New Complete TWOK Remastered Soundtrack Album From LA LA LAND

Looks like La La Land is issuing a new complete, limited edition TWOK soundtrack album this month.

They just announced it on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lalalandrecords/photos/a.181243738754/10160096008888755/?type=3&theater

I might pick this up since I really love both their TOS (complete television score) and TMP releases.

 

I’m curious what they’re adding to the set to expand it to 2 discs, since the previous release was complete to my knowledge? Maybe they’re adding in the original soundtrack LP on the second disc?

 

Knowing La La Land... it'll be something special.

 

That'd be my guess, seeing as the cover doesn't appear to call out any kind of expansion. Remastered edition of previously available material. Maybe.

 

From Neil. S Bulk's posts on the filmscoremonthly.com thread.

Neil: Okay, so maybe there were more tapes. Details coming soon.
TJ: Will we get an in depth narative on how they were discovered?
Neil: That's the boring part.
TJ: I disagree.
Neil: I looked at a spreadsheet of reels that had been transferred and said, "Please send the following."​

Other threads have speculated on what this new release could mean. Since this release uses the term 'Remastered', some believe that La-La Land will be using the 1-inch, 32-track 3M digital tape which was the 'first generation' recording of the score. This contains multiple tracks 'unmixed', so La-La Land would be able to reconstruct and remix the score.

What the previous album and the 2009 FSM expanded soundtrack did was use a 3-track analog protection copies which already had their mixes set in stone. According to FSM user BornOfAJackal, Lukas Kendall was held to some promise to preserve the original film scoring mixer's mix, hence why the expanded album's quality wasn't that much different from the original album's.

So here's what I think is going to happen.

La-La Land is going to restore, remaster and remix the whole score using the first generation 'unmixed' tapes that will likely bump up the quality. And since this is a 2-Disc set, we may be getting alternates that were planned for the original expanded release but weren't included either due to studio not being happy with them (An alternate take on 'Amazing Grace') or didn't have the space (Epilogue - End Titiles with no Vocals). So here's what we're likely looking at.

Disc 1- Film Score Presentation.
Everything heard in the film is presented here. The 'Battle in the Mutara Nebula' will have the synth sound included and the 'Epilogue - End Title' track will not feature Spock's voice over

Disc 2- The Original Album + Extras
I'm betting that the album will also be reconstructed while also having the original track placements and include all the variations that differentiate it from the expanded release (No Synth for the 'Battle in the Mutara Nebula', Spock's voice over for 'Epilogue - End Title'). Since this album is about 45 minutes long, this is where all the extras will be stored. Those will likely include,
- Alternate 'Amazing Grace' take
- Original 'Epilogue - End Title'
- Raw take of William Shatner screaming "KHAAN!"*

We'll see how this goes. More updates as they occur!

* Most definitely will not happen. William Shatner hasn't allowed his voice to be used in any soundtrack released by La-La Land (Not even his opening narration for the opening titles on their mega 15-CD box set of the original series). But we know the raw files exist because Diamond Select used it twice for their STII Enterprise and Communicator toy.

 

What does that guy know?

 

If Neil is involved, he knows EVERYTHING. He's worked on countless soundtracks and is very passionate about his work on Star Trek. The Animated Series music on the 50th Anniversary Set? He took all the sound stems from all the episodes and cobbled together something usable when no one else even knew how to tackle it.

He and I are not on the best of terms since STII's 'Epilogue - End Titles' argument and the 'FIRE!' gap in the STVI 'Battle For Peace' track. I really have nothing but high praise for what he has done and still continues to deliver. I have a feeling he'll have plenty to talk about in the development of this soundtrack when we get close to it's August 17th release.

Also back on the 'Remastered' side of things, I would like to point out that La-La Land has done this kind of thing before, even on soundtracks that were previously expanded before.

Batman (1989)
They initially released a 2-Disc set containing A LOT more music than the score album, but it had a few shortcomings. For one thing, the sound was pretty lackluster and someone made the decision to have the 'Joker Approaches Gotham/Batwing 1' track fade out before it finished. Fast forward a few years, and La-La Land releases the 'Batman: Danny Elfman' collection. At first everyone thought it was a straight up re-issue of their expanded releases of the first two films, but the complete score to the first film was actually a brand new restoration. Turns out better sounding elements were located and the results were pretty outstanding. I still have the original 2-Disc set just to compare how much better sounding the newer rendition is.

