Sounds of the Summer Season

By: Randal D. Larson
Date: Saturday, June 16, 2001

Hot on the heels of this summer's blockbuster releases, soundtrack CDs will surely follow, giving film fans and film music aficionados plenty to choose from. Two huge John Williams scores will be heard during Summer and Fall, as will new material from Graeme Revell, Danny Elfman, while first-time CD recordings are now available with music from Ennio Morricone, Vic Mizzy, Lee Holdridge, and more.

SOUNDTRAX NEWS

ENTERPRISE, the new fifth STAR TREK series, will debut this Fall. While a composer has not been officially named yet, sources close to the studio have confirmed that Dennis McCarthy will helm the new series' music design. McCarthy is an appropriate choice, having been the primary composer on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and DEEP SPACE NINE (for which he also wrote the theme). He also composed episodes of all the other TREK TV scores as well as scored the GENERATIONS feature. There is one disturbing rumor going around that the producers are thinking of going with a SONG as the title theme for the new sereis instead of a theme. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this isn't the case.

John Williams' music for Stephen Spielberg's A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) has been recorded in Los Angeles is now being mixed at Skywalker Sound, Lucasfilm's Marin County post production facility. Williams scored the music for a full orchestra of 60 players plus choir, which was recorded at UCLA's Royce Hall. The artist writing and performing the film's End Title song has yet to be named. Upon its completion, Williams launched straight into HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, which has to be done in time for the picture's November debut. When that's done, Williams will head straight into STAR WARS: EPISODE II, and after that he's slated to score Spielberg's next production, MINORITY REPORT, a science fiction thriller starring Tom Cruise and based on a short story Philip K. Dick.

Graeme Revell's latest score, after a nice run of science fiction with PITCH BLACK, RED PLANET MARS and DUNE, is for TOMB RAIDER, a project that was at one time slated for Jerry Goldsmith. A score CD is supposedly forthcoming from Elektra.

THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATION

[IMG2R]Varese Sarabande has issued a 'Deluxe Edition' recording of James Horner's original score for ALIENS (302 066 241 2), featuring 19 original soundtrack cues supplemented by 5 alternate versions. Eleven of the OST cues (and all five alternates) are previously unreleased, and the new release is far superior to the original 9-track 1986 CD issued by Varese. All of the original 9 tracks are included in the expanded release. This is the label's second 'Deluxe Edition,' following a splendid expanded release of Jerry Goldsmith's TOTAL RECALL (302 066 197 2). Given the label's notoriety some years ago for issuing soundtracks of rather short duration (mainly due to then-musicians union restrictions of reusing soundtrack music in 15-minute blocks), this new trend comes as a welcome one. Graeme Revell's latest score, after a nice run of science fiction with PITCH BLACK, RED PLANET MARS and DUNE, is for TOMB RAIDER, a project that was at one time slated for Jerry Goldsmith. A score CD is supposedly forthcoming from Elektra.

SCORES ON CD

Sony Classical will release the CD of Danny Elfman's music for Tim Burton's PLANET OF THE APES remake.

So far there's no word about a score recording of SHREK, with its effective and powerful music by John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams (the team behind the music for ANTZ and CHICKEN RUN), other than the song CD, but there is word of attempts by at least one label, so hopefully news of a score CD will be recording soon. Powell's score for the comedy, EVOLUTION, was be released on June 12 by Varese Sarabande.

On July 3rd, Varese will wrap up their ongoing series of XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS soundtracks with a lavish 2-CD set, celebrating the finale of the series with more than 2 hours of music. Varese will also release Lee Holdridge's score for Marion Zimmer Bradley's Camelot fantasy miniseries, MISTS OF AVALON, on June 26th.

Wondering why there are no soundtrack albums to BUFFY, ANGEL, MILLENNIUM, or a real soundtrack CD to THE X-FILES? There's certainly demand from fans and CD labels alike. But for some reason, evidently, 20th Century Fox isn't letting them out. Perhaps a continued hue and cry from the fans might help send your letters to Robert Kraft, Head of Music Department, Fox Studios, 10201 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035.

