Superman: The Movie
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Composer and Conductor: John Williams Orchestra: The London Symphony Orchestra Lable (Release Year): Warner Archives/Rhino (2000) Availability: **** Rating: ***** |  |
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Finally, after more than 20 years, we have THE release that everyone wants. This expanded release is definitely one of the best ever. John Williams' classic score was first available in a double LP set, with a flying Christopher Reeves being the "centerfold". The same picture is printed in the booklet of the 1991 CD release, except it is in black and white instead of color. The LP set is well worth hunting for just for that picture (the LP set should be quite cheap in the secondary market. ) The music featured on the album, naturally, made into a cassette version and CD version in 1991. Unfortunately, due to the limit of technology of that time, 2 tracks needed to be cut out in order to fit the music into the CD. A Japanese version, which contains the deleted tracks, remained as a high priced item. Despite the long running time, a lot of music are still missing from the commercial release. In 1998, fellow film composer John Debney conducted the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and a re-recording of the score is released under Varèse Sarabande (Review of the release can be read at the bottom of the page.) Compare to the original, the Varèse release contains only about 10 to 15 minutes of extra music. So, does that release become obsolete now? To me, no. For one major reason, the sound quality is much better. I will definitely keep mine and play it again. However, I can't see a reason why a person would rather buy the Varèse release now. There prices are about the same and, most importantly, the Rhino release contains much much more music. Interesting enough, the cover of the Rhino release is a merge between the cover of the original release and the Varèse release. This release contains a stunning almost 150 minutes of running time. I have never seen a soundtrack release that contains music more than this. Not even the The Greatest Story Ever Told 3CD set or any of the Star Wars Special Edition releases. It contains every single cues you hear in the movie and also music not used in the movie. For the sake of completeness, it also has the Hawaiian style source music "Luthor's Luau" (also composed by John Williams), 4 versions of "Can You Read My Mind," and other alternate tracks. A soundtrack does not come better than this and there is nothing more that you can ask for. In the liner notes (written by Michael Matessino, who also wrote the liner notes for the Star Wars Special Edition releases), there are detailed explanations about the Bonus Tracks and alternate cues but I will clarify them quickly here: Although sounds like a continuous cue, Disc 1 Track 1 "Prelude And Main Title March" is actually edited from two cues. Disc 1 Track 17 is basically Track 1 without the "Prelude" and editing. Disc 2 Track 18 "Theme From Superman" is the concert version that is used as the beginning track of the original album. Disc 2 Track 1 "Superman March" is a "real" alternate version of the theme. The arrangements are quite different and is like nothing you've heard. So that sums up the different tracks on the main theme. Here is the scoop for "Can You Read My Mind". Disc 2 Track 16 is the version that is used in the original album. Disc 2 Track 4 is the same version minus Margot Kidder's voice. Yes! A version that a lot of hope for for a long long time. The music sounds fresh and extremely gorgeous and lovely without her voice. I am not kidding but this release is worth getting just for this track. Disc 2 Track 15 is an alternate pop (very 70s) version that they newly discovered. To avoid any complains from any fans, Disc Track 17 is the same version without Margot Kidder's voice. It seems that it's a little pointless to "review" the music at this point. Its ground has been established firmly. Just as Christopher Reeve said in the liner notes, it "will always remain a classic." In terms of how good the score is, I will rank it behind the Star Wars trilogy and Raiders of the Lost Ark but before everything else. Scored during the prime time of his career, a year after Star Wars, Superman is another definition of a great score. Like Star Wars, Superman does not only center on the main theme. His theme for the planet Krypton is a very simple brass fanfare type motif. However, it is so powerful and mighty. His theme for the villains is a vintage John Williams playful tune. No composer uses tuba as a solo instrument as effective as he does. His love theme is the definitions for the words "lovely" and "lyrical". It is arguably the best love theme he has ever composed. Unfortunately, we don't usually find scores (movies too?) as sincere nowadays. This release is not just about how much previously unreleased music it contains. But rather, it is about what a great score is and honoring it by presenting it in a respectful manner. I will not bother to tell you which previously unreleased cues are the most crucial and so on here. You know as much as I do that every single cue is crafted by John Williams thoughtfully. Every single note is a part of this prominent score. I am so glad that it can finally be heard in its complete and perfect form. The only (rather minor) complaint that I have about the release is the oversized booklet (the Christopher Reeve picture you see on the page is the front cover). It just makes storage a little bit... All in all, the release is very well produced and I sincerely thank everyone who bring us the release here. | |||
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*Previously unreleased selection
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Superman: The Movie (1998 Re-recording)
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Composer: John Williams
Conductor: John Debney Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra Lable (Release Year): Varese Sarabande (1998) Availability: **** Rating: ***** |
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Many things are heavily debated before and after the release of this re-recording. Since it provides only 10 to 15 minutes of previously unreleased materials and the original CD release is still available, people are very skeptical about the release. Also, the original CD is a budget soundtrack and will cost you only about $12 while this one will cost you more than $20. So the final questions are: Is the release necessary? Will people buy it? Will people like it? Everyone, of course, wants a release of the complete original score. But when it comes down to reality, it is not likely to happen. In fact, if it does not happen before or during the release of the new Superman movie, I don't think it will happen at all. I personally don't think this release is necessary, but is definitely a good release judging from different stand points. Being a fan of film music, it is awesome to listen to the fantastic score in a 20 bit digital recording. The sound quality of the original CD is okay since it is transferred from the vinyl. Also, the performance of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra does not let many people down (which I will talk more about). From the stand point of Varese Sarabande, it is actually quite necessary because they need a popular score release like this to recoup the costs of other releases that not many people will buy. In my local Tower Records, they have at least 20 copies of this release stock up on the shelf. But have you ever seen 20 copies of other new Varese re-recording like, The Trouble With Harry, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Agony and the Ecstacy, or Viva Zapata! stock up on selves? No. And don't even think about they will be available in many music stores. Therefore, they need a release like this to make profit so that we, film music fans, can get many other scores out of Varese. The Superman Theme is a really difficult piece to play well. And I don't think any re-recording of the theme will ever sound exactly the same as the one originally performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The tempo of the triplets of the theme sound a little awkward the first time I listened to it. But after listening it many times, I start to like this version of the main title. The sound of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is so full and powerful that can match LSO. Also, the recording is very crisp and clear. You will hear this score like nothing you've heard before. Moreover, the Planet Krypton theme is marvelously performed. It is even better than the original version in some degrees. Except for the main theme, I feel like I am listening to the original recording. Some people said there are tempo problems in many tracks but I don't hear any of them. I enjoyed every minute of it. Nonetheless, there are people who are fond of it, but I think it definitely deserve our praise and compliments. | |
Total Time: 37:48
Total Time: 44:31 | |