The Swarm Album Cover

When working on The Swarm for La-La Land Records I envisioned the cover looking like the original vinyl. Here's what that looked like, courtesy of an eBay auction.

The black background and red text looks great and I figured with a red border and "Expanded Archival Edition" we'd have a winner. Dan Goldwasser, the art director for the album, added his own touch. Below is our original cover for the album.

For reasons not clear to me, this cover was rejected and we had to stick with the theatrical one-sheet instead. I mentioned that poster was not only the cover of the previous album but also the bootleg and we should differentiate our release from those, to no avail. If you look at the rest of the booklet you can see the entire design was based around this cover.

I still have to remind myself this wasn't use because it's what I use in my digital music library. For those interested, I use Roon to play my music and I love it.

About a year after The Swarm came out I was working on The Time Tunnel, another Irwin Allen project. This time my cover suggestion of a black cover, mostly red text and a simple graphic was used.

The La-La Land Records/Tomorrow Never Dies (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition) FAQ

On November 29, 2022, La-La Land Records issued a 2-CD set of David Arnold's score to "Tomorrow Never Dies." The release was a great success but there have been a few questions repeatedly asked about it. I hope this page answers those questions. If you find it valuable, please help get the word out. Before getting to that, I want to thank everyone for supporting this album, listening to it and taking the time to ask about it.

Hey, I bought the new TND CD and I think I noticed a bit of music missing. When Bond is first seen with the woman in bed learning "a new tongue" there's soft music playing and it's not on this album. Did anyone else notice?

The scene you're describing is tracked with the 2nd movement from Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor." This was not recorded for the film and was an existing recording, licenced (<---- British spelling) by the filmmakers. If you'd like to hear this music apart from the film, there are many recordings available.

As an aside, while working on this album I saw the latest "Batman" movie and heard this piece during a scene between Bruce Wayne and Alfred.

Did anyone else notice music missing from the beginning when Stamper shoots the survivors and Carver's men go aboard the sunken ship and retrieve the missiles? Why isn't this on the new album?

The music used for the events described above is on the album. It's found in the cue "Underwater Discovery," (disc 1, track 20) which the filmmakers tracked earlier in the movie for this scene.

I was talking to this guy who knows a fella who says he heard you're working on the next James Bond album. Here's what I'd like it to be and what I'd like on it. First, I want.....

Let me cut you off right there. As of this writing (January 2, 2023) I am not involved with nor do I know of any upcoming James Bond albums. I also have my own wants and desires and having now worked on three of these scores and having worked continuously on specialty soundtrack releases for nearly 15 years, I have a good grip on what the public wants and how to deliver it.

For all of the latest official news on all of the latest releases I suggest following and/or signing up for emails from the various specialty labels like La-La Land Records, Quartet Records, Intrada Records and Varese Sarabande.

Thanks and have a Happy New Year!

Three First Victims in Basic Instinct

Last year I had the pleasure of working with Quartet Records and scoring mixer Bruce Botnick on an expanded re-issue of Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar®-nominated score to Basic Instinct. This was the third release of the score on CD, but we were able to locate material that had never been released before and fix some sonic anomalies in the original recording. We're all very proud of the album, and I wanted to write about one cue in particular.

The expanded Basic Instinct album from Quartet Records.

The film segues from the main titles into a cue titled, "The First Victim". Basic Instinct pushed the boundaries of the American film rating system and two versions of this scene were created. One featured more sex and violence than the other. The more "adult" version was shown overseas while American audiences got a toned down cut. Goldsmith scored this scene twice, once for each version. The unrated version opens our album, combined with the "Main Title", as it is heard in the film. The R-rated version appears as a bonus track. Interestingly, during the murder, the R-rated cut uses the music intended for the unrated cut. The album presents the cue as recorded, not as it was edited in the film.

Don't pick your nose! Johnny Boz (Bill Cable) becomes "the first victim" in a close-up from the unrated cut.

