[Hatter313]

@deafmetal...

I hadn't listened to any of it except for Vortex, It's incredible, there are nuances of a lot of his previous scores here, but also just some really great, raw sounding bits that have so much energy

Here's a teaser:

[dumaisaudio]

Nice! I got both the orange and red variants from Sacred Bones, and got my email today notifying me of shipment. That means I'll get it in a week given Media Mail. That definitely looks rad, I'm hoping the red is similar.

[Ptflea2]

I listened to the B side back to back last night for over an hour. Great release.

[blastman]

Does anyone know if the black & white variant includes a download code and if so, does the download include the remixes someone mentioned above?

[BurningTapes]

@blastman YES it does, includes 6 remix downloads and full album.

[blastman]

Thanks! Just have to wait for it to arrive now...

[jefflynne]

Mine didn't...the download just included the standard LP tracks.

[Whip Wilson]

[DISCOSUCKS...]

Oh. Okay. Uh huh.

Listening to my plain old black/white version.

[toosoonjunior]

Yowza, that's a beauty.

[sonnydexter]

That looks awesome! :O

[deafmetal]

Sanity check time. After gushing like a hypetard on something, I like to go back in with a fresh set of ears and reevaluate just to make sure the emperor is really wearing clothes. Had another listen on the commute today. I tried to force myself to compare the album to some of my favorite electronic music artists. Lost Themes is very proggy, much more so than I typically seek out. I am not finding this to be a negative. Reading the interview where it's mentioned that his son helped a lot with the album, and that he's a prog rocker, provides some insight into this direction. I find that when I'm getting a bit progged out on one of the tracks, it suddenly changes direction and kicks into a totally different vibe: sometimes darker, sometimes warmer, and I end up with a big grin on my face. Many times throughout the album, I find myself lost in the sounds, seemingly incapable of just coldly observing the programming and instrumentation. I think what it comes down to is that this is not just another genre electronic artist with an album to listen to. Some of us have been listening to John Carpenter's music for decades of our lives, and there are so many memories and feelings hidden inside these tracks that it feels like a very personal album. I find this album to be really pleasing on the ears, and the "prog rocker" moments make me cock an ear and evaluate where I am in my own musical journey.

Still haven't received the vinyl from Sacred Bones, so maybe I will end up hating it. Nah.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

@deaf - really nice response man. Sounds like the Horror Master has taken you on a journey.

Current fave track: MYSTERY

This is one of the cuts which I feel shows the most (unconscious?) Goblin sound/influence to me...it could be from a mid-80s Italo horror flick by Lamberto Bava or Michele Soavi. And the bait-n-switch half way through (which seems to be a constant mode throughout the record) is killer.

Once again, seeming simplicity belies complexity and Carpenter shows why, with his innate ability to write classic hooks and craft completely convincing/powerful atmospheres, he has left a wake of imitators struggling to reformat his approach to composition.

On a more general tip - the whole of this LP does not really have the sound/feel of a modern recording. Whether through kit being utilized or production techniques, there is such an authentic vibe which echoes Carpenters previous "pre-digital-era" work.

(And to top it all - there's even the moment half way through ABYSS when it seems there's reference to the 80s hard-edged disco cover versions by the German SPLASH BAND! - specifically the fantastic Christine 12"...)

I could go on and on sorry......I really feel this record shows in no uncertain terms that Carpenter is still an inspiring creative force, even if his later film output has perhaps left fans somewhat disappointed. If he has indeed hung up his directing spurs, citing it as too much hard work at his age, we can only hope for and look forward to more albums like this. And of course, I'm not forgetting huge props to his young wing-men, co-conspirators who appear to be motivating and inspiring The Horror Master to produce some of his most enigmatic and powerful music.

[Spun out of control]

Great to see some passionate and considered writing on here chaps....

I also like the way for his part Carpenter kinda shrugs off the whole venture as a bit of fun with his son and godson in between playing video games, and a wider release is all a bit of an accident.

I guess with age and stature one doesn't feel the need to hype anything up.

To shame myself with shallowness for a moment, interested to see how the red and black swirl variant I ordered turned out. Got my shipping notice the other day so am estimating another week to the UK. Remixes sounding pretty heavy duty from a listen to snippets on Bleep.com too - they could have almost released a separate 'Lost & Found Themes' remix LP and people would still have bought it no doubt.

[pyrexia]

My download had the remixes. You might want too hit up Sacred Bones.

[DrRhythm]

Do I really really need this? Does it sound mighty? Spotify through my PC speakers isn't totally convincing!

[freshoj]

Interesting little review up at Mimaroglu:

http://www.mimaroglumusic.com/store/p42 ... hemes.html

[jefflynne]

No need...I tried the download code again and they've updated the ZIP file to include the remixes. Cheers for heads-up.

[The Cult Leader]

Sacred Bones - John Carpenter's Lost Themes (Red & Orange Deluxe variants)

Put this right on the table as soon as I made it home from work. Damn, this is good. Favorite track currently Mystery

[chiefbrody]

Really like the look of the Sacred Bones variants. I was initially disappointed with the look of the black/white, but it's nice all the same. Absolutely not disappointed in the music. There are hints and nods to classic Carpenter, and my feeling is it stands up well against his scores. I'm some ways, without being tied to a particular movie, it could be a kind of 'best of' album, and it benefits from being 'just music'.

I remember when it was first announced thinking these would be out-takes from his existing scores, and but for a few more modern sounds, I think you could easily believe that when listening to it, if you didn't now know better. It's far better than we had any right to expect.

I hope we get to hear more, though I'm not sure this is the start of a new career for him.

As an aside, on first listen, I'm not a fan of the remixes, but they were a nice extra. Adding lyrics to Night seemed strange to me.

[deafmetal]

@disco @Spun - Thanks, and I agree the album sounds "vintage" in some way. I have no idea what was used for recording or mixing, so it could just be that the music translates out that way to my ears.

I also agree that the hype levels on this album are through the roof, with 10/10 reviews and such. Not everyone is going to be into it, and some backlash is likely. One counterpoint I have is to imagine how disappointing it could have been if this album was just a bunch of weak clubby electronic tracks that had been cranked out on auto-pilot for a quick payday. I feel we received the exact opposite of that, and I hear some attentive and powerful leads on those old Korg Triton keys...

[prettybleak]

finally received my deluxe edition after several days of being "out for delivery". i opened up the package to find a puncture penetrating all of the packaging and into the record. there's a huge dent on the last track making it pretty unplayable on both sides. Sacred Bones are gracious enough to be sending me a copy of the standard black, but still bummed. this one came out really pretty :'(

[deafmetal]

Finally arrived, and safely, ^bummed for @prettybleak. The silk screened sleeve turned out really well. The vinyl feels a bit haunted. :} Favorite track: ABYSS

[hncreature]

MW - First spin after a basic clean was pretty noisy and I immediately machine cleaned it after the first spin and it cleaned up surprisingly well - I had a big pop on side two that is no longer

[tonyandrewgiles]

@mateo - how much was the special edition?