Do you read the liner notes from your expanded editions c.d.'s?

[King Mark 3,631]

I admit I haven't read any liner notes for the past 15 years! 

[crocodile 8,017]

I often read them, but sometimes only skim through.

 

Karol

[Holko 9,529]

Why the hell wouldn't I? Context and background and information in general is important and interesting!

[Edmilson 7,466]

I liked when they had a track by track analysis, like Goldsmith's Star Trek TMP from 2012 or (don't kill me) the old Hook extended edition.

 

It's much easier to follow the score and themes when each track is individually analyzed, instead of something like "the love theme goes in tracks A, B and C while track D has a different performance..."

[Bespin 8,483]

Yes I read them.

 

Nothing is as effective for my insomnia as expanded edition booklets!

 

[GerateWohl 4,370]

I love reading liner notes. But mostly I skip the track by track descriptions.

[Bespin 8,483]

5 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

I love reading liner notes. But mostly I skip the track by track descriptions.

 

Those are my favourite parts!

 

"The passage features a polyphonic exposition where the violins and cellos engage in contrapuntal discourse, elucidating a series of tierce intervals amidst an extensive chromatic framework. The violins, articulating a sequence of augmented harmonies, navigate through a labyrinth of thematic development, while the cellos navigate a counter-melodic trajectory, utilizing intricate ornamentation and syncopated rhythmic variations. This intricate interplay, woven within an elaborate harmonic structure, underscores the composer's virtuosic command of contrapuntal techniques and harmonic complexity."

 

[1977 1,743]

I might glance at them if there is something specific I want to glean about the score or the release e.g. source elements used.

[Edmilson 7,466]

12 minutes ago, Bespin said:

 

Those are my favourite parts!

 

"The passage features a polyphonic exposition where the violins and cellos engage in contrapuntal discourse, elucidating a series of tierce intervals amidst an extensive chromatic framework. The violins, articulating a sequence of augmented harmonies, navigate through a labyrinth of thematic development, while the cellos navigate a counter-melodic trajectory, utilizing intricate ornamentation and syncopated rhythmic variations. This intricate interplay, woven within an elaborate harmonic structure, underscores the composer's virtuosic command of contrapuntal techniques and harmonic complexity."

 

This is the best part of the liner notes! 

 

Ok, not when there's much musicology psychobabble, but when you're listening to the album it feels nice to have a description of which track saying when it appears in the movie, which themes it uses, if it ultimately went unused in the movie or not, etc.

 

The 2012 LLL Star Trek The Motion Picture is the best example when it comes to this kind of analysis. It even says when the cue was recorded!

[King Mark 3,631]

I used to read them back in the day and my favorite ones were on the booklet in the Star Wars Anthology box set.

[Faleel 5,355]

36 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

I liked when they had a track by track analysis, like Goldsmith's Star Trek TMP from 2012 or (don't kill me) the old Hook extended edition.

 

It's much easier to follow the score and themes when each track is individually analyzed, instead of something like "the love theme goes in tracks A, B and C while track D has a different performance..."

I have to admit, I am not a big fan of the Julie Kirgo format of "here is an essay talking a bit about making the movie, and, oh yeah, it had a score."

[Thor 7,512]

They don't have to be expanded editions, they can be any release with liner notes. I always read them, at least once when I get the album. And then maybe later on, when I want to double-check some piece of information. The John Williams TV releases, for example, have been very valuable.

 

Of course, I have my preferences in terms of what I think they should be, how they should be written, what type of information is interesting, what is not so much etc., like any other text about films or film music.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Yes i read them, i like the insight.

[Andy 4,138]

Hell yeah!!! Why else become a collector of physical media if not to enjoy all of it?  Often I’ll pull a series of booklets out for reading without the cd playing. 
 

Plus I’m old enough to remember when liner notes looked like this:

 

 

And yes that’s a color photo. 
 

The work the labels do is awesome. I remember when booklets first started having multiple stapled pages and not just a folded insert. 
 

To me, it’s a real selling point of physical media. 

[KittBash 282]

Of course! 

I not only read them I digitize them (visual and text) for my digital collection so I can review/read them from anywhere. Then I comb through them for any timeline info

[Andy 4,138]

Now that’s cool!

[mstrox 6,651]

Usually no.

[artguy360 1,843]

I always read the liner notes. I find they help me appreciate the music even more.

[Bayesian 1,363]

On 6/12/2023 at 11:39 AM, Bespin said:

 

Those are my favourite parts!

 

"The passage features a polyphonic exposition where the violins and cellos engage in contrapuntal discourse, elucidating a series of tierce intervals amidst an extensive chromatic framework. The violins, articulating a sequence of augmented harmonies, navigate through a labyrinth of thematic development, while the cellos navigate a counter-melodic trajectory, utilizing intricate ornamentation and syncopated rhythmic variations. This intricate interplay, woven within an elaborate harmonic structure, underscores the composer's virtuosic command of contrapuntal techniques and harmonic complexity."

