Started watching the 60's and 90's animated series again on Netflix. Determined about the only good thing about the original 60's series is the music (the show is REALLY not good.)
The 90's holds up surprisingly better than the 60's series and the theme even caught The Wife's attention. "This music is awesome!" Theme by Joe Perry of Aerosmith you know.
I like to keep this discussion alive in hope's that something (anything) will ever get released. Looking through the old threads, Lucas posted that the music rights for the live action 70's show and 80's animated Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends were impenetrably convoluted.
Here's what Lukas posted in '04:
There is a lot of pre-Raimi Spidey music and it's all pretty great -- and also impossible to release.
The '60s cartoon had the famous song by Bob Harris, and if Paul Francis Webster is also credited, it's because he's the lyricist. The background jazz music was all by Ray Ellis.
The '70s show had three composers. First on the pilot movie (and maybe second one) was Johnnie Spence, who has very few other credits (according to imdb.com). THAT score was fantastic. The next composer on subsequent 90 minute movies was Stu Phillips and as much as I like Stu this is the only theme I don't remember to this day. Then the 1979 episodes, at least, were done by Dana Kaproff, who wrote the great saxophone theme with spidery disco backing. I tried to find out who owns this once...then gave up, it was that confusing.
The 1981 Spider-Man cartoon, and 1983-85 Spider Man and His Amazing Friends, had music by Johnny Douglas who was an English composer/arranger, who died only the last couple of years. Douglas did a whole bunch of other Marvel animation stuff including The Incredible Hulk (which was paired with Spidey and His Amazing Friends on NBC), G.I.Joe and Transformers. Also Dungeons and Dragons. I LOVE this music too. I have failed to even get close to being able to release it.
Lukas
For me, the 70's live action music is The New Holy Grail now that Back to the Future is taken care of.
I'm not familiar e´with the older scores. For me the 1994 Series' music is truly awesome. Pure adrenaline pumping action and kick ass themes. Some wunderfull suspense cues as well. Great stuff really. This can hold up against any nineties blockbuster score IMO.
If anyone will finally able to release it I'd party for a year ;-)
I would take unpayed leave of work and buy a second copy if the CD ever came out. I love the 60s show in its atmposhpere and its extreme outlandishness. It was never this weird ever again. The 90s show stank on ice. Rubbish animation with cheap CGI streets inserted, horrible 90s colours and forgettable music. Yes the 60 animation was cheap and bad but it had soul. The only good thing about the 90s was the "Iron man" theme which, unlike the series or any other series for that matter, was sheer perfection. From the metallic sound to the organmusic for the villains; phenomenal work:
Then they showed how NOT to do it:
Aaaaaaay...... make it STOP!!. Horrible, even if it sounds 80s. I hated the 80s animated intros, and I'm an 80s lover. Shouty screaming guitar junk.
Which brings me back to the smooth sound of 1970s Spiderman live action. I LOVE that show. It had outlandish plots but also very down to earth real life every day criminals, making the series very solid in its story. Not the bloated Sam Raimi skate boarding Kevin Smithonians cheap CGI vehicles. It had the best Jonah Jameson ever, even if he didn't look like the comic version:
Another very important difference with the new Spiderman; the music. No screeching heavy metal, no Danny "I'v been living of this 89 Batman sound for the past two decades now" Elfman.
The theme for the pilot film sounded more like "Rocky Balboa the TV series"; fun nonetheless. It also sounds a bit like "CHiPs" which is GOOD thing.
I like the saxophone intro:
Funky and swinging. Like Spiderman is supposed to be (that's why Elfman's Batman copy is such a lead coat for this character)
However Stu Phillips' intro rules:
Veeeeeeeeeery classy and tapping into other aspects of the Spiderman character: light, agile laying in wait from a secluded spot to ambush the enemy. It also taps into the Peter Parker side of the crime fighter; the researcher and detective.
Of few things I am more certain than that we will never get this music on CD, and it saddens me more than I can say. It is my most favourite Stu Phillips music. In fact it is what put me on to the work of Stu Phillips. All Stu Phillips soundtracks I buy, I buy in the hope there are tracks on there that have that Spiderman sound.
As a lifelong Spider-Man fan who grew up in the 1990s... I absolutely LOATHED the 1990s animated series. It was a boiled down, no violence series that constantly repeated the same animation shots, had cheap computer coloring, horrible plotting... The whole thing was a godawful mess compared to the other series running at the time: X-Men, Batman TAS, ExoSquad or, hell, even Mighty Max.
