As we approach the end of 2020, soundtrack labels are working overtime to put out some great archival score presentations. Not to be ignored this time of year is an impressive line-up from European label Quartet Records: last week they announced three incredible expanded releases and a new re-recording. Additionally, they recently issued another two expanded releases that are absolutely worth fans' time.

Those recent releases are a pair of acclaimed scores from 1990: Jerry Goldsmith's work on Total Recall, and Maurice Jarre's soundtrack to the thriller Jacob's Ladder. Total Recall found Goldsmith working in his well-honed action and sci-fi styles for Paul Verhoeven's flashy adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a seemingly average man who discovers he's part of a sociopolitical matter on a Martian colony, and all the blockbuster flourishes ensue that you can imagine. Previously issued and reissued by Varese Sarabande, Quartet acquired the rights in 2015, recruiting Goldsmith's longtime engineer Bruce Botnick to remaster and remix the original soundtrack album, the proper film score assembly, and a host of alternate cues. That presentation is back in print, with brand-new cover art by Kyle Lambert and liner notes by Jeff Bond, featuring quotes from original interviews with Botnick, Verhoeven, music editor Ken Hall and composer Bruno Louchouam, who wrote a trio of source cues for the film.

Jacob's Ladder was an exercise in surreal, psychological horror - a tale of a Vietnam veteran haunted by dark, unexplained visions. Legendary composer Maurice Jarre provided a fitting score packed with unusual flourishes, from unique instruments to haunting electronic work by Michael Boddicker, a notable synth player on works by Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and others. This 30th anniversary edition of the score, limited to 2000 copies, features Jarre's original soundtrack album (a quintet of specially-assembled suites) and the original score presentation in one 2CD set. It's produced by Neil S. Bulk, mastered by Doug Schwartz, and featuring liner notes by Daniel Schweiger that draw on new interviews with Boddicker, director Adrian Lyne and the film's writer, Bruce Joel Rubin.

Quartet's new batch draws primarily from MGM's impressive film library. First up is a masterful new 2CD presentation of the music to 1969's Midnight Cowboy. John Schlesinger's adaptation of the novel of the same name was a bleak portrayal of Manhattan's seedy underbelly, as seen through the eyes of a male prostitute (Jon Voight) and his sickly friend (Dustin Hoffman). Critics and audiences alike adored it, and it won three Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director - the only X-rated film in history to do so. The soundtrack mixed notable score material by legendary British composer John Barry (a version of his main theme became a Top 10 hit for piano duo Ferrante & Teicher) alongside material by The Groop and New York ensemble Elephant's Memory, several years before they became John Lennon and Yoko Ono's backing band. The musical centerpiece, of course, is Harry Nilsson's rendition of Fred Neil's weary "Everybody's Talkin'"; recorded a year earlier for Nilsson's Aerial Ballet album, its presence in the film turned it into a Top 10 hit, helping put the iconic singer/songwriter on the map.

This 2CD Midnight Cowboy is the definitive presentation of the music. It includes the original soundtrack album, remastered from first-generation tapes, seven rare and unreleased alternate versions (including some newly-discovered outtakes) and the complete original film score presentation in mono. That latter disc premieres the score's original harmonica performances by the late, great Toots Thielemans, which were re-recorded for the album. The package is produced, mixed and mastered by Chris Malone, with liner notes by Jon Burlingame.

The label's next release is a 2CD presentation of the score to the classic film A Bridge Too Far. Richard Attenborough's stirring depiction of the real-life events of Operation Market Garden - a failed attempt by the Allies to cross over the Rhine and end World War II in 1944 - brought together a galaxy of stars including James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Robert Redford, Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman and many others. For prolific composer John Addison (best known to Americans as the writer of the theme to Murder, She Wrote), his BAFTA-winning score was particularly significant: he actually served in the XXX Corps, a British tank division that took part in the operation. As such, the composer regarded it as one of his finest - and with a presentation like this, featuring the full score, alternates (including two sides of a U.K. single-only release) and the original soundtrack album, it's easier than ever to discover why. Malone again mixes, masters and edits, while Jeff Bond has penned liner notes here. It's limited to 1000 units.

From the war in Europe to the plains of the West during the Civil War comes arguably the best-known Spaghetti Western score of all time: the late Ennio Morricone's legendary The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, his third pairing with director Sergio Leone. The final film in an unofficial trilogy with Clint Eastwood as "The Man with No Name" (though it would assumed to be first, chronologically, as Eastwood acquires his character's iconic wardrobe throughout the film), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly pits the marksman against two other bandits (Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach) in a race to find a trove of Confederate gold. Morricone's distinctive score featured all sorts of dazzling, unorthodox touches, from voice (coyote-like, wordless howling, whistling and choruses) to instruments (harmonica, surf-rock guitar, trumpet fanfares, orchestral arrangements). The score's mix of familiar and groundbreaking was a powerful combination: the soundtrack album became a Top 5 hit in the U.S., while a cover of the theme by orchestrator Hugo Montenegro reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Metallica have frequently covered the standout track "The Ecstasy of Gold," which is also frequently heard in commercials.

