It’s not quite time yet for the long goodbye to new announcements for 2012, but for Quartet Records, it is time for The Long Goodbye.  John Williams’ score to Robert Altman’s 1973 film leads off another group of essential new buys for soundtrack fans and collectors.  Quartet is pairing The Long Goodbye with a late-period Henry Mancini classic, the score to Blake Edwards’ 1988 comedy-western Sunset.  But that’s not all.  Kritzerland has a true "wow" release with a gloriously restored stereo premiere soundtrack to Alfred Newman's score for the 1951 epic David and Bathsheba.  Varese Sarabande has just unearthed a rather unusual album involving both Quincy Jones and Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Walt Disney Records is preparing an expanded edition of the score to Walt Disney’s animated classic, Cinderella.  Whew!  Welcome to Monday at the Movies!

David and Bathsheba wasn't only epic on screen; the Darryl F. Zanuck production for 20th Century Fox also did epic business upon its initial release.  The recipient of five Academy Award nominations and $7 million in domestic box-office rentals, it became not only the biggest-grossing film in Fox history to that date, but also the top box-office draw for any studio the entire year of 1951.  Henry King directed from a script by Phillip Dunne, and Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward starred as the titular lovers.  The passionate story required stirring, sweeping themes, and they were provided by Fox's in-house legend, Alfred Newman.  In just 11 years at Fox (out of an eventual 20), Newman had already racked up eleven years into his four Academy Awards and another twenty-four nominations for his scores, and his contributions to David and Bathsheba did not go unnoticed by the critics.

Newman's David and Bathsheba was previously released on CD by Intrada in a 55-minute presentation from the best sources available at the time: optical mono tracks and transcription discs, plus one stereo bonus track.  That was 2005.  Fast-forward to the present day.  The complete stereo tracks have been discovered and prepared for an unforgettable, 78-minute sonic experience from Kritzerland.  According to the label, "those [stereo] tracks, in superb condition, were lovingly transferred and aligned resulting in a breathtaking stereo presentation, perhaps one of the best-sounding recordings of any score of this vintage.  It is, in a word, spectacular.  For fans of biblical film music, music of the Golden Age of film scoring, and one of the greatest film composers of all time, the CD is a must."  'Nuff said, friends.  David and Bathsheba is a 1,500-copy limited edition and can be pre-ordered now, directly from Kritzerland.  It's due by the third week of October, but pre-orders from the label usually arrive one to five weeks earlier than the announced date.

The Long Goodbye (a 1,000-copy edition from Quartet) marks the first complete release of John Williams’ score to the Raymond Chandler-inspired film starring Elliot Gould as Philip Marlowe.  It’s one of Williams’ most unusual efforts, as Altman requested that one adaptable single theme be crafted for use in numerous different versions.   Hence, “The Long Goodbye” is presented as a vocal pop tune, a tango, a blues, a love theme, a “hippie” version on sitar and even a mariachi-flecked Mexican interpretation!

Despite its adventurous nature (or perhaps because of it!), no album of The Long Goodbye was released at the time of the film, and a 45 RPM single slated for release was shelved.  Finally, in 2004, Varese Sarabande premiered 23 minutes of highlights accompanying “Johnny” Williams’ music for Fitzwilly.  For Quartet’s new edition, a number of sources were employed.  A search of the MGM vaults revealed two tapes containing new versions of the theme: an alternate by Dave Grusin, a jazz piano version by Williams himself, and some takes from the underscore. To present the completed score, Quartet then turned to two different 35 mm magnetic music stems in mono for the remaining cues. Finally, a trio of bonus tracks rounds out the album: an ad-lib vocal from singer Clydie King, a rehearsal of the beach house party chorus with Jack Riley and King singing with the crowd, and a rehearsal of the solo violin for “Tango Version.”   Quartet’s complete edition of The Long Goodbye features a new, 24-page booklet with liner notes penned by Randall D. Larson.

Henry Mancini’s score to Sunset marked one of the composer’s final collaborations with Blake Edwards, the writer and director with whom he began one of the longest associations in Hollywood history with 1958’s theme to Peter Gunn.  Bruce Willis, James Garner, Malcolm McDowell and Mariel Hemingway starred in Edwards’ fantastic fable about a 1920s movie star meeting up with cowboy hero Wyatt Earp.  Mancini supplied a lush, symphonic score, one of his rare forays into the western genre.  The diverse cues touch on action, suspense, adventure and romance, and Mancini even provided the period-appropriate source music.  Like The Long Goodbye, no soundtrack album was issued for Sunset, so Quartet’s 2,000-copy limited edition marks its first appearance in any audio format.  Packed with additional music and bonus tracks, Sunset is a deluxe edition befitting a triumphant, if criminally unknown, score.  Daniel Schweiger provides liner notes in the 16-page booklet.

