Hi It is a great score for sure the Jap release on LP is again the same very mixed up,
I did remember seeing many years ago a german tv version and it was missing the close up shots of the crossbow bolt in arm and as stated boomerrang shot. But it had more shots mixed in the chase and longer speach and a different voice narration
Maybe also Philip Powers of 1M1 Records who once wrote to me that he received more tapes from Brian May back then than he actually released on his label. So he may have MM2 or, one of my remaining grails, TURKEY SHOOT somewhere !! How about it, LaLa ??
sorry if Ibring up something hush hush, but what is the 21 track 50 minutes album I have seen? It seems to be the real deal but monosounding. Have I come across a boot??
Well Max & Warrior Woman Virginia Hey do exchange a look, so I guess that's one spot....
Yes, David, that 'thing' is a no-no & a real mess anyway. The Varese is one of the worst produced things ever. 30mins minus the useless sound efx reprises, sequencing that is....questionable, poor sound. But its all we have & I still play it often. Hell, I recorded onto cassette from the laserdisc years ago & THAT sounds better - surprisingly crisp, the film mix is really good.
My fear is someone will release this & botch it by missing all the very short cues that are among the best parts. Time will tell....
It's time for a history lesson about this release for FANBOYS who might well not have even been born when it was released.
The Soundtrack album to MAD MAX 2 was released internationally first and appeared as I recall on a Japanese label as well as TER first ,as I recall in the original running order which intercut both score cues (Chosen by Brian May) as well as some sound effects added either by the label or someone at the production company.
VARESE got the rights for the North American release of the score and were sent a 15IPS album master that had already been assembled and as I further recall it was sequenced for there release by Tom Null and he was the one who assembled the effects into a single track that appeared at the end of the album because he felt having it through the album wasn't a good listening experience.
As to length of the album, it currently runs 36 minutes, which was the average running time of a LP (You might wish to recall that it was released well before the advent of CDS), so on that front, we got a decent project that sounded pretty good given it was recorded in a small room in Melbourne as I recall (It has the same sound as many other Brian May scores)
Now sadly, the original master tapes of the score were ERASED and REUSED by the studio where was recorded much to the horror of BRIAN MAY (I know he told me this in person during a visit to LA in 1984) and he sadly didn't get a back-up of the complete score as far as he recalled at the time.
So the only thing that might still exist is the dipped Music Steams, which I suspect isn't something that VARESE would like to use if they considered a expanded release.
I have seen a "Unmentionable" that does contain the full score (However the extra tracks are MONO) however, I suspect that VARESE wouldn't be very interested in using that or the original source.
They have the rights and it's up to them, I suspect it's not something high on their list of projects that they would like to invest the time and energy into at this time.
Maybe also Philip Powers of 1M1 Records who once wrote to me that he received more tapes from Brian May back then than he actually released on his label. So he may have MM2 or, one of my remaining grails, TURKEY SHOOT somewhere !! How about it, LaLa ??
I guess i didn,t know the complete story. My question is then ,do we ever see a complete score release from Mad Max II. Maybe someone still finds a backup tape or maybe a rerecording can be made. Anyway thanks Ford.
The Mad Max II The Road Warrior mono tape,the unmentionable mono score ,as we know it isn,t complete.Missing several tracks in the final chase. I buy this great score at once,even if it has poor sound and complete from any lable.
Unfamiliar with this title but sounding good! (has a Dawn of the Dead vibe going on)
It's more electronic than anything else May had done, except maybe his Elm Street score, but there is still some orchestral scoring - lots of snare drums.
The movie is/was a trashy VHS classic for me, and the uncut version is head-spinning, barf bag goodness. This gives me some hope my ultimate grail, Road Warrior, could happen someday, despite all the above depressing lost tape talk.......
I confess: I had the LP as a teenager. And I sold it when I switched to CDs and thinned out my LP library.
I did not watch the film for ages. But recently I came across a very cheap blu ray box of all three Mad Max movies. And I listened to some samples of May´s score on youtube, immediately recognizing the haunting themes... and making me buy the overpriced CD on amazon. That should teach me a lesson.
What a splendid score. Still great after all these years.
I just watched the BluRay and realized that the title is no longer "The Road Warrior" but instead "Mad Max 2". I thought I'd never see the day. Plus there are snippets of footage and dialogue that was not in the American version that i haven't seen before (extended arrow removal, shot of Wez's dead boyfriend with the boomerang in his head and more lines of speech from the compound's leader).
I certainly would love to own an expanded version of the score. The original soundtrack is just an editing mess.
I remember hearing some where that it was released as "Mad Max 2" overseas and called "The Road Warrior" in the US. Was this true? Similar to what happened with "Hoosiers" in the US and "Best Shot" overseas. What about "The Thief and the Cobbler" and "Arabian Knight"?