After many years of various reissues and expansions throughout the world (primarily Europe, as well as a remaster from Capitol/EMI in 2004), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly finally gets the definitive presentation it deserves: two discs of the original score, sourced from newly-discovered mono masters in the MGM vault. This allows for peak audio presentation and a batch of 20 alternate cues and outtakes. A third disc adds the beloved original soundtrack album, remastered from first-generation stereo tapes for the first time ever. Malone once again mixes, masters, edits and oversees the project, with Tim Grieving offering detailed liner notes including excerpts from an exclusive interview with Eastwood.

Finally, Quartet closes things out with a new recording: a rendition of Bernard Herrmann's masterful score to the British horror film Endless Night. Based on Agatha Christie's novel, Endless Night is the story of a newlywed couple whose wish to build a new home on a dilapidated plot of land along the English coast has dire consequences. Herrmann, who died three years after the film's release, valued his collaboration with director Sidney Gilliat, who recruited the composer early in production. A combination of Herrman's best-known musical talents, from romantic textures to haunting motifs, the Endless Night score also featured prominent use of the Moog synthesizer. This re-recording - the premiere of the score, reconstructed from the publisher-supplied original manuscript - was undertaken by composer/conductor Fernando Velázquez, leading the Basque National Orchestra in Spain during sessions in 2019, with Toni Salgi adding Moog earlier this year. (Classical soprano Núria Rial also adds vocals.) Malone masters this disc, with associate producer Frank K. DeWald supplying liner notes.

All six of these can be ordered from Quartet today. Scroll below to read the track lists!

Jerry Goldsmith, Total Recall: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 30th Anniversary Edition (Quartet QR430, 2020 - original film released 1990)

Disc 1: The Film Score

1. The Dream
2. First Meeting
3. Secreat Agent
4. The Implant
5. Where Am I?
6. The Aftermath
7. Old Times Sake
8. Clever Girl
9. The Johnny Cab
10. Howdy Stranger/The Nose Job
11. The Spaceport
12. A New Face
13. The Mountain
14. Identification
15. Lies
16. Where Am I?
17. Swallow It
18. The Big Jump
19. Without Air
20. Remembering
21. The Mutant
22. The Massacre
23. Friends?
24. The Treatment
25. The Reactor/The Hologram
26. End of a Dream
27. A New Life
28. End Credits

Disc 2: Original Soundtrack Album (1-10), Alternate Takes (11-12) and Source Cues (13-25)

1. The Dream
2. The Hologram
3. The Big Jump
4. The Mutant
5. Clever Girl
6. First Meeting
7. The Treatment
8. Where Am I?
9. End of a Dream
10. A New Life
11. The Implant (Alternate Opening)
12. Clever Girl (Original Performance)
13. Divertimento in D *
14. Rubble CIty **
15. Mutant Dancing **
16. Running Out of Air **
17. REKALL Commercial
18. Environmental Source
19. ESPN
20. Saturn
21. Mars
22. REKALL (Background)
23. Botco
24. North West
25. REKALL Commercial (Alternate)

* composed by Mozart ** composed by Bruno Louchouam

Package previously released as Quartet QR210, 2015. Disc 1 (except 5 and 28) first released as Varese Sarabande 302 066 197 2, 2000. Disc 2, Tracks 1-10 first released as Varese Sarabande VSD-5267, 1990

Maurice Jarre, Jacob's Ladder: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Quartet QR431, 2020 - original film released 1990)

Disc 1: Original Soundtrack Album (released as Varese Sarabande VSD-5291, 1990)

1. Jacob's Ladder
2. High Fever
3. Descent to Inferno
4. Sarah
5. The Ladder
6. Sonny Boy - Al Jolson

Disc 2: The Film Score (previously unreleased)

1. Copter's In
2. Convulsions/Stomach Ache
3. Train Trauma
4. Baby Pictures
5. Burning Pictures
6. Who Are You?/No File/Doctor's Dead
7. Not Human
8. Ice Cold
9. Fever's Gone
10. Am I Dead?
11. I See 'Em Too/Car Attack
12. Funeral
13. Spilled Beer/Surveillance
14. We've Been Watching You
15. What X-Ray?
16. You Okay?
17. Walk Again
18. Memorabilia
19. The Mirror
20. Aggressive Tendencies
21. Antidote
22. Pleasant Dreams
23. Demons
24. Demons Are Gone
25. Floor Play
26. Transformation
27. Happy Memories
28. Gabe Leads the Way
29. Sonny Boy (End Credits)

