La-La Land to release 15-disc original series score set

[SchwEnt]

I also got the same email and it mentions a limited run of 6000 units, so plan your strategy accordingly. I'll have to admit, I'm in.

[DonIago]

(wonders whether he can get them wholesale)

[JimZipCode]

I have to say, I'm almost as excited about Jeff Bond's hundred-page booklet, as I am about the music itself.

Indysolo wrote:

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We played "Far Out Jam" at the panel where we announced this.
Neil

Awesome.

I notice you didn't precisely answer the question. Are Adam's songs from Way To Eden going to be in the set? I know it was emphasized, "every piece of music", but it's not crystal clear that Adam's songs fit into the category.

Are you allowed to answer content questions? "Musicology" -type questions? Or is that all reserved to Bond's booklet?

The reason I ask is, I've read that no "original" music was written specifically for Way To Eden, except that Charles Napier wrote or co-wrote Adam's songs. But I've always had two nagging questions about that.

1. The jam, of course. Bond writes in his book that the jam was recycled from the lounge scene in Charlie X. Is that true? The tune is definitely not in any version of Charlie X that I've seen. If there was written-but-unused music from Charlie X, then that would explain it. Is that the case? Was the jam written for Way To Eden, or Charlie X? Or did it come from somewhere else?
2. There is a cue in Way To Eden played at the death of Adam, and also at the death of Dr Sevrin, that I've never heard in any other episode. It's a very gentle, almost bell-like cue (maybe glockenspiel?? with maybe some harp thrown in?). You can hear it at 45:27 and 47:21 on the episode at CBS.com. Very pretty, and very brief. The cue echoes the tune of Adam's song "Headin' Out To Eden" (eg at 38:00 on CBS.com).

Jeff Bond's book says that no new scoring was done for this episode. But that cue uses the same tune as Adam's song! Either Napier sang the song, and then a composer wrote the cue to ironically echo it – which is a beautiful and tragic effect, absolutely brilliant by whoever did it – or else the cue existed previous to the episode, and Napier worked with some arranger to create songs that fit the tune of the cue. And that's interesting too.

What's the deal with the music in Way To Eden? And, will all of it be in the set? (Including the pretty little "death cue" for Adam And Sevrin?) And, will Bond's booklet cover all that stuff for this episode?


Thanks!

Jim

[Indysolo]

Music was recorded for that episode and yes, we have it. Some of the music was recorded on set though and that we don't have. You'll have to get your clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy elsewhere.

One quick Charlie X bit is in the episode (when Adam samples Spock's Vulcan harp) but otherwise it's all new.

[JimZipCode]

Christopher wrote:

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It's expensive and difficult to make

I don't think this point has been hit hard enough in this thread. The expenses to make a box set like this are not limited to CD-printing and booklet-printing. There must have been a crapload of research that went into this. For example, the question I just asked about the music in Way To Eden. I'm sure Jeff Bond went with the best info he had, when he wrote his book, but it seems like there's more to the story given the relationship between one of Adam's songs and the score-cue I mentioned. Someone had to track that down, and that was work. (Possibly it was delightful and interesting work, but effort was still put forth.)

That's one example. I'm sure there were dozens of similar cases. At a minimum, written records of recording sessions had to be examined, and possibly cue sheets for every episode (even ones presumed to be track jobs), and possibly the surviving composers interviewed. That's just to gather info. There was also the work done on the re-mastering, which is not something I know anything about.

La-La Land was in it pretty deep, from an expense standpoint, before they ever got near being ready to print a single disc. Maybe a lot of people contributed their effort and knowledge, because it was a labor of love, but there were still expenses. The price we've been quoted seems quite fair, given the effort involved. (I value the Jeff Bond booklet pretty highly, after reading his book.)

I'm sure there has been price gouging on other TOS stuff. This doesn't seem to be an example of it, though.

[JimZipCode]

Indysolo wrote:

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Music was recorded for that episode and yes, we have it. Some of the music was recorded on set though and that we don't have. You'll have to get your clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy elsewhere.
One quick Charlie X bit is in the episode (when Adam samples Spock's Vulcan harp) but otherwise it's all new.

Then I'm gonna crack my knuckles and jump for joy!

Thanks

[!NCC¡]

This is gonna be one sweet release I just hope it is not wicked expensive

[M]

Indysolo wrote:

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Music was recorded for that episode and yes, we have it. Some of the music was recorded on set though and that we don't have. You'll have to get your clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy elsewhere.

I'm not sure how to read this. Does that mean Adam's songs won't be part of the release? What exactly was recorded "on set"? I'm confused.

Otherwise, I definitely want to get this set, but I'm unsure whether it will make its way to Germany without problems.

[Scotty]

!NCC¡ wrote:

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This is gonna be one sweet release I just hope it is not wicked expensive

Price was just announced on FB: $225 dollars and a november release. Limited to 6000 copies.