However there is a third version of "The First Victim" on our album that may not be as obvious. The "End Titles" featured a combination of the "Main Title" with "The First Victim". While the "Main Title" is the same performance that opens the film (albeit, one slightly shortened with edits not duplicated on our album) the replay of "The First Victim" in the film is an entirely different take. To summarize, the unrated cut uses take 61 of "The First Victim" and the R-rated version uses a combination of takes 63 and 61, while all versions of the movie end with take 59.

Sometimes when making these albums one cannot help but have multiple alternates play in a row. In the case of Basic Instinct, there was an elegant way to get the three versions of "The First Victim" used in the film on the album without becoming monotonous.

The Quartet Records release of Basic Instinct is available here.

Sequencing The Blue Max

Earlier this year, La-La Land Records released a 2-CD set of Jerry Goldsmith's score to The Blue Max. This was the 6th release of this score, with two previous vinyl issues and three previous CD issues. I co-produced this newest release with Nick Redman and while we came up with our own unique playlist for disc 1 (one that is closest to the final movie) we wanted this to be the last word on this terrific score. With Mike Matessino handling the restoration and mixing and Daniel Hersch the final mastering, sonically we knew this would be the best Blue Max yet. But in terms of content, how do you please listeners that have been listening to this music for nearly 50 years? The solution was to figure out what all of the previous albums had on them and make sure it was represented in some capacity. Today, I'm going to share with you how to use the La-La Land album to sequence any of the 5 earlier incarnations of this score.

To do that, I'll list the five earlier albums. The first release is the original album release from Mainstream Records. Prior to the La-La Land release, this sequencing of the score was never on CD.

The second release was from Citadel Records. This release changed most of the original cue titles and the first pressing even swapped two titles on the packaging, so it was the most confusing to figure out. Like the Mainstream, it has never been on CD.

The first CD came from Varese Sarabande in the mid 80s.

The second CD came from Sony in the 90s and had almost the entire score.

The third CD was from Intrada and was released only a few years ago and quickly sold out. It also presented nearly the entire score, but went back to some of the album edits from the Mainstream Records release.

Here's how to listen to any of the earlier releases.

Mainstream Records:  This is the easiest one to re-sequence. Put in disc two and listen to the first 15 tracks. That's the Mainstream Records release! And don't be fooled by the listing at SoundtrackCollector.com. The three source cues were at the end of side 2, not interspersed with the main score. I'll also point out that there were two versions of this album, a stereo release and a mono release, but the musical content was the same.

The cover of the later pressing of the Citadel Records release.

Citadel Records:

1. Main Title - Disc 1 Track 1
2. First Flight - Disc 2 Track 25
3. The New Hero - Disc 1 Track 6
4. Desolation - Disc 1 Track 7
5. Passacaglia - Disc 2 Track 23
6. Mocking Waltz - Disc 1 Track 11
7. Love Theme - Disc 1 Track 12
8. Prelude to Part Two - Disc 1 Track 15
9. Taste of Blood - Disc 1 Track 16
10. Lonely Hero - Disc 1 Track 17
11. Retreat (Part One) - Disc 1 Track 18
12. Retreat (Part Two) - Disc 1 Track 19
13. The End of Bruno - Disc 1 Track 23
14. End Title - Disc 2 Track 12

The cover of the first pressing of the Citadel Records release.

Note that the first release of the Citadel had "The New Hero" before "First Flight". This was a typographical error, the musical content was right. The title swap was fixed on later pressings.

