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HAPPY NEAR YEAR EVERYONE! As requested, here is a fresh new poll for your participation. But first, a review of where we are at...
In March of 2016 I held the first informal, unofficial poll here about what Varese-owned-in-perpetuity Goldsmith scores you most hoped they would tackle next in a definitive edition:
http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?pageID=1&forumID=1&threadID=114138&archive=0
The top three winners of that poll (SMALL SOLDIERS, AIR FORCE ONE, and US MARSHALS) were subsequently expanded by Varese, along with others like THE HAUNTING and THE OMEN (a 40th Anniversary edition adding the 6 minutes missing from the previous Deluxe Edition). Then over four years later in April of 2020 I held a follow up poll honoring a request from Tom McGuire to expand it to a top 10 ranked choice vote. This was even more successful!
https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=140019&forumID=1&archive=0
In just over two and a half years since that poll, a whopping EIGHT titles have been crossed off the Varese list -- NINE if you count La-La Land's fantastic new THE 'BURBS expansion (but we've already known for some time that Varese didn't have perpetuity rights on that title so I didn't include it as an option in the last poll). MATINEE and HOLLOW MAN had been assumed to be controlled by Varese in perpetuity, but were both given fantastic surprise expansions this past year from Intrada. And in 2021 and 2022 alone, Varese themselves released expanded Deluxe Editions of LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION, ALONG CAME A SPIDER, LIONHEART, LOVE FIELD, RUDY, and most recently L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. WOW! Together, Varese and Intrada demolished HALF of the top 15 titles in the poll, the last time it was conducted!
In fact there now aren't many more than 15 total remaining unexpanded Varese Goldsmith albums... this frankly may well be the last time I bother running this poll afresh, if they keep up this pace! (At the very least it might have to go back to a top 5 rather than top 10.)
There is ONE surprise new option which I never presented as a voting option before, because I had heard that the existing CD had everything recorded for the film and then some: the delightful FIERCE CREATURES. Thanks to Gergely Hubai, I learned that the existing half hour Varese album actually omitted the film versions of quite a few cues! (See below for more info.)
So without further ado (wasn't that enough?), the voting options this time around are as follows, accompanied by some fun and enticing custom cover art made by this board's very own Spinmeister:
Our Man Flint (1966) -- See below. If voting for one or both Flint scores, please treat them as separate titles/entries for poll tallying purposes, rather than combining them into one.
In Like Flint (1967) -- Intrada premiered the full wonderful LP album recordings of these two fun scores on CD several years ago, but the original film recordings are very different and much longer. Varese released a twofer with excerpts from both back in the 90s, and thus is the only label who can expand on those film recordings for CD. We do at least know that the complete scores survive thanks to Twilight Time, which included the full score tracks from the films as an isolated bonus feature on their Blu-ray releases. While offering a great deal more music (about twice as much!) these iso tracks are still not complete because they replicate microedits and omit all music that the films themselves omitted. Therefore a complete Deluxe Edition for both scores is essential.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) -- While Varese rarely acquired perpetuity rights for their limited Club releases like this one, I think this is a case where they may have, because they are still selling the album digitally on iTunes. FSM member Steven Lloyd said during the last poll that about three minutes of great score material (at least) was unreleased, plus the film version of the title song, plus some original source music. I have since confirmed from watching the film that almost SEVEN minutes of Goldsmith's work in the film remains unreleased, including some key moments:https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=150235&forumID=1&archive=0
(Also in that thread, someone recently pointed out that there's an unreleased-on-CD Richard Gillis single version of the Main Title song Goldsmith wrote, without the instrumental interludes written for the film.)
The Mephisto Waltz (1971) -- The Varese 90s release of this score was not complete as previously thought. MarkS in the previous thread wrote, "The Varese "Mephisto Waltz" CD is not complete. There are three cues, totaling just about exactly six minutes missing. They are for the scene where Paula researches Duncan Ely's background at the library, the scene where Paula finds Bill dead on the beach, and the scene where Paula strikes her deal with the devil. All three cues, but especially the last one are really good. The last one is creepy as hell." (Steven Lloyd confirmed.) If these could be restored and the whole recording given the Mattesino/Bulk/Malone treatment with modern technology, I'd be all over a new issue! (The Varese edition also has mixing issues and some missing overlays/sweeteners.)
