Soundtrack Watch: Intrada Heats Up 'Backdraft,' Kickstarts 'Abbott and Costello' Recording; La-La Land Expands 'Last Action Hero' and 'Heavy Metal'

Leave it to Intrada and La-La Land to cook up some appropriately blazing soundtrack reissues in recent weeks! Intrada has expanded an early classic by Hans Zimmer, bowed a selection of re-recordings of TV work by Jerry Goldsmith, and is prepping another re-recording project to crowdfund; meanwhile, La-La Land (in addition to releasing the only John Williams score to a Steven Spielberg film without a soundtrack) has expansions of works by Elmer Bernstein and Michael Kamen. Quite the selection of soundtrack icons!

First up from Intrada is a new 2CD edition of Hans Zimmer's score to Backdraft. Ron Howard's 1991 blockbuster starred Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn and Robert De Niro as a group of Chicago firemen fighting a string of arsons. Featuring eye-popping special effects and notable turns from co-stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca de Mornay and the late Donald Sutherland, Backdraft was a commercial hit for Universal Pictures, who built a walk-in thrill ride attraction at their Hollywood theme park that still burns today. Zimmer delivered his classic mix of synthesizers and orchestration, working here with a larger ensemble for one of the first times ever (along with the late conductor/orchestrator Shirley Walker, who'd recently worked on Danny Elfman's Batman). Unusually, the film's original soundtrack album - which also featured two songs by Bruce Hornsby, which are not repeated on this release - featured a half-hour of remixed tracks by, of all people, legendary producer George Martin, who elected to mute or remove most of Zimmer's electronics. This limited 2CD release finally features the score as it was heard in the picture, as well as the selections from that original album on the Milan/RCA labels.

Next from the label is a premiere CD release of Jerry Goldsmith At the General Electric Theater, a series of re-recordings by conductor Leigh Phillips and The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra that were funded through Kickstarter and released digitally. Before Goldsmith's legendary film career began, his first scoring jobs took place in the '50s as an in-house composer for the CBS television network, which included work on General Electric Theater, an anthology series of weekly one-off stories that ran for nine years between 1953 and 1962. (Its host was actor and future president Ronald Reagan.) Seven episodes featuring music by Goldsmith (plus the multi-part music library suite "Autumn Love"), all originally recorded between 1959 and 1962, have been reconstructed here by Phillips, sourced from surviving written scores and even rebuilt by ear from the original broadcasts.

Finally, speaking of Kickstarter, Intrada is spearheading another crowdfunded score re-recording campaign, following the example of several successful Bernard Herrmann re-recordings. Working with conductor William T. Stromberg and The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the label is looking to underwrite a new recording of Frank Skinner's score to 1948's blockbuster Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. One of Universal Pictures' biggest hits of the decade, the film took a novel approach to two of the studio's most bankable concepts that were beginning to wane in popularity by combining them. Here, the legendary comedy duo come face-to-face with a trio of the classic Universal monsters: Frankenstein's monster, the vampire Dracula and The Wolf Man (played by Glenn Strange and the returning Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr., respectively). Skinner's score leaned into the horror tropes of the monster films, and pledgers will be the first to hear the recording on CD. (A stretch goal will add a recording with the same orchestra of another score in a similar vein: 1955's Abbott and Costello Meet The Keystone Kops, penned by the unusual trio of Henry Mancini, future Looney Tunes composer Bill Lava and sci-fi/horror composer Herman Stein.) Learn more about the project at the link in this paragraph.

Over at La-La Land, they've prepared a new 2CD remaster of Elmer Bernstein's score to the film Heavy Metal. While this 1981 animated cult classic (based on the sci-fi/fantasy magazine of the same name) was perhaps best known for a diverse double album soundtrack featuring tracks by Devo, Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar, Stevie Nicks, Black Sabbath and more, Bernstein's score is treasured by fans of the composer, particularly for his first use of the unusual ondes Martenot, a theremin-like electronic instrument that the composer would later use to great effect in Ghostbusters. (That film's director, Ivan Reitman, and co-writer/co-star Harold Ramis, worked on Heavy Metal as producer and voice actor, respectively.) This double disc set, limited to 1500 units, features two long out-of-print programs: the original film score, and an album alternately mixed highlights making its CD debut here. Neil S. Bulk produces the score for reissue, while Jeff Bond has written liner notes featuring new commentary from John Bruno, who oversaw the film's special effects. Dan Goldwasser has designed the package, while Doug Schwartz serves as mastering engineer.

