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A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - 2021 20th Anniversary Edition (reissue of 2015 3CD set) from La-La Land Records


Chewy

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Wow wow wow.  What an amazing collectible an obscenely small amount of fans now own exclusively!

 

 

It seems that the pressing plants were given an old master of the set instead of instead of the final version.

 

On this version:

 

  1. "Biker Hounds (Extension)" is integrated into Disc 1 Track 17 instead of being presented isolated as a bonus track on disc 3
  2. "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" is on disc 3 instead of ending disc 2
  3. "Rouge City" is an additional track on disc 3 - presumably the Joseph Williams' source cue "Rouge City Jazz" and/or "Rouge City Rock"
  4. "Dr. Know (Alternate)" is an additional track on disc 3 - presumably a different idea for part of the Dr. Know sequence
  5. "Helicopter" is an additional track on disc 3 - presumably the Joseph Williams' source cue "Joe's Helicopter cue", which is "Rouge City Rock" with the sax line replaced by electronics

Here are three youtube clips where you can hear these source pieces

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12 minutes ago, Jay said:

"A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" is on disc 3 instead of ending disc 2

Quote

A.I. - DISC 1 & 3 REPLACEMENT NOTICE: There was a manufacturing error with Disc 1 and Disc 3 of our A.I. 20th Anniversary Reissue which resulted in the wrong master being featured on those discs. We are pausing future sales of this title until the corrected sets are in stock. If you purchased this title from us, please e-mail us at info@lalaland-ent.com (with the subject heading AI DISC 1&3) and include your full name and mailing address in your e-mail. We will ship you a corrected DISC 1 and DISC 3 as soon as we have them in stock. We apologize for the inconvenience and we're working hard to correct this issue in a timely fashion.

Shouldn't they be replacing Disc 2 too then?

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I'm just going by what was posted in the FSM thread - the guy who posted the track list said "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" was on disc 3.


Maybe it's actually something else?  They didn't list the track length, curiously.

 

EDIT:

 

The combined track lengths of the 3 new tracks:

 

6 - Rouge City (3:35)
8 - Inside Dr. Know's (alternate) (2:05)
9 - Helicopter (2:01)
 

is 7:41.  Subtract "The Biker Hounds (Extension)" which is 2:38, and you get 5:03.  He also says "a total disc running time of 66 minutes instead of the listed 56" which means there is 10 minutes of music to account for, so about 5 beyond the 5:03 we're at so far.  The "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" is only 4 minutes long, so if track 17 is really 5 minutes, maybe it is something else, and not "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)"?

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6 minutes ago, Jay said:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I'm just going by what was posted in the FSM thread - the guy who posted the track list said "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" was on disc 3.


Maybe it's actually something else?  They didn't list the track length, curiously.

The latest CueTools rips for John Williams CDs indicate a length of 4:16 for the last track of Disc 3.

 

That can be seen here: http://db.cuetools.net/?artist=John Williams by clicking on the first AI entry.

 

Possibly 18 seconds of silence at the end of it? Though that would be curious.

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Huh.  Well since no one who got the faulty set in the FSM thread has indicated that disc 2 is missing "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" on their disc 2, then maybe this final track of this disc 3 is indeed something different than that, and it just got the wrong title attached to it.  I wonder what it could be?

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28 minutes ago, Jay said:

Huh.  Well since no one who got the faulty set in the FSM thread has indicated that disc 2 is missing "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" on their disc 2, then maybe this final track of this disc 3 is indeed something different than that, and it just got the wrong title attached to it.  I wonder what it could be?

I'm confident disc 2 is correct. Again, looking at the latest CueTools rips, CD2 (the second entry on the link above) seems to be attached to the old set (it has track titles, covers and other info).

