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La-La Land Records re-issues John Williams' Jane Eyre OST May 22nd 2012


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JANE EYRE

MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS

LLLCD 1214

LIMITED EDITION OF 2000 UNITS

Retail Price: $19.98

REISSUE PRODUCED BY LUKAS KENDALL

MASTERED BY DOUG SCHWARTZ AT MULLHOLLAND MUSIC

LINER NOTES BY JEFF ELDRIDGE

ART DIRECTION BY JIM TITUS

La La Land Records and Capitol Records are proud to reissue one of John Williams greatest scores, JANE EYRE, from the 1971 film starring George C Scott and Susannah York. For this CD reissue engineer Doug Schwartz worked from the ¼” 2 track stereo album masters from the Capitol EMI vault. The stunning 24 page booklet by Jim Titus features in depth liner notes by Williams historian Jeff Eldridge as well as reprints the notes from the original LP package. Sadly the complete recorded score has been lost to the ages and all that has survived is the LP masters. The tracks are identical to previous releases, but the sound has been greatly improved and Jim’s packaging is worth the price alone! While not the “definitive edition” we had hoped for, this release sure packs a wallop! If you never owned this score now is the time to pick it up!

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Damn! I had my thread ready to post all day just waiting for the announcement to paste in, then I finally had to leave work and MV posts it 3 minutes later :P

Can't wait to buy this, I don't own this OST!

Bummer the session elements are lost to time.

LOVE the dig at Varese with the "definitive edition" line :)

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This score is achingly beautiful, but I'm curious how improved the sound is. I really liked how "woody" the original recording sounded

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mm i have the silvascreen. lets see if the improved sound be worth it.

its a shame that Williams own favorite was lost forever...

Hw may have not wanted to release more music though, so maybe he doesnt give a crap ;)

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Nice to see JANE EYRE reissued.

I only had a CD-R of the original, white-cover Silva release (which went for like a gazillion dollars at its rarity height), but picked up the reissue a few years ago. I'm quite content with that, but I must admit I'm intrigued by the 'improved sound' aspect. It's one of my favourite scores of his.

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Who says "definitive" must mean "complete"? They aren't lying, it's a classic album and it that sense - definitive to many.

Karol

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Who says "definitive" must mean "complete"? They aren't lying, it's a classic album and it that sense - definitive to many.

Karol

The film score culture says that definitive=complete. Varese knew that's how we would interpret it.

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If Varese knew this, why would they put it in the PR? To piss off people on purpose? Doesn't make sense.

I'm not even sure what "film score culture" is btw.

Karol

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Well, this is the most unexciting Williams release in a while

The only dilemna is getting the music in slightly better sound or not

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I think the score is really lovely/ beautiful. I'm really sad to hear that the masters of the actual score are lost. I always hate hearing that, but oh well...

I'll definitely get this for the improved (hopefully noticeably) sound quality.

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Why didn't La La Land invent a time machine to go back in time and retrieve the original masters? This is just utter laziness. It's disappointing that the labels aren't willing to go the extra mile for deserving fans like us anymore.

Except LLL specifically said it wasn't a definitive version, and Varese specifically said it was.

Except people have double standards.

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"Sadly the complete recorded score has been lost to the ages and all that has survived is the LP masters. " - Press Release

NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How utterly sad. One of my favorite scores and I've badly wanted to hear it in its complete glory. I have the first two LP re-release CDs, and I'll of course have to get this as well, but its with a sad heart. This means the only way to hear the complete score is to strain to hear it in the old crappy mono DVD? :(

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Shit, the labels are laying it on thick. I've got like $200 worth in my Intrada cart, $150 worth of Italian westerns in my SAE cart, and now 3 LLL scores next Tuesday. Plus I just ordered Chinatown.

Need a job fast.

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Shit, the labels are laying it on thick. I've got like $200 worth in my Intrada cart, $150 worth of Italian westerns in my SAE cart, and now 3 LLL scores next Tuesday. Plus I just ordered Chinatown.

Need a job fast.

That's why I've been picky lately and getting stuff I'm only really interested in.

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Excellent news! Now many more people have a chance to get to know this beautiful score. :)

The sad part is that the session masters are lost and now we never get to hear the complete presentation of this marvellous early score from JW. :(

I just might pick this up to update the sound of the original.

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Ironically, it is the same type of product as Varese's Chinatown.

Karol

Exactly. Pity that after all these two must-buy (4 me) releases come out for sale almost at the same moment.

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Ironically, it is the same type of product as Varese's Chinatown.

