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Originally posted by PeterK:
Just let us know if the Caspian score is better than the first one, please!

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Originally posted by nuts_score:
Did Michael Apted direct this Prince Caspian or is he doing the next one? Wake me when David Arnold scores this series, in other words.

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Nuts, you need to read the text in addition to looking at the pretty pictures. Andrew Adamson returned to direct this one.

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Originally posted by PeterK:
I'm pretty certain LW&R sounded way better in the scoring stage's mixing booth than what appeared anywhere else later on.... maybe I am being too deep.

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Not sure what "LW&R" is, but yes, things can sound great in the mixing room compared to the final CD. So you're not being TOO deep there; it's certainly a valid point.

However in this case, as I mentioned in the writeup, the strings/woods were recorded separately from the brass, which were separate from the choir, which were separate from the percussion.

So it's really NOT fair to make a judgment call on how the score sounds before they have gone to final mixes. Nor is it fair to judge a score based on a handful of out-of-sequence cues.

Either way, you won't get me to reveal my opinions of ANY score I hear at the scoring sessions. It's just bad form.

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Originally posted by PeterK:
And in case anyone's wondering... lw@R because there are more Rs in wardrobe than Ws.

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Ahh ok, that makes sense. It's like if I abbreviated PRINCE CASPIAN to "PA" because there are more As in 'Caspian' than Cs

Too deep for anyone!!

So what do you think of Abbey Road, Peter? (I assume you looked at the pix, right?)

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Originally posted by Widescreen:
Is there any news on Iron Man? Different movie, I know, but I was curious.

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They've been recording the score. That's all I know!

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By the way, nice to see you around the boards again, dgoldwas.

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Originally posted by PeterK:
So yeah, "PA" and any other film music will suck if it's physically impossible to begin judging the score after hearing it in the sessions.

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No, it's easy to judge a score from the sessions. It's just not FAIR to do so.

As for the new trend of recording things in chunks, it's not something I particularly like (since it's nicer to see a big orchestra playing all together) but it certainly gives the composer more control over specific elements of his score - and it saves money in the end. If a brass segment is particularly difficult and they require a bit of work on it, it wastes money to have the rest of the orchestra sitting around on the clock.

I prefer the old-school approach too, but then we DO live in a modern age, and the times they are a-changin!

More importantly:

It's too bad the quality of players has come down so much that a whole brass section needs time to "practice the difficult parts." These guys used to be able to play anything, and when composers needed to make changes, it was a matter of minutes and the performers adjusted without hitch.

But yeah, I can see how both the quality of composing and orchestrating, along with the level of expertise on the part of the performers has changed the efficiencies of economy. But we're at Abbey Road... it's not exactly THE most expensive place to record, although close.

I think in this particular case it's the way a certain composing team produces and controls their work. Control freaks, you could call it. Doesn't always make for such great music in the end, though. It actually sounds too controlled.

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Originally posted by PeterK:
You won't say anything because you've decided it's not fair? I don't know how to react to that one other than saying the old tried and true "life's not fair."

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No, Peter, as I said above, I'm not going to state my opinion on a score that I didn't hear the final mix of. Maybe if you attended a scoring session, you'd feel comfortable immediately proclaiming your opinion on whether or not the music was any good, before the scoring was even completed, or the film was done. But I doubt that you'd be invited back to any sessions if you did that.

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It's too bad the quality of players has come down so much that a whole brass section needs time to "practice the difficult parts." These guys used to be able to play anything, and when composers needed to make changes, it was a matter of minutes and the performers adjusted without hitch.

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...and they still do. But no musician is perfect, and for some composers (but certainly not all, and from what I've seen, it's a small minority) it's easier (and in many cases, cheaper) to go with a split-out ensemble that is mixed together in post.

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But we're at Abbey Road... it's not exactly THE most expensive place to record, although close.

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With the US Dollar currently in a rather weak state against the British Pound, believe me, it's a pretty expensive place!

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I think in this particular case it's the way a certain composing team produces and controls their work. Control freaks, you could call it. Doesn't always make for such great music in the end, though. It actually sounds too controlled.