From Italy comes the first CD issue of Ennio Morricone's quirky prehistoric fantasy score, QUANDO LE DONNE AVEVANO LA CODA ('When Women Had Tails'). The sexy fantasy starred Senta Berger, and little else, but Morricone's breezy score has remained unrecorded except for a late 1970's bootleg LP. Issued on CAM 495375-2, Morricone's 11 cues are perfectly matched with 6 cues from Bruno Nicolai's sequel score, QUANDO LE DONNE PERSERO LA CODA ('When Women Lost Their Tails'). Another Morricone rarity, the pristine 1968 Italian sci-fi spy flick, DANGER: DIABOLIK, has been issued as a limited edition complete score CD from Pallottola Foro (OTHR-1968), while Warner Bros France has released for the first time on CD Morricone's score for EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (WB 47882).

Warner Bros France has also re-issued Jerry Goldsmith's music for Peter Hyam's sci-fi thriller OUTLAND on CD, recorded from a remastered source. GNP Crescendo released the score on CD with CAPRICORN ONE some years ago.

Since 1993, conductor John Mauceri and the renowned Hollywood Bowl Orchestra have performed an annual film music concert in the popular Southern California stadium. Some have said Mauceri helped put the 'Hollywood' back in the Hollywood Bowl by reintroducing film music into the concert venue. Philips Records has just released a 2-record set, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra: John Mauceri- Greatest Hits, a 2-CD set that collects the best of Mauceri's orchestral renditions on one disc, with Broadway and popular songs (performed by an all star assemblage of various vocalists) on the other disc. Of note on the former disc is a splendid 11-minute concert from THE WIZARD OF OZ, allowing much of Herbert Stothart's orchestral score to be heard in a vibrant, modern recording. Also included is John Barry's theme from the romantic fantasy, SOMEWHERE IN TIME, Miklos Rozsa's love theme from Korda's THIEF OF BAGDAD, and the finale from STAR WARS.

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Percepto Records (www.percepto.com) has issued VIC MIZZY SUITES AND THEMES (Percepto-05), the first recorded collection of music from this prolific 1960's movie and TV composer. Best known for his themes to THE ADDAMS FAMILY and GREEN ACRES, Mizzy also composed comic, catchy and inventive scores for THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN, THE SPIRIT IS WILLING, and Robert Bloch's THE NIGHT WALKER. With more than 77 minutes and 36 tracks, this collection contains the best moments of Mizzy's film and TV scoring career. Coming up soon from Percepto is the first release of music from Peter Medak's elegant ghost story, THE CHANGELING, with music by Rick Wilkins, Ken Wannberg, and Howard Blake.

Milan Records (www.milanrecords.com) has released a new symphonic suite version of Joe Hisaishi's score for PRINCESS MONONOKE (73138-35944-2), a lavish rearrangement of the original soundtrack previously released earlier on the same label. Performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Mario Klemens, the new CD does not contain any new music that wasn't present on the original soundtrack release, but the lavish concert arrangement is a more pleasing listening experience than the original with its short cues and abbreviated variations.

PROMOS

A number of genre film scores continue to make their way into our home stereo systems via limited promotion editions. While intended as promotional works produced for composers to distribute to potential producers and music supervisors, many can be found at soundtrack retailers like Intrada (www.intrada.com), SuperCollector (www.supercollector.com), and Screen Archives (http://www.screenarchives.com/). Among the notable new promo releases is Mario Beltrami's atmospheric music for DRACULA 2000, released as a promo by SuperTracks (MBCD 01). Probably the leading producer of promotional and private releases, SuperTracks has also rescued from oblivion and made available as promotional CDs soundtracks such as Mark Mothersbaugh's orchestral score for THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, David Kitay's SCARY MOVIE, and a terrific cartoon score for BATTLE OF THE PLANETS by the late Hoyt Curtin.

SCORES ON DVD

Warner Bros' recent DVD release of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE includes among its extras eleven alternate music tracks, preserved and accessed separately from the Dolby 5.0 isolated music of the score as heard in the film. Composer John Williams is included in the three making-of documentaries. In his own running commentary, director Richard Donner's revealed that Jerry Goldsmith had been sought to score the film but had to back out due to scheduling difficulties at the time. For the same reason, John Williams nearly missed the project until his scheduling made it workable for him.

Columbia/Tristar's release of THE 6TH DAY includes Trevor Raben's score isolated with commentary by the composer.

[Soundtrax is our bi-weekly column of Movie Music news and notes.]

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