John Powell's HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2014) - 2022 Varese Deluxe Edition

[Richard Penna 3,683]

Perhaps. I just get really irritated by delays, and my mind can't compute the idea of waiting 6 days after a release for a CD to travel 200 miles to me. I've had CDs sent from the states arrive in that time. It severely diminishes the impact of having a store this side of the pond if new releases take this long to arrive.

 

This is why I was disappointed by the intentional delay of the digital release.

[Smaug The Iron 512]

Mine has shipped as well 

[Bespin 8,480]

As a very very very new fan of John Powell (with only 4 albums of him in my collection), I'm not sure if I want to dig in the "Deluxe" editions right now.

 

Change my mind.

[crocodile 8,000]

Just now, Bespin said:

As a very very very new fan of John Powell (with only 4 albums of him in my collection), I'm not sure if I want to dig in the "Deluxe" editions right now.

 

Change my mind.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,346]

The sound mix improvement of the Paycheck, HTTYD1 and Solo expansions are improved enough to really be essential, let alone all the extra music you get (though you could more or less approximate their OST programs with the new versions too)

 

Paycheck, HTTYD1 and 2 are probably not going to be in print for much longer on physical CD, either.

 

(Solo is only available digitally)

[Bespin 8,480]

A sound mix... it can always be "improved"... Ask 10 sound engineers to remix a multitrack recording and you'll get 10 different mixes!

 

Did you know that in french (from the novel), Hiccup is named "Harold" and Toothless is called "Crocmou" (for Croque mou, meaning litterally soft bite).

 

I have yet to watch the second movie (in french of course).

[Jay 37,346]

I know, but I found the Solo OST album to be genuinely unpleasing to listen to in spots, and the Deluxe Edition sounds fantastic from start to finish.

 

I never heard the Paycheck OST and never had a real major problem with the HTTYD1 OST, but I do think the HTTYD1 Deluxe sounds way more pleasing than the OST does, and the Paycheck Deluxe has one of the most satisfying sound mixes I've heard in a while.

[Richard Penna 3,683]

29 minutes ago, Bespin said:

As a very very very new fan of John Powell (with only 4 albums of him in my collection), I'm not sure if I want to dig in the "Deluxe" editions right now.

 

Change my mind.

 

The DE isn't really that long for a 'complete' set; I wouldn't say it's excessive at all for a first-time listen, and there are lots of nice little moments added.

 

Plus you're getting a fresh master - I'd say go for it!

[Bespin 8,480]

 

Spoiler

 

[Richard Penna 3,683]

[Jay 37,346]

11 minutes ago, Bespin said:

 

  Hide contents

 

 

I see no reason not to add the Paycheck DE to that order

[Bespin 8,480]

I don't know what Paycheck is.

[Jay 37,346]

A great score by John Powell

 

https://www.varesesarabande.com/products/john-powell-paycheck-the-deluxe-edition-2-cd

[Bespin 8,480]

But... wait, it's a movie with... Ben Affleck!

[Jay 37,346]

How good or bad a film is, is irrelevant to how good or bad a score is

[Bespin 8,480]

I know.... but Ben Affleck....

[Jay 37,346]

My copy is now in the Austin TX Regional Distribution Center!

[Holko 9,516]

Mine was already in Budapest this morning, they processed the customs paper I had to send in my afternoon, I'll have to pay it in cash tomorrow. Last time I order small from outside the EU.

[A. A. Ron 1,742]

My copy has made it to my hometown!

 

[bruce marshall 1,315]

On 15/03/2022 at 8:58 AM, Jay said:

No no, I ordered HTTYD along with 5 other titles and they all shipped from Texas.  Clearly their warehouse is there now.  I'm sure their offices are still in LA

Hopefully they weren't frozen!😙

[scallenger 483]

12 hours ago, Jay said:

I know, but I found the Solo OST album to be genuinely unpleasing to listen to in spots, and the Deluxe Edition sounds fantastic from start to finish.

 

I never heard the Paycheck OST and never had a real major problem with the HTTYD1 OST, but I do think the HTTYD1 Deluxe sounds way more pleasing than the OST does, and the Paycheck Deluxe has one of the most satisfying sound mixes I've heard in a while.

 

Not disagreeing with these assessments, but I think I missed the intel on HOW these things happen? Doesn't the composer have control of the sound mix for the OST as well as these expanded releases? Which is truer to how they want it to sound, usually?

[crumbs 14,306]

17 minutes ago, scallenger said:

Not disagreeing with these assessments, but I think I missed the intel on HOW these things happen? Doesn't the composer have control of the sound mix for the OST as well as these expanded releases? Which is truer to how they want it to sound, usually?

 

Patricia Sullivan mastered the Solo OST, whereas Powell assembled, mixed & mastered the Deluxe Edition himself at his studio.

 

Who knows what the mixes sounded like before Sullivan mastered the OST. It's possible Powell created an entirely new mix when he did the Deluxe; maybe he felt the original film mixes were too hot and cleaned things up.

