It is with a heavy heart that I pass along to you the news that film composer John Barry died on Sunday. Barry, a five-time Oscar winner, is of course best known for his work on 12 of the 22 James Bond films. Though his authorship of the iconic theme is under dispute even after a U.K. court ruled that it was Dr. No composer Monty Norman’s work alone, Barry is still the name most synonymous with Bond music, and crafted some of the series’ best themes. The timing of Barry’s passing…
All Aboard “The Big Bus”! FSM Releases Comedy Score by David Shire
David Shire’s soundtrack to the 1976 distaster flick/cult comedy makes its debut in any format from Film Score Monthly.
Friday Feature: “Almost Famous”
On the eve of the Blu-Ray release of “Almost Famous,” Joe Marchese takes you through a journey through the film’s soundtrack – and its releases.
La La Land to Get a “Clue” in February
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHEpuz_gUGM] The mystery has finally been solved: it was La La Land Records, on the Internet, with a batch of CDs. Well…in other words, it’s been confirmed that one of the label’s most hotly-anticipated releases is happening soon: the world-premiere release of John Morris’ score to Clue (1985). Clue, of course, comes from a simpler time when movies based on board games and television shows weren’t the only ideas circulating throughout Hollywood. In fact, as high-concept films go, it was initially a box-office failure, only earning accolades when released on home video….
Short Takes: Soundtracks on Tap from Barry, Horner and Mancini
It’s already been a busy week here at Second Disc HQ, and the news just keeps on comin’. Three more soundtracks are due from some of the finest composers in film score history: John Barry, James Horner and Henry Mancini. Before becoming an eminence grise in the world of film scoring, John Barry was best-known as the leader of the John Barry Seven, an association which led him to one of his earliest film projects, the score to the 1960 British film Beat Girl. The long-unavailable soundtrack to Beat Girl, with performances…
Intrada Partially Finds Missing “Link”
It’s always a cause for celebration in the soundtrack community when a Jerry Goldsmith score is put into print. Today is no different; one of Goldsmith’s scores from the 1980s is one of the two new releases from Intrada. Link was a strange 1986 horror film from England in which Elisabeth Shue and Terence Stamp were pitted against a super-intelligent orangutan. Goldsmith was in his typical ’80s form – orchestra augmented with synthesized instruments, not unlike another favorite at Second Disc HQ – but fans and critics were kind. The composer received…
Friday Feature: “Men in Black”
Once in a while, a great comedy comes around that makes an incredible impact on film, thanks to its quick wits, original ideas and great performances. In the 1980s, there were several great films that deftly blended comedy with science fiction and action film tropes – 1984’s Ghostbusters and 1985’s Back to the Future – that remain generational touchstones and modern-day classics of popular cinema. When children of the ’80s say, “They don’t make ’em like they used to,” it’s not hard to imagine them thinking of movies like these. But there…
La La Land Goes Live with First Releases of 2011
La La Land Records’ first titles of 2011 were promised earlier this month, and they’re now available to order. Two television shows, the ’60s war program The Rat Patrol and the late ’80s Western The Young Riders, are being presented in premiere releases (1,200 units each), alongside a straight, unlimited reissue of the original soundtrack to Solaris (2002) with improved sound quality. It’s a smaller-scale start, but La La Land also recently promised they’re again appearing at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con – and we all know how that turned out last…
Back Tracks: Queen, Part II
We continue our coverage of Queen’s previous reissues – in anticipation of the band’s forthcoming remasters on new U.K. home Island Records – with a look at Queen during most of the ’80s, where they went increasingly pop-friendly before returning to their rock roots in the 1990s, losing their iconic frontman and becoming anthologized in nearly a dozen or so compilations. The show must go on, after the jump.
From “Walter Mitty” to “Inner City”: Masterworks Broadway Reissues Due
Sony’s Masterworks Broadway division continues its dig through the vaults of the Columbia and RCA Records labels with three new titles, to be released as CD-Rs exclusively through Arkiv Music or as digital downloads. Today, January 18, sees the reissue of Originals – Musical Comedy 1909-1935, an RCA compilation dating from 1968. This collection remains one of the best ever to anthologize the sound of musical comedy in its earliest days, and is a “Who’s Who” of that golden era. The vaudeville period is represented by some of its all-time biggest stars,…
Friday Feature: “Casino Royale” (1967, 2006)
“The dry riffle of the cards and the soft whirr of the roulette wheel, the sharp call of the croupiers and the feverish mutter of a crowded casino hide the thick voice at Bond’s ear which says, ‘I will count up to ten.’” So read the blurb on the jacket of the original printing of Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel Casino Royale, which introduced Agent 007 to the world. Fleming’s novel set the tone for those that followed, introducing the “Bond girl” (Vesper Lynd), the larger-than-life villain (Le Chiffre, agent of SMERSH) and…
FSM Fetches Classic Canine Scores
Film Score Monthly’s first release of 2011 is a whopper: five discs’ worth of dog-related film scores, anchored mostly around the lovable star Lassie. Created by writer Eric Knight in a short story that was expanded into a 1940 novel, Lassie was a loyal collie who treks across Depression-era Yorkshire, England to reunite with his young owner. The film spawned several sequels and spin-offs, most notably a long-running American television show that ran from 1954 to 1973. The dog is one of only three (and one of a handful of fictional characters)…
Back Tracks: Queen, Part I
This week’s remaster and reissue of Queen’s first two greatest hits LPs in the U.K. (on new home Island Records) is the start of what promises to be a massive reissue campaign for the band’s 40th anniversary. The band’s first five LPs are slated to be expanded and released in March, with additional batches to follow through 2011. Of course, this isn’t the first time the Queen catalogue has been rolled out on CD. While British audiences got straight CD transfers throughout the late ’80s, Americans got slight expanded versions when the…
One is Not the Loneliest Number