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I hadn't realized there was a description of "Rouge City" in the FSM thread

 

"The track titled Rouge City on the new disc 3 starts off with a jazzy sax solo, then gets very energetic at the 30 second mark with intense percussions and additional sax"

 

So I guess that means it only contains "Rouge City Jazz", since "Rouge City Rock" doesn't have a sax component

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While for some completist it’s solid win if they have gotten the set.I’m sure they will get a replacement later on. Must be an embarrassing situation for the label. If they can somehow obtain the license clearance and include these as a hidden Easter eggs or something then it would certainly prompt a number of completist fans like myself to get  another copy. ...but ofcourse it’s not gonna happen.

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1 minute ago, mstrox said:

Maybe an early version of the master before JW nixed some tracks?

 

Oh, that's absolutely what it must be.  I never thought it could be anything else

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Absolutely kicking myself for not ordering this now, even though I already have the first edition!

 

Ironically I would've gladly repurchased the set if they had found a way to include the source music this time... Go figure.

 

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Huh.  Well since no one who got the faulty set in the FSM thread has indicated that disc 2 is missing "A.I. Theme (Vocal Version)" on their disc 2, then maybe this final track of this disc 3 is indeed something different than that, and it just got the wrong title attached to it.  I wonder what it could be?

 

Could very well be a third version of A.I. Theme, seems like a logical way to close out disc 3. Maybe another orchestral version with different instrumentation?

 

It seems illogical that Mike would've used the exact same track to end discs 2 and 3.

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2 hours ago, Holko said:

Shouldn't they be replacing Disc 2 too then?

Disc 2 is fine, as far as I can tell. That track was repeated on Disc 3 so it’s just in the set twice. Disc 1 has one extended track that’s about three minutes longer than it supposed to be. Disc 3 is where things get crazy. When I get a chance later I’ll check out those YouTube clips and compare them to the new tracks to try to verify the source cues, because I’d really like to know exactly what I have. 

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15 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

Anyone else notice that A.I. is not appearing anywhere on La-La Land's website? Did it sell out already?

No. They halted sales because there were issues with disc 1 and 3 and replacement discs need to be made. It all went down quickly last night and it looks like the error was music that wasn’t supposed to be released, so it was probably easiest to just remove it from the site before any more orders went through.

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I used CueTools to compare the contents of the CDs (between the 2015 release and the 2021 one).

 

For CD 1, we can confirm that the new CD has the exact same contents (mix, mastering, gaps between gaps) as the 2015 release before we get into track 17:

Quote

[CTDB TOCID: FTc2SuoJJfEqA0922sSd9vVd8ZU-] found.
Track | CTDB Status
  1   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  2   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  3   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  4   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  5   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  6   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  7   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  8   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  9   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 10   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 11   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 12   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 13   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 14   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 15   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 16   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
 17   | (0/1) No match
 18   | (0/1) No match
 19   | (0/1) No match
 20   | (0/1) No match
 21   | (0/1) No match
 22   | (0/1) No match

 

Even though it wasn't reported that CD 2 was different, it seems like the master isn't exactly the same as the 2015 release either, starting from track 9 (this could just mean different gaps between tracks because the overall length of the CD is equivalent):

Quote

[CTDB TOCID: Lu2O6J6GBnC4ZdYVTK0Ro3MFBVc-] found.
Track | CTDB Status
  1   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  2   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  3   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  4   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  5   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  6   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  7   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  8   | (1/1) Accurately ripped
  9   | (0/1) No match
 10   | (0/1) No match
 11   | (0/1) No match

 

I didn't compare the contents for the third disc since the number and order of the tracks is totally different but judging from the results of the first two discs, we can assume that the same mix/mastering was used on these faulty discs.

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I’ve already gotten a number of PMs asking to share the “bonus” music. I’m sure it’ll get out there eventually, but it’s not going to be from me. Sorry, guys. 


Here’s a copy/paste of my original post over at FSM that may have been what started all of this, if that helps:

 

Received the new edition the other day, and there's something up with my copy of disc 3. I never had the original LLL release, so apologies if this is already a known issue. I attempted to import it into my itunes, and there was no info online to pull from as far as track listings. Ejected the disc and retried a couple times, but no difference. Plays fine, but all info is generic "track 01, track 02" etc. So I decided to just copy the info from the track listings in the booklet. 
 