John Barry, Midnight Cowboy: Expanded Original MGM Motion Picture Score (Quartet QR434, 2020 - original film released 1969)

Disc 1: Original Soundtrack Album (1-12, released as United Artists Records UAS-5198, 1969) and Alternates (13-19)

1. Everybody's Talkin' - Nilsson
2. Joe Buck Rides Again - John Barry
3. A Famous Myth - The Groop
4. Fun City - John Barry
5. He QUit Me - Lesley Miller
6. Jungle Gym at the Zoo - Elephant's Memory
7. Midnight Cowboy - John Barry
8. Old Man Willow - Elephant's Memory
9. Florida Fantasy - John Barry
10. Tears and Joys - The Groop
11. Science Fiction - John Barry
12. Everybody's Talkin' (reprise) - Nilsson
13. Midnight Cowboy (Single Version - Alternate) - John Barry
14. Everybody's Talkin' (Alternate) - Nilsson
15. Fun City (Alternate - Mono) - John Barry
16. He Quit Me (Alternate) - Lesley Miller
17. Tears and Joys (Alternate) - The Groop
18. Everybody's Talkin' (Alternate Vocal) - Nilsson
19. Midnight Cowboy (Single Version) - John Barry

Disc 2: The Film Score

1. Everybody's Talkin' (Main Title) - Nilsson
2. Everybody's Talkin' (I've Got Places to Go) - Nilsson
3. Everybody's Talkin' (Headin' Up on New York City) - Nilsson
4. Daydreams and Nightmares - John Barry
5. Everybody's Talkin' (New York City) - Nilsson
6. Everybody's Talkin' (Terrific Shirt) - Nilsson
7. A Famous Myth - The Groop
8. Realization - John Barry
9. Midday and Midnight Cowboy - John Barry
10. He Quit Me - Lesley Miller
11. Science Fiction - John Barry
12. Tears and Joys - The Groop
13. You're the Only One, Joe - John Barry
14. Sunshine and Coconut Milk (Source) - Toxey French
15. Florida Fantasy - John Barry
16. Orange Juice on Ice (Source) - P. Williams, P. Ramone, F. Huddleston
17. Night Life - John Barry
18. The Cemetery - John Barry
19. The Gates of Hell - Flesh, Blood and Smoke - Elephant's Memory
20. Joe Buck Rides Again - John Barry
21. Everybody's Talkin' (Where the Weather Suits My Clothes) - Nilsson
22. Finale - John Barry
23. End Titles - John Barry

John Addison, A Bridge Too Far: Expanded Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (Quartet QR435, 2020 - original film released 1977)

Disc 1: The Film Score (1-24) and bonus tracks (25-35)

1. Overture (Main Title)
2. Underground Resistance
3. Model's HQ/RAF Briefing
4. Underground Resistance (II)
5. Before the Holocaust (I)
6. Before the Holocaust (II)
7. Air Lift
8. Before the Holocaust (III)
9. March of the Paratroopers (I)
10. March of the Paratroopers (II)
11. Arnhem (I)
12. Arnhem (II)
13. Futile Mission (I)
14. Hospital Tent
15. Intermission
16. Bailey Bridge
17. The Waal Bridge
18. Futile Mission (II)
19. Human Roadblock
20. The Waal River
21. Nijmegen Bridge
22. Arnhem Destroyed
23. Retreat
24. A Bridge Too Far (End Title)
25. RAF Briefing (Alternate)
26. 7M1/7M2/7M2A
27. March of the Paratroopers (Short Version)
28. Arnhem (I) (Alternate)
29. Futile Mission (I) (Alternate)
30. Hospital Tent (Alternate)
31. Futile Mission (II) (Alternate Ending)
32. Retreat (Original Version)
33. Futile Mission (Original Album Take)
34. The Dutch Rhapsody (Single Version)
35. A Bridge Too Far March (Single Version)

Tracks 34-35 released as United Artists U.K. single UP 36261, 1977

Disc 2: Original Soundtrack Album (released as United Artists Records UA-LA762-H, 1977)

1. Overture
2. A Dutch Rhapsody
3. Before the Holocaust
4. Underground Resistance
5. Air Lift
6. Hospital Tent
7. Arnhem
8. Nijmegen Bridge
9. March of the Paratroopers
10. Bailey Bridge
11. Human Roadblock
12. Futile Mission
13. The Waal River
14. Arnhem Destroyed
15. Retreat
16. A Bridge Too Far March