After the jump: from Q to Uncle Walt!

Harold Robbins’ 1966 novel The Adventurers in 1970 became the basis of director Lewis Gilbert’s infamous big-screen adaptation with a starry cast including Candice Bergen, Charles Aznavour, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine and Leigh Taylor-Young.  Loosely based on the life of Dominican playboy Porfirio Rubirosa, the film and novel tell of a South American bon vivant’s quest to avenge his father’s murder, and the ill effects of his actions on everyone whom he encounters.  The score, however, was in sharp contrast to the poorly-received and rather trashy film.  It was provided by Brazilian bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim and featured his tender, romantic balladry.  Paramount Records released Jobim’s original score on LP, but soon after, producer Quincy Jones and the Ray Brown Orchestra latched onto it for a funky reworking.  Their Adventurers LP has just arrived on CD from Varese Sarabande, offering blazing reinterpretations of Jobim’s score with hardly an air of bossa nova to be found.  Yet Jobim’s compositions hold up in these radical new settings, arranged by Quincy Jones, Jimmy Jones, J.J. Johnson, Tom Scott and bandleader Ray Brown himself.  Eumir Deodato wrote “El Lobo’s March,” and Brown supplied the steamy, heavy-breathing-to-the-extreme “Coming and Going,” but otherwise, the tunes are all Jobim (including the vocal love theme, sung by Morgan Ames with lyrics by Norman Gimbel) and the gritty big band sound all Q.

Finally, Walt Disney’s 1950 Cinderella has been expanded following deluxe editions in 1997 (with one demo added) and 2005 (with one additional demo and two pop tracks from Jim Brickman and Kimberley Locke).  This latest edition will arrive on October 2 to coincide with the film’s reissue on Diamond Edition 2-disc and 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD sets the same day, and includes a total of seven demo recordings of unused songs: “I’m in the Middle of a Muddle” and “Dancing on a Cloud” (both previously released) plus “The Dress My Mother Wore,” “The Face That I See in the Night,” “The Mouse Song,” “Sing a Little, Dream a Little” and “I Lost My Heart at the Ball” (all unheard).  These songs were retrieved as part of Disney’s Lost Chords project, showcasing the voluminous amount of music written, but unused, for the studio’s motion pictures.  Even more enticingly, each demo (including the two previously-issued ones) will be accompanied by a brand-new recording of the song. Similar efforts can be downloaded for never-before-heard songs from both The Rescuers and The Aristocats.

The Quartet titles and the newly-expanded Cinderella are available for pre-order now, while Quincy Jones’ The Adventurers is already in stores!  You’ll find links to all titles below!

Alfred Newman, David and Bathsheba: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Kritzerland, 2012)

1. Main Title/Night Camp
2. The Battle of Rabbah/The Israelites
3. Nathan, the Prophet
4. Absalom
5. Michal and Bathsheba
6. Bathsheba’s Destiny
7. Love Scene/Shepherd and Lamb
8. The Battle of Gilboa
9. Lament for Saul and Jonathan
10. Countryside
11. The Gates of Jerusalem/The Ark of the Covenant
12. Wrath of God
13. On the Terrace
14. Palace Dance
15. Early Dawn
16. The Fate of Uriah
17. Destiny and Sorrow
18. Michal and Absalom
19. Young David
20. You Shall Not Die
21. King David
22. Jesse and Samuel
23. Goliath
24. The Twenty-Third Psalm

The Ray Brown Orchestra featuring Quincy Jones, Music from The Adventurers (Symbolic Records SYS-9000, 1970 – reissued Varese Sarabande 302 067 156-2, 2012)

1. Pony
2. Go Down Dying
3. El Lobo’s March
4. Wishful Thinking
5. Gentle Lover
6. Coming and Going
7. Fat Cat Strut
8. Children’s Games
9. Love Theme from “The Adventurers”

Henry Mancini, Sunset: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Quartet QRSCD-045, 2012)