That's when I realized that besides the lack of metadata, there are also additional tracks. 17 instead of 14. And a total disc running time of 66 minutes instead of the listed 56. I then checked the CD with the blu-ray player connected to my TV. On there the metadata showed up, but still 17 tracks instead of 14. Here's the list of tracks according to that source:

 

1 - For Always (4:47)
2 - Cybertronics (alternate) (3:06)
3 - David's Arrival (alternate) (3:11)
4 - Canoeing With Pinocchio (alternate) (1:58)
5 - Abandoned In The Woods (alternate) (3:34
6 - Rouge City (3:35)
7 - Inside Dr. Know's (4:31)
8 - Inside Dr. Know's (alternate) (2:05)
9 - Helicopter (2:01)
10 - Replicas (alternate) (3:59)
11 - Finding The Blue Fairy (alternate) (6:01)
12 - Finding The Blue Fairy (orchestra excerpt) (3:40)
13 - What Is Your Wish (alternate) (4:09)
14 - The Reunion (alternate) (7:03)
15 - For Always (Duet) (4:42)
16 - Abandoned In The Woods (album version) (3:07)
17 - A.I. Theme (vocal version)

 

Any ideas what the issue is with the disc and why the differences from the official listings? And is anyone else experiencing the same thing?  I'm mostly curious if I got a faulty disc that led to the brief shipping delay. Although if faulty means extra music, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

 

Thanks for any help!

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Can you confirm that track 17 of Disc 3 lasts 4:16?

 

If so, are you sure it's the exact same track as the one from Disc 2 that lasts 20 seconds fewer?

1 hour ago, csista said:

Any ideas what the issue is with the disc and why the differences from the official listings? And is anyone else experiencing the same thing?  I'm mostly curious if I got a faulty disc that led to the brief shipping delay. Although if faulty means extra music, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

An earlier, unapproved master of the presentation seems to have been sent to the pressing plant.

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On 7/14/2021 at 2:44 PM, csista said:

I’ve already gotten a number of PMs asking to share the “bonus” music. I’m sure it’ll get out there eventually, but it’s not going to be from me. Sorry, guys.

 

tumblr_nb1wvfHU4g1smip61o2_250.gifv

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This is hitting me right in the OCD.

 

My brother dragged his feet on A.I., but I think he may have ordered a copy this time.  Waiting to hear back from him if he received it.

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2 hours ago, Hedji said:

This is hitting me right in the OCD.

 

My brother dragged his feet on A.I., but I think he may have ordered a copy this time.  Waiting to hear back from him if he received it.

 

Please please please bring good news... this unreleased music sounds incredible!

 

What a travesty LLL can't just sell the remaining copies legitimately! I'd gladly fork out another $50 to buy a reissue of A.I. if it contained more music than the original expansion (which was already one of my favourite LLL purchases!!)

 

Instead, this erroneous pressing will just become a black market collector's item :(

 

8 hours ago, csista said:

17 - A.I. Theme (vocal version)

 

Can you confirm what the contents of this track are? I can't imagine it's the same as A.I. Theme (Vocal Version) on disc 2 (track 11) because it would be superfluous having two identical tracks in the one set. The runtime is also different...

 

8 hours ago, csista said:

8 - Inside Dr. Know's (alternate) (2:05)

 

Can you describe what this is? It's not on the original set either :(

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9 hours ago, csista said:

I’ve already gotten a number of PMs asking to share the “bonus” music. I’m sure it’ll get out there eventually, but it’s not going to be from me.

 

Well thanks for bringing this situation to everyone's attention and in such detail. I wish I shared your optimism that the music will "get out there" though.

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46 minutes ago, Permanent Waves said:

Perhaps just an alternate take of the cue we already have?