 

Is that quoted from actual liner notes for a JW release? It doesn’t ring a bell, but sounds entirely accurate. 

[Richard Penna 3,694]

I skim them once, then usually never again.

[pete 907]

On 07/12/2023 at 6:40 AM, KittBash said:

Of course! 

I not only read them I digitize them (visual and text) for my digital collection so I can review/read them from anywhere. Then I comb through them for any timeline info

 

I really really wish the liner notes were available digitally as well, but I'm a little lazy to do it myself, and without a scanner, they would be iPhone pics with light reflections and odd angles!

 

The thought of them on my phone of Kindle where I can read them anytime makes my mouth water.

 

I realize there's probably a reason they're not released digitally? But I think it would be a great way to help some decide to make a purchase? Maybe. 

[JTN 2,030]

I used to when I was younger, but the font is too small for my eyesight now, even with glasses, so I only plow through them, but don’t actually read them. But I like the booklets. 
I’m more into exploring the music myself and am not that interested in the background as much as I used to be.

[Tallguy 3,398]

On 06/12/2023 at 2:57 PM, King Mark said:

I used to read them back in the day and my favorite ones were on the booklet in the Star Wars Anthology box set.

 

I'll see you one better: The original Star Wars LP! (Which, of course, was quoted extensively on the Anthology.) And who IS this Lucas Kendall person, anyway?

 

I love the liner notes. I was always disappointed that Star Wars and Empire had notes and Raiders (and I suppose Close Encounters and Superman) did not.

 

On 06/12/2023 at 4:40 PM, KittBash said:

Of course! 

I not only read them I digitize them (visual and text) for my digital collection so I can review/read them from anywhere. Then I comb through them for any timeline info

 

I started to do that with the Star Trek Box but the OCR Force is not with me. I would LOVE to have digital copies of all of these.

 

To say nothing of the fact that I'm ageing and those liner notes have tiny print!

[KittBash 282]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

I started to do that with the Star Trek Box but the OCR Force is not with me. I would LOVE to have digital copies of all of these.

 

To say nothing of the fact that I'm ageing and those liner notes have tiny print!

I hear ya!  
The blue box book was quite the undertaking to get converted to digital text.  So far one of the best OCR solutions I’ve used is on Apple devices using an iPhone to capture hi res images and iPhoto OCR to pull the text and then correct. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

Do I read the liner notes from all my expanded edition CDs?

Life's too short.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

The two bits of info I do look for in liners (my only reason to skim them) is any details on the source materials and details on what's different about the alternates. i.e. if an entire 6 minute alternate is included only for 30 seconds at the end that's different then I'd like to know so I don't have to listen to the entire 6 minutes, working out what's different.

[Incanus 5,715]

Yes. Always. 

[Tallguy 3,398]

2 hours ago, Incanus said:

Yes. Always. 

 

[ThePenitentMan1 744]

Yes...

 

[JTN 2,030]

I read the liner notes of the Intrada Solo Expanded Edition. John Takis' interview with John Powell is very informative and has great JW anecdotes. 

[Tallguy 3,398]

Thanks to this thread I just realized I haven't read Sneakers yet. Unthinkable!

[Ollie 1,059]

 

yes I read them. 

[A. A. Ron 1,742]

On 6/12/2023 at 12:39 PM, Bespin said:

engage in contrapuntal discourse

I’m not familiar with that position.

[Tallguy 3,398]

Also thanks to this thread I am now scanning my liner notes into a text database. I would love to get them into really neat PDF's with OCRed text and still have the pretty pictures. But I don't know how to do that. So I'm using Google Lens and putting them into an Obsidian database so my old tired eyes can read them.

 

So far I've done Wrath of Khan and Eiger Sanction.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

What's a c.d.'s?

[Badzeee 110]

I love reading the liner notes and booklets. Especially those essays by learned historians, archivists and remastering experts. They’re usually a whole new window onto the process and succession of happy accidents that created the magic that ends up in my ears.

 

It makes me appreciate the efforts that go into this (these?) art form(s) all over again, in new and panoramic ways.

 

Kind of the reason I’m here too, to get different angles on subject areas previously (and probably wrongly) labelled “known.”  

[Andy 4,138]

You know what would be cool? If liner notes were up front and gave full disclosure about what was used to temp track cues. I know, I know, it would never get approved. 
 

I tend to skim the part about the film production unless it’s a film I really love or if I think it’ll help me understand the context of the score for a film I’ve never seen. 

[Holko 9,529]

25 minutes ago, Andy said:

You know what would be cool? If liner notes were up front and gave full disclosure about what was used to temp track cues. I know, I know, it would never get approved. 

That definitely happens sometimes, like in the new LLL Sneakers.

[Andy 4,138]

Oh cool!  I’ll have to bust that one out of the shrink wrap!

[OneBuckFilms 323]

I don't always read them, but if I have the time I do.

 

Sometimes there is a lot of great insight in a well-written set of liner notes.