Finally, to miss LLL's latest might be a "big mistake": Michael Kamen's score to the cult classic action film Last Action Hero has been expanded by the label. In this smart-alecky comedy directed by Die Hard helmer John McTiernan and co-written by Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black, a 10-year-old boy obsessed with movies gets a chance to see an advance showing of his favorite film series, the action cop saga Jack Slater, only to get more than he bargained for when his golden ticket first takes him into the world of the film and then puts the film characters in the real world - meaning Slater is easily mistaken for the man portraying him, action star Arnold Schwarzenegger. While it was outpaced at the box office by Jurassic Park in 1993, it's a smart concept packed with fun ideas and humorous cameos. And Kamen, known for his work on both Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, is in fine form here, offering his signature blend of orchestral thrills and rock riffs. This 2CD set, limited to 3000 units, offers the film score in running sequence as well as the original soundtrack album. Bulk, Schwartz and Goldwasser are also producing, mastering and designing this one, respectively, with Al Kaplan writing liner notes with commentary from McTiernan as well as the film's orchestrators, William Ross and Michael McCuistion.

All four titles are available to order below!

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Hans Zimmer, Backdraft (Original Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Intrada ISC 511, 2024 - original film released 1991)

Disc 1: The Score

Backdraft Main Titles
The Real Thing
One Case Won't Do
Burnt Out Beamer
Mannequin Fire
Save My Baby
You Win
In Another Life
Show Me Your Firetruck - She's Hot and Smokey - Tim Burns
After the Fight
What's This Job All About?
The Ex Is Back?
I Just Can't Anymore
Swayzak's OK
Who Doesn't Love Fire?
Final Fire - Who's Your Brother?
Funeral
Hard Lesson to Learn
Flashlight
Backdraft Main Titles (Alternate Mix)

Disc 2: Original soundtrack album material (released on Milan/RCA 3141-2-R, 1991)

Fighting 17th
Brothers
The Arsonist's Waltz
335
Burn It All
"You Go, We Go"
Fahrenheit 451
"Show Me Your Firetruck"

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Leigh Phillips & The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerry Goldsmith At the General Electric Theater (Intrada INT 7179, 2024 - original scores recorded/released 1959-1962)

The Beginning/The Plan/The Visit
Sick Man/Papa's Orders/The Truth
The True Son/Secrets/False Witness
The Arrest/The Lie
End Credits
Newlyweds
Problems/Burnt Shirt
New Dress/Phone Call/For Better or Worse
Good Mother/End Credits
Main Title
Baby Book/Caught in the Act
The Getaway/Birthday Present/Waiting
The Decision/New Child/End Credits
Main Title
The Prediction/The Victor/The Dark Room
The Ring
The Poster/The Election
The Boy
The Big Man
End Credits
Main Title/Neglected Genius
Here You Are/The Convincer/Unduly Generous
Image of Desire
That's a Wrap/The Legend & The Man
End Credits
Intro/Prelude
Flashback/Early Days
Join Us
Recess
Bumper/The Visitor
The Jumper
Exit Flashback/Let's Go Home
Aftermath/Ashamed
Bullies/Something Unpleasant/The Window
Why/Breaking Point/The Door
Reconciliation
End Credits
Main Title
The Listener/Date/Forgive Me/Bumper
Teach Me/Lessons
Goodbye/The Request/End Credits
Autumn Love (Part 1)
Autumn Love (Part 2)
Autumn Love (Part 3)
Autumn Love (Part 4)
Autumn Love (Part 5)
Autumn Love (Part 6)
Autumn Love (Part 7)

Tracks 1-5 from "Hitler's Secret" - 10/4/1959
Tracks 6-9 from "The Last Dance" - 11/22/1959
Tracks 10-13 from "Sarah's Laughter" - 1/3/1960
Tracks 14-20 from "The Committeeman" - 1/17/1960
Tracks 21-25 from "The Legend That Walks Like a Man" - 2/12/1961
Tracks 26-37 from "My Dark Days" - 3/18 and 3/25/1962
Tracks 38-41 from "The Bar Mitzvah of Major Orlovsky" - 4/15/1962