Bill Conti's ROCKY II (1979) - NEW! 2026 Intrada

[Jay 45,771]

 

Releasing Tuesday April 7 (details Monday April 6 evening)

 

Looks like Neil S Bulk was involved.

 

https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/community/postid/2537127/

[Stark 973]

LONG HAVE I WAITED

[Jfallon 150]

Fantastic!! For some reason always thought we would be getting these in a box set like the original Karate Kid releases. Anyways stoked for this! Finally a expanded Conti Rocky!

[Andy 7,520]

Has the first score ever been or needed an expansion? I’ve actually never seen Rocky II, but I can imagine the score might (?) surpass the original. 

[Stark 973]

Only 4 has ever received any sort of special edition. (And 5 and 6 have never received any score release!) Not sure if the first score is complete though.

[GerateWohl 6,471]

17 hours ago, Jay said:

 

Somehow I seem to recognize Göransson's Mandalorian Theme in these fanfares.

 

[crocodile 9,628]

I always thought his Mandalorian theme is an aftershock of his work on Creed films where he brilliantly continues on from where Bill Conti left off. Much better theme too.

 

 

 

Karol

[Andy 7,520]

Intrada, the new Home of Stallone. 

[Ricard 2,540]

"I can't believe this has happened. I can't!" 

 

 

 

 

[Corellian2019 491]

On 01/04/2026 at 4:21 PM, Andy said:

Has the first score ever been or needed an expansion? I’ve actually never seen Rocky II, but I can imagine the score might (?) surpass the original. 

 

The first score has some cues that sound like they were re-recorded for the album (including "Gonna Fly Now"), and the fanfare for the opening fight with Spider Rico is unreleased; apart from that, i don't know what else is missing

[scoreman36 194]

Excited for this. 

[Andy 7,520]

I am oddly excited for this and I’ve never seen the movie or heard this particular entry’s score. But it seems like something I’d really enjoy. 

[A24 5,112]

I have Rocky II on vinyl.

[Quppa 533]

https://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.13201/.f?sc=13&category=-113

 

Up for order.

 

Quote

Intrada announces an expanded edition of composer Bill Conti’s sequel score to the Oscar®-winning Rocky. With Rocky II, Conti takes his original material from the first film and expands its scope as Rocky’s world itself continues to expand. Though its themes were strikingly memorable and now legendary, Conti had scored Rocky sparsely, the film featuring just 30 minutes of score. For Rocky II, planned as a summer blockbuster, Conti wrote considerably more music, broadening its original themes and varying its melodies in a way that wasn’t immediately apparent, even as they echoed the original’s emotional heart.

 

As album producer Neil S. Bulk notes in his Tech Talk, “Releasing an expanded CD for Bill Conti’s score to Rocky II has been a unique challenge. Extensive searches for the score in the MGM vaults only turned up two ¼″ reels. Luckily, these tapes were in stereo and contained final print takes and final mixes.” While these tapes contained the most of the score, including cues not used in the final film, several cues are still missing (all of which are simply new recordings of cues from the original film). The album presents the expanded score presentation first, a nearly 42-minute program, followed by a bonus track and then the original LP program. The packaging is further adorned with liner notes by Daniel Schweiger.

 

[Jfallon 150]

Shocked this isn’t getting more posts. What a fantastic release. Samples sounds incredible… finally getting a Conti Rocky people!

[Jay 45,771]

ROCKY II (EXPANDED)
Bill Conti
Label: Intrada Special Collection Volume ISC 529
Film Date: 1979
Album Date: 2026
Time: 77:52
Tracks: 28

Price: $24.99

 

Intrada announces an expanded edition of composer Bill Conti's sequel score to the Oscar®-winning Rocky. With Rocky II, Conti takes his original material from the first film and expands its scope as Rocky's world itself continues to expand. Though its themes were strikingly memorable and now legendary, Conti had scored Rocky sparsely, the film featuring just 30 minutes of score. For Rocky II, planned as a summer blockbuster, Conti wrote considerably more music, broadening its original themes and varying its melodies in a way that wasn’t immediately apparent, even as they echoed the original’s emotional heart.

 

As album producer Neil S. Bulk notes in his Tech Talk, "Releasing an expanded CD for Bill Conti’s score to Rocky II has been a unique challenge. Extensive searches for the score in the MGM vaults only turned up two ¼″ reels. Luckily, these tapes were in stereo and contained final print takes and final mixes." While these tapes contained the most of the score, including cues not used in the final film, several cues are still missing (all of which are simply new recordings of cues from the original film). The album presents the expanded score presentation first, a nearly 42-minute program, followed by a bonus track and then the original LP program. The packaging is further adorned with liner notes by Daniel Schweiger.

 

This new edition of Rocky II comes just in time to celebrate Bill Conti's 84th birthday! Check out the soundtrack trailer here!

 

This sequel continues the story of Rocky Balboa after his brutal fight with Apollo Creed. Although Rocky gains fame from going the distance, he struggles to adjust to a comfortable life and faces financial difficulties. Meanwhile, Apollo becomes obsessed with proving he can decisively beat Rocky and pushes for a rematch. A reluctant Rocky agrees, returning to intense training despite personal challenges, including his wife Adrian falling into a coma. After Adrian recovers and encourages him, Rocky regains his determination and ultimately defeats Apollo in a dramatic rematch, becoming the new heavyweight champion.