I'll gladly take the funky 80s cartoon over the distilled 1990s one eight days a week
the 90's cartoon show had brilliant music. grew up on that one. they had this great love theme for MJ and Peter, and there was this vampire *can't remember his name* that had a really great piece of flying music and love the low end piano tune they had for the Kingpin. really great stuff.
never really got the hatred for Elfman's scores and don't really care, but I thought his music fit the Raimi world fine like the music from the 90's show fit that interpretation of the character. hope it does get released someday.
I would take unpayed leave of work and buy a second copy if the CD ever came out. I love the 60s show in its atmposhpere and its extreme outlandishness. It was never this weird ever again. The 90s show stank on ice. Rubbish animation with cheap CGI streets inserted, horrible 90s colours and forgettable music. Yes the 60 animation was cheap and bad but it had soul. The only good thing about the 90s was the "Iron man" theme which, unlike the series or any other series for that matter, was sheer perfection. From the metallic sound to the organmusic for the villains; phenomenal work:
Then they showed how NOT to do it:
Aaaaaaay...... make it STOP!!. Horrible, even if it sounds 80s. I hated the 80s animated intros, and I'm an 80s lover. Shouty screaming guitar junk.
Which brings me back to the smooth sound of 1970s Spiderman live action. I LOVE that show. It had outlandish plots but also very down to earth real life every day criminals, making the series very solid in its story. Not the bloated Sam Raimi skate boarding Kevin Smithonians cheap CGI vehicles. It had the best Jonah Jameson ever, even if he didn't look like the comic version:
Another very important difference with the new Spiderman; the music. No screeching heavy metal, no Danny "I'v been living of this 89 Batman sound for the past two decades now" Elfman.
The theme for the pilot film sounded more like "Rocky Balboa the TV series"; fun nonetheless. It also sounds a bit like "CHiPs" which is GOOD thing.
I like the saxophone intro:
Funky and swinging. Like Spiderman is supposed to be (that's why Elfman's Batman copy is such a lead coat for this character)
However Stu Phillips' intro rules:
Veeeeeeeeeery classy and tapping into other aspects of the Spiderman character: light, agile laying in wait from a secluded spot to ambush the enemy. It also taps into the Peter Parker side of the crime fighter; the researcher and detective.
Of few things I am more certain than that we will never get this music on CD, and it saddens me more than I can say. It is my most favourite Stu Phillips music. In fact it is what put me on to the work of Stu Phillips. All Stu Phillips soundtracks I buy, I buy in the hope there are tracks on there that have that Spiderman sound.
Disco Stu.
First off the 70s show was good back when the reruns aired on SyFy channel (back when it was spelled Sci-Fi channel) b/c there wasn't many Marvel movies or tv shows. Plus I was kid when I saw it and it was better than nothing. It was the best we had at the time. But the technology wasn't ready yet. Eventhough Superman the Movie was out when this show aired. Raimi actually gave the character on film the shot in the arm it needed.
The actor that played Jameson on the tv show got the attitude and did a good job. But JK Simmons always get copied or parodied. The MTV Spiderman cartoon has a Jameson that talks fast like JK did in the first film. The Spectacular Spiderman Jameson has a similar voice as Simmons'. And Simmons is also voicing Jameson in the new cartoon coming next year I believe. He also played Jameson on an episode of "The Simpsons". JK Simmons' Jameson is used as a benchmark for future Jameson's. That's saying a lot about how much impact JK Simmons performance has on the character.
I disagree that the 90s cartoon score had forgettable music. It had some interesting villain themes for certain characters. MJ and Peter's love theme was very romantic. The music was the best thing (other than Christopher Daniel Barnes' voice as Spidey) about the show.
The 70s Spiderman TV pilot music is dated and doesn't really capture Spiderman, imo That music could fit most movies from that 70s. I wouldn't even think the music was written for a superhero with spider powers and abilities. And saying the theme is similar to Rocky Balboa's theme really doesn't help it.
I've heard people say the intro for the 70s TV show (with the saxophone) sound like porn music. Need I say more. Plus it's dated. Once again I don't see how it fit's Spidey. B/c it's Jazzy ?
The Stu Phillips intro doesn't capture the character much for me. I don't associate that theme with the character like the way I do with Williams' Superman march for Superman. Your user name being Disco Stu pretty much shows you're biased. That could probably fit any film.