The Other (1972) -- A 22 minute single track suite (with source music annoyingly mixed in) was released as a "bonus" on Varese's Mephisto Waltz album, similar to how they included a lengthy suite from Escape from the Planet of the Apes on the end of their Planet of the Apes album. It was confirmed by Kritzerland's Bruce Kimmel years ago that this granted them perpetuity rights to this title (otherwise he would have released it complete long ago). A superb and underrated score, the absence of a Deluxe Edition is particularly frustrating because many cues were written and recorded but dropped from the film. As with the Flints, Twilight Time released the score as an isolated track when they put the film out on Blu-ray, restoring some of these unused cues in the process. Their iso track almost doubles the length of the music available, but a CD release (with separate tracks for each cue, as Varese teased us with three of them on their Jerry Goldsmith at 20th Century Fox box set) is still very deserved, especially since like the Flint scores, film micro-edits were still preserved and in fact the Varese suite features some music that is not on the Twilight Time track.
Damien: Omen II (1978) -- The Varese Deluxe Edition was the only one of the trilogy that included the complete score, but sadly the film recording had inferior sound quality and even was outright damaged in a couple places. I've added this to the poll because many people have expressed a desire for Michael Mattesino (or perhaps Chris Malone, the wizard who rescued Take Her, She's Mine?) to tackle the tapes with current sound restoration tools. For what it's worth, Mike himself near the end of this Goldsmith Odyssey conversation revealed that he has a strong desire to revisit Damien: Omen II with modern tech, as he wasn't even satisfied with his own work on it at the time (it was an early sound assignment for him and he didn't work on the other two Omen DEs, so him being given the reins for a revisit of all three scores would be amazing IMO!)
https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/11302249-odyssey-soundtrack-spotlight-goldsmith-at-20th-vol-v-music-for-television-1968-1975
The Final Conflict (1981) -- Does Varese Sarabande control this one in perpetuity, or does Robert Townson's Masters Film Music? I'm not sure, but after Varese expanded Lionheart (which was supposedly Masters Film Music) in 2021 I'm going to include this as an option again for interested folks, just in case. There are four cues missing and this score is such a masterpiece it absolutely deserves to be out there complete.
(We already have Deluxe Edition covers for these two Omen sequels already, of course, but Spinmeister if you want to make new ones in the style of Varese's complete Anniversary Edition of the original The Omen, please do and I'll add them to this post!)
Raggedy Man (1981) -- This received a much-needed reissue as Robert Townson's final Goldsmith release at Varese (and he confirmed to me in an interview that they do indeed control it in perpetuity), but it was a straight Encore Edition and very limited so that it sold out extremely quickly. This is a great score and if there's any other music on the original recording sessions to be premiered, I think a new edition would still be welcomed by many. Though there was barely any more unreleased music in the film itself, the written sketches would seem to indicate a decent amount of music might have been left off both the film and the album:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-biUdrs5TbWb-Yv8C2zcYLecRF540nv2VuUvMKBSGjQ/edit?usp=sharing
Mom and Dad Save the World (1991) -- This quirky, creative, underrated score is like an honorary Dante score to me, in terms of its zany sound. There is a substantial amount of missing music included on an unmentionable but in terrible sound quality; a new Deluxe Edition is a must!
