 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Feb 25, 2017 - 8:46 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
|
My recent thread on the lack of a Poseidon Adventure LP has me wondering: How much say does a composer have in whether or not there is a soundtrack album? And what it will consist of?
I imagine that the specific criteria vary greatly from situation to another, based on many factors, not the least of which would include the terms of the contract.
Let's look at a few hypothetical examples, and chime in if you can speak to any or all of these.
1. These days, film score albums are commonly composed of actual film tracks. Let's say the studio wants to put out an album. The composer says, "I don't think this music will work well as a stand-alone listen." The studio says, "Suck it up. We're putting out an album."
2. The composer wants to re-record the album. No one wants to pony up the cash to do so. The composer can either finance the sessions herself, or toss in the towel and use the film tracks.
3. John Williams doesn't want an album to be released. He has clout, so no album is released.
4. John Williams wants to re-record the album, but no one, if you can imagine, wants to pay for the sessions. Presumably, John Williams has made some money during his career, and at the very least, he can put the cost of the sessions on his credit card.
5. Henry Mancini is that rarest of birds, a successful film composer who has a dual career as a popular recording artist for RCA. He releases quasi "soundtrack" albums of many of his film scores, all re-records. Is this his idea? Is it part of the deal that when he gets a film assignment, he will record a "soundtrack" album for RCA? There was inexplicably never an album for "The Days of Wine and Roses." Was this Mancini's idea, or someone else's?
6. All involved agree there will be an album. How much of a role does the composer have in choosing tracks and sequencing the album?
7. Other situations that I am not thinking of.
8. Any combinations or variations on the above.
What sayest thou?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Feb 25, 2017 - 1:36 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
5. Henry Mancini is that rarest of birds, a successful film composer who has a dual career as a popular recording artist for RCA. He releases quasi "soundtrack" albums of many of his film scores, all re-records. Is this his idea? Is it part of the deal that when he gets a film assignment, he will record a "soundtrack" album for RCA? There was inexplicably never an album for "The Days of Wine and Roses." Was this Mancini's idea, or someone else's?
During the prime time of Mancini's RCA contract, a number of his film scores went unreleased. They were:
Bachelor in Paradise - MGM
The Great Impostor - Universal
Days of Wine and Roses - Warner Bros.
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation - 20th Century Fox
Soldier in the Rain - Allied Artists
Dear Heart - Warner Bros.
Man's Favorite Sport? - Universal
A Shot in the Dark - United Artists
Moment To Moment - Universal
Wait Until Dark - Warner Bros.
There could be a number of reasons why these films did not get album releases:
- The studio and/or Mancini didn't want them released.
- The studio didn't want to release them on RCA Records, which would have been required under Mancini's contract.
- Mancini, who re-orchestrated and re-recorded all of his film scores for album release during this period, just didn't have time to both compose all of the films he did (22 films from 1960-68) and prepare albums for all of them as well. As it was, 12 of the films received full albums. And Mancini put out many non-film albums during that time. One source says that he was required to issue three albums per year on RCA. How much time does one man have?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poseidon Adventures was 100% 20 Century Fox...
Corrected entry above. I remembered a co-production credit on the end of Poseidon and confused it with Towering Inferno. Poseidon was financed by Fox, but the final credit above the distributor (Fox) was Allen's production company "Kent Productions Inc." as producer.
As many may already know, Irwin Allen was one of many producers on the Fox lot in the 60's and 70's. Like Arthur Jacobs and his "APJAC Productions", you'll find the same credits at the end of all his Fox films.
Check out the book "The Studio" by John Gregory Dunne. Sheds a lot of light on this era.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
