Danny Elfman's SUMMER SCHOOL (1987) - 2023 Rusted Wave

[Jay 37,346]

 

Rusted Wave and 1984 Publishing, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures, are proud to present....for the first time ever....Danny Elfman's score to the 80s comedy classic SUMMER SCHOOL!

 

After Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, but before Beetlejuice, Danny Elfman brought his scoring talents to the 1987 Mark Harmon/Kirstie Alley remedial English comedy SUMMER SCHOOL. While the film was met with a tepid box office and critical performance, decades later the movie found a fervent cult following with both comedy and horror fans.

 

For over 35 years, SUMMER SCHOOL’s Elfman score was the only soundtrack in his film canon to remain unreleased…until now! The complete Elfman score is newly remastered from the original audio tapes, and contains two recently-unearthed Elfman compositions that were not used in the film. The CD booklet features rare film stills.

 

The SUMMER SCHOOL CD is limited to 500 copies worldwide.

 

On Sale April 25, 2023 (pre-order). Shipping in May.

 

https://www.rustedwave.com/product/summer-school-cd-motion-from-the-motion-picture-by-danny-elfman

 

 

Danny Elfman, Summer School: Music from the Motion Picture (Rusted Wave/1984 Publishing RW-016/1984-013, 2023 - original film released 1987)

1. Driving Test
2. Animal Farm
3. Killer Rabbits
4. Shoop Wears Suit
5. Football Lesson
6. Peanut Butter
7. Denise's Big Moment
8. Broken Fender
9. Study Montage
10. Class Goes Home/Sad Dog
11. Chainsaw's Dream
12. I Failed
13. Tenure
14. Extra Credit A *
15. Extra Credit B *

All tracks previously unreleased.

* not used in film

 

https://theseconddisc.com/2023/04/20/summer-sessions-rusted-wave-and-1984-publishing-premiere-80s-scores-by-alan-silvestri-danny-elfman/

[mstrox 6,651]

I ordered it.  Don’t tell MV.

[Bayesian 1,363]

Just curious, did anyone else order Summer School on CD from Rusted Wave -- and, if so, have you received your copy yet? I haven't received my copies in the mail and have heard absolutely nothing from them since receiving an email with a purchase confirmation on April 25. I've tried contacting them via their online customer feedback form and by replying to their confirmation email and... crickets. Their website has no phone number or physical address. Very annoying. If the CDs aren't in their possession yet to mail out, fine, but they need to tell us. 

[mstrox 6,651]

The website/order page says “On Sale April 25, 2023 (pre-order). Shipping in May.”

 

I ordered it and have no clue.  I’m zen about it…for now

[Bayesian 1,363]

I got a reply this morning. They haven’t got the CDs in hand yet but expect to soon, like this week, and then will be shipping them out posthaste. Which is perfectly reasonable. (My impatience gets the better of me sometimes.)

[mstrox 6,651]

Just got my shipping notice, @Bayesian - looks like they’re coming

[mstrox 6,651]

My copy arrived yesterday and while it may be a bit until I can listen to it, I want to compliment Dan Goldwasser’s art direction on the inner booklet, which seems like a cheeky modern take on ‘80s Varese-style CD booklets almost, down to the black and white stills - whether it was intentional or not.  Weird trigger for some nostalgia I didn’t know I had.

 

Also, what in the fuck is going on with this lady on the left?  Almost makes me want to watch the movie to find out.  Almost.

 

[Jay 37,346]

WTF!?

[filmmusic 1,826]

Huh??

I don't remember anything like that on the movie!

[Jay 37,346]

Looks like it is in the movie

 

https://www.fast-rewind.com/making_summerschool.htm

 

 

Strangely this is the only Goldwasser album I've ever seen that he didn't put on his website

 

https://warmbutter.com/albums/

[thestat 348]

It's this awesome way of including gore effects in a PG-13 film that would probably have been cut from an R-rated film at the time:

 

[mstrox 6,651]

Listened to this today.  Not sure what all the hubbub has been about or why LLL dissed the release.  It’s a perfectly fine release of what is clearly a very short score that was designed to supplement a number of pop songs in the film - so it doesn’t carry much of a narrative, but there doesn’t seem to be a better way to release it.  The handful of very short tracks wouldn’t flow together in some sort of suite.  If the other option was to leave the thing completely unreleased forever, I’m glad this was done.

