Talk about films scores here.

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By ScoJo
#124607
Ooh excite- I bagged this for a few quid in Mint condish from my local store today, it's the 2nd 'Blue' pressing from
Stella/Private.

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So seeing that the track list is different / confusing enough up against the DW release, I'mma gonna drop a li'l New Year comparison later tonight...
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By NathanLurker
#124610
What about the ''Vault of Horror : Gates of Hell Trilogy'' edition of City of the Living Dead, Scojo ? You got that one ? I suppose you'll compare with the Deathwaltz deluxe for sure, but with an OG ? I don'T rememer if you're one of those who have an OG of it.
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By ScoJo
#124611
NathanLurker wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 7:11 pm What about the ''Vault of Horror : Gates of Hell Trilogy'' edition of City of the Living Dead, Scojo ? You got that one ? I suppose you'll compare with the Deathwaltz deluxe for sure, but with an OG ? I don'T rememer if you're one of those who have an OG of it.
Comparison will just be between the DW and the Stella, @Nate. Both track listing and quality. I note that the Gates of Hell edition has same track list as the original Beat LP (both the DW and Stella are each 'expanded' in some way or another - I'll unravel them later :)
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By Hatter313
#124839
Have we Done Nosferatu? I don't think we have, I may tackle this over the weekend.

Short version: For those who are fans, you know the bizarre history on these releases. and in fact I only just realized that the track "Die Nacht der Himmel" is in fact a portion of the earlier nearly 17 minute "Vergegenwärtigung" on the original Aguirre release (on later Aguirre releases this seems to have been replaced by a montage of other pieces but still called Vergegenwärtigung....lets not go too far down that rabbit hole)

Luckily, the Wah Wah reissues from a few years back restore all the material that was cut or rearranged from the original release so here's what i've got.

Nosferatu 1978 on Egg - The original soundtrack release which omits the "Bruder des Schattens" material
Nosferatu 2015 Waxwork - This is a straight re-issue of the most usual track listing, presenting a slightly different track order and the shortened versions of the "Bruder..." material that was used in the film and added to later releases of the Nosferatu soundtrack
Nosferatu 2015 Wah Wah records - Wah Wah did a two disc set at the same time as waxwork released theirs, but what they've done is glorious. disc 1 is the FULL "Bruder..." album, on which the title track is nearly 19 minutes long and the second disc is the full unaltered "On the way/Nosferatu" release originally put out by Egg in '78

Now, I don't have an original "Bruder..." but the wah wah release sounds superb so I'm going to go ahead and use that for my comparison on the shorter versions of the tracks on the waxwork/wide release track listing. (i'll probably pick one up at some point...this hobby...)

I will also obviously compare this to the film tracks themselves.

This will likely take some time but i wanted to post this for now to whet any appetites :)
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By ScoJo
#124843
@hatter- I am ALL IN on your Nosferatu mission. I have Brudder, the WWorks and the WWah, but I will prefer to await your findings than do the leg work myself!! ;-)

Ps haven't forgotten about City of the Living Dead.... soon!
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By Hatter313
#124844
Sweet, i'll start really planning on my criteria!

This started because I've been on a huge Herzog kick, and sitting at my desk i threw on the digital Nosferatu copy i've had for years. it's legitimately one of my favorite albums of all time, stone cold desert island. i'm stupidly familiar with it. I had just re-watched Agguire so I threw that on the playlist as well. when the Vergegenwärtigung track came on from the Aguirre OST, i though that i had accidentally put my itunes on shuffle and that it had skipped to the end of Nosferatu. (ive never played my wax of Aguirre, only listened to the digital, and often just the actual Aguirre tracks so i'd not noticed it for years). Down the rabbit hole i went haha!
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By Hatter313
#124849
It's literally my "I don't know what i'm in the mood for, so i'll put this on while I decide" music. I rarely listen to it on wax, i'm usually working from another room so its digital on my laptop or on my iPod walking/biking/commuting, so i'm excited to really dig into the multiple wax copies I have and really give them a good comparison.

I don't think i ever decided one way or another that it's my favorite score, and i don't think that if the question was posed to me i would say it was, but its certainly the music I listen to and have listened to most out of almost anything. I'll gladly put it on repeat and go for a three hour bike ride and never feel the need to change it no matter how many times it cycles through during the trip.
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By ScoJo
#126887
COMPARISON CORNER #10:
by Skødjö
-------------

CREEPSHOW
Music Composed & Performed by John Harrison

A comparison between the two vinyl editions of the score (Varese Sarabande and Waxwork Records) with an A/B of the title track using both LP versions against the film version (from the 2013 Second Sight bluray), and some scattered notes on the different track listings.