I don't think Mike would've included that if it wasn't different enough, especially right after the final one.

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28 minutes ago, csista said:

To be honest, I'm probably the worst person to rely on for specific audio details. I don't have much of an ear, I'm more of a visuals guy. Sorry that I can't give better descriptions.

 

That all sounds fascinating! Thanks for sharing the descriptions with us. I can understand why JW might not have wanted that repetitive Helicopter cue included, but it's immensely disappointing that he had two very cool sounding alternates (Inside Dr Know's and A.I. Theme) omitted from this release!

 

I feel for LLL and Mike here, they clearly wanted this music released on the first expansion but JW must have intervened and had them removed. Utterly infuriating for fans and collectors :banghead:

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Those of a certain age will recall that the 2CD A.I. Oscar Promo was controversial due to Spielberg not approving its release.

 

Seemingly this title attracts drama from time to time.

 

I understand the wanting of unreleased music, but if John Williams doesn’t wish it to be out there then we should respect that. Discussions on sharing music between users shouldn’t be continued.

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Quote

The mysterious tracks on your disc are:

6 - "Rouge City" seems to be the track "Journey to Rouge City" from disc 1. Your disc seems to be missing the track "Biker Hounds (extension)" which should go there
8 - Inside Dr. Know's (alternate) - this track was not on the first pressing of the album, no idea what it is
9 - Helicopter - this track also wasn't on the first pressing, again, no idea what it is
15 - For Always (Duet) - this is supposed to be the final track, after Abandoned in the Woods (album version)
17 - that's the final track of disc 2, looks like it got copied and pasted on here as a duplicate

You're missing one track from the proper disc, and you appear to have two duplicated tracks from other discs and two mystery tracks.

 

Quote

Listened to the two Rouge City tracks. Definitely not the same. The track titled Rouge City on the new disc 3 starts off with a jazzy sax solo, then gets very energetic at the 30 second mark with intense percussions and additional sax. Not sure if that's a mislabelled Biker Hounds Extension since I don't have the original release to compare, but the length still doesn't match since Biker Hounds is listed as 2:38 and this is 3:25.

 

Interesting.

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21 minutes ago, blondheim said:

The final track of the new Disc 3 is 4:16, plays to the end, and at least starts with a different vocal performance. Rather than humming, she da-da-da-das.

Now instead of the somewhat operatic lament we know well, it sounds a bit more like a sad lullaby! Likely an early separate take of the same material, just took a few tries to settle on the voicing. Certainly not the same backing take since it plays all the way through, probably a tad slower. Thing is, I can totally see JW thinking this is just something they tried and didn't work, a step on the road to the final thing that's not important or valuable enough to release... but for us it can still be so damn interesting and affecting!

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I wanted to ask this. In the score featurette, the Maestro makes mention of Biker Hounds, as well as The Helicopter. His son, Joseph Williams, composed Biker Hounds, correct? Or was that co-written by John Williams? I know that all the Rouge City source music was done by Joseph Williams, but was The Helicopter entirely Joseph Williams also, or was it co-written by his father? I ask because the Maestro mentions that specific cue during the score featurette.

 

Now that I think about it, that one source cue with the saxophone. Was that entirely by Joseph Williams, or was the saxophone parts composed by John Williams and the electronic rhythm done by his son? I'm pretty sure that it was done entirely by Joseph Williams, but I want to clarify whether or not that is so. I know that Inside Dr. Know was all by John Williams.

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3 hours ago, Taikomochi said:

Woof those edits with the Biker Hounds cue are rough. I can see why it was cut

 

I didn't mind the transition from Moon Rising to Biker Hounds, but the part where it switches back is jarring for sure.

 

It's nice to have the other 2 Joseph Williams cues though. And I quite like the new A.I. Theme vocal.