Ennio Morricone, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Expanded Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (Quartet QR436, 2020 - original film released 1966)

Disc 1: The Film Score

1. Prologo / Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (titoli)
2. Il brutto / Il tramonto
3. Morte di Stevens
4. Morte di Baker / Il cattivo
5. Una taglia sulla testa / Un angelo biondo
6. Fuga a cavallo
7. Il buono / Il biondo abbandona Tuco nel deserto
8. La confessione di Maria
9. Il ponte di corde
10. Tuco fa la colletta
11. Suspense
12. I tre desperados / Una cannonata provvidenziale
13. Il forte
14. All'inseguimento del biondo
15. Il deserto
16. Il deserto secondo
17. Lo stivale
18. La carrozza dei fantasmi
19. Biondo... non morire!
20. La missione di San Antonio / Il mio miglior nemico veglia su di me
21. Incontro con Padre Ramirez / Perdonami fratello / Ti aiuterà a difenderti
22. Il Canyon dei Morti / Dio è con noi
23. Marcetta prima / Marcetta seconda
24. Il campo di prigionia di Betterville
25. La storia di un soldato
26. Un treno per la forca / Partenza del treno militare
27. Tuco e Wallace (La storia di un soldato)
28. Tuco scappa / Arrivo nella cittadina / Fine di una spia
29. Il bandito monco
30. Inseguilo!
31. Il bagnoschiuma di Tuco
32. Due contro cinque / Verso duecentomilla dollari

Disc 2: The Film Score (1-11) and bonus tracks (12-31)

1. Il capitano nordista
2. Due assalti al giorno
3. Il capitano e' ferito
4. Marcetta senza speranza
5. L' esplosione del ponte
6. Morte di un soldato
7. L'estasi dell'oro
8. In due scaverete più presto! / Il triello
9. Il triello seconda parte
10. Non e' uno scherzo, e'una corda / Nella linea del mirino / Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo
11. Finale
12. Titoli (Versione film con cannonata)
13. La storia di un soldato (Orchestral Version)
14. Il tramonto (Alternate)
15. Morte di Stevens (Alternate)
16. Fuga a cavallo (Film Version)
17. Intermezzo musicale
18. Il forte (Alternate)
19. Marcetta (Alternate)
20. Organo
21. Organo secondo
22. L'estasi dell'oro (Mono Album Mix)
23. Il triello (Alternate)
24. Il triello / Il triello seconda parte (Extended Version)
25. La storia di un soldato (Alternate)
26. Lo stivale (Extended Sustain)
27. Uahuah & effetti
28. La storia di un soldato (Extended Stereo Version)
29. Il triello (Alternate - Stereo Mix)
30. La storia di un soldato (Extended Version)
31. Titoli (Versione film con cannonata - Stereo Mix)

Disc 3: Original Soundtrack Album (released as United Artists Records UAS-5172, 1967)

1. Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly)
2. Il tramonto (The Sundown)
3. Il forte (The Strong)
4. Il deserto (The Desert)
5. La carrozza dei fantasmi (The Carriage of the Spirits)
6. Marcetta (Marcia)
7. La storia di un soldato (The Story of a Soldier)
8. Marcetta senza speranza (Marcia Without Hope)
9. Morte di un soldato (The Death of a Soldier)
10. L'estasi dell'oro (The Ecstasy of Gold)
11. Il Triello (The Trio)

Fernando Velázquez and The Basque National Orchestra, Agatha Christie's Endless Night: Digital New Recording of the Complete Score Composed by Bernard Herrmann (Quartet QR437, 2020 - original film released 1972)

1. Prelude
2. The Opening
3. The Balcony
4. Gypsy's Acre
5. Flashback I
6. The Pictures
7. Ellie
8. Encounter
9. Warning
10. Duo I
11. The Cats
12. The Newspaper
13. Marriage
14. Greta (Original Version)
15. The Seasons
16. Broken Glass/Miss T/The Ice
17. School Play
18. The Gift/The Ride
19. The Garden/The Statue
20. Duo II
21. Endless Night
22. Devotion/Binoculars
23. Farewell
24. The Yellow Pill
25. Death
26. The Return
27. The Couch
28. Flashback II
29. The Fight/The Song (Film Version)
30. Breakdown
31. End Title
32. Encounter (Alternate)
33. Greta (Film Version)
34. Duo II (Film Version)
35. Endless Night (Film Version with Mandolin)
36. The Fight/The Song (Original Version)
37. End Title (Alternate Version with Moog)
38. Endless Night (Vocalise)