 

Then again, the album does NOT include music from the only scene I’ve ever seen from the movie (the scary scene above) - so it’s possible that the complaint is that they didn’t do a complete release.  There are no significant production notes, so it’s unclear if they just couldn’t find some of the elements…

 

“Chainsaw’s Dream” is an interesting track with a first half which is very clearly the prototype for some source music in Batman, btw.  “Extra Credit A” almost has a whiff of Beetlejuice’s main titles in a way, before venturing into Wisdom territory.  

Had I been an album producer, I might have considered mixing the Extra Credit tracks into the middle of the tracklisting itself, just to have some sustained ideas among the shorter stingers - and to end the whole thing with the very nice “Tenure.”  Extra Credit B isn’t a bad ending either (if you cut out the annoying Easter Egg), but given the content of the rest of the score, they’re clearly “bonus tracks.”  

[Jay 37,346]

Cheers Mike, that was nice to read

 

Maybe the music in that scene was written by somebody else?  I haven't seen the film (or watched the clip) to know what it sounds like

[mstrox 6,651]

It’s 0:30 to 1:30 in the above clip - if you can stomach the gore.  It’s pretty clearly Elfman with some of his Pee-Wee-era Herrmann strings, synth theremin, and some vaguely Beetlejuicy horns.  It would have stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of this album, but it is a fun piece.

[Jay 37,346]

Huh, definitely seems like a strange thing not to include then.  Even if it would have ruined the flow, that's what bonus tracks are for

[JTN 2,003]

I love everything Danny Elfman, but if MV says we shouldn’t get this release because the sound quality is meh, I tend to listen to him. 
What do you think?

[Jay 37,346]

4 hours ago, mstrox said:

 Not sure what all the hubbub has been about or why LLL dissed the release.  It’s a perfectly fine release

 

[JTN 2,003]

1 minute ago, Jay said:

 

I know but still, why would MV say such a thing if he didn’t have a valid point? He wouldn’t purposely say bad things about another label just to hurt their business. There must be a reason why he warned others. Maybe LLL is working on an expanded remastered edition? Someone must have tipped him off and he wanted to give people a heads-up?

I’m seriously confused now, since I love Elfman and would want to get this CD.

[mstrox 6,651]

I’ll tell you that it sounds fine to me.  It may help that I have nothing to compare it to.

[JTN 2,003]

Thanks and I believe you, it’s just puzzling why the exec of one of the best specialty labels would warn people not to get it if there’s nothing wrong with it…

[JTN 2,003]

On MBR it’s more expensive than LLL’s 76-minute WUTHERING HEIGHTS. 

[Jay 37,346]

I opened up and listened to my copy today.  It's very good for what it is: a 10 minute long post-Pee-wee/Wisdom, pre-Beetlejuice/Scrooged Elfman score.  I say ten minutes because though the album is 16 1/2 minutes long, the last 6 1/2 minutes of that is the "Extra Credit" tracks which feel like a different thing than the main score.

 

The main score has a nice beginning and end, with a bunch of fun ideas in between.  It's like a suite really.  Spread out over 13 tracks though, it's all REALLY short cues.  Then the two Extra Credit tracks are 3 1/2 and 3 minutes and feel QUITE different as a result.  The first opens practically the same as Beetlejuice but then goes off in another direction, and the second is maybe the least interesting track on the CD, unfortunately.

 

But I like all the music here; It just seems odd to sell it my itself as an album, and it's weird that that horror movie cue isn't' here too.

 

Ideally we should get a "Danny Elfman at Paramount" 2-CD set from LLL with all of Summer School and all of Scrooged on one disc, and Big Top Pee-Wee on the second.  That'd be a win-win for everyone.

[JTN 2,003]

They could have at least included an interview with Elfman or something to make use of the remaining disc space. A 16 (or more like 10) minute score for this price (at least in Europe) seems like a waste of money, even if it’s Danny Elfman. And I buy everything Elfman, including his concert work. 
 

What about the “meh” sound quality MV mentioned, @Jay? 

[Jay 37,346]

I thought the sound quality was completely fine, though I didn't listen to it with headphones or at a particularly loud volume or anything

[JTN 2,003]

So in your opinion Danny Elfman-fans should definitely get it?

[Jay 37,346]

Depends entirely on how much a completionist you are

 

It's certainly not essential to understanding his development as a composer, but its fun

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

1 hour ago, JTW said:

They could have at least included an interview with Elfman or something to make use of the remaining disc space. A 16 (or more like 10) minute score for this price (at least in Europe) seems like a waste of money, even if it’s Danny Elfman. And I buy everything Elfman, including his concert work. 
 