Home Alone
Kind of like what might happen with TWOK set they're doing, La-La Land released an expanded score to Home Alone and it was a very good release. So when they announced a remastered version down the line, many were skeptical as to why. This was another case of La-La Land choosing to go back to the masters and do their own modern mix of the complete score rather than use the mixes that were made in 1990. And despite their initial soundtrack sounding pretty good (compared to Batman), this new release did wonders.

Die Hard
Varese released the first album through their CD club and boy was it a rarity. La-La Land than released a 2-Disc set many years later and it was a lot of fun. Problem? The sources for a lot of the music were not available and/or not in the best of shape. They actually debated on whether to use the opening title stinger to open soundtrack since it comes from the film stem and NOT the source it was created on. Thankfully the work they did on it was good enough to make that happen (And it did sound ok!), but the same couldn't be said for many other tracks. The music where John discovers the C4 before his fight with Carl and when he jumps off the roof attached to a fire house sounded so bad they had to put them on the soundtrack as 'Bonus Tracks' since the quality didn't match the rest. It was a sobering reminder that a lot of film scores are not kept in the best conditions and are sometimes lost. There soundtrack was such a huge success that they went against their 'limited edition' mandate and printed more copies with new artwork. Everyone thought that this was it and we could write off the original Die Hard as having the best soundtrack release it could have possibly received.

THAN THE UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED.

Someone found everything. The scores, the synths, the inserts, background sources, everything. And that is what everyone thought of when we saw the big 3-Disc set announcement. All we needed to see was that it was going to be 3-Discs instead of 2 and we knew they found it. And holy cow! Forget that Batman comparison from earlier. Not only did they have the score to the film, they had music that was scored but never used! Remember that moment where Powell saved the day by killing Carl? The original music for that was way more downbeat and somber than the heroic sounding piece that was used instead (Which coincidently enough was also unused portions of James Horner's ALIENS score). The opening title stinger now sounds great, we've got re-scored moments that are in the film but were never in any of the previous soundtracks and the part where John jumps off the roof attached to the firehose?.... Just... just listen to it. The opening that we never got to hear is downright incredible. You hear all these instruments and other weird sounds in the background as though the musicians are warming up for what is about to come and than BOOM!

So yeah. This release of STII should be a lot more than a simple re-release. Will keep you informed!

 

Well I wouldn't say that.

Neil

 

What is the price expectation for this release? I could not find it on their website.

 

It goes on sale on the 17 at noon PST. I'm not sure what retail will be on it.

 

Maybe he's not holding a grudge....

 

After making that post, I can definitely verify that this is indeed the case.We're totally cool. I guess I was giving myself way too much credit. Looking back, it's hard to imagine how anyone wouldn't have held a grudge against me. I was relentless about that track. It's easy to imagine someone getting tired of hearing the same old complaint in one thread, but dozens of other threads spread over the course of seven years? I've been ignored for less.

Despite my disappointment, I still praised that release for everything else that it did. I never once suggested that fans should boycott it and I certainly didn't stop buying future expanded releases from both FSM and all the other record labels. The Expanded Star Trek Soundtrack Renaissance was one of the greatest collecting journeys of my life and I'm super proud and grateful of everyone who took part in it. I'm looking forward to seeing it all come full circle.

 

Will this include the take with the wind machine? No, wait...

 

Just !ncase others don't know, the 'inner Workings' track with the w!nd machine and the 'Ep!logue - End Credits' without vo!ce over are on the 50th Anniversary Collection.

 

She's here.

STAR TREK II – THE WRATH OF KHAN: LIMITED EDITION (2-CD SET)
LLLCD 1582
Music by James Horner
Limited Edition of 10000 Units
RETAIL PRICE: $29.98

STARTS SHIPPING AUGUST 17

Order yours starting August 17 at 12 noon (pst) at www.lalalandrecords.com

La-La Land Records, Paramount Pictures and Atlantic Records proudly present a limited edition, remastered 2- CD release of legendary composer James Horner’s (FIELD OF DREAMS, GLORY, TITANIC) original motion picture score to the classic 1982 sci-fi blockbuster STAR TREK II – THE WRATH OF KHAN, starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley, and directed by Nicholas Meyer. Considered to be one of James Horner’s finest scores, this deluxe reissue showcases this masterwork sounding better-than-ever and expanded with previously unreleased alternate tracks. Disc One features the score presentation, while Disc Two presents the re-mastered 1982 Original Soundtrack Album and additional music.