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4 hours ago, JohnnyD said:

I wanted to ask this. In the score featurette, the Maestro makes mention of Biker Hounds, as well as The Helicopter. His son, Joseph Williams, composed Biker Hounds, correct? Or was that co-written by John Williams? I know that all the Rouge City source music was done by Joseph Williams, but was The Helicopter entirely Joseph Williams also, or was it co-written by his father? I ask because the Maestro mentions that specific cue during the score featurette.

 

Now that I think about it, that one source cue with the saxophone. Was that entirely by Joseph Williams, or was the saxophone parts composed by John Williams and the electronic rhythm done by his son? I'm pretty sure that it was done entirely by Joseph Williams, but I want to clarify whether or not that is so. I know that Inside Dr. Know was all by John Williams.

 

I do remember that Biker Hounds (Extension) was entirely by Joseph Williams. I now realize that Rogue City Jazz & Rock and Helicopter were also Joseph Williams. Still glad to have those cues.

 

Anyway, it is really cool to have two additional alternates by Maestro John Williams. I really like Inside Dr. Know's (Alternate), though I do prefer the final version. I also REALLY love A.I. Theme (Vocal Version) (Alternate); it actually IS different in a slightly subtle way, in both the orchestral performance and, more clearly, Barbara Bonney's vocal performance.

 

Now, in all honesty and sincerity, to those of you who ordered and received the initial batch, please take heed of this so the record label can continue to be supported along with the efforts done by Mike Mattessino and all involved with this, as well as future releases by John Williams:

 

"A.I. - DISC 1 & 3 REPLACEMENT NOTICE: There was a manufacturing error with Disc 1 and Disc 3 of our A.I. 20th Anniversary Reissue which resulted in the wrong master being featured on those discs. We are pausing future sales of this title until the corrected sets are in stock. If you purchased this title from us, please e-mail us at info@lalaland-ent.com (with the subject heading AI DISC 1&3) and include your full name and mailing address in your e-mail. We will ship you a corrected DISC 1 and DISC 3 as soon as we have them in stock. We apologize for the inconvenience and we're working hard to correct this issue in a timely fashion."

 

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1 hour ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

This was my exact reaction and why I was so distracted in the earlier part of the day :music: thank goodness for being able to work remotely

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2 hours ago, Jay said:

Plenty of Williams scores are available 100% complete 

 

You're right. I guess we'll never know with some scores exactly how many alternates there were but I am glad we keep uncovering more for A.I. I have always loved this score and I am glad so many people are excited about it now. I can remember a time where I never heard anyone talking about this score.

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Another example of Williams intervening and removing a cue from the mix prepared by Matessino was on EMPIRE OF THE SUN. 

 

The film version of the cue 'Cadillac of the Sky' had a near 10 second harp glissando insert in the opening of the track which Williams specifically asked to be removed from Mike's assembly and the original version sans insert be used. 

 

It's the only thing that sometimes makes me cringe because it would have been perfect for this already fantastic release. I suppose this was the time when Matessino was just forging his relationship with Williams and his team and earlier producer Frank Marshall had already cautioned Matessino "Don't push it"

 

Had this been a latter day release we would have this cue issued as an alternate along with Williams preferred choice intact on the album. 

 

And now I suspect that Williams must have nixed the full 'Desert Chase' cue from the Concord release of the RAIDERS - INDIANA JONES Box set in a similar fashion when it was being produced by Laurent Bouzereau. Oh well... 

 

 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Amer said:

The film version of the cue 'Cadillac of the Sky' had a near 10 second harp glissando insert in the opening of the track which Williams specifically asked to be removed from Mike's assembly and the original version sans insert be used. 

:banghead:

 

16 minutes ago, Amer said:

And now I suspect that Williams must have nixed the full 'Desert Chase' cue from the Concord release of the RAIDERS - INDIANA JONES Box set in a similar fashion when it was being produced by Laurent Bouzereau. Oh well... 

The prime example of why he has no business giving significant program guidelines! He has an incredible ear for composing, but not editing... Bouzerau can't make a good program either so that was such a match made in hell.

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