Noonan wrapped everything into; there's some mature themes being explored here.

 

I distinctly remember loving the music as a kid, and being really annoyed that the soundtrack had dialogue over the music. I always adored that "main theme" -- and until this release, I didn't realise it was based on an existing classical piece. Yet another example of how film scores have deepened my appreciation for classical music and the masters of old.

 

Reassuring that Mike produced this too. It's pretty awesome how the guy producing expansions for the biggest composers in Hollywood is just as happy to work on some "little" Australian score -- that happened to be recorded in my hometown, a stone's throw from my workplace! Would love to hear Mike's thoughts on the score; his contextual insight is always illuminating.

 

So needless to say I'll be picking this up. Thanks to @BryonDavis and your team, Varese are knocking expansions out of the park.

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Skipped into the rerecording a bit, the performances are weaker and the mixing is very much subpar. Don't even see the point of it beside a nostalgia trip for the composer. This new edition is the real deal.

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32 minutes ago, Holko said:

Skipped into the rerecording a bit, the performances are weaker and the mixing is very much subpar. Don't even see the point of it beside a nostalgia trip for the composer. This new edition is the real deal.

I only found out about it because I suggested Intrada release the ost.

Yavar read my post and steered me to the rerecording- just months before this release!

So.....itll do-  for now

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1 hour ago, Holko said:

Skipped into the rerecording a bit, the performances are weaker and the mixing is very much subpar. Don't even see the point of it beside a nostalgia trip for the composer. This new edition is the real deal.

 

Well, at the time it was the only way to get the score without dialogue.

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6 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Well, at the time it was the only way to get the score without dialogue.

Yeah but why did their brain go to "let's rent a hall and the orchestra and equipment and produce a whole new recording of the same, just worse" before "let's just release the score without the dialogue"? I'm mostly questioning that step in case that wasn't clear.

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1 minute ago, Holko said:

Yeah but why did their brain go to "let's rent a hall and the orchestra and equipment and produce a whole new recording of the same, just worse" before "let's just release the score without the dialogue"? I'm mostly questioning that step.

 

There can be a number of reasons for that. Perhaps it was difficult to get the license to release the original recordings or the tapes were missing, or an unlimited release of the original recording wasn't feasible (too expensive), or the composer wanted to revisit the score to make some things right, or the re-recording was initiated by the label who preferred that over licensing the original recording, or or or...

 

Anyway, I don't think we should complain about film scores getting re-recorded. :)

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4 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Anyway, I don't think we should complain about film scores getting re-recorded.

Of course, I have and love multiple rerecordings, it's just weird to me when they're prioritised over getting the actual original recordings out there in the best quality before they rot or get more lost, same with Jaws and Superman, the former being even worse since the OST already was a rerecording.

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Yeah, but I guess Varese would have released the real thing if they had been able to.

 

But I agree it's a great shame when tapes are left to disintegrate by the studios, disregarding their own cultural responsibility.

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I like the rerecording.

It gave the composer/ conductor some latitude because it didn't have to conform to time codes.

And, let's face it, the ost is kind of a rerecording itself!.

Someday, I hope to get the VS also.

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20 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

I'll wait for a sale😊

 

Varese don't really have "sales."

 

It's a bargain even at $19.98, considering the amount of work that went into the release.

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So, I should buy it because.....i should buy it?

Gimme a break, I'm still enjoying the one I have!

26 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

I'll wait for a sale😊

Last sale VS was selling FAMILY PLOT for $10 ( maybe less).

I can wait.

2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

They do, one time a year, at the end of November.

" That 'll do"

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3 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

So, I should buy it because.....i should buy it?

 

You're the one who said you wanted it.

 

3 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

Last sale VS was selling FAMILY PLOT for $10 ( maybe less).

 

I bought it for $5. :P

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7 hours ago, Holko said:

Of course, I have and love multiple rerecordings, it's just weird to me when they're prioritised over getting the actual original recordings out there in the best quality before they rot or get more lost, same with Jaws and Superman, the former being even worse since the OST already was a rerecording.

Is it true that Westlake re-orchestrated parts of his score for the re-recording? If so, that might make the re-recording worth owning (assuming the differences are meaningful).

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Aaand of course Greiving's notes are great too, well written, lots of information and insights from key figures, doesn't overlook the Goldsmith part either. Even the set design - at first I didn't like that it sticks with the OST cover with that ugly green block, but in actuality, that green is made the primary colour of the set, appearing on the back, the disc, the booklet, the spine, so overall it looks much less jarring! Also great selection for a tray image, a key shot that also calls attention to the physical circularity in a fun way. Jim Titus notwithstanding, that's really not a given, the prominent Goldwasser for example often stumbles on finding the right images. Props to Bill Pitzonka!

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On 1/14/2021 at 8:49 PM, Holko said:

Unfortunately the bonus section is somewhat disappointing - most of it seems to come from the edited but unmixed dialogue stem.

Correction: I didn't bother to check the OST, all of these seem to come from the album master, Hogget's Song for example has a different more compressed/limited/brickwalled/whatever it is mix than the main program cue.

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On 1/20/2021 at 12:07 PM, Holko said:

Aaand of course Grieving's notes are great too, well written, lots of information and insights from key figures, doesn't overlook the Goldsmith part either. Even the set design - at first I didn't like that it sticks with the OST cover with that ugly green block, but in actuality, that green is made the primary colour of the set, appearing on the back, the disc, the booklet, the spine, so overall it looks much less jarring! Also great selection for a tray image, a key shot that also calls attention to the physical circularity in a fun way. Jim Titus notwithstanding, that's really not a given, the prominent Goldwasser for example often stumbles on finding the right images. Props to Bill Pitzonka!

 

Keep in mind we are working with minimal resources.  Studios don't always allow us to change key art covers.  The former producer at VS never saved anything, ANYTHING.  If Bill decided to go with that as the cover it means we didn't have any alternatives to work from.  In the end, Bill always does great work.  I am happy we get to credit him on these releases (something the former producer refused to do for whatever bogus reasons he had).

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...
  • 5 months later...

I picked this up at the aforementioned sale and just got around to listening to this yesterday a few times.  I also listened to the OST alongside it (working my way alphabetically through albums), and I have to say - the additional music doesn’t really add anything, but for its lack of dialogue/narration, the expansion is probably my preferred listen.  
 

There was the potential for the OST to be a really nice storybook-esque album, but for it to be truly successful they probably would have needed to record some additional album-only narration or something.  As it is, it’s just a few small story narrations sandwiching disparate dialogue which doesn’t really tell the story.  Not very pleasant.

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