Karol

Product is similar but it is not quite the same situation if you want to get down to details. LLL made things very clear, unlike Varese with Chinatown, stating that the masters for the entire score were lost and that was the reason for them to present only the LP presentation. See here we have a reason for the release not being complete. Varese should just word their adverts better since they know the pedantic consumers they are directed at. ;)

Oh and definitive means, at least as I would take it, something which is complete or comprehensive. I am just glad Varese didn't blurt out anything as dangerous as quintessential. :P

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Ironically, it is the same type of product as Varese's Chinatown.

Karol

Except LLL specifically said it wasn't a definitive version, and Varese specifically said it was.

And there isnt any information given by Varese regarding the loss of the scoring sessions marter tapes (therefore explainning the straight re-issue), either.

Who says "definitive" must mean "complete"? They aren't lying, it's a classic album and it that sense - definitive to many.

Karol

Definitive as in 'the ultimate release'. AKA=no better assembly can be produced, since no other sources exist.

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I am sure Jeff Eldridge's notes will be very illuminating on this new release. And of course we can wonder how much they have improved the sound quality of the original which is a bit on the rough side.

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Great to see this masterpiece released again. If you consider yourself a true Williams fan, you MUST have Jane Eyre in your collection. Period.

It's heartbreaking the original sessions tapes are forever gone. There's quite a lot of great material that didn't end up in the OST album (which is a re-recording).

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We need to to raise some sum of money and hire James Fitzpatrick to re-record the whole thing.

Karol

Sadly the sheet music is lost as well. Apparently it was a fire hazard for the studios when it was in the storage so the insurance people got rid of it along with a lot of other great music. Williams mentions this in one of his interviews with Dyer for the Boston Globe when he speaks of retaining his own scores to preserve them, pointing out that he had to transcribe the Jane Eyre Suite that Pops recorded and performed in concerts by ear from the OST LP to be able to play it.

That said I do not know if any conductor scores survived. Then again if Williams had a copy why couldn't he just use that for the performances.

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I'm sure Williams still has at least some of the sketches in his own library. What is probably lost is the full orchestral score and the various single instruments parts.

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You're right. Besides some of those re-recordings were being reconstructed by ear. Like Romeo and Juliet (which is fantastic) and some bits of others (El Cid, I think?). Isn't Varese's Superman recording also a reconstruction? There must be a way, if it means forcing Williams to write the score all over again. ;)

Karol

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Well this is certainly a job for film music preservators and reconstruct experts. :) Rota's Romeo and Juliet is an excellent case in point of how well they can sound even if done by ear.

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Fitzpatrick is a professed fan of this score, so I think it could be possible.

I surely hope so.
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2000 units? Honestly? For a John Williams score that has been famously rare and OOP that it commands Predator prices.

I'm really glad the score is coming out because it's incredible, but really.

Oh well. I guess I'll have to wait for the Intrada reissue.

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This score is achingly beautiful, but I'm curious how improved the sound is. I really liked how "woody" the original recording sounded

Couldn't agree more!

Hmm I have the old release so I'm not sure I need this. At least not now.

I'm getting it for the liner notes and the reportedly improved sound -- though that may depend of the ears...

Who says "definitive" must mean "complete"? They aren't lying, it's a classic album and it that sense - definitive to many.

Karol

The film score culture says that definitive=complete. Varese knew that's how we would interpret it.

That's why I'm not a film score fan. To me, definitive is the composer's (or eventually, performer's) own vision of his own work.

I do understand that for the film music fan base, definitive has that meaning, and I fully understand the frustration regarding the Varese Sarabande PR mess-up.

I'm sure Williams still has at least some of the sketches in his own library. What is probably lost is the full orchestral score and the various single instruments parts.

The whole thing is reportedly lost. Late in 1979, after invitation to become Arthur Fiedler's sucessor, Williams prepared the concert suite of the score, and had to go back to the LP to transcribe the music. So, if he had no sketches at the time, they are most probably lost as well.

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We need to to raise some sum of money and hire James Fitzpatrick to re-record the whole thing.

Karol

It actually wouldn't be a bad idea for the labels to somehow incorporate Kickstarter into their business models. Want a specific score? Well pledge this amount of money and if we reach the goal we'll releases it...

I'm sure you'd have crazy rich people donating a lot to see their grails released. Maybe one for complete prequels will get Lucasfilm's attention.

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Who says "definitive" must mean "complete"? They aren't lying, it's a classic album and it that sense - definitive to many.

Karol

The film score culture says that definitive=complete. Varese knew that's how we would interpret it.

Then boo on 'film score culture' (whatever that is)! ;)

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