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You could call them "control freaks", or you could call them "dedicated to perfection". Either way, the insistence on control is hardly limited to music teams that record things separately; I was once at a television show scoring session where they recorded - with a full orchestra - a single 30-second cue about a DOZEN times, all because of minor variances that were honestly nearly impossible to discern. Yet, they wanted to get it just right. In the end, of course, it was shown on TV - so no one really heard the music anyways.

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It's too bad. I hope a heart can be found sooner or later in this music... after all, the stories are full of humanness.

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You seem to be someone who didn't really like the first score, and as such it would be a stretch to expect that you would like the sequel....

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Originally posted by PeterK:
I hope it's better, same as my first post!

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At the end of March, Gregson-Williams will be recording with the 150-person Crouch End Festival Chorus, so it stands to reason that it will sound truly massive!

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CD hits on May 13th.

--Brian

1. Prince Caspian Flees
2. The Kings and Queens of Old
3. Journey to the How
4. Arrival at Aslan's How
5. Raid on the Castle
6. Miraz Crowned
7. Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance
8. The Duel
9. The Armies Assemble
10. Battle at Aslan's How
11. Return of the Lion
12. The Door in the Air
13. The Call (Performed by Regina Spektor)
14. A Dance 'Round the Memory Tree (Performed by Oren Lavie)
15. This Is Home (Performed by Switchfoot)
16. Lucy* (Performed by Hanne Hukkelberg)

(* Not Featured in Film)

Seriously, just from pictures it's hard to form an opinion of what it would be like to record there. The acoustics of the room are important and you can't tell that from just looking. I am sure that it is possible to adjust the sound to whatever level is necessary and I am also sure that it helps to have someone at the soundboard intimately familiar with the location.

I loathe the idea of all these individual section recording sessions. Just dreadful. There is no way a synergy can develop when all the components are so disparate. How can the strings fall under the sway of the horn section and reply with anything other than the most mechanistic of responses. It’s removing all the heart of the music for the sake of efficiency and money.

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Originally posted by MWRuger:
Abbey Road is my favorite Beatles Album. It must have been pretty cool to visit.

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It was - not only did I get to see Studio 2, but I also got to see the echo chamber (which not many people see). It's still got George Harrison's amp, which they use, and it smells old and musty in there. John Lennon used to drop acid and trip out in there.

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Seriously, just from pictures it's hard to form an opinion of what it would be like to record there. The acoustics of the room are important and you can't tell that from just looking. I am sure that it is possible to adjust the sound to whatever level is necessary and I am also sure that it helps to have someone at the soundboard intimately familiar with the location.

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Indeed - Peter Cobbin is the senior engineer at Abbey Road, and he made it sound phenomenal.

Prince Caspian Flees 4:37
The King and Queens of Old 3:35
Journey To The How 4:47
Arrival At Aslan's How 2:59
Raid On The Castle 7:08
Miraz Crowned 4:49
Sorcery And Sudden Vengeance 6:19
The Duel 5:58
The Armies Assemble 2:25
Battle At Aslan's How 5:20
Return Of The Lion 4:18
The Door In The Air 7:55

Total Time: 60:05

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Fear not, the slow groove from WARDROBE'S "The Battle" returns in "Battle At Aslan's How"![/B]

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Are you sure that cue isn't titled, "Battle at Aslan's? And How?!"

There might be a typo on the tracklisting; in the book it's "Aslan's Howe".

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Originally posted by dgoldwas:
So Peter, what do you think of Abbey Road?

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Originally posted by RudiVöller:
Audio clips of [b]Prince Caspian

-> http://disneymusic.disney.go.com/albums/princecaspian.html [/B]

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Originally posted by dgoldwas:
There are more clips up at Amazon.com as well

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Originally posted by Jeron:
I'm guessing he doesn't think much about it, Dan, as he seems to have successfully evaded the question for over a month now. [/B]

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Yeah but if he can persist on re-asking me the same question multiple times, each time discounting my explanations, then surely I can ask him a SIMPLE question and hope for a response.

After all, doesn't Peter have an opinion on the quality of the various stages?

Or should we all just take his silence to mean that he hates Abbey Road?