COMPARISON CORNER #4:
by Skødjö
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PHANTASM
Music by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave
As well as comparing the title track on each release against the film version (using Bad Robot restoration bluray), I'll be jumping around spot-comparing other tracks and highlighting variations in track listings etc.
1. Varese Sarabande (1979, VC 81105)
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So, the crucial question - is this (first) soundtrack release the music as featured within the film, a different mix, or even a re-recording?
No, this is definitely the same version of the theme actually heard in the film (interestingly, 'Intro and Main Title' kicking off the LP doesn't actually appear in substantial form in the movie until the 30min mark, during the scene where Jody escapes from his locked bedroom).
Phew. So no horrible surprises there. And yep, this first release of the score sounds awesome. With such multi-layered instrumentation on the title track and throughout the score (including Yamaha YC30 synth, clavinet, electric piano, bells and weird percussion, drums, bowed cymbals, organ, mellotron) there is great separation and depth to the mix, with beautifully clear highs and some pleasing depth to the low synth and bass notes. It sounds generally dynamic, rich and powerful, and my own copy is super clean and quiet.
Let's face it - this is one of the greatest film soundtracks ever composed, and it shines with this Varese pressing.
2. GEM (1979, GEMLP102)
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This is the UK release of the score, and to all intents and purposes appears very likely to be from the same master source as the Varese. Volume level and general dynamics are equal to the US release, though the vinyl is super flexible so possibly only 120g vs. the standard VS 140/150g?
The only other difference is the sleeve design and the inclusion of Captain Zorro's 'Phantasm' disco version which kicks off side A, which is truly a banger. (This track can also be found on the GEM 12" single release, backed with the track 'Sure Can Boogie' and on 'blood stained yellow vinyl'!)
The UK release is very favourably comparable to the US, and a bit easier/cheaper to find in Ex condition, plus you get everything AND that extra track, so unless you're a Varese completist it's a great option.
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3. CAM / Seven Seas (1979, FML 127)
Visurama Sound
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Here's where things get kinda interesting. This Japanese pressing is from the same time as the Varese, and is presented as being in 'Visurama Sound', having alternate mixes and unique material not found on the US/UK releases.
Right out of the gate, there is approx 30-40 secs of atmospheric drone and swishing Silver Ball sound FX, blending into 'Intro and Main Title' track (renamed 'Title Theme' yet sounding pretty close to the version on the other releases from '79). It's not clear whether this additional intro music is courtesy of Myrow/Seagrave, though I feel there's every chance it was added by someone else and is part of the 'Visurama' presentation. It's definitely not something heard in the film.
So here's the tracklisting for this edition, and what I've done is try to identify which Japanese LP cues tally with the Varese LP, which are different in some way or another, and which are unique to the Japanese pressing (marked ***) - all tricky, as many of the tracks have different titles here!
A1 Title Theme
(Different 'drone' intro, mixing into VS = 'A1 Intro and Main Title')
A2 House Of The Fortuneteller ***
(Lovely track, definitely the work of Myrow/Seagrave and yet not featured on the Varese/Gem releases. But hold on - all will be clear when we get to the Mondo reissue...)
A3 A Dwarf In The Hearse
(VS = 2nd half of the track 'B4 Funeral Organ/Dwarf in Hearse')
A4 Morningside ***
(Really weird, mellow version of the main theme...again sounds like it's Myrow/Seagrave's work, especially when it morphs into the 'straighter' version of the theme. Once more, all will be revealed when we get to the Mondo release...)
A5 Overturned Ice Cream Truck
(VS = 'B8 Overturned Ice Cream Truck')
A6 The Tall Man
(VS = 'A3 Mineshaft Chase')
A7 Mike Under The Car
(VS = 'B5 Under the Car')
A8 Jody's Theme
(VS = 2nd half of the track 'B1 Jody at Morningside/Just a Dream?')
B1 The Roar ***
(Drone cue, similar to opening bit on Side A, with phasing effect - pretty sure this is not by Myrow/Seagrave and as it is, sort of substitutes for the missing track on VS = 'A7 Spacegate to Infinity')
B2 Phantasm Disco
(VS = 2nd half of the track 'A4 Phantasmagoria/Silver Sphere Disco' but has some added electronic SFX and sounds like perhaps a slightly different mix with less reverb?)
B3 Old Photograph ***
(Bonkers track, again has the palette of the original score but this music definitely isn't in the film!)
B4 Dwarves In The Dark ***
(Another new one, great clanging piano and synths/organ...this is awesome, though actually sounds more like Frizzi/Fulci than the original composers!)
B5 The Silver Death ***
(Absolutely bananas extended tabla/drum freakout, with signature Phantasm sounds and what might be fretless bass, but has lots of electronic textures not heard anywhere else on the score!
The basic track is actually very similar to the cue 'Mike Under the Car' but with loads of really bizarre echo and reverb fx - so likely this is an extended version of that cue but with our erstwhile Japanese shadow composer doodling over the top! Fascinating stuff.)
B6 The Cemetery Chase
(VS = 1st half of the track 'A4 Phantasmagoria/Silver Sphere Disco')
B7 The Hearse Chase
(VS = B7 'Hearse Chase')
B8 Title Theme (Reprise)
(VS = B3 'The Tall Man on Main Street')
4. Mondo (2015, MOND 057)
Red and Black Swirl
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This reissue compares very favourably to the original 1979 releases, certainly has all the clarity and punch of the OG pressings. Volume level is generally very similar, and there's perhaps a tiny touch less low end in the deep synth sounds, but I wouldn't stake my ears on that. So the real draw of this edition (which as far as I can see was not shouted about or publicised at all by Mondo!?) is the inclusion of the composite outtakes track 'Or is It?', which closes out Side B.
This is 3 and a half minutes of unused score and is pretty damn great - and reveals that a couple of the 'mystery' bonus track inclusions on the Japanese Visurama pressing are actually pieces of these unused cues (A2 and A4), although the mixes of them on the Japanese/Mondo releases are wildly different!
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So there you have it. In my humble opinion, if you are as much an on-your-knees-facing-Mecca devotee of this score as I am, you actually need ALL FOUR of the releases of this score in your life. The Varese just because it's the OG and my 40 year old copy still sounds bloody marvellous, the GEM because it has the inclusion of the Captain Zorro track (although you could sub this LP for the GEM 12" instead, which is a Halloween staple round these parts...), the Japanese release because it is flipping nuts and has about 50% of the Varese soundtrack edition and a lot of stuff that's great and exclusive to this pressing - even if at least some of it is the work of our mystery Japanese shadow composer! And finally the Mondo, because it's actually a really solid reissue of the OG album (with pretty great alternate artwork) and has the addition of that suite of unused cues- with different mixes to their counterparts on the Japanese release.
Phew. I'm well and truly spent guys, but listening to Phantasm in all it's myriad guises for the last few hours has been very very far from a chore and tbh I'd happily do it again sometime soon just for fun!