Black Friday isn't just a day for holiday sales and Record Store Day's second event of the year - it's also the day La-La Land Records announces their final (and often biggest) soundtrack reissues of the year. And it might not get bigger than 2022's batch of titles, which feature two underrated scores from a pair of legendary composers, two massive franchise favorites with rich themes, and the soundtrack to what some consider the greatest American film ever made.

Up first is one of those works from a great composer: perennial favorite Jerry Goldsmith. Having made one of his most accessible and thematic scores of the '80s with Gremlins, and five years later he teamed back up with that film's director, Joe Dante, for the black comedy The 'Burbs. In this one, Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher and Bruce Dern find themselves in the center of some wacky goings-on in a suburban neighborhood. Goldsmith's bold, suspenseful score has been spotlighted on CD reissues from Varese Sarabande and vinyl from Waxwork Records, but this presentation seems to be its best yet. It's been newly transferred and mastered from the original 2" analog tapes as mixed by Bruce Botnick. Mastering is done by none other than Mike Matessino, who's also producing alongside Neil S. Bulk; they've turned up over 15 minutes of unreleased alternate cues as well. Jeff Bond's notes feature new commentary from Dante and editor Marshall Harvey, with Dan Goldwasser contributing package design. The 'Burbs is limited to 1500 units and makes a greater gift than a human femur dug up in a yard.

 

Next it's from the suburbs of America to the life and times of the world's most beloved secret agent: James Bond! Pierce Brosnan became the fifth actor to suit up as Ian Fleming's 007 in 1995's GoldenEye, and he returned two years later for the sleek Tomorrow Never Dies. Here, Bond teams up with a Chinese agent (a breakout Western role for Michelle Yeoh, who'd later star in classics like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and this year's Everything Everywhere All At Once) to stop a media mogul bent on starting World War III to boost his television station's ratings. After a divisive electronic score by Eric Serra on GodlenEye, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (fully taking over the reins from their late patriarch Albert R. Broccoli) sought out a back to basics but modern approach.

 

They found it in David Arnold, who'd composed bold scores for action pictures Stargate and Independence Day; A committed Bond fan who oversaw a modern tribute album to the series' music that same year, Arnold's balance of orchestral and electronic sounds - and use of Monty Norman and John Barry's classic orchestral themes throughout - made fans thrilled as Arnold continued to hold the baton for the next four Bond films. Fans were sharply divided on Sheryl Crow's torch song of a title theme, but have celebrated Arnold's contribution to the song canon in k.d. lang's "Surrender," which the composer co-wrote with three-time Bond lyricist Don Black. This 2CD reissue, co-produced by Bulk and Arnold and mastered by Doug Schwartz, features tons of unreleased music (including an alternate take of "Surrender") and informative liner notes from Tim Grieving, complete with new commentary from the composer - all in a package designed by Goldwasser. It's limited to 5000 copies.

Tomorrow Never dies celebrates the 25th anniversary of the film (and the 60th anniversary of Bond on film), and La-La Land's next release is a generous expansion for a 20th anniversary: Danny Elfman's score to Spider-Man. It's hard to believe that only two decades ago, Marvel Comics' beloved wall-crawler was only getting his first original motion picture. (The character will appear in his 14th film in 2024, counting both Tom Holland's portrayals of Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the animated webheads of the Spider-Verse series.) The first time out, the honor went to Tobey Maguire as an affable friendly neighborhood high schooler who gains great power (and learns great responsibility) when he's bitten by a genetically-enhanced arachnid. Sam Raimi's direction and an impressive cast - including Willem Dafoe as the scenery-chewing villain Green Goblin - made for magic at the box office. Spider-Man was the first film to pass $100 million in a single weekend and opened the door for two sequels of its own and all those spin-offs (including last year's MCU mash-up Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Holland, Maguire and Andrew Garfield - the other live-action Spidey in between the others' tenures - teamed up to face a multiversal Sinister Six, including a still-unhinged Dafoe).

 

No stranger to superhero scoring, Danny Elfman was also a frequent collaborator of Raimi's, having worked on the scores to Darkman and A Simple Plan (as well as a theme to Evil Dead sequel Army of Darkness). Elfman blended his usual heroics into the film's simmering main theme, and embellished throughout with unique percussion inspired by a recent journey to Africa to study the rhythms of the continent. Elfman's themes, heard in his killer career-spanning set at Coachella earlier this year, were present on both a score album and a Top 5 compilation of rock songs from and inspired by the film. This handsome 3CD set features that full score album (and the pop album versions) on one disc, followed by another two of the score as heard in the film and a choice selection of alternates. Bulk and Goldwasser produce - the latter also designs the package with Jeff Bond's notes inside - and Schwartz is mastering this one. True believers will go for the ultimate spin with this one, 5000 units strong.

