The Final Superman Column

Compiled by Lukas Kendall

This is it. The last Superman column. The final word. Thank you all.

From: Hiphats@aol.com

I enjoyed Monday's Varese "Superman" CD review Jon Hoyle did. Just want to remind you all that there is yet another "big Superman review"...this one written by me, MegadethDC and Bill Williams. This revised comprehensive version of an article Megadeth and I wrote last year for Deth's "Superman: The Cinema Experience" site fully takes apart every minute of the Superman score, where they can be found in all incarnations of both the film and the soundtrack albums, information on the cues on the new Varese Sarabande release, those cues that remain unreleased, leftover tracks, and the variations of the theme itself. You can find it at Scott Hanson's "Unofficial John Williams Home Page" at http://www.classicalrecordings.com/johnwilliams/. Every "Superman" fan and film score scholar/student is recommended to view this look at "Superman: The Score In Depth".

Visit the ultimate Superman worship website at http://members.aol.com/hiphats/superman.html. Going down? No, going up up up!

From: martia@webtv.net (marietta satifka)

Just let me say, as a great fan of Mr. Williams music since the 1960's, he is the very best & I feel this new CD is very respectful of his work. It is not the LSO, nor is it the original soundtrack, it has not claimed to be.

I find the CD a beautiful listening experience & to everyone out there being so very critical of it, just don't listen. The Superman score remains one of the most glorious ever written for the motion picture screen.

From: Alexander Foertsch <afn@dns.rh-sc.baynet.de>

All I can say is this: Every new recording of a certain score makes another one which could be more faithful/complete all the more improbable, regardless how bad this first rerecording is. BUT: I'd rather see one good, complete and accurately played score rerecording than five mediocre and poorly executed ones. I wondered from the beginning, when I first heard about Varese's constant series of rerecordings, how they would be able to do it anyway. Now I know: They simply rush out CD after CD, recording amounts of music that normally would take many days and nights in just one or two sessions! No wonder the orchestras aren't as good as they could be! And regarding this often-heard argument about rerecordings always being so slow and ponderous: As long as it's Benny Herrmann we're talking about, that was because he was already an old man back in the early 70s, but Debney & Co. are very much alive but simply have to conduct/play all the stuff so damn slow JUST TO AVOID TOO MANY MISTAKES! Yes, it's as simple as that. But then, ladies and gentlemen, to what artistic level have we sunk already?

To repeat myself (and THAT would make an interesting poll!), what would you prefer? Five third-rate versions of classic sought-after scores, which probably won't be re-reissued after that recording, or just one rerecording of a soundtrack classic, but played first-rate and accurate, with a powerful conducting, a gripping performance, a superb orchestra, full-blooded, with all the right tempi - and done in a real recording studio for a change (why can't they f****** get that incredible VERTIGO atmosphere?)? Think about it... And by the way: I'd spend 50$ most willingly for a definitive 120 min. 2 CD-set of the original SUPERMAN soundtrack. Would you?

From: Josh Gizelt <Josh.Gizelt@gte.net>

I wish to thank Corey C. Witte for voicing what I have been itching to say since I finally managed to get the new "Superman" record. And that is...

After all this negative reaction, I put in the discs and found... Gee, it ain't so bad....! The truth is, this is a very interesting alternate interpretation of a film score. Yes, it is somewhat slower (not as slow as the concert arrangements of the "Star Trek- The Motion Picture" theme, though, is it?) in parts, but I found the performance to be, on the whole, very good.

What we are seeing here is the effect of recorded music on the art of performing it; people are so used to the original soundtrack recording of this score that they have difficulty hearing an alternate version without decrying it as being "wrong." There is nothing intrinsically "wrong" with this recording, it is a different recording. It is because film music is, by nature, a recording, that we often forget that it is also music as well.

That is not to say that you have to like this new recording, just accept that aspects that are part of the performance of a piece are those that are malleable.

I happen to like this new disc a lot. I am not giving up my copy of the original soundtrack recording, but certain parts of the score contain readings I quite enjoy, such as "Leaving Home," and "The Fortress of Solitude." Are they dead-on perfect reproductions of the original? No. Nor were they meant to be, and nor would I want them to be. I already have the original soundtrack recording, that's not what I want from a new recording. That's why I have more than one recording of my favorite Vaughan-Williams and Wagner pieces, and why I have Rolling Stones live albums, even if I have all those songs on their respective record.

If you wish to criticize this release, that is fine. I agree that the playing on "The Helicopter Rescue" could have been a bit better. The arrangement for the "Prologue" is not what it should be, but while "Growing Up" definitely sounds odd being so slow, I think it is interesting... its speed allows one to study the orchestral texture of the piece, which is beautiful. And I really like having "Jonathan's Death" and "To the Lair" finally on record.

As a side note, I just discovered Michael Nyman's gorgeous score for "Gattaca." It is wonderful, all of a piece but never gets boring. While not as accessible as Nyman's score for "The Piano," it is more so than his music for the Peter Greenaway films. The director's brief liner notes describe how the score communicates hope and and sorrow at once. This is quite true, but more than that, the music puts one in an autumnal feeling, which worked quite well in the film's golden cinematography and design. "Gattaca," along with "Superman," just proves that some (though, of course, not all) good film music can be heard on its own terms as music.

From: "Brian Donohue" <bjdonohue@hotmail.com>

Subject: October Horror Score Survey Results

Thought you might like to know how I made out in my October poll of favorite horror scores. I received 67 votes (less than I hoped for but probably more than I deserved). Here are the top ten:

1. PSYCHO (Herrmann, 1960) 20%

2. THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (Waxman, 1935) 11%

3. KING KONG (Steiner, 1933) 7.3%

4. THE OMEN (Goldsmith, 1976) 6.7%

5. HALLOWEEN (Carpenter, 1978) 5.8%

6. THE FURY (Williams, 1978) 5.3%

7. JAWS (Williams, 1975) 4.3%

8. NOSFERATU (Erdman, 1922) 3.4%

9. SISTERS (Herrmann, 1973) 3.3%

10. BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (Kilar, 1992) 2.9%

Breakdowns by composer and decade are given at my site.

This month I have two surveys: One dealing with the top scores and/or themes dealing with Sports Films and/or TV sporting events...The other is a survey asking which of the Superman soundtracks people prefer. This months prize is a copy of Michael Daugherty's METROPOLIS SYMPHONY on CD. Don't know if you've ever heard of it...he wrote it to commemorrate the 50th anniversary of the Man of Steel. It's a really great work...performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Zinman.

Visit Brian's site at http://www.angelfire.com/md/filmscorefan/index.html

Thanks to all the people who wrote nice comments about our column yesterday on film scoring schools and related life choices. We'll have more on it next week - as well as a "review" of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture 2CD set (the second disc being the Inside Star Trek documentary) which was almost released by Sony Legacy, and is now bumped to spring.

Tomorrow: Film Score Friday!

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