Medicine Man (1992) -- A highlight of Goldsmith's 90s output, we know there is at least a quarter hour of unreleased music thanks to DeputyRiley's fine Complete Score Breakdown:
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=109823&forumID=1&archive=0
Mr. Baseball (1992) -- This score is much-derided (despite a pretty love theme) and would probably be near the bottom of most people's lists in terms of wanting an expansion, but despite some annoying parts I think it has its charms. There are just a few short unreleased cues (and they could be put into chronological order for the first time): https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=138082&forumID=1&archive=0
Malice (1993) -- DeputyRiley did a complete score breakdown and found only 7 minutes of unreleased music in the film, though as always there may be unused cues or alternates that he couldn't account for:
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=110814&forumID=1&archive=0
Angie (1994) -- I have yet to see the film to see how much missing music there is in terms of length, but there seem to be nine unreleased cues: https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=138083&forumID=1&archive=0
City Hall (1996) -- According to DeputyRiley's Complete Score Breakdown, there's almost 10 minutes of music in the film that's unreleased on album, and of course it's always possible that there are unused cues or alternates that could bulk up an expansion even more: http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=110759&forumID=1&archive=0
Fierce Creatures (1997) -- Basically, the existing Varese album is something akin to Williams's The River/E.T./Jane Eyre -- half the original album was specially recorded FOR the album, and the film versions of certain cues went unreleased. I haven't totaled up the time yet, but Mr. Hubai was trying to make a homemade isolated score track for himself, and was surprised to discover that multiple cues in the film did not exist on the album in their original form/recording, that could be matched up with the film. So there's room for a new definitive Deluxe Edition for this score after all! Now for the first time, it's available as a voting option.
The 13th Warrior (1999) -- About 18 minutes are unreleased, and while there are no particularly standout cues among these, it is still made up of good variations on the released material and I trust will be put out some day, hopefully with Graeme Revell's unused score which was one of his strongest works.
Timeline (2003) -- A wonderfully complex score with both sci-fi and fantasy elements, an official release of the complete "unused" work would be great to get even though Varese's existing album was one of their more successful abbreviated arrangements.
NOTE -- Varese definitely does NOT control the following scores in perpetuity despite their previous releases: Justine (they sublicensed the original album recording from the record label and premiered the film recording from the film studio; any other label should theoretically be able to do this and add the several missing film cues), Leviathan (this came out in 1989 just before that became their standard approach), MacArthur (they only licensed the original UMG-owned album, which itself was a re-recording; the film recording is unreleased), The Secret of NIMH (expanded by Intrada several years ago though still not complete), Supergirl (expanded by Silva in the 90s; as with Legend they hold perpetuity rights themselves as a result), and Link (since re-released by both Intrada and LLL, though not expanded as the missing cues apparently do not survive in good sound quality).
Please remember while giving your list (up to 10 titles) to RANK them, as that will give your higher priorities more weight when I tally points (top pick gets 10 points, second place gets 9 points, etc.) For anyone who neglects to explicitly rank their picks, I will simply apply points in the order they are listed...
Without further ado, here are MY new top 10 picks, and I invite everyone else to do the same:
1. Medicine Man
2. The Other
3. Mom and Dad Save the World
4. The Ballad of Cable Hogue
5. The Final Conflict
6. The Mephisto Waltz
7. Our Man Flint
8. City Hall
9. Fierce Creatures
10. In Like Flint
Once it seems like everyone has weighed in who wants to, I'll present the vote/point tallies and ultimate ranking of what the FSM board community is most excited for.
Yavar
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I can’t help but copy over a great post by Steven Lloyd in the previous poll thread, expanding on Cable Hogue and Mephisto Waltz:
“ It's delightful to learn that you and Kevin hold THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE in such high regard. I'm the rare hardcore Peckinpah fan who holds this as my personal favorite film (as it remained the director's favorite among his own work). I don't actually expect the label would bother expanding this one, since the original edition languished in the Varese warehouse for nearly four years until the picture was issued in a DVD box set along with three more famous Peckinpah Westerns ... after which the Varese CD sold out within a few months. I don't expect that timing was coincidental. If people will only watch the film, they appreciate it; including Goldsmith's music!
The HOGUE score remains underappreciated because the film is still so little-seen, and the general Goldsmith market likely perceives it as disappointingly short, on top of featuring three songs (two even written by someone else). But as a few of us know, it's definitely peak Goldsmith in both beauty and narrative power. (People don't have to settle for just MY word for this: I was delighted to learn years ago that Joe Dante named it as his own favorite Goldsmith score of all.)
But I'll get to business by confirming that the initial Varese CD was definitely not complete, even though its booklet notes offered no explanation for certain issues.