The breathtaking, nearly 50-year collaboration of director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams has given us some of the most memorable film scores of all time. It's also given us some interesting explorations into other genres and musical ideas from time to time. Such was the case with Amistad, Spielberg's second of two films in 1997 following an unusual four-year hiatus. (The film that marked his comeback? The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a sequel to the blockbuster dinosaur picture that was his first of two movies in 1993 alongside the Oscar-winning Schindler's List. Spielberg didn't do much in the intervening years, other than set up a nonprofit devoted to capturing stories of Holocaust survivors and co-founding a new film studio.)

 

Amistad was a more serious affair, based on the real-life 19th century Supreme Court case concerning a Spanish ship whose cargo of African slaves successfully mutinies, only to be taken into America, where a bitter battle is waged over their freedom. With command performances by an interesting cast (including Djimon Honsou as revolt leader Cinque, Matthew McConaughey as the lawyer tasked with defending him, Morgan Freeman as an abolitionist and Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-nominated turn as former president John Quincy Adams), the film is considered a modest yet solid entry in the Spielberg canon. Perhaps the same can be said of Williams' score, blending his traditional orchestral styles with African rhythms and even chanting (as heard in the moving theme "Dry Your Tears, Afrika"). This 2CD set, produced, edited and mastered by Williams' chief restorer Matessino, doubles the length of the original soundtrack album and adds nearly an hour of alternate material, newly remastered in high definition from original studio elements. Bond pens new liner notes in a package designed by Jim Titus; the set is also limited to 5000 units.

Finally, La-La Land closes out this batch with an epic: a definitive presentation of Nino Rota's score to Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. The stunning adaptation of Mario Puzo's tragic Mafia story featured acclaimed performances by Marlon Brando (the aging Don Vito Corleone), Al Pacino (reluctant scion Michael, the youngest son), James Caan (Vito's brash eldest, Sonny), John Cazale (weak middle son Fredo), Diane Keaton (Michael's wife Kay) and Robert Duvall (levelheaded lawyer Tom Hagan). Its adaptation by Puzo and Coppola remains the stuff of Hollywood legend; this year, for the film's 50th anniversary, it was anthologized in a dramatic miniseries for the Paramount+ streaming network. It became a landmark in American film: the highest-grossing film of all time for several years, the first in a new wave of philosophical films about gangsters and winner of three Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Brando (which he famously declined).

 

Rota's score, punctuated by striking themes including the trumpet-driven "Godfather Waltz" and the achingly beautiful "Speak Softly, Love," was controversially withdrawn from contention for the Academy Awards when it was discovered the latter theme had first been used by the composer for the 1958 comedy Fortunella. It nonetheless won a Grammy, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe - and perhaps more importantly, a place in cultural history underlined by this reissue. Produced by Bulk and Goldwasser (who again designs the package, featuring notes by Grieving) and mastered by Doug Schwartz, this 2CD set includes the complete score (plus music unused in the film, over a dozen bonus tracks and a new remaster of the original soundtrack LP.

All five of these tremendous score reissues are available to order now directly from the label at the links below.

Jerry Goldsmith, The 'Burbs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Expanded Edition (La-La Land Records LLLCD 1615, 2022 - original film released 1989)

1. Night Work (Main Title)
2. The Window/Home Delivery
3. The Raven
4. Nocturnal Feeders
5. Good Neighbors
6. Let's Go
7. Bad Karma
8. The Sentinel
9. My Neighborhood
10. The Garage
11. Spare Key
12. The Note
13. Devil Worship
14. The Dream
15. The Note No. 2
16. This is Walter
17. Snooping Around
18. I'm O.K.
19. Solid Floors/Ask Him
20. What's in the Cellar
21. The Wig
22. Hot Wires
23. Red Rover, Red Rover
24. No Beer
25. Home Furnace
26. No Lights
27. Walter's Home
28. Something is Moving
29. There's a Body
30. My Skull/The Gurney
31. The Trunk
32. Pack Your Bags
33. Square One (End Credits)
34. The Window (Film Version)
35. Nocturnal Feeders (Alternate)
36. Let's Go (Alternate Opening)
37. Devil Worship (Film Version)
38. The Note No. 2 (Film Version)
39. This is Walter (Film Version)
40. This is Walter (Alternate)
41. I'm O.K. (Alternate)
42. No Beer (Film Version)
43. The Trunk (Film Version)
44. Pack Your Bags (Film Version)