What about the “meh” sound quality MV mentioned, @Jay? 

As a completely random guess, I wonder whether MV was a bit down on this release, not because of any issue with the quality but because he could see that a 16 minute album at full price is pretty terrible value for money and he is hoping to release it coupled with something else. I have no insider knowledge here so don't get your hopes up! I have to admit that I can't say I'll be rushing to spend my money on a something that'll cost me more than a pound a minute lol. I bet if it had been a Tim Burton film, it would have appeared on the Tim Burton/Elfman box.

[Jay 37,346]

4 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I bet if it had been a Tim Burton film, it would have appeared on the Tim Burton/Elfman box.

I mean yes, by definition it would have

[JTN 2,003]

5 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

not because of any issue

He said he was told that the sound quality was meh. 
 

6 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I can't say I'll be rushing to spend my money on a something that'll cost me more than a pound a minute lol.

Me, neither. It’s ridiculous tbh. I’ll gladly pay good money for a CD, but this is almost a rip-off at this price.

[Tom Guernsey 2,282]

Just now, JTW said:

He said he was told that the sound quality was meh. 

Given the age and presumably low budget, it wouldn't exactly be a great surprise if the sound wasn't perfect, but given the (over?!) sensitive ears of many film music fans find minor imperfections in otherwise exemplary remastered albums, if it was really that bad, I expect people would be all over it! Then again, if you expect it to be bad, maybe everyone has changed their tune to more forgiving or...

 

2 minutes ago, JTW said:

Me, neither. It’s ridiculous tbh. I’ll gladly pay good money for a CD, but this is almost a rip-off at this price.

...nobody has bought it for that very reason, which I find hard to disagree with.

[JTN 2,003]

13 minutes ago, Jay said:

Depends entirely on how much a completionist you are

Yeah… The last two decade I purchased everything that was released by him. I would really love to listen to it and own it on CD, but at this price so little music… I don’t know. I have a feeling LLL or Intrada would have done a much better job combining it with another short(er) Elfman-score and fill up the disc. 

5 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

...nobody has bought it for that very reason, which I find hard to disagree with.

If it were at least 30 minutes, then I probably would seriously consider getting it, but even then I would be “pissed”. But now I’m at a point where I need someone like Jason to tell me “you should definitely get it because it’s short but great, a must-have Elfman” to make me buy it. 

[mstrox 6,651]

It’s not an essential purchase, but it is a fun release from what many people see as the most creatively fruitful (if less refined) period of Elfman’s career.

 

The economic reality of a CD release is, you’re essentially paying for all the clearances, materials, packing in addition to the music - regardless of the length of the music, you are purchasing a disc in a case with materials that required rights and production and artwork.  The fact that any pressed CD from a label like this is $12 (yes, plus shipping) is pretty wondrous, imo.  Major label releases can be made cheaply in bulk, but they also do runs of thousands and thousands and thousands of them - and people buy em!

And if that’s MV at LLL’s specific balk, I’ll remind him of the 30-minute Rat Race disc I just bought from him for $22 (plus shipping). 

[Thor 7,492]

Personally, I'm glad it wasn't coupled with an expanded version of a previously released soundtrack. I'm content with the original releases anyway, so I would be paying more for something I didn't really want. I would have been happy to see a completely unreleased score coupled with it, however (or two). Like HOT TO TROT or FAMILY DOG (both only have single themes released). But of course, I'm sure it's not the same companies etc. etc.

 

So with that in mind, I'm perfectly fine with this being released as a "maxi single"-type thing.

[Jay 37,346]

It's not that hard to look up which films Danny scored that are owned by Paramount and only mention those when talking about pairing scores together

[Thor 7,492]

I know. I’m just not into that whole «scene».

[Jay 37,346]

I wholeheartedly endorse this release now. Pick it up because I really don't see us revisting this title in the future anymore.

 

MV

 

https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=151008&forumID=1&archive=0&pageID=1

[Holko 9,518]

lol

[mstrox 6,651]

Guess we’ll never know the story!  If LLL had been open that “we are working on a better version of this,” it might have been good cause to avoid paying for the album.  When pressed, their only answer was “it’s real short and I heard the sound is bad” - which wouldn’t be a reason for me to dodge a premiere score release, especially since the sound ended up being sounding perfectly  fine.

[JTN 2,003]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

I wholeheartedly endorse this release now. Pick it up because I really don't see us revisting this title in the future anymore.

 

MV

 

https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=151008&forumID=1&archive=0&pageID=1

Interesting turn of events.