Varese Sarabande:

1. Main Title - Disc 1 Track 1
2. The New Arrival - Disc 1 Track 2
3. First Blood - Disc 2 Track 25
4. The First Victory - Disc 1 Track 6
5. The Victim - Disc 1 Track 7
6. A Toast to Bruno - Disc 1 Track 3
7. The Attack (parts 1 & 2) - Disc 2 Track 26
8. A Lonely Hero - Disc 1 Track 8
9. A Small Favor - Disc 1 Track 11
10. The Lovers - Disc 1 Track 12
11. Finale to Part I - Disc 1 Track 14
12. Prelude to part II - Disc 1 Track 15
13. The Bridge - Disc 1 Track 16
14. Stachel's Confession - Disc 1 Track 17
15. Retreat Parts I & II - Disc 2 Track 27
16. Stachel in Berlin - Disc 2 Track 11
17. Kaeti Has a Plan - Disc 1 Track 23
18. Stachel's Last Flight - Disc 1 Track 24
19. End Title - Disc 2 Track 12

Sony:

1. The Blue Max (Main Title) - Disc 1 Track 1
2. The New Arrival - Disc 1 Track 2
3. A Toast to Bruno - Disc 1 Track 3
4. First Blood - Disc 2 Track 25
5. First Victory - Disc 1 Track 5
6. The Captive - Disc 1 Track 6
7. The Victim - Disc 1 Track 7
8. The Cobra - Disc 1 Track 8
9. The Attack - Disc 2 Track 26
10. A Small Favor - Disc 1 Track 11
11. Love Theme - Disc 1 Track 12
12. The Rivals - Disc 1 Track 13
13. Finale to Part 1 - Disc 1 Track 14
14. Prelude to Part 2 - Disc 1 Track 15
15. Love Theme - Disc 1 Track 10
16. The Bridge - Disc 1 Track 16
17. Love Theme - Disc 1 Track 17
18. Retreat - Disc 2 Track 27
19. Stachel to Berlin - Disc 2 Track 11
20. Nothing Needed - Disc 1 Track 22
21. Kaeti Has a Plan - Disc 1 Track 23
22. Stachel's Last Flight - Disc 1 Track 24
23. End Title - Disc 2 Track 12
24. Pour Le Mérite March - Disc 2 Track 14
25. Presentiar March - Disc 2 Track 18
26. Student Song Medley - Disc 2 Track 16
27. Artist's Life - Disc 2 Track 21
28. Gloria March - Disc 2 Track 22
29. Deutschland Über Alles - Disc 2 Track 15
30. Watch on the Rhine - Disc 2 Track 13

Intrada:

1. Main Title - Disc 1 Track 1
2. The New Arrival - Disc 1 Track 2
3. A Toast to Bruno - Disc 1 Track 3
4. The Balloon - Disc 2 Track 24
5. First Blood / First Victory - Disc 2 Track 4
6. The Captive / The Victim - Disc 2 Track 6
7. The Cobra - Disc 1 Track 8
8. The Attack - Disc 2 Track 26
9. Love Theme from "The Blue Max" - Disc 2 Track 2
10. A Small Favor - Disc 1 Track 11
11. A Lonely Hero - Disc 1 Track 12
12. The Rivals - Disc 1 Track 13
13. Finale to Part 1 - Disc 1 Track 14
14. Prelude to Part 2 - Disc 1 Track 15
15. The Bridge - Disc 1 Track 16
16. Stachel's Confession - Disc 1 Track 17
17. Retreat - Disc 2 Track 27
18. Stachel to Berlin / Food Riot - Disc 2 Track 11
19. Nothing Needed - Disc 1 Track 22
20. Kaeti Has a Plan - Disc 1 Track 23
21. Stachel's Last Flight - Disc 1 Track 24
22. End Title - Disc 2 Track 12
23. Finale to Part 2 / Exit Music - Disc 2 Track 28
24. Pour Le Merite March - Disc 2 Track 14
25. Student Song Medley - Disc 2 Track 16
26. Presentiar March - Disc 2 Track 18
27. Artist's Life - Disc 2 Track 21
28. Gloria March - Disc 2 Track 22
29. Watch on the Rhine - Disc 2 Track 13
30. Deutschland Uber Alles - Disc 2 Track 15

There was another release of this score, this time married to the picture. The Blu-ray from Twilight Time features the score isolated on a separate audio track. And the alternate cues are interspersed on a commentary track featuring Nick Redman, Julie Kirgo, and Jon Burlingame.