Tracks 1-33 released as Varese Sarabande VCL 0707 1063, 2007 and Waxwork WW034, 2018. Tracks 34-44 previously unreleased

David Arnold, Tomorrow Never Dies: Music from the MGM Motion Picture - 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition (La-La Land Records LLLCD 1607, 2022 - original film released 1997)

* Previously unreleased
** Contains previously unreleased material
† Contains "James Bond Theme" written by Monty Norman

Disc 1: Film score presentation

1. White Knight †
2. Backseat Pilot *†
3. Tomorrow Never Dies - Sheryl Crow
4. The Sinking of The Devonshire (Extended Version) **
5. MI6 *†/Launch the Fleet *†
6. Company Car (Extended Version) **†
7. You Have a Phone Call, Mr. Bond *
8. Station Break
9. Carver and Paris *
10. Paris and Bond (Film Version) **
11. The Last Goodbye
12. Hamburg Break In
13. Hamburg Break Out
14. Printing Press Fight *
15. Escape to Hotel *†
16. Doctor Kaufman
17. *-3-Send
18. Backseat Driver (Film Version) **†
19. Okinawa/HALO Jump *
20. Underwater Discovery
21. Vietnam
22. Banner Escape *
23. Bike Chase †
24. Bike Shop Fight (Film Version) **

Disc 2: Score presentation continued (1-8) and additional music (9-22)

1. Ha Long Bay
2. Boarding the Stealth †
3. Grenade *
4. A Tricky Spot for 007 **
5. Stealth Shoot Out *†
6. Carver Gets It *†
7. All in a Day's Work †
8. Surrender - k.d. lang
9. White Knight (Original Version) **†
10. Backseat Pilot (Original Version) *†
11. The Sinking of The Devonshire (Original Version) **
12. Company Car †
13. Shaken But Not Stirred - Simon Greenaway & Sacha Collisson *
14. It Had to Be You - Simon Greenaway *
15. Adrift - Simon Greenaway & Sacha Collisson *
16. Paris and Bond
17. The Last Goodbye (Alternate Version) *
18. Printing Press Fight (Film Opening) *
19. Backseat Driver †
20. Banner Escape (Film Mix) *
21. Bike Shop Fight
22. Surrender (Alternate Version) - k.d. lang **

Disc 1, Tracks 1, 3, 4 (excerpt), 8, 10 (excerpt), 11-13, 16-17 and 20 and Disc 2, Tracks 8, 12, 16 and 19 released as A&M Records 314 540 830-2, 1997
Disc 1, Track 23 and Disc 2, Tracks 1-2 and 21 released on Chapter III Records CHA 0125, 2000

Danny Elfman, Spider-Man: 20th Anniversary Motion Picture Score (La-La Land Records LLLCD 1608, 2022 - original film released 2002)

Disc 1: Original score album (1-15) and bonus tracks (16-17)

1. Main Title
2. Transformations
3. Costume Montage
4. Revenge
5. First Web
6. Something's Different
7. City Montage
8. Alone
9. Parade Attack
10. Specter of The Goblin
11. Revelation
12. Getting Through
13. Final Confrontation
14. Farewell
15. End Credits
16. Main Title (Album Version)
17. Farewell (Album Version)

Tracks 1-15 released as Columbia CK 86681, 2002
Tracks 16-17 released on Spider Man: Music from and Inspired By - Columbia CK 86402, 2002

DIsc 2: Film score presentation

1. Main Titles (Album Version)
2. On the Bus
3. Spider Bite/Deadlines
4. Transformations (Film Version)
5. A New Man
6. Something's Different
7. First Web
8. New Powers
9. Web Slinger
10. Backyard Connection
11. Costume Montage/Web Practice
12. Harsh Words/Peter Wins
13. Revenge (Film Version)
14. Enter The Goblin
15. Alone
16. City Montage (Extended Version)
17. Moondance/Photography/City Stinger
18. Norman Gets the Boot/Spidey-Sense
19. Parade Attack (Film Version)
20. Specter of The Goblin (Film Version)
21. Roof Chat
22. Hint/Trouble/Kiss
23. Fire
24. Drop of Blood

Disc 3: Score presentation continued (1-10) and additional music (11-21)