 

 

    SCORE PRESENTATION
    01. Opening (From Rocky II) (2:00)
    02. Final Bell (1:45)
    03. Ambulance Ride (2:08)

    04. Hospital (1:30)
    05. Take Her To The Zoo (1:35)
    06. Wedding Night (2:10)
    07. Rocky’s Accolades (1:24)

    08. Apollo’s Fury (1:31)
    09. Stickball And Adrian, You Did It!! (2:10)
    10. You Lie Nice (0:54)
    11. To See Mickey (1:30)

    12. Your Wife Is Sick (2:17)
    13. Vigil (Film Version) (4:39)
    14. What Are We Waiting For? (2:40)

    15. Gonna Fly Now (Rocky II Version) (2:39)
    16. Conquest (4:40)
    17. Get Up!! (1:14)
    18. Another Final Bell (1:44)
    19. Redemption (Theme From Rocky II) (2:37)
    Total Score Presentation Time: 41:40

 

    THE EXTRA
    20. Jewelry Store (1:50)
        

    ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
    21. Redemption (Theme From Rocky II) (2:37)
    22. Gonna Fly Now (2:33)
    23. Conquest (4:40)

    24. Vigil (6:30)
    25. All Of My Life (3:59)
    26. Overture (8:38)

    27. Two Kinds Of Love (2:36)
    28. All Of My Life (Instrumental) (2:27)
    Total Original Soundtrack Time: 34:12

    Total Album Time: 77:52

 

https://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.13201/.f

 

 

 

[NewBlueEyes 220]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DW-B6AaD3Vc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

[Andy 7,520]

1 hour ago, NewBlueEyes said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DW-B6AaD3Vc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

 

I don’t have a ton of Conti scores but that is all kinds of awesome!

[NewBlueEyes 220]

4 minutes ago, Andy said:

 

I don’t have a ton of Conti scores but that is all kinds of awesome!

I bet he'd be up for scoring for an animated feature film for the first time

[Andy 7,520]

10 hours ago, NewBlueEyes said:

I bet he'd be up for scoring for an animated feature film for the first time

That actually seems like a really good fit for Conti! Wonder why that never happened?

[GerateWohl 6,471]

Rock II always was my favourite Rocky movie. It was the first one I had seen. So, when I watched Rocky I a few years later I was a little disappointed expecting something superior. The later ones I didn't really like. 

[NewBlueEyes 220]

4 hours ago, Andy said:

That actually seems like a really good fit for Conti! Wonder why that never happened?

Well, we know that many of elderly composers never scored for an animated feature film before, even before their deaths took them over.

 

He did write dead serious music for some comedy films like Wrongfully Accused, so maybe Bill should score one of the comedies from Pixar, DreamWorks or Illumination and play it like if it was a serious drama, like some of the composers has done that too.

[Jfallon 150]

What a bloody great release this is. What a joy listening to new Rocky music after all this time. Hope Rocky III is being worked on.

[NewBlueEyes 220]

1 hour ago, Jfallon said:

What a bloody great release this is. What a joy listening to new Rocky music after all this time. Hope Rocky III is being worked on.

Don't forget the first one too.

[Bespin Copilot 10,705]

Do we have an expansion of the first one? It's the real classic.

[Jfallon 150]

Feel like the first one is very sparse with score even though the main themes were born from it. Might be wrong here seeing I haven’t watched the film in ages. 

[Yavar Moradi 4,357]

Correct; this great Settling the Score podcast episode talks about just how sparse it is… and I think they also play an unreleased cue or two from the film (very minimal):

https://www.settlingthescorepodcast.com/35-rocky/
 

Still, if tapes survive for Intrada to revisit it similarly, I’ll buy it!

 

Yavar

[Slitherjump 148]

@Bespin CopilotNope just album reissues for its 30th anniversary. And I’m pretty sure that album is a full re-recording

[Bespin Copilot 10,705]

I really don't care about Rocky II.

[Stark 973]

ban this guy

[1977 2,093]

Based on the tracklist it doesn't seem there is much new music released. I'm assuming the album is not a different recording and that some of the longer tracks on there are suites created editorially?

[Chewy 2,794]

I have been listening to Rocky music since I was a kid so of course I had to buy this release. The new presentation is simply amazing! I've already listened to it five times and even though I was already familiar with most of the music on this, hearing the score in this beautiful new master was a re-discovery for me.

 

In the technical notes, Neil S. Bulk says:

 

Quote

The reels were made at the consumer speed of 7 1/2 inches per second, as opposed to the higher quality professional speed of 15 ips. The slower speed is not ideal for an album release as the sound quality is reduced and playback anomalies can be magnified but, alas, this was all that was available for this score. Every effort has been made to restore these priceless recordings.

 

Honestly, the new remaster is great with a crisp sound and a punchy, dry mix. Some cues have noticeable hiss but it's never jarring.

 

The original album master that is included was not rebuilt but has that similar punchy sound that can be found on the film score program. To me, this is much more satisfying than previous CD and streaming releases.

 

And the set looks great also, decent work from Kay Marshall. I'm really happy about all of this, thank you Intrada! Hopefully the next ones (especially 5 and 6) can be done soon!

 

[Stark 973]

Sadly I think they said that 5 is missing. 

[Jay 45,771]

That is interesting, I cannot recall ever reading about tape speeds on a film score release before.