Special thanks to John Takis and Jeff Bond.

I'm Ignoring You

Please don't take this personally, but I'm ignoring you. Not in real life. Feel free to call or send me a message. However, there is a very good chance I'm ignoring you on Facebook. Don't worry, I didn't go out of my way to intentionally hide you or block you. The past week, I've been ignoring my entire newsfeed. Instead of scrolling down, I'll usually see the top entry before moving over to "Close Friends" or checking out some of the groups I enjoy. But the feed has been ignored and there are many updates I haven't seen.

Over the past few weeks Facebook has been more aggravating than entertaining. Between the deaths of famous actors filling up my feed and ice bucket clutter, I wasn't enjoying my time on Facebook. Constantly reading the same thing from different people was gratuitous and annoying. Previously, Facebook was fun. Suddenly I was getting pissed off at a website. The best thing for me to do was step away.

Of course I'm a tremendous hypocrite and kept posting to my page, but I've come to value Facebook as a kind of online diary. So I've been updating it occasionally with things I'm doing or articles that are of interest to me and maybe my friends. But if something important happened to you, I'm sorry if I didn't see it. And if a famous person died, don't worry, I have other sources for news.

Bat Rambling

1989's summer movie season was an historic bloodbath. In about a month, the record for having the biggest opening weekend was broken three times. First by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, then Ghostbusters II, and then finally by Tim Burton's Batman, which opened 25 years ago today. I was 12 going on 13 when it opened, and I was the target audience. I had started reading Batman comics a few months earlier, just after the "A Death in the Family" storyline.

Cover art for "A Death in the Family" graphic novel.

But I didn't get to see it on June 23. Or the 22nd, when it opened early. Or the 24 or 25. I didn't get to see Batman until Monday, June 26. That was tough for 12 year old me to handle. I don't want to blame my mom for this, but it was her fault (sorry mom). My Bar Mitzvah was on June 24 and she wouldn't let me be out at night, thinking I needed my rest for the big day. I don't think she understood the desire to see this movie. On June 24, my cousins came over to go to the synagogue with us. Guess what? They went to the advance showing on the 22 and decided to re-enact many of the highlights of the film for me. To this day, when I see the Joker dancing and shooting Grissom, I'm reminded of my cousin Alan's recreation. The line, "Bob, gun" also sticks in my head from this early spoiler.

As mentioned above, I did get to see Batman opening week. My mom took me to the AMC Marlton 8 in the evening. I won't go into too many details, I'll just say I left the screening less than impressed. In fact, it was the only time I've seen that movie in the theater. I never had any desire to revisit it on the big screen. I've seen it a few times on home video, and I still don't like it. It was an odd feeling. Summer 1989 belonged to Batman. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing a Bat-symbol advertising the movie. It was the movie everyone was talking about. I kept reading the comics, too. But for some reason this movie has never connected with me and I'm still baffled by its popularity.

Thankfully there was one thing that came out of the movie that I did enjoy, and that was Danny Elfman's score. It wasn't released until later in the summer. Instead, the big Batman soundtrack that was in all of the stores was an album of Prince songs, only some of which were in the movie. The Elfman score was released though, and I remember finding it and buying it immediately. I found it on cassette first, so that's what I listened to. A short time later I found it on CD, and I bought that, too. It became one of those albums imprinted onto my brain. Which was fortunate!

The original CD album cover.

