Would you buy a CD that's re-recorded with a different orchestra than that on the film, or would you prefer to get the original recordings and possibly pay more for the CD to pay union fees?

Generally, I prefer the original version. It's supposed to be the way the composer intended it. Nothing against re-recordings, but usually I'm content if I have the original (sorry Varese, I'll probably stick with Decca's Jaws).

However, the incredible performance of "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra" by the Boston Pops easily tops the (still good) original recording.

I really wish The Wind and the Lion would be re-recorded, since both the performance and the sound quality of the current recording available is pretty poor.

However, most of the time I prefer the original over the re-recording, even if the cost is a bit more.

I still have not shelled out $30 for the new Superman, though... but now that the full original version has been released, I would never think of buying Varese's re-recording.

It all depends on the recording. For me, there's no "This is the rule, no exception." If the conductor and performers do a good job performing the score, then I have no problem with it. Occasionally you'll get something even better than the original.

Actually, I've got to agree a bit with John Winfrey---it's good to have both originals and re-records.

However, given the chioce between one or the other, I've been mostly disappointed with the performances on the majority of re-records and would rather pay the bucks (as I do anyway buying boots of these things) to get the original versions.

I remember back in the 70s as re-records like the Gerhardt series and Elmer Bernstein's FMC were coming out what a thrill it was to see a new album of Lost Horizon or Madame Bovary or Quo Vadis? and getting it on to the turntable. I mean there was no other way to get this music and hit or miss (mostly hit) it was better to have a re-record than no music at all.

And I still feel that way for the most part. There have been some great re-records, some that top the originals. There is a lot more film music available now than I ever dreamed would be---both originals and re-records. Percentages say that not all the originals are going to be in great shape and not all the re-records are going to be good. If a master has gone bad, there's not much that can be done. But if an orchestra is going to get together to re-record a score (from sheet music that is more or less intact), a lot can be done to produce a great performance. I agree with John Morgan that scores can differ from the versions on the actual soundtrack and that a re-record can honor that. I remember the notes to the Monsterous Movie Music CDs---3 bars like in the film, but then we used 2 bars from these sketches or from a previous version of the cue from a different film, then back for 4 more bars of.... In the end, I had no idea what these hybrid cues were all about but they came together to make good listenin'. Just the idea of dusting off old film music and giving it a play is a good idea---saving scores, reconstructing them when necessary, this is all important work.

But returning to what John Morgan said---it seems film music still isn't that easy to sell without a hook. So it's not like we can get an original and a re-record of everything, it's just not economically possible. And that leads back to the original question. I'm a poor guy and buying film music on a regular basis hasn't helped. I'd love to meet a collector who buys a lot and wouldn't mind making me CDRs for cheap. Nevertheless, I just paid $40 for a boot of Land of the Pharoahs. I bought a previous boot for $45 and another one for $22---that's over $100 seeking a good copy of this score. So, yes, I'd pay more to get an original version in a legit way. Rhino could have charged $100 for North By Northwest--I'd have paid it (even if the Mt. Rushmore cue was screwed up as it is too. Note to John Morgan: for filler on your next Herrmann CD try putting together a good rendition of this. The originals are damaged, the Laurie Johnson is so-so. We still don't have a perfect version of this, one of the ultimate cues in film music).

Well, Lou some good news for you, I think. North by Northwest is coming out on DVD and will have the isolated score. Rumor has it they have substantially improved the damaged sound by employing new techniques.
We wouldn't have room for this on our next Herrmann disc anyway, as we are doing FIVE FINGERS and SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO together. They aren't terribly long scores, so with some judicious editing, both can fit on one long CD.

Of recent re-recordings, I like very much John Williams' Midway (Rick Wentworth with the RSNO) and the Marco Polo reconstruction of House Of Frankenstein (thank you, John Morgan!) The sound on both of these is full yet crisp, however there were no original soundtrack releases to compare them with.

Of the few Goldsmith/ Varese re-recordings I've heard, both of his own work and that of Alex North, I'm not too fond of the much discussed "concert hall ambience", particularly on the ones he's done with the RSNO (an orchestra with which Wentworth seemed to get it right.) Intrada's Rio Conchos is an exception, but that was with the London Symphony.

David Raksin's Forever Amber is a wonderful score, and I treasure my recently purchased Varese/ Fox original, under the baton of Alfred Newman. Nevertheless it does seem kind of thin and tinny after having been kept in a box for 50 years: The Gerhardt series suite (conducted by Raksin) is richer and less hurried, and the sound quality is superb. I'm keeping both versions of course.

So, to sum up, it depends (wow, that was radical!) I also think that the first version you hear and become accustomed to has a lot to do with how you evaluate any later versions.

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Originally posted by John Morgan:
My dream is for fans to be drawn to this music because of the music itself or the composer who composed it, rather than sales being so title dependent. Often the name Welles, Hitchcock, Lucas, Spielberg, Harryhausen sell more discs than the name of Herrmann or Williams do.

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You'll be glad to hear that film MUSIC is what brought me to the world of films in the first place. I saw Star Wars because I liked the score, ditto for Raiders of the Lost Ark. There are lots of movies that I've seen because I like the music, even though I often expected the films to be sub-par.

But I know exactly what you mean. It's always annoying to have the name of an actor in big letters on the front cover of a soundtrack CD, much bigger than the composer's name.

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North by Northwest is coming out on DVD and will have the isolated score. Rumor has it they have substantially improved the damaged sound by employing new techniques.

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I recently found that out, too (I even started a thread about it). But to hear that the sound quality is improved is just fantastic. I would buy the DVD the day it comes out with or without score (it's my favourite Hitchcock film), but that will just make it so much better still!