1) Most important to me, the disc is missing the opening 2:46 from the score's longest cue ("The Guest") -- which happens to contain the single finest instrumental variant of the composer's main theme, covering Hildy's arrival at Cable Springs. Damage to elements? I have no idea, since nothing was mentioned about this.
2) A few minutes of banjo/fiddle/tack piano source music heard from the town saloon are expendable, yet fun in context. But because years ago I had the chance to leaf through a music file on the Warner Bros. lot, I saw that two of those source pieces (possibly the ones I like best) were originals written by Arthur Morton. (There's also yet another Richard Gillis song there, sung briefly onscreen, that has never been missed.)
And 3) the existing CD opens with an alternate take of the film's Main Title song -- at least a different vocal take, in which lyricist Gillis conspicuously chuckles as he sings the word "grinning." (That's so "on the nose" that I've no doubt Goldsmith insisted on more subtlety; but the preferable film take is not what ended up on the Varese release.) EDIT: I forgot to specify the offending "chuckle" as coming only during the final line of the Main Title's vocal track.
By the way, Kevin -- the Jason Robards/Stella Stevens vocal duet of "Butterfly Mornin's" was recorded in mono on the set (which was reported elsewhere, as well as in the CD booklet notes), so it would remain the same even in a remastered edition.
I offer the above for the record. As a devotee I'd love for the gem of CABLE HOGUE to be complete on disc; but my grasp of reality keeps me from believing that Varese would find a revisit worth their investment. I thank those who are left for having issued it the first time, as I had wanted it for more than 30 years!
The existing MEPHISTO WALTZ disc definitely lacks the three cues identified earlier by MarkS. (The original booklet notes do not claim "completeness," to the label's credit). I agree that the final two missing cues are highlights -- especially when a ceremony summons Satan himself, who appears only as a human shadow cast across Jacqueline Bisset as her eyes widen, and the string section's notes rise up to and right past the top of the scale!”
Yavar
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Thank tou, Yavar, for yet another interesting topic on Goldsmith! 
From that list I vote for:
1. 13th WARRIOR - would love a 2- or even 3- CD set (every note by Goldsmith + the rejected Revel)
2. TIMELINE - not sure how much music might be missing from the original release, hopefully some interesting alternates
3. MALICE - I just love that movie and its score, but most probably only some snippets are missing
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Mr. Baseball because so many people seem to hate it for some reason.
Coz it's shit!
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As I see, many of the titles have been released, and here and there it's just about a few more minutes of music. Now I am a big Goldsmith fan, and have bought lots of expanded editions (especially of Goldsmith) soundtracks, but I seriously doubt I would re-buy many of these scores yet again, but then again, my aim is not to have every single note or cue composed.
But it goes to show how well explored Goldsmith territory really is. I would go for a more complete (and restored) release of THE OTHER (great score), and a remastered/improved THE MEPHISTO WALTZ. Possibly an expanded TIMELINE (I don't know how much is missing?). I love THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE, great Goldsmith score (and I enjoyed the movie as well... in fact, years ago, that was one of the scores I always mentioned in rec.music.movies as one I wished would get a CD release), but I don't think I would rebuy it again just for a few more minutes of music (and the "chuckle" fits the sung version quite well, so I sure don't mind that.) Likewise FIERCE CREATURES, the album is great as it is (and already much longer than the film score proper), I would not double dip.
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13th Warrior is top candidate (but probably complicated by Disney - same as Medicine Man?) and with most unreleased material (well, maybe 2nd only to Timeline).
Mom and Dad Save the World would be excellent too although it may be a bit too repetitive.
Naw, Mom and Dad is endlessly inventive/creative! 13th Warrior arguably has more repetition, but just as with the Deluxe Rudy, the missing 18 minutes would still flesh out the score a lot more.
I could be wrong but I think Angie is another Disney-controlled title at this point, making a trio of sorts with 13th Warrior and Medicine Man. So expansions probably depend on what sort of perpetuity agreements Varese has.
So barring any different instruction from you, I will rank your choices 1. 13th Warrior and 2. Mom and Dad Save the World, Lokutus. Any others you have any interest in? Medicine Man? Folks, you can list up to 10 titles! (Roy and David, I see you both and kudos for giving an excellent full 10!)