I'm not going to talk about Elfman's scores b/c I'm tired of BS comments like "Batman leftovers " and "no themes" It's so old, but I guess people hear what they want to hear.
Just gonna keep bumping this discussion in hopes that continued interests will lead to the release of something. Anything. Spidey Live Action 70s is still my current #1 most wanted. Well maybe that and a Beverly Hills Cop score.
Just gonna keep bumping this discussion in hopes that continued interests will lead to the release of something. Anything. Spidey Live Action 70s is still my current #1 most wanted. Well maybe that and a Beverly Hills Cop score.
To do the bump you need at least two so I hereby comply and rekindle the possibility of the original 70s (AND STILL THE BEST) live action Spider-man. I am quite confident that it shall never happen even when people point out that some other things happened of which it was proclaimed by all parties who had a say in things it would never happen but, as said, this will most likely never ever happen. I doubt if the recordings still exist to enable a proper release.
Given that 3 out 5 Spider-man movies have been disappointing, I'm starting to think Spidey would be best served by a tv show. If anyone at Marvel / Sony could swallow some pride that is.
About the music, good point about the source material. The 70s sometimes show was never given the treatment it deserved in any way.
With Homecoming imminent, thought I'd resurrect the old thread. Wishes do come true (Beverly Hills Cop) so maybe one day (with enough pestering) we'll get some tv Spidey. I'm re-watching the 90 series with the kids and it's not as bad as I remember it. Actually it's pretty good.
With Homecoming imminent, thought I'd resurrect the old thread. Wishes do come true (Beverly Hills Cop) so maybe one day (with enough pestering) we'll get some tv Spidey. I'm re-watching the 90 series with the kids and it's not as bad as I remember it. Actually it's pretty good.
IMHO, practically almost any cartoon from the 90s is better than the utter crap they show to the kids these days. Love the series and the music too. Hopefully one day...
IMHO, practically almost any cartoon from the 90s is better than the utter crap they show to the kids these days. Love the series and the music too. Hopefully one day... Nope. There's stuff my kids watch that I'll go back and watch without them.
IMHO, practically almost any cartoon from the 90s is better than the utter crap they show to the kids these days. Love the series and the music too. Hopefully one day... Nope. There's stuff my kids watch that I'll go back and watch without them.
I'm sure there are. It's just there's much more crap nowadays (both film and cartoon-wise) than there used to be. There's one particular show called Hey Arnold that I like watching with my nephews. I grew up watching it as a kid and I've always been amazed how everything was of such quality, you know, the characters, the acting, the writing, the music. Such a kind cartoon. Batman TAS is another favorite of ours!
one of my holy grails is Stu Philip's Spider-man music. That prominent 3 note motif that actually suggests "spi-der-man" is catchy as heck and the harmonic development he puts it through just in those opening and closing credits is fantastic.
I don't care for the funky sax/clavichord version as much. It's a little more dated whereas the other theme transcends the era and is as good and relatable now as it was back in the late 70s.
1960s original cartoon series is my ULTIMATE unreleased Holy Grail...
...BUT the 1970s show stuff was pretty funky & fun too!
FYI there is a boot of the live-action 70s show soundtrack floating around ripped from a promotional LP that was issued to help promote the show back in the day!
1960s original cartoon series is my ULTIMATE unreleased Holy Grail...
...BUT the 1970s show stuff was pretty funky & fun too!
FYI there is a boot of the live-action 70s show soundtrack floating around ripped from a promotional LP that was issued to help promote the show back in the day!
I remember watching the television series and liking it. Always thought it was cancelled because of low ratings. According to IMDB trivia it was because of TV politics. Wonder Woman was cancelled the same time, Hulk remained. Lukas mentioned the convoluted copyrights above but I always have hope of some soundtrack release from this very short-lived TV 70's series.
1960s original cartoon series is my ULTIMATE unreleased Holy Grail...
I've always had a soft spot for the 1960s cartoon as my grandpa (Chic Otterstrom) was one of the animators. He passed in 1969 so I didn't meet him, but growing up we had SO much merchandise that he also designed or animated (i.e. comic books, coloring books, etc.). I can't recall the music from the series off hand but would definitely recognize it if I heard it. If ever released, I'd probably have to pick it up for pure nostalgia of watching our tapes of these while growing up.