1. Varese Sarabande (1982, STV 81160)
33rpm

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This Varese LP came out hot on the heels of the film's release in '82, so after working with Romero on NotLD, Martin and DotD, they obviously had this one planned plenty in advance. And when comparing the opening Side A 'Prologue/Welcome to Creepshow (Main Title)' track to the bluray version of the film, it's immediately clear that there is good news with this edition: the LP is definitely the same recording that is in the movie. Hallelujah! Yes, the mix is a little different though - after some extended thunder and lightning sound fx at the start, you notice that the piano on the LP version is more upfront, and doesn't have the same amount of reverb as the film cue. Throughout this track the sound fx 'stingers' that we know and love are all present (such as the one when Atkins brutally slaps l'il Joe King) and sound much the same, not much tinkering there. Overall, I'd say that beyond the alteration to the balance of the mix, this very accurately represents the experience of the music that we want, as it is represented in the film itself. The only odd thing being (and I'm pretty sure it's nothing to do with my deck) that the recording on LP is a quarter tone lower in pitch than the film version?

So you likely know the story with this version of the soundtrack release - all of the cues for each episode are somewhat re-arranged and remixed into 'suites', which represent the whole 'story' of each episode. I compared throughout 'Father's Day' however, and again I'm very happy to say that it's a similar story to the main title - the music is the same performance/recording, but there is again a little re-balancing of the elements in the album mix, with the piano once more being given a more prominent role in the mix (makes sense, it's the driving force through the score) and certain sound effects/atmos given different prominence. Once again though, nothing that has been tweaked compromises the listening experience.

With 'The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verill' a different aspect of Creepshow's distinctive soundtrack becomes more pronounced - that is, the blending of Harrison's original music with Romero's beloved library cues. If you know and love the film, this is where your memory starts to play tricks! Right from the jump, this suite begins with the synth drones and sound fx of the meteor approach, but then it diverges where in the film there's that distinctive NotLD-style Capitol library cue which blends with Harrison's drones and the foley fx, but on the LP this is absent and we get extended synth drones instead. Then when Jordy first imagines his trip to the expert 'up at the college', the little 'quack quack' tune which is a library cue in the movie is replaced on the album by a squelchy synth version. I sort of lost track at this point, as there's just a ton of library cues in Jordy, but suffice to say that this episode runs pretty short on LP for that reason - there just isn't a massive amount of Mr Harrison on this one.

So there you have it - I'm not going to go through the entire film/LP scene by scene, but suffice to say I think it's a fairly safe bet that this sort of thing continues throughout the album. But what is undeniable is that the music on the Varese edition is the music from the film, slightly re-mixed, and jumbled around to create suites which follow the narrative of the film (while we have to accept that there a large chunks of the musical story missing, in the form of those extensively deployed library cues). But it's a killer listen, and if it's The Feels that you're after as a fan of the film, this pressing delivers a fantastic listening experience. Oh, and needless to say - my near-40 year old VS pressing, which I've had since I was 13, sounds absolutely flawless, dynamic and I'll wager as good as the day it crawled off the presses!


2. Waxwork Records (2015, WW004 - 2nd Pressing)
33rpm

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I moved on my first pressing of this Waxwork edition having noted the pressing error ( track A18 is actually a repeat of track A1) and picked up the purple vinyl second press which corrected the mistake. That's the edition I'm using for comparison here.
On to 'Prologue / The Creepshow Welcomes You'. Aside from the slightly odd alteration to the main track title, this iteration once again stacks up very nicely against the version in the film - more good news, it's definitely the actual film recording! Similarly to the VS release, this mix emphasises the thumping piano, and plays with levels of sound fx/drones to good effect - it sounds really great! (Again, as with the VS it's also a quarter tone out in terms of pitch, which leads me to believe that this issue is actually to do with the bluray speed). So how does it sound up against the VS?
Well I have to say, based on the title track, this is a really impressive job - considering that they went back to the 24-track masters for this release, there has been admirable restraint in not succumbing to the 'yes, but how would we mix it NOW' curse that often befalls old recordings. There's a real consistency between this mix and the original VS preparation, and tonally they both have similar punchiness which is missing from the film version. This sounds really damn good. It's a bit noisier than the VS version, but.... no surprise there really.

So moving forward, the Waxwork track listing doesnt demarcate the different episodes in the way the VS did with it's suites, so the cues comes thick and fast and sometimes pretty short - I listened through Father's Day, and my impression is that the cues are presented here as they appear chronologically throughout the story. Again, they sound really excellent, and just as you would want them to sound without too much tinkering (or the dreaded re-recording). I have to say, it's a fuck ton of fun listening to the score in this way and conjures vivid mental images of the gruesome action unfolding onscreen. Having not really listened to this version as much as the VS (hey, I'm an OG kinda guy, and I get the built-in feels of listening to an LP I've had since I was a monster kid) I will say that I plan to reach for this edition more frequently from now on.