1. The Clue
2. Norman's Troubles
3. The Revelation
4. Getting Through (Film Version)
5. Father and Son
6. Danger/On the Bridge
7. To the Rescue
8. The Final Confrontation
9. Farewell (Album Version)
10. End Credits (Extended Version)
11. New Powers (with Alternate Ending)
12. Backyard Connection (Alternate)
13. Costume Montage/Web Practice (Alternate)
14. Revenge (with Alternate Opening)
15. Parade Attack (with Alternate Section)
16. Specter of The Goblin (with Alternate Opening)
17. Fire (with Alternate Section)
18. Norman's Troubles (Alternate)
19. Getting Through (Alternate)
20. To the Rescue (with Alternate Section)
21. The Final Confrontation (with Alternate Opening)

Disc 2, Tracks 1, 6-7, 15 and Disc 3, Track 9 previously released

John Williams, Amistad: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition (La-La Land Records LLLCD 1612, 2022 - original film released 1997)

Disc 1: Film score presentation

1. Introduction and Retribution
2. July 4, 1839
3. Steering East
4. The Capture
5. Introducing John Quincy Adams
6. Meeting of the Minds
7. Counsel Meets Client
8. The Ship Remembers
9. Visiting Adams
10. What is Their Story?
11. Learning to Count
12. Tale of the Lion's Tooth
13. The Capture of Cinqué
14. The Crossing
15. Tales of Horror
16. Discovering The Bible
17. Prisoners' Song
18. The Letter to Massachusetts
19. Cinqué's Legal Mind
20. African Violet

Disc 2: Score presentation continued (1-7) and additional music (8-21)

1. Adams' Address to the Court
2. Adams' Summation (Film Version)
3. The Verdict
4. Liberation of Lomboko: Dry Your Tears, Afrika
5. Going Home
6. Dry Your Tears, Afrika (Reprise)
7. The Long Road to Justice
8. Cinqué's Theme
9. Introduction (Alternate)
10. The Capture (Alternate)
11. Harbor Tavern
12. Cinqué's Theme (Solo Flute)
13. Meeting of the Minds (Instrumental Version)
14. The Ship Remembers (Alternate)
15. What is Their Story? (Alternate)
16. The Crossing (Alternate)
17. Tales of Horror (Alternate Excerpt)
18. Discovering The Bible (Alternate)
19. Cinqué's Memories of Home
20. Going Home (Alternate)
21. Dry Your Tears, Afrika (Alternate)

Portions previously released on DreamWorks Records DRMD-50035, 1997

Nino Rota, The Godfather: Music from the Motion Picture - 50th Anniversary Edition (La-La Land Records LLLCD 1610, 1972 - original film released 1972)

* previously unreleased ** not used in film

Disc 1: Score presentation (1-29) and additional music (30-36)

1. Main Title/Corleone Waltz #1
2. Hollywood *
3. The Horse's Head**
4. Sollozzo The Turk**/Luca Brasi
5. Christmas/Prelude to Murder *
6. The Aftermath
7. Bad News **
8. Bad Luck/Sicilian Message/Meditation *
9. The Halls of Fear (Extended Version) **
10. Michael's Decision/The Waiting Game **
11. Armed and Ready **
12. Set the Meeting **/Michael Takes Over
13. The Pickup (Extended Version) *
14. The Getaway
15. Sicilian Pastorale **
16. Love Theme from The Godfather (Film Version)
17. Corleone Waltz #2 *
18. Apollonia
19. Sonny's Dead **
20. Reunion **
21. Marry Me, Kay
22. Las Vegas Strip *
23. Too Little Time
24. The Baptism (Extended Version)
25. No Tears for Tessio **
26. The New Godfather (Film Version) *
27. Corleone Waltz #3 *
28. Finale
29. End Credits **
30. Main Title (Alternate)
31. The Horse's Head (Film Version)
32. Bad Luck (Alternate)
33. Set the Meeting (Alternate)
34. The Horse's Head (Trumpet Solo)
35. The Halls of Fear Pt. 1 (Film Version)
36. End Credits (Alternate)

Disc 2: Original soundtrack album (1-12) and bonus tracks (13-21)

1. Main Title (The Godfather Waltz)
2. I Have But One Heart - Al Martino
3. The Pickup
4. Connie's Wedding
5. The Halls of Fear
6. Sicilian Pastorale
7. Love Theme from The Godfather
8. The Godfather Waltz
9. Apollonia
10. The New Godfather
11. The Baptism
12. The Godfather Finale
13. Manhattan Serenade
14. The Godfather Tarantella
15. The Godfather Mazurka
16. The Godfather Foxtrot
17. This Loneliness
18. Lucky
19. Connie's Wedding (Music Only)
20. Antico Canto Siciliano
21. Mazurka ala Siciliana

Tracks 1-12 released as Paramount PAS 1003, 1972