Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection
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Free Music Notes for Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection
Free Music Review: FINALLY!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
It's great to see these items finally available again, for fans of Indiana Jones, Steven Spielberg, John Williams, or great film scores in general.
Other reviews for the individual discs have covered the finer points of what pieces were or were NOT included in each score, and you should check those out if you're concerned about your favorite track, or are of a completist bent.
Otherwise, simply know that this is a GREAT set, nicely presented (though if you are not a fan of the semi-rigid 'cardboard' type packaging, be aware these are not in jewel cases, but the soft-packs.)
I'm not an expert, but to me, the sound quality sounded bright and 'detailed', great overall considering the lack of love these scores seem to have had over the years from the record company.
Can't recall if the contents of the 'bonus' disc were listed in other reviews, so here it is:
Raiders March (Lost Ark)
Interviews With John Williams, Steven Spielberg & George Lucas
Uncovering The Ark (Lost Ark)
Indy & The Villagers (Temple of Doom)
The Secret Passage (Temple of Doom)
Father's Study (Last Crusade)
Marcus Is Captured/To Berlin (Last Crusade)
To The Blimp (Last Crusade)
The Blimp Turns Around (Last Crusade)
Death Of Kazim (Last Crusade)
Wrong Choice, Right Choice (Last Crusade)
Return To The Village/Raiders March (Temple of Doom)
How can we as consumers, I wonder, get more film scores released and/or kept in print? It's a crying shame when immortal film music like this sits in a dustbox at a corporation more concerned with selling the lastest hottest artist, till someone finally gets around to releasing something like this, and 'lesser' scores are left COMPLETELY to rot if they're released at all.
BUY THE STUFF! You could snap off a letter or email too, sure, but it's the dollar that speaks the language a corporation knows best!
I'm more than willing to put my bread in The Man's pocket for a memory from my childhood like this music, or for the place the newest superlative score might take me, so hopefully he takes note.
(But The Man better pass John Williams his FAIR share.)
Free Music Review: Slightly flawed in presentation, but WORTH IT!
Hit: 5 Stars
Let me get the easy part of this review out of the way: musically, these four film scores are totally worth it. The original three stand as some of the best movie music written to date, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is hardly a bad addition to the musical universe of Indiana Jones. Based purely on the fact that this release contains more music from the saga than ever before, it's worth buying. John Williams has crafted a very different sound for each film, but each is enjoyable in its own way. Raiders is the best of them all, with extraordinary action music and numerous great themes. The Temple of Doom is weird and frenetic, with occasional Indian influences. The Last Crusade can become a little ponderous, but it still has countless wonderful moments. And Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sounds a lot more like Williams' other work of the 2000s, yet it retains the same sense of adventure that the original trilogy's scores so effortlessly created.
But that's not the end of the story, unfortunately. While this set does include a number of greatly appreciated tracks that hadn't been released before, it's by no means complete. There's still plenty missing music - and in fact, KOTCS doesn't even contain ANYTHING new, which means that I essentially had to pay for the same soundtrack twice in the same year. Furthermore, there are some speed issues with some of the tracks - apparently, they were transferred from the tapes at slightly incorrect speeds. The result won't be apparent to most listeners, but some of the tracks are moderately to extremely out of tune. Then there's the usual problem of music being out of order, but it's easy enough to create your own playlist.
To sum up...
PROS
* superb music
* lots of previously unreleased material
* sound quality ranges from fairly good to excellent
* the music in the set is generally better than the music not in the set
CONS
* not a complete release
* some pitch/speed issues
So yes...buy this set. But it'd be nice if it were just a little closer to perfect. =)
Free Music Review: Buried for almost twenty years, it's become a treasure!
Hit: 5 Stars
Perhaps THE release I've been waiting for my entire life, and besides some flaws, I have to admit I'm as giddy as a school boy. I had been amongst the loyal fans who signed a petition for this release, then counted down every second to its release date. And how is it, you may wonder?
Although I was very excited about the new packaging and the unreleased tracks, I have to admit what has gotten me more thrilled has been how great the music has been remastered. It's amazing how many bits and pieces I feel like I had missed before due to the sound quality. I can't describe it as well as you could hear it.
Despite many claiming that the packaging is a bit minimalist, I thought it was quite nice. The case that holds all the discs together is handsome, and I like the fact that all the soundtracks attempted to get the original album cover, and also that they all had their own booklet. The booklets may have been simple, but they were nice.
What can I say about the new tracks? Wonderful to finally have such great cues from all the original, namely Temple of Doom. There are still cues missing, though, but nowhere near as many as before. Now I can listen to the soundtrack for any one of the original three movies and feel like I'm listening to an entire actual score, like I felt before with Raiders, but I couldn't accomplish with Temple or even Last Crusade very well.
I strongly believe that, much like with Star Wars, a box set featuring the complete scores will be released some day in the future, so for now, I'm better off than I have been for the past 27 years.
The only real negative, personally, was that the Desert Chase on Raiders isn't complete, as it was with the DCC release. When I first heard about this, I thought, no big deal, just use the DCC Desert Chase. But upon hearing the remastered scores... I wish they would have put in that entire cue.
But the negatives are hardly even a thought in this IndyFan's mind. I can tell you, from the bottom of my heart... buy this set. It's the best forty-five bucks you can spend.
Trust me.
Free Music Review: "Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection": This is History!
Hit: 5 Stars
Some twenty-seven years ago I was given two passes for the press-sneak preview of Steven Spielberg's and George Lucas' production of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Incredibly, I could not get anyone to go with me because they had no idea what the movie was about. As soon as the lights went back up I could not wait to find the LP soundtrack. It took an agonizing week. This week I felt some of the same excitement in anticipation of "Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection". This collection is a little treasure. It includes all four soundtrack albums, the first three with previously unrecorded music, plus some wonderful additional material, a film booklet and a worthwhile CD. While the recordings of "Raiders," "Temple of Doom," and "Last Crusade" come close to being full scores, "Crystal Skull" is simply the recent soundtrack album without additional music, and that is a disappointment (more of the music from the opening scene could have been added). Still, this is a musical treat, and something of an appropriate tribute to John Williams. Williams wrote one of the most recognizable themes in film history for Indy, and the collected scores are amazing. "Raiders," alone, is perhaps the singular adventure score. The production values and packaging by Concord Records are first-rate, and the price is fair. We film fans are simply passing through history; this collection is history! Enjoy!
Free Music Review: The Ultimate Indiana Jones Soundtrack Collection
Hit: 5 Stars
It's easy to dismiss a re-issue. You'd think, "...well, they added a couple of extra tracks, big deal."
Not true with this FANTASTIC boxed set! If you are a fan of the INDIANA JONES movies and especially the JOHN WILLIAMS composed & conducted soundtrack, then this is a MUST-HAVE!
Not only do you get unreleased tracks--A LOT of them, but you get, finally, the release of INDIANA JONES & THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. For years this soundtrack has been unavailable on CD and available only on a secondary market at a HUGE markup. Well, now it's included and what's better is again, the originally unreleased material is now included.
Additionally, an EXTRA CD is included featuring a fascinating interview with GEORGE LUCAS, STEVEN SPIELBERG & JOHN WILLIAMS that contains insights into the composition process, with even MORE unreleased tracks.
Finally, and I consider the BEST part, is that all are RE-MASTERED. Played on even the most rudimentary sound system, the music on these CDs come across clearer and purer than any prior release.
Much like the release of the Lord of the Rings Howard Shore box sets, this INDIANA JONES COLLECTION belongs in any soundtrack fans' collection!