A few years ago, I found out that La-La Land Records was working on an expanded release of the original CD. I called them and asked if I could work on it, since I was familiar with this score. I was told they had a producer, but if they had any problems they'd get in touch with me. It turns out, there were some issues with the materials they had and things were missing. I was asked to see if I could locate some of these missing cues. I made some calls, we brought in some more elements, and we were able to piece together the score. The CD was completed on time and they debuted it at Comic-Con in 2010, where it was a big success. At that convention, Danny Elfman was interviewed by Jeff Bond (who wrote the notes for the La-La Land album) and while this panel was meant to plug another project, our CD got mentioned!

Danny Elfman and Jeff Bond at Comic-Con in 2010.

Since then I've had the opportunity to work on the sequel scores, "Batman Returns" and "Batman Forever" and remain hopeful that someday we'll get to complete the series with "Batman & Robin", which never had a score release.

Here I am with Danny Elfman.

Later, he signed the CD I co-produced!

Presentation is Key

In my last post, I talked about all of the screenings in LA. It's true, we get a lot of great movies here. But are they always shown properly? Seeing a movie presented properly can sometimes be a challenge. One of the theaters I wrote about was the New Beverly. They try to show 35mm film whenever possible. I only just saw my first digital showing there, but as it was a new movie that may not have had a 35mm print made, this was acceptable.

It was a double feature of "Jodorowsky's Dune" and "ALIEN" in honor of Swiss surrealist, H.R. Giger who recently passed away. "ALIEN" was shown on film, the New Beverly's preferred format. For a theater that loves to show film, one would think they'd be better at it.

35mm prints come on reels, each about 20 minutes long. The previous generation of multiplexes put these reels together to make one long continuous print. If the person assembling those reels did the job properly, you should never be aware of the changeover between reels. The New Beverly doesn't use this system. Instead they use two projectors.

This is the way things were done before multiplexes and "platters", and it's a skill for sure. The timing has to be perfect, and back when there were actual projectionists, a good changeover was the sign of a competent projectionist. The New Beverly rarely has seamless changeovers and I can't figure out why. "ALIEN" started out of frame. That means the top of the screen was actually the bottom of the image and vice versa. Reel 2 started out of focus. And reel 7 had an issue with a plate inside the projector so an extraneous part of the film, one never meant to be projected, was showing up on the scrim to the left of the image. That means there was a distraction during the climax of the movie. This was not the sign of a good presentation. The digital showing of "Jodorowsky's Dune" was perfect.

This would seem to indicate that digital must be superior to film. I won't get into that debate here. Both have their advantages, but I'm more inclined to see a movie if I learn that a print is being shown. And I've seen bad digital presentations. In fact, I experienced one last week in an unexpected place! We went to one of the tiny screening rooms on the Sony lot. I've been to these screens numerous times and they are top-notch. They have spectacular sound and usually look great. However, for this showing of "Neighbors" I sensed something was wrong with the presentation. After the movie was over I found the projectionist and I mentioned to him that the image seemed a little dim in the theater. He went on to tell me that they were having a 3D show the next day and the special attachment for that was still in place. So instead of a good looking bright image, we were treated to a muddy dim mess. I will admit it was refreshing to get an honest answer from the projectionist. Usually, when you have a complaint about something technical, people look at you like you're crazy.

I once saw "Superman II" with Ilya Salkind, the producer, in attendance and the left speaker and center speaker wires were crossed. This meant for the entire show, the dialogue came out of the left speaker, instead of the center channel, as it's supposed to. I may have been the only one to notice this. I spoke with the projectionist about it afterwards but I don't know if anything was done to fix it and I'm not sure I was believed. I suspect that when it comes to movie sound, people are not as observant as they are with the picture. If you've never thought about where the sound comes from, you're not going to notice when it's wrong. But everyone can see when a movie is out of focus or improperly framed. And some of us can tell when it's too dim!

My hope is that the presentation and showmanship improves at all of these theaters. We're not just watching images flicker away on a white sheet with multiple speakers blasting around us. A well shown movie will transport the audience and make the movie come alive. It can be a magical experience and that's why I love going to the movies.