Produced by Neil S. Bulk and Mike Matessino, and re-mixed and mastered by Mike Matessino, this special 2-CD release is limited to 10000 units and features art design by Jim Titus. Disc One, and the additional score tracks on Disc Two, have been re-edited and remixed in hi-res from newly discovered 1st generation analog 3-track stereo tapes. The original soundtrack album has been newly remixed from digital-to-analog 3-track stereo tapes made in 1982.

The exclusive, in-depth liner notes by writer and musical director/conductor Deniz Cordell feature new comments from Sara Horner, Nicholas Meyer, producer Robert Sallin, former Paramount Music President Joel Sill, and longtime Horner collaborators Jim Henrikson and J.A.C. Redford.

TRACK LISTING:

Disc 1 65:52
Score Presentation
1. Main Title* 3:11
2. Surprise On Ceti Alpha V :48
3. Khan’s Pets 4:23
4. The Eels Of Ceti Alpha V / Kirk In Space Shuttle* 3:57
5. Enterprise Clears Moorings 3:36
6 .Chekov Lies* :43
7. Spock 1:13
8. Kirk Takes Command* / He Tasks Me 2:12
9. Surprise Attack 5:10
10. Kirk’s Explosive Reply 4:05
11. Inside Regula One 1:51
12. Brainwashed 1:27
13. Captain Terrell’s Death 2:01
14. Buried Alive 1:00
15. The Genesis Cave 1:13
16. Battle In The Mutara Nebula (Film Version) 8:11
17. Enterprise Attacks Reliant 1:34
18. Genesis Countdown (Film Version) 6:38
19. Spock And Kirk* 1:56
20. Amazing Grace 1:29
21. Epilogue* / End Title* (Film Version) 8:45

Disc 2 72:33
Original Soundtrack Album
1. Main Title* 3:10
2. Surprise Attack 5:10
3. Spock 1:14
4. Kirk’s Explosive Reply 4:05
5. Khan’s Pets 4:22
6. Enterprise Clears Moorings 3:37
7. Battle In The Mutara Nebula 8:11
8. Genesis Countdown 6:37
9. Epilogue* / End Title* 8:44
Total Original Album Time: 45:09

Additional Music
10. Genesis Project** 3:14
11. The Eels Of Ceti Alpha V (Discrete) 2:41
12. Kirk In Space Shuttle* (Discrete) 1:22
13. Kirk Takes Command* (Proposed Album Take) 1:43
14. Buried Alive (Alternate Take) 1:02
15. Amazing Grace (Alternate) 1:33
16. Epilogue* / End Title* (Alternate) 7:33
17. Wild Orchestra 1:37
18. Amazing Grace (Alternate Bagpipes) 1:30
19. Theme Of Star Trek II* (Edited End Title) 4:51
Total Additional Music Time: 27:24
Total Collection Time: 2:18:25

*Contains Theme From Star Trek (TV Series) by Alexander Courage and Gene Roddenberry
** Composed and Performed by Craig Huxley
​

This is way more than I thought we were getting. I was a bit confused as to what 'Discrete' meant for two of the tracks, but the users over at the filmscoremonthly boards verified that it just means that those portions from Track 4 on the first disc are their own tracks with no transitions or crossfade.

What do you think?

 

I think I'm in as soon as the order link is up. The discrete tracks will be great since I edited my own when the FSM/Retrograde release came out.

 

**UPDATE!**
Article was pulled from the website. Here's hoping it will be back online when the album goes on sale in 21 minutes.

jameshorner-filmmusic.com posted a highly detailed review of the soundtrack that covers an incredible amount of detail with regards to how this release stacks up to all the previous releases of this soundtrack thus far.

UNEXPECTED NEW EDITION OF STAR TREK II FROM LA-LA LAND: OUR EXCLUSIVE REVIEW

T-Minus 1 hour and 43 minutes!

 

Order placed! I'm excited for this one!

 

Hmmm this looks great and I’m sure it sounds great too. I dunno if it’s worth the 30 bucks though since I have the Retrograde/Film Score expanded edition from 2009.

It would just be 9 tracks I don’t have from that one plus the original score.

then again, lol, I have like 3 different versions of Abbey Road, Sgt. Peppers and The White Album from different anniversary releases etc…

hmmm decisions, decisions.

 

Epilogue / End Titles (Film Version) (No Spock Monologue)

Make that 10 tracks since this one is on neither of those releases.