[A. A. Ron 1,742]

2 hours ago, crypto said:

Patricia Sullivan mastered the Solo OST, whereas Powell assembled, mixed & mastered the Deluxe Edition himself at his studio.

 

Well yes, the deluxe edition was assembled, mixed and mastered at Powell's 5 Cat Studios. To be a bit pedantic though, the guy who actually mastered it was someone named John Traunwieser. Here are the credits for the deluxe edition soundtrack for reference:

 

[crumbs 14,306]

16 minutes ago, A. A. Ron said:

To be a bit pedantic though, the guy who actually mastered it was someone named John Traunwieser.

 

Well yeah, he's the in-house recording and mixing engineer at 5 Cat Studios.

 

I was just making the point that everything was handled internally at Powell's studios, unlike the OST (where the mastering was outsourced).

[HunterTech 989]

3 hours ago, crypto said:

Who knows what the mixes sounded like before Sullivan mastered the OST. It's possible Powell created an entirely new mix when he did the Deluxe; maybe he felt the original film mixes were too hot and cleaned things up.

 

Having talked with an audio enthusiast about the release: the mix is exactly the same between the two releases. It merely is a matter of EQ and compression where the differences between the two releases mainly lie. Particularly with how much brighter the DE is, which certainly would make the sound more vivid for some (they did a similar thing for HTTYD1 when you compare it to the sessions (which also uses the same mix)).

[crumbs 14,306]

The choir sounds less artificial/processed on the Deluxe too. Makes a huge difference.

[timelord327 4]

My copy has finally arrived today, still need to give the film a rewatch before listening to it properly though.

 

They've done a really good job at making it feel like a deluxe release, the artwork on the liner notes is pristine. (I don't have my copy of HTTYD 1 DE with me to compare) It's nice to feel like effort has gone into the release, which can be rare these days.

[Jay 37,346]

My shipping info says it's still in Texas and won't be delivered to me until Tuesday, 11 days after I ordered it

[Anthony 572]

On 15/03/2022 at 5:37 PM, Jay said:

 

England...

 

The answer was Leeds. How un-sexy of a location.

[Holko 9,516]

Got it!

 

Customs are insanely bullshit high. Last time I do this.

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

Ugh I knew I shouldn't have added Dante's Peak to my order... bet they're waiting for that to come into stock before they dispatch it!

[igger6 894]

@Jay, can you give an example of a spot on the Solo OST where you felt the sound quality was particularly bad?  I'm continuing to try to claw my way toward better discernment of these matters.

[Richard Penna 3,683]

Mine arrived this morning. Unfortunately it's the one day when I'm not WFH so I can't yet pass judgement.

 

50 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Ugh I knew I shouldn't have added Dante's Peak to my order... bet they're waiting for that to come into stock before they dispatch it!

 

That shows as in stock on their site...?

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

2 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

Mine arrived this morning. Unfortunately it's the one day when I'm not WFH so I'll hear it later on.

 

 

That shows as in stock on their site...?

Yeah, I know... shrug! Oh well, I am patient*

 

 

*I'm not.

[crocodile 8,000]

I am expecting mine to arrive on the morrow.

 

Karol

[Holko 9,516]

The booklet looks great, and Greiving's notes with excerpts of new interviews with Powell and the director are also fantastic as always!

[bollemanneke 3,342]

4 hours ago, Holko said:

Got it!

 

Customs are insanely bullshit high. Last time I do this.

Just order from Music Box? I did. Still no shipping confirmation, but I don't really care, I am NOT paying customs bullshit.

[Holko 9,516]

31 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

Just order from Music Box? I did. Still no shipping confirmation, but I don't really care, I am NOT paying customs bullshit.

Yeah, that's what I've always done, except for the one LLL order which went smoothly. Hype and my love of this score has blinded me.

[Richard Penna 3,683]

Just ripped and am now listening - it sounds really good - a definite improvement over the OST I'd say, with a slightly widened soundscape. Track 17 just blew my head off with the clarity of the brass/bass, whereas the FYC is just a tad less enveloping.

 

The demos interestingly waver between near orchestra-quality performances, to sections which sound a lot more synth, but it's like hearing different takes of those cues so I'll probably keep them.

[Holko 9,516]

Completed my first listen in years.

 

 

This score is

 

 

AMAZING.

 

 

 

I love the way it uses so many old themes.

I love all the new themes.

I love all the ways it uses the new themes.

I love how dark it gets.

I love how fun it gets.

I love how emotional it gets.

 

The cue we were missing so far is really cool! Lowkey and mysterious, it actually has the first proper statement of the Alpha theme!

The Where No One Goeses are awesome! I heard a lot of orchestral detail I wasn't remembering from the rips/edits that mostly used the more stripped back album mix.

Some of the demos actually do have some minor differences.

 

 

I do hate the double opening, but aside from that and joining Stoicks's Ship/Riding the Hatchlings, I don't think I'll have to do any more editing!