Conclusions: it's pretty simple actually - grab the Waxworks (2nd pressing) for sure! It sounds great, and really represents the film and it's score brilliantly. I'm into it! Of course I'll never let go of my VS original, but tbh if it's out of your price range to get one, don't sweat it too much. With the WW you get all the music represented on the VS and more. Yes, the Varese is a really pleasant (and well thought out) listening experience, so it's actually worth having both if you can swing it, but it's not worth losing any sleep over.
Last edited by ScoJo on Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:57 am, edited 8 times in total.
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By static14
#126888
I sold my VS pressing (and my first pressing from WW) when they did the second pressing. It’s one of the few VS albums I’ve sold that I didn’t regret it almost immediately and wind up rebuying. :)

Do I still wish I had it back... yeah a bit. But I prefer the WW 2nd pressing.
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By havershaw
#126905
Creepshow is among my favorite movies of all time, and the VS version is one of the records I had autographed by both Savini and Romero as a kid (sadly lost now), and a tape of this accompanied me on many long days on my paper route in Pittsburgh, so i know the VS version intimately (and also the film versions, having watched it 100000000 times).
I do enjoy the Waxwork version, and if you love Creepshow, you should have both.
But I will say, the VS is still sort of the superior version to me.
And there’s at least one major goof up in the remix that really bothers me.
In the opening track, there’s a faded-in guitar swell that accompanies the dad slapping the kid. It’s like a swelled up guitar that cuts off and has a cool delay on the end of it. It’s a great effect.
On the Varèse LP, it’s as it’s heard in the film.
On the Waxwork, they’ve botched the fade-in and the delay sounds clumsy and off-time somehow.
Obviously this was something done while mixing in 1982, and they failed to replicate it.
Stuck out like a sore thumb to me the first time I heard it.

But I mean, if you love Creepshow, then you should definitely have both (though I listen to the original more often).

For what it’s worth, the Waxwork is still missing a handful of Harrison bits. I think that they may be from when Harrison went out to Todd-AO in LA where they mixed, armed with some synths, and added sweeteners and extra bits throughout the film (according to Romero).

and also, just to throw another version into the ring, LaLaLand’s CD of Creepshow is this same remix, plus 14 library tracks (although there are closer to maybe 48 in the film).
The library tracks do sound great on here - just wish there were more of them!
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By Bezulsqy
#127461
Only read this comparison just now. Excellent work ScoJo! I do admire how some of you guys know these movies and scores that intimately. I appear to have a memory with enormous holes.
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By inksb
#127476
Bezulsqy wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:37 pm Only read this comparison just now. Excellent work ScoJo! I do admire how some of you guys know these movies and scores that intimately. I appear to have a memory with enormous holes.
Me too @bez. Haha.

Although there are certain films that I'm weirdly familiar with. TMNT is one of those.
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By havershaw
#132306
If I ever have another day off work, i have plans:
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By Hatter313
#132319
Good call on those, I have the recent ww of the fog and the dw from years ago.

Man I need to still do nosferatu, I was a hell of a lot more ambitious in January before 2020 arrived in force
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By ScoJo
#132321
Hatter313 wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:24 pm Good call on those, I have the recent ww of the fog and the dw from years ago.

Man I need to still do nosferatu, I was a hell of a lot more ambitious in January before 2020 arrived in force

Image
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By havershaw
#132322
ScoJo wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:49 pm Not sure if you saw this one, but you might find it useful :)

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Oh damn, that’s right. I do remember reading that (because I recall that I sought out that VS pressing because of your comparison, even).

I like the mastering on this one, but there’s a pretty decent amount of surface noise on it (especially because most of this music is pretty quiet).
I haven’t directly A/B’d with Silva Screen (they are essentially the same track listing, but the sequence has been reworked yet again).
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By ScoJo
#134223
As soon as my 1974 Japanese TAM original of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie arrives, I'm going to do a comparison with the DWRC release that I have from 2017. Trying to work out whether I need to keep the DW or move it on - should be interesting, as the tracklistings and timings are very different (the DW is the same as the original Italian BEAT pressing, which I will also try and find a digital rip of for comparison...) - and the TAM is longer. Tracks have clearly been swapped around and combined, will take some unpicking I'm sure! What I DON'T want to discover is that, for whatever reason, I actually really need the BEAT edition!

Pray for me......
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By CrossedPete
#134225
I love this feed. It’s like sitting under the learning tree. I got to say I’m not too familiar with this score. All the other comparisons have been on stone cold classics so I feel like I should really hunt this one down. Looking forward to what @scojo finds out so I can decide which release to hunt down. I just hope it’s not all 3 are essential
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By ScoJo
#134226
CrossedPete wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:07 pm I just hope it’s not all 3 are essential
Me too brother!

(Ps. sincere apologies for screwing up sending your MD direct from UK - my head was scrambled that day and I plain forgot what REDACTED had instructed sorry. But hopefully since it's a tiny item/basically not much bigger than a letter, it'll not cost too much from US to Canada. If there's any probs let me know, happy to cover your part of the UK-US shipping if it's a 'mare :)
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