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Posted: |
Aug 17, 2013 - 3:21 PM
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By: |
TxIrish
(Member)
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Here's the question, followed by the details: I've got the Varese Sarabande CD of "Conan the Barbarian"... is it worth upgrading to either the recent Intrada 3-CD release and/or the Nic Raine 2-CD rerecording?
The details: I've been focusing on film scores for several years now, and often read around here about the love for "Conan the Barbarian". When Intrada's complete 3-CD set came out, I debated it, but I didn't feel it was worth dropping $30 for a score I didn't really know. I found a used copy of the Varese version, and for months now have been playing it often and loving it. However, I've been surprised to read on the main thread here about the Intrada release how people are griping about tracks not being split the way they'd like, or the recording sounding as warm as they thought it would, etc. Thus, I'm not sure, is it worth getting? There's also the Nic Raine rerecording, which I gather from reviews has much better sound, but I've also read reviews that mention that the tempos at time vary significantly from the original, which would bother me (having percussion experience I have an acute sense of tempo).
So, what say you all? Sorry, I'd post this in one of the longer theads, but I figured it would get missed. Thanks!
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I've got the Varese Sarabande CD of "Conan the Barbarian"... is it worth upgrading to either the recent Intrada 3-CD release and/or the Nic Raine 2-CD rerecording?
I had never heard of Conan the Barbarian until the re-recording was already old news. So I tried them all out at the same time for the first time. And man, does the re-recording blow the rest completely out of the water! Now it slightly irks me when I listen to the original with it's poor quality, lack of proper instrumentation, odd-sounding choir, mistakes, etc. etc. I think the only reason some people prefer the original is nostalgia. But if you approach them all with virgin ears, there simply is no comparison whatsoever. So glad I wasn't shackled by first falling in love with the originals, which I would have, if there wasn't such a stunning re-recording available. But you should probably buy all three in my opinion.
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Posted: |
Aug 17, 2013 - 4:15 PM
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By: |
BTTFFan
(Member)
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I've got the Varese Sarabande CD of "Conan the Barbarian"... is it worth upgrading to either the recent Intrada 3-CD release and/or the Nic Raine 2-CD rerecording?
I had never heard of Conan the Barbarian until the re-recording was already old news. So I tried them all out at the same time for the first time. And man, does the re-recording blow the rest completely out of the water! Now I can't stand to listen to the original with it's poor quality, lack of proper instrumentation, odd-sounding choir, mistakes, etc. etc. I think the only reason some people prefer the original is nostalgia. But if you approach them all with virgin ears, there simply is no comparison whatsoever. So glad I wasn't shackled by first falling in love with the originals, which I would have, if there wasn't such a stunning re-recording available.
It's still not Basil. Despite the new technology and bigger orchestra, who knows if Basil would have liked the presentation. I love the rerecording because it does give us what Basil had down on paper in crystal clear sound, but it's missing something. All of that weird instrumentation and odd choir is Conan.
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This is where I disagree. I never thought the original was poor sounding or small. What is proper instrumentation? Did Basil use pots and pans? Odd sounding choir? Are you kidding me? The original is one of the best motion picture scores ever produced. I will concead a modern recording is going to sound much better than an older one, but that's is about it.
The original recording is actually less original than the re-recording. After Basil wrote the score, he had to modify it due to the orchestra that would be performing it. He did not use pots and pans, but they weren't able to use all of the instruments that Basil intended. The re-recording uses the exact instruments that Basil wrote for and is truer to the original score as Basil composed it. Shown also by the fact that the percussion stays with the brass in the re-recording of Anvil of Crom, amongst other technical errors that exist in the original recordings. They're both great and you really should buy both versions, but I believe that if you hear them both for the first time at the same time, there's little reason to prefer the original recordings.
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The Intrada has a needless third disc and some parts in mono....I kept the Varese and never bothered with the Intrada.
And the rerecording is great, with the caveat that a couple places drag and there's some unfortunate recording (or possibly mastering) errors that cause the sound the 'burst' a little (there's a lot of detailed discussion about it in the thread about the set). There's no reason to keep to one or the other with music this great.
WHERE EXACTLY?
Don't be vague, where exactly are these "unfortunate recording (or possibly mastering) error(s)"?
Just because some clueless fanboy says that these exist, don't mean they do beyond their the voices they hear in their head that they do!
Ford A. Thaxton
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I've always had a bit of a problem with the proclamations about this version as, unless one can channel the dead, it is impossible to know how Basil would have rerecorded it himself.
Not really because I was in the ROOM when I put both Basil and James Fitzpatrick together on the day that this project started.
James an Basil had a number of discussions about his project prior to Basil's death.
Jame's blueprint was Basil's very detailed scores that he had a chance to discuss with Basil before he passed.
His family and many of the folks who worked on the score in the first place were very helpful as well.
The man wanted to do a new recording of this score right up until he passed away and made his feelings quite clear on the topic.
Ford A. Thaxton
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I've always had a bit of a problem with the proclamations about this version as, unless one can channel the dead, it is impossible to know how Basil would have rerecorded it himself.
Not really because I was in the ROOM when I put both Basil and James Fitzpatrick together on the day that this project started.
James an Basil had a number of discussions about his project prior to Basil's death.
Jame's blueprint was Basil's very detailed scores that he had a chance to discuss with Basil before he passed.
His family and many of the folks who worked on the score in the first place were very helpful as well.
The man wanted to do a new recording of this score right up until he passed away and made his feelings quite clear on the topic.
Ford A. Thaxton
Wow. WOW! It sure is nice to have somebody who can serve as a primary source of information for topics like this. Thanks Ford.
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