 

I had no problems with the sound aside from the quiet part of Valka's Flash where we have some weird digital doubling/buzz in places, and the end of the previous track where I heard something similar, but it's like this on the OST too.

[Jay 37,346]

5 hours ago, igger6 said:

@Jay, can you give an example of a spot on the Solo OST where you felt the sound quality was particularly bad?  I'm continuing to try to claw my way toward better discernment of these matters.

 

So I've never been good at describing sound quality issues / differences, and generally don't often mind supposed "bad" sound quality as much as many others.

 

But in the case of Solo, the best word I can think of to describe the OST album is that it was "fatiguing", like listening to it would actually give me a headache almost.  Like they boosted the volume of every element to max so it became more of a wall of sound or something.

 

The Deluxe Edition of Solo is drastically different!  It never sounds oppressive at all, I can actually hear what all the instruments are doing.

The biggest improvement I think is in the choir for Enfys Nest's marauders gang.  I don't know if the difference will be quite as stark on these youtube embeds, but if you listen to first minute or so of "2M16B Enfys Nest Arrives" on both albums, the choir can be heard SOOO much better on the DE:

 

 

 

 

For some reason the play button isn't starting at my timestamp - start at 4:43

 

[Richard Penna 3,683]

Woah, Challenging The Alpa sounds absolutely breathtaking on this set! Particularly from a minute or so in - the choir, brass and strings couldn't be clearer! The triplets at 1:50 are practically going right into your ear, then the choir and strings just seem to encircle you.

 

That said, the whole thing sounds fantastic. I agree with Holko - the Where No One Goes are really cool - full of energy and fun orchestration. I love how at 1:46 of the first one, the percussion and vocals stop and the orchestra suddenly brings up the rear like a soft cushion. Then that ending! Woah. 

 

I clearly haven't seen the film recently enough as I don't remember those absolutely wild strings, and they're awesome!

 

I disagree about the film opening though. I actually think it works great as a sort of logo-esque calm introduction before launching into the dramatic alternate opening.

[MaxTheHouseelf 324]

Sounds very promising, I share your excitement guys!

 

I had bought the CD for this score a couple of months ago but didn't properly listen to it, because I've been enjoying the third and the Deluxe Edition of the first.

 

But man, this is such a phenomenal soundtrack, it's already in my top 10. I've been listening to it the whole week. The themes, the orchestration, it just ticks all the right boxes. If the deluxe edition can even improve the sound plus more music, well... I can't wait for my copy to arrive. Ordered from Chris' Soundtrack Corner for the first time. Hopefully they have it tomorrow (at least Music Box says they will have it on Friday), then with a bit of luck I get it on Saturday.

[Chewy 2,388]

I'm not familiar with the score, I haven't listened to the full DE or OST albums...but I couldn't resist comparing the mastering/general sound between the two releases before giving this score a full listen  

 

The mix seems to be the same but a new mastering was done here, much like what was done for the first score, Solo or Paycheck. While those deluxe editions seemed to have an overall improved sound compared to their original albums, this one seems a little bit worse than the OST to my ears. Most of the cymbals and other bright stuff lack a slight amount of clarity in my opinion, possibly due to some EQ applied.

 

34 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

Woah, Challenging The Alpa sounds absolutely breathtaking on this set! Particularly from a minute or so in - the choir, brass and strings couldn't be clearer! The triplets at 1:50 are practically going right into your ear, then the choir and strings just seem to encircle you.

 

This track is actually great to identify those sound differences, with a lot of cymbals during that action sequence. Makes me sad, but I think I actually prefer the OST sound over the DE one

[Bespin 8,480]

The frequencies are good? 

[Chewy 2,388]

22 minutes ago, Bespin said:

The frequencies are good? 

Don't get me started  They applied a frequency curve to limit the usual CRT tone (around 15.6kHz), it's fine!

[scallenger 483]

So far can pretty much only echo what everyone is saying, although I haven't fully listened to it yet. I went straight to both "Where No One Goes" songs and WOW... quite a different mix compared to the OST version! In a good way, mostly! If you are a giant fan of this score, I definitely recommend hanging onto the OST version of the song now not only for the alternate edit but now also the very different mix.

[Richard Penna 3,683]

0:25-1:25 in Reprise is a real hidden gem - I had no idea what to expect from this version. And those strings around 2:00 are just insane, but somehow they work over the brass. I absolutely love this cue as a way of ending the main program.

 

The unreleased cue is also really nice - a bit different from the rest of the score, less thematic, more mysterious.

[scallenger 483]

Yes I love the unreleased cue! If I had to guess, it takes place at this scene, starting at around 2:43 perhaps. No wonder we never knew of it since the scene is unscored in the film:

 

 

[Faleel 5,345]

2 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

 

 

The unreleased cue is also really nice - a bit different from the rest of the score, less thematic, more mysterious.

The whole cue is thematic though....

 

3m27 has a bit of music in the opening that was not on the FYC