PeterK

The bottom line: music is already too expensive. If every soundtrack was only available at three stores and for a $20 minimum, I have a feeling most people will find better things to do. Most people, not all of them.

Zwar, I might want to differ with the suggestion that those labels are only releasing score albums that have the potential to sell big.

Decca has only been back in the fray for a year now, releasing scores like Agnes Brown, Playing by Heart, The Skulls and Snow Falling on Cedars - none of these are potential flying-off-the-rack scores as is their popular Gladiator album.

Sony Classical, it seems, has been all over the place in their selection of soundtrack releases. Perhaps because of the money they've made off of Titanic, they are willing to venture out a little more and release things like Titus, Random Hearts, The Governess and the like.

Of course, no label has released as much as Varese in this realm - there isn't a company out there you can compare Varese with!

PeterK

I don't care if it was recorded in Europe. That's not the point. It wasn't Mr. Townson's, and it wasn't mine. That he has begun doing the right thing was - his point and mine.

As to other labels, remember, I brought them up because of the comparison they gave to Varese that developed Varese's Scarlet Reputation. Are examples necessary? Let's use Goldsmith then, since he's so popular and prolific enough:

55 -13th Warrior (V)
35 - Haunting (V)
57 - Mummy (Decca)
30 - U.S.Marshals (V)
45 - ST:Insurrection (GNP)
31 - Small Soldiers (V)
51 - Mulan (Dis)
32 - Deep Rising (Hollywood)
30 - L.A.Confidential (V)
38 - Edge (Rca)
35 - Air Force One (V)
29 - Fierce Creatures (V)
45 - ST:First Contact (GNP)
53 - Ghost & the Darkness (Hollywood)
30 - Chain Reaction (V)
30 - Executive Decision (V)
30 - City hall (V)
35 - Powder (Hollywood)
40 - First Knight (Epic)
33 - Congo (Epic)
34 - Angie (V)
39 - River Wild (RCA)
46 - Shadow (Arista)
39 - Bad Girls (Fox)

There's 99-94, and a general trend is visible.

Mr. Townson's letter was not about "to do 30 or not to do 30". It was about Varese's image or perception. My response boils down to this:

PeterK

It's great they are doing some longer cds (Small Soldiers was a Big Disappointment because of it's length), but unless you bring a calculator to the store you won't know it until after you buy.

So, my suggestion is to put the total time on the cd. And for the 60+ minute scores put a sticker on it promoting it.

I just wish Silva would stop recycling the same old ones!!

PeterK

The CD of Dead Again has the complete score (there are two cues in the film that aren't on the album, one is an edit of the main title, the other is the end of "Death of a Mad Son" without the choir mixed in). It just comes to about 30 minutes. I don't think there was much more than 30 minutes of score in L.A. Confidential, either.

By the way, the major labels have pulled the 30 minutes thing from time to time as well. The Hunt for Red October is a prime example of this (probably because the presence of a large chorus caused the re-use fees to skyrocket to a level where even MCA said, "Whoa!").

NP: Max Steiner KING KONG
Moscow Symphony Orchestra/Stromberg
Marco Polo

Maybe it's me.

Thanks for the info on the short DEAD AGAIN score that's complete. Sharing that kind of information can only help things. As to L.A.Confidential though, I think even Shaun's estimate is conservative. I think it was closer to (but still just under) an hour of music.

Shaun,

You're right about the re-ordering of music on CDs. It would generally be better if people left the music in film order, providing a more coherent listening experience. As to Mr. Goldsmith's cue selections, I have a pro and a con. I think that on many of his scores particularly, when cues are missing, often they're the only ones of their kind (say, the Huns Attack from Mulan). So you're right, I guess.

But - do you remember how good Bloody Christmas sounded live? I mean, the CD literally does not do this piece of music justice. Man, those drums! Perhaps Mr. Goldsmith selects cues by how they sound to his ears as he conducts them, not taking note of how some bits may lose a little zing if you're not standing in the middle of the orchestra.