Exactly one year ago today, The Second Disc uploaded its first post, an assessment of the best reissues of the prior year. It was taken from my personal Facebook page, which I’d been posting thoughts on music and pop culture here and there for some time. I was a college graduate working in a part-time job I was not particularly fond of, in dire need of something to fill time. After some deliberating over what a blog about reissues and box sets – my favorite kind of music – should be called…
Intrada Sets Watch to “48 Hrs.,” Makes “Great Escape”
Intrada’s first releases of the new year are two big name scores sure to please a few generations’ worth of film music fans. First up is the world premiere release of James Horner’s score to 48 Hrs., the 1982 buddy cop comedy starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in one of his first major motion picture roles. This disc features Horner’s complete score (one of his earliest successes of the ’80s), plus three tracks by The Busboys (including end credits tune “The Boys Are Back in Town”) and one source cue by…
Dave Grusin’s “Dry White Season” Revisited
With a cast including Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando in one of his final film triumphs, 1989’s A Dry White Season had the potential to be an instant classic. Yet despite this star-studded assemblage, strong reviews and an impressive pedigree (it was based on Andre Brinks’ powerful novel which was banned in South Africa for challenging apartheid), audiences stayed away, and A Dry White Season vanished from theatres. Still, Brando was recognized with a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards, and the film gained a following over the…
Friday Feature: “TRON”
One of the most-talked about film scores on the market right now is the score to TRON: Legacy, composed by French electronic act Daft Punk. Everything about it is delightfully unconventional: it’s a score for a Disney blockbuster – a sequel to a cult classic released nearly 30 years ago – composed by two killer musicians best known for making fresh music through technological, not organic means. But the hybrid electronic/orchestral score is a knockout, arguably a serious Oscar contender and one of the best things about the film. Naturally, this warrants…
…And We’re Back
With plenty of people back at their jobs today, The Second Disc HQ is back online, ready for another year of continuous catalogue coverage! We’re expecting some great titles in the not-too-distant future, plus a lot of surprises, too. I know I’m excited, and I’m sure many of you are too. Today’s going to be a bit of a catch-up day – a lot of stuff has been announced in the past week or two, mainly across the pond, and we’re going to get through most of it today. But first, we’re going…
The Year in Reissues, Part III: The Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Well, another New Year is in sight, the CD still isn’t dead (told you so!) and celebration is in the air at The Second Disc. Back on December 23, Mike shared The Year in Reissues both here and over with our pals at Popdose. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 bucks until you read these indispensable columns! Are you back with me? Good. Now, I’d like to take this opportunity to take a fun look back at a few of my favorite things via Joe’s Gold Bonus Disc Awards! I’m…
The Final Burton/Elfman Non-troversy
If there’s any ongoing bad blood about Warner Bros. The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box, The Second Disc accepts full responsibility. We were excited when it was announced and we were floored by the track list (and the price). But when other retailers started taking orders for what was supposed to be a limited edition, direct-order set, there was a lot of confusion in the air. Then, after the limited first run had sold out, direct buyers were promised a signed bonus disc – arguably not the best…
MERRY DISCMAS!
We’re just about to put the “Closed” sign on the door of The Second Disc HQ, but should any of you stumble upon The Second Disc on Christmas, I want this to be the first thing you see for two reasons. One, you’re going to find a compendium below of all the Christmas articles Joe and myself have done this season. Let them fill you with Christmas cheer whenever you need some! And second, and most importantly, may you, the treasured reader of The Second Disc, have a Merry, Merry Christmas and…
Review: John Williams, “Home Alone: Expanded Original Motion Picture Score”
When you discuss the best modern entry into the Christmas music canon, most discussion centers on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” The 1994 song did a fantastic job of paying tribute to the always-excellent A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector (1963), bringing the Wall of Sound to the ’90s, and it’s lived on for over 15 years. One Yuletide tune that deserves your attention from earlier in that decade, however, is “Somewhere in My Memory,” the heartwarming main theme from the holiday comedy Home Alone (1990)….
Release Round-Up: Week of December 21
Just one title today, because it’s almost Christmas! Who’s going to buy new CDs Christmas week? Not counting the awesome Kritzerland titles (Casino Royale and Genghis Khan)! Various Artists, 20th Century Fox: 75 Years of Great Film Scores (Varese Sarabande) A sweet three-disc set of classics from Fox’s deep vault. This was delayed from earlier in the month, but I have a feeling it’s worth the wait. (Varese Sarabande)
“Genghis Khan” Makes CD Debut Alongside “Casino Royale”
During a time of the year when most labels have wound down their new releases for 2010, Kritzerland has rewarded loyal listeners with a pair of early Christmas gifts. On Monday, the label made available for pre-order its final two releases of the year, and both are doozies. On Friday, we brought you the news of the remastered and expanded Casino Royale soundtrack composed by Burt Bacharach, and yesterday, the label gave official word that Casino will be joined by the first-ever CD release for Dusan Radic’s score to the 1965 film…
EXCLUSIVE: Have No Fear, Bond is Here! Expanded and Remastered “Casino Royale” Due
Film score fans, you’ve hit the jackpot! After a successful year of landmark releases such as an expanded edition of Pino Donaggio’s score to Carrie and the remaster and remix of Promises, Promises: The Original Broadway Cast Recording, just to name two, the Kritzerland label is going to the Casino. Of course, I mean Casino Royale. Unlike in most casinos, however, the odds are in the label’s favor, because no film score fan is going to want to be without producer Bruce Kimmel’s deluxe expanded soundtrack. It will feature Burt Bacharach’s score…
