Well done La-La on this one. A massive improvement over the Varese version. Good to see the missing music here too. Why on earth Varese missed this off I don't know. Also the extra detail is a revelation. The tracks often sound completely different to the Varese. And to have the song too is a nice bonus.
Thank you Lalaland for finally doing it right. The old Varese Cd always bothered me - missing cues, weird segues and incomplete tracks. As a lifelong fan of the score, I really appreciate having all the cues presented in film order without any messing around. (thanks for not tossing the "Helicopter arrives/ Jenny Tied Up / Into the Plane" stuff) The mix is also much, much better. I can hear synth and stuff that was completely buried in the old version such as the synth bass line in the main titles.
Am listening to it right now and what a monotonous lot it is. Only good track is the main title. The rest just goes on and on and on and on..........
..........and on and on.
I think I just found a very good contender for worst soundtrack. It may have worked in the film but as a soundtrack it's just undoably repetitive. I may keep on to it just for rarity's sake as the packaging and CD itself looks mighty fine. Good work by LaLaLand but the music itself oy.
Am listening to it right now and what a monotonous lot it is. Only good track is the main title. The rest just goes on and on and on and on..........
..........and on and on.
I think I just found a very good contender for worst soundtrack. It may have worked in the film but as a soundtrack it's just undoably repetitive. I may keep on to it just for rarity's sake as the packaging and CD itself looks mighty fine. Good work by LaLaLand but the music itself oy.
I received an information about shipping from SAE, and appears, that they cut my Commando order, because "we did not have enough come in and had to reduce a few orders"...
What is this??? They don't know how much they bought? Can't they count? Can't they learn (it's the same case as Invaders From Mars)?
It's enough for me, no more orders from SAE, sorry guys...
It's just warning for others, you can be the next!
Am listening to it right now and what a monotonous lot it is. Only good track is the main title. The rest just goes on and on and on and on..........
..........and on and on.
I think I just found a very good contender for worst soundtrack. It may have worked in the film but as a soundtrack it's just undoably repetitive. I may keep on to it just for rarity's sake as the packaging and CD itself looks mighty fine. Good work by LaLaLand but the music itself oy.
Gambled and missed.
D.S.
I just can't believe you guys. I thought people here were 'into' film music as they had a love of the medium, not just to buy stuff because it'll sell out and become rare. Then you buy one to sit on the shelf and never be played because you hate it and complain about here! Leave it in stock for other people who may actually like the music to get a copy at cost price!
And yes I did get a copy from La La themselves as I like the film, the score how it works in situ and also it has interesting things that can be appreciated on a recording apart from the film. I also have the previous Varese issue and the excellent directors cut DVD with seamless branching from the theatrical cut.
I interviewed one of the sound editors years ago and he had some interesting things to say about how some of the sound effects for the fight scenes were recorded and derived for Commando, including the sounds of a VW Beetle falling off a jack and the slam of a metal filing cabinet drawer.
Fred Karlin included score excerpts in the orchestration chapter of the first edition of Of On The Track and that showed some very interesting uses of instruments and also typewriter for example. James Horner approached this as a musical composition, not as scores for similar films tend to be created these days and that's why it will always be miles ahead of more contemporary action music.
I just can't believe you guys. I thought people here were 'into' film music as they had a love of the medium, not just to buy stuff because it'll sell out and become rare. Then you buy one to sit on the shelf and never be played because you hate it and complain about here! Leave it in stock for other people who may actually like the music to get a copy at cost price!
You make very unfounded assumptions. I bought it because this release gave me a chance to hear the music of which I liked the pieces that I could remember having seen the film; NOT as an investment or because it's a rarity! If that were my reason I'd have bought a lot of other soundtracks I don't even give a second glance. I bought it as a music lover and I was disappointed as a music lover. I don't blame LaLaLand for anything. I complimented them on their work. I didn't complain about James Horner's compositions. The only thing I said is that it doesn't work for me as a soundtrack. Some people can't listen to "The Andromeda strain" others can't handle "Beneath the plane of the apes"; I just can't take this soundtrack. It's too homogenous to me.
As said and as always, I took a gamble that I would like the majority of the soundtrack and consider it a worthwhile acquisition, and I lost this time. I find I have the same right as the others to give my motivated and neutral verdict on this one.
I actually agree with Disco. I bought this at work because I saw the imminent sell out on the forum, everyone praising the release, and I'm a fan of Horner. I can't listen to any clips here at work (hence I rolled the dice).
While there's some nice moments on the CD, I do feel that as a listening experience it's very repetitive and just not that rewarding to my ears. I listened to it 3 times straight over 2 days - if someone played me a track from it - I'm 80% positive I couldn't tell you what song it was as it just is so much of the same.
I applaud Lalaland for the release, and I'm glad people enjoy it so much. The booklet was great, the packaging was solid, and the production was top notch. But to me it's just not going to be getting many plays...
MovieMusic still has it. I was just there and clicked the "add to cart" button (which is usually when, if they don't have it, their "real time inventory" will say so).
BTW, the $$$ exchange rate is completely different than near a month ago. Additional, to get my money back, I had to write to Ed to make them a paypal refund for what has not been shipped... I liked Ed and the rest there, but it's too much for me, it's not top-notch customer service used to be. Can I be angry? Yes. Can I write about it? Yes. It's a bad PR for them, unfortunately...
I understand this is a hard listen mainly due to the music being so loud and repetitive, but to me it's like an action locomotive that keeps going and I like instruments going wild over a solid loop. That said, the tracks that feature the steel drums (especially the sully tracks) sound too cheesy for me, I like the intense and suspenseful 'danger' cues better.
I made a (lengthy) suite of the CD, editing out the obnoxious "family love theme" that invades the main titles and makes it lose all momentum. I'll make a youtube vid of it later.
The one cue I'm most grateful to have is the bonus track "Don't disturb my friend" alternate. It drove me nuts that it wasn't on the varese disc and I almost missed it on the lalaland one until I got to the end of the disc.
In the film, it actually plays during the shed scene at the end of the film. I actually edited out the slate at the beginning, renamed it "The Shed" and sequenced it into the body of the score. Love that cue.