1. The Cowboys - Main Titles (02:54)
2. Tom Mix (Theme from Sunset) (01:47)
3. The Mixenearp March (02:50)
4. Not Much Like Denver (01:29)
5. Theme for Cheryl (03:08)
6. The Insurance Policy (01:23)
7. The Kit Kat Caper (02:54)
8. Sweet Alfie (01:09)
9. Gotta Save Nancy / 50 Miles Further (03:04)
10. The Cowboys (03:07)
11. The Letter (02:25)
12. Christina's Story (02:34)
13. Alfie Takes a Drive (02:13)
14. New Scene (02:07)
15. Wyatt & Tom (00:35)
16. The Mixenearp March (Reprise) (02:56)
17. End Credits (04:24)
18. The Candy Store (03:09)
19. Beyond the Candy Store (02:53)
20. Barroom Piano (01:22)
21. Cleo's Fiddle (Jack Hayes) (00:56)
22. Alfie's Act (01:01)
23. Awards Music (01:36)
24. Blackie's Ranchero (01:44)
25. Mexican Waltz-Time (02:20)
26. Mexican Fox-Trot (02:35)
27. Theme for Cheryl - Alternate Version (01:14)
28. The Insurance Policy - Alternate Version (01:02)
29. Tom Mix (Theme from Sunset) (01:57)

Tracks 18-23 are source music cues
Tracks 24-26 performed by The Mexican Band
Tracks 27-29 are additional bonus tracks

John Williams, The Long Goodbye: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (Quartet QRSCE-046, 2012)

1. The Long Goodbye - John Williams, piano (03:07)
2. The Long Goodbye - Clydie King, vocal (04:35)
3. The Long Goodbye - Dave Grusin trio version (05:02)
4. The Long Goodbye - Jack Sheldon, vocal (03:32)
5. The Long Goodbye - Dave Grusin trio version (04:33)
6. The Long Goodbye - Tango (02:30)
7. The Long Goodbye  - Irene Kral and Dave Grusin trio (03:11)
8. The Long Goodbye - Mariachi (02:04)
9. Marlowe in Mexico (03:37)
10. Main Title Montage (10:58)
11. Night Talk (02:08)
12. The Border (00:34)
13. Love Theme From “The Long Goodbye” (01:58)
14. The Long Goodbye – Sitar (01:02)
15. Guitar Nostalgia (01:01)
16. The Mexican Funeral (02:31)
17. Finale (01:08)
18. Clydie King Adlibs Rehearsal (08:25)
19. Jack Riley and Ensemble Rehearsal (01:39)
20. Violin Rehearsal (02:06)

Tracks 18-20 are bonus tracks

Various Artists, Cinderella: Collectors’ Edition (Walt Disney Records, 2012)

1. Main Title
2. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes
3. A Visitor/Caught in a Trap/Lucifer/Feed the Chickens/Breakfast is Served/Time on Our Hands
4. The King’s Plan
5. The Music Lesson/Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale/Bad Boy Lucifer/A Message from His Majesty
6. Little Dressmakers/The Work Song/Scavenger Hunt/A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes/The Dress/My Beads/Escape to the Garden
7. Where Did I Put That Thing/Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
8. Reception at the Palace/So This is Love
9. The Stroke of Midnight/Thank You, Fairy Godmother
10. Locked in the Tower/Gus and Jaq to the Rescue/Slipper Fittings/Cinderella’s Slipper/Finale
11. I’m in the Middle of a Muddle (Demo Recording)
12. I’m in the Middle of a Muddle (New Recording)
13. Dancing on a Cloud (Demo Recording)
14. Dancing on a Cloud (New Recording)
15. The Dress My Mother Wore (Demo Recording)
16. The Dress My Mother Wore (New Recording)
17. The Mouse Song (Demo Recording)
18. The Mouse Song (New Recording)
19. The Face That I See in the Night (Demo Recording)
20. The Face That I See in the Night (Demo Recording)
21. Sing a Little, Dream a Little (Demo Recording)
22. Sing a Little, Dream a Little (New Recording)
23. I Lost My Heart at the Ball (Demo Recording)
24. I Lost My Heart at the Ball (New Recording)

Tracks 1 -11 first presented as Walt Disney Records CD 60879-7, 1997
Tracks 12, 14-24 previously unreleased
Track 13 from Walt Disney Records CD 61401-7, 2005