Thank you, Yavar, for yet another interesting topic on Goldsmith!
My pleasure!
From that list I vote for:
1. 13th WARRIOR - would love a 2- or even 3- CD set (every note by Goldsmith + the rejected Revel)
Indeed I'd be even more excited for a premiere of the Revell score. I'm not a huge fan of his in general but this is one of his best.
2. TIMELINE - not sure how much music might be missing from the original release, hopefully some interesting alternates
Judging from the leak (which preceded the Varese album!) the complete score is about 74 minutes (39 cues). That doesn't include any alternates so if some interesting ones exist it could justify a 2 CD set.
3. MALICE - I just love that movie and its score, but most probably only some snippets are missing
Over 7 minutes of unreleased music in the film itself (and of course there may be unused cues or alternates); here are the details: https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=110814&forumID=1&archive=0
The 13th Warrior, though Timeline would be good, too.
I'll put these down as your first (10 points) and second (9 points) choices respectively, then. No others you're interested in at all?
Mr. Baseball because so many people seem to hate it for some reason.
MacArthur because it slaps.
Anything but Criminal Law.
Latter two aren't part of the poll (they sub-licensed MacArthur from MCA/Universal and Criminal Law was done well before they started normally getting perpetuity licenses, as far as we know). Are there any others besides Mr. Baseball you're interested in expansions of? If not I'll just put in 10 points for that one.
As I see, many of the titles have been released, and here and there it's just about a few more minutes of music. Now I am a big Goldsmith fan, and have bought lots of expanded editions (especially of Goldsmith) soundtracks, but I seriously doubt I would re-buy many of these scores yet again, but then again, my aim is not to have every single note or cue composed.
But it goes to show how well explored Goldsmith territory really is. I would go for a more complete (and restored) release of THE OTHER (great score), and a remastered/improved THE MEPHISTO WALTZ. Possibly an expanded TIMELINE (I don't know how much is missing?). I love THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE, great Goldsmith score (and I enjoyed the movie as well... in fact, years ago, that was one of the scores I always mentioned in rec.music.movies as one I wished would get a CD release), but I don't think I would rebuy it again just for a few more minutes of music (and the "chuckle" fits the sung version quite well, so I sure don't mind that.) Likewise FIERCE CREATURES, the album is great as it is (and already much longer than the film score proper), I would not double dip.
I'll put this in as a ranked choice vote for 1. The Other (10 points), 2. Mephisto Waltz (9 points), and 3. Timeline (8 points) -- are those the only three you think you'd double dip for?
Yavar
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1. Mephisto Waltz
2. The Other
3. City Hall
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We have been very lucky with Rudy and L.A. Confidential expansions last year but we want some more !
1/ Timeline
Exciting, futurist, virile music. It's a score I love, even the strange horned synth sound is a favorite of mine. If I remember well, Goldsmith recorded his score and then was too ill to return to make all the changes due to continuous edit work. Beyond more music than what is on the OST, there could be some alternate cues too.
2/ The 13th Warrior
It got a good OST but the score from the scene when the choice of the 13 warriors is made is missing on the CD, that's a cue I really want to hear on CD.
3/ City Hall
A perfect urban/jazz score. And those timbals, I'm crazy about it ! I'd love to hear the complete recording.
4/ Malice
Malice is often considered as too much derivated from Basic Instinct and as it's the kind of score I could listen to every variation done by JG, a DE would really please me.
5/ Medecine Man
I love the flow from the OST from Medecine Man. But more is better I guess.
6/ The Other
Such a distrurbing film, Goldsmith really nailed it perfectly with his uncomfortable score.
7/ Mephisto Waltz
Also a score that deserves a new edition after the previous poor sounding CD.
8/ Mom & Dad Save the World
M&DSTW is not a favorite of mine but I guess the complete recording could bring more balance to this score, so I'm in !
9/ Raggedy Man
A lovely score and here too, more is better.
10/ Damien - Omen II
For a better treatment of the damaged cues. Today technology would do miracles on this score.
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