I knew this was going to be expensive, but I won't be buying. The collector in me wants this. But I don't really love the music of TOS the way I love the music of TNG. This is a fantastic release and well worth the price for fans. Just not for me.

[Warped9]

Scotty wrote:

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Price was just announced on FB: $225 dollars and a november release. Limited to 6000 copies.

I knew this was going to be expensive, but I won't be buying. The collector in me wants this. But I don't really love the music of TOS the way I love the music of TNG. This is a fantastic release and well worth the price for fans. Just not for me.

Completely opposite for me. For my tastes even TNG's best efforts are soulless noise compared to TOS' music.

[TREK_GOD_1]

NCC-1701 wrote:

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I'm not sure how to read this. Does that mean Adam's songs won't be part of the release? What exactly was recorded "on set"? I'm confused.

I think:

You'll have to get your clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy elsewhere.

...could be a direct reference to on-set songs (meant to be Adam improvising) which were not recorded seperately in the studio, so the track is not isolated from the rest of the dialogue. I'm not sure if this also refers to the "judge/jail" song Adam sings to mock Kirk in a corridor, but if i'm correct, then such songs would not be included in the box set. As much as I would like the improvised songs to be a part of the package, I can weather it, considering the sheer volume of the rest of the set.

Just to think about this release makes the mind swim with menories and expectations.

[Scotty]

Warped9 wrote:

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Completely opposite for me. For my tastes even TNG's best efforts are soulless noise compared to TOS' music.

i think a lot of people will agree with you. I do too, in part. The Next Generation had more atmospheric music, TOS had a rich, melodic orchestral score.

But do not underestimate the nostalgia factor. You might've grown up with TOS and love the show partly because of the music. I'm an eighties child, grew up with TNG and love the scores, especially by Ron Jones. I grew up listening to it. I don't hold that love for TOS. I respect the show, enjoy it, but don't love it. Same with the music. Technically and creatively it is better than TNG. But I just don't love it.

[Christopher]

NCC-1701 wrote:

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I'm not sure how to read this. Does that mean Adam's songs won't be part of the release? What exactly was recorded "on set"? I'm confused.

I have that old bootleg Star Trek Bloopers album made from discarded audio reels from the third season (I bought it before I knew it was bootleg or understood the concept, honest), and that includes audio of the songs from "The Way to Eden," which was informative about the process. Normally for songs in TV shows (this being no exception), the performers initially do them in a recording studio for optimal sound quality; then when they actually perform the song for the camera, the pre-recorded audio is played back on set and the performers sing along for lip sync. So on the bootleg album you can hear the recording that was actually done on the set, with the live performers singing along with the pre-recorded audio, so you hear their voices doubled over. Then, of course, in the final episode, only the prerecorded, best-quality audio track from the recording studio is used, dubbed over the visuals filmed on the set. (This is why you often see subtle lip-sync errors even when it's definitely the voice of the person you see singing.)

Presumably what's on this album will be the songs as recorded in the sound studio. What isn't on the album would be the little bits that weren't prerecorded, like Adam's "clean bill of health" ad-lib. If they were recorded on set, they'd basically count as part of the dialogue rather than the soundtrack.

Indysolo, can you tell us the music and lyric credits for the "Way to Eden" songs? I've been wondering that for ages.

[M]

Ah, thanks for the clarifications. So, in other words, "The Goodland", "Heading Out to Eden", "Hey Out There!" and the Spock/Adam jam will be part of this release, right? They sure sound pre-recorded to me.

I hope me constantly asking for these songs doesn't annoy anyone. It's just that they are a really big selling point for me, when it comes to this set.

[JimZipCode]

Thought I posted this yesterday:

NCC-1701 wrote:

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I hope me constantly asking for these songs doesn't annoy anyone. It's just that they are a really big selling point for me, when it comes to this set.

Interesting. Personally, the music from Way To Eden would be about the 15th- or 20th-ranked selling point of the set, for me. I do like some stuff from Way To Eden: I like Adam's song "Headin' Out To Eden" (the slow version), and of course the jam. I like those things a lot.

But there are for more interesting things, in a potential full-TOS collection. I'm much more interested in the original score for Enemy Within, and Adonis, and Friday's Child. Much more interested in the full score for the 2nd pilot. Very interested in remastered scores for Amok Time and Doomsday Machine. A full Charlie X! That's a helluva score, full of music that was used thruout season 1, and library cues for later seasons. Etc.

For me, the answer on the Way To Eden music is most interesting because of what it says about the "thoroughness" of the research etc behind this compilation. Before now there was some confusion about the music in the episode, with some sources saying no new music was recorded, and other sources disagreeing. If the guys behind the compilation went to the trouble of resolving the questions for this crappy 3rd-season episode, which is one of the most-reviled (though in fact I like the episode), then to me that speaks volumes on how comprehensive this collection is.

Very excited. It's been almost 48 hours since I first learned